Latest / Football Junkies podcast / Ep.95: Wacco Flacco

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Ep.95: Wacco Flacco · Football Junkies podcast

0:00
Are you a Steelers fan that's just tired of eating
0:01
the same old, same old stuff every single day?
0:04
You know, donuts and coffee or bland cereal,
0:07
oatmeal, toast, a bagel. We're introducing Wacko
0:11
Flackos. That's right, folks, Wacko Flackos,
0:13
the best cereal that you can eat. If you are
0:15
a Steelers fan, post a buy, especially for the
0:18
Bengals. Now, see, with this cereal, it is different
0:21
from every other cereal that you've ever had
0:24
before because this cereal is shaped in L's.
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That's right, not lowercase. L's, not cursive
0:30
L's, but big ol' large L's. That's right, folks.
0:33
You take about three bites of this cereal and
0:36
you are already full of L's like how every Steelers
0:39
fan is right now post this Bengals game. But...
0:42
You can only get it at your local Pittsburgh
0:45
grocery store. That's right, folks. So go on
0:47
down to your local Pittsburgh grocery store and
0:49
get you as many boxes of Wacko Flackos as you
0:52
possibly can. Now, once you buy these Wacko Flackos,
0:55
make sure you go to the next Bengals game and
0:58
have Joe Flacko. That's right, Mr. Wacko Flacko
1:02
himself. Sign off on these boxes. And when you
1:06
do so, make sure that you keep them so you will
1:08
remember the ass beating that him, Jamar Chase,
1:11
and Tee Higgins gave. Now, with that being said,
1:13
we have other things that we have to talk about.
1:15
Brandon Graham returns to the Eagles. Brian Callahan
1:18
gets fired. Commanders and Cowboys recap. Dolphins
1:21
and Browns recap. Giants and Broncos recap. And
1:24
Texans and Seahawks recap. All right, all of
1:27
this and more. On the 95th episode of the Football
1:30
Junkies Podcast, okay, I am your host with the
1:32
most, all right? I am your hopium, hopium, hopium,
1:35
hopium dealer. That's right. I am your GM who
1:38
currently is not on a team right now. But don't
1:41
you worry about it, all right? Don't you worry
1:43
about it because I am all these things and more.
1:46
But most importantly, the most important thing
1:48
that you must remember is I am your host, Kale.
1:51
Buckle up because it's going to be a long episode.
1:53
It's going to be a great episode. It's going
1:55
to be an episode full of twists, turns, truth
1:57
bombs, and more. So guess what? On three. One,
1:59
two, three. Let's lock in. All right, folks,
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let's get into the meat and potatoes of everything
2:29
that is going on in the league right now. So
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I was going to start with the Steelers and Bengals
2:34
first, but I want to save that for last because
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I have a lot to say with that, okay? So let's
2:40
just get into the Texans and Seahawks, all right?
2:42
So CJ Stroud, 49 attempts for 23 completions,
2:46
229 passing yards, one touchdown, one pick, 4
2:49
.7 yards per attempt, a 46 .9 completion percentage.
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CJ Stroud again. Two attempts for 25 rushing
2:56
yards, 12 .5 rushing yards per carry, and two
3:00
rushes of 10 plus yards or more. Dolson Schultz,
3:02
10 targets for nine receptions, 98 receiving
3:05
yards, and 10 .9 receiving yards per reception.
3:08
Sam Darnall, 31 attempts for 17 completions,
3:11
213 passing yards, one touchdown, one pick, 6
3:15
.9 yards per attempt, and a 54 .8 completion
3:18
percentage. Kenneth Walker. 17 attempts for 66
3:21
rushing yards, 3 .9 rushing yards per carry,
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and two rushes of 10 plus yards or more. JSN,
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14 targets for eight receptions, 123 receiving
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yards, one touchdown, and 15 .4 receiving yards
3:34
per reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets,
3:37
okay? When the line out wide, JSN caught eight
3:41
of his 14 targets from 123 yards and one touchdown.
3:45
Sam Donald targeted in breaking routes 11 times,
3:48
completing seven passes for 97 yards and one
3:50
touchdown. Sam Donald ranks third in passing
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yards at 1 ,541 passing yards, despite the Seahawks
3:59
passing on 50 .3 % of their plays, the lowest
4:03
pass rate in the NFL. So a couple takeaways from
4:06
this game. For starters, the Texans need to protect
4:09
C .J. Stroud. I understand that you're going
4:12
up against a really good defense that has a really
4:14
good defensive line, but just drafting one offensive
4:18
lineman is not going to do the job. Because right
4:21
now, CJ Stroud has significantly regressed. When
4:24
we look at his rookie year and compare that to
4:27
how he's playing now, it's really bad. And a
4:30
lot of that you have to blame on what's around
4:32
him. He has a bad offensive line. His run game
4:35
is not dependable. I mean, everyone was thinking,
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okay, you're going to have Joe Mixon and Nick
4:39
Chubb. Joe Mixon still hasn't played. but you
4:43
have all these receivers. So what sense does
4:45
it make? And I will continue to say this, and
4:47
I'm going to say this with the Dolphins and Browns
4:49
game. You can have all the weapons in the world,
4:52
but if you don't have an offensive line that's
4:54
going to be able to protect you, you can't feed
4:57
your weapons. And that's exactly what happened
4:59
this game. If it wasn't for the Texans having
5:02
Will Anderson and Daniil Hunter, best believe
5:05
this would have been a shutout because that Texas
5:06
offense couldn't do anything. The run game was
5:08
inconsistent. The passing game was inconsistent.
5:11
They had no consistency throughout the entire
5:15
game. The Seahawks was locking it down. But let's
5:19
continue. The Seahawks are the best team in the
5:21
NFC West. I am willing to die on this hill and
5:24
say that there is nobody else in that division
5:27
that you have to worry about. The Rams still
5:30
look a little bit shaky. The 49ers, as I've said
5:33
before, before the season even started, I don't
5:36
believe them. I believe that they are pretenders.
5:38
And the Cardinals are most likely going to just
5:40
tank for the rest of the year because Kyler Murray
5:43
is just not the same guy. So as of right now,
5:47
the Seahawks are in pole position to win that
5:50
division and can really be true contenders against
5:54
the Lions, Buccaneers, or Eagles. You could probably
5:58
even sprinkle in the Cowboys in there as well,
6:00
but we'll talk about them when we get there,
6:02
okay? But as of right now, the Seahawks really
6:06
don't have a lot of flaws on neither side of
6:09
the ball. The run game is consistent. The passing
6:12
game looks really good. Sam Darnold looks really
6:14
good. The defense is sort of giving you like
6:17
a Legion of Boom 2 .0 type of vibe. The DBs are
6:23
really physical. The defensive line is getting
6:25
after them. Now, the question is this. Are they
6:28
going to be buyers or sellers when the trade
6:31
deadline hits? Put a bookmark on that. We may
6:34
talk about that in the next episode. Just saying.
6:36
Sam Darnold for MVP? Question mark? Yes, I know
6:41
we all drunk from the same cup last year. And
6:43
we all were thinking, you know, Sam Darnold's
6:46
going to win MVP. And then he just, I don't know.
6:50
went down the wrong slide or something. It was
6:52
just atrocious towards the end of last season.
6:55
But this year, I mean, we may have to have a
6:58
conversation because as of right now, there are
7:00
only four quarterbacks in my mind that I would
7:03
consider MVP candidates. Baker Mayfield is number
7:06
one, Dak Prescott, number two, Sam Darnold, number
7:09
three, and maybe Justin Herbert, depending on
7:13
how the rest of the season goes. I don't know,
7:15
but just saying. But let's keep this thing going
7:17
with a truth bomb. Self -inflicted wounds will
7:20
be the downfall of the Texans. When they drafted
7:24
C .J. Stroud, I was thinking, okay, they've turned
7:27
the page from Deshaun Watson. They're going in
7:29
a different direction. There's a light at the
7:32
end of the tunnel. And since C .J. Stroud's rookie
7:35
season, it has been a sharp decline in his play.
7:39
And offensively, it's regressed. And so I understand
7:44
that you traded Loremi Tonto. I understand that
7:46
you've made a lot of movement. on the offensive
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line, and on the offense as a whole. But there
7:51
is no cohesiveness on this offense right now.
7:54
I'm sorry. I understand that you've lost Joe
7:57
Mixon for, I would say, maybe the rest of the
8:00
year. But you have to make a trade for a running
8:03
back. You have to inject some energy into this
8:06
offense because right now they just got their
8:09
ass kicked by the Seahawks. And it's only going
8:12
to get worse from here because right now the
8:14
Colts is the number one team that every AFC team
8:17
is going to have to face. And that's your division
8:20
rival. So whoever their GM is, they need to be
8:23
on the phone trying to make some trades now because
8:25
things are not looking good within your division.
8:28
The Jaguars actually look pretty good this year.
8:30
The Titans, I mean, that's just a lost cause.
8:32
We already know. But the Colts is the team that
8:35
you're going to have to worry about. But let's
8:37
talk about the Giants and Broncos games. So Jackson
8:39
Dart, 33 attempts for 15 completions, 283 passing
8:43
yards, three touchdowns, one pick, and a 45 .5
8:46
completion percentage. Cam Scadabo. 16 attempts
8:50
for 60 rushing yards, 3 .8 rushing yards per
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carry, and 1 rush of 10 plus yards or more. Wondell
8:56
Robinson, 12 targets for 6 receptions, 95 receiving
8:59
yards, and 15 .8 receiving yards per reception.
9:03
Bo Nix, 50 attempts for 23 completions, 279 passing
9:08
yards, 2 touchdowns, 5 .6 yards per attempt.
9:11
and a 54 completion percentage kay dobbins 14
9:14
attempts for 81 rushing yards 5 .8 rushing yards
9:17
per carry and one rush of 10 plus yards or more
9:19
courtland 10 targets for six receptions 87 receiving
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yards and 14 .5 receiving yards per reception
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so here's a few junkie nuggets against the broncos
9:30
blitz jackson dark completed eight of his 14
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passes for 193 yards two touchdowns and one pick
9:38
the third most passing yards by any player facing
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the Blitz. On 37 coverage snaps, PS2 didn't allow
9:46
reception. PS2 was targeted twice and only recorded
9:50
one pass deflection. With that being said, let's
9:53
talk about the Broncos offense. So for starters,
9:55
they couldn't get a scoring drive together to
9:57
save their life. Every time that they had a little
10:01
momentum going, guess what? The Giants just knocked
10:04
it down. That pass rush was doing its thing.
10:06
And mind you, This offense is supposed to be
10:09
one of the better offenses in the entire league.
10:12
So for Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, you know, the
10:15
same old same do their thing. Man, oh man, is
10:18
that great to see. Now I will say this. Andrew
10:21
Phillips was physical. I mean, old school 2000s
10:26
quarterback physical. He was making tackles.
10:30
He was doing it all, man. I mean, this Giants
10:33
defense looks really good, really productive,
10:36
really consistent, honestly, on all three levels,
10:40
which is actually really good. Because they are
10:42
the bright spot of this team. But we have to
10:44
talk about Jackson Dart effectively distributing
10:46
the ball to everybody on that offense. Wondell
10:50
Robinson was getting his. Theo Johnson was getting
10:52
his. The other tight end was getting his. Everybody
10:55
was getting some attention. And that's how you
10:58
win games. Now, I mean, we all know how they
11:01
lost. And that's a little bit controversial by
11:03
some people's standards. But we're not going
11:04
to talk about that, okay? We're just going to
11:06
leave that alone. But this is very promising.
11:10
Even though they lost, for Jackson to own against
11:13
a really good defense like the Broncos says a
11:16
lot. Now, am I saying that, hey, this team could
11:19
possibly make it to the playoffs? No. But I will
11:23
say this. Anytime you have a quarterback, a rookie
11:26
quarterback on top of that, to be this effective
11:29
without their supposed number one weapon, that's
11:33
promising right there. But with that being said,
11:35
if you're Joe Shane, should you make a move to
11:37
bring in another receiver? Now, I understand
11:40
that Wanda Robinson, Jalen Hyatt, and everybody
11:42
else is being really productive, but you still
11:45
need somebody to play that number one wide receiver
11:49
role. So do you bring in a Chris Alave? Do you
11:52
bring in a Jacoby Myers? Do you bring in an Alan
11:55
Lazard if he is available? Do you bring in another
11:58
receiver to help out? Because I think what they
12:01
have right now is sustainable. Now, am I saying
12:04
it's sustainable enough for them to possibly
12:06
make it in the playoffs? No. But I think it's
12:09
enough to maybe win seven, maybe eight games.
12:13
And I think if you do that, John Mara has to
12:16
keep Brian Dable and Joe Shane. You can't get
12:18
rid of them now. If Russell Wilson was still
12:21
in the game, oh, by all means, everybody's gone.
12:23
But with Jackson Dart playing the way that he's
12:26
been playing, you got to keep him. There is something
12:29
there that can be built off of this season. But
12:32
with that being said, the Broncos defense. I'm
12:35
not saying it's the best, but it's up there.
12:37
I would venture to say it's probably top three
12:40
right now because if it wasn't for them having
12:42
that defense, the Giants would have easily steamrolled
12:46
the Broncos because the Broncos offense couldn't
12:48
do anything. And the defense was the only thing
12:50
that was keeping them in the game. But let's
12:53
talk about the game that not a lot of people
12:54
watched. I can assure you there was a lot of
12:57
people that was probably taking a nap, maybe
12:59
getting some brunch or making dinner, you know,
13:02
just doing different things just to pass the
13:04
time because who in the world is watching the
13:06
Dolphins and the Browns? Nobody. But let's talk
13:09
about it. Tua, 23 attempts for 12 completions,
13:12
100 passing yards, three picks, 4 .3 yards per
13:15
attempt, and a 52 .5 completion percentage. Quinn
13:19
Ewerts. 8 attempts for 5 completions, 53 passing
13:22
yards, 6 .6 yards per attempt, and a 62 .5 completion
13:26
percentage. Devon Achan, 13 attempts for 82 rushing
13:29
yards, 6 .3 rushing yards per carry, and 2 rushes
13:33
of 10 plus yards or more. Dee Eskridge, 2 targets
13:36
for 2 receptions, 45 receiving yards, and 22
13:39
.5 receiving yards per reception. Dylan Gabriel,
13:42
18 attempts for 13 completions, 116 passing yards,
13:46
6 .4 yards per attempt, and a 72 .2 completion
13:49
percentage. Quinshaw -Junkins, 25 attempts for
13:52
84 rushing yards, 3 .4 rushing yards per carry,
13:56
3 touchdowns, and 2 rushes of 10 plus yards or
13:59
more. Harold Fannin Jr., 5 targets for 4 receptions,
14:03
36 receiving yards, and 9 receiving yards per
14:06
reception. So with this game, honestly, yes,
14:09
it was a bad game on both sides. It was rainy
14:11
and everything, but there is something to come
14:14
out of this. There's no need to fire Mike McDaniel.
14:18
I understand that's not the popular option. I
14:21
understand it's not the popular thing that Dolphins
14:24
fans want to hear, but that's the truth. There's
14:27
no need in firing him if Anthony Weaver, who
14:31
by all intents and purposes will be the interim
14:33
head coach, is not doing a good job either. So
14:36
all you're doing is replacing crap with more
14:39
crap. It's like that meme of the grandfather.
14:42
He got the same shirt that he's wearing for Christmas.
14:44
That's exactly what it is in this situation.
14:46
So you might as well want to suck it up and just
14:49
deal with it. Because guess what? This is what
14:53
happens when you try to take an easy pass in
14:55
roster building. We're going to go to class right
14:58
now. Here's the thing. Okay. And I had to really
15:01
think about this when I was watching the game.
15:03
Who can you blame for the Dolphins not being
15:06
where they're supposed to be? Mike McDaniel,
15:08
Chris Greer, Stephen Ross, Anthony Weaver, Tua.
15:13
Who do you blame in this? And the number one
15:16
person that needs to be blamed for this is Chris
15:19
Greer. And here's why. And this is something
15:21
that I've said in multiple episodes. Whenever
15:25
you are drafting a quarterback, you must make
15:27
sure that you invest into a good offensive line.
15:31
Because if you don't, you're going to put your
15:34
quarterback in harm's way. We have seen it multiple
15:37
times where teams neglect offensive line. And
15:40
by the time that they actually start to do it,
15:42
it's already too late. The damage is already
15:45
done. Now, I'm not saying that, you know, once
15:48
the Dolphins drafted Tua, the next few years
15:50
they need to be drafting an offensive lineman
15:52
in the first round. No, but you have to make
15:55
investments on that line. Otherwise, guess what?
15:58
Your quarterback is going to be a sitting duck.
16:01
And that's exactly what's happened since Tua
16:04
has been with the Dolphins. You cannot just make
16:07
a trade for Tyreek Hill, draft Jalen Waddell,
16:10
make a trade for Bradley Chubb, make a trade
16:13
for Jalen Ramsey and think, oh, okay, we're this
16:15
really good team. We can do whatever we want.
16:18
No, it doesn't work like that. There is a process,
16:21
and that process starts with good scouting, drafting,
16:25
and being frugalent when it comes to free agency
16:28
moves. Not just throwing everything away within
16:31
the first two or three years and thinking, oh,
16:33
okay, we can compete with the Chiefs. We can
16:36
compete with the Ravens or the Bills or any other
16:38
Super Bowl team. No, you can't. Because guess
16:41
what? When you guys went to Kansas City, you
16:43
learned right then and there that guess what?
16:45
You still can't hang with the big dogs. I don't
16:48
care if you have Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, this
16:50
person, that person. You still can't do it. Because
16:53
why? Not everything else is built around Tua.
16:56
And granted, there are some quarterbacks that
16:58
can overcome their situation, but it's very rare.
17:01
Tua is not one of those people. Tua is somebody
17:04
that needs everything around him in order for
17:07
him to be successful. So I don't understand why
17:10
the Dolphins try to take the fast way to try
17:13
to build this roster when you didn't. Okay, you
17:16
paid for Teron Armstead, but how long did that
17:18
last? OK, you paid for Tyreek Hill and then you
17:23
had to repay him again, which was unnecessary.
17:26
And then you did the same thing for Jalen Ramsey,
17:28
which was unnecessary. So you see the kind of
17:31
get out here, folks. This is a clear cut example
17:34
of what happens when you do not build a team
17:37
the right way. You can't just keep on writing
17:40
check after check after check after check, thinking
17:43
that guess what's going to build the team. No,
17:45
you have to start hitting on your draft picks.
17:48
You look at any dynasty, the Chiefs, Patriots,
17:51
even the dynasties of old, what is the one thing
17:54
that they all have in common? A majority of the
17:57
people that are on that roster, they drafted
18:00
and developed them successfully. So when you
18:03
don't hit on your draft picks, guess what happens?
18:05
It pushes the process back even farther. We see
18:08
that with the Steelers right now. The Steelers'
18:11
success in the early 2000s was because of what?
18:14
Good drafting and development. It wasn't because
18:18
they got lucky in free agency. No, they were
18:21
hitting on their draft picks year after year
18:23
after year after year. And sooner or later, guess
18:26
what? It made the process easier. And all they
18:29
had to do was just get this person in free agency,
18:32
get that person in free agency, just to put the
18:34
bowl on the gift. And that's it. But with the
18:37
trade deadline coming up, I think the number
18:40
one question that needs to be asked in the front
18:42
office is, who are the building blocks for this
18:45
team? Is it Jalen Waddell? Is it Devon A. Chan?
18:48
Is it Kenneth Grant? Is it Jonah Savanaya? Is
18:52
it your tight ends? Who on this team can you
18:55
say is a building block? Somebody that you're
18:58
not going to trade away no matter who offers
19:01
you what. Because right now, you are going to
19:05
have to scrap this thing to the nuts and bolts.
19:08
But you're going to have to keep some players.
19:11
So who's it going to be? But let's talk about
19:13
the Browns. So for starters, defensively, this
19:15
was a really good bounce back performance. Because
19:18
prior to this game, I had a lot of questions
19:21
about this Browns team as a whole. But this defense,
19:25
although I am confident that it's still going
19:28
to be top five, I wanted to see how they're going
19:30
to respond after losing to the Steelers the way
19:33
that they did. I wanted to see, hey, are they
19:35
still going to be effective in the run game?
19:37
Are they going to be better in the passing game?
19:40
How are they going to approach the Dolphins?
19:42
Because everybody knows that the Dolphins' offensive
19:45
line is not good, and they know that they could
19:47
get after Tua. And that's exactly what they did.
19:51
But when we look at the offense, however, there
19:54
is promise with Quenshawn Jenkins and Dylan Gabriel.
19:57
However, you must reduce their expectations.
20:00
They're going to have highs, lows, head -scratching
20:03
moments, and just WTF moments. But that's what
20:06
happens when you're a rookie in the National
20:08
Football League, okay? The one critique I do
20:11
have for Kevin Stefanski is, let Shador Sanders
20:15
play. And the reason why I say that is because
20:18
at this point, with you trading away Joe Flacco,
20:22
you need to do a fair assessment on both quarterbacks.
20:26
You need to see their limitations, their pros
20:29
and cons, as well as what situation would be
20:33
best for them if... you were to move forward
20:36
with it. That's the only way you can really know
20:39
what you have in these two. The preseason is
20:41
nice, yes, but you need to see how they react
20:44
in real competition in real time. That's the
20:49
only way you can know, hey, he's good when he's
20:52
facing cover two, cover three, cover four. Hey,
20:55
this person isn't good when he's facing the blitz.
20:58
Hey, this person is good with little to no offensive
21:02
line. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Only then
21:05
can you come to a real conclusion of, hey, next
21:09
year we're going after a quarterback. Or, hey,
21:12
next year we need to go after a wide receiver
21:15
or offensive lineman or just a whole different
21:19
direction. Remember, the Browns have two first
21:21
round picks next year. They have the Jaguars
21:24
and their own. So you really need to make a real
21:28
decision on what you're going to do moving forward.
21:32
Because right now, listen, I understand that
21:36
Shador Sanders is, you know, the name carries
21:39
a lot of weight, both negatively and positively.
21:43
But at the same time, it is your job as the head
21:47
coach to assess with what you have on your team.
21:53
Because the Browns aren't going to fire you.
21:55
We all know that. But you need to see what you
21:58
have in both Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders.
22:01
One of them needs to play one whole game and
22:04
the other one needs to play the next game, regardless
22:06
of who the opponent is. We all know that the
22:10
defense is going to be great this year, but the
22:13
offense isn't. Because why? The offensive line
22:16
is beat up and depleted. The weapons, eh, they're
22:21
there, but they're not really there. So you just
22:24
need to see what you have. And everybody, honestly,
22:27
I would expand it for every single position.
22:30
offensive line, wide receiver, tight end, running
22:34
back, you name it. Because again, the Browns
22:38
would be in a much better situation if they just
22:41
addressed quarterback. If they find stability
22:44
at quarterback, this is a playoff team. Remember,
22:48
a Joe Flacco -led Browns team made a deep playoff
22:53
run. So imagine if they get their guy. Imagine
22:56
if they have Baker Mayfield on this team. That's
22:59
a Super Bowl team, guaranteed. So you have to
23:02
do these things now. There's no need for you
23:04
to just have Shador just on the bench holding
23:07
a clipboard. No, put him out on the field. Let
23:10
him call some real plays. Not that bull crap
23:13
that you guys say are real plays in training
23:16
camp and in the preseason because it's not. It's
23:19
the generic stuff. Have him play call. Have him
23:22
execute. Have him do the things that he needs
23:25
to do on a Sunday. He needs to experience this.
23:29
Otherwise, it's just wasted talent. That's like
23:32
you going to the grocery store and you buying
23:34
groceries and you're just going to let them sit
23:37
and just rot. Then what's the point of going
23:40
to the grocery store? Now, for the Dolphins,
23:43
however, I probably would do the same thing because
23:47
most likely there's going to be a new regime.
23:50
There's going to be, you know, a lot of changes
23:53
and a lot of people are going to be moved. So
23:55
you need to see exactly what do you have so far?
23:58
What other positions do you need to address?
24:01
Because right now, whoever is the next head coach
24:06
and GM, you have a lot of work you have to do.
24:11
Let's talk about the Commanders and Cowboys.
24:15
Yes, yes, yes. How about them Cowboys? How about
24:20
them Cowboys? You got to say it sometimes, folks.
24:25
You just have to, all right? So Jaden Daniels,
24:28
22 attempts for 12 completions, 156 passing yards,
24:32
one touchdown, 7 .1 yards per attempt, and a
24:34
54 .5 completion percentage. Marcus Mariota,
24:38
10 attempts for four completions. 63 passing
24:41
yards, 1 pick, 6 .3 yards per attempt, a 40 %
24:44
completion percentage. Jaden Daniels again. 8
24:47
attempts for 35 rushing yards, 4 .4 rushing yards
24:51
per carry, 1 touchdown, and 1 rush of 10 plus
24:53
yards or more. Jalen Lane. 6 targets for 3 receptions,
24:57
60 receiving yards, and 20 receiving yards per
25:00
reception. Dak Prescott. 30 attempts for 21 completions.
25:05
264 passing yards, three touchdowns, 8 .8 yards
25:08
per attempt, and a 70 % Javante Williams. 19
25:12
attempts for 116 rushing yards, 6 .1 rushing
25:16
yards per carry, one touchdown, and two rushes
25:19
of 10 plus yards or more. CeeDee Lamb, eight
25:22
targets for five receptions, 110 receiving yards,
25:25
one touchdown, and 22 receiving yards per reception.
25:28
So here's a few junkie nuggets. In play action.
25:32
Dak was 9 of 11 for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
25:36
When Dak threw under 2 .5 seconds, he was 10
25:40
of 11 passes for 71 yards, but all three touchdowns
25:44
came from throws that took more than 2 .5 seconds
25:48
to release. Javante Williams gained 75 yards
25:51
and two explosive eight carries running to the
25:55
left, 9 .4 yards per carry, while gaining 41
25:58
yards and one touchdown. when carrying to the
26:01
right, 3 .7 yards per carry. So a couple takeaways
26:04
from this game. For starters, the Commanders
26:07
need Terry McLaurin. I have never seen, well,
26:10
actually, you know what? I lied, because, I mean,
26:12
we've seen a lot of bad Commanders football,
26:15
but we're not going to talk about that. We're
26:17
not going to talk about that. But all jokes aside,
26:19
the Commanders do need Terry McLaurin. The receivers
26:21
were just struggling, and this isn't a really
26:26
good Cowboys defense. But, I mean, you had Robbie
26:30
Chosen, you had Jalen Lane, you had Luke McCaffrey,
26:33
and they were just struggling. Nobody could really
26:36
create separation. Nobody could really get to
26:38
the ball. It was just bad, honestly. But if I'm
26:42
not mistaken, I think Terry McLaurin will be
26:44
playing on Monday night. Don't take my word for
26:46
it. I think I saw it somewhere on Twitter. I
26:50
don't know. Don't worry about that. Moving forward,
26:54
the commander's cornerback struggled against
26:56
Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, specifically Marshawn
27:00
Lattimore. I have never seen Marshawn Lattimore
27:02
struggle that bad. Like, he was struggling hard
27:06
against George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. And it
27:10
was a barbecue chicken alert every single time
27:13
he was matched up against one of those corners.
27:15
And mind you, he's the most veteran corner out
27:18
of everybody in that room. But... We're going
27:21
to put a bookmark on that, all right? Because
27:22
there's a lot that needs to be talked about that.
27:24
The Cowboys need interior defensive line help.
27:27
Granted, you traded for Kenny Clark. Kenny Clark
27:29
is only one person, okay? You need to bolster
27:32
up that defensive line. But the problem is you
27:35
can't do it when people are not available. Because
27:39
it sounds like to me like Maxie nor Jeffrey Simmons
27:41
is available. So it's like, who do you get an
27:44
interior defensive lineman from? Because the
27:47
compensation isn't a problem. They have two first
27:50
round picks. It's just a matter of can they do
27:53
business with another team? That's the question,
27:56
right? Or do you take a cheaper route and try
27:59
to get someone that's not as well known but is
28:04
productive? I think that's just the best way
28:06
to put it. But I mean, we'll talk about that
28:09
as the days go by and as we get closer to the
28:12
trade deadline. The Cowboys' best move this offseason
28:17
was signing Javante Williams. Super productive,
28:20
quick, hitting his gaps, and is just really,
28:24
really, really good. But moving forward, the
28:28
Commanders need another receiving tight end option.
28:32
I'll be honest here. I feel like the Commanders
28:36
should have drafted Tyler Warren. And the only
28:38
reason why I say that is because The best friend
28:42
for any rookie quarterback or any young quarterback
28:46
is a tight end. Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Peyton
28:50
Manning, even Ben Roethlisberger. They've all
28:54
had productive tight ends at some point in their
28:57
career, and it worked. So I would have at least
29:00
dabbled with the idea of maybe getting one in
29:03
the first round or maybe even in the second round,
29:05
personally, because Zach Ertz is showing his
29:07
age. He really can't create separation. He really
29:11
can't get to the ball like how he used to. And
29:14
some of that is out of his control. I'll be honest.
29:17
But I think in this situation, where you don't
29:21
have your two primary receivers, having that
29:24
tied in would have at least added a little bit
29:27
of stability to the offense. Instead of you relying
29:30
on Robbie Chosen and Luke McCaffrey and Jalen
29:34
Lane and other receivers. And this is no disrespect
29:36
to them at all, but... I just feel like a lot
29:39
of the problems that the commanders are having
29:41
is because of poor roster building. And that
29:45
goes directly towards Adam Peters. Because when
29:48
we really look at this, right, trading Marshawn
29:51
Lattimore, it's starting to look like it was
29:56
a bad move. Okay, I'll be honest here. Granted,
30:00
you didn't have to give up a lot to get him,
30:02
but it looks like it's starting to look like
30:04
a bad move because You're not seeing any production.
30:08
You're not seeing the same Marshawn Lattimore
30:11
that the Saints had. Instead, you're seeing somebody
30:14
that really can't go toe -to -toe with number
30:17
one, number two receivers. I'm sorry, that's
30:20
a problem. Because outside of him, who else can
30:23
you rely on? You have Mike Sandstrom. You have
30:26
Jonathan Jones. Can't rely on him. Who else can
30:29
you rely on? He's supposed to be the most reliable
30:31
cornerback in that room, and he isn't. So what
30:35
do you do? Do you have to make a trade for Tyreek
30:37
Woolen? Do you have to make a trade for somebody
30:40
else that may be available? Because right now,
30:42
that secondary is a weak spot. And I think another
30:45
thing that the commanders also have to address
30:47
is pass rusher and running back. Because I feel
30:52
like with them losing Austin Eckler and then
30:54
trading away Bryan Robinson, they need an elusive
30:58
back. They need somebody that can just cut one
31:01
time, go. And I feel like, you know, going after
31:04
someone like a Brees Hall or David R. Chan or,
31:08
you know, somebody that has some speed to him,
31:10
I think that would actually provide a lot of
31:12
help for the commanders. Because I feel like
31:15
with Jaden Daniels being hurt, right? Coming
31:17
into this game, I feel like the plan should have
31:19
been, you know what? We are not going to put
31:22
Jaden Daniels in harm's way. We are going to
31:25
try to take the ball out of his hand as much
31:27
as possible. And I would say, you know what?
31:30
Hey, we about to run this thing 20. 25, maybe
31:32
30 times. We're going to chuck up the ball a
31:35
few times to some of these receivers and tight
31:37
ends, but we're going to run this ball. We're
31:39
going to run this rock hard. You know that the
31:41
Cowboys defensive line isn't that strong, especially
31:44
in the interior. So I just don't understand why
31:49
you guys haven't made any moves by now. Because
31:52
you need to. Because trying to bring that same
31:55
energy from last year to this year is not going
31:58
to solve anything. Because guess what? Everybody
32:01
knows how to counter what you're trying to do.
32:05
Everybody now has tape on Jaden Daniels. Everybody
32:08
now has tape on how you run your defense, how
32:11
you run your offense. Switch things up. I understand
32:14
that they still have a lot of things that they
32:17
need to clean up and it's going to take some
32:18
time. I get that. But again, you cannot fall
32:21
into the same pitfalls as the previous regime.
32:24
I'm sorry. We have to be honest here. The offensive
32:27
line has to be better. I don't understand why
32:30
as a head coach or as anybody, why you would
32:33
want Jaden Daniels to play this game. If it's
32:35
me personally, I'm not letting Jaden Daniels
32:37
play until after the bye because you are our
32:40
future. And so I can't afford for you to get
32:43
hurt like how you are now, where most likely
32:45
it's going to take him after the bye to get healthy.
32:49
So what exactly do you do at this point? Because
32:52
I don't expect the Commanders to do a lot this
32:54
year. I expect for them to probably be maybe
32:57
the third or fourth best team in their division.
33:00
Just being honest here. When you compare their
33:02
roster to the Cowboys, Eagles, and the Giants,
33:05
they got motion right now. And that defense is
33:08
more productive than what Washington has. Let's
33:11
just call it spade to spade, folks. Let's just
33:13
have an honest conversation. Now, when we look
33:15
at the Cowboys, however, the Cowboys offensively
33:18
look great. George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb? greatness.
33:23
And this is the recipe for success with Dak Prescott.
33:27
You give him two productive wide receivers or
33:30
more, and you give him a productive running back
33:33
and a decent offensive line, he's going to make
33:35
some magic. As I've said before in the early
33:39
part of this episode, Dak, to me, is an MVP candidate.
33:43
Now, am I just going to give him the award? No.
33:45
But I would say right now, he is playing at an
33:48
MVP level. And it's only up from here because
33:51
mind you, again, as I've said before, the Cowboys
33:55
defense can only do so much. So the Cowboys offense
33:58
is going to have to do the heavy lifting. So
34:01
right now, if you're the Cowboys, what are you
34:04
going to do to make this team better? Are you
34:07
going to make a trade to target the offense or
34:09
are you going to make a trade to target the defense?
34:11
And since we're talking about George Pickens,
34:14
another thing we have to talk about is the Cowboys
34:17
were right in trading George Pickens. And the
34:19
Steelers are now regretting that move because
34:21
now you have this super productive receiver who,
34:24
granted, you probably would like for him to run,
34:27
you know, more routes, but hey, he's super productive.
34:33
Anytime that ball is coming his way, he's getting
34:35
it. Now, I mean, he did have a little bit of
34:38
an outburst and, you know, he did have a little
34:39
bit of an attitude when playing Chicago and whatnot,
34:42
but all is forgiven, right? The fact that you
34:45
got George Pickens for the compensation that
34:47
you got him for, It's a blessing in disguise
34:49
because personally right now, he's playing at
34:53
a second round pick, possibly a late first round
34:56
pick if he was to be traded, just being honest
34:58
here. But if you're the Steelers, you have to
35:01
have some level of regret right now because why?
35:05
You could have had that same production or more
35:08
out of George Pickens had you could have tried
35:10
to make things work. And granted, I know there's
35:13
going to be a lot of Steelers journalists and
35:15
people that follow TV will be like, well, George
35:17
Pickens was just such a problem in the locker
35:20
room and on the field and we just couldn't deal
35:22
with him and whatnot. Y 'all knew who George
35:24
Pickens was when you drafted him. So I don't
35:27
understand why you guys are reacting like this.
35:29
You knew what you were getting with him. You
35:32
knew the attitude problems. You knew that he
35:35
wanted to get fed a lot. You knew all these things.
35:38
So why would you continue to draft him? This
35:42
isn't like AB. You guys have tried to do this
35:45
over and over and over again. And every single
35:48
time that you do it, it blows up in your face.
35:51
You tried it with Chase Claypool. You tried it
35:53
with George Pickens. You tried it with Deontay
35:56
Johnson. All three of them are gone. And now
35:58
look at you. You are now in a situation once
36:00
again. when you're trying to get another receiver.
36:03
But you didn't have to do it had you just kept
36:06
him. And mind you, George Pickens said that his
36:08
favorite quarterback that he wanted to be thrown
36:10
to was Aaron Rodgers. So I guarantee you he probably
36:14
would have bought in. Aaron and DK alone probably
36:18
would have pulled him to the side and said, hey,
36:20
dog, listen, we're going to run things this way.
36:22
We're not going to have no problems because DK
36:25
would have been the big dog. But again, this
36:27
is the Steelers. But with that being said, the
36:30
Cowboys right now are putting up a fight. And
36:33
depending on what the Eagles do during the trade
36:36
deadline, depending on what the Giants do, I
36:38
could make a strong case that the Cowboys have
36:41
a chance. I'm not saying it's a big chance, but
36:44
they have a chance to disrupt somebody in this
36:47
division high up. Whether that be the Eagles,
36:50
whether it be the Giants, whoever. Because mind
36:54
you, this division, if I'm not mistaken, has
36:57
not had a back -to -back divisional winner in
37:00
a long time. Every single year, there's always
37:03
another team winning the division. Hey, just
37:06
saying. If the Cowboys do it, I think it's working.
37:09
I think right now, Brian Schottenheimer was a
37:12
good hire. We got to be honest here, folks. If
37:15
we cannot be honest, if we cannot have honest
37:18
conversations about the assessment of teams right
37:21
now, then what's the point in having podcasts?
37:23
What's the point in just having conversations
37:25
about football? But let's talk about Brian Callahan
37:28
getting fired. So if you guys did not know, he
37:31
was let go last Monday. And with him being fired,
37:35
his overall coaching record with the Titans was
37:38
4 -19. In this season, it was 1 -5 with Cam Ward,
37:43
according to Teron Davenport of ESPN. Now, this
37:46
is what Titans president of football operations,
37:48
Chad Brinker, had to say on why Brian Callahan
37:51
was fired. And I quote, We just felt like this
37:54
was the right time to make a change. We were
37:57
looking for growth in this football team, and
38:00
that's what this is about right now. We're not
38:02
seeing enough growth from this football team,
38:04
end quote. During halftime against the Colts,
38:08
Fans were chanting, and I quote, fired Callahan
38:11
during the game and booing the team. Shortly
38:14
after, Callahan turned over play -calling responsibilities
38:18
to quarterback coach Bo Hardegree. After a 26
38:22
-0 loss to the Texans, Cam Ward voiced his frustration,
38:26
saying, and I quote, if we keep it in the book
38:28
right now, we're ass, end quote. Now, with the
38:32
Titans firing Brian Callahan, Mike McCoy is now
38:35
the interim head coach. He was the head coach
38:37
for the Chargers from 2013 to 2016, with a 27
38:41
-37 overall record and a playoff appearance within
38:44
his first season. Now, this is what Titans GM
38:48
Mike Borgonzi had to say about Mike McCoy, and
38:50
I quote, What Mike brings right now is experience
38:54
and leadership. He has been a head coach. He's
38:57
a former quarterback who's had some years in
38:59
the NFL as a player and has been around NFL quarterbacks
39:02
like Phillip Rivers. Peyton Manning, and he was
39:04
with Trevor Lawrence last year. Now, here's the
39:07
thing. According to ESPN research, six of the
39:12
last head coaches of number one overall quarterbacks
39:15
were fired. Cam Ward this year, Kayla Williams
39:18
last year, Trevor Lawrence in 2021, Bryce Young
39:22
in 2023, Baker Mayfield, and Jared Goff. Here's
39:25
the problem that I have with this, okay? You
39:28
cannot make Brian Callahan the scapegoat for
39:31
your mistakes. Because this all stems back to
39:34
when Mike Vrabel and that GM was there. You can't
39:38
trade away A .J. Brown and then just let Derrick
39:41
Henry walk and then not properly try to build
39:45
this team the right way and then just say, you
39:47
know what, we're just going to fire this GM and
39:49
then we're going to fire him and then we're going
39:51
to fire him and fire him. You know what? He's
39:52
not showing enough. You know what? Fire him,
39:54
fire him, fire him. You cannot continue to keep
39:56
on firing people. You have to give them a chance.
40:00
There's a reason why you got the number one overall
40:03
pick, because you suck. But again, this goes
40:08
back to what I've said a couple minutes ago with
40:11
the Dolphins. When you don't draft well, when
40:15
you don't develop well, when you don't go through
40:18
the process of properly building a roster, guess
40:21
what's going to happen? You're not going to see
40:24
success. That's just what it boils down to. Okay,
40:27
granted, you had Jeffrey Simmons. You traded
40:30
for a luxurious need. Okay, you signed Calvin
40:33
Ridley. That's not enough. Rand Carthorne was
40:37
trying to build this team, but guess what? You
40:39
fired him because you wasn't happy in the direction
40:41
of the team. It's a process. It's a rebuild.
40:45
You guys are trying to rebuild from the years
40:48
when you guys were productive, when you had a
40:51
great defense, and then on the offense you had
40:53
A .J. Brown, Corey Davis, Delaney Walker, Derrick
40:57
Henry, Ryan Tannehill, and that really good offensive
40:59
line. So of course it's going to take some time.
41:01
What do you expect? This is the problem that
41:03
I have with dysfunctional organizations and dysfunctional
41:06
ownership. You guys would rather penalize the
41:09
head coach for flaws that are out of his control.
41:12
Now granted, Can you be critical of Brian Callahan
41:16
for the coaching staff? Most likely. But you
41:19
cannot penalize him for the lack of success that
41:22
you are seeing in the quarterback and in the
41:24
team as a whole. You guys suck. Now my thing
41:28
is this. If you know that you suck, why don't
41:32
you just trade away Jeffrey Simmons? You know
41:35
that you can get a guaranteed first round pick
41:37
with trading away Jeffrey Simmons. Guaranteed.
41:42
There are teams right now that would be willing,
41:45
willing to give you a first round pick and more
41:49
for Jeffrey Simmons. That way, guess what? You
41:52
can completely reshuffle the deck and then really
41:55
build this team in the way that you want to.
41:59
Because so far, all you've done is invest a first
42:02
round pick into Cam Ward, another first round
42:04
pick in Peter Skowronski, another first round
42:06
pick in JC Latham, another first round pick in
42:09
who? Tavondre Sweat, if I'm not mistaken? That's
42:11
not enough. It takes time. Sure, losing is not
42:17
good. Being in a stadium where there's not a
42:20
lot of people there isn't good. But guess what?
42:22
This is the nasty side of building a team. This
42:25
is a side that not a lot of people want to talk
42:28
about, but every team has to go through it. Every
42:31
single team goes through a rebuild. Now, the
42:35
severity of the rebuild depends on the team and
42:38
the direction of the team. When you have stable
42:41
ownership that isn't super involved with the
42:45
roster building process, the rebuild can be a
42:49
little bit faster, especially if you're hitting
42:51
on your draft picks. But if you're missing out
42:54
on your draft picks, especially your first, second,
42:57
and third round picks, you're not going to be
42:58
able to do anything. So what do you expect? Now,
43:02
am I saying that Brian Callahan was this great
43:04
coach and he was scheming up great ideas and
43:06
whatnot? No. But I'm not going to say that he
43:08
was just the sole reason of why this team is
43:11
not where they're supposed to be. I mean, come
43:13
on. What do you expect? Did you really expect
43:15
this team to be an 8 -9 team? Did you expect
43:18
this team to be in the playoffs? Did you expect
43:20
this team to win the playoffs? I didn't. Everybody
43:23
else didn't. So what are we doing? But I'm going
43:26
to get off my soapbox. I'm going to leave it
43:28
alone. But just know, when Mike Borgonzi gets
43:31
fired and everybody else gets fired, just know
43:34
I was right. But let's talk about Brandon Graham,
43:37
all right? So he has decided to un -retire. But
43:40
before we get there, we gotta pay some bills.
43:43
Pardon the interruption, but this is your GM,
43:45
your bad bro, Domus, here to talk about rss .com,
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43:54
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44:01
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downloads and you're qualified for it. Who would
44:51
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45:26
Now back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks.
45:29
So let's talk about Brandon Graham unretiring.
45:31
So according to NBC Sports Philly, Dave Zingaro,
45:35
during the beginning of the season, Howie Roseman
45:38
reached out to Brandon Graham to solidify their
45:40
edge rotation. Although Graham didn't want to
45:43
retire, he decided to stay retired at that time,
45:47
thus making the Eagles signs to Darius Smith.
45:49
But here's the thing. Graham found his passion
45:53
while attending a joint practice against the
45:55
Browns during training camp. So here is Brandon
45:59
Graham explaining why he decided to un -retire,
46:02
and I quote, I understood both sides of it. Year
46:05
15, there's no better way to go out. They was
46:08
probably thinking the same thing. But then reality
46:11
set in for both of us. Another opportunity came.
46:14
That first one, I was like, nah, I'm going to
46:16
stick with it. And then I was like, who am I
46:18
fooling? If it come again, though. Baby, we gonna
46:22
get it. End quote. Now, this is how Brandon Graham
46:25
prepared himself to return to football. And I
46:27
quote, I put myself through some stuff already.
46:30
I'm excited with where I am and I feel springy,
46:34
bouncy. I feel like myself. I feel good. I can't
46:37
wait to go out there and be like Lane Johnson.
46:39
What's good? You thought I was finished? That's
46:42
where I'm at, man. I just can't wait for that
46:43
first initial jog out. I'm going to mess with
46:46
Jordan Malata first and then I'm going to see
46:48
Lane. Then I'm going to go out and... and get
46:50
the ones on the inside. Everybody gonna get it,
46:53
end quote. So this is actually a really good
46:56
move for the Eagles because let's be real here.
46:58
Once Adarius Smith unexpectedly retired, their
47:02
edge was just devastated, okay? And it also doesn't
47:06
help that all the edge options that they could
47:09
have traded for have basically dried up. Trey
47:12
Henderson looks like he's off the market. I know
47:16
there was like a few other edges that people
47:18
were talking about. But it looks like there's
47:21
no option. So you might as well want to go back
47:24
to Brandon Graham. He knows the system. He knows
47:26
the people. You might as well want to do it.
47:28
But I think the most important reason why they
47:31
did it is because of leadership. I think with
47:34
so much turmoil going on publicly and privately
47:37
with the Eagles, I think getting someone like
47:41
a Brandon Graham who's going to add stability
47:43
and eliminate all of that noise, I think that's
47:46
going to help out tremendously. Not to mention,
47:49
you signed him for pennies on the dollar and
47:51
you possibly have given yourself an opportunity
47:55
to maybe go after another pass rusher. Now, the
47:58
thing is, with you going after another pass rusher,
48:01
it doesn't have to be an elite one. It could
48:04
be someone that's a tier two or tier three pass
48:07
rusher just to help out. Because remember, you're
48:10
still waiting for Nolan Smith to get healthy.
48:12
You're still waiting for Zach Bond to, you know,
48:15
get in his groove. I think this move was great,
48:18
and it's only up from here at this point. Now
48:22
let's talk about the game that everybody has
48:24
been talking about, everybody has been crying
48:25
about and everything, and that is the Steelers
48:28
and the Bengals, okay? So Aaron Rodgers, 34 attempts
48:32
for 23 completions, 249 passing yards, four touchdowns,
48:36
two picks, 7 .3 yards per attempt, and a 67 .6
48:41
completion percentage. Jalen Warren. 16 attempts
48:44
for 127 rushing yards, 7 .9 rushing yards per
48:47
carry, and 4 rushes of 10 plus yards or more.
48:50
Pat Fryer move, 6 targets for 5 receptions, 111
48:54
receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, and 22 .2 receiving
48:57
yards per reception. Joe Flacco, 47 attempts
49:00
for 31 completions, 342 passing yards, 3 touchdowns,
49:05
7 .3 yards per attempt, and a 66 completion percentage.
49:08
Chase Brown, 11 attempts for 108 rushing yards,
49:12
9 .8 rushing yards per carry, and three rushes
49:14
of 10 plus yards or more. Jamar Chase, 23 targets
49:18
for 16 receptions, 161 receiving yards, one touchdown,
49:22
and 10 .1 receiving yards per reception. So here's
49:25
a few junkie nuggets. So Jalen Warren had a 62
49:28
.5 rushing success rate against the Bengals.
49:31
Chase Brown rushed 11 times for 108 yards with
49:35
101 yards after contact. His 9 .1 yards after
49:39
contact per carry were the most by any player
49:42
this season. Joe Flacco completed 28 of 37 passes
49:47
for 336 yards and three touchdowns from a clean
49:50
pocket. The most passing yards in a clean pocket
49:53
for Flacco since week four of 2018 versus the
49:57
Steelers, which he threw for 338 yards within
50:00
a clean pocket. Flacco was pressured a season
50:03
-low 24 .5 % of his drops while averaging a time
50:07
-to -throw of 2 .4 seconds, the quickest this
50:10
season. On quick throws, throws under 2 .5 seconds,
50:14
Flacco was 21 of 31 for 202 pass yards and three
50:18
touchdowns. When facing pressure, Flacco was
50:22
10 attempts for three completions for six yards.
50:25
There's a reason why I'm saying this for last
50:27
because there is so much I have to say about
50:30
this, okay? For starters, I'm glad the Steelers
50:34
lost this game. I'm glad they got their ass whooped
50:37
because they needed it. They needed to be exposed.
50:41
They needed to feel that sting of an L because
50:44
they needed to understand that, listen, though
50:47
you have great defensive players, you are not
50:51
playing well, okay? Because here's the thing.
50:55
Anytime you have a quarterback, that has only
50:59
been with the team for 10 days, put up the numbers
51:02
that he just put up against your defense, your
51:05
defense that your head coach says has the potential
51:08
to be historic, that knocks you back down a few
51:13
notches. That puts you back into reality. Because
51:16
let's be real here. The run game wasn't a problem
51:19
for the Steelers. It was the passing game. It
51:22
was the one position That they tried to turn
51:26
over this offseason thinking that, oh, okay,
51:28
if we bring in these people, guess what? We are
51:31
going to see more production. And you haven't.
51:34
You traded for Jalen Ramsey. He had a bad game.
51:37
You signed Darius Slay. He looks like a shell
51:40
of himself. You go after Juan Thornhill. You're
51:43
not using him a whole lot. You bring in Jabril
51:45
Peppers. Excuse me. You're not using him. Why
51:49
is Chuck Clark out snapping Jabril Peppers? Chuck
51:53
Clark is not that good. And if you don't believe
51:56
me, ask the Ravens and ask the Jets. Or better
51:59
yet, ask Kyle Hamilton. He'll tell you personally.
52:03
So I don't understand why in the world do the
52:06
Steelers continue to do the same things year
52:09
after year after year. You know that you're going
52:12
up against the best wide receiver tandem in the
52:14
entire league. And I dare anybody to say any
52:17
other name than Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins.
52:21
Those two receivers alone are elite when it comes
52:24
to creating separation at the line of scrimmage.
52:26
They are elite when it comes to making contested
52:29
catches. They are elite in every category that
52:32
is needed to be an elite receiver. Jamar Chase
52:35
was cooking, cooking with hot grease. And I'm
52:40
not talking about just that mild, timid hot grease.
52:44
No, I'm talking about you could just put a speck
52:47
of flour in it and it's cooking. That's exactly
52:50
what happened. And they needed to know that,
52:54
listen, although you may have this name and that
52:57
name on your defense, that don't mean a damn
52:59
thing. Because let's be real here, folks. The
53:02
one quarterback that Mike Tomlin fears, it's
53:07
not Patrick Mahomes. It's not Lamar Jackson.
53:10
It's not Josh Allen. It's Joe Flacco. Because
53:14
Joe Flacco knows Mike Tomlin like the back of
53:17
his hand. No matter how fast TJ Watt or Alex
53:21
Highsmith or Nick Herbert try to get off, it
53:24
still is not going to be enough time to get after
53:27
Joe Flacco. I'm sorry. He's a seasoned veteran.
53:30
He's seen it all. Joe Flacco knows how to go
53:33
up against elite pass rushers. Anytime that Andre
53:37
Yoshibas, a wide receiver three slash four in
53:41
a lot of teams, can beat someone like Darius
53:44
Slay, that's a problem. Anytime I see bad tackling,
53:48
From Patrick Queen and Jalen Ramsey and Darius
53:51
Slate and others on this defense, that's a problem.
53:54
And so for all the Steelers fans that want to
53:56
talk about, well, Mike Tomlin has to go. Terrell
53:59
Austin has to go. We have to get rid of them.
54:02
They're just so toxic to this team. Give me three
54:04
reasons why. And I don't want you to say the
54:07
same generic crap. I want articulate, detailed
54:10
reasons on why you want both Mike Tomlin and
54:14
Terrell Austin fired. This is the same thing
54:16
that I asked somebody on Twitter because they
54:20
said the exact same thing. And I literally said,
54:22
when Mike Tomlin leaves this team, you will be
54:26
begging and pleading for someone like him to
54:29
come back to this team. Now, I'm not saying that
54:33
I'm a Mike Tomlin fan. No, I respect him for
54:35
what he does. But I'm very critical of the things
54:39
that he has done within the last five years.
54:42
So let me give you my three reasons on why Mike
54:45
Tomlin should go. For starters, you have a bad
54:47
coaching staff. I don't know if people understand
54:50
how important coaching is. Anytime you have players
54:55
like Keanu Benton and Joey Porter Jr. who have
54:58
not shown that next step in their progression,
55:02
that goes back to coaching. Keanu Benton is not
55:07
an interior defensive lineman. He is an end.
55:11
But you continue to put him in an uncomfortable
55:13
situation. It's like a child trying to put a
55:17
triangle peg in a circle peg. It's not going
55:20
to work. And Joey Porter Jr., his mechanics,
55:23
everything about him is just bad. He is a liability,
55:28
then an asset. Anytime that you are just holding
55:31
on people just so you can win that rep, that's
55:34
a problem. And granny, you guys let go the other
55:38
DB coach just so you can bring in Gerald Alexander.
55:42
Gerald Alexander, what are you doing with Joey
55:45
Porter Jr.? Because all I see is a whole bunch
55:47
of holding. That's all I see. Hold, hold, hold,
55:50
hold, hold, hold, hold. At this point, you might
55:52
as well want to play Mariah Carey touch my body
55:55
when Joey Porter Jr. is facing somebody. Because
55:58
that's all he's going to do, touch. So explain
56:00
to me. Why certain people on this team have not
56:05
shown that next level of progression. Coaching.
56:09
You have to give hard coaching to these players.
56:13
Because guess what? Keanu Benton and Joey Porter
56:16
Jr. are approaching contract years. And you know
56:20
they're going to want big money. So what are
56:22
you going to do? But you know what? This all
56:25
goes back to one thing and one thing only. You
56:28
could have easily addressed the quarterback room
56:30
had you just simply drafted Christian Gonzalez.
56:33
Or better yet, you could have drafted Nate Wiggins.
56:36
Or better yet, you could have drafted Quenya
56:38
Mitchell. But you didn't want to do it. Now,
56:41
going back to the coaching staff, you know that
56:44
Pat Meyer is not a good offensive line coach.
56:46
So then why in the world would you continue to
56:48
keep him when you know that you invested two
56:50
first round picks in tackles and back -to -back
56:53
years and you still have not seen the progression
56:56
that you have been looking for? That is something
56:59
that you can be critical of Mike Tomlin because
57:01
he has control of that. Another thing that we
57:03
need to be critical with Mike Tomlin is his decision
57:06
making when it comes to free agent acquisitions.
57:09
Mike! Why do you continue to go after these old
57:13
ass corners? You get Patrick Peterson thinking
57:15
that you're going to get the same production
57:17
that the Vikings got out of it. Prior to Patrick
57:20
Peterson signing with the Steelers, he was coming
57:23
off a season where he had five picks. Five picks.
57:28
You didn't see that type of progression when
57:30
Patrick Peterson joined the Steelers. It was
57:33
so bad that the Steelers said, you know what?
57:35
We're going to try you at safety just to see
57:38
if it'll work. Just to see if there's a little
57:40
bit of a spark. And it wasn't. Then you tried
57:43
it with Dante Jackson. My back hurts. Then you
57:46
tried it with Darius Slay. I can't do anything.
57:48
Where's Big Play Slay? I don't see that. I don't
57:50
see Big Play Slay. You know what I see? Someone
57:53
getting slayed. Jalen Ramsey. You're supposed
57:56
to be the big dog. You called out Jamar Chase
57:58
on the Pivot podcast. And you got exposed. You
58:02
gotta get your lick back, big dog. Joey Porter
58:04
Jr., I don't expect anything from you. because
58:07
I know that you can't go toe -to -toe with a
58:10
Jamar Chase, a Justin Jefferson and company.
58:12
I know you can't do that. You're not on that
58:14
level, but you have all the intangibles to be
58:17
on that level. Even when we look at the success
58:20
from when they had Brian Flores, you saw how
58:23
potent that defense was by adding someone like
58:26
a Brian Flores. So then why in the world didn't
58:29
you do it? And you can't say that there wasn't
58:31
people that wasn't available because guess what?
58:34
You could have easily signed Antonio Pierce.
58:36
You could have easily signed Gerard Mayo, but
58:39
you didn't want to do it. It's the same thing
58:41
that you can do with the offense. You had Pep
58:43
Hamilton. You could have brought in Byron Lethwich.
58:47
But you decided that you didn't want to do it.
58:49
You could easily bring back Dick LeBeau to help
58:52
you out with the defense just so you can make
58:54
the defense a little bit more creative. But you're
58:56
not willing to do that. Why? And you want to
58:59
know what makes things worse? There is a good
59:01
chance that Arthur Smith might leave and be the
59:04
next head coach for the Titans. So then what
59:06
are you going to do then? Because you know that
59:09
next year you're going to have to get a quarterback.
59:11
These are the type of legitimate arguments that
59:14
you can make about Mike Tomlin. And the last
59:16
thing that we need to talk about when it comes
59:19
to some of his deficiencies, and that is his
59:22
inability to just change up his scheme. Quarterbacks
59:26
know what to do to counteract what you're trying
59:29
to do. We no longer live in a time where, guess
59:32
what? My guys are bigger. They're stronger. They're
59:36
tougher. They're faster. They can do it all.
59:39
And they're going to beat you. It doesn't work
59:41
like that. You have to be two, maybe three, maybe
59:45
six steps ahead of a lot of these offenses. Because
59:48
guess what? You know what's going to happen?
59:49
Patrick Mahomes is going to pick you apart. Josh
59:52
Allen is going to pick you apart. Lamar Jackson
59:54
is going to pick you apart. Those NFC teams,
59:57
they're going to pick you apart. Anytime Julian
1:00:00
Edelman, that's right, Julian Edelman and other
1:00:04
former players and people that still play right
1:00:08
now all say the same thing. Oh, we already knew
1:00:11
what they were doing. That's a problem. They're
1:00:13
not supposed to know what you're already doing
1:00:16
before the game even starts. What sense does
1:00:18
that make? But again, that all goes back to Mike
1:00:21
Tomlin. So again, when we look at this game,
1:00:24
passing defense is the bigger problem than the
1:00:27
run defense. And I understand that he said that
1:00:31
in his press conference, and I understand that
1:00:33
Terrell Austin said it in his press conference.
1:00:35
Well, they're lying, okay? And the stats back
1:00:38
it up. The Steelers rank 31st in pass defense.
1:00:42
I'm going to say that again so you can hear what
1:00:44
I just said. The Steelers rank 31st, 3 -1 in
1:00:49
pass defense. And they are allowing 258 .8 passing
1:00:54
yards per game, 6 passing yards per play, and
1:00:57
have allowed 10 passing touchdowns so far. Now
1:01:00
they are ranked 18th in run defense. And so far
1:01:04
they've allowed 4 rushing touchdowns. 115 .8
1:01:08
rushing yards per game, 4 .4 rushing yards per
1:01:11
play, and have allowed 20 rushes of 10 plus yards
1:01:15
or more. You cannot say that this defense is
1:01:18
historic when they are not doing historic things.
1:01:21
When you are not doing historic things. The 2000
1:01:25
Ravens is the gold standard for historic defenses.
1:01:30
They didn't just go into that season and say,
1:01:32
oh, this is going to be the greatest defense
1:01:34
of all time. This is going to be a defense that's
1:01:36
going to be so great that nobody will be able
1:01:38
to replicate this. They let their play speak
1:01:41
for themselves. So I don't understand why you
1:01:45
tried to hype this thing up before the season
1:01:48
even started. That was stupid. Because every
1:01:51
single time that Darius Slade, Jalen Ramsey,
1:01:54
Joey Porter Jr., Brandon Echols, whomever gets
1:01:57
blown up, guess what? They're going to revert
1:01:59
right back to what you said in the summer, Mike
1:02:01
Tomlin. And even then, at this point, I think
1:02:04
you may have to start using Brandon Echols on
1:02:07
the outside more and may have to use Darius Slade
1:02:10
in a more creative role. Because right now, he
1:02:14
can't do it. He don't got the juice. So something
1:02:17
has to change right now. Because you're going
1:02:21
to face the Packers on Sunday. After that, you're
1:02:24
going through a gauntlet. You're facing the Colts.
1:02:26
You're facing the Chargers. You're facing the
1:02:28
Lions. You're facing the Bengals, the Ravens.
1:02:31
You're facing all of those teams. And they have
1:02:33
quarterbacks that can play mistake -free football.
1:02:36
And another thing we need to talk about is this
1:02:39
turnover culture bullcrap is not working. I understand
1:02:44
that Terrell Austin has this vision of, okay,
1:02:46
if we just keep on making splash plays, everything
1:02:49
is going to be okay. No, it does not work. You
1:02:53
want to know the difference between a great defense
1:02:55
and just a subpar defense? A great defense is
1:02:58
consistent. Every single week, every single matchup,
1:03:03
no matter who is on the field or off the field.
1:03:06
A subpar defense hopes and prays and holds their
1:03:11
fingers together and have a rabbit's foot in
1:03:13
a four -leaf clover just to get some luck to
1:03:17
try to make a play. That doesn't work. You have
1:03:20
too much talent on this team to hope that you
1:03:23
make a big play. No, you just need to be consistent.
1:03:27
The passing defense needs to be consistent. The
1:03:30
running defense needs to be consistent. Everybody
1:03:33
needs to be consistent. And I understand that
1:03:36
consistency is hard, but you have to do it. That
1:03:40
is how you can classify yourself as an elite
1:03:43
defense, as a historic defense. You look at all
1:03:47
those great defenses. They were all consistent.
1:03:51
You look at all those great defenses for the
1:03:54
Patriots. They were all consistent. Sure, they
1:03:57
had their struggles. Sure, there were some players
1:04:00
that, I mean, they just gave them the business.
1:04:02
It happens. But when we look at the Bengals,
1:04:04
though, for them to overcome the Steelers the
1:04:07
way that they did is just great. I mean, let's
1:04:11
be honest here, folks. Coming into this game,
1:04:14
everybody was saying the same thing. The Bengals
1:04:16
are going to lose. The Steelers are going to
1:04:19
wipe the floor with the Bengals. And the Bengals
1:04:22
say, you know what? To hell with it. We're playing
1:04:23
with house money. We're going to fight. We're
1:04:26
going to fight to the end. And that's exactly
1:04:27
what they did. Joe Flacco put on a master class
1:04:31
of how to properly beat the Steelers. Now, am
1:04:35
I saying that Joe Flacco is going to continue
1:04:37
to play like this throughout the rest of the
1:04:38
season? No. Is there a chance? Yes. But I think
1:04:42
by them winning this game, that allowed them
1:04:46
to say, you know what? We're not going to sell
1:04:47
off our pieces. We're going to see how this season
1:04:50
goes and then make a decision moving forward.
1:04:53
Which I think, A, if Joe Flacco can buy Joe Burrow
1:04:57
enough time, I would say maybe by Christmas.
1:05:01
If they have a winning record, hey, we might
1:05:04
have to have a different conversation about this
1:05:06
team. I'm just saying, this is the second time
1:05:09
that Joe Flacco has done this. Remember, he did
1:05:12
this with the Browns. And the Browns, if we're
1:05:14
being real here, this is my personal opinion.
1:05:16
I could be wrong. The Browns probably could have
1:05:18
made it to the Super Bowl. That's how well Joe
1:05:20
Flacco and that team was playing. Just being
1:05:22
honest, I could be wrong, but... These are just
1:05:25
my personal opinions, okay? But I'm going to
1:05:28
end this episode here. If you guys like what
1:05:29
you are listening, please, please, please, please,
1:05:31
please make sure you guys download the episodes,
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please. That is the only way that I can know
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1:06:09
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1:06:11
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1:06:14
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1:06:16
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that we have Football Junkies content, okay?
1:06:30
Now for my podcasting people as well, make sure
1:06:33
you guys leave a five -star, five -star, five
1:06:35
-star, five -star, five -star, five -star, five
1:06:38
-star review on our podcast, please. I would
1:06:41
deeply appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.
1:06:43
Now for my TikTok people, Football Junkies pod,
1:06:46
all right? Football Junkies pod. i still have
1:06:49
a few more clips i have to post i want to try
1:06:51
to at least separate them just so i don't really
1:06:53
just flood you guys timeline with just a whole
1:06:56
bunch of clips i'd rather just spread it out
1:06:58
a little bit you know what i mean so when you
1:07:00
go on our tick tock football junkies pod In our
1:07:03
bio, we'll direct you to our YouTube, okay? I
1:07:06
know some people may get a little bit confused
1:07:08
about it, but I make a post and I say link in
1:07:10
bio. If you click on that link in our bio, it'll
1:07:13
take you directly to our YouTube. And when you
1:07:15
go on our YouTube, most of the times, the new
1:07:18
episode is already there, okay? Now, for my Instagram
1:07:21
people, football underscore junkies pod, all
1:07:23
right? Football underscore junkies pod. Junkies
1:07:26
pod is not what? It is together. not spaced,
1:07:31
okay? It is together, not spaced. Football underscore
1:07:35
junkies pod, all right? Football underscore junkies
1:07:38
pod. I thank you guys so much for blowing up
1:07:40
the Instagram. I appreciate you guys so much
1:07:42
for just being with me on this process. I know
1:07:45
I took an unexpected hiatus, but... I mean, for
1:07:48
you guys to give the interaction that you guys
1:07:50
have, it's just greatly appreciated. It makes
1:07:53
my heart feel really good. Now, for my X slash
1:07:57
Twitter people, GMKale, all right, GMKale, when
1:08:01
you follow me on X, just know we are going to
1:08:04
have some debates about the Steelers. We are
1:08:06
going to have some debates about certain teams.
1:08:08
Just want to let you know about that, all right?
1:08:10
Now on Blue Sky, same thing. G -M -K -L, all
1:08:13
right? G -M -K -L, K -A -I -L -E, all right?
1:08:16
As always, I hope I gave you guys the fix that
1:08:19
you guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate
1:08:21
you guys so much. Stay tuned. This episode should
1:08:23
be coming out fairly soon. If not late Saturday
1:08:28
night, then early Sunday morning, depending on
1:08:31
how things go. All right. So as always, I love
1:08:33
you guys. Appreciate you guys so much. This is
1:08:36
your GM Kale signing out. Peace and love. Later,
1:08:39
guys.