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All right, we'll get to John Middlecoff in about ten minutes, the former NFL scout, and he'll join me for an hour of going through most of the games, not all, but most of the games in the league. Let's start with Chicago and Houston. So, first of all, the Texans had seven sacks, most in the NFL this year, and eleven quarterback hits. That's the most this week in the NFL. So Caleb Williams didn't have much of a chance now he had two picks, would have had a third, but
a penalty let him off the hook. All these young quarterbacks are struggling. Bo Nix is struggling, Caleb's struggling. You know, Michael Pennix is a lucky one. He's not playing. Don't forget Lamar Jackson got eleven weeks or ten weeks to watch Joe Flacko play in Baltimore, and Mahomes got sixteen or fifteen weeks to watch Alex Smith play. It's really hard, and the Texans may hit harder than every team in the league. They're at home.
Not much of.
A dynamic run game for the Bears, so it's all on Kleb Williams's feet, legs, Houdini act.
You know his timing.
DJ Moore got very frustrated with him in the fourth quarter with a couple of minutes left. But I mean, what am I supposed to take from this? Houston's a better team, a better roster. At home Sunday Night football, c J. Stroud had more time to throw the first half. C J. Strowd threw for one hundred and seventy three yards in a touchdown and was mostly very very comfortable and he's got more good weapons. Now I do like DJ Moore, but Roma Dunze is a kid, he's a rookie,
and Keenan Allen's hurt. Everything was in Houston's favor. I'm you know, if not for the fumble, they w a won by two touchdowns. So I didn't think it was going to be a competitive game, and the Bears made it competitive. I thought they played some really good defensive football. But this is I mean, c J. Stroud's better, the team's better, the rosters better, they're at home, the coach is probably better. I will say this about Caleb Williams.
First of all, the Bears offense doesn't have much of an identity, and it doesn't have an identity because Caleb Bright now is running for his life and he's trying to figure the league out. So, you know, the good teams in this league you sort of know what they are on both sides of the ball, but especially on offense, they have, you know, a sense of what they are are. Chicago doesn't have that, By the way, Houston does. You know, we're in week two, heading into week three. Houston does
have an identity. One of the more accurate passers in the league, multiple threats. Nico Collins is they compared him to Andre Johnson earlier in the game.
I don't know if he's that good, but a.
Big targets Joe Mixon, speed targets good tight ends. I mean, the Houston Texans, there's an argument that's the second best team in the league. I mean, really, CJ. Stroud's comp coming into the NFL was Jared Goff, and I remember saying that's a fair comp. I think he runs a little better, but he is kid's dynamite. He is effortlessly accurate, deep ball, intermediates, flat everything. He's really special, and so
I think the Houston Texans are completely legitimate Super Bowl team. Again, if not for a fumble, this would have been over earlier. The Bears, you just got to be patient. You just got to give him time. I mean, they got a gift win in Week one. They were out played by Tennessee. So you're one in one. You take a deep breath. Caleb Williams took a beating to night between the sacks and the hits, and he got popped on the sideline. Bear fans wanted to flag. If not for that, for
the punch by the Texans. But you know, it's a big stadium, there's layers, You're not going to see everything. I just think you have to protect him better. I don't think I've seen a quarterback take that kind of beating all year. In fact, I haven't. I'm not sure the second worst quarterback beating I've seen, but that was that was Ross tonight, you know. And some of it is, you know, he's trying to extend plays, which you know, I saw Justin Herbert get banged up a little doing that.
I saw Joe Burrow fumble today doing that.
You know. But these are pro athletes, they're gamers, they're you know, there's a shortage of great offensive linemen, especially tackles.
In the NFL.
Everybody's got a good edge rusher. Every team, it feels like, has a good edge rusher or two. There's maybe six great left tackles in football, maybe maybe four to six good right tackles. So it's an issue, and the quarterbacks take the beating for it. So I wouldn't get too freaked out. I mean, the Bears were picked for third or fourth place. It's funny right now Minnesota is two and oh everybody else in their division is one and one, So the entire NFC North except for Minnesota, has a loss.
How about Sammy Darnold. We'll talk about that with John Middlecoff. And you know, the Houston Texans are two and oh and everybody else in their division is oh and two, so they pulled away. But you know, my big takeaway tonight is simply the better team at home, the better quarterback, probably the better coach, the better roster one. And I can't beat up on Kayleb Williams too much. Bow Nick's had a rough day. I thought Jade Daniels for Washington,
he's really really electric. His comp coming in was Lamar Jackson. He's not that fast, but he's he's special. And again JJ McCarthy will sit due to injury, and Michael Pennix will sit for at least another week.
I don't know.
We'll watch the Eagles and Falcons tomorrow. But the Houston Texans struggled with protection in the first half. They were struggling to protect CJ. Stroud. That said, he still too for about one hundred and seventy five yards. But it is remarkable to turnaround. I'm trying to think the last time there was an NFL franchise that was a laughing stock. The following year they made the playoffs, and then the year after that they may be the second best team
in the league. I mean they hit on everything GM coach, quarterback, offensive coordinator, and multiple draft picks.
They hit on everything.
It's still not a strong ownership group, but Houston's always had money. It's a big city, and you know, they've got money to spend, and they did on Stefan Diggs and Joe Mixon. So they just have everything. I mean, they've got everything. The coach, the corps, nators, the quarterback, the left tackle, a run game, multiple weapons, a decent pass rush. I mean, tonight's pas rush was insane. You know, let's be honest. This is what makes the NFL king.
Today was one of the craziest days I can ever remember. Now Week three, if you go to the early window, it's not great. This was an all timer early window day, but I mean it's a crazy, crazy day. Mcvay's oh and two John Harbaughs oh and two, Joe Burrows oh and two. San Francisco got hammered today. That scores not indicative. They got pushed all over the field. They were lucky. It was that close. So and tonight I think Chicago's lucky.
It was that close.
I mean, if you want to, if you really want to say something about Caleb Williams, he kept fighting. This should have been a three touchdown game. It felt like, I mean, how many quarterbacks. I mean, it was like one of one beating in the NFL this year. I mean, I know guys are sore on on Monday. I wouldn't want to be Caleb Williams. You want to get in that ice tub really quickly tomorrow. But for all of Caleb williams elusiveness, the Bears only average three point three
yards of play. So, I mean, he's pretty magical athlete. But I don't think the offensive line protection has been optimal. And I also think Tom Brady's talked about this. I think it comes in stages. Quarterbacking in the NFL comes in stages. You know, the first year it's the learning curve, it's surviving. Year two it's growth. You know, the light tends to come on. Second year at some point Thanksgiving, Christmas somewhere around there, and then the third year you're
off and running. I think they're really good quarterbacks by year two can audible their way out of some of the pressures. You know, and I've said this, it's such an advantage, you know, either having a strong offensive coordinator. Jayden d Annials I think does in Washington he looked better today and c J.
Stroud did.
I mean, look at Malik Willis today with Green Bay and Matt Lafleur and that offensive staff. That was the best Malik Willis has ever looked. So as Shane Walder and the guy for Caleb Williams. The Bears have always had a defensive culture. It's I mean, the best thing you can say is that Caleb Williams a big, strong kid who moves well, and they're one on one. But
I mean, they have a long way to go. In Chicago, there was all sorts of pre snap penalties and in the first half they just they just don't look tight. And there were also a couple of plays, a couple of throws by Kayleb Williams that are simply not going to work in pro football, a couple of lollipop throws. One of the lollipop throws, I think it was first half, got picked. It may have an early second half first half, got picked and a penalty against.
Houston and gated it.
But it was just a throw you can't make in the NFL. You know, when you're so gifted, you get away with so much in high school, in college that you just can't in the NFL. And I think Caleb's still trying to figure out what I can't do. Like he's not sliding. He did a couple of times late in the second half. He did a good job scrambling and sliding, but he got popped on the sideline. That was the punch moment. You can't take that hit, dude. You got to get down, slide, do something. You can't
take that hit. So I think he's still trying to figure out. Caleb is what he can get away with in the NFL, And tonight not much of anything. All Right, We're going to have a lively one here on Sunday. John middlecoff Our Week two reaction, presented by Uber Eats get almost almost anything for game day. Former NFL scout John Middlecoff, As we start today, Let's start Kansas City Cincinnati.
You know it's funny.
I've argued this forever that Bill Parcells used to ride Phil Simms, Phil throw it down the field. Okay, I'm not interested in you know, one interception.
No picks.
You know today Mahomes has two ugly picks, almost had three, Borough has none, and Kansas City wins. And by the way, in this opener against Baltimore, it was one of the ugliest picks not named will Levis Mahomes against Baltimore. And it's funny about Kansas City is that, you know, we we think of Kansas City as so efficient, but they make a lot of mistakes. John, They are vulnerable. They give you opportunities, but they're always usually good starting a
game and finishing. In the middle of it, it can get choppy, but once again late like against Baltimore, they finished Cincinnati off. I felt terrible for Cincinnati in a way because at one point in this game, they put up a graphic that the last six matchup between these two teams Bengals Chiefs, they'd eat scored one hundred and fifty points.
Like it is so even.
But I guess my takeaway is Cincinnati can go toe to toe with Kansas City forever. But Kansas City has this ability to start and end quickly, and they're a flawed team right like they're I mean, when I watch them, I think, God, they give you opportunities, don't they.
Well, I mean, big picture, I don't know how Kansas City, after winning back to back Super Bowls can take these type games week in and week out without eventually run out of juice. I mean, that felt like a playoff game, didn't it. The intensity, the physicality that that was I had because the Arizona LA game ended so fast. I mean I think it was over five minutes into the game. The Steelers versus the Broncos on one TV and the Chiefs, it was like two different sports being played in those
two games. I do think, for whatever reason, that graphic kind of illustrated it. Cincinnati plays this team better than anyone. I mean, they've beat him in the playoffs. They went toe to toe with him a couple of years ago, easily could have beat him again in the playoffs. Probably, you know they're gonna be kicking themselves. Should have won this game. I hate to see the game decided on a late penalty, Yeah, but it is what it is.
I just think at the end of the day, the Chiefs culture completely flipped when they traded Tyreek Hill and they have this physical kind of I mean, they're a defensive team. I mean, Spac Doola is just brilliant. They are going through some growing pains starting a rookie left hack. Yeah, I mean, because so many teams now you just watch around the NFL, even the bad teams have pass rushers and they move him around. They're gonna put him over that kid every single week. And Mahomes, luckily, he's a
great scrambler. You know, Kelsey looks his age, he's no longer and he's kind of saving himself for the end of the season. And they did that again last year. But god, he's no longer. I would say the week in, week out dominant player.
Yeah, it's funny.
I wrote down four plays three plays in this game because I started. Really it was a close game, so I'm like, I'm gonna write down the big plays.
In the fourth quarter.
Mahomes to Kelsey, huge gainer, third and six, trailing twenty five, twenty three, Kansas City gets that spags blitz sack, late flag on Cincinnati. The three big plays to me, all went in Kansas City favor. They remind me a little bit like an old KG boxer, like Sugar Ray Leonard out of his prime. They win the end of the round. Like you get shots at him, you may knock them down. It's not always aesthetically pleasing, but they kind of figure
out how to manipulate the judges, manipulate the game. You see this in the NBA with old teams. They did just have a way of figuring out how to play the game late. There there's an art to football at the end of a game and using your timeouts and field position that the Chiefs do not give you a ten on out of ten performance, boy, but in the big moments, John, that's where Kelsey's last year in the playoffs, he was huge in the red zone, huge on third
or fourth down. And I think that's what they are. They they they as they go through growing pains, they're still the great closing team in this sport.
Well, they're not as phased as much as remember two years ago Mahomes went through an awful stretch where he had a bunch of turnovers and they were playing bad. I think this was not last year, but two years ago, and now they still have that happen. But their defense is so good. Yeah, they're just such good open field tacklers. I thought, also, you know, they don't mentally crack. They ended up still kicking a field goal. But but Jamar
Chase freaking out about a hip drop. Bro, he grabbed you by your shoulder pads and then he lets you down, like relax. And Joe Burrow's known him forever as like trying to come and he won't listen to anybody. And that kind of ultimately wasn't the difference in the game. But that doesn't happen to Kansas City. If anything, they get the guy off the field. They're not giving up fifteen free yards and let Andy or whoever yell at each other. But they're not yelling at the ref.
And that's nope, that's right.
And that Jamar Chase, I mean besides Burrow and he I mean, he's one of their best players, one of the better players in the league. You cannot lose your shit like that in that spot. It's really unacceptable. I mean it really. Yeah.
I felt like Cincinnati sort of lost this game, not that Kansas City didn't make plays.
They deserve it.
They're impossible to me to root against because I just I really again, I liked old fighters and I liked teams that are great in the clutch. There's a New England quotient, Like you feel like sometimes do they have the best players out here today?
Don't they feel like the Patriots the way they play now, like that dynasty They didn't early on with Tyreek they do not.
Yeah.
Like, at the bottom line is they're more physical, they have a better coach, their quarterbacks better in crisis, and they don't beat themselves now dramatically. They're much more fun to watch, I think than New England was outside of the Randy Moss years. Yeah, but it's very much best coach, best quarterback, don't beat themselves a mother with two minutes to go in the game, third downs, fourth downs, red zone.
They're just they're magic. And maybe that in the history of football's always been the case with the best team. But I thought Sincinnat Jamar Chase losing, they're cool giving up the big sack, the pass interference late. You know again, Casey deserved it. But Cincinnati in this spot, which Buffalo's done against, this team, which Baltimore's done against, this team, beat themselves.
This wouldn't be the end of the world for Cincinnati to lose at Kansas City if they hadn't just blown such an awful game. And I don't have I have strong opinions on a lot of coaches. I'm kind of indifferent on Zach Taylor. I don't know much about him. I don't hear him talk that often. I don't hear bad things about him. People like the guy. He clearly has done a pretty good job over the course of his career. But you watch this performance and you go,
you should win the division. But you find yourself, oh, in two, they don't get up for games. They obviously get up for Kansas City, But how do I take you seriously when you lose it home to the Patriots? So are you know? They probably should win ten to eleven games if Burro's healthy. But you put yourself behind the eight ball all of a sudden you might be struggling to get a wild cards.
Well, the good news is ravens row and two and the Steelers. Over the course of a season. You know, the Steelers have faced Kirk Cousins and then bow Knicks. I mean, bo Nix is a kid. I mean, they're just there's nothing you can see.
He was bad today. He was bad, and I have money on him to win offensive rookie, he was atrocious.
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but hiring Morgan and Morgan is easy. Okay, I want to talk Cowboys Saints, so we all know coaching matters, but holy you give Derek Carr kubias kid, Gary Kubiak's kid the coach the coordinator first of all, the motions, the shifting, it's a totally different offense. I watched the Jets Titans Nat Hackett's offense. I mean, Aaron's one of the smarter guys in the league. Playing quarterback. Very little motion, very remedial, doesn't really challenge Aaron intellectually. Now, I think
the Saints have more talent outside of quarterback. They got more players. But I'm watching the Saints offense against Dallas, and we can blame Dallas, but they are moving all.
Over the field.
Jesus, It's just it's amazing what happens when you have a competent quarterback. I'm not asking for great baker Derek. You protect him and you have a coordinator who can change stuff up. And I'm watching the Saints today. They average seven point seven yards a play. They were fifty percent on third down. I mean, Derek Carr was only what did I have here? Eleven of sixteen to the never to the football. It was all motions, and it was like, that's when I buy into a team, when
it's beyond it's not just that they're scoring. This coach, this coordinator. It's a little like Detroit last year, though.
They're not as good.
At some point, they're just going to score points if they play inside or in play in good weather. Your thoughts on that game.
Well, the MVP race right now is Derek Carr, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield fighting it out, So I listen. I'm probably dead wrong on the Broncos, but I pounded the drum leading into the start of the season on the Saints. Yeah, I liked him to win the division. I liked him to make the playoffs. They went nine to eight last year and for half the season their offense was atrocious. They have a good defense. They have a really good players the season. Yes, Dennis Allen, some of his stats
against the spread and stuff, I get it. But defensively, everyone in the NFL sings his praises. He's good. Kubiak, the Shanahans and Kubiak might as well be one family, right, Gary played for Mike than Kyle worked for Gary. One of the Kubiaks now works for Kyle. They're all one in the same. That offense does two things well, makes
it easy on the quarterbacks and features the running back. Well, no team has more invested in the running back room than the Saints and Alvin Kamara is an excellent player, and he's perfect for this scheme. Why he can he's a good zone runner and he's an excellent pass catcher. What does that offense like to do? Throw the ball to the a lot?
Like why McCaffrey is so unbelievable with San Francisco, it's the same.
They're very similar players. They were Christians a little more physical, I would say between the tackles. But Alvin Kamara, when he's right, is a Pro Bowl level guy, and today he was. I would imagine he's the offensive player of the week. I mean, I think he had seventeen touchdowns today. But Kubiak, and you never know because when these guys work for McVeigh, when they work for Sean Payton, when they work for Kyle, they don't actually call the plays.
But like when you tell me, his name's Kubiak, so yeah, I would imagine he's gonna know the offense pretty well. He's been Brilliant's someone that covers the Saints today tweeted like he might get a head coaching job before the season's even over. I mean, he has been. Their defense was awesome. The Cowboys didn't have a shot today and Obviously Dak throws a couple bad picks, but that's just they ran into a bus saw and when Derek, like Derek has had a really no one dealt with more instability.
For the first nine years of his career, the team literally moved, yet they stayed in a spot. They ran through coaches, they had the Gruden situation. Derek has seen a lot of shit and by the end of the year last year he looked pretty good. And now the offense, they have good wide receivers, they have a good running game. They drafted uh, I think the tackle for Morgan State, who literally could play all five positions. So they're just right now they are to me, the Bucks are good too.
Like that division, I think most people just took a giant dump on like it sucks. Actually, they got two pretty good teams and two quarterbacks who if you just that have a lot of talent around him, can play well. That the Saints I liked him a lot.
They've been Yeah, And I also think if you consider Derek Carr a B to a B plus quarterback, which I think Baker is, which I think Gino's closer to B B minus. But if you look at the Saints roster between I think Jeff Ireland and Mickey Loomis are the two guys running personnel. They don't miss in a lot of draft picks. John, if you start writing, I mean Tomorrio Davis is one of the best linebackers.
In the game.
Oh fantastic, Yeah, I mean he's a thumper. They got eight to ten Pro Bowl level players. We just know the Niners players right like they're such a national team. The Saints aren't. They're wildly popular in Louisiana, big in the South, but Breeze leaves, you know who's Dennis Allen. They're not a big national team anymore. You watch that game against Dallas. To me, that wasn't about the Cowboys. It was about the on line. Camara the play call again,
Derek Carr was six to thirteen on third downs. He didn't throw the ball, They didn't ask him to do anything. It was it's very brock pretty. It's a really easyft when you're throwing on second and four and third and one.
The other thing is they have some more similarities than people would realize. With the Steelers. Over the last couple of years, quarterback play has been really atrocious. If you get good quarterback play, and you have a good defense, and you have some skill guys, like, you're gonna be pretty good. And like the other thing they have going for him is they get two cupcake games against the Panthers.
Those are two wins. They're gonna be confident playing Atlanta and Tampa just because they play them all the time. I feel even stronger, Like I'm not saying this is a super Bowl team, but like, if Derek stays healthy, that team can't win twelve games. I mean they got high end players at a lot of key position. That was today because you never know when you beat the crap out of an awful team. And I like them today. I liked them a lot plus six. I thought that
number was a pretty crazy. They came out today like they were going to the Super Bowl. Did they not like that? They was over quick.
I'll tell you the wise guys love Dallas. Dallas in the regular season is an unbelievable home favorite. They are very much Tyson in his prime. They can lose to somebody, they can lose to an off holy Field or on Lennox, but you put him as a favorite. They knock out like Dallas is one right home team against against usually. I mean, the Saints don't beat good teams. The last three years they crushed Dallas.
I mean, I think Kubiak has thrown his hat into the ring really really quick as a guy that's obviously now on everyone's radar. The one thing is when you play Zimmer, he's gonna blitz a lot. And it happened to Kyle to day with Flores, who's very similar. If you call the right play on the blitz, you're gonna get a huge explosive play, and that happened over and over early in that game. And then at Snowball we're
on the opposite side with the forty nine ers. He was hitting the blitz, but they were getting home and stacking the quarterback and they didn't hit the play. But Kubiak, I mean, we're only two weeks in, but he's an early front runner for Assistem of the Year right now. That's for damn sure, let's talk Niners.
You know him well. My favorite out of the week was Minnesota at home getting points. I think Kevin O'Connell is I said this last week, he's Kevin Stefanski. Before everybody realized how good Stefanski was dealing with all that Cleveland nonsense, and he just continues to put out good game plans. Again, they didn't ask a ton of Darnold seventeen to twenty six, two hundred and seventy yards. He
had five rushes. You know, Fred Warner made a great play because he's Fred Warner on an interception like that's not a great interception, but again it Fred, You know that that wouldn't have been picked off by ninety five percent of the linebackers.
In the league.
Might be the only guy, but yeah, I.
Mean it was a great play. But what I looked at was the time of possession thirty five minutes to twenty five. Minnesota controlled the football. I mean it could have been how if you take away the fumble by Minnesota and the great Fred Warner picked John this could have been a blowout. It could have been a blood bath Niners.
He got worked work, I mean they got killed ky Cat that was and he has one or two of these a year. I mean, it was a bad rough day for Kyle Special teams. They had a punt block. Flores was taking him to the woodshed, getting free guys all over. Py Perty had a bad pick, could have probably thrown another one. Defensively, they had some herors, But the story of the game and one of the stories of the early year sam Donold. I mean that throw he made the touchdown Jesus to Justin Jefferson, I mean
is seventy yards in the air. I mean you see the arm strength, but the accuracy, and you think back to the Fred Warner play. I think those are the plays early on in his career where he just kind of melts yes, and to me, whatever happened last year with Kyle and they talked about it with Purdy, the maturation of just learning how to study. He just kind of feels like a different guy. And I think we
have an example with Baker Mayfield. Some people mature at slower rates, whether it be football wise or personally and physically. His talent, obviously, the touchdown to Jefferson is going to be all over social media. He made some other throws on third down that were just like, I mean, he was slicing it that he was the better quarterback on the field today. He was awesome. And then there was another play his second touchdown while it was wide open.
Those are plays maybe early in his career. Maybe he air mails, maybe he freaks out. Like he just feels very, very under control. And I didn't think the Vikings were gonna be very good, even though I thought it would probably go pretty well for him. You start two to zero, all of a sudden, there's a path for you to get to nine ten wins. I mean, this is and that home field advantage, right, you'd have to say that Minnesota has one of the better ones in the league.
And that's like you said, that wasn't just a win. You're playing the Niners, who's coming off a short week. That wasn't ass cask kicking.
I mean, if you don't get that fumble. And again I mean Fred Warner made a great pick and a big hit causes a fumble. But this this could have been a three touchdown blowout.
The score does not reflect at all.
I mean, the time of possession is insane. And I also think it's funny with Darnold. You mentioned he's under control. What's interesting when I watched Sam, it feels like he sped his delivery up. Yet he's more under control, if that makes any sense. So his feet aren't nervous, his body's great, but it feels like O'Connell, who was a quarterback in the league. They've you know, the knock on him all with Steve Kaim told me on Friday on FS one, I said, did you like Darnold coming out?
And he goes, I didn't.
I didn't really like him. I didn't like his mechanics. He was too slow. Totally fair criticism. And Sam's a playmaker like Mahomes. He's gonna throw bad picks. All these guys that run around throw bad picks. I mean, Jesus Mahomes has two or three terrible picks this year. I can live with it. But Sam also five six different times takes off. And what Sam's also done. I think he's sped his he sped his delivery up a little bit. His feet are under control.
But I think.
O'Connell gives him. And I've heard guys talk about this, Matt Hasselbeck talks about this. Sam looks like O'Connell gives him clear things like he drops and he immediately is staring down a second later staring down or to play. His head's not moving all over the place. I feel like he's really intentional. I guess that's the way to say it like, I don't feel like he's out of control. Even if he moves in the pocket, he feels in control.
Yeah, they mentioned this on the broadcast. He much has said to them that one thing he did last year and he's carried in this year is tying his feet with his upper body because clearly that was really out of whack. And that's where you get throwing. You know, you get to throw a lot of picks. Like, It's one thing Mahomes is brilliant at. Despite him kind of moving all over the place, he can always set himself
when he needs to make it throw. It's why he's pretty accurate going to his left, going to his right. And like you said, Sam is a playmaker because he has a massive arm. But if you can one problem was early in his career he couldn't hit layups. Yeah, Like, I'm sure we'll talk about Anthony Richardson. If you can't do the basic stuff, you have no chance cause you're only going to hit the occasional sweet sixty yard bomb. You have to hit second and set in the out route,
hit the guy and stride to move the chains. And that's what Sam did all day to day. And he did last week against the Giants. I mean, he's he looks like a really solid player who's gonna start in this league. For a while, I had the thought today, like, if he's gonna play like this all year? I know, you just invested in a player, but you just let this guy walk if he's gonna play at this level. It's one thing to do it against the Giants, it's another thing to light up the forty nine ers like
a Christmas tree. So if he does this as the season goes on to the Lions, the Packers, I do, it's not just like you just let him walk, And that's not usually the way the NFL works. You kind of deal with what you got and you just kind of ride it and figure it out later. Yeah.
It's interesting for the Niners too, because the Rams got dusted. Good coaches and quarterbacks who get humiliated almost always play well the following well weak and the Rams get their left tackle back, which was a huge problem. And I don't know his bowl. I don't know Bosa's situation physically. Now, McCaffrey's go.
He was fine. I think he's okay, he'll.
Be fine, So it'll probably be a Niners win. But you know the scheduling.
You know, we don't.
You and I take scheduling very seriously. You look, you looked at Minnesota schedule in the first six weeks, You're like, oh my god, they can go one six. Now you're two and zero. Shit, if you go three and three the back in the middle of that schedule for Minnesota, Detroit doesn't look nearly as good Chicago. You know, we don't know what we're getting. I want to talk to Troit Tampa. So you know, there's the old saying in
almost every industry strike when the iron's hot. So Ben Johnson Lions OC is the hottest guy in the lake. I've watched them back to back weeks. Second half last week, they weren't very good against Tampa. Jared Goff through fifty five times and Tampa had injuries in the back end of their defense. I'm watching them, and I'm like, I mean, Detroit had an edge in first downs, in time of possession, and yet something's missing, like golf should not be throwing
fifty five a game with an average secondary. That was my take on it.
To me. One thing that stood out in that game when you watch the two quarterbacks, Baker's not Lamar Jackson, but he can move. Golf cannot so when you start hitting golf, it really rattles them and throws them off. And that happened today and balls were flying all over the place, a couple awful picks over the middle of the field. He can't add lib like one thing, Donald like watching Donald and perty like. Those guys can move and keep him play alive. Jared Goff cannot. So if
it is not there, and it's not there fast. The other thing is I gotta give this guy credit. Now he's he had a good year last year, won a playoff game, and now he's having a good start. Todd Bowles is an excellent defensive coordinator, I mean excellent. So when you look at that game, you just go Todd Bowles, who's just as a defensive coordinator, non head coach, he might be the best in the league. Against Ben Johnson.
I think the thing with Ben Johnson big picture. He turned a lot of people off last year, Yes, and the word out, the way he handled things. Listen, if you don't want to leave, you don't want to leave. But he calls them as their flying into him. It's been bizarre the ways that's happened. I still think their talent on offense is so immense that it's going to be hard for that over the course of the season. Because Jamison Williams had a big play today, you have
that to go. Saint Brown gets banged up a lot. You watch the Lions and there's a lot of times where he's coming up you're like to hear his knee. He hurt his hip. But they got two good running backs, their offensive line. They should not be struggling to score points. But credit to Tampa. I watched Tampa and go well. Baker's playing well, and Godwin and Evans are as good of a one to two combination. We got one guy's go to the Hall of Fame, and Godwin asked Tom
Brady about him and he loves a freaking guy. They look good college. You know.
The other thing the golf lack of mobility. And I like Jared a lot, but if you if you go to the big games in this league, that mobility thing is why Mahomes is hoisting trophies. He had a forty five yard run in last year's Super Bowl. If you look at Jalen Hurbs, Allen Mahomes, the mobility thing's not a small thing. Now, Kyler was off the freaking rails today.
Oh Jesus, it.
Just insane, best game of his life.
Yeah, but the golf thing isn't a small thing. Is that when you get into these second half, so the first half is almost.
Cousins is the same, Right, they can't move, they're sitting down.
So you get into these situations, your first half is largely the first couple of drives are on script. Maybe your third even a bit. Second half is not. It's not just a little thing to say GoF is incapable of moving. Because this staff's best coaches are on offense. It's not like Belichick, where Belichick was literally just giving Tom Field position turnovers in six So Detroit's going to score their way to championships. They're going to be in
these shootouts. Well, you're not gonna throw for four touchdowns in big games. So one of the things that I took away I wrote in my notes today, Aaron Rodgers is no longer mobile. It completely reduces the Jets offense, which we'll get to next. But Goff's in ability to move. I also wrote this down Baker. Now, I don't know if he lost a little weight. I know Lamar lost weight.
He did. I think he did it last year that he talked about.
Yeah, I think I think Baker's moving better than he's ever moved in his career.
Dramatically. I think just thinking about Goff that game that we just witnessed Cincy, and can't set how often how often those two guys had to scramble to keep plays absolutely And Mahome's probably a little bit better athlete than Joe, but Joe can move fine. Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins fall under this category of they're not like the elite old school pocket quarterbacks, but when they are, you know, they do have time, they can look really good, but
it does have to be perfect. And every defensive coordinator hit the guy early and it throws him off. And GoF got hit early and he just skipping balls. He was just off and he cannot be He physically is incapable at the NFL level to move around and keep it play alive because once the play doesn't hit right away, they either block for an extra couple seconds or they're just screwed. And Cousins falls under the same category. Those
players don't really exist anymore. Colin. All the good quarterbacks, they all can move, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin, Herbert Mahomes, Burrow Purdy, Jalen Hurst. Mobility is a big part of them because half these plays. These defenders, I mean a top of millionaires on that side, defensive coordinators making a lot. You have to be able to keep plays alive. He just cannot. Now. I like him better than Cousins, and
I like his team better. But you saw today like that's like the reason maybe the Lions can't win a Super Bowl is, like, you face enough good defens is, you're gonna be in trouble because he gets thrown off. He looks like a different player than when he's really humming.
It's time for this week's player I thought might give you almost almost anything to redo his game, brought to you by Uber Eats. This week it's Will Levis again, who had an even uglier turnover than last week. Five turnovers for Will Levis. Already through two games, the Titans are zero and two. That was this week's Uber Eats Player of the Week. Get almost almost anything for game day, delivered with Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL uber eats order. Now I want to
talk Jets Tennessee. So the notes I wrote down. You know, I remember hearing years ago that Aaron Rogers didn't love a lot of motion. He didn't like his screwing around. Aaron liked to go to the line, do a motion, don't don't try to trick people. Just let me see the defense and where I can go. And that was and I've heard that on more than one occasion with Aaron. He wasn't a huge fan of all the moment, you know,
the movement, the jumbo sets, the trickery. Just let me get to the line, let me look around, let me see the guys that I can attack. But that doesn't mean you're not going to have some I mean you will watch the Saints and the Niners. Kevin O'Connell's teams. They're really smart teams. Mike McDaniel. Shit, they're moving constantly. The motion percentages are through the roof. The Jets offense that get plays in late there's very little motion. It's
it doesn't challenge Aaron at all. Now, Breese Hall made a hell of a catch in the end zone. But the tight thing about this with Will Levis, who may have the worst judgment of any quarterback I've ever seen. The Titans had more yards, more passing yards, more first downs, and fewer punts than the Jets. In the timeout we're talking. Aaron's a top ten quarterback, Will Levis maybe the worst.
How is that possible? And my takeaway is because I think the better coaching on the offensive side is you know it is the Callahans, But I'm watching the Jets and you know, they won, and I thought they'd win more comfortably. But God, John, I mean, you were a scout in this league. The Jets offense is just put it in Aaron's hands, try to get it to Garrett or Breeze. It doesn't fool anybody.
Yeah, I mean I text you after last week and everyone's like, can't overreact or playing the Niners. Well, we hadn't seen Aaron Rodgers because we didn't see him in the preseason. You talk about movement, He's Jared Goff Kirk Cousins with a much better arm, and a huge part of his brilliance over his career was he's probably the greatest behind the line of scrimmage scramble thrower in the history of the league and that is done. Yeah, so
he is. He's Jared Goff with a stronger arm now, but he doesn't have a great offensive cornwall and their personnel. They have one wide receiver. So what happened today, Well, the Titans traded and paid Snead a lot of money, neutralized Garrett Wilson a little bit. Now they got two players on offense, a running back in a wide receiver. This is not like they don't have a sweet tight end. They don't have a deep wide receiver room. How many
guys do they lose day on defense? Jermaine Johnson. We pass rusher got carted off the field, Mosley got hurt, he didn't come back. Hassan Reddick is already giving up one of the worst business decisions in the history of the world. Eight million dollars just hasn't shown up. So like you can, Soli can say all he wants out of sight, out of mind, you're missing that player. Yeah, so their defense isn't nearly as good as it has been the last couple of years. And then you factor in, Yeah,
Rogers is an upgrade over their quarterback play. Zach Wilson. Whoever the hell they've been rolling out for the last two years. But relative to what they traded for, he's to me a shell of himself. This notion that like, oh, he still throws a great ball. If me and you took Dan Marino out to a high school field right now, Dan Marino would throw a beautiful spiral, right Aaron Rodgers
is gonna throw a beautiful spiral into a seventies. What made him an elite player or a high end player was the athleticism combined with the accuracy and the arms set. The athleticism. Now his movement he feels like more Ridgie doesn't. He's just looking at and he knows it. He's he knows he can't run, he's not trying to run. He looks like a different player still relative for them upgrade. Yeah, but I don't view the Jets is a playoff team at all, Colin. I mean, I think things have to
go so perfectly. They've already got injuries with guys that haven't even been injured before. So what happens when they're injured. Guys get injured.
I said this before the season. I said, folks, if Bryce Hall twists an ankle, just roll your coverage over Garre at Wilson. Aaron doesn't move. He's now ten and eleven in his last twenty one games, and that that game was more about Will Levis. I mean again, Titans had more passing yards, more first downs, fewer punts. That is the worst quarterback in the league.
You know, he's given away literally two games and no question, I mean two games. Their defense, I'm Titans defense just watching football these last couple of weeks has been one of the better units. They have been fantastic. And Will Levis, you were on this a long time ago. Other people have jumped on the bandwagon. I think everyone You're not gonna find a supporter, probably including his coach today. That was he was screaming at him when he had that turnover.
Just it's unheard of. I mean, it's like high school level turnot.
Yeah, you know what it is.
So I called I called somebody in the NFL as a coach who's since been let go, and somebody I've been friends with for five or six years. And I called him and I said, all right. I texted him, I said, hey, can we I got some questions about a couple of guys, and so we talked, and.
You know, he knows I love football, and he.
Asked me about a couple of guys, and he asked me about Will Levis, and I said, it really worries me.
I just see narcissism. I see I see kind of a guy.
You know, the gun show at the you know, at Combine and both those last two games. And I'll kind of wedge this in. He's made mistakes that a selfish player would make. He has made egregiously bad plays with certain different times. Not just those two, but he's made several players where it's like, dude, protect your team in this spot. The Chicago pick is egregious. Protect your team. Will's into Will. Will loves his arm, Will love the way look the head bend. He's cool. I get it.
Confidence matters. But there are times in this league game managing Tom Brady managed a lot of leads, he managed a lot of moments. Will gets into these and it's like, I'm gonna make a play. It's like, bro, Bro, you're tied fourth quarter with Aaron Rodgers. This is a winnable game now. And I just over the course of a game, he really reminds me of Jay Cutler, and Jay Cutler was a guy that was never liked in the room. Aaron Rodgers. We can criticize him. People in the room
like Aaron, people out may not. I think Will Levis could lose a locker room really fast.
Yeah. I don't even know who their backup is, but I mean, to me, you could mention him immediately. I mean, it's I hear that Jay Cutler just kind of the reckless nature. Jay Cutler was in a different universe as a player than Will. I mean, Will Levis is just not an NFL starter. You know, highlight plays and this is what Bill harped on about Caleb in the preseason are meaningless, whether it's the preseason or regular season game.
If you can't do normal stuff well, and then in the big spots like the Joe Burrow fumble, Like to me, I don't really hold that against him kind of freakish play. You have confidence that he can manage a game. That's
why he's such a great player. Where Will Levis now back to back games, coming off a moment where you just did something that was the just everyone who's making fun of you around the league, you think you would kind of overcompensate and really just say hey bad, take a sack if I have to, and he did the opposite, and then as coach freaked out in another winnable game. I mean the Jets were, like you said, all the stats they were against the Ropes, they did not look good. No,
I mean they were losing players. I'm thinking this is going to be really, really bad because the Patriots have been kind of feisty. It's like they wouldn't be some lock to win on Thursday night. And then you find a way to win. You get a momentum, you beat the Patriots, all of a sudden, you feel kind of good about yourself. But I have come away these two weeks being very very concerned. Jets defense is worse than
we had thought, and Rogers, who we just were. I was only going off like NFL Network highlights, thinking like god, Rogers is kind of limping around and you watch a move, he's just he's very ginger. Yeah, and he does not want to leave the little radio four feet radios. We've all been watching the guy for fifteen years. No one was quicker take off, set his feet and throw a strike. Those days are gone.
Yeah, I want to talk about Chargers Panthers. First of all, Bryce Young has an offensive coach and better weapons. He may not be able to play one for twelve on third down sixty nine passing yards. He moves well, he doesn't throw well. But here's what was a big moment in this game. So the Chargers were favored by about six they blew him out. So once again, it is
exactly what we expected. Justin Herbert goes fourteen to twenty has about a half dozen rushes, so you know they get Joe Alt Now they have the elite tackle play, elite edge rusher play, and we worried about they don't have a number one. Well, Quinton Johnson today had five catches and two touchdowns. So Quentin's the guy they got out of TCU. Brandon Staley didn't know.
How to develop him. He was a disaster last year. I'm not sure if he.
Lost his confidence they had thrown into the I mean he was.
Just I didn't even target him last year. He made any heck of a catch day for a touchdown if he hits. So now you got the slot kit out of Georgia.
JK.
Dobbins is like a You see that flip into the end zone like he's a.
Different look looks like a top five or six running back in the NFL.
Right, so now I've got a top ten quarterback. I've got a top five coach JK. Dobbins, I have a run game, elite tackles, elite edge rushers. If Quinton Johnson along with their slot guy out of Georgia. Okay, now, oh you do have a weapon. Because he was a big kid. But he reminded me last year a little bit of Stephen Hill, the bust for the Jets years ago, the wide receiver, the guy that just could run fast, look great in the hotel lobby. But you're like, what
is it not Today? I thought it's amazing, John. Their time of possession advantage was thirty six to twenty three. It's so horrible. It's so Michigan. But I thought to myself, you know what, I'm looking around at these teams. This team could be a twelve win team. John elite tackles, elite quarterback, elite coach, elite ed rushers. Now a star back, time of possession dominance. Now we know the Raiders are better than we thought.
Yeah. I was kicking myself because that game was over fast. That I get Jim Harbaugh against this panther situation and didn't bet at the mortgage, Like what was I doing? You know, Jim, and we've been talking about this. I was in the car this week when he came on with you. His personality is dramatically different than the guy I remember when I was around in San Francisco who had this huge chip on his shoulder and was tight.
It felt like the way the last couple of years in Michigan proving like, hey guys, I'm one of the best in the business. I don't know if it's been the weight's been lifted off his shoulders, but I know this, and I think Jim might have said this to you or I heard him say this somewhere. Is that his dad was at a training camp practice and looked at him and said, I think JK looks like the guy
a couple of years ago before he got injured. If you give Jim Harbaugh a top end running back, because we know he's always gonna have a good offensive lines, why he you know, everyone thought he was nuts, like he's gonna take a wide receiver, Like no, guys, he's gonna take a offensive lineman. And then he calls them skill positions their defense is always going to be solid.
Why one, he's just an elite hier like he hires well so like and John does too, they hire good defensive coaches, so their defense is going to be well coached, even if they're going to be better personnel wise than a couple of years. But like what he does translates. He controls the line of scrimmage on offense, which even if you have a way better offense than him, he keeps you off the field, and that wasn't the case today.
But he can just run it down your throat. So if he can run it down your throat, Jim Harbaugh is a lock to win double digit games in college or the pros. And clearly the Broncos are not going to be very good. I still think the raid one advantage the Raiders had. The Ravens offensive line is not good, and the Raiders do have a good defensive line. Yeah, they were down ten in the fourth quarter and came to him, but it was an impressive win on the rod was But to me, the Ravens I got I
got red flagged. I mean, they got some weird stuff going on. But I think Jim Harbaugh can finish second in this Division with ten or eleven wins and be in the playoffs. Yeah, you know, I don't think he can beat the Chiefs. Their team is not good enough maybe in an individual.
Game, but they are built to beat Kansas City.
Well, they're built to plan an ugly you know, twenty three to twenty game.
Yeah, their time of possessions so far this season are really impressive. And it's just it's it's it's funny because just think about this. Six months ago, before the national before the college football playoffs, seventy percent of fans and media were still doubting Jim Harbaugh. He was getting crushed, he couldn't coach in the Penn State game. He's overrated. And now you look at him and you're like like, stop, stop, media, stop. This guy is absolutely phenomenal. This seem almost reminds me.
Well, he's not very but he's not even hateable anymore. The way he carries himself, the way he interacts. He's actually much more lovable now because he used to have like this aggressive he was tough on the press, definitely publicly. He could befriend him off this version of Jim Harbaugh, and I didn't fall in this closely like in Michigan. Part of it. He was suspended a couple times last year. Just in terms of his daily press conferences. He's a
new man. I mean he's I bet the Spanishes are like God, this is incredible, the way he interacts, how happy he is. I mean, he's just he feels like a different person. Maybe he's sixty now, life's good. I don't know. Southern California. He feels completely different than the guy at Stanford at the forty nine. And I would say early on in Michigan, just his mannerisms, his communication, just his just everyday demeanor. Yeah.
I mean, I think some of it is he's inherited some decent quarterbacks Alex Smith. He's I think he realizes, holy crap, I got a top five quarterback here. That makes everybody happier. And Tom Telasco deserves some credit. They've got players. I mean they just Tom made a mistake. He hired the wrong guy. Brian Dabel was out there. He knew Dabel, but they ended up going with Brandon Staley. If he has Dabel, maybe Jim Harbaugh stays in college.
You know, it's weird how things work. If the doctor for the Miami Dolphins gives Drew Brees the thumbs up. May never go to Alabama, he stays, you know, he was starting to kind of get things.
Going in Miami.
Well, I mean, at the bottom line, if Dabel gets the job and not Brandon Stalely, my take is justin Herbert's good and Harbaugh's probably staying at college one more year. But it's it is interesting to watch them. This team reminds me a little of the Stanford team, which if you go back to the early years, once they got Andrew Luck, you had this great quarterback and he only threw like twenty five times a game. They were pounding it, running down your throat. They had good tackles, they had
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I want to talk Rams Arizona. Listen.
Rams don't know any players. I mean, they're just they're just. Cooper Cup was limped today. Pooka is already out. Tyler Higgsby's out. Let's talk Marvin Harrison and Kyler So Marvin Harrison. The best college receiver I ever saw was Randy Moss. The second was Calvin Johnson. I think Marvin reminds me a little of Calvin Johnson. Size, length, hatching, radius, hands. He didn't run like Moss, either did Calvin. But you're
not going to catch him from behind. But now you know the first week Steve Kim told me he'd watched the film and the tape and he said Marvin was nervous. He was playing slow. He's not really a burner, but in a league you saw it today with the Rams, in a league that has a lack of corners, and you know, with Kyler's ability to run, you have to have a spy. He's going to get some one on one man and they run the football well.
So it's like you.
Start looking at Arizona and you're like, you know, we watched Buffalo handle Miami. Buffalo is probably pretty good team. They took a big lead on them. Harrison is I mean, all of a sudden, they have two backs. Kyler had his best game maybe as a pro. Marvin Harrison and I will argue this. I think their coach is good on his side of the ball. I think they play their ass off defensively. What do you make of Arizona and Kyler?
I don't know where Kyler ranks, you know, one through twelve or whatever. He's probably close to ten through twelve than he is three or four. But when he's on, there can't there's a short list of players that you would rather watch. Wow, he is as entertaining as they get. Like what Deshaun Watson has become like no one wants to watch him. Kyler's the opposite. He's like, this is awesome. He's always gonna have some limitations in the pocket just
because of height, but just a pure talent. You know, you've been watching sports longer than me. He has to be one of the great true blue chip just talents in the history of sports to have that much capability to do the things he can do at five foot nine. I mean his speed, his arm strength, his accuracy on
the move. Obviously, Harrison's a really good player. One thing I heard in the offseason when he got drafted is the one transition part for Marvin Harrison was going to be the overwhelming majority of players Heath saw in college these last couple of years were guys not NFL corners for a lot of guys in the Big Ten. And he came to the NFL and he's immediately facing the
first week the Bills. Rasuell Douglas. This guy's making ten million dollars a year, probably has a couple kids at home, drives a range row that lives in a mansion, and he's trying to take your lunch and Marvin, it was going to be a wake up moment. And today they don't exactly have Jalen Ramsey out there anymore, so you get a confidence he gets an early catch. I loved from a gambling perspective betting on Marvin Harrison whatever his props were, because last week it was so like it
was such a big story. You knew they were going to try to feed him the ball right to get his confidence moving. They have a lot of talent, Like if Kyler's just he doesn't need to play like today. But if he's playing well, Trey McBride, if you just did this draft from scratch with GMS, would be a top five touch tight end. James Connor is a running back no one talks about. Whenever I was last year, this guy could play on my team and he dad yes, and like you said, my buddies with Philly, I know
the way it ended right. Defensively, he got a lot of shit Gannon. They love the guy and they and I remember hearing like he might be a better head coach than he was a pure schematics guy, because how good he is with players, how good of a leader he is, the way he carries himself. He's a really smart guy. I don't know if they're a playoff team because the one thing with Kyler is he can be a very up and down. He's got a streak exactly like he could score thirty in the next game he
scores five points like Buddy. But but when he's healthy, he is a He's He's on a top five list of guys that would keep defensive coordinators up throughout the week because he can do stuff like that.
And like Minnesota, we may not love their overall roster, but you look at Minnesota's offensive pieces and they don't even have Jordan Madison. Yet it's like Minnesota's got left tackle, backed tight end, two receivers, quarterback coach, like they got dogs. I mean Arizona McBride, the two backs, Marvin Harrison, they had another kid make a nice catch in the back
of the end zones like Kyler. I just watched them today and I'm like, I mean the two teams in the league that I've watched and I've went, Wow, Saints and even though they're one and one, Arizona that first half against Buffalo, Buffalo was on the ropes.
The one thing Kyler and if you remember back, you know, was it three or four years ago when they started like eleven and one, he can like he wears down over the course of the year, as guys do get shots on him when he is healthy and clearly he is right now he can be like an MVP candidate. Can he look like that? And one thing that's very clear and the two a hit which was awful to
watch was avoidable. He got a slide. Jaden Daniels, another guy, incredible runner, cannot slide the smart quarterbacks, like I thought the moment that to a moment happened, I was like, I bet every quarterback beside like golf, because you don't even need to show him this. And Kirk Cousins is gonna watch that like ten times with their quarterback coach,
like you guys are too important to us to not slide. Yes, this is not the nineteen eighties and seventies, but you will still get injured if you run into these defenders. And if Kyler, who is a baseball player, is a good slider and it's so fast, can get to the edges and get out of bounce, can avoid just the meaningless hits you don't need. Jayden Daniels is taking like he has such a special talent, but he's taking so many meaningless brutal that just wears you over the course
of the year. And eventually if a guy holds you up and another guy's coming in, it could injure season. Non I'm talking breaking a clavicle, breaking an arm. And I do think Kyler's now been around a long time and he has the capability to slide. He just every time he runs should never get tackled, right, And if I was them, I would never never call like a Josh Allen power run between the tackles. Any run beside
when he's scrambling around is an edge run. But how do you not call something for him because he is that today? This is where you get if you're the Rams and the Bengals. When you lose, like the Rams lost a coin flip game week one, then all of a sudden, it's snowballs. Now they're getting the Niners, who are also going to be pissed off who kind of owned you all of a sudden. You look, we're zero to three and we think we're pretty good. You know
that can happen the Bengals. Same thing. All of a sudden, it's like, oh, that's why you got to take advantage when you have those coin flip games.
I will say this, San Francisco lost, Baltimore Rams zho and two. It is a long season. I will stay Bengals. Yeah, I'm gonna circle back though, of all those teams big picture, let's wrap it up with this big picture of all the teams that are scrapping. I like Cincinnati. First of all, T Higgins is coming back. They just lost a game they could have won against Kansas City. That's a pretty damn good loss. Joe Burrow's fantastic. Burton will become more
of a player. You know, he's just a young receiver. You got guys like him. Over a four or five game stretch, can become a different player. I think Baltimore's oh lines of mass. I think the Rams all lines a mess. Those are real concerns. I look at Cincinnati, John if they reeled off eight straight wins, I wouldn't be surprised.
Well, they win every They beat every team in the league beside the Chiefs today. Right, I mean so that like that version of the game is a twelve thirteen win team. So I'm with you. I just you know, the Borough injury is always in the back of your head. Can he stay healthy? I just they do? You know, Jamar Chase, you have to wonder if his outburst is a little A lot going on with his contract now he says I'm good for the season. They just got
a lot going on. You know. T Higgins is having to answer questions like is he faking an injury because he's pissed off of the contract. This is this is a spot that if you told me, like Tomlin, you know John Harbaugh or Jim Harball was handling the guys Beck he can handle it. You see Zach trying to get Jamar Chase younger guy, even though he's now been a head coach for a what it's a tough position. It's not easy, but I'm with you. I mean, they're
just when Joe's right, they're really good. The one team that I'm concerned of that I liked as a playoff team was our guy, Chris Ballard and Shane Steiken win Indy their quarterback to lose. I loved the Colts because I was like Malik Willis and then Malik Willis looked better than an Anthony Richardson, you know Bo Nicks or the rookie quarterback and he was bad andthy Richardson what was that? Well?
And it concerned you because Steiken had Herbert as a rookie. Herbert set NFL rookie records. He made Jalen Hurts an MVP level player. This is the best off one he made Gardner Minshew last year. I mean Minshew had those guys on the doorstep. This Richardson thing, It's like he may be a remarkable player, but staffs matter. I mean, Malik Willis in the first half with Lafleur in that culture looked better than he ever did in Tennessee. I mean Tennessee gave up on that guy for about two games.
He looked like, oh he could.
He were good. I gave got credit. He was good.
So now Shane Steichen's had an entire off season with Anthony Richardson that was a mess. He looked lost.
I do think what's scary is I think if you look at every you know, the highest level of sports, right just because you throw one hundred and two miles an hour, you could have the best pitching coach, he might not teach you how to throw strikes. You could be, you know, the most talented guy in the NBA, and you could get Chip England, the shooting coach, and he just can't help you out to make you know open shots.
I do think in football, for every Josh Allen and guys that are able to improve their accuracy historically speaking, there are way more examples of guys that are just all over the map and right now, whether it's like we talked about Sam Darnold, it was way too sped up early on in his career, had a small You watch him, he is kind of set at times and the ball just flies. Yes, I mean like he has
no he has no clue where it's going. You're like, oh, I don't know what you can do as a coach to fix that level of wells.
Think about this, Malik Willis as Malik Willis as a spot starter, they had a forty minute to nineteen minute time of possession advantage with Shane Steikn.
I mean, well, because when you're that inaccurate, you're gonna you're gonna give up plays. You're not gonna roll any time.
Okay, So just look at the accuracy of Herbert as a rookie and Hurts as a young player, and we don't think the Packers defense is great. Shit, Philadelphia ran.
Up and down like, oh, they looked terrible, terrible.
He threw the ball thirty four times, he completed fifty percent, he had three picks, and he looked lost. So this is one of those things where Steiken has made every quarter he's taken, every quarterback he's had, and now I think Herbert will become what he was. With him, He's made everybody better. He had an off season like I wants that today, and I'm like, Malik Willis has better than that Richard at least.
Yeah, in all interceptions like you were saying earlier, are not the same, Like Dak and Goff threw someone bad games off over the middle of the field, Like it's gonna happen. Those guys whatever, I still have faith in them over the course of the year. This is a guy that if you're like, hey, you can jump off the bandwagon right now, I think you'd have to lean that way. I guess it's possible to correct it. It feels like it would be have to be a pretty
hard correction on this player. Because the other thing is Jalen people question like his arm strength and his past, but he did have Like this guy played for Saban, then he went to Lincoln Riley Gardner Minshew had already been a starter in the NFL. That this guy has a very limited track record in college and the pros and accuracy was a huge question mark. And the other thing you see is Jalen does have touch, like he's a great deep ball thrower down the sideline. This guy
has no change up. Everything is going at warp speed. And when everything's going at warp speed, it is very difficult to be considered an accurate quarterback. And the other thing is Paul's fly off. Guy's hands go up in the air and usually a safety is behind your offensive player. It's gonna lead to a lot of This guy could easily lead the league interceptions this season, I would I would say he's the betting favorite.
Well, and as we talket Green Bay Colts, I think the one thing that I've really noticed is, you know, you always have to be careful. The grass is always greener, and you know Aaron's seeing it.
Now.
You go from Matt Lafleur to Matt Hackett. You know, you go from the Packers always have a stable offensive line to the Jets.
Kind of makeshift.
You go from no owner stability, Mark Murphy to the Jets impulsive ownership. Is I think Matt Lafleur got a little lost because you know, McCarthy won a Super Bowl and then he takes over and he had some playoff struggles and we always lump those on Matt Lafleur. That's why you're losing in the playoffs. Matt Lafleur, I gotta tell you, I'm watching Jordan Love at the end of last year and I'm watching Malik Willis today, and those
guys are both talented. But Jordan Love last year to start the season, John was raw, like he looked like he just wasn't what Jordan Love went from I mean really bad to like an MVP over the course of the season, like you you know, you know, you don't get an off season. You're in the middle of it. Malik Willis today and again, maybe I'm making too much. That'll be the only game he starts, but I was like, shit, he's totally under control.
The other thing is this is not a player that was with them in OTA's and training camp. They traded for him at the end of the fifty three man.
That's right.
You could argue through two weeks the most impressive win of the season is Matt Lafleur winning a game with Malik Willis. I would say that's an incredible accomplished.
Incredible and I think we've all because they struggled last couple of years with Aaron in the playoffs, I.
Think he took the hit on that.
But I always feel with Aaron, and this is not disrespectful Aaron, but Aaron was going to blow him off on certain play. Aaron's gonna do what Aaron.
Wants to do.
So it was a fifty to fifty offense. I mean, Aaron's coachable, but he was gonna do what he want to do.
You know.
Matt wanted him to play under center in the Shanahan offense to give him a lot of layups, and Aaron fought against it because he loved being in the shotgun, like you said, and seeing everything. And they kind of met in the middle, and what happened. He started to win MVPs. Matt Ryan pushed against it early on because you turn your back once you get comfortable shooting fish in a barrel for those type guys. But Aaron loved doing his thing in the shotgun and now he can
just run his offense. But today I don't even he just to corral Malik Willis with probably less than ten to twelve plays. I mean, it's just I don't care how bad the Colts are on defense. What a win for the package, I.
Know, huge win, you know, I almost look at that Brazil game with the and I'm just like, okay, the youngest team in the league went to Brazil. They stayed like two hours away from the stadium. Was like, I don't even count that.
It just matters how quick they You know, is Jordan Love going to miss a month? Is he able to come back in a week? You know? I mean they kind of slow played us this week. Clearly he wasn't gonna play, But is he Is he closer to being ready next week or is he a month away? Like if they can get them back in two or three weeks and just go five hundred with Malik Willis, they'd be off and running and you'd be like, oh, yeah,
they were like at the beginning of the season. I like them to be in the playoffs.
On more NFL Scout, his podcast is three and out. He's as good as they get. We crushed it, buddy, I'm gonna go watch the Bears.
Same And do you know what, really before you get that, I like, once we get into like week four or five and they're bye weeks, it is really hard to watch eight games a once. Like guy had to go like, yeah, I'm just not gonna watch the Browns and Jacks, right now I don't need to. There's just too many games going on in the morning.
No. I mean that Washington, New York was actually wildly entertaining, but I had that on I can't pay attention to it all right, Buddy, thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate and review