Latest / NFL Power Rankings / #22: Are the Eagles becoming a Dynasty?
Transcript
- 0:04Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
- 0:07Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio.
- 0:14Speaker 2: And like that. It's a wrap Welcome to the final
- 0:18Speaker 2: edition out of NFL Power Rankings. It is presented by
- 0:21Speaker 2: energizer Mike Am and Eric at Home with you the
- 0:23Speaker 2: final set of rankings. We know how it'll play at
- 0:25Speaker 2: the top, but we'll do a deep dive on all
- 0:27Speaker 2: of the top teams in the NFL. For full analysis
- 0:30Speaker 2: of all the squad scan a QR code or you
- 0:32Speaker 2: can just head to NFL dot com. Fans in Philly,
- 0:35Speaker 2: they're always happy, Eric, and I know they're happy with
- 0:37Speaker 2: you right now.
- 0:39Speaker 3: They are happy.
- 0:40Speaker 4: They could go back and read the Power Rankings for
- 0:42Speaker 4: about three weeks ago when I had them listed fourth
- 0:45Speaker 4: among the final four teams. I had a lot of people,
- 0:48Speaker 4: to their credit who hit me up at the time
- 0:50Speaker 4: and said less kind versions of you're wrong, dude, And
- 0:53Speaker 4: they reminded me about you know, six minutes after the
- 0:56Speaker 4: Super Bowl ended, so showed a little restraint as well.
- 0:58Speaker 3: I'm kind of proud of them.
- 1:00Speaker 2: You look, you can't make everyone happy, but those fans
- 1:02Speaker 2: should be thrilled by the final result. Yes, what we
- 1:05Speaker 2: witnessed in the Super Bowl. All right, let's get through
- 1:07Speaker 2: the rankings here one through eight. Not a surprise, the
- 1:10Speaker 2: Philadelphia Eagles sitting in that top spot. Congratulations to Jalen Hurts,
- 1:14Speaker 2: the game MVP. The Chiefs, they dropped that spot. They'd
- 1:17Speaker 2: been kind of hitting in that top spot for a while.
- 1:19Speaker 2: At number one, it's the Bills, the Lions, and the Ravens.
- 1:22Speaker 2: Rounding out three, four, five, The Commanders. What an amazing season.
- 1:26Speaker 2: You think about where they were at the start of
- 1:28Speaker 2: the Power Rankings, you could see a plus twenty the
- 1:30Speaker 2: biggest move. We will do a deep dive on them
- 1:32Speaker 2: in just a few minutes. The Minnesota Vikings also a
- 1:35Speaker 2: team on a rise as well, up sixteen spots from
- 1:38Speaker 2: where they landed in the first edition of the Power Rankings.
- 1:41Speaker 2: And the Green Bay Packers your eighth squad. All right,
- 1:44Speaker 2: let's take a closer look at the Philadelphia Eagles. Take
- 1:47Speaker 2: way through this. What did we not necessarily see happening
- 1:52Speaker 2: that explains why this team is a Super Bowl champion?
- 1:56Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, obviously, if you kind of look back
- 1:58Speaker 4: at their season and think about, you know, they had
- 2:00Speaker 4: the two and two start they went into the buy
- 2:02Speaker 4: turnovers were an issue, those were.
- 2:04Speaker 3: The biggest questions of the season.
- 2:06Speaker 4: They didn't lose a game after that, in which Jalen
- 2:08Speaker 4: Hurt started and finished the game. It was that one
- 2:11Speaker 4: loss to Washington where Kenny Pick had played most of it.
- 2:13Speaker 4: So maybe we underestimated these Eagles coming in just a
- 2:16Speaker 4: little bit. I finally switched my pick right before kickoff
- 2:19Speaker 4: and said, I think Philly's gonna win. I had no
- 2:21Speaker 4: idea they would blow out a team on the Vergia
- 2:24Speaker 4: history like this, Like the Chiefs were so good in
- 2:26Speaker 4: postseason situations, so good in the clutch time, but they
- 2:31Speaker 4: finished on defense and they did just an off offensively
- 2:34Speaker 4: to make it a successful day.
- 2:36Speaker 3: You know, got the passing game going early.
- 2:38Speaker 4: You knew they were going to gang up on Saquon
- 2:40Speaker 4: Barkley and take him out of the game.
- 2:41Speaker 3: As best they could.
- 2:42Speaker 4: They did, you know, held him under one hundred yards
- 2:44Speaker 4: total on thirty plus touches, but boy, they still couldn't
- 2:48Speaker 4: keep him out of the end zone. Jalen Hurts outside
- 2:50Speaker 4: of that one throw with spectacular And how about Vic
- 2:53Speaker 4: Fangio's defense absolutely dominating from the start, really didn't let
- 2:57Speaker 4: up until they were up.
- 2:58Speaker 3: Thirty four to nothing.
- 2:59Speaker 4: Even then, but boy, an absolutely outstanding performance from a
- 3:04Speaker 4: coaching from a unit that I don't know that's gotten
- 3:07Speaker 4: quite the respect that they deserved.
- 3:09Speaker 3: All throughout the course of the season.
- 3:10Speaker 4: They were mostly terrific this year, and you saw the
- 3:13Speaker 4: upgrades that they made on all three levels this offseason.
- 3:16Speaker 4: And a coordinator too, Fanjo, you know, arguably as a
- 3:19Speaker 4: Hall of Fame type resume for a coach, for an
- 3:21Speaker 4: assistant coach.
- 3:22Speaker 2: I don't want to be over overly dramatic here. Is
- 3:24Speaker 2: this a bungeoning dynasty too? Super Bowl appearances in three seasons?
- 3:28Speaker 2: Young Defense, got your quarterback locked up? Is this something
- 3:31Speaker 2: that we're going to see in the years to come?
- 3:33Speaker 4: If you ask me right now who the favorites are
- 3:35Speaker 4: next year, I think you'd say Philly. Now that's pre
- 3:37Speaker 4: free agency, pre draft, pre cut downs, all that stuff,
- 3:40Speaker 4: so there's a lot to be figured out. But if
- 3:42Speaker 4: you had to have one team to sort of say,
- 3:44Speaker 4: who do you think could win a next year?
- 3:46Speaker 3: Why not Philly?
- 3:46Speaker 2: Right?
- 3:47Speaker 4: For all the reasons you just stated. And I think
- 3:49Speaker 4: you know, Jalen Hurt's kind of getting that monkey office back,
- 3:52Speaker 4: so to speak. Right, everybody sort of putting a ceiling
- 3:54Speaker 4: on him. And not believing he actually can win a
- 3:57Speaker 4: Super Bowl. He proved that wrong after all the ups
- 3:59Speaker 4: and downs he's endured from Alabama to his first head
- 4:03Speaker 4: coach in Philly. Now with Nick Sirianni, they've seen the
- 4:06Speaker 4: mountaintop and I think they could be back there, whether
- 4:08Speaker 4: it's next year or beyond that. So yeah, maybe it's
- 4:11Speaker 4: not what we've seen from the Chiefs level of success,
- 4:13Speaker 4: but you bet they could be.
- 4:15Speaker 2: All Right, Where did the Chiefs go from here?
- 4:17Speaker 3: Great question? Right?
- 4:18Speaker 4: We still have to figure out what's Travis Kelcey's future. Right,
- 4:21Speaker 4: what are the plans for the offensive line that had
- 4:23Speaker 4: a really rough day? I understand that they went into
- 4:26Speaker 4: that game maybe not wanting to change the chemistry up
- 4:29Speaker 4: front after they'd made some switches, patched holes as best
- 4:32Speaker 4: they could, but it became obvious that that pass rush
- 4:35Speaker 4: was too much from And I think you could be
- 4:37Speaker 4: talking about multiple offensive line spots this offseason that need addressing,
- 4:41Speaker 4: whether it's Trace Smith leaving in free agency, that left
- 4:44Speaker 4: tackle spot. You'd ideally moved Joe Toney back to left guard,
- 4:47Speaker 4: his best home. You know, we hear now about DeAndre
- 4:50Speaker 4: Hopkins possibly retiring. Maybe he is, Maybe he isn't sort of.
- 4:54Speaker 4: He deleted a tweet that said he's still got some
- 4:57Speaker 4: football left. But we'll find out what their plans are
- 5:00Speaker 4: at receiver, on the offensive line, and also on defense.
- 5:04Speaker 4: I think they probably need some more pass rush force,
- 5:07Speaker 4: you know, to penetrate good lines like the Philadelphia Eagles.
- 5:10Speaker 4: They just weren't able to do it consistently enough.
- 5:12Speaker 2: I know it's disappointing for Chiefs fans. This was still
- 5:15Speaker 2: a really good season. This team is still not going anywhere,
- 5:18Speaker 2: especially considering how they've drafted over the last couple of years.
- 5:20Speaker 2: The Bills sit at number three here. I think they
- 5:22Speaker 2: silenced a lot of critics who were concerned about massive
- 5:25Speaker 2: changes to personnel. How big is this window for Buffalo?
- 5:30Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I think a year ago a lot
- 5:32Speaker 4: of people were suggesting that, Okay, they let a slew
- 5:34Speaker 4: of veterans go on the first day of free agency.
- 5:37Speaker 4: This is the blood letting. Josh has missed his window.
- 5:40Speaker 4: They're going to have to go through some sort of
- 5:41Speaker 4: period of rebuild. Well, look, if having the ball with
- 5:44Speaker 4: a chance to win in the fourth quarter of the
- 5:46Speaker 4: AFC Championship Game is a rebuild, then I think they're
- 5:48Speaker 4: in pretty decent shape.
- 5:50Speaker 3: Remember, they didn't get a ton out of key.
- 5:51Speaker 4: On Coleman, their top draft pick this year at the
- 5:54Speaker 4: top receiver, who you know didn't perform on the same
- 5:56Speaker 4: level as z Avier Worthy did.
- 5:57Speaker 3: I think he can make a step.
- 5:59Speaker 4: I think the defense obviously needs some reinforcements, but Josh
- 6:02Speaker 4: is still in the prime of his career.
- 6:03Speaker 3: We saw guys like Khalil Shakir breakout.
- 6:07Speaker 4: You know, it wasn't even the best year from Dalton Kincaid,
- 6:09Speaker 4: So you know, I think they have the chance to
- 6:11Speaker 4: be even more explosive offensively the next year. The question is,
- 6:15Speaker 4: with limited resources this offseason, only so much cap space,
- 6:19Speaker 4: only so high draft picks, how are they going to
- 6:21Speaker 4: be able to add layers to that defense, which to me,
- 6:24Speaker 4: by the end of the season you saw a depleted group,
- 6:27Speaker 4: but one that for the most part, I thought held
- 6:29Speaker 4: together pretty well throughout the course of the season.
- 6:32Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, attrition is an issue for a lot of
- 6:34Speaker 2: teams in the NFL, and I think you saw some
- 6:36Speaker 2: of that. Buffalo probably did a better job than most
- 6:38Speaker 2: weathering that storm, much like the Number four team. I
- 6:41Speaker 2: think we forget about the Detroit Lions and the amount
- 6:43Speaker 2: of injuries that they had throughout the course of this season,
- 6:46Speaker 2: yet an opportunity still to potentially even make it to
- 6:49Speaker 2: a Super Bowl. They're going to be facing the same
- 6:51Speaker 2: thing the Eagles faced a couple of seasons ago coming
- 6:53Speaker 2: off of that Super Bowl run, losing built of their coordinators.
- 6:56Speaker 2: What's the fallout for that change.
- 6:59Speaker 4: If they make the wrong decisions, you know, like the
- 7:01Speaker 4: art Eagles arguably did. They moved on from both coordinators
- 7:04Speaker 4: learned last season. It sets you back a year, but
- 7:08Speaker 4: as they proved this season, if you make the right
- 7:10Speaker 4: hires one year later, you can go win the Super Bowl.
- 7:12Speaker 4: So you know, I know we think in terms of
- 7:14Speaker 4: windows and how long this team can get going. Obviously,
- 7:18Speaker 4: Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are a big part of
- 7:20Speaker 4: their success, and this can't be overlooked. Other multiple assistants
- 7:23Speaker 4: have left as well, so you know, it's a big
- 7:25Speaker 4: challenge for Dan Campbell is as you know, golf kind
- 7:28Speaker 4: of heads into the back half of his career. You know,
- 7:31Speaker 4: maybe Kevin Zeitdler moves on some other pieces and fregency.
- 7:34Speaker 4: They still have to fix that defense and ad Layer
- 7:37Speaker 4: is a talent to that. We saw how it broke
- 7:38Speaker 4: down at the end of the year, so you know
- 7:40Speaker 4: this is no easy climb back up the mountain top.
- 7:43Speaker 4: But again, I think there's a real strong belief and
- 7:46Speaker 4: now a pattern history of success over two and a
- 7:48Speaker 4: half seasons that you know this team isn't going anywhere.
- 7:51Speaker 4: I don't think until proven otherwise. But that OC position.
- 7:54Speaker 4: Ben Johnson did work some magic at times, and they're
- 7:57Speaker 4: gonna have to find somebody who can match that.
- 7:59Speaker 2: I know, we haven't even hit the NFL draft. You
- 8:01Speaker 2: were at the Senior Bowl, I was at the Shrine
- 8:03Speaker 2: Shrine Bowl. Know that there's gonna be some talented players available.
- 8:07Speaker 2: The lines have done a really nice job in the
- 8:09Speaker 2: draft building this roster. Do we look at and just
- 8:12Speaker 2: kind of assuming like, hey, they'll make some additions here
- 8:14Speaker 2: that'll be positive for this team. Do we look at
- 8:17Speaker 2: the Lions as still on the shortlist? I don't know where.
- 8:20Speaker 2: I shouldn't even be talking about rankings for next season
- 8:22Speaker 2: on our last show, but I got to imagine, like,
- 8:24Speaker 2: in terms of complete teams, they're one of like three
- 8:26Speaker 2: or four in the NFL that you would point.
- 8:28Speaker 3: To have to be. I think they absolutely are.
- 8:31Speaker 4: In fact, you know, my preseason top four might look
- 8:34Speaker 4: pretty similar to what I've got here on this wrap
- 8:37Speaker 4: up of the twenty four season. So yeah, the Lions
- 8:39Speaker 4: will be right up there among the heavyweight contenders. We
- 8:42Speaker 4: know they can score forty on any given day. They
- 8:45Speaker 4: were playing very good defense prior to Aiden Hutchinson injury,
- 8:48Speaker 4: which you know, just sort of started the avalanche. It
- 8:51Speaker 4: seemed like every week they dropped a starter or two.
- 8:53Speaker 4: You saw it happen to the Dolphins late in the
- 8:55Speaker 4: twenty three season and.
- 8:57Speaker 3: They collapse completely. This is a better roster.
- 8:59Speaker 4: I think that what Miami had put together, and so
- 9:01Speaker 4: you know, I firmly believe that they're going to be
- 9:03Speaker 4: among the contenders next year. But again, like Philly twenty
- 9:07Speaker 4: twenty three, there's no guarantee. They started out ten and
- 9:09Speaker 4: one with those two new coordinators and ended up letting
- 9:13Speaker 4: both go by the end of the season. So you
- 9:15Speaker 4: never know in this league, and people make rass and
- 9:18Speaker 4: decisions in tense situations.
- 9:20Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, Look, you take some heat on social
- 9:23Speaker 2: media for these rankings, and I'll probably take some heat
- 9:25Speaker 2: for this. I know the AFC by and large better
- 9:28Speaker 2: conference than the NFC, but if you say to me,
- 9:30Speaker 2: the most complete teams heading into next season regardless of
- 9:33Speaker 2: the draft, because obviously rosters are going to change. Eagles
- 9:36Speaker 2: are in that conversation, the Lions are right there, and
- 9:38Speaker 2: I'm based off of the personnel, like I put the
- 9:41Speaker 2: Baltimore Ravens in front of all those other teams just
- 9:43Speaker 2: based off of roster. I get it here. Yep, there's
- 9:45Speaker 2: still Kansas City and Buffalo. Just making that point, there
- 9:48Speaker 2: are some teams that are on the rise. And there
- 9:50Speaker 2: is one that I am thinking about in a big
- 9:52Speaker 2: way time for Power Moves presented by Energizer. It is
- 9:58Speaker 2: the Washington Redskins. I think about this trajectory. Week one
- 10:02Speaker 2: of the season, you had them twenty six in your rankings,
- 10:04Speaker 2: they took a loss, they dropped all the way down
- 10:06Speaker 2: to twenty nine in week number two, and in the
- 10:09Speaker 2: final rankings they're the six ranked team. What an accomplishment
- 10:13Speaker 2: for Dan Quinn in year number one, and it helps
- 10:15Speaker 2: to have the QB one in your future, maybe QB
- 10:18Speaker 2: one for the NFL over the next few years.
- 10:21Speaker 4: If you had bought Stock and the Commanders back in
- 10:24Speaker 4: week one, even week two, and I knocked him down
- 10:26Speaker 4: a few pegs, this is like buying bitcoin in twenty twelve.
- 10:29Speaker 3: You're doing okay for yourself. Right.
- 10:30Speaker 4: In fact, I remember on Twitter hosting my initial rankings
- 10:33Speaker 4: number twenty six, and a local Commander's writer said, I
- 10:37Speaker 4: think this is the highest I've seen so far. So
- 10:39Speaker 4: I wasn't the only one. In fact, I guess I
- 10:41Speaker 4: had a more rosy view of them than others. But
- 10:44Speaker 4: love what Adam Peters did to the roster. Loved the
- 10:46Speaker 4: addition of obviously Jayden Dalees. I thought he'd be a
- 10:48Speaker 4: great hit with the Cliff Kingsbury. Didn't imagine it would
- 10:51Speaker 4: be so successful year one. But in a lot of ways,
- 10:54Speaker 4: they're kind of in the same position that Houston Texans
- 10:57Speaker 4: found themselves in one year ago. Right they were coming
- 11:00Speaker 4: off a successful playoff run.
- 11:02Speaker 3: You know, they won the division.
- 11:03Speaker 4: The record wasn't quite as impro is what Washington did obviously,
- 11:06Speaker 4: but young quarterbacks sort of thrust into the spotlight in
- 11:10Speaker 4: the discussion as one of the you know, the top
- 11:12Speaker 4: young quarterbacks in the game today. There's gonna be a
- 11:15Speaker 4: lot of pressure on them now. The expectations are there.
- 11:17Speaker 4: They're gonna be a winning team next season. That's sort
- 11:20Speaker 4: of the belief around the campfire. So we'll find out
- 11:23Speaker 4: how much more magic can they do? They have to
- 11:25Speaker 4: add on that defense. I feel like we've said that
- 11:27Speaker 4: about every contender except the Eagles, but they absolutely facing
- 11:31Speaker 4: teams like Dallas, like Philly every year, you know are
- 11:34Speaker 4: going to have to tighten things up on that side
- 11:36Speaker 4: of the ball. But boy, like you said, the future
- 11:38Speaker 4: is so bright down there. All of a sudden, think
- 11:40Speaker 4: about what a year has done to the outlook of
- 11:42Speaker 4: this entire franchise, not just the football team, but just
- 11:45Speaker 4: the top to bottom the whole thing.
- 11:47Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's why there's so many teams that
- 11:48Speaker 2: are looking for a quarterback right now. In this year's
- 11:51Speaker 2: NFL Draft, they'll point to Washington Commanders, the one guy
- 11:55Speaker 2: can really change the trajectory of our entire franchise. By
- 11:58Speaker 2: the way, before we even annoint them, we know sometimes
- 12:01Speaker 2: it's not always a given, right. The Houston Texans, we
- 12:03Speaker 2: were kind of talking about CJ. Stroud this way, and
- 12:06Speaker 2: they were still a playoff team. They were dealing with
- 12:08Speaker 2: some injuries. But it's just not a lock and a
- 12:10Speaker 2: guarantee that you're going to be able to duplicate success
- 12:13Speaker 2: from year to year. So just to keep in mind
- 12:15Speaker 2: here and just temper some of those expectations for a
- 12:17Speaker 2: Commanders stands, although I think you and I feel like
- 12:19Speaker 2: it's going to be really a great season next year.
- 12:22Speaker 2: More to come here on power rankings. How high up
- 12:24Speaker 2: to the Rams, the Broncos and Bengals deserve to be
- 12:27Speaker 2: that Answers coming up next. Yes, I'll back here on
- 12:37Speaker 2: power rankings. Mike Imman Eric at home with you as
- 12:40Speaker 2: you take a look at his squad's rank nine through sixteen.
- 12:43Speaker 2: We'll do a deep dive on the Bucks. The Houston
- 12:45Speaker 2: Texans so much expectations around CJ. Stroud. I think they
- 12:47Speaker 2: figured it out late in the season, a little too
- 12:50Speaker 2: late though. The Rams maybe the most intriguing team, at
- 12:52Speaker 2: least in my mind in this grouping the Chargers, we
- 12:55Speaker 2: know that arrow is pointing up the Broncos sitting at
- 12:58Speaker 2: number thirteen. The Steelers got some real decisions to make
- 13:01Speaker 2: this offseason. At fourteen, Cincinnati had fifteen. Why I was
- 13:05Speaker 2: on that train for most of this season, and at
- 13:07Speaker 2: sixteen it is the Seattle Seahawks. I break this down
- 13:11Speaker 2: for me because the Bucks are a team that's consistently
- 13:14Speaker 2: really good and yet haven't necessarily been able to break through.
- 13:18Speaker 2: What's it going to take.
- 13:20Speaker 4: Yeah, Tom Brady coming out of retire No, I'm kidding. Obviously,
- 13:22Speaker 4: Baker Mayfield's done a tremendous job, right, and you know
- 13:25Speaker 4: they're changing offensive coordinators for roughly the thirty seventh year
- 13:28Speaker 4: in a row. Don't quote me on that fact, but
- 13:30Speaker 4: it's something like that.
- 13:31Speaker 3: And you know Mike Evans, Look, he was terrific.
- 13:34Speaker 4: He got his thousand yards last year, but he's in
- 13:36Speaker 4: the final year of his contract. Chris Godwin's potentially moving
- 13:40Speaker 4: on and for agency, you know, playing in this division,
- 13:43Speaker 4: obviously it gives them an advantage. Right, Carolina is still
- 13:46Speaker 4: figuring things out. Atlanta's starting over a little bit with
- 13:48Speaker 4: Michael Pennix, right, So they're gonna win football games.
- 13:52Speaker 3: But to your point, how do they break through?
- 13:54Speaker 4: I think getting better depth and health on defense is
- 13:57Speaker 4: a big part of it. But obviously, another play caller,
- 14:00Speaker 4: another system. Mayfield's sort of answered the call, reinvented his
- 14:05Speaker 4: It's been fun to watch, but can he do it again?
- 14:08Speaker 4: Maybe he's got to take a page out of Jalen
- 14:10Speaker 4: Hurts his book, right, another guy who's been through his
- 14:12Speaker 4: share hoot sas and follow that path to success.
- 14:16Speaker 2: All Right? The Denver Broncos are thirteen, and I think
- 14:18Speaker 2: a little bit of a different scenario as they're trying
- 14:20Speaker 2: to break through. I look at your Week one rankings,
- 14:23Speaker 2: you had them twenty seventh. They move up to thirteenth
- 14:25Speaker 2: in the final one and look, that's a remarkable job
- 14:28Speaker 2: from Sean Payton and this crew. They got it right.
- 14:30Speaker 2: They hit the home run with bone knicks. What's that
- 14:33Speaker 2: missing piece for this team?
- 14:36Speaker 4: Yeah, I think obviously defensively they're pretty strong. I think
- 14:38Speaker 4: the offensive line has the parts. I think you'd like
- 14:41Speaker 4: to see another weapon or two in this offense. And
- 14:44Speaker 4: think back to what Sean Payton had in New Orleans.
- 14:47Speaker 4: He always had that X factor, as he likes to
- 14:49Speaker 4: call it, that joker, right, whether it was Jimmy Graham
- 14:52Speaker 4: or Jeremy Shacky at tight end. You know, Taysom Hill
- 14:55Speaker 4: is kind of a multi tool piece. Alvin Kamara, Reggie Bush,
- 14:59Speaker 4: whatever you want to say. They had those kind of
- 15:01Speaker 4: guys who were match up nightmares from the run back position,
- 15:05Speaker 4: from tight end, they don't really have that. They tried
- 15:08Speaker 4: four different backs last year, five guys really, three different
- 15:12Speaker 4: tight ends. They all had their strengths, but you know,
- 15:15Speaker 4: they really I think want one difference maker, and if
- 15:17Speaker 4: they can find that player in the draft, that would
- 15:20Speaker 4: be terrific. I know they're not anxious to spend a
- 15:23Speaker 4: bunch of money in free agency, but just tighten a
- 15:25Speaker 4: few things up defensively already a top ten unit, and
- 15:28Speaker 4: then if they can give bo Nicks that one special playmaker.
- 15:32Speaker 3: We see a player who played at a pretty darn high.
- 15:34Speaker 4: Level as a rookie who could be able to elevate
- 15:37Speaker 4: even further. So I'm excited to see what they do
- 15:39Speaker 4: in this offseason and who they target.
- 15:41Speaker 2: All Right, two teams are the biggest jumps, the Commanders
- 15:43Speaker 2: and the Broncos. Here the team you feel most confident
- 15:46Speaker 2: in duplicating success or maybe even just leveling up next year.
- 15:50Speaker 2: Which one would you pick between those two?
- 15:52Speaker 4: That's a great question because obviously the expectations for the
- 15:54Speaker 4: Commanders are going to be sky high, even playing in
- 15:57Speaker 4: the same division as the Eagles, the team that knocked
- 15:59Speaker 4: them out of the playoffs. But you know, I would
- 16:01Speaker 4: probably say Tampa Bays. They can fly below the race
- 16:04Speaker 4: a little bit and also play in the weaker division,
- 16:07Speaker 4: so maybe that factors in. We still haven't seen how
- 16:10Speaker 4: the schedule lays out, or what happens at trade and see.
- 16:12Speaker 4: But right now, you know, I mean even Jayden Dale's
- 16:15Speaker 4: is the better quarterback. They beat the Bucks head to
- 16:17Speaker 4: head in the playoffs in Tampa. But you know, as
- 16:20Speaker 4: far as like expectations and playing above that are equal
- 16:23Speaker 4: to that, you know, wouldn't be shocking if the Tampa
- 16:25Speaker 4: Bay Buccaneers end up with more wins than expected.
- 16:28Speaker 3: If that makes sense, no question.
- 16:30Speaker 2: I mean those three teams in general, you throw them
- 16:32Speaker 2: into the basket, you pull out a name, and you'd
- 16:34Speaker 2: be like, all right, like that team could be pretty
- 16:36Speaker 2: good this upcoming season. Now we're talking about teams that
- 16:39Speaker 2: have made the huge jump. There's some squads that didn't
- 16:42Speaker 2: necessarily live up to the expectations that we thought. Oh
- 16:44Speaker 2: I feel bad for your Brock, Like, I get it.
- 16:47Speaker 2: Eric actually had them as number two team heading into
- 16:49Speaker 2: the season. Are they even contenders moving forward? The answer
- 16:53Speaker 2: to that is coming up next. We're on power rankings.
- 17:05Speaker 2: Mike Amman, Eric at Home with You, Team seventeen through
- 17:08Speaker 2: twenty four the Arizona Cardinals. This was this is a
- 17:11Speaker 2: good season for him. They did move up, and I
- 17:12Speaker 2: know there were some issues as the season unfolded. Form
- 17:15Speaker 2: but they're at seventeen. The Dolphins injury bug in a
- 17:17Speaker 2: big way at eighteen. The Falcons, oh the way this
- 17:20Speaker 2: season had turned out for him, But Michael Pennix is
- 17:22Speaker 2: waiting in the wings at nineteen, The Colts at twenty,
- 17:24Speaker 2: San Francisco forty nine ers we'll get to in a
- 17:26Speaker 2: moment here at twenty one, The Bears at twenty two.
- 17:29Speaker 2: They dropped six spots from that original ranking, The Dallas
- 17:32Speaker 2: Cowboys at twenty three, and the Carolina Panthers. The ro
- 17:36Speaker 2: is pointing up for that franchise. All right, let's focus
- 17:39Speaker 2: in on this Niner squad. I think this is the
- 17:40Speaker 2: most intriguing team in the entire list. You had them
- 17:43Speaker 2: number two before the season starts. They fall to now
- 17:46Speaker 2: twenty one. There's no way on the preseason rankings, correct
- 17:50Speaker 2: me if I'm wrong here, they're going to be outside
- 17:52Speaker 2: the top twenty.
- 17:52Speaker 4: Right, It would be hard to do, right, even if
- 17:55Speaker 4: they end up trading Deebo Samuel, as has been reported
- 17:58Speaker 4: and rumored. I think, you know, obviously it depends on
- 18:02Speaker 4: what happens this season, right, but this offseason, I should say,
- 18:05Speaker 4: but it seems to me like they're focusing on re
- 18:08Speaker 4: signing party, giving him his long term deal how long
- 18:11Speaker 4: we'll see, and then elevating one of those other receivers,
- 18:14Speaker 4: whether it's Ricky Piersall their first round pick or Juwan
- 18:17Speaker 4: Jennings and trying their best to get what they can
- 18:20Speaker 4: for debo. Remember they tried to trade Brandon Auk last year.
- 18:23Speaker 4: He ended up go getting hurt, Christian McCaffrey getting hurt,
- 18:26Speaker 4: Trent Williams missing time. You know, virtually every single one
- 18:29Speaker 4: of the key players that they couldn't lose missed at
- 18:32Speaker 4: least one game, if not more.
- 18:33Speaker 3: So.
- 18:34Speaker 4: You know that's the reason they sunk so far. Am
- 18:36Speaker 4: I gonna raise them all the way back up to number.
- 18:38Speaker 3: Two right now?
- 18:39Speaker 4: That feels a little bit unlikely, but Kyle Shanahan proven
- 18:43Speaker 4: the history of success in November December. I mean, I
- 18:46Speaker 4: feel it's safe to say they'll be somewhere around that
- 18:48Speaker 4: top ten.
- 18:49Speaker 2: You will get a random text from me this summer
- 18:52Speaker 2: and I'll be on vacation pool side somewhere with a
- 18:55Speaker 2: little umbrella drink and the whole thing, and I'm gonna say,
- 18:57Speaker 2: you're gonna have the Niners in the top ten. Just
- 18:59Speaker 2: be prepared for that one. The Dallas Cowboys at this
- 19:03Speaker 2: point sending at number twenty three. Is this as simple
- 19:05Speaker 2: as McCarthy out and they get a shot in the
- 19:08Speaker 2: arm with Shottenheimer.
- 19:10Speaker 4: I think if you send me that same text with
- 19:12Speaker 4: the Cowboys, with the little drink and everything the emoji,
- 19:14Speaker 4: I don't know that I can give you that same answer.
- 19:16Speaker 1: Right.
- 19:17Speaker 4: It might be a little different than what we say
- 19:18Speaker 4: about the forty nine ers. This feels to me a
- 19:21Speaker 4: little bit New York Jets ish in the sense that, hey,
- 19:24Speaker 4: I know our plan last year didn't work, but let's
- 19:26Speaker 4: mostly run it back. Let's take the guy who was
- 19:28Speaker 4: essentially the first lieutenant for Mike McCarthy and make him
- 19:32Speaker 4: the head man. I mean, if that's all it takes,
- 19:34Speaker 4: then truly, I give a lot of credit to Jerry
- 19:38Speaker 4: Jones for being patient and saying we're going to see
- 19:40Speaker 4: this thing through.
- 19:41Speaker 3: But the other half of me is questioning whether this
- 19:44Speaker 3: is the right move. Yes, this is a.
- 19:45Speaker 4: Team that went thirty six and fifteen over three years
- 19:48Speaker 4: before that, but they fell to seven to ten, and
- 19:51Speaker 4: even if injuries were part of the story, dak missing
- 19:53Speaker 4: a big chunk of the year. I don't know that
- 19:55Speaker 4: they're going to be a complete football team with the
- 19:57Speaker 4: likes of the Ravens and the Lions and the Eagles
- 20:00Speaker 4: and the other teams that we mentioned at the top
- 20:02Speaker 4: of the show. Those teams are more complete right now.
- 20:04Speaker 4: So we'll you see what the plan is.
- 20:05Speaker 3: But you know, maybe Schottenheimer does give him a.
- 20:07Speaker 4: Little energy, a little fresh perspective. Can he bring him
- 20:10Speaker 4: through to the promise lay what Mike McCarthy couldn't do.
- 20:13Speaker 4: I have my questions right now. Yeah.
- 20:14Speaker 2: I was talking Isaiah Standback, who does Good Morning Football.
- 20:17Speaker 2: Right after the decision to go with Schottenheimer, he said, hey,
- 20:19Speaker 2: verbiage language all going to be save for Dak which
- 20:22Speaker 2: is definitely a huge bonus heading into next season. At
- 20:25Speaker 2: city twenty five through thirty two. The Jets at twenty five,
- 20:27Speaker 2: we know there's going to be massive changes. They are
- 20:29Speaker 2: the Patriots at twenty six, the Raiders, what do they
- 20:31Speaker 2: do with the draft? At twenty seven, the Saints have
- 20:33Speaker 2: a new coach, officially, Kellen Moore is their guy. At
- 20:36Speaker 2: twenty nine, it's the Jags, the g Men at thirty
- 20:39Speaker 2: The Tennessee Titans might be thinking about QB one at
- 20:42Speaker 2: thirty one in the draft, and the Cleveland Browns your
- 20:46Speaker 2: last place team. I want to focus in on the
- 20:48Speaker 2: Patriots because we've had some squads Eric that we're kind
- 20:51Speaker 2: of in this range and became top fifteen teams. Can
- 20:53Speaker 2: the Patriots do that?
- 20:55Speaker 4: I think if there's one you bet on, well, Like
- 20:57Speaker 4: you said, every single year, somebody in this range ends
- 20:59Speaker 4: up sort of thriving the next year. We've seen Drake
- 21:02Speaker 4: may play very well, Mike Brabil comes in, Josh McDaniels
- 21:05Speaker 4: comes back.
- 21:06Speaker 3: For a third ten yure in New England.
- 21:08Speaker 4: And yes, they have a lot of holes to fill,
- 21:10Speaker 4: but when you have over one hundred million dollars of
- 21:12Speaker 4: salary cap space, a good till of draft picks, and
- 21:15Speaker 4: the willingness to spend, I think they're in for a
- 21:18Speaker 4: big offseason and that could lead to more victories next year.
- 21:20Speaker 4: So yeah, they're one of the leading cannons from this
- 21:22Speaker 4: bottom Groves.
- 21:23Speaker 2: Cross for the Patriots, you're their best, Eric, always appreciate work,
- 21:27Speaker 2: everything happen.
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