Latest / Banter with the Boys / NFL Week 1 2026 Preview & Picks | Predictions for the Biggest Games

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NFL Week 1 2026 Preview & Picks | Predictions for the Biggest Games · Banter with the Boys

0:00
Get laced up! Let's go! It's time for Banter
0:04
with the Boys! Okay, let's go. Welcome back to
0:17
Banter with the Boys Gridiron Updates. I am here
0:20
with Roberto and Jake, the Ravens fan flock.
0:26
Do you... Is that a thing? You guys are like,
0:29
yeah, flock, yeah. Yeah, flock, yeah. There it
0:32
is. Right on. And of course, Skull to my fellow
0:36
Skull brother over here. Fire up. We got to watch
0:40
Matt. We got to watch Matt last week. Kev, behind
0:44
the camera, getting everything done for us. You
0:45
know what it is. Well, should we just get right
0:51
into it? We should get right into it. In two
0:54
nights. Two nights from right now, right this
0:56
second. Actually, I was going to say, there's
1:00
actually a college football game being played
1:02
on Monday Night Football right now, but it's
1:03
actually delayed, so there's not. Excuse me.
1:06
Hold on. That's disappointing. Oh, God. Sorry.
1:10
Weather. I needed to drink something. My mouth
1:13
was getting dry there. For all the talking, I've
1:15
already done this episode. So it's time for you
1:17
guys to talk about the Patriots traveling to
1:20
the Seahawks to opening the NFL season 2026.
1:25
Week one? Week one. That's correct. Wednesday
1:29
night football. That's crazy. Week one on Wednesday
1:32
night football. That's right. Super Bowl rematch.
1:35
The soup or bowl rematch, the big game. That's
1:37
right. That's right. Roberto, what is intriguing
1:40
to you about this game? Obviously, I mean, okay,
1:43
I was about to go into it. Go for it. I was just
1:46
saying, like, A .J. Brown. I want to know if
1:49
that changes anything up immediately for that
1:51
offense of him playing a full game with Drake
1:54
May. You know what I mean? I don't know. I'm
1:56
just excited about that potential new pairing.
2:00
Well, after watching the 29 -13, beating in the
2:05
soup or bowl last year. That's right. Patriots
2:10
definitely needed some help on the outside last
2:11
year, and they went out and spent some money
2:13
in not only A .J. Brown area, but in some other
2:17
areas too. We did talk about it earlier in the
2:20
news and tent talk. Crap. Henderson banged up
2:28
a little bit. No good. Not very good. Is Stevenson
2:32
healthy? Yeah, he is. Stevenson will be all right.
2:35
He's serviceable. They always run a lot of running
2:37
backs in that New England offense with second
2:40
-year Mike Vrabel running it back again. Vrabel,
2:44
he wasn't in the news at all in the offseason.
2:46
Wyatt, after a very spicy spring. It's in Seattle.
2:51
I think Seattle's in that. Crowd's going to be
2:54
wild coming off the Super Bowl. Naturally. Are
2:57
they raising the banter before the game? Why
2:59
wouldn't they? Right in front of them. Assault
3:03
in the wounds. Interesting aspect. K -9's gone
3:07
now. Lead running back out of Seattle. So it'll
3:10
be Price starting for the rookie running back.
3:14
He probably has a couple guys helping. Charbonnet
3:17
is definitely out. Big Dom. for Mr. Consistency
3:22
until October -ish. So concerning in that aspect
3:26
to set up JSN and letting him be the... What
3:29
do you know about Price's backup, George Helani?
3:33
Out of Boise State. Third season out of Boise
3:35
State. That's what I'm saying. I'm just curious.
3:38
We'll probably see him a little bit. Okay, he's
3:40
been on Seattle the last two years. Okay, so
3:42
maybe Seattle faithful knows who he is. Had 22
3:46
carries for 73 yards last year, so maybe they
3:48
don't. But, again, they're faithful. Maybe they
3:51
do. So maybe we see some of him, too. Sorry.
3:54
He's above Emmanuel Wilson on the depth chart,
3:57
and I know Emmanuel Wilson, so I was just curious.
3:59
Yeah. And from the Green Bay Packers last year,
4:02
Mr. Wilson. Defense should be firing over the
4:05
ball. They've got a ton of studs still over there.
4:06
So Mr. McDonald is going to ascend it, as he
4:11
always does. A ton of pressure. Which will be
4:14
interesting to see against whether New England
4:16
can get a running game going against, which they
4:18
didn't in the Super Bowl. A .J., maybe a little
4:21
slant. That'll be the scenario with the bigger
4:23
body guy. Even Worry was limited, though, in
4:26
Monday's practice still. And they're a little
4:28
nervous about him. That is the one I'm curious
4:31
about. Yeah, and that's actually probably what
4:33
Vegas is staring at, too. He's a big... Man,
4:39
they're in tough shape in the safety department
4:40
in general, too. But I can see it being a game.
4:43
I can still come down to a field goal, but I
4:45
still think Seattle is going to sneak it out.
4:47
Their strong safety didn't participate in practice.
4:49
That leaves one other safety roster, Julian Love,
4:54
who starts at free safety for him because their
4:55
other strong safety, Bud Clark, is already on
4:57
IR. Yeah. Akata, if that's how you say that.
5:00
Yeah, harder than Knox. I remember that play.
5:02
He's out right now. I'm in war. He's out. So
5:04
they have nobody left. So I would imagine some
5:07
corners are going to start playing safety, you
5:10
know. So it sounds like you're going Patriots.
5:13
No, not necessarily. I do think losing K -9 will.
5:20
play a bigger role than people are expecting,
5:23
especially early in the season. But they'll figure
5:24
it out. I'm not tripping. But you haven't talked
5:26
enough, Jake. My voice hurts. It does? For some
5:29
reason. I'll alleviate that. Shenanigans. I still
5:33
like the Patriots running back tandem with Stevenson
5:37
and Travion Henderson. Even if Henderson's banged
5:41
up, I mean, last year, within his rookie year,
5:44
he was... operated really as like your scat back
5:48
and so he wasn't playing three downs i think
5:52
he'll play yeah he'll play and he'll probably
5:54
still be super explosive like he was last year
5:57
um i'm curious just uh to what you pointed out
6:02
as to whether or not the patriots are going to
6:04
be able to to challenge that seattle front seven
6:07
uh in terms of patriots actually establishing
6:10
a ground game uh and taking some pressure off
6:14
Drake May and the wide receivers, Brown and Dobbs.
6:20
But on Seattle's side, I also question their
6:24
ability. Like, are they going to be able to run
6:25
the ball? And they have a new offensive coordinator
6:27
this year. Things change. So how are those things
6:30
going to play out? I mean, you still have a really
6:34
good trio of wide receivers. But that Patriots
6:38
secondary is pretty solid, too. So I think that's
6:42
like strength against strength. Are you making
6:48
a pick right now? I already made mine. Yeah,
6:50
he did. Oh, did you? Was I sleeping? What did
6:52
you pick? Seattle by a field goal. Seattle by
6:55
a field goal. And, yeah, the 12s are going to
7:01
just be rocking like crazy. I think it's going
7:05
to be close, too. I'll take Seattle by three
7:09
also, but it's going to be like 13 -10. Okay.
7:12
It's going to be pretty low scoring. Are we doing
7:14
points this year? Why won't we? What is the points,
7:17
Rob? You didn't even tell us. I don't know. Did
7:20
you change it up? Oh, you're saying for Vegas
7:23
odds? I know. Actually, I had it, and I didn't
7:26
print it over into it. Hold on. Let me make my
7:28
pick since you didn't say it for Jake. All right.
7:30
Go ahead. All right. I'm not playing. No, I'm
7:35
just kidding. All right. No, I'm probably going
7:38
to go. I can't wait to bleep this out in the
7:45
room. Every episode, man. Every time. Don't worry.
7:48
All of my other ones are ready to go. I say that
7:51
every time. Yeah, it's very good. I'm going to
7:54
go Patriots. I'll go Patriots by seven. Wow.
7:58
I already felt him going that way. That's a lot.
8:01
I am concerned about the injuries in the secondary
8:04
for Seattle. Three and a half by Vegas, Seattle.
8:08
Seattle is three and a half? Yep. Okay, interesting.
8:11
Well, I'm going seven for the Patriots. But,
8:13
yeah, I think Stevenson will do enough. I'm curious
8:17
of that receiving core, Matt Collins, as well
8:19
as in that group of them, too. So I think there's
8:22
definitely enough firepower there. I think Will
8:24
Campbell will recover. and show us why he was,
8:30
you know, high coming out of Michigan. Yeah,
8:33
buddy. And, yeah, the secondary for the Patriots
8:38
is also not injured right now. So that's a factor
8:41
for me. So, yeah, Patriots by seven. What were
8:46
the Vegas odds on that? Three and a half. Oh,
8:47
you already told us. Yeah, buddy. Good thing
8:49
I'm listening. God. All right, let's move to
8:52
the next game here. The Thursday night football
8:55
game in Melbourne. Melbourne, Australia. I feel
8:59
like we should be on Fast Laps right now. The
9:01
other show on Banter with the Boys. But 49ers
9:03
at Rams again in Australia. Is that the first
9:08
NFL game ever in Australia? Yes. Is it? Yeah,
9:11
right? That's what I was curious. I was wondering
9:13
if it was. Historical first ever, yep. Historical
9:17
first ever. Yeah. At the Melbourne Cricket Grounds.
9:21
That's right. That's right. MCG by the locals.
9:25
Just so you won't be vibing. For sure, they call
9:28
it MCG. I'm just throwing that out there. Right
9:30
on. If you look for your YouTube folks, Kev has
9:34
now popped up the old... melbourne stadium where
9:38
they will be playing at but um so tiny let's
9:42
go man this is this is go full screen this is
9:44
another oh okay they're yelling at kev to go
9:46
full screen there you go there you go don't you
9:48
see this spotify listeners full screen here it
9:50
is well there it is you already know uh make
9:54
that real nice yeah cuts it right in half yeah
9:57
look how wide It's a cricket field. It's a cricket
10:00
field. That's right. Hey, listen. I watch it.
10:03
I watch it when it's on at 2 a .m. or when the
10:05
guys are playing it over there in Eden Prairie.
10:07
You know, when I'm driving to the Shields or
10:09
something. Okay. Yeah. Friday, 10 .35. Is that
10:14
Eastern time? It's got to be because I'm pretty
10:17
sure it's not at that. On the old Netflix. So
10:20
you got to be subscriber. Subscribe to Netflix.
10:23
Oh, man, we could go on a tangent about that.
10:25
We're not going to right now. We don't have enough
10:28
tape on the camera. You need all of them to watch
10:30
The Shield this year. Yeah, you do. Get it. 100K,
10:35
though, spectators in that butte. Really? Oh,
10:37
yeah. It'll probably be sold out, too, for sure.
10:39
Yeah, it will. That'll be sweet. Cool environment.
10:42
Okay, do you think there are going to be more
10:44
Niners fans or Rams fans? I'm guessing Niners.
10:48
Because there's going to be fans that have watched.
10:51
The NFL from Australia over the years and the
10:55
Niners are just, I don't know, probably have
10:57
more of a global fan base, I would think, than
10:59
the Rams would. If you had to pick between the
11:01
two, you know, Joe Mantan and Jerry Rice's fault,
11:03
probably. Yeah, the Niners, and they generally
11:07
travel pretty well, don't they? I think they
11:09
do, the 49er fans. They're pretty faithful. With
11:12
a stadium that large, though? I don't know if
11:15
you're going to have... Even notice, yeah. I
11:17
don't think you're going to have... 5 % of the
11:19
local... Have a dedicated... Niners or Rams fan
11:23
base. Kind of like a lot of the other international
11:26
games. It's just like football fans showing up
11:29
to watch football and they're wearing all sorts
11:32
of jerseys. 10 years ago. Randy Moss jerseys
11:36
will be everywhere. Michael Vick. Probably. They
11:42
just want a good game. Are they going to get
11:47
one? Do you think they're going to get one? I
11:49
picked it because originally I thought this would
11:52
be a great matchup, and I'm a little bit concerned
11:54
of this one getting out of hand, to be honest
11:56
with you. I love how you just started telling
11:58
your pick slowly. My worry is that this game
12:04
could be better if it was later on in the season.
12:08
I think the next time they play each other, it's
12:10
going to be an even better game. Agreed. I like
12:14
where this is going. I just wish that... this
12:19
Melbourne game or this game in Melbourne for
12:22
them was like later on in the season, like week
12:24
four or five or something. Melbourne neutral
12:26
site. Yeah, absolutely. Just a little bit later
12:28
to get these two really great teams that we think
12:31
are going to like be like one a and one B for
12:35
the NFC championship. We had the same. I don't
12:41
know. Let's go back to the preseason. I don't
12:43
know. It's been a long week, guys. It's been
12:46
a long week. Maybe our feelings have changed.
12:49
Shut up. But this is going to be a really good
12:53
game. I worry for the Rams, though, because the
12:57
Rams, they're traveling later. They're still
13:01
traveling. Is this a Thursday game? They're traveling
13:06
today or tomorrow. And the 49ers have already
13:09
been there. So they're acclimated to the time
13:12
zone change and things like that. And that's
13:14
always been a concern. What is the change? Do
13:15
we know that off the top of our noggin? I'm going
13:18
to go eight -ish. It's like plus. That feels
13:21
wrong. I'm going to look it up. No, it's like
13:24
plus 12 or plus 13. 13, 14. We'll just call it
13:28
even 13 for it. Baker's doesn't. Okay. Sounds
13:31
good. Anyway. Keep it simple. Bust out the Google
13:34
machine there. We are. Coach, let us know. Australia
13:38
is 15 to 17 hours out of Minnesota. So you just
13:43
pick one is the deal here. Yep, you just pick
13:45
one. But anyway. So 15 or 17. And then tack on
13:50
two additional hours because they're over on
13:52
the West Coast. So really that doesn't change
13:59
your day. So let's say 19 hours to be safe then.
14:02
The two plus the 17. I feel like that doesn't
14:05
change your day a whole lot. I mean, you could
14:07
almost sleep a very similar schedule. Just move
14:10
it the five hours up further or whatever. You
14:12
know what I mean? But you got the plane ride,
14:15
and that's a long plane ride, isn't it? It's
14:17
super long. You're getting dehydrated on that
14:19
plane. Lose 8 % of your hydration flying in airplanes.
14:24
Here we go. Here comes Rob with the hydration.
14:26
Hard knock. 8%. The dry. How long of a flight?
14:33
Is that like an average flight? Because this
14:35
is not an average flight. Well, it was Seattle
14:36
flying to KC. So they probably lose more than
14:40
that flying to Australia, you reckon? Don't quote
14:41
me, I don't know, but that's what the lady said
14:43
on the show. No, okay, let's say she did. Totally,
14:46
totally. But let's say she did. I didn't fact
14:50
check her. But do you think it's more than that?
14:54
It's a longer flight. Now we're mathing. Which
15:00
we're not good at. We should stop doing that.
15:02
We're barely good at talking football. We should
15:05
probably just stick to that. Let's get back to
15:09
it. Keep going. We've talked about the injury
15:12
concerns that the 49ers already have going into
15:14
the season. Massive injury concerns, actually.
15:18
No receivers. Three and a half at Vegas. LA.
15:24
Really? Okay. They know something. I don't think
15:31
Kittle's going to play. If he does, he's going
15:34
to play a very limited role. CMC is probably
15:40
going to be some form of healthy, 95 % maybe.
15:47
Debo's going to be able to slide back in. He
15:49
knows the system. That should be pretty... good,
15:52
but we also don't know how Mike Evans is going
15:54
to fit into the offensive play calling schemes.
15:56
How healthy is he going to be by game time? Where's
15:59
the Rams? They've got Miles Garrett. They brought
16:03
back Aaron Donald. He's probably going to be
16:05
on a snap count. Probably. But is he possibly
16:09
going to be in the best shape of his life? He
16:12
has not been taking NFL hits for two years. He's
16:15
still been working out. He's two years older.
16:17
But, I mean, I feel like he's... Just a specimen.
16:22
Yeah, you'd just be like, hey, Donald, it's third
16:24
down. God, my username should be Manglayson.
16:26
Jeez, the way it's going. God. But I'm just saying.
16:31
We'll probably just see him on third downs, on
16:35
passing downs, when it's third and long or something
16:37
like that. He'll be just like, Donald, go in
16:39
there and just push somebody around for a little
16:41
bit. Just go push somebody around for a little
16:44
bit. Coach him up. They picked up Trent McDuffie.
16:49
Their offensive group is still the same. I mean,
16:52
everything to me trends like it's going to be.
16:55
An NFC championship run? For the Rams? Yeah.
17:01
It's like I said Rams, Seahawks for NFC championship.
17:06
Yeah, you established that. I thought he said
17:07
1A, 1B. I thought you meant the Niners were going
17:10
to be in that conversation. They could be in
17:12
that conversation. Oh, okay. Right on. Sorry.
17:16
Come on. The NFC West is just really competitive.
17:19
It is. But anyway, I'm going to take Rams by
17:24
six. Well, we got a grand slam and a two -run
17:29
homer for Jacob. That's my baseball club. Okay.
17:36
What's your pick? You get to let us know. What
17:39
do you got going on? I mean. You going to hit
17:43
a home run? Yeah, I always hit a home run. Yeah,
17:46
the receiver's injuries is a concern always.
17:49
They need McCaffrey definitely to play. But beginning
17:55
of the year, so in general, a lot of those players,
17:57
because 49ers got really banged up last year
18:01
on the defensive side, too. A lot of those key
18:03
role, you know, depth players, too. So they were
18:06
just banged up. McCaffrey had a... But the twos
18:09
have some clock, then. Yeah, that is true. But
18:11
that's what I'm saying. They got a full year.
18:13
So that 49ers defense is going to be a little
18:16
different than, I think, the last taste in our
18:18
mouth with them. I'm trying to figure out how
18:20
they exactly finished. I had it written down
18:22
of... how they finished the year. Oh, because
18:25
then they had lost Fred Warner in the middle
18:27
of the season, too. I mean, they went win -win
18:31
-win, lost to Seattle last week of the year.
18:35
So 13 -3, they lost to Seattle. So they were
18:38
still competitive. The receivers is a concern,
18:42
the depth there. Typically that first game of
18:46
the year, defense are always a little bit ahead
18:49
of the offense. So that's what I think maybe
18:50
Vegas, it's only three and a half. I feel like
18:53
it could be more, especially with all, you know,
18:57
everyone's all excited about seeing Garrett and
18:59
Donald. And you think that defense is going to
19:01
be literally, you know, it's finished at the
19:03
minus yards. So there's going to be always some
19:08
opportunities for each team. But I just think
19:11
the Rams have too much right now. injury -wise,
19:15
and that defense should be flying around. But
19:18
you never know Shanahan up there. He's a master
19:22
of game plans and finding angles and advantages
19:25
here and there, even when he probably has a disadvantaged
19:28
team. I think it's going to be a competitive
19:31
game, but I'm still going to go Rams, sneaking
19:35
one out. Yeah, I'm going Rams as well. What's
19:38
your point? Four. Four. They won by four. Right
19:46
on. I'm also going to match Jake at six. I think
19:51
Rams win. They only got better defensively, to
19:54
be honest with you. Yes, they added veterans
19:56
in Aaron Donald and McDuffie, but I actually
19:59
really, really like the McDuffie thing, something
20:02
they struggled at a bit last year, and they only
20:04
got better there. And Pukunukua is set to play.
20:07
week one, allegedly. So I'm riding that a little
20:11
bit in a healthy Devontae Adams, and I like the
20:13
tight ends they got there as well. So I have
20:16
no issue saying the Rams will get the win now.
20:18
It would be intriguing that if the late travel.
20:22
affects them in a negative way. Like if the players
20:24
come out after and say that. Conspiracy theory.
20:26
Tell us more. No, there's nothing more there.
20:28
We have to wait and see now. Yeah, that 8 % they
20:31
didn't get back. Listen, they better figure that
20:33
out because now I've got to know if that was
20:35
true or not. They're probably just flying with
20:37
an IV of fluids in their arm the entire time.
20:40
That's how I fly. How do you guys fly? With IVs
20:43
in the arms. Yeah. Right on. Okay, we're going
20:48
to move away from Roberto for a minute. All right.
20:51
Flockia. We got the Ravens traveling to the Colts.
20:55
Yeah. Yeah, we do. So tell us a little about,
20:59
tell us your name. Tell us a little about yourself.
21:01
And then tell us, no, I'm just kidding. Go into
21:03
it. What's up? What are you expecting from the
21:05
Ravens week one? I have no idea. Are we Ravens
21:08
fans now? Honorary Ravens fans? You and me? Yeah.
21:11
At this point? Yeah. Right on. I have no idea
21:13
what to expect. 100 % honest with you. New head
21:17
coach, new offensive coordinator, new defensive
21:19
coordinator. We can just cut the show now, Kev.
21:21
He has no idea. Done. We're done. Homer takes
21:25
from now on. So I have no idea what to expect
21:28
as far as play calling goes from either side
21:30
of the ball. I'm just going to kind of take this
21:34
first week in as observations, and let's just
21:38
see what happens. I would love to see, or what
21:43
I'm looking for is how the offensive line plays.
21:46
They finally announced who their starting center
21:48
is going to be. It's going to be Javon Gwynn.
21:49
Do you like him? No, he hasn't started a game.
21:53
Okay. You don't know then. Which I think is interesting
21:56
that they're choosing Gwynn over Pochek, who
22:04
they had signed in free agency, who had started
22:07
the last couple of years for the Browns. Interesting.
22:11
That is interesting. Yeah. So they must see something
22:14
in Gwynn then that they make a little bit. And
22:17
so with that, who's going to be calling the line
22:20
changes on the pressures? I think it's going
22:24
to end up being Lamar as he continues to grow
22:27
and develop as the quarterback. Then is the defense
22:32
actually healthy as Matabike is back? been doing
22:36
contact drills yet, but he's still slated to
22:40
suit up and potentially play. Interesting to
22:45
see the addition of Trey Hendrickson. Is the
22:50
Ravens defensive front seven going to actually
22:54
be able to put pressure on and sack a quarterback?
22:58
Or stop the run. Or stay healthy. Yeah, or stay
23:01
healthy. And then, also, I worry about their
23:04
special teams. I alluded to that last week in
23:07
the preview. Tyler DeLoop missing kicks in preseason.
23:10
We have a rookie punter that's going to be holding.
23:14
I don't think Flock's going to like your decision.
23:16
Who's going to win this game here? I'm just trying
23:18
to be open and honest about what my expectations
23:21
are of the Ravens. I think he had some that he
23:23
picked against them last year. He's an honest
23:25
Jake. Yeah. I'm just level setting my expectations.
23:29
I don't know what to expect, but these are the
23:31
things I'm going to be looking at. I like it.
23:34
And then on the Colts' side of the ball, is Daniel
23:37
Jones actually going to be ready coming back
23:39
from that Achilles injury, or is he going to
23:41
be playing cautious and timid like we saw Aaron
23:43
Rodgers, like we saw, I don't know, how do we
23:47
like him? Yeah, for sure. Aaron Rodgers, Kirk
23:50
Cousins, they all didn't look correct. Yeah,
23:52
so coming back from that. But he apparently progressed
23:55
faster than anybody ever has ever progressed.
23:59
So how is he going to respond to pressure? And
24:05
then I just think because of that, the Colts
24:06
are really going to rely on Jonathan Taylor.
24:09
They're going to run the ball. They're going
24:11
to challenge that Ravens defensive line and try
24:13
and take pressure off Daniel Jones. But because
24:18
I think Daniel Jones. isn't 100 % healthy or
24:22
possibly confident in himself yet. And not because
24:26
he's a Ravens fan. I'm taking the Ravens, though.
24:30
Because it's Lamar Jackson. I was scared for
24:32
a second. He was going the other way. No, it's
24:34
Lamar Jackson. It's Derrick Henry. I think that
24:37
they're going to leverage their key playmakers
24:39
over the course of the entire game. And you still
24:43
have Mark Andrews. You've got Zay Flowers. Very
24:46
dynamic pass catchers. That's really what it's
24:51
going to boil down to is Lamar making plays,
24:53
and I have more faith in that than I do Daniel
24:57
Jones' fixed Achilles. There we go. Hey, that's
25:00
a good take. I like it. I can agree with that
25:03
a bit. You want Vegas quick before? We already
25:08
know which direction he goes, so Vegas. Seven.
25:10
I'm taking Ravens by seven. Sure. Okay. Three
25:13
and a half. All right. It's week one. Week one.
25:17
It's not going to be a lot. No. What's the Titans
25:20
and Jets out of my curiosity? You have one and
25:23
a half. Yeah, I figured. That was almost a game
25:25
because that's probably the most intriguing game
25:30
of the week for me. That could be game five next
25:32
week. But anyway, sorry. I'm going down the rabbit
25:35
hole here. God, yeah, Colts do have JT. That
25:39
is true. Man, I lost my whole train of thought.
25:46
I had a good rebuttal to you. Don't worry. We
25:48
can delete it right out of the reel. You can
25:50
delete this? Yeah. Oh, God. Hold on. Let me just
25:53
think about this here for a minute. Was it Tyler?
25:56
Oh, no. I was saying what I was thinking of is
25:59
that I'm a little bit concerned on the Ravens'
26:01
depth for the length of the season. I like if
26:07
they can be fully healthy for this game. In that
26:11
front seven. Oh, front seven? Yeah, fair. For,
26:14
like, the season, for the length of a season.
26:16
I'm a little bit concerned with injury issues
26:18
the past, like, what, two years at least maybe?
26:20
So, concern there. But I think for the game,
26:25
for this game, I think you bring up a great point
26:28
about Daniel Jones and the Killies, and we've
26:30
seen it with quarterbacks for the last few years.
26:33
Even though he has somebody like JT to lean on,
26:37
he still does not have Michael Pittman anymore.
26:39
He does have Alec Pierce. And is Tyler Warren
26:43
ready to go or not? That's a big target for him.
26:46
I feel like you've got to have all your weapons
26:48
ready to go if you're coming back from an injury
26:51
like that. I've got to go Ravens here. Ooh. You
27:05
almost said 30. No, no. I almost said three.
27:09
I almost said three. By four. Oh, yeah. 34. All
27:13
right. Yeah. I mean, this is a fun, interesting
27:18
game because you got the new coaching staff in
27:21
Baltimore. So, you know, as non. Go Colts. Go
27:25
Colts. Baltimore fans, are we going to know much
27:28
of a difference between the styles, offense and
27:31
defensively? Do you feel that everything is going
27:33
to be pretty much different? Are you going to
27:35
see a ton of blitz packages and stuff? How's
27:39
your vibe on the coaching? I kind of wanted to
27:40
ask you before I continue on. I think we're going
27:44
to, on the defensive side, I think you're going
27:46
to see more blitzing. And hopefully we're going
27:49
to go back to seeing more of what we saw two
27:52
years ago with Mike. um, McDonald, uh, in doing
27:56
man zones where you're matched up man to man,
27:58
and then you're just passing, like you're running
28:00
with them. And then as soon as they hit a new
28:02
zone, you pass them off and then you're back
28:03
over to your zone. Seeing a lot more of that
28:06
as well. Um, that's what I'm expecting to see
28:09
whether or not we, we do that. Who knows? Again,
28:11
like I said, I've got like before with the current,
28:14
Oh, uh, a lot of that. So with, uh, with Hamilton,
28:19
Marlon Humphrey, um, not nate wiggins because
28:24
he was no actually nate nate his rookie year
28:29
yeah this is year three for him so he he was
28:32
he was there two years ago um So you think of
28:37
more of an aggressive style defense, and then
28:39
you probably still have Lamar out of shotgun
28:41
a ton. Yeah. A little pistol here and there.
28:43
It's going to be pistol again, because that's
28:45
just kind of that sweet spot for Lamar and Derek.
28:48
Okay. They figured that out, you think. So on
28:50
offense, visually, it'll look a lot the same.
28:53
Yeah, it'll look the same. I think the plays
28:56
might be different, or we'll be seeing play calling
28:59
be a little bit different. I mean, we lost two
29:05
tight ends, so I don't know if we're going to
29:07
see a lot of 12 -packers. But I'm going to mark.
29:09
You lost likely. And who was the other guy? Kohler?
29:13
Kohler, yep. So, yeah, I mean, that's kind of
29:16
how I wanted to dive into it. You know, Henry's
29:19
a little bit older. I still like Lamar. He's
29:22
still one of the most diamond quarterbacks in
29:24
the NFL. That defense, I do definitely have some
29:27
concerns, especially in this matchup against
29:29
JT. That's where Daniel Jones can actually get
29:32
going because he's kind of that play action.
29:34
With JT, play action is... That's really where
29:37
your bread and butter is. But can he run the
29:40
play action? True. I mean, that's where I was
29:41
trying to get to, whether your point where there's
29:44
Achilles or is it going to be up to par to actually
29:46
run a lot of those boot actions and stuff, or
29:49
is it more just straight drop back, you know,
29:51
single dives in the middle more and not a lot
29:54
of out -of -the -pocket form trying to contain
29:56
it? See, we know what we're talking about. We're
29:57
way more athletic than Daniel Jones. For sure
29:59
you are. Especially, yeah. Didn't he have a pretty
30:02
quick 40? I'm pretty sure he did. Yeah, he's
30:04
an athlete. I'm pretty sure he was an athlete.
30:05
Of course he's an athlete. He plays NFL. And
30:07
then on the cold side, on the defense, you know,
30:10
they're a different look. They got a rookie middle
30:12
linebacker filling in for Franklin. So it's going
30:16
to be that matchup against Henry. And whether
30:18
they didn't get all the calls, the matchups,
30:20
hit all the gaps. I feel like the Ravens, unless
30:23
Daniel Jones comes out flying and keeps up, I
30:27
still think this might be a little bit into the
30:30
20s, but I think the Ravens are going to pull
30:32
out. I'm going by 7 to 10. I feel like they're
30:37
just going to have a little more advantage on
30:39
that Colts defense. I don't quite trust them
30:42
coming out. And then Daniel Jones, who knows
30:45
exactly what you're getting out of him. Right
30:48
on. Right on. Final game. The best game. I don't
30:55
know if I would say it's going to be the best
30:57
game. It probably is. It could be, though. It
30:59
very well could be. Packers traveling to U .S.
31:01
Bank Stadium. One of the best rivalry games.
31:03
Home of the Vikings. One of the best rivalry
31:07
games out there. We start with Jake on the Ravens.
31:13
You start this one. I'm going to grab another
31:15
sponsored beer here. Oh, yeah, sponsored. That's
31:20
right. Who's it by then? It's not even a beer,
31:22
so. Well, that's right. Let me see here. Well,
31:27
I mean, obviously, it's the biggest question.
31:30
Well, what's the game? Of course, the first five
31:31
weeks. What do you mean? Packers, Vikings. We
31:35
talked again. Yeah, you spank, you know. Let's
31:37
go on the ball. Let's go on the ball. NFC North
31:39
Division War. I mean, the biggest question is,
31:41
obviously, what are we going to get from Kyler
31:43
Murray? What I'm excited about, as far as we
31:47
know, just do it. Just rip the band off. Our
31:51
E8 Cod team will be tight. What I'm most excited
31:54
about is that Aaron Jones should be fully healthy,
31:57
ready to go. That should help Kyler Murray get
32:00
to settle into the game a little bit. Let's get
32:02
some zone running going. Nothing crazy. easy
32:06
into the game, and then maybe get Kyler on a
32:09
rollout or something where he's out of the pocket,
32:11
he has time, and he can kind of get comfortable
32:13
there. Get a good first clean look, vision -wise,
32:16
you know, downfield vision. In the bank, you
32:18
know, just get those first couple under the belt.
32:21
Get all the jitters of the beautiful players
32:23
out of you. That's obviously got to be the number
32:25
one thing I'm watching. What's number two? how
32:33
many snaps Harrison Smith will play because he's
32:35
missed all of camp. Again, probably not much
32:39
has changed defensively from last year to this
32:41
year. I bet he plays all of them. And Flores
32:43
really uses them in specific ways. He's probably
32:46
going to use them in those specific ways again.
32:48
So he's probably just plug and play. But just
32:51
curious if there's any. Any snap count there
32:57
for Harrison Smith? I'm assuming there would
32:59
be a little bit of snap count with him. But I
33:02
also think he's probably been. Yeah, I don't
33:04
think there's a snap count. He's been running.
33:06
He's ready to go. You know, he's Harry the Hitman.
33:08
He's HOF. He's ready. He's ready to go. All right,
33:10
what's third then? Where are you moving on next?
33:13
Oh, do I need a third one? I don't know. You
33:14
don't need a third one. You can keep adding.
33:17
When you get a full take in that. You can keep
33:19
adding. Oh, I'm also curious to see how much
33:23
run, you know, Banks. And Big Citrus get up the
33:27
middle. I keep calling Big Orange. In a real
33:30
game, you know, just to see if we have flashes
33:34
of the second coming of the Williams wall. That
33:36
would get me very excited. And also Dallas Turner.
33:41
Is he going to give you what he was giving us
33:43
at different parts of the season last year? So
33:46
curious to see him fully in that role now. Yeah,
33:50
anyway. So I also think Jordan Addison is going
33:53
to have a big year. Big, big year. They just
33:56
have a big year, and I think the Vikings don't.
33:58
Do you need Vegas before you make your picks?
34:00
I think the Vikings don't pay them. But, anyway.
34:05
Vegas. One and a half. No, not before. Not before.
34:07
Oh, really? Is it one and a half? Dang. Nah.
34:10
I'm going Vikings by three. Tie. Vikings by three.
34:14
Let's go to the bowl. I do think Tucker Kraft
34:17
returning for the Packers is massive for that
34:19
offense. No, Josh Jacobs is also massive for
34:21
that offense. I would imagine he's not playing.
34:26
Is that like official? Yeah, because he's on
34:27
the commissioner's list. Yeah, Josh Jacobs is
34:29
on the commissioner's list. He's not playing
34:31
until... He's off the list. Yeah, until he's
34:36
off the list. That's right. So, you know what?
34:39
Screw it. I'm going Vikings by seven. I'm changing
34:41
it. Vikings by seven. There you go. Yeah, scroll
34:43
to the ball. Living on the edge. Yeah, that's
34:46
right. Clearly. Jake, you're going to pick the
34:48
Vikings too, so we'll start with Rob. Score the
34:51
ball. U .S. Bank's going to be rocking. Third
34:55
loudest endorsed venue. I may try to sneak to
34:59
that game somewhere. Third loudest, you said?
35:01
Yeah, it is. What's number one, Arrowhead? No,
35:04
he said endorsed. Oh, endorsed, my bad. God.
35:08
Man, I have a problem listening. But, yeah, I
35:12
think, I mean, the Vikings generally are healthy.
35:15
Kyler's obviously the elephant in the room to
35:17
see in the production on him. A quick, fast start
35:19
definitely will help him settle down. like we're
35:23
talking, get him out on the boot like that. I
35:26
would just run at Micah Parsons all day long.
35:29
Micah Parsons is not playing. Exactly. He's not
35:31
there, so just keep running right there. He teed
35:35
it up and smacked it. So I think the Vikings
35:39
definitely can move the ball. I'm not, I mean,
35:42
minus their studs on, you know, also Gary out
35:47
for the. So defensively, they're Dallas. Definitely
35:53
a disadvantage there. And without Jacobs being
35:58
able to set up, I can't trust the Vikings. I
36:00
mean, the Packers rush game at all, which a little
36:04
bit of nerve. For me, with the two rookies up
36:07
the middle, we'll see how much they play together,
36:10
how many snaps they get. It'll be interesting
36:12
to see how that with Harry coming back to filling
36:14
in. So Vikings by 14. Oh. You're going to blow
36:20
them out? 10. Ah. That's right. So. Love's still
36:26
got some game. They got some receivers out there
36:29
that can stand to play. If we get up big early.
36:31
She room looks different than we used to. It
36:34
does. It's a little bit, you know. But I think
36:37
that's where Golden's really got to step up.
36:39
How much of Tucker Kraft, how many snaps he gets
36:42
is also another big concern if I was a Packers
36:45
fan. I don't think he's going to do full load,
36:49
but if he does, good for him. How effective will
36:53
he actually be? You know, the Tucker craft we
36:56
remember. Yeah, right. Feels like forever. He
36:59
blew up that first half of the season. I mean,
37:01
he was RB or tight end one in fantasy, you know.
37:07
We're near there anyways. So I think the Vikings
37:10
will just take advantage. My nerve a little bit
37:12
is up in the middle of the Vikings' defense and
37:15
seeing how the two rookies handle their first
37:18
NFL game. And if Wilson's going to give us another
37:21
solid season there at linebacker as well. He
37:23
did. He did have probably a career year last
37:25
year almost. It's got to be a career year. Good
37:27
for him. So go Vikes. Let's go Vikes. Do I even
37:34
need to pick? No, because it's your second favorite
37:36
team. Yeah, Vikings. Mandatory fun. Mandatory
37:39
fun. The other purple. Boo, other purple. Like
37:42
the other white meat, you know. Packers lost
37:45
their last four games to finish the year. I'll
37:47
just FYI. I saw that. Yeah. So that's going to
37:50
factor into Jake's decision big time. There's
37:52
some other things that are going to factor into
37:54
my decision, too. One, we have Packers. Again,
37:58
as you've both alluded to, no Josh Jacobs. That's
38:01
a big concern. We have no idea what that running
38:03
back tandem in Green Bay is going to produce,
38:06
like how effective they're going to be. I still
38:10
think they're wildly talented and deep at wide
38:13
receiver. You lost a couple, but you still have.
38:17
Had a couple. Yeah. So they're still looking
38:22
good there. And I think they have a really good
38:24
matchup against your rookie corner, Charles Demings.
38:30
I expect Matt LeFleur to try and take advantage
38:33
of those matchups when he can. So he's going
38:37
to be creating play calls, putting motions, kind
38:40
of getting some one -on -ones against him and
38:43
probably try and get some deep shots there. But
38:48
I do have concerns about whether or not Green
38:50
Bay is going to be able to get to Kyler Murray.
38:53
I mean, he's short, but he's still so fast and
38:55
elusive. And that's something that Green Bay
38:57
struggled with when Micah Parsons went out. And
39:01
now they don't have Rashawn Gary either. So who
39:04
are they going to get to pressure the quarterback,
39:09
to sack the quarterback? Are they going to be
39:11
able to get there at all? I'm worried that they
39:14
don't have that presence. But on the other side,
39:19
I don't know what kind of Kyler Murray we're
39:21
going to get. Fair. If KOC is a quarterback whisperer,
39:25
what I think we would be seeing is getting the
39:32
ball out of Kyler's hands real quick, allowing
39:35
the wide receivers, allowing Addison, allowing
39:37
Justin Jefferson to make plays, get the ball
39:41
in their hands, bubbles, screens, whatever that
39:43
is. Excuse me. And then even with the running
39:49
backs, too, just like screen passes there. Because
39:54
last year, and I looked this up because I'm like,
39:56
man, it didn't feel like the Vikings had a very
39:59
effective ground game last year. At least it
40:02
wasn't eye -popping. So I was like, what were
40:06
the numbers? Let's take a look at it. So they
40:08
rushed. Between the two of them, they rushed
40:12
for. 1 ,306 yards over 291 total carries so they
40:17
didn't run the ball a lot but they were still
40:21
effective there was like 4 .4 yards per per carry
40:24
so super effective that way so maybe continue
40:27
to run the ball with your your tandem that you've
40:32
got quick passes and then I still love Brian
40:36
Flores as a defensive play caller. He schemes
40:39
really well against Green Bay. He confuses Jordan
40:42
Love. Those double A -gap blitzes with Harrison
40:48
Smith back. Hitman, we call him around here.
40:51
I think that that's going to add a level of play
40:58
calling that he'll be able to do. that he may
41:02
not have been able to do without Harrison because
41:04
of that familiarity. He was like, hey, we're
41:06
going to be doing this. Okay, cool. And then
41:08
Harrison just goes and does his thing. So that's
41:14
a lot of word salad, right? Yeah, it is. It was.
41:17
But it's not AI slop. That's right. It's not
41:20
AI slop. And all it boils down to is Vikings
41:26
by three. That's right. That's right. Clean sweep.
41:29
That's right. 1 -0. I also want to – like we
41:32
knew it. We knew it. Super Bowl. We knew it.
41:35
We knew it. I also want to see what that Jake
41:39
Golday does or – how do you say his name? That
41:42
linebacker? Yep. Yeah, you know what I mean?
41:44
You know what I'm saying? I got to figure out
41:45
how to say his name the correct way because I
41:47
think we might be saying it a lot this year.
41:49
We'll see. We'll see. We'll see. But anyway.
41:51
Call up? Anyway. Yeah, big guy. Big guy. Big
41:53
tall guy. Yep. Yep. Well, that's it. That's Cincinnati.
41:58
Bearcats. Bearcat. But there's the show. Jake's
42:05
a Vikings fan. We figured that out. I disagree.
42:08
I agree strongly that he did say that. We believe
42:14
he believes. Thanks. I appreciate it. Are we
42:18
welcome to the flock if we wanted to join? Absolutely.
42:20
Should we flock? Every other day. All right,
42:24
I'm done. All right, anyway, Jake, thanks for
42:27
being here. Thanks for having me. Of course,
42:28
our in -house Baltimore Ravens fans, you don't
42:30
find those around our parts, you know what I
42:32
mean? So it's nice having him back on for the
42:35
whole season, as far as we know. Yeah, get away.
42:38
He fires himself. Or I get fired. Or he gets
42:43
fired. We could fire him. Rob, I'm ready. Talk
42:47
some smack on the internet. Hit us up. Make some
42:50
comments. Thanks for the visuals, Kev. We're
42:54
looking clean. That's right. 4K. We're in 4K?
43:01
Are we? No. Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe
43:05
wherever you listen to The Banter, whether that's
43:07
YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or iHeartRadio.
43:09
TikTok. Yes, that's right. We are on TikTok now.
43:13
I've got to add that to my schmink. Anyway. Oh,
43:17
you were already cocked, ready to go. I was ready,
43:20
and then... Then he delayed it. Get your mind
43:24
out of the gutter. Oh, my God. We got to get
43:26
out of here. We're out. Bye. Peace. Don't forget
43:30
to follow, like, and subscribe. Tune in next
43:34
time for more banter with the boys.