NFL 2025 Week 6 Preview + TNF Recap

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Yeah, man, like

this city, this place is starving for winds, and we kill it.

And, you know, me and Scott talk about it all the time of, you know, just trying to stack these.

And quite honestly, we felt like we kind of left out these meetings from last week.

And

this was a special one for sure.

Heyo,

Jackson Dart

with his Teak brother

TKE

Cam Scataboo with the Amazon crew

after a thrashing of the defending champion Eagles, New York Giants 34, Eagles 17 at Araucus Meadowlands, Giants fans, many of them still smarting after the Yankees got sent home by the blue jays

24 hours earlier what about the yankees fans that are also jets fans them um and yet and yet uh all i can think about is i'm watching that game connor or and mark sesser will be joining us in just a bit it's mark's birthday tomorrow and he he's having a nice night out with his uh lovely gal so um wish mark a happy birthday If you run into him tonight and tell him to go home.

The thing about

football, Connor, and one of the things I love about football is it is the ultimate team game, and yet it is that quarterback position

that everything rotates around.

And that decision by Brian Dable

to turn, who knows if it was his decision, but to turn to Jackson Dart,

he has...

just revitalized the entire organization.

And you saw it in this game.

And it's not just Dart that's playing well and performing well for the Giants who've now won won two of three

and beat the Eagles so convincingly, but Dart's very presence and what he brings to the field, in addition to playing at a high level, it's just a reminder of the power of the quarterback position and how it has the ability to shape-shift an entire organization seemingly overnight.

The Giants were rolling with

scared the shit out of me.

Yeah, me too.

Yeah.

The Giants were rolling with Lil Jordan Humphrey, who they took off the practice squad at wide receiver, and

then Wandale Robinson.

And this is the...

It's a version of the Brian Dable Josh Allen playbook, right?

You're going to win with mobility first.

You're going to let him break down the defense, extend the play, and make smart throws.

And this is exactly what Dart's done over the first three weeks of the season.

13 rushes, which I'm sure we can later get into that discussion about dialing it back, especially since he speared his head into an opponent.

And Dable had some talking to later on.

But

we said this after the first win.

It's a lifting of all boats.

I mean, you know, little Jordan Humphrey, Theo Johnson, like all these guys are playing better now that he's in the lineup.

Yeah, I thought it was so kind of telling and funny, quite frankly, that, and yeah, Dart, as we talked about on the preview on Wednesday with Colleen, like, as fun as it is to watch Dart throw his body and throw caution to the win, one of these times he's not going to get up.

And as he's laid out right at the Giants' helmet at midfield at one point in the second half, it was like, oh, no.

And Russell Wilson, poor Russell Wilson, gets on the field.

He hands the ball off, throws one incomplete pass, and he gets booed out of New Jersey.

But that goes to show you

how the fans have turned the page, and they don't want anything to do with Giants football.

It doesn't have Dart on the field.

And that includes Brian Dable.

Brian Dable, who chose Russell Wilson over Dart to start the season, now knows Dart is so important not only to the Giants' success and failure the rest of the way, but to Dable's job security.

He's a savior for Dable now.

The way he berated that

head injury specialist, that's independent neurologist or whatever,

just because, like, the guy's just doing, do you have that, Justin?

The guy's just doing his job, going through the necessary protocol, which is a good thing, by the way.

Dable seeks out this poor doctor, and he doesn't want to hear it.

He's like, get my cornerback back on the field.

Russell Wilson just threw a pass.

Are you mad?

So, yeah, and that was 27-17, late in the third quarter.

Dart does come back after missing those two plays, finishes the game, and just a complete effort from the Giants.

Scataboo goes 19 for 98 and three touchdowns.

Little Jordan Humphrey, like you said, makes an impact.

Wandell Robinson has a beautiful touchdown on a bad, bad Eagles missed tackle and a lot of effort issues with the Eagles.

Do we want to talk about the Eagles?

Because the other part of the story is the other part of this story is the Eagles are

not in a good place right now.

And we were talking about this kind of even before they took their first loss that there was something that, you know, something had to give.

They weren't going to continue to win games if they didn't play better.

Now they're starting to lose games.

There's two losses in a row.

And this one, not only did they kind of get taken out to the woodshed in the second half of this game, outscored 14-0.

There are some real questions about effort and some of the tackling.

It was called out by Herb Street multiple times, and you just wonder where this team is sitting at 4-2.

That's the thing.

I mean, we can sit here and talk about, oh, play propensity, or, you know, they attack this gap or whatever.

And that's a healthy conversation to have in some games.

But I felt that this was a vibes game.

This was an effort game.

And the Eagles just didn't check the box on any way, shape, or form.

When Jalen Hurts threw that pick six, he had A.J.

Brown wide open in in the end zone.

He had Devonta Smith wide open downfield.

He was missing throws.

Guys were missing tackles.

And when you're missing Jalen Carter, it's that black hole in the middle of your offensive line that allows Cam Scadabo to kind of beat you up over the course of a game.

And we all have had those games.

We've been in team sports where you just feel physically overmatched in one night.

The question is whether this is a season-long thing for the Eagles now, because...

I don't know, man, on the sideline, I just get these vibes that they're just like, they're done with it.

You know, like A.J.

Brown, the way that he looks, Devontae Smith talking at each other, it just looks like they're over the whole thing.

And you know where the narrative goes there.

It points the spotlight right at the offensive coordinator.

Yeah, and the offense, yeah, I thought the miss by,

and this isn't on Petula, obviously,

because it was schemed up well.

It was actually a busted coverage by the Giant.

And as you mentioned, Hurts overthrows Devontae Smith by about six or seven yards on what would have been a gimme 60, 70 yard touchdown.

If he hits that pass, maybe this is a different game but that in instead felt like the beginning of the end and and yeah i thought i thought it was interesting some of the

um the decision-making some of the business decisions made by the eagles a dori jackson on on one of those uh camp scataboo uh touchdowns where he just kind of half-heartedly throws his um shoulder into the fray you're not taking down a player like camp scataboo that way and you know you're that that tape lives that tape lives and you you put that out there and then later in the game you you had a quote from,

again, I thought he was all over it curb street in this game.

He says, Eagles are chalked right now, which I had to look up, but chalked means kind of resigned to, you know, things not going your way.

Eagles are chalked right now, just completely disengaged.

So right now, I guess Sirianni's talking, but...

And I'm not taking any victory lap about Siriani.

We'll see how this season all plays out.

But this is a test.

This is a bit of a flashpoint for the Eagles season.

Are they going to right the ship or or are they going to have something that mirrors the collapse that they had down the stretch two seasons ago?

There are some similar vibes that I'm sensing with this team right now.

I know it's a much better team.

It's such a more talented team.

You still have Fangio there, and that helps you.

But I don't know.

Let's keep an eye on these Eagles.

That's all I'm going to say.

This was the worst Eagles' defensive performance since Vic Fangio became their defensive coordinator.

I think they're bottom half in every major offensive efficiency category.

But like the depiction that sold it for me was: there was this pass rush for Brian Burns early in the game, who had an awesome night.

And Jordan Milata just swallows him up.

And you feel the discrepancy in size between those two people.

And you're like, oh my God.

And Saquon Barkley had a couple nice runs really early in the game, but then all of a sudden it changed.

And they were running stunts on this offensive line.

They were running games on this offensive line.

They were getting in the backfield.

And they just looked like, I don't know, like Samson without his hair.

It was incredible.

What is going on with you, Justin?

Are you just emptying out the giant strop folder right now?

Yeah, trying to actually

show right now.

I'm trying to play every giant sound I have.

We're hyped, baby.

What is this?

Is this because you have one of your 700 gambling tickets?

Is

giants over five and a half?

Is that what this is about?

That is a large part of it.

Pay out $2,150.

Oh, yeah, $10.

I mean, you make like 10 of these bets at $10.

It adds up pretty quick.

Yeah.

Crushing it, babe.

Unbelievable.

Crazy game.

I also, a little bonus, a little bit of a bonus for me that public opinion is starting to shift toward the old Zeuser on the tush push.

What an absurd showing.

What are they running four times in a row?

There's a false start at one point.

When they finally score, the Eagles dude, there's a giant injured on the bottom of the pile.

Connor,

as the Joker once said,

get what you f ⁇ ing deserve.

Come to the bright side, Connor.

You know it's a bad play.

You know it's boring and bad for football.

Join me.

Join me.

You don't even have to apologize.

Just join me.

As soon as we ban the Rams from knuckleball kicking and the Panthers from knuckleball kicking and everybody else for doing something cool that another team can't do.

Sorry.

Can't do it.

All right.

All right.

Well, I thought it was worth a try.

But I do see a shift in public opinion.

And there's nothing better than a shift toward your once deeply unpopular opinion.

Oh, look at Micah Parsons is on my side.

Yeah, this is the one in your corner.

You want to associate yourself with all that guy's takes?

All right, before we get to the rest of the

week six preview and we welcome in Ceci from another dimension, how about a nice thing to kind of

always a fun energy?

And by the way, Philadelphia,

New York sports in a very weird place right now, and Dart did a nice job mentioning it's been a tough time for the New York sports scene for a long time now.

So maybe the Giants are pumping some life and some fun back into the place.

Tough night for Philadelphia sports because the Phillies get eliminated, walked off by the Dodgers in about the first quarter of this game.

And then you have this loss to the hated Giants.

And, you know, the Eagles fans that were in that building were probably medicating, self-medicating, put it that way.

Nice little cap to this particular game.

Oh, man.

This is my favorite tweet possibly ever.

And this was a coworker of mine, but Brooks Cabina from the athletic tweeted, I can't believe this just happened.

A guy in an Eagles jersey being led by cops in the corridor in handcuffs looks over at the media waiting outside the locker room and breaks into a smile of recognition and says, Hey, it's Zach Berman.

And Zach is one of my great friends in the business.

He covers the Eagles for the athletic.

He is an amazing human being.

And like, and the kindest, gentlest person ever.

And so you just look at the, just imagining the dichotomy between this man being hauled off to jail and this very picture.

I picture him sounding like Barney from Moe's Tavern.

Hey, it's Zach Berman.

I have to say this.

The bowels of MetLife Stadium are one of my favorite places in the world.

There's a state police outpost there, and everything is circular.

So you can walk around 360 degrees as long as you have the pass to get down there.

And I would do that sometimes where, you know, if teams are taking forever to get to the locker room, you could see drunks just getting dragged into that place from every angle of the stadium and they're just hollering and it's just, it's the best.

It really is.

It's like a cattle call.

Got to get down there.

That's funny.

What's going on, big blue?

Hey, it's 406 in a trap.

You know, I don't even have time.

We're out of time.

We have to get to the show, but I have Scataboo comments and thoughts and

imaginary scenarios that might be realistic scenarios about some conversations Giants PRs had with Cam Scataboo.

I'm going to leave it there as a breadcrumb and we'll get into it next week.

But anyway, let's take a quick, quick stop down here, and then we will head and dive into the rest of week six with Mark Sessler.

Stay right there.

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All right, we are back.

TNF in the rear view.

And you know what that means.

It's time to dig into the rest of week six.

Also, week W

E A K 6.

I mean, let's be real.

Not the greatest slate of football games, but there's a couple bangers on here, Conman.

A couple bangers.

I was going to say, I'm actually pretty jacked up about this week.

We have, I mean,

sell it, baby.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, Seahawks Jags is legitimately a

top five game.

Yeah.

And don't, and just not to, I don't want anybody to get excited because over on the Patreon when we do our week six draft that the games are going to watch, I'm taking that game.

That's the first overall pick.

I'm taking it.

Okay.

And it's one of those first overall picks like the bengals uh when they took joe burrow it's like not only do we know that i'm taking that game uh i'm not even picking up the phone you know what i mean remember when jamal adams got so pissed that the jets were like we'll pick up the phone if someone calls about a safety um

no don't even call me

because i don't want to get that game mad at me like jamal got mad at the jets I mean, you've taken a little bit of juice out of our Patreon show by telling us how the whole first act goes, but that's just the first pick.

But just so you know, that's how good that game is.

And we're gonna connect into the little spicy side games too, and right?

There's some little juice out there.

Yeah, I'm just I'm working on subterfuge and trying to build a little network of compromising material.

And we'll see if I end up with the game or not.

That's all.

Ooh, spicy.

All right.

Well, there's the sell for the patreon.com/slash heed the call.

All right, let's uh let's get going.

You know, in past weeks, we've we've started with either the late window or the earlier window on Sunday, but because

uh the primetime Sunday night night game is so spicy, let's start there this week.

The number one,

some would say by default, because they won and literally everyone else pretty much lost in our top 10 last week, the Lions.

But to the credit of the Detroit Lions,

after the week one flop against the Packers and week one flops happen to the best of teams, they have been maybe the best, most consistent team in football since.

Now 4-1, traveling to Arrowhead to get the Chiefs chiefs in primetime the number six chiefs in our uh power ranking so this group collectively still believes that the chiefs are a powerhouse but you know what they're two and three and here's the craziest stat to get into this one con man

farbuck farbuck and maybe one that was shouldn't be a surprise because these things tend to average out but also is a surprise because we have a we have a an image of the Chiefs that we we expect now over the last half decade or so.

They are 0-3 in one score games after after going 11-0 last year in one-score games.

And that has been the difference between this Chiefs team and other Chiefs teams, at least in the one-loss category.

That's incredible.

And it's, I don't know if it's a pendulum swing, but this is eventually what happens.

And we've said this about the Vikings for years.

How long can they remain a great one-score team?

Well, if all tenants are there, you could remain a great one-score, one, one-score team forever.

But I think that as we try to understand the Chiefs in this new iteration of it, they're going to make uncharacteristic mistakes.

They're going to lose uncharacteristic games.

The question is, do they still show up in December when we expect them to be who we thought they were?

Well, like, we're not probably talking about this.

Not to remove plays from a game that actually happened, but an uncharacteristic pick six by Patrick Mahomes.

We haven't seen a lot of those.

And literally Trevor Lawrence tripping twice and then stumbling into the end zone.

The statistic wouldn't occur if it weren't for that.

And, you know, Dan, you pointed it out when I was like a little sketchy on the Chiefs offense last week that they put up 476 yards against the Jaguars.

And you can kind of see it coming into shape here.

And my one concern for Detroit, because I have no problem putting them at number one right now, they seem to be rounding into the Lions that we know.

And I don't care if they're playing at home or away.

I like them in this game, but they're pretty banged up in the secondary.

And the one thing that Kansas City has been,

and maybe to will to speak to their lack of balance, because they're leading rusher is Patrick Mahomes, but a deep shot offense through the air.

Like it's Xavier Worthy, it's Taekwond Thornton, it's Marquise Brown.

You're gonna get Rashid Rice back.

It's like this is how you take care of a Detroit secondary that's pretty banged up right now.

That's your advantage if you're Kansas City.

Are you gonna put up 450 every week?

I don't think so,

but they're not as plotting as they had seemed in the past to me.

I love this game as a shootout.

I think, yeah, you mentioned Detroit secondary.

They're missing a lot of guys back there right now.

And that's going to be an issue because, like you said,

the Chiefs are finding some balance.

Xavier Worthy was a little more quiet last week.

Travis Hunter, we'll get into him later.

Did a nice job on him.

But

they're finding the deep game again.

Kelsey has looked a little bit better in the last couple of weeks.

The running game is still a work in progress, but Patrick Mahomes continues to be one of the best rushing quarterbacks in football this year, which that's mitigated some of the issues they've had on the ground.

So I think the Chiefs will continue to score points.

I think Detroit, though, is a team that you don't want to get in a shootout with.

So like while I am always, and I continue to be, even after coming off another, you know, island game loss for the Chiefs, I still always like their chances, especially in their building.

I don't know if any team really wants to get into a shootout with the Detroit Lions in the year 2025.

So I see the Lions

coming out on top in a game where both teams could end up in the 30s here.

Do we think that the Lions are interested in a shootout or do they think that they watched what happened against the Jaguars last week when, you know, and this isn't an indictment on Chris Jones, but he got so upset about the criticism of, you know, not finishing a play that he deleted his social media account.

And the Lions have been lining up in 13 with extra tight ends and just banging the hell out of people over the last few weeks.

And I'm wondering if, and it's weird, their drop back success rate is actually better than their rushing success rate, which is kind of a, it's not your stereotypical Lions team.

And I'm wondering if that, and it's not much different, but I'm wondering if this is the game where they're like, let's see.

I mean, let's see how interested Chris Jones is in bouncing back.

And if he's in, if he's vintage Chris Jones, then we pivot.

But I don't know.

I'm interested in that.

14-play, 15-play drives, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Important to note here, this is the final game without Rashi Rice also in the Kansas City attack.

His suspension will toll uh after this game and he'll be back in action for kansas city who i believe they have the raiders in week seven so that at home so that's a get-right game obviously for them uh but if you fall to two and four you're really kind of behind the eight ball and and you know what their goal is it's not only to win the afc west but to secure home field advantage uh this is a a topsy-turvy year to say the least in the AFC so I don't put it past them even if they lose this game but if they can win this game I think it validates anyone like He the Call who have them in the top seven or the top six of football right now, that they're okay

and they're only going to get a lot better when Patrick Mahomes gets his best wide receiver on the field in a full-time capacity.

It's a great test and a great game to watch.

I'm looking forward to it.

Let's move on.

Let's pivot now to the late games.

And let's start with another good matchup here.

Okay, the game of the week.

Let's go with, yeah, let's go with the 49ers, number eight in the HDC Power Rankings, a 4-1 coming off that tremendous

win, gutty win in Los Angeles with Mac Jones at the number four Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Obviously, Baker Mayfield and the Bucs are playing great football.

Another game where they just pull it out at the end, this time against Seattle after the late Darnold interception.

Mark, this game

is another fun one to watch, and the 49ers kind of set the record straight for a lot of people.

Like, we could go and win a big game, even in a compromised state, because I think we're going to get more Mac Jones here if he's healthy enough to play.

Yeah, and Mac Jones is, you know, is a purdyite.

Mac Jones has been the equal, if not what looks like to be a pretty juicy fit for Kyle Shanahan.

And

it's not a quarterback controversy yet, but

we're creeping there.

He's going to turn up the heat a little bit on that front if he plays well.

And it looks like just that he should be okay according to John Lynch.

The knee issue won't keep him off the field this game.

It sounds like he's going to play, and I think that that probably wasn't in great doubt.

But I think you're right that it's like it's a discussion, right?

How do quarterback controversies begin as discussions and talking heads, talking about it?

And Brock Purdy came in and didn't look too good.

And who knows what's up with his toe injury down the road here?

But Mac Jones has fit right in.

And to go and do what they did against the Rams kind of was a a statement of like, look, it's us against the world injury-wise, and we're still the Niners.

And that, I think, if anything, helps Tampa Bay because it's like, we're not going to get caught off guard.

I find the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the most enjoyable team to watch in football right now.

We will talk later with Baldy about Sam Darnold, but Baker Mayfield is the other part of that quarterback equation where it's like he is playing out of his mind.

This is an MVP candidate.

I love the fact that Amika Abuka is one of the most exciting young wideouts in the game.

And Justin, can we maybe just,

we can say his name, but could this person say his name?

Could we possibly throw that up here?

Baker Mayfield also did it without his number one wide receiver, Mike Evans.

And you got to give credit to this rookie sensation wide receiver out of Ohio State, Amika Igbigbu, going for over 100 yards.

Amika Ibuka.

I'm getting confused.

Are you going?

I have a take on this.

Can I share it?

Me too.

And I get it.

I get it that

Fox knows that Terry is

in the sunset portion of his career.

But it's a little on my radar.

Gronk, who obviously is not a great intellect, but he has a certain level of charisma, including, and also is obviously incredibly famous due to his success.

and the Gronk branding of it all.

So it's like we have our village idiot ready to just slide in.

But to have two village idiots, and I'm not saying they are idiots, Terry Bradshaw and Rob Gronkowski, but I'm saying that's how they're positioned on the show, gives the entire Fox production such a dumbed-down idiocracy-type vibe that I cannot watch it.

And one last point.

How about Michael Strahan, you know, one of the great geniuses of our time?

They cannot wait to jump on Grok every time he stumbles over a word or says something that could be construed as maybe not overly intelligent.

They go nuts on this guy.

And I assume he has thick skin because this has been his brand.

But like, I see what you're doing to Stray Hand.

I don't like any of it.

Well, it also sounds like I was just doing that to him.

So I think what I like about that is that,

by the way, Justin brought this to us earlier in the week.

And I personally was like,

I'm not into it.

But I also understand a lot of people are.

So that's why it's cool that it's on the show now.

It is for me,

Connor, it's phonetics.

It's the way he said Amika egg big boo.

Like the way he butchered it.

Like I'm not looking to take, I don't need Gronk to solve mathematical problems like Goodwill Hunt.

Like big boo.

Exactly.

Like I just like the way he messed it up.

Fair enough.

Amika egg big boo.

I think as someone who just, you know, is in the football ecosystem for a living and I'll write an article and accidentally slip up and be like, oh, the Rams were in personnel, 13 personnel, 11% of the time.

And then you get 95 tweets that's like, you're the biggest dumbass in the world and should die.

And then like Rob Gronkowski gets to say that.

And everyone's like, here's $10 million in a Tomahawk steak.

And it's like, okay,

you're daylight, man.

A Tomahawk steak.

No, that's what I mean.

It's like Gronk is, he's signing up for it, but like the entire summation of his brand on that show is, haha, get a load of this f ⁇ ing idiot.

I wonder if that takes a toll behind the scenes.

Is there any pregame show that brings enjoyment to you?

Because I can't think of it.

Is that a real question?

Because I can give you a real answer.

I know the answer.

I mean, it's like that.

These are spaceships from the mid-1990s being sent to us.

Exactly.

All right.

Anything else on this game?

I think that this might be Kyle Shanahan's finest season to date so far.

I'm just very excited to see him cook on this one.

All right.

I like that a lot.

And while we're here with Igboo Boo or whatever, like like,

this guy is not just good, but great.

And one thing that's been different about him,

he is, Baker and him have like synced up on deep passing, which I think people weren't expecting from his game.

There was a stat that he has more downfield, explosive plays.

I think he's up to five already in his rookie season than he had in all of his time at Ohio State.

So like that, that shows that, again, smart organizations with good quarterbacks.

It's like, wait, this guy can do even more than he was doing in college.

And that makes him a well-rounded potential superstar wide receiver.

And good for the Bucs.

Drafting well, adding players that have talent, building something, identifying a quarterback that you can grow with.

What a novel concept in Tampa.

Anyway, it's almost as if the general manager had a reason to be slightly piqued at Connor's critique a couple of years years ago in print.

I think I can share this.

I had shared with the team my prediction for this year, which was 12-5 and to go to the NFC title game.

And I said, well, clearly, this person will be tickled by this.

I mean, that's a very complimentary thing

after you were so upset about it.

But I had them going 0-2.

to start.

And all I got back was the circling of the first two games because there was a graphic that came with the schedule.

And all I got back were a circling of the first two games sent right back to me.

Like, I still can't believe you don't believe in us.

And I was like, I picked you guys to win 12 games to go to the end of the day.

Damn, but that's you know what that is?

It's graduated to, it's a flirtatious relationship.

Like, that's a little lighthearted teasing.

That's a little like you're working behind the bar together and like, you got to get by, squeeze by to grab a glass and you do a little tickle on the side.

You got a little tickle on the rib cage there.

All right.

Oh, I want to hear before we move on Baker.

Baker is

what a figure of

shifting narratives around Baker, how he's viewed, not just as a player, but as a personality.

He was asked about that in his press conference and I thought the answer was entertaining.

How much fun was it for you after jawing pre-game in the tunnel with that Seahawks fan and being able to have the last word?

Free fun.

Baker, is there something where you kind of realize maybe your younger years,

I don't know if you were as accepted for doing some of that stuff, and now it does seem, it seemed like it's a little bit more embraced.

You know, people gravitate to it a little bit more, the narrative changes around that.

Do you notice that?

Yeah, I mean, that's, I told you guys that I try and not get too high, not get too low, which is something that I was not doing early on in my career.

But, you know, early on in my career,

yeah, it's looked as cocky, cocky, immature.

Now it's Moxie, he's a dog.

So it's

same different day.

As long as you play well, they change the narrative, but you just got to be yourself.

And I've always been like that.

Great, great, great complimentary question asking at that press conference because

you got the two-word answer.

And then normally, if you're part of a press scrum, someone just steps in and is like, how the fullback is going to affect.

But this person, he saw the opening and he just kept pushing him towards the window.

It was great.

It was a great job.

That is a Syracuse graduate, Connor Orr, telling you you did a nice job.

So whoever it was,

well done.

And sometimes I'll see criticism of our show.

Oh, you guys are always glazing.

Gross.

Baker Mayfield.

You know why?

Because our show, especially a show that's anchored by people that root for the f ⁇ ing Jets and the f ⁇ ing Browns and the f ⁇ ing Titans, you got to go find the joy.

And who makes football fun?

Baker Mayfield does.

And the Bucs do, to Mark's point.

And maybe that's why we talk about him a lot.

All right, let's move on.

Let's move on.

Another late game to dig into.

The two and three Bengals, number 27 in the power rankings.

After number 11, Packers, 2-1-1 coming off the buy, but free falling in our power rankings.

Whatever, we move forward.

What a panic move.

And I'm not, you know, I get it.

I'd probably feel the same way, Mark,

if I was the Bengals.

But But you trade for someone else's quarterback in your division and you start him three days later.

Now, speaking of Baker, the Rams once did something similar, and it turned into this storybook ending for them.

But this isn't typically something that ends well, especially on the road against an NFC superpower coming off thereby.

Tough times in Cincinnati really exemplified by this decision to bring Flacco immediately into the fire.

If you go back to like the middle of the offseason,

there are bad teams out there, right?

And the Bengals with Burrow would not have been one of them, but they feel disjointed in their decision-making.

And there have just been a lot of scenarios with players, veteran players, contracts, how they deal with their top rookie pick.

And then this,

I guess Flacco makes more sense than some people out there because you just assume that Flacco's seen everything a quarterback can see and he's got a higher percentage chance of stepping in and being vaguely competent.

But what doesn't work here?

Like, what's not worked for Cincinnati all along?

Why is Joe Burrow not there?

This offensive line is a disaster.

And we used to call Flacco the Stone Age pony.

And there's a reason because he's not.

That was like 13 years ago, too.

Exactly.

Exactly.

He seemed to be on the edge of it back then in terms of his mobility.

So

I don't like the situation at all.

And if anything, like...

Green Bay is now facing a quarterback they've already seen behind a lesser offensive line and a compromised offense.

And I think Green Bay is probably coming into this game angry for the reasons that we feel that they were a Super Bowl type team and they are getting whacked here in terms of how they're seen and viewed.

But I'll say one little thing.

Like Brandon McManus for the Packers has a quad injury that Matt LaFleur called a major concern.

So little kicker stuff.

That last Browns Packers game went right down to the end.

We'll see what the Bengals are.

No, no, we won't have to worry about that.

Okay, well, I'm trying to paint.

This to me is, I don't know what the spread is,

but this is one of those games when we do our blind locks that you're going to know you're going to have to double whatever the spread is, and it's probably a stayaway because it's going to be so high.

But I think this is going to be grisly.

And, you know, according to PFF has

the Cincinnati offense at 31st in EPA per play entering this game.

So the move, Connor, to bring in trade for Joe Flacco, who is 30th amongst quarterbacks in his PFF grade, it just smacks me as a recipe for disaster in a game that could be like, I don't know, 42 to 10.

I don't know if that would cover the blind lock, whatever it is, but still, I think this is going to be gnarly.

I don't know what the outcome of it is, but I actually got borderline emotional about this trade when it happened, and I don't know why, but

it made me feel like I was a kid again because so rarely do we have a situation in the the NFL anymore where a starter goes down, the backup's not performing, and the team actually does something about it.

And, you know, this is, it turns into this high-minded discussion with the coach saying, well, I prepared the backups, I'm ready, blah, blah, blah.

You weren't.

And I think this is this cute little moment where Mike Brown still loves this team and he's like, I'm going to get you the best guy I can.

Now, the best guy is Joe Flacco.

Is he?

Was he the best guy they could have gotten?

I don't know.

I mean, I don't know if you could have made Kirk work with the salary cap, and I don't think the the Falcons are letting him go because

they're in the playoffs.

What about Russ?

I'm not saying these are good guys, but are they better than 40-year-old Joe Flacco?

I don't think Russ is better than Flacco.

I mean, Winston would be interesting to me.

You had a catch with that man in the park.

I've been, I'm kind of a lover scorned at this point, you know?

I'm sorting through the feelings, but

here's why I like it, okay?

Here's why I like it.

It's putting the fire under Zach Taylor's seat because what are you going to do when you get Micah Parsons in here?

You're going to get T.

Higgins and Jamar Chase the ball at the line of scrimmage, just like the Patriots did against the Rams in the Super Bowl when they were worried about Aaron Donald taking Tom Brady's head off.

If you're good at that, you're going to be able to design an offense that gets two elite ball wide receivers the ball very quickly and gets Joe Flacco, who's third in pressure rate, just because he's Joe Flacco in the NFL.

So you're trying to,

this is on Zach Taylor, and this is what I like about it.

Let's see the Sean McVay in you.

Let's see the offensive genius in you and design a game plan that works against Micah Parsons and doesn't get Joe Flacco killed.

That's, I love every minute of this.

And one other like note.

I mean, I think a week ago, we thought that Mike Brown would do nothing.

Yeah.

We thought the Bengals would sit here in cement and just let it be the way it was.

And so I don't know about this angle, but go ahead and get it.

What would you honestly like?

I don't know if you know who else you're going to be.

Is it Jameis Winston?

I think there's a sadness to it.

I really do.

I think there's a sadness to trading for Flacco on a short week and starting him instead of having

either sticking with Browning or going,

finding someone and installing them as your backup while he gets comfortable in the system a little bit.

And then like there's just like a flip of the panic switch, which I understand because, like I've said, they won their first two games.

So they're not out of the mix, especially in this conference.

But this, this just speaks to like a desperation, and I don't see it ending well.

They can't block.

They can't pass block.

You're saying, get the ball out quick.

All right.

Hopefully they can do that.

But the Packers are going to know that as well in terms of how they dictate their coverage.

And then you have a Packers defense that really can get after the quarterback and has one of the best pass rushers in the world.

Like watching, I'll use a baseball parallel, Clayton Kershaw coming onto the field for the Dodgers in relief

on.

Tuesday or Wednesday night, and it just turning into this really sad, hard thing to watch.

I have a lot of fondness for Joe Flacco, like I think all of us do.

I think this could end very ugly, his career here.

I just hope that it's something happens in Pittsburgh where Flacco is moved again and he completes the quad box of playing for every team in the AFC North.

That's that I'm into.

Those are sports dreams.

Protect Joe Flacco.

I guess that's what it's about for me.

All right.

Let's stop here.

Let's take a break.

And when we get back, we will

check in over in Jolly Old England.

Stay right there.

You know, Dan, we had a softball team for years, and I touted myself as the manager, and it's because I couldn't see anything.

So it's like, who wants to put me at the plate?

So it's like time, it's like, I'm an adult.

It's time to get glasses.

And I walked by Warby Parker here in LA and

got a great pair of glasses.

And I look up at trees now.

I can see the leaves.

I couldn't see anything before.

Warby Parker changed all that.

Mark, I get it.

And we would have loved to bat you clean up and had you at center field for that softball team.

Maybe if we find a time machine.

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Queen.

Something,

something, liberty.

There is a king.

All right, we are back.

That should help us with 45% of our audience.

They don't care.

In fact, a lot of the Brits sided with Connor about the

God Save the Queen is just a...

It's got a better jam, better lyrics.

There's more depth to it.

Like, Charles is Charles.

Charles is a tad soiled if you go back through the Wikipedia chat.

If you're of a certain age, it's like...

You mean the guy that was like banging Camilla?

Remember her?

Cheating on Dean.

Parker Bowles with the large hats.

I mean, that's like we're supposed to be

now.

You're my king?

Well, I will tell you one thing real quick.

Yeah.

When my family returned from England when I was very young, my mom woke me up at four in the morning to watch Charles and Princess Diana's wedding live on, you know, fill-in-the-blank station.

How old are you?

And it was heartwarming.

And then to see what happened after all of that,

I don't need Charles doing this right now.

You go run your own show.

And

preempt

any blowback on this.

And we understand who our president is, but we're eyes wide open on this.

Okay?

Eyes wide open all the way around.

Eyes wide open.

I was like, King Charles doesn't have enough pop, but it's possible to have too much pop.

We got too much pop over here.

Where's your reality show, King Charles?

King Chaz.

All right, let's get into it.

Broncos the Jets.

Broncos number number 10 in the power rankings.

Awesome statement win against the Eagles last week.

And now they get the worst team in the world, the New York Jets.

Maybe that's, it's fitting.

They're traveling the world to show everybody what a fing disgrace they are, the New York Jets.

0-5, the lone winless team in football.

Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner on the call for NFL Network.

Let's sell this one, baby.

I was on, as I mentioned, with Barnwell this week, and everybody wants to talk about the Jets and how bad they are with me.

And then they, what happens now, it's a bit of a trope.

Then they'll be like, but here's why they're not actually so bad and not, don't lose hope.

Well, they can

run the football.

In fact, they're averaging 140 yards a game on the ground, which I think is top five in the league.

Justin Fields

has done a lot of garbage time production padding, but he hasn't been like a mess.

In fact, he hasn't even thrown an interception this year.

He missed one game, of course, with the concussion.

The Jets' offense, and Garrett Wilson's having his best year, despite all the limitations around him, the Jets' offense has not been the problem.

The problem is literally everything else.

Within the offense, they've had turnover issues in the red zone, which has been a problem.

But everything else is the problem in terms of penalties, breakdowns in coverage,

inability to force turnovers.

Just it's been a total mess on the defensive side of the football, and I expect the Broncos to take advantage of that.

How say you, Connor Orr?

Do you want to hear a fun stat that our buddy Bill Barnwell just tweeted?

Yeah.

It can quiz you live on the air.

So over the last 17 games that the Jets played with Robert Sala, do you know where they ranked in terms of defensive EPA per drive?

I would guess they were in the top 10.

They were number one.

Yeah.

Oh, they were number one.

And in the 17 games since Robert Sal left, can you guess where the Jets are?

Oh, I can do a second.

I can do that second.

They're 3-14.

We've reached the one-year anniversary of the stunning firing of Sala after their loss in London, and they're three and 14 in those games with some of the worst baseline stats across the board you can imagine.

And so I don't want to go there necessarily because I don't think Aaron Glenn's going to do anything, but this is a massive test for Woody Johnson because he does not like to be embarrassed in London.

This is a place where he was an ambassador.

This is what started all the avalanche on the Robert Sala firing.

There is a London curse, but I think it is also very very unique to Woody Johnson in particular.

And I don't think he's going to be thrilled about the fact that this team could get pants and be 0-6 by the time they leave the country.

So just a little heads up there.

Let's see how much he has changed or accepted the recession in the spotlight as an owner.

So far,

he's been totally out of the picture so far.

Go ahead, Mark.

No, to your point about the run game, like they're averaging 5.1 yards per curry on early downs.

So I think think like the case is pretty clear.

You know, you go back to that opening drive against the Dolphins, which ended in the disastrous turnover.

But if you can be that, you can hang around in these games because they've been much more productive, as you said, in garbage time.

I think they've scored 57 points in the second half specifically.

Yeah, it's all garbage time production for the most part.

Yeah.

It is, but they, but when you're the 32nd ranked team in our power rankings, garbage time is the world you live in.

But this is a Broncos story.

It's not a Jets story.

I mean, it just isn't.

Like, the Broncos have a chance to do one of those special things.

I think the Bills had this slate, same slate a couple years ago where they played both New York teams in a row.

They've got the Jets this week and the Giants next week.

Nick Benito is playing out of his mind with seven sacks, and I think the most pressures in the league.

Like, you've got to stop these very key individuals.

And I think the Broncos, that win kind of flipped the switch on who they believe they can be.

And I think you come in here like a tornado and just wipe the jets out.

No offense, Dan, but that's how it's got to go.

You don't have to say no offense.

I've been living with this for 15 years now.

I know they're terrible and I'm picking them to get blown out of the game.

15 years and one more week.

Yeah, so like I think the Broncos, the only thing that you got to protect yourself against here is a letdown because, and, you know, I predict that they would beat the Eagles last week because I thought they have the talent in them.

They have the right coach.

And the idea was like, here we have a chance to go on the road and make a statement against an Eagles team that was sneaky, vulnerable.

They did it.

And now they're probably reading all the articles about how great they are, and they're heading to London and to have a great time over there.

And we're just going to stomp the Jets.

Are they good enough to just take any team for granted and still blow them out?

Against the Jets, I think they'll probably be okay, but I'd like to see now them have the consistency to do the thing that we've talked about on the show.

If you are a good team, you should stomp the bad teams.

You don't hang around or play to the bad teams level.

You kick the ass of the bad teams and then you keep stacking wins.

Let's see if they can do that.

I expect that they will and I think we're all in agreement on that.

All right.

I see Connor because remember Connor's, Mark, he's the senior writer over at SI

and he's working on a big cover story, as I understand it.

And he said there might be a phone call that comes in as you look at Connor's setup.

That's a Syracuse graduate that's done to do, he's gone to do the Lord's work to be a journalist.

So we're going to move on without him for the time being.

Yeah, it's kind of like you think about the fact that right now, as you and I prattle on, like he's being secrets, league secrets are being

told to him.

And, you know, there's the performative thing that the insiders do, and I get it, it's part of their game, but like, oh, I'm on air and I'm interrupted, and I'm like looking at my phone.

I'm going to get a hair blow before today's show.

Yeah, that those things that are happening over in the show.

Connor just does it in a professional way.

He's just said, guys, we'll be back in a minute.

I've got sports writer business to do.

Justin, can you superimpose on Connor's box right now integrity just across it?

All caps.

and then underline it.

Okay,

that's pretty easy.

All right, with that, without, yeah, is it?

Yeah, okay, without further ado, we head to the quad box,

Jim.

God, that is so good.

Or RS is in the jackpot now.

Put on your socks and tune in your box.

It's getting a little longer every week.

Incredible that a lot of people don't even know, Mark, the Dean Scream, what it is.

Go look it up.

It probably has its own Wikipedia entry.

Is it out of the.

You think it's lost to most people?

I think it's gone, yeah.

I would think so.

But the real ones know, and the young ones should Google it.

That's what I'll say.

Justin, do you know what the Dean Scream is?

Justin's young-ish.

Totally.

The Howard Dean Scream incident.

He's looking at his monitor that he clearly just Googled Dean Scream.

Commonly known as the Dean Scream or the I Have a Scream speech was an energetic

Howard Dean.

Wait, it was this Wikipedia?

Because I want you to go in the edit function and take out the I Have a Scream speech because nobody, as someone who lived through what was the 2008 election, nobody, and I mean nobody said it called it the I Have a Scream speech.

And by the way, that's a little disrespectful to Martin Luther King that we're even connecting the dialogue.

Not just a tad.

Just a tad.

2004, but yeah.

2004 election.

That's right.

I remember

Bob, my buddy, throwback podcast.

He worked for Viacom, MTV, and VH1, and he was a producer, writer on Best Week Ever, their weekly clip show of all reality shows and other junk TV.

And I just remember them getting a tremendous amount of mileage out of the Dean screen.

Just trying to think of another show that has done the same.

Connor,

Connor.

Should I re-hit the quad box so he can hear it?

Or are we moving?

Connor, we've just devolved into Howard Dean commentary, so you've not missed too much.

That seems like a lot.

Yeah.

Yeah,

let's run the quad box of the early games one more time.

Jim!

Oh my God, that is so tough.

Put on your socks and tune in your box.

Could I just say that there are so many things that

happen on this show on a day-to-day basis that legitimately make my day?

And having me followed by ass in the jackpot is one of those things.

So thank you.

Wonderful.

We love that, Connor.

Who called you on the phone?

Tell us, do what we want.

Just let us know who called you.

How about this?

I'll tell you in a week if it yields any positive results.

How about that?

I love that.

Let's get into it.

Early games.

The obvious best game is one we talked about.

The number seven in the HTC power ranking, Seattle Seahawks, three and two after a really tough loss, but a gallant defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

At three and two, they travel to the big chlorine tank to take on the number 13 Jaguars.

Number 13, a little

some would say disrespectful of the Jaguars.

Number 13 famously is the Twilight Zone in the power rankings.

But at 4-1, they are moving their way up.

Mark Schlareth, by the way, is subbing for Mark Sanchez in the booth here as Mr.

Sanchez's life continues to delve into weird corners.

I don't know if we're going to get Mark Sanchez in the booth anymore after his mishap in Indianapolis.

Let's get into

this game because, Mark, I think what I really want to see, I feel like I know who the Seahawks are.

And I trust the Seahawks that they're a team that can travel and they're going to give you a representative effort.

And Sam Darnold, we'll talk about him later in the show with Baldy.

He's playing out of his mind.

That interception accepted

this season.

The offense is great.

The defense is talented.

The Jaguars are the team that I'm like, okay, okay.

Can I fall in love with you?

Can I trust you?

Are you for real or are you phony?

Let's see.

Here's another nice test, this time again at home.

What a delicious

week six matchup.

It's kind of what week six could be at its finest.

I know the rest of the slate is a little sketchy, but these are two teams that are doing things we did not expect before the season.

They're developing and shaping and evolving as we speak.

And I'm with you with Seattle.

It's like what they do well.

I kind of trust them to do well week to week.

Jacksonville in the last week has changed what we think.

And I think that 13th power ranking notch would change significantly if you win this test here, because it's two weeks in a row where we're learning that Liam Cohen is more than just the sound bite.

He has actually changed this run game drastically.

And I know a lot of people are saying like, you know, Trevor Lawrence played a great game last week.

Well, actually, I think he worked his way out of a pretty bad first half.

Like Trevor Lawrence like left me with a lot of questions through parts of the first half and then at the end kind of made a number of money throws and saved the team with that final run.

It's like, can you keep that going?

Can you turn that second half into who you are under this new coaching staff?

Like, I think it's a fascinating game game because

we thought, oh, last week, will the turnover thing for the defense on the Jaguars run out of gas?

And it didn't.

It changed the entire affair.

So the Jaguars proved like Seattle, we are who we've been, and can you keep it going?

So this one is like number one or number two on my grid for this weekend.

I don't think that Sam Darnold is getting away with a lot, but there were certainly some turnover-worthy plays that weren't taken advantage of in that last game that kept it a little bit closer than I think it would have been otherwise.

Sam Darnold,

this Jaguars defense is just not going to allow that to happen.

And I'm just, I think this is one of those things where

I think Seattle still wants to expand offensively.

I still think they have a couple cards that they haven't shown yet.

And they're going to need that because I think if they played the way they played last week, they're going to lose again because this Jaguars turnover thing is for real.

Devin Lloyd is a borderline MVP candidate.

And I think this defense is just a terror.

And then on the other side, Seattle's dealing with injuries on their side of the ball.

Cornerback Devin Witherspoon, Edge Demarcus Lawrence, cornerback Tariq Woolen, safety Julian Love, all marked as questionable at the time of this recording.

So there could be opportunities for Jacksonville.

And remember, we still haven't seen

Lawrence and Brian Thomas heat up this season.

That continues to be a bit of a mystery on that end.

On the other side of it, I think the best best wide receiver on the field, most games he's played this season, is Jackson Smith and Jigba, who is another Ohio State dude who has been an absolute stud and been essentially been Sam Darnold's Justin Jefferson.

I'm not going to put him at that level as a player, but in terms of like, who do I need, who can I go to who's going to make a play for me?

It's been Smith and Jigba.

So the Seattle offense, which we went into the season saying this is going to be the most run-heavy team, and Darnold is going to make passes when he has to, and they can maybe succeed and play action.

No, there's balance to this team, and if anything, that's one of the bigger surprises to me: is that, no, this team's a team that could shred you through the air.

So, that will be a good test for this Jacksonville defense that is beat up.

Anything else?

I mean, this is,

you know, it got overlooked, I think, but last week, seeing Travis Hunter in deep ball coverage against Xavier Worthy, that was trusting him in a gigantic spot.

And again, I mean,

this Seattle offense offers so many problems.

You can't just let Cooper Cup go by the wayside.

And I wonder how much they're going to try to utilize like a third cornerback that may not be up to the challenge of like Cooper Cup's tough card for anybody, but especially a guy that's trying to get a handle on two different positions.

I don't know, where does he kind of factor in defensively?

Do you slide him in here?

I don't know.

And on offense, does it feel like we're like, is there a game coming soon where Travis Hunter explodes on offense finally?

Like, I mean, we're getting little hints of it week by week.

Let's talk a little, Travis Hunter, here, because,

you know, what James Gladstone said

after the draft, this is the first game

that we're coming off where it was like, okay, you see it a little bit here.

There's a good piece up by

who wrote it?

It was Trevor Sakema over at

PFF.

And he logged 25 snaps as a cornerback, 39 snaps as a wide receiver, three targets, caught all three for 64 yards, including that highlight reel 44-yard catch between two defenders.

And on defense, he was targeted three times, gave up one catch for seven yards, but recorded a forced incompletion.

He had the PFF grades, high grades, both as a receiver and as a defender, and that, like, that is...

what they saw.

Can you get more of it?

Ken, to the point that you were making, Mark, can three targets become six or seven or eight without messing up the chemistry of what they truly want him to be, which is the Otani of the NFL.

But just progress on that front, Connor, which is something that we've been looking for in terms of getting the most out of this special rookie.

So I go back and forth on it because sometimes I pound my fist on the table and I get upset that he's not being used more.

And last week against the Chiefs, I think was his lowest utilization of the season to this point, if I'm not mistaken, snap-wise.

But then am I hypocritical by saying like, you got to give marvin harrison time and all these other elite wide receivers time to get into the fold on their offense and am i really just upset because of the hyperbole of a gm and am i putting that on a coaching staff that probably didn't ask him to say that and i think that travis hunter is valuable i think that his ball skills especially on those deep balls we saw that's a really hard catch to make especially in double coverage to trust him enough to run with Xavier Worthy, like this is a special player.

And I just don't know what the answer is.

Am I being hypocritical by saying I need more right now when clearly he's not ready for it?

I think you are.

No, no, I don't.

You know, packed into all this is that there was kind of an unusual trade that happened yesterday where the Jaguars and the Browns flipped cornerbacks.

And the Jaguars acquired Greg Newsom.

who is in the final year of his contract and probably seen as a better scheme fit for the Jaguars.

And in reverse, for the Browns, they get Tyson Campbell, and they flip some late-round picks, too.

But I think for the Browns, it's a financial move based on where their cap hell is going to be a year from now and probably not wanting to re-sign Newsome.

But I like Greg Newsome.

He's been a little hot and cold, but that changes things

for that secondary.

I like Campbell, too.

I kind of found it to be kind of a weird and interesting NFL trade.

All right, let's move and add another game to the quad box.

Connor,

this is

for a lot of reasons.

We got the number 23 Cardinals and the number five Colts, Kevin Kugler, Daryl Johnston.

I'm all over this game for myriad reasons.

I think all of us are kind of in the

bottleneck on the New Jersey Parkway to see what the accident looks like a week after the coach.

Which one?

Palisades, Garden State, the Turnpike?

What are we talking?

Chesaquake, you know, I mean, anywhere.

But

the coach literally put his hands on a player.

And so where does that go from there?

I think that it really hasn't happened.

Like, we don't have a,

do we have a basis for this in terms of something similar like this taking place where I don't know, but how do you recover from that?

Like, does the team come out and play for you?

Do they not?

I mean, I don't know.

I think this is,

this could turn into a thing, you know?

Yeah.

And on the Gannon front here, he wants to move on from it, obviously, and he's spinning things and in a better place for the team.

Maybe it's something that's bringing them together this hellacious week that they've suffered.

What is the kind of vibe and energy in this locker room been like this week?

And how do you kind of keep that up after a loss like this?

Today, dope as hell.

Honestly, it really was.

It really was.

I couldn't start the meeting on time because of the energy in the room.

So that's a good to see.

But that's a good to see.

But we have to make sure that we're on the details in the meeting room and walk through and practice but uh it was really good it was really good does the cool older brother vibe track for you there sussy

you know i like i do i do think one thing and i really mean this like he apologized for it which is the start of it and like they're it's listening to like a lot of and this is where i do care what x players would say versus um fill in the blank like They're really divided.

There's some players out there that like, I would never accept my coach doing that to me.

And others were like, that's football and that's what happens on the sideline and stuff.

I think it feels to me, though, like a massive turning point for this regime, right?

Like it's like the game was a massive embarrassment in terms of like, if you were playing dice football back in 1942, you'd have to roll up three of the wildest plays that ever occurred that would never happen again.

And they all happened to the Cardinals.

And they feel a little bit like a sinking ship.

And we don't know that much about Jonathan Gannon.

And the fact that we know more about shoving shoving a player than we do about his personality and who he is and where this team is going, it's like there's pressure right now.

I think there's real pressure where a month ago, I thought the Cardinals are moving in the right direction.

I don't know where any of this will be two months from now.

And it takes a game like this sometimes to spin everything off its axis.

And the other side of it, you know, with the Colts,

and this isn't to denigrate them, but has anyone had a better schedule than the Colts this year?

I feel like every week, for the most part, there's a cream puff and getting the Cardinals now at home with Kyler Murray not healthy and his status somewhere up in the air with a, I believe it's a foot injury.

I see this as yet another game and good for them because like we said, good teams should stomp bad teams.

And I think the Cardinals are much closer to bad than even average at this point, especially where they are.

And maybe they come together and rise after that.

But I think they're weak.

I think they're a weak team with a with a weak quarterback and a weak internal structure.

And I think they're going to fold like an accordion like they did last year.

I got blowout written all over this one.

Connor, tell me why I'm wrong.

Here's what's interesting about the

I would like to tell you why you're wrong if you don't mind.

Sorry, sorry, Connor.

Not at all.

Let's go, big fella.

Justin.

I just have a hot take on this game that's not really rooted in much, except for watching football for like 25 years, and that's that I think the Cardinals come out and win this game.

There's something about having an epic collapse disaster.

Like, I'll point to an example from this season when the Falcons lost 30-0 to their division rival Panthers, and then they come out the next week and essentially staunch.

Totally different games.

Totally different game.

I fully agree.

That was a bad week, Justin, that a team had a bad week, a bury the ball game.

This game was a historic, a game that should have been 28-6,

and then they lose it in heartbreaking.

I'm just saying that not all losses are the same.

This is a

different type of

Falcons loss is even worse because they didn't play a second of good football in that game.

The Cardinals played three great quarters where they dominated their opponent and then they melted down, which is obviously you don't want to melt down.

I think if you're the Cardinals, you look back and say, we played three great quarters.

How many games does this all happen?

How many games does this happen where a guy drops the ball through the end zone, where a guy fumbles the ball and the other team recovers it for a touchdown on an interception?

How many times does a center snap the ball into your quarterback's head?

Let alone for that all to happen in one game.

And if even one of those things did not happen, the Cardinals still come out with a win.

I think they turn that into fuel.

We killed ourselves.

We made mistakes.

We're better than this.

Let's go stomp the Colts.

I mean, the Colts are so bad.

That's a dope as hell, bro.

That's a dope as hell take, but I couldn't disagree more.

Dope as hell.

Legitimately, the best defense in the NFL.

in the first three quarters of a game.

And I understand that games are not three quarters long, but they're top 10, I think, in quarterback pressures, in rush yards allowed per game, and total points allowed per game.

I think that there is this undercurrent of they're doing some unique stuff defensively.

It's not that Daniel Jones hasn't seen it before, but I think Jonathan Gannon could scheme something up, especially with the seat warming up a little bit to give him some trouble.

I don't know.

Hang around a little bit, run the damn football and see what happens.

And one, and one, like they're playing a team that bounced back from having A.D.

Mitchell toss the ball before he crossed the end zone.

It's like you're built, if you're a decent team and they have a good defense, you're built to overcome all that.

I think they're at an amazing turning point in their season.

I'm not highly confident they're a good football team.

But to Justin's point, like three of the wildest things ever in one game had to compile and happen for them to lose the way they did.

It wasn't systemic like we can't stop the run.

We're a disaster.

We've got no quarterback.

It's like, you got problems, but that was a truly odd football game.

Dan's not buying a word of it.

And that's fine.

I mean, listen,

some things,

I'm not right on a lot of things.

I've been right about the Cardinals for this entire tenure, and I'm telling you, this is a weak-willed, bad football team.

Whatever the stats say about their first through third quarter and all that shit, bad teams find ways to lose.

And I don't think this team has the constitution.

to come back from that game.

And here's the best thing about football.

You've got that shit in the EPA.

Constitution.

We get to find out.

Let's see what version of the cards.

But if nothing else, I'm thankful.

I thought I just heard a bunch of bunk in my head.

Keeping it bunk here.

I thought I heard a bunch of bunk just now about how the Cardinals are going to fight back and, oh, what a loss.

And I shouldn't have even lost and all this shit.

They suck and they find ways to lose and they're not run well and they're going to get stomped.

And I'm sorry, Zumwalt.

By the Colts.

Yes.

And by the way, we love the Colts, right?

They're at home.

They're going to keep playing well.

And let's see.

No, this is going to get a text from Zumwalt now.

Blasting on the game.

What?

Are you saying

Gannon knows Steichen because they were together in Philly?

They're going to win.

That's why.

That's one of the many reasons why the Cardinals are going to absolutely destroy the Colts on Sunday.

I get it.

Any other comments about how great the Arizona Cardinals are before we can move on?

You are strawmanning us.

You're straw manning us.

You're not saying they're great.

All I've heard for the last 10 minutes are all the reasons why the cardinals are going to be so great this weekend.

I'm telling you, they're dead.

They're a corpse floating in the lake.

The groundskeeper just came across

a floating, and he thought it was a trash bag, but he got closer and he's like, holy shit, it's a body.

And he ran into the house and he just called the authorities and they're sending the coroner to pick up the cardinals.

Is it a cardinal or is it a human body?

It's a human.

It's a bloated old body.

It's like a human wearing a bird mask.

Sounds like you're trying to fork them right now.

Yeah.

No, they have been forked.

They forked themselves.

They forked themselves and they fucked themselves.

See, now I'm super invested in this game.

Thank you.

I'd love that.

I love the show.

All right.

Next game in the quad box.

Let's be quicker here.

Mark.

Man, it's getting rough, but I like games that might

quietly execute someone.

So Rams at Ravens.

You've got an agitated Rams team facing a depleted Ravens team on the edge, on the brink of destruction.

The only thing saving them is they play in what is right now record-wise and health-wise and talent-wise, maybe the worst division in football.

So no one, Vegas is not ready to get rid of them yet.

But I do wonder, because here's the thing, you got the Rams and you have a buy and then Lamar should be back.

So can you sneak a win here at home with who you have?

My answer to that is no.

I think this looked like a team last week, and I would never, I can never think up or boil up a time in the past that I thought about the Baltimore Ravens this way.

They gave up.

I thought they gave up on their coach.

Now, I get that two-thirds of their team are banged up, so it's a different situation than college football, but I thought they gave up.

Their will was broken.

And I do wonder where this team sits.

with their coach right now, with John Harbaugh.

And I know it's been a tough season, but it's the first time that I've realistically wondered, like, if this continues on and they flatline and they get waxed by a very good Rams team that's played a lot of close games, their record should be better than three and two, I think.

The Rams feel like they have more talent than their record right now, and you get

this served up on a platter.

If the Ravens get wiped out this week, are we looking at them differently in the future and the concept of what they are?

And even John Harbaugh possibly finally moving on someone else.

Stop it.

Stop it.

Why?

What has John Harbaugh done wrong this year other than lose half his team?

I am just saying

I don't think this was a very good team before these players got hurt.

And so if you get Lamar back and things continue to crater, I do wonder if there are changes in Baltimore.

I don't think that's a crazy thing.

I'm not the only one thinking that.

I don't know.

It doesn't take Lamar Jackson to run power, baby.

It doesn't take Lamar Jackson to hand the ball to Derrick Henry.

And we got Patrick Hart.

Derrick Henry hasn't crossed 50 yards in like three or four weeks.

Like you can't just hand, like Derrick Henry's not saving all this right now.

I get it, and I think, but it's the same thing where, uh, and not to bring the Cardinals back into this out of risk of having Dan absolutely lose his mind, but like the reason that the Cardinals are losing all these games is because they have no complimentary run game.

It only takes one week to get a running game going, to just rethink the strength of your offensive line, to find another avenue.

And if you have all this talent that's there, that's available to you.

Sometimes it just takes that one game to make it work.

And I'm not saying it can't, but like, this is a super creative offense.

This is a super creative coordinator.

It's a great back.

You'll figure something out.

I don't know.

I'm not ready to bury them yet.

I'm with you 100% on that one.

To use a Shechism, hear me now and believe me later.

The Ravens will be playing for the AFC North title in Pittsburgh in week 18.

I don't think that's an unreality, but if they go one and five, you're looking at it.

You think the team is going to win like nine out of 10.

I think they have that potential if they, unless this becomes one of those, to use an old Simmonsism, no F and Way games, where it's just, it's the football gods have decided they're going to continue to injure guys for the whole season.

If they have a lane where they have the, the, the most, for the most part, the guys on the field, I think they have a rise in them in this division specifically.

All right, one more quad boxer, Justin.

All right.

I'm picking a game here.

Again, with not many good options that I think is going to be the most fun because to me personally, and a lot of people people don't feel this way, offense is the most fun and good offense is fun to watch.

So give me Cowboys at Panthers, the number 17 ranked Cowboys at the number 25 ranked Panthers.

I don't think there's like a ton of intrigue outside of seeing if the Panthers can be a disruptive force in the NFC.

Like they kind of have been a couple terms, but they've also like not looked good even in the games that they won outside of that Falcons beatdown.

And the Cowboys, I want to see if the Cowboys can also be a real competitor, at least a wildcard type competitor in this league.

I love Dak Prescott's playing at an MVP level.

I don't think the team's going to have the record for him to be in consideration for that.

And their defense has not been great, even against the Jets.

You know, they had a 30-3 lead in that game, but a lot of that was Jets' turnovers more than like the Cowboys playing great defense, which means more fun because more potential big offensive plays.

They did have

their pass rush did come to life against the Jets, which again,

consider the opponent.

But yeah, there were things.

I mean, every week I watch the Cowboys,

I find another thing where I'm like, I'm talking myself into them taking a wildcard spot and winning nine games.

But in the front of that, obviously, is Prescott because I just think he has played at the level of like the, I know like we just talked about Darnold and Darnold has played awesome, but like if you've got to give me one quarterback this season to go down down the field for the final drive, and maybe it's Baker because Baker's done it 14 times already this year, but I trust Dak Prescott to lead an offense as well as much as anybody in the league right now.

He's just completely locked in and playing with so much confidence right now.

I'm with you.

I'm completely with you.

If they can get the defense 25%

more effective, this is a dangerous operation.

Just get to average.

I think it's

just average.

I think the offense is arguably the number one offense in the NFL.

And it's another one of these things where it's like we were theoretically bored by the concept of Brian Schottenheimer when he was hired compared to the other hires.

And it's worked.

And we've seen this DAC, right, before, but it's been in spurts, and then there's been injuries, and he's had to come back from injuries.

And you're getting like, not this DAC, but what's happening right now, minus CeeDee Lamb, too.

They've been a complete joy to watch.

And guys like Lion Flournoy that have come out of of the woodwork to make big plays for them, it's all working.

So it's like, if this offense is what this team is, it's almost inevitable that they sneak into a wild card spot if the defense doesn't completely crater.

Can we also give credit to Javante Williams?

I mean, this is a guy we all laughed at at their death chart at running back.

And we do it as much as anyone in this whole industry.

We have our fun with Jerry Jones.

And I'm not saying Jerry Jones deserves to be

crowned and given a medal for building this particular team.

He's a jet hurting it to the Jets fans.

Yeah, but like, no, it was a thumbs up, Mark.

It was a classic mistake.

He meant to, but Shavante Williams has run for almost 500 yards and five touchdowns.

So

they've run the ball well as well this season.

I'm going to flip it on the other side really quick.

And I know, so

I have an old weed eater, right?

And so sometimes you start it and it just doesn't go and you have to put it back in the garage and say, today I'm not eating weeds.

And then sometimes you let it rip rip and it's phenomenal.

And then my house looks like the seventh hole at Augusta.

And I think that that's where I'm at with Bryce Young, where there are times when we pull the ripcord on this guy.

And from like the six-minute mark of the second quarter until the end of that game against the Dolphins, he looked like a top-10 quarterback.

He made unbelievable throws.

And this is a paper-thin Cowboys secondary.

Can I get this guy for four quarters and really fully make me get head over heels for him again.

I don't, I, I, I, I, I'm not dismissive of the possibility because we see it in spurts a lot.

All right, Connor, it's time for you to have a sandwich.

It's time to put on your bucket hat and pull your Liam Gallagher.

Walk off stage.

Noel's going to do don't look back in anger, and you're going to have a sandwich.

We're going to talk to Baldi, and then you're going to come right back.

That sound good?

Sounds really good.

Enjoy.

Stay right there, everybody.

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Ah, yes.

Our favorite time of the week.

We're joined now by Odyssey NFL insider Brian Baldinger, host of the appropriately titled, and we're saying that as a fellow podcast, Best Football Show.

Insider calls are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.

Nationwide is on your side.

I don't take you as a braggart at all, Baldy.

You're just a guy, you're a straight shooter.

So the title of your podcast smacks me as surprising.

How did you come up with that?

I didn't.

Somebody else did.

We'll just turn you off on it.

See how well we know you?

I will say this.

It's like, it's, it's, it's exactly the way I like to describe things.

It's just straight talk, not a lot of BS, just straight.

No, I just kind of try to give it to you, you know, exactly the way I see it, unfiltered.

And so that's kind of what I do on the show.

Okay.

I got a, if you, if you would allow me to maybe jump in as a brand reshaper, football, comma, no bullshit as the podcast title.

All right.

You got the job.

All right.

Great.

Let's start this week with someone near and dear to my heart.

Baldy is a Jet fan.

I always thought Sam Darnold was a wasted resource of the highest level.

And he jumped up with the Vikings last year, and there's still doubt around him.

And now with Seattle, he's doing it again.

In fact, you could make an MVP case for Sam Darnold through five weeks.

And Advanced Analytics out there positioned him as the best quarterback in football.

Does this sync up with the eye test up there on Mount Baldy?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, I mean, just think about this, Dan.

How many teams will score touchdowns on five straight possessions against a quality opponent like Tampa last week?

They scored five straight straight touchdowns on five straight possessions, and they wouldn't have done it without Sam and the way that he threw the ball to really the whole Tory Horton, Jackson Smith, and Jigba.

I mean,

he made every big throw there was.

He just didn't get the ball last the way Baker did.

But he's been, he was impressive last year

up until you want to like say the playoff, whatever.

But

the offensive line wasn't very good that day against the Rams.

But he's been awesome.

He's been excellent.

And they made the right choice, made the right choice in Seattle.

And, you know,

it just goes to show you that if you don't have a stable organization around whoever, like, it's not going to work.

It just doesn't.

And so, all these reclamation projects that are out there, look where they all came from and where they traveled through, and look where they're at now.

I mean, John Schneider has built a stable group in Seattle.

And I think Mike McDonald and Clint Kubiak are really good fits for what he wants to do.

Yeah, I was going to ask something along those lines because

front offices have to be looking around the league at these reclamation projects and think, hmm, we're the team that gave up on Baker Mayfield early.

We're the team that gave up on Sam Darnold.

Behind the scenes, though, because suddenly Sam Darnold is not the deer and headlights that he seemed to be understandably with the Jets, but a calm, poised, mistake-free quarterback for the most part.

What happens when you go spend time with Kyle Shanahan and Kevin O'Connell behind the scenes?

Because he didn't play that much there, but just being, to marinate in that world, like what happens to you as a player when you're in that better environment?

It's like going to graduate school.

It's a whole different education.

I mean, it's everything.

It's okay.

This is how you actually, what we need from you in practice.

This is how you prepare.

This is what the weekly schedule is.

This is how we gain an advantage in our preparation.

This is the play we're going to pull.

Like the whole preparation, the whole team building, the whole atmosphere and how you're expected to perform, like it's all, it's all set.

It's all set in San Francisco, in Los Angeles, in Minnesota.

It's set for somebody to come in and go, oh, I just have to do my job.

I just have to do my preparation the way I know I'm capable of doing it.

I know I'm smart.

I know how to prepare.

Now I got the whole rest of the team and the staff all doing their job as well.

And I think that's a big part of it.

You know, from one former number three overall pick to another.

Let's talk about Drake May.

Let's talk about the rise of the Patriots offense.

And one thing, you know, we're in an era right now where people are, I don't know if this is fair or not, and it's kind of a separate such conversation, but Bill Belichick and his legacy with has he sullied it with the end of the New England run and then what's happening in UNC right now.

But the first year

of Mac Jones in New England with Josh McDaniels, remember how promising that was.

They go to the playoffs, they hang tough and they get knocked out and then it all goes to hell also josh mcdaniels left after that first year with mac jones josh mcdaniels the prodigal son came home he's the oc of the patriots and he is thriving with drake may now in a second year how big has mcdaniels been in the growth and and maturation the quick maturation of drake may this season Well, I think it's a big part of it.

He's an excellent play caller.

He's an excellent designer of offense.

But, you know, they've upgraded the talent.

I mean, Stephon Diggs looked like the number one wide receiver, you know, this past weekend in Buffalo.

And, you know, when the play did break down and there was a scramble drill, I mean, Diggs wants the ball more than anybody else in the whole stadium.

He goes to get it.

So, I mean, there's that.

There's, you know, a rookie left side of the offense line that's played great.

And the running game is consistent right now.

And I know they lost Antonio Gibson, but between Stevenson and Henderson, it's pretty good.

And then Hunter Henry is, you know, is healthy.

I mean, so everything around Drake, including the defense, which is upgraded right now, you know, with Milton Williams, Harold Landry, I mean, all the additions, Spallane, like that, it's a good defense.

So everything around Drake is much better than it was at any point last year.

And so he's flourishing.

But then, you know, look, he brings the team 20-20.

He takes the team down for the game-winning field goal.

Like a lot of those plays were, you know, because of Drake's ability.

But, you know, he stands tall in the pocket.

He sees the field well.

He's got a very good arm.

And now he's got, you know, legitimate people to throw it to.

Dated pop culture reference, but I think Baldy's going to track on this one.

Charles Jefferson, Forrest Whitaker, and Fast Times at Ridgemount High, when he goes nuts after

they make him think that Lincoln ruined his car and then he destroys them on the football field.

Stephon Diggs, like

uncoverable, like he's peaked Diggs.

And obviously there's a lot of that chip on your shoulder.

This is the team Buffalo that got rid of me, even though I was the best wide receiver Josh Allen ever had and all that stuff.

I mean, as a former player yourself, that had to be fun to watch, seeing his intensity on the sideline and knowing that he's tapping into that like competitive fire that can really make you a different player despite advanced age and injuries.

Yep.

I mean, it started in the first play.

I mean, he caught the first pass of the game, and it went all the way to the final drive.

You know, he was very much involved in the offense.

I mean, that might have been, all right, Josh sitting down with Stefan.

Like, we're going to get you going.

We're going to crank you up from the first play.

Like, that could have been part of that.

But, I mean, it didn't feel like they were ever forcing a ball to Stefan.

They moved him around the way other teams have, the way Buffalo did.

You know, and he just, you know, he understood Buffalo's defense.

You know, I mean, being there, he understands like the corners aren't great.

Maybe Benford's the best, but it's not, it's not a strength of their team, and they are his own team.

And so he just knew where to sit down, where the openings were.

And, you know, he got fed and

he was a big difference maker.

But I feel like when players come back from an ACL injury, there's always a little bit of, am I the same guy?

Do I have the same, like in your own head, you have to sort of, and I thought that was Stefan telling himself, like, I'm the exact same player as I was, you know, two or three years ago.

You know,

you played with Jeff George back in the day when he was young.

And it's like, I'm not drawing a comparison between Jeff George and Drake May, but what is it like for an offensive lineman the people on an offense to watch a quarterback kind of grow up before your eyes because I think that's sort of what this team this Patriots team gives me weird like 2001 Patriots vibes because of everything that's happening that's a little rich but um as a question from the second greatest football show I'm just wondering what it's like to be in the huddle with a quarterback developing that way well you know I played with a lot of different quarterbacks I mean Jeff was I mean Randall Cunningham and Jeff George are the two most talented guys I played with.

We won five games one year with Jeff George, I think his rookie year.

Like, we had no business beating Washington on Monday night, but he made the plays.

Like, the talent was

real.

Now, you know, there were some things that Drake probably does better than Jeff that's not worth going into.

But, you know, the talent is, you win games with talent.

You know, like guys like me, we're just runts.

You know, we try to do our job, you know,

you know, but

the stars of this league win these games, and Drake is one of those guys.

And

I think this kid is only going to improve.

I think that it's the right setting.

It's the right place.

He's got time to grow.

He's got time to make mistakes that he made last year.

He's got a good young group around him that he can relate to.

I just think it's a really healthy looking situation there right now, and the way they're all kind of pulling for each other.

Insider calls are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.

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Last topic, Baldy.

This is in

the murky bottom of our power rankings, number 31 Titans at number 28 Raiders, two one in four teams.

On the Raiders side of it, you sense that maybe, at least externally, pressure could be starting to mount here.

The operation, it's been disappointing.

I think they expected more, obviously, at the quarterback position with Geno.

I think Pete Carroll is supposed to come in and kind of instill a sense of progress and growth, and we haven't seen it.

Do you think they can get on track against Jeffrey Simmons and the Titans?

They don't look like they're going to.

I mean, they just haven't, you know, they don't,

they just do too many odd things, you know, and beat themselves.

Are they a super talented team?

They're not.

They have weaknesses all over the place.

But

I feel like I'm going to actually be there for the, I'm going to do that game because it's the only place I can get out of Dallas to get to a game on Saturday.

But

I'm looking forward to it.

I mean, the one thing about Cam is

he plays the game with no fear.

Now, he threw an interception at the end of the game that turned out into a touchdown for them.

We all saw the play, you know, and that helped win the game for him.

They got outplayed severely by Arizona, but won the game.

I just feel like this losing streak that the Raiders are on is, it's just not healthy.

I mean, you know, I don't know know if Colton Miller's playing, but the left tackle, the right tackle, the, I don't know, the center isn't very good, although he's the center, and the right guard is a better center.

Like, I don't know if they have the best five guys out there right now.

And it seemed like the entire offense last week was, we'll just get the ball to Genty, let him do it.

I mean, they threw it to him, they ran it, like, he was everything, but it didn't seem like the ball was being spread around to very many guys last week.

Yeah, it's like I go back to two weeks ago when there was a third and short, and Gino was stuffed.

And so it's fourth and one, and they give the ball to Ashton Genti, who is meant to be the centerpiece of this offense.

And,

you know, this is a Jeffrey Simmons problem this week.

They were blown up up the middle.

And like a nose tackle and a defensive guy coming and just blew up Ashton Genti.

It's like you're basing this offense around this rookie,

but mentally, what's happening to him?

Because he's got to look around and be like, I'm not being well protected.

It just seems like they're really out of sync.

And I don't like the matchup against Simmons and the Titans in this situation because without a good offensive line, it feels like everything is reduced.

Your best players are reduced and your functionality disappears.

Well, Simmons blew up Arizona last week.

I mean, like, there was a stretch.

I put it out on Twitter.

There was a stretch where he made like five plays in a row, and all Arizona did was go backwards.

And, you know, one time, Kyle Murley, like, he's just so tired of being chased by him, he just throws the ball away.

It looked like a dumb play, and it was a dumb play on Kyler's part, but it turned out to be intentional grounding, you know.

But I mean,

it was just a bizarre reaction, but that's, he was just sick of looking at 98, you know, coming at him.

I mean, he was, he was, he's playing at

the highest level, but Arden Key is really good.

You know, they, you got to really study the roster to know who some of these guys are.

But, I mean, they played well.

They played well as a group.

All right.

So in the offseason, because now I'm really invested in this idea that now that Baldy's hired me as executive producer of football, dot, dot, dot, no bullshit.

Yeah.

Just like long, but okay.

Yeah.

Just an hour of Jeff George stories.

I'd take them.

I'd take them.

I'd take all you got, Baldi.

You know, and

this just stayed between us, Dan, because a lot of the stories aren't going to be very kind to Jeff.

Right.

Well, that's why we'll have him on the show in the back end.

I will say this.

I met a great girl.

She became my girlfriend there in Indianapolis for a couple of years.

She was young.

She was a senior at IU.

And Jeff invited her to her bar on Monday night that I was doing like this show from.

And Jeff

didn't know what he was doing.

I knew what I was doing.

And I got the girl.

So

I'm thankful for Jeff, man.

Angie was, she was a great, she was great for my days in Indianapolis.

I love it.

I love it.

Angie by the Rolling Stones was about Baldy's Indianapolis girlfriend.

That's the way I think of it.

Thank you, buddy.

Have a great weekend.

That was Odyssey NFL insider Brian Baldinger, host of the best football show podcast.

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All right, moving on.

Welcome back, Connor.

You're the man, buddy.

Are you feeling good?

Tummy's in a good spot?

Yeah.

I mean, that's one thing you can say about me 95% of the time.

Tummy's in a good spot.

That's good.

See, that's like what makes life worth living?

What's the measure of a man who's happy?

His belly is full.

He's got the woman of his life by his side and a roof over his head.

Well, tell Jesus that he had none of those things.

Religious moment.

Just a religious moment for you to ponder.

By the way, speaking of pondering, remember I told you about the Cardinals,

the groundskeeper.

He finds the floating body.

He runs up to the

the guest house to call the authorities and then he remembers as he's on the phone that this was the morning the children were going down to the pond to fish.

And he drops, he goes, oh my God.

And he drops the phone and he sprints down to stop.

But the kids are already there.

And what are they doing?

What are they staring at?

The floating corpse of the Arizona Cardinals.

You know, kids need to be awoken to the realities of the harsh world that we live in.

So in a way, this played out.

Thank you, Cardinals.

You've taught children.

Right.

That innocence isn't for everyone.

Okay.

Not Cardinals.

Let's get into the

Monday night football doubleheader, another one of these.

The number two Buffalo Bills coming off their first loss, that

tough beat in primetime to the division rival Pats, who are suddenly one game out in the AFC East.

They travel to

Atlanta to face the Falcons.

The Falcons 21st in the power rankings.

Fowler, Riddick, and Orlofsky.

Man, it's like,

how many games of a booth having zero chemistry does ESPN need before they're like, maybe we make a tweak here?

Okay.

Anyway.

For a year, for a year into eternity.

Yeah.

Your thoughts on this game, Mark?

You know, kind of digging into what the Falcons have done on defense, they are number one in yards allowed per game.

They're third in yards allowed per play, and they are a heavy blitzing, five-man blitzing team.

Here's the problem is that the Bills are one of the best teams in the league at countering like the five-man blitz.

And it starts with Josh Allen on the ground too and everything else they can do.

But only among all these like positive Falcons defensive stats, only four teams in the NFL have been ripped by quarterback scrambles on the ground more than the Falcons.

So it kind of fits well for an angry Bills team to come in there and just do what they do and get guys like I really think in two years, like the Dalton Kincaid, Keon Coleman growth, like this is an interesting offense.

And I think they come in here saying, I know what you just all saw on national TV.

Here we go again on national TV and these little flighty little Falcons, we're not putting up with it.

Our offense is set to go and it doesn't matter where we play.

Josh Allen has one of his Josh Allen Knights and does what they can do against a pretty good defense.

I saw this ridiculous stat about Michael Pennix the other day that he's one and four as a starter when the opponent scores more than seven points.

And the Bills have scored more than

the Bills have scored more than seven points in almost 50 straight games, which is, you know, again, I'm not.

I like Michael Pennix.

I think that the move down to the sideline did a lot for Zach Robinson.

I think that that was underplayed, just the ability for him to be around the players to feel the game in a different way.

But boy, you're going to have quite a test on your hands here.

Falcons are not in the class of the Bills, but I'd like to see the Bills play more complete games.

I feel like they've been playing to the level of their opponent in the last few weeks.

No disrespect to the Patriots, who I think are a team on the rise, but they kind of let the Saints hang around.

The Dolphins game, they did take care of business in week two against the Jets, and then the Ravens gave them everything they could handle.

Like, maybe this is the game where they just absolutely stomp a team coming off, like you said, a loss that maybe is a little wake-up call that we need to be a little tighter of an operation.

I like the Bills a lot in this one.

All right, stunner.

But let's move on to the other Monday night game.

Does anybody think the Falcons are going to win or be within a field goal?

Go ahead.

Be bold.

I think it's going to be.

Carry a big stick.

I think it's going to be like an eight-point game.

Okay.

So one where like

one where the Falcons score kind of near the end, you know?

Backdoor score.

Like a fake eight-point game.

Yeah.

Like a backdoor game.

Yeah, we've seen a couple complete games where like all of their parts are working.

Like if they can get that to happen, like they can hang around in this.

I heard all your parts are working.

Yeah, if

you guys see it's a wonderful thing.

That's what they're saying.

It's a fairy dust.

Why is it so long?

Why is it so long?

It's not on the end of the day.

That's why the show is off the rails now.

Justin,

what are you just.

Are you just trying to destroy the program right now?

What is happening?

How did that happen?

I have no

intentions of destroying the program.

It's just, it's been a while since we heard the whole thing.

And, you know, I mentioned that it was

a fake eight-point game.

It's also the fake Monday night game.

So I figured, why not bring it back?

Wow.

I have no words.

The number 19 Bears, 2-2,

travel to

Landover to face the number 12 Washington Commanders.

Three and two.

This is the real Monday night game, not the Fugesy

Monday night game.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are on the call here, Mark.

The Commanders, I'd like to get to the point where we were at the end of last year, where I'm looking forward to watching Commanders games again and they're like this high-flying attack.

Maybe we see it against the Chicago Bears.

I could see the Commanders if Jalen Daniels is himself putting up some points.

I hope Terry McLaurin's back.

That would help on that front.

I don't think he is.

Rapsheet reported today that it's not looking good and Terry McLaurin did not practice on Thursday.

So dang.

Yeah, and that's part of what you're talking about, right?

Because he created so many of those moments along with Jaden Daniels a year ago.

They've had moments, though.

I think the question is, like, how they got so aggressive with Daniels on the ground a year ago.

Is that part of the plan continually going forward when he's been dealing with issues?

I want to see what their defense can do because I found an interesting number that Ben Johnson in Detroit,

when he came out of a bye week, that that offense, and it's not the same offense, but we've seen Chicago grow and they're interesting, averaged 7.2 yards per play after the bye week, which is the best among 140 offensive coordinators to coach multiple games off a bye this century.

So what is the bye week effect under Ben Johnson with Caleb Williams in this young Bears offense?

Like, I kind of like, I'm into the Bears.

I just want to see how much they change over the course of this season because from the beginning to now, it is starting to look more and more like what Ben Johnson wants to do.

It's looking more like what Ben Johnson wants to do, but they still can't run the football.

They still can't stop the run, and they still can't rush the passer.

And those are the tenants of that Lions team that lifted Ben Johnson's genius up on a pedestal and I think allowed it to shine.

And this is a good but not great commander's rush defense.

And I want them to come out.

I mean, you look, if you look at the spread of like, okay, here's your EPA per rush in this gap, this gap, this gap, this gap, this gap.

They're only nailing it to just to the right side.

That's the only place that they can run the football and everybody knows it.

This needs to be that totality ass-kicking effort against Bobby Wagner in a decent run defense to set them up for the future.

Because if not, Ben Johnson can have all the cool trick plays he wants.

And that fake flea flicker the other day was unbelievable.

I've been watching that on repeat, but unless you can run the football with regularity, with violence, you're not going to be able to do what Ben wants to do.

All right, let's move on to the other ones.

Let's make that the official drop of the other ones: the locker room,

the unimpressed Saints locker room of 2024.

Starting with the number 16 Patriots, 3-2 at the number 29 Saints, 1-4.

This is what I'm looking for.

90 seconds on the clock.

This is what I'm looking for, Mark, in this game.

Patriots, after your big win in Orchard Park, don't give me any of this Jekyll and Hyde stuff.

Go take care of business against the Saints and show that you truly are a potential AFC Titan on the rise.

I'm with you.

I think they can do that.

I think, you know, Connor mentioned Christian Gonzalez.

He's allowed two catches on 117 snaps.

He's a big difference maker.

Take away one weapon from the Saints, and I think they're a completely reduced team.

The one thing I'm watching with New Orleans is Kendry Miller is starting to play a lot more than he has in the past.

Is Alvin Kamara a trade block candidate?

I'm flipping it to the other side, baby.

Spencer Rattler's finally got a win.

I think people are realizing that he is a legit like top 15, 16 quarterback in the NFL.

Go take the team that just beat Buffalo and show them what you got.

I mean, this guy makes mistakes, absolutely.

But in totality, you can't tell me that there's been 15 regular starting quarterbacks better than Spencer Rattler this season.

You can't tell me.

How about this?

The rattler line, and then the graphic is like a rattlesnake.

So it's like a zigzag rattle snub.

And then that is the prime meridian of all NFL passers.

Let's move on.

The number 24, Cleveland Browns, 1-4 at the number 15, Steelers, 3-1, coming off there by an old rivalry renewed, Ceci.

And Pittsburgh usually has the upper hand in

these situations, especially at home.

What do you think about this?

Well, this is a classic Browns, and I'm not trying to get whiny about this, but on top of having, I think, one of the maybe the top three toughest schedule in the league, they're getting a Steelers team coming off a bye where Cleveland had to fly back from another country across the sea.

So I love that situation for the Browns.

But here's the level, Eisa.

Cleveland, if you go look at PFF, Cleveland has the best run defense in the league, and it looks that way, and they've got the best pass rush in the NFL.

And if you're Aaron Rodgers, who right now is ranked weirdly, because I don't see this with my eyes, but as like the 37th quarterback by PFF, and their quarterback rankings a little bit, but it's like, that's the worst in the NFL.

I don't see that with my eyes.

I don't like...

I think Michael, I don't, PFF doesn't like check-down quarterbacks or guys that don't push the ball downfield.

That really hurts their scores, it seems.

And certainly that's been the case for the most part with Rodgers.

No doubt, no doubt.

But I thought that against the Vikings, they got the run game going, and we saw something different from Rodgers and DK Metcalf.

So, Cleveland, like, this is the game you always lose, and you've got a rookie quarterback playing a second start.

Show me something different for once.

Steelers are dangerously low in yards per drive.

A lot of their touchdowns are coming off not complete drives.

Cleveland is really, really good at limiting teams to a couple plays in a punt.

So let's see what happens.

Moving on, the number 14, Los Angeles Superchargers, 3-2 at the number 30, Miami Dolphins, 1-4, Catalon, Charles Davis, and McCordy on the call.

The Chargers are a bit of a bummer.

Let's face it, let's be real, Connor, a bit of a bummer of a team because they had so much juice and energy around them, and now the injuries have made them a bit of a tough watch.

This seems to be a good opponent to get at this time on the calendar.

Ravens light right in L.A., but I think that the Lad McConkey season is coming because we haven't seen a lot of him.

He's He's a great quick throw option.

And right, I think this is a secondary that he could carve up pretty skillfully.

I mean, we haven't seen them stop a whole lot of people this year.

So

one of the bigger bummers around the Chargers is O'Mary and Hampton going on IR for four games.

You got Kamani Vidal and Hassan Haskins as your two options in the backfield for a team that wants to punish on the ground.

So

yeah, you're right, Dan.

I just think like your tackle situation, your running back situation, it leaves us looking at a completely different team.

I wonder if they get stomped in this game, which I don't think they will because they've been mostly competitive in recent weeks, even if they just have the one win against the Jets.

I wonder if McDaniel's job hangs in the balance with this game, depending on the outcome.

It would not surprise me.

Any other thoughts on this one?

Negatory.

All right, let's now shift, as we always do, as we close out the Thursday preview show with our blind locks.

first of all, we will check in with the standings, see where we're at through five weeks.

And let's see here.

The Zuzzer tops the standings on a four-game winning streak right now.

Four and one.

Connor Orr, Justin Graver, and Mark Sessler, all three and two.

So it's

packed tightly together like the other one.

For the three of us that are three and two, we're not doing that alphabetically.

We're just

putting or first, then Graver above Mark.

Is that how this works?

First name alphabetical.

Ah, that must be it.

That must be it.

That is it.

I'm also a little bit troubled, Mark.

You don't see that the spelling of your last name is incorrect.

That got by your radar, apparently.

Oops.

Oh, it's on my radar.

You're watching on YouTube.

It is on my radar.

How did that happen?

Oh, Justin, shame on you.

Proofread.

Proofread.

All right.

And if you're not aware, how does this work?

We make our locks of the week.

If the spread is over five points and you pick that team, that favorite, you have to cover double that spread.

And by the way, I'm not making a rule change just yet, but I might every once in a while, a little chaos theory, even move that further.

I might push, baby boy might even push that thing to other depths to make it even more difficult.

Maybe I go minus a two.

Maybe I go minus one and a half.

Anything's possible, baby.

You're like Guy Fieri in grocery games you're just like throwing out the rules as we go along here

wait but if it if i pick let me just one and a half if it's one and a half and they just have to cover the spread and it doubles then you just got to win by three right

do i have that right yes that is one and a half i might have to work on the punishment in that case anyway go back to your little fantasy lab and come back to us with that one i will i will i'm going back to the lab with a pen and a paper all right let's get into this It's time to make our picks.

Mark, you're going to get us going.

All right.

This one, I hope I'm not, I'm even comfortable doubling up potentially.

I'm taking the Bills over the Falcons, the Road Bills over the home Falcons.

I'm hoping that sits within the spread dimensions.

And I think...

I don't think it will while we're here.

I'm going to say that's going to be between a five and a six and a half point spread at the very least.

Yeah, so you might have to double that up, but I don't hate that.

I don't hate that.

Although, prime time on the road, a little tricky.

How about you, Connor?

Oh, this one's tough.

I am

going

to

take,

golly.

I don't love any of these, to be honest.

It's a tough week.

I left on none of us know what we're doing before we do that.

Yeah, I've really got to do that.

I mean, that's the point of Blind Locks.

I'm going to take the

Seahawks over the Jaguars.

Give it to me.

Let's go.

Yep.

All right.

I guess I should put my money where in my mouth is if I'm going to trash the Cardinals at the level that I absolutely

crush them,

I'm going to, I'll take the Cults.

And I know it's going to be over five.

So I know I'm going to have to double-digit win this thing, but I fear no evil.

And that's just the way I stand on it.

Justin.

That is a noble move, by the way, Dan.

That's noble.

Yeah.

Well, I'll be pretty sour if it goes against me, but we'll see.

That'll make the Sunday show more fun.

Go ahead, Justin.

Unlike you guys, I actually did prepare what I was going to lock in advance, and I have it right here in my notes.

Lock the bills.

However, the conversation on this show has changed my mind, and I don't, I hate locking with one of you guys just because it's not as fun to me.

And

I want to be anytime, Justin.

I want to make the boldest play I can make.

Give me the Cardinals.

Whoa, a lock-off.

Juicy.

You, sir, have.

Had a boy.

Absolutely.

You have changed my opinion of you in 180 degrees now.

I think you are a man of the highest esteem.

A man who is not afraid to go into a suicide mission of a lockoff.

God bless you, good sir.

May you avoid the fate of the Arizona Cardinals, a bloated corpse floating in a lake as two children under the age of 10 look on in horror.

I suppose we'll see.

I suppose.

All right, without further ado, let's check out the actual spreads and see who has to do some extra covering.

We got a ding.

All right, so I need to cover by 14, huh?

So Indy's minus seven.

All right.

That is

a lot, but I'm going to stand by it and feel good about it.

Now, I can't change it anyway.

Anybody else?

You have to.

You have to.

Anybody else?

Anybody else?

Anybody else?

Bills, four and a half.

Oh, you lucky duck.

I know.

That's Jags.

You're a lucky duck.

Jag's actually favored by one and a half over the Seahawks.

And yes, I locked a seven-point underdog to get a win on the road coming off a historically bad loss.

What could go wrong?

Also, just want to point out the two and three Chiefs are favored over the number one power-ranked Detroit Lions.

You know what?

Well, they're at home.

I get what they're doing.

That's Vegas respect for Mahomes and Reed.

But we'll see if it's founded.

By the way,

you know what

Jonathan Gannard would say to learning that you have locked his team on the road, right?

He would say.

Dope as hell.

As dope as hell.

Dope as hell.

Cool dad alert.

We're all cool dads.

We're all cool dads.

How about that?

Cool enough.

All right, everybody have a great and safe weekend.

Check out the Patreon draft that will be out shortly after this program.

And until next time, do what you must.

Heed the call.

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