Latest / NFL Now / Bills-Rams Opening Night, Lamar Jackson's Contract Update, & More Matchups for Week One

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Bills-Rams Opening Night, Lamar Jackson's Contract Update, & More Matchups for Week One · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
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Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. Isn't she beautiful? I'll answer the question.
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Speaker 1: She is. The two thousand, twenty two NFL season, the
0:18
Speaker 1: one hundred and third NFL season, opens in the same
0:22
Speaker 1: building in which last year's ended. It's NFL Now on
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Speaker 1: NFL Networks. We are finally here. Your weight is finally over.
0:38
Speaker 1: Two hundred and seven days after the Rams were crown
0:42
Speaker 1: champions in Super Bowl fifty six, we are opening hey
0:46
Speaker 1: brand new season, their chance to defend said title, and
0:50
Speaker 1: they open up against the team that everyone if you're
0:53
Speaker 1: wanting this network or any other network, we're talking to
0:56
Speaker 1: your friends, or your neighbors, or your family or anyone
0:58
Speaker 1: thinks they're gonna win it this year, the Buffalo Bills.
1:01
Speaker 1: What a way to open up the season. We are
1:03
Speaker 1: thrilled to have football again. We are thrilled to have
1:06
Speaker 1: you with us again as well. In our daily time
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Speaker 1: slide at one o'clock in the East and ten o'clock
1:11
Speaker 1: here in Los Angeles, this is NFL Now. My name
1:14
Speaker 1: is Andrew Ceciliano, and to my side here Steve White
1:18
Speaker 1: and Jim Trotter. It is great to have you both
1:20
Speaker 1: here and it's good to have football back. It is
1:23
Speaker 1: and Jim, we're done with the hypothesizing. Now we're gonna
1:25
Speaker 1: have actual facts and football to talk about loving and
1:28
Speaker 1: let's get to it right away. No more who is
1:31
Speaker 1: more pressure on or who has the most Maybe we'll
1:35
Speaker 1: do this, I don't know, talk about the game. Let's
1:38
Speaker 1: talk about what's gonna go down tonight. What's gonna go
1:41
Speaker 1: down is that curtain on top of the championship banner
1:44
Speaker 1: sitting next to the the Kurt Warner of the Marshall
1:47
Speaker 1: Falk the Greatest Show on Turf bann or a new
1:49
Speaker 1: banner will be unveiled right before kickoff. Fans have been
1:53
Speaker 1: told Omar Louise Live at Sopi Stadium to be there early.
1:59
Speaker 1: There will be some celebration and then there's some work
2:02
Speaker 1: to do. Andrew I asked Cooper Cup about working through
2:06
Speaker 1: the emotions of tonight, how they build on his historic
2:12
Speaker 1: season and essentially in the nicest and most polite way
2:16
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup can deliver. He said that they're tired of
2:19
Speaker 1: talking about last year O t a s and off season.
2:22
Speaker 1: That was what building on last year was all about.
2:25
Speaker 1: They are eager to start the building blocks for the
2:28
Speaker 1: two season. Meanwhile, for the Buffalo Bills, expectations super Bowl
2:33
Speaker 1: expectations sky high for them, and as much has been
2:37
Speaker 1: thrust upon them from the outside world, those expectations are
2:40
Speaker 1: as intense inside the building. Star pass rusher Greg Russo
2:45
Speaker 1: told me earlier this week everything about this season for
2:48
Speaker 1: them is getting to the super Bowl. That is a
2:51
Speaker 1: change in their mentality from last season. We can call
2:54
Speaker 1: that the von Miller effect. Well, much more in that
2:57
Speaker 1: a little later in the show for now Andrew. Countdown
3:00
Speaker 1: to kickoff continues, okay, and we are counting out Omar
3:03
Speaker 1: shortly after five pm local here eight pm Local in
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Speaker 1: the East. We have a brand new season, the first
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Speaker 1: of the scheduled two hundred and seventy two UIs there
3:16
Speaker 1: live at so FI Stadium. It's not the only place
3:18
Speaker 1: where we have action tonight, and we have fun tonight.
3:20
Speaker 1: That is the scene in Long Beach, right down the
3:23
Speaker 1: road from us where later it's the NFL Kickoff Experience
3:28
Speaker 1: presented by Verizon will be live there on the beach
3:31
Speaker 1: and Long Beach Jay Balvin on stage later on before kickoff.
3:36
Speaker 1: As all eyes are on Los Angeles, all eyes with
3:42
Speaker 1: their eyes on the prize, which is the Lombardi for
3:46
Speaker 1: Super Bowl fifty seven, which will be in Glendale where
3:50
Speaker 1: the Cardinals play their games. Cardinals Chiefs will cover that
3:52
Speaker 1: one week one coming up in a little bit, But
3:54
Speaker 1: let's cover this one. Omar Jim Trotter mentioned Von Miller,
3:59
Speaker 1: who played only twelve games last year for the RAND
4:02
Speaker 1: where they were twelve very impactful games. Is this, Sean
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Speaker 1: McVeigh says, let's write the new story we have moved
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Speaker 1: on past last year. Is Miller the one who might
4:12
Speaker 1: be able to swing the balance of power. Well, that's
4:15
Speaker 1: the thing that's interesting to me. Um Andrews ken one
4:18
Speaker 1: player swing the pendulum of power from one coast to
4:20
Speaker 1: the other. Now we know in the off season the
4:23
Speaker 1: GM Brandon Bean said, the quarterback position is the premium position.
4:27
Speaker 1: We have one. Now we need to get a guy
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Speaker 1: who can get the quarterback down on the other side.
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Speaker 1: Go to von Miller. Eight games last year his final
4:35
Speaker 1: a games, I should say, nine sacks, thirteen QB hits,
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Speaker 1: twelve tackle for losses, one fumble, force fumble, one fumble recovery.
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Speaker 1: So if there's one guy that can make a difference,
4:45
Speaker 1: it is von Miller. You ask yourself if Buffalo had
4:49
Speaker 1: had him last year for those final thirteen seconds of
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Speaker 1: regulation against Kansas City and the playoffs, might the Bills
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Speaker 1: have gone to the Get off the Field super Bowl.
4:57
Speaker 1: So that's what we're going to find out that. Look,
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Speaker 1: we're not going to draw conclusions from one game. Von
5:02
Speaker 1: is there to make a difference at the end of
5:04
Speaker 1: the sea and not just the end of games. But
5:07
Speaker 1: I think we'll see a lot tonight in terms of
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Speaker 1: what his presence could mean for this organization. And you
5:11
Speaker 1: and I love you point that out, like he could
5:13
Speaker 1: be a factor tonight. But von Miller's the closure, right,
5:15
Speaker 1: He's Marianna Rivera. He's somebody who the Bills hope could
5:18
Speaker 1: finish their season. Now for the Rams, how does defensive coordinator,
5:22
Speaker 1: I'm sorry for the Rams. I spoke to head coach
5:24
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh and he said he was wondering how Bill's
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Speaker 1: defensive coordinator, Leslie Fraser, is going to activate von Miller? Right?
5:30
Speaker 1: Is he going to activate him on passing downs only
5:33
Speaker 1: to preserve him for seventeen or is he gonna have
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Speaker 1: him play a lot? Remember they've got other decent pass rushers. Um,
5:40
Speaker 1: you know that they're working with Biggie Basham a j F.
5:42
Speaker 1: Vanessa and and you're Greg Rousseau also part of the
5:45
Speaker 1: mix right here. So how is he going to be activated?
5:48
Speaker 1: And then how are the Rams gonna be without Vaughan?
5:50
Speaker 1: Remember they played the first half of last season without
5:53
Speaker 1: him and still got to the Super Bowl. But they
5:55
Speaker 1: are going to have to be creative and how they
5:56
Speaker 1: get pressure on that quarterback Josh Allen on the other side,
5:59
Speaker 1: because of his ability to scramble, they can't create a
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Speaker 1: bunch of rush lanes to get leaky on that you
6:04
Speaker 1: mentioned Marion Rivera. Is he the closer? Do you keep
6:08
Speaker 1: him then on a pitch count? So you're looking fresh
6:11
Speaker 1: for four or three games in the postseason. They had
6:14
Speaker 1: the number one scoring defense in the NFL, the number
6:17
Speaker 1: one total defense. In other words, they gave up the
6:19
Speaker 1: fewest points, the fewest yards. But you gotta get to
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Speaker 1: the quarterback. You gotta get the Patrick Mahomes at the
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Speaker 1: end of games, which is what von Miller and Aaron
6:28
Speaker 1: Donald were able to do in the NFC Championship Game
6:30
Speaker 1: and then the Super Bowl. The Jimmy Garoppolo and then
6:33
Speaker 1: did Joe Burrow. That is how they closed out that game,
6:36
Speaker 1: so they had to rally when they were down at
6:38
Speaker 1: the end of the third quarter in both of those games.
6:42
Speaker 1: Fascinating to watch tonight is von Miller potentially lines up
6:46
Speaker 1: against a new starting left tackle with Joe No. We're
6:50
Speaker 1: often running plenty more on this game. Thank you, Jim,
6:52
Speaker 1: Thank you Steve. Coming up as we continue on this
6:54
Speaker 1: two hour edition of NFL Now Now, the Insider reports
6:58
Speaker 1: a little gentleman happy game day Ian wrapped poor Tom
7:00
Speaker 1: Pella sero Ian. Let's start with you and start with
7:03
Speaker 1: the news at the Rams hand to down about thirty
7:05
Speaker 1: minutes ago that we all knew that was coming. They
7:08
Speaker 1: have brand new big money extensions for both coach and GM. Yeah,
7:14
Speaker 1: and we've known for I would say several months that
7:16
Speaker 1: coach Sean McVeigh was getting a contract extension through the
7:20
Speaker 1: six season. Now we know less need. The general manager,
7:23
Speaker 1: who worked in tandem with McVeigh to help lead this
7:26
Speaker 1: team to the Super Bowl title last year, he got
7:29
Speaker 1: one as well. Both through there now on the same track,
7:33
Speaker 1: both big money extension to make them the highest paid
7:35
Speaker 1: coach and the highest one of the highest paid coaches
7:37
Speaker 1: one of the highest paid general managers in the NFL,
7:40
Speaker 1: and of course so richly deserved for both of these guys.
7:44
Speaker 1: They do it, let's just say their own way. Uh,
7:47
Speaker 1: that is not conventional. They treat draft picks in a
7:50
Speaker 1: way that most people do not. They have been steadfast
7:53
Speaker 1: and their approach and they have built two winners, one
7:56
Speaker 1: super Bowl runner up, one super Bowl champion, and now
7:59
Speaker 1: tonight on the couple hours I would say from the
8:03
Speaker 1: huge season opener, both of these guys officially officially get paid.
8:07
Speaker 1: And this is one day after the Rams also give
8:09
Speaker 1: a new deal to starting right tackle Rob Havenstein. Tom meantime,
8:14
Speaker 1: speaking of new deals, Lamar Jackson was on the podium
8:17
Speaker 1: yesterday in Baltimore and he gave us a little more
8:22
Speaker 1: insight as to what the actual deadline is for his
8:26
Speaker 1: potential contract any movement at all. Andrew Lamar Jackson says
8:32
Speaker 1: that deadline to him is Friday tomorrow, in advance of
8:36
Speaker 1: the week one opener. At this time, it does not
8:39
Speaker 1: something there is anything imminent done between Lamar Jackson and
8:43
Speaker 1: the Ravens in terms of a long term extension, and
8:45
Speaker 1: the fully guaranteed money has been one of the driving
8:48
Speaker 1: divides between the sides. Lamar, of course serves as his
8:52
Speaker 1: own agent, with his mother among others advising him through
8:55
Speaker 1: the process. Lamar was asked by a reporter yesterday, do
8:58
Speaker 1: you feel like you've gotten any closer than you were previously?
9:02
Speaker 1: What Lamar said was, I don't know. You've got to
9:05
Speaker 1: ask the guy I'm talking to, presumably referring to Ravens
9:09
Speaker 1: GM Eric de Costa. So we'll see whether they can
9:11
Speaker 1: close this cap over the next twenty four hours and
9:14
Speaker 1: change here. If not, Lamar still gets a big raise
9:16
Speaker 1: in two He played for under two million dollars last
9:19
Speaker 1: season this year to over twenty three million dollars on
9:22
Speaker 1: his fifth year option on his rookie deal, though of
9:24
Speaker 1: course that pales in comparison into the money that Lamar
9:27
Speaker 1: eventually will be getting on a long term extension. Yeah,
9:32
Speaker 1: I think Olamar is gonna be just just fine. We'll
9:34
Speaker 1: see what happens. They're also gonna find out probably in
9:36
Speaker 1: the next twenty four hours is j K. Dobbins going
9:39
Speaker 1: to play? And obviously this has been some source of
9:42
Speaker 1: debate on the television, on the Twitter, sometimes from J K.
9:45
Speaker 1: Dobbins himself whether or not his knee is going to
9:48
Speaker 1: be ready for the opener. He has been firm in
9:51
Speaker 1: saying that he will be out there. Certainly seems to
9:54
Speaker 1: be based on the people I'm speaking with, it would
9:56
Speaker 1: be much more of an open question. Has been limited
9:59
Speaker 1: some this week, John Harba saying that he's gonna make
10:01
Speaker 1: a determination on his availability on Friday. The did bring
10:05
Speaker 1: in Kenyan Drake to serve as the de facto starting
10:08
Speaker 1: running back in the event that Dobbins cannot go, and
10:10
Speaker 1: maybe Lamar Jackson give us a little bit of him
10:13
Speaker 1: yesterday by saying in a couple of weeks you will
10:16
Speaker 1: see him. We'll see if that means he's gonna play
10:18
Speaker 1: in a couple of weeks, Okay, we'll find out. The
10:21
Speaker 1: Ravens get the Jets Week number one, Tom, the forty
10:25
Speaker 1: Niners get the Bears. How's George Kittle lander? This was
10:31
Speaker 1: a bit of a surprise from Kyle Shanahan and his
10:33
Speaker 1: press conference yesterday. George Kittle did not participating in practice,
10:37
Speaker 1: and Shannahan said that's because he tweaked his groin in
10:40
Speaker 1: practice on Monday. Shanahan said that he was hopeful the
10:43
Speaker 1: Kittle would be okay, it would have been back on
10:45
Speaker 1: the practice field yesterday. He was not Obviously, Kittle is
10:49
Speaker 1: one of the best tight ends in the NFL, but
10:51
Speaker 1: has dealt with a bunch of injuries over the last
10:53
Speaker 1: several seasons here, so his status certainly going to be
10:56
Speaker 1: worth monitoring. When you go through the course of camp,
10:59
Speaker 1: and I saw the forty Niners on multiple occasions, Trey
11:01
Speaker 1: Lance certainly looks the Devo Samuel Brandon Ayuk and George Kittle.
11:05
Speaker 1: Those are his primary weapons. That's where he wants to
11:07
Speaker 1: go with the football. Tight ends often the quarterback's best friend,
11:10
Speaker 1: and would not be advantageous for Tree Lance to not
11:13
Speaker 1: have George Kittle if in fact he's not available for Sunday.
11:16
Speaker 1: Official game injury designations for Week one for the Sunday
11:20
Speaker 1: games we'll find out tomorrow on Friday Today those game
11:24
Speaker 1: day Ram's bills. More than that coming up momentarily, Thank
11:26
Speaker 1: Ian and thank you Tom. And speaking of the forty Niners,
11:30
Speaker 1: we are live in Santa Clara moments from now. What
11:33
Speaker 1: do they say? What does Tray say about Week one?
11:37
Speaker 1: In Chicago, we are often running it is game day,
11:40
Speaker 1: it is NFL now, so many good games Week number one.
11:52
Speaker 1: Let's circle this one in the late four pm Eastern
11:54
Speaker 1: window on Sunday, it's the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes on
11:57
Speaker 1: the road against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. That's
12:01
Speaker 1: a good one. Matter of fact, sign me up for
12:04
Speaker 1: that one. In this league, everybody starts at zero. Everybody
12:09
Speaker 1: zero zero. Everybody has a chance to go out there
12:10
Speaker 1: and win the Super Bowl. Um. If you don't have
12:12
Speaker 1: that motivation every single year to get to those to
12:14
Speaker 1: win the NFC West, to win they have seen him
12:17
Speaker 1: to win the Super Bowl, then you're in the wrong profession.
12:19
Speaker 1: And I think we have the guys in here that
12:21
Speaker 1: are excited about it, excited about the chance to go
12:24
Speaker 1: out there and win every single week. But it all
12:26
Speaker 1: starts off this week one against a great football team
12:29
Speaker 1: and there's my Cardinals. So we're excited to get out
12:30
Speaker 1: there and kind of show what we've been putting together
12:32
Speaker 1: and show who we are. Got to control the emotions, um,
12:36
Speaker 1: because I mean this is a this is a you know,
12:38
Speaker 1: it's a physical game, a lot of emotions, you know.
12:41
Speaker 1: But uh, some guys can play like that. Some guys can't,
12:44
Speaker 1: you know. But it'll be it'll be a great day.
12:48
Speaker 1: It should be a great day. So many storylines in
12:50
Speaker 1: this one Mark Ross with me now and Brian Baldinger
12:53
Speaker 1: as well. Happy game Day, Happy new season to both
12:55
Speaker 1: of you. Baldy, start with you. You're actually calling this one.
12:59
Speaker 1: I mean the storylines like Cliff and and Patrick Mahomes
13:03
Speaker 1: back to Texas tacked the fact of the Chiefs have one,
13:05
Speaker 1: what six consecutive a f C West divisions. Let's start
13:09
Speaker 1: in the Arizona side. What stands out to you about
13:12
Speaker 1: that team? Well, and when I watch Arizona's defense, I
13:16
Speaker 1: think they have the best tandem of safeties in the NFL.
13:19
Speaker 1: When you look at Buddha Baker and Jayleen Thompson. I mean,
13:22
Speaker 1: they're both excellent tacklers. They both take the ball away
13:25
Speaker 1: last year three interceptions a piece for each. They both
13:28
Speaker 1: really roam and field. They're gonna have to with the
13:31
Speaker 1: injuries that they have sustained at the cornerback position, They're
13:34
Speaker 1: gonna have to rely on both Buddha and Jail and
13:36
Speaker 1: even more. And from the offensive standpoint here, Andrew, I
13:40
Speaker 1: think the question still remains about where Kyler is gonna
13:44
Speaker 1: go with the ball without DeAndre Hopkins. Is it gonna
13:48
Speaker 1: be Rondale Moore stepping up in his second season only
13:51
Speaker 1: one touchdown catch a year ago? Is it zach Ertz
13:54
Speaker 1: who came over mid season a year ago? Uh? You know,
13:58
Speaker 1: is it gonna be Hollywood Brown? Uh? Is gonna have
14:01
Speaker 1: become the more complete receiver than what we saw in Baltimore.
14:04
Speaker 1: Those are questions in an offense that is an air
14:07
Speaker 1: raid offense, and the Bowls gotta you know, go to
14:10
Speaker 1: a fleet of receivers. Those are some of the things
14:13
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to, uh in Glendale on Sunday afternoon.
14:17
Speaker 1: Zach Ertz and injury concerned as well. Really a lot
14:20
Speaker 1: of injury concerns here for Cliff Kingsbury. On the flip
14:24
Speaker 1: side of things, Mark, what stands out to you for
14:27
Speaker 1: Kansas City? Well, for Casey easy about my homes without
14:31
Speaker 1: Tyreek Hill. We won't talk about that. But I'm excited
14:34
Speaker 1: to see this rookie class. This case, rookie class eight
14:37
Speaker 1: or nine made the team. But not just making the team,
14:40
Speaker 1: but you're gonna see a group of players that are
14:42
Speaker 1: starting and playing significant roles like a Trent McDuffie and
14:46
Speaker 1: the George Karloftis and the sky More. And also an
14:49
Speaker 1: underrated guy to look out for is Leo Channel out
14:51
Speaker 1: of Wisconsin who you'll see Karlstas gets kind of the
14:54
Speaker 1: intention of being the pass rusher. But this guy Chanel,
14:57
Speaker 1: you're gonna see him attacking and blissing a lot, getting
15:00
Speaker 1: in the backfield a lot. So I'm excited to see
15:03
Speaker 1: how much these guys can shibut you to supplement with.
15:06
Speaker 1: Casey has lost working with Andy Reid in Philly for
15:09
Speaker 1: for six seven years, I know he is not afraid
15:12
Speaker 1: to play rookies. We always draft the guys and threw
15:14
Speaker 1: them in there, the Corey Simons and Brian Westbrooks of
15:17
Speaker 1: the world. So I know Andy has no fear at
15:20
Speaker 1: all that he can coach these guys up get him
15:22
Speaker 1: on the field. So it's gonna be exciting how soon
15:24
Speaker 1: these guys can step up to that NFL level. A
15:27
Speaker 1: lot of talent there and Kate Young talent and Casey
15:30
Speaker 1: Brett veach. Pretty good draft at least for now. We'll
15:32
Speaker 1: find out more when you throw those guys in the field.
15:35
Speaker 1: Coming up on Sunday, one of four games at four
15:37
Speaker 1: pm Eastern time, Week number one. Thank you Mark, Thank
15:40
Speaker 1: you Baldi again. Baldi is gonna be in the building
15:42
Speaker 1: calling that game. Pretty good quarterback matchup there one has
15:46
Speaker 1: want to ring. The other took his team to the
15:48
Speaker 1: playoffs a year ago for the first time. Also a
15:50
Speaker 1: pretty good quarterback matchup in Chicago. This one is very different,
15:54
Speaker 1: though it's tray Lance with only two career starts. First
15:58
Speaker 1: year as a full time starter against Justin Fields and
16:02
Speaker 1: the pairs who eventually got that job. Last year, two
16:07
Speaker 1: first round quarterbacks from one name to captain the other
16:12
Speaker 1: in San Francisco was not He was seventh in the voting.
16:17
Speaker 1: I just don't want to put seven on there. You know,
16:19
Speaker 1: Debot was eight. Um, that's why I mentioned his name
16:22
Speaker 1: on accident. We just didn't wanted to go as six.
16:24
Speaker 1: And I don't allow you to the coin to us.
16:26
Speaker 1: I don't believe um. So it's also his first year
16:30
Speaker 1: of starting for US, you know, I think, guys, do
16:32
Speaker 1: you know there's not many rookies who end up being
16:34
Speaker 1: the captains. I know this is is a second year,
16:36
Speaker 1: but he's a rookie for us in terms of it
16:37
Speaker 1: was his first time being our starting quarterback. I'm excited,
16:40
Speaker 1: I mean real similar. So I guess the weeks that
16:42
Speaker 1: I did start last year from from preparations standpoint, but
16:47
Speaker 1: it's it's great to have those guys in the room.
16:48
Speaker 1: Great to have Jimmy in the room to help, you know,
16:50
Speaker 1: bounce ideas off of um. But yeah, it's it's been awesome.
16:55
Speaker 1: Trey Lance there and Kyle Shanahan beforehand. This is KYLEB.
16:59
Speaker 1: Burton Live the forty Niners High There, Kayla, Let's talk
17:01
Speaker 1: about Trey Lance making his third career start. But first
17:04
Speaker 1: this Sea is in an opener week number one. How
17:07
Speaker 1: is he preparing? What is he saying? Well, Andrew, we
17:10
Speaker 1: just heard Trey Lance, and he says he's excited for
17:12
Speaker 1: Week one, and he also says that he's excited to
17:15
Speaker 1: finally be going up against a defense that isn't his own.
17:18
Speaker 1: And this is going to be really the first game
17:21
Speaker 1: as a starter, in a full game since Week seventeen
17:24
Speaker 1: of last year against the Texans, where he threw for
17:27
Speaker 1: two nine yards, he had two touchdowns, and he really
17:31
Speaker 1: progressed though only playing six games last year with two starts,
17:34
Speaker 1: he progressed within those games from the first game all
17:37
Speaker 1: the way to the six. But obviously the glaring question
17:40
Speaker 1: when it comes to Trey Lance is not only how
17:43
Speaker 1: is he going to take over as the new starting
17:45
Speaker 1: quarterback of this team, But is he really ready to
17:48
Speaker 1: help lead this team to a Super Bowl championship right now?
17:51
Speaker 1: We'll tell you this. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is very
17:54
Speaker 1: confident in his second year quarterback. He says, quote, he
17:58
Speaker 1: is in as good of a spot since I've been
18:00
Speaker 1: around him currently. And he also says that he has
18:03
Speaker 1: high expectations. I mean, we just heard him say that
18:05
Speaker 1: he's not named captain because he does have to go
18:07
Speaker 1: out there and earn it. Another thing Kyle Shanahan mentioned
18:10
Speaker 1: is that he clearly has other weapons around him with
18:14
Speaker 1: Deebo Samuel who's returning him. Just last year, he was
18:16
Speaker 1: the receiver that set an NFL record with the most
18:19
Speaker 1: rushing touchdowns last season. Eight. Of course, he has Brandon
18:23
Speaker 1: and I you George Kittle right now, who is day
18:25
Speaker 1: to day with that groin injury. But he's got the
18:28
Speaker 1: pieces around him. And the other part to this, of
18:30
Speaker 1: course is Jimmy Garoppolo who's on the sidelines right now
18:34
Speaker 1: being an ear for Trey Lance. And Trey Lance did
18:36
Speaker 1: say that he loves having him in the locker room.
18:39
Speaker 1: He says he's been bouncing a lot of ideas off
18:41
Speaker 1: of him, and he's going to be a huge help
18:43
Speaker 1: to him in this office, all right, kayle. On the
18:44
Speaker 1: flip side, they're preparing for the guy we also showed
18:47
Speaker 1: up there and that is Justin Fields. But a new
18:49
Speaker 1: coaching staff and new offense. How do the forty Niners
18:52
Speaker 1: get ready for those unknowns? And Justin Fields Andrew the
18:57
Speaker 1: forty Niners and I am not going to take Justin
18:59
Speaker 1: Fields lightly at all. And I say this because you
19:02
Speaker 1: can expect Justin Fields to definitely be playing with a
19:05
Speaker 1: chip on his shoulder. Think back to last year's draft,
19:08
Speaker 1: Justin Fields was on board and the forty Niners said, Nope,
19:12
Speaker 1: we're gonna go and get our guy. They traded three
19:16
Speaker 1: first round picks to go and get Trade Lance, and
19:19
Speaker 1: Justin Fields was asked about that. You know, how do
19:21
Speaker 1: you feel going into this matchup knowing that they didn't
19:24
Speaker 1: choose you? And he says that it's nothing personal, but
19:27
Speaker 1: he did say that I'm actually happy, I'm glad that
19:30
Speaker 1: they passed on me, and I'm ready to go come Sunday.
19:33
Speaker 1: Another thing to mention here is that the defense for
19:36
Speaker 1: the forty Niners is going to have to be really strong,
19:40
Speaker 1: especially with the chip on his shoulder. That Justin Fields
19:43
Speaker 1: is playing with. But I think about Week eight of
19:45
Speaker 1: last season, Fields had arguably his greatest rushing touchdown. But
19:50
Speaker 1: mind you, he also had four sacks. And this defense
19:53
Speaker 1: ranked fifth total last year. Uh. And a big part
19:57
Speaker 1: of it, of course, is with Nick Bosa, who's just
19:59
Speaker 1: named captain for the first time. Kyle Shanahan says, not
20:02
Speaker 1: only is he a great physical but also a leader
20:06
Speaker 1: of this team. He's not that vocal, but he's been
20:08
Speaker 1: working on that and that's been standing out. Keeping my
20:11
Speaker 1: Nick Boso ranked fifth last year and tackles for lost
20:14
Speaker 1: quarterback hits and sacks. Ramsey on the play, look at
20:20
Speaker 1: and it's Aaron Donald who will get the shacks fake
20:23
Speaker 1: Allen lis b Sawsome knocks plus Buffalo staff was rolling
20:31
Speaker 1: and throwing caught up buck down look out from behind,
20:36
Speaker 1: Paul is out strip sack there by Fon Miller Von
20:39
Speaker 1: Miller on the Super Bowl with each of the two
20:41
Speaker 1: teams with his NFL career, now looking to do the
20:44
Speaker 1: same with the third ge which is the Buffalo Bills. Allry,
20:48
Speaker 1: we're gonna have some legends on the field tonight to
20:50
Speaker 1: kick off. To kick off rather a new season, we
20:53
Speaker 1: have some legends in the house with us right now,
20:56
Speaker 1: is well because they want to see this game. Sitting
20:58
Speaker 1: here directly to my left, longtime Rams running back nine
21:03
Speaker 1: years wearing a Rams unit form, Stephen Jackson, how are you?
21:07
Speaker 1: I'm good man, Are you doing well? Thanks for being
21:09
Speaker 1: here and six years in a Bills uniform? Why so serious?
21:14
Speaker 1: Stevie Johnson. Great to see you as well, say thanks
21:18
Speaker 1: for having How are you feeling? Because everyone the Rams
21:21
Speaker 1: got crowned last year, but no one wants to crown
21:23
Speaker 1: them yet. Everybody wants to crown the Bills before we
21:26
Speaker 1: even play a game. Yeah, no, we don't need to
21:28
Speaker 1: crown is right now. We'll take it after the season. Well,
21:31
Speaker 1: just let them have they shine their glory today is
21:34
Speaker 1: it was well well earned and it's respected. But yeah,
21:37
Speaker 1: we'll be having that next year opening. Okay, you're confident
21:39
Speaker 1: in saying that? Absolutely? Okay, right now. What's the key
21:43
Speaker 1: to winning this one tonight? Stopping the pressure? I say,
21:47
Speaker 1: stop the pressure and um, we got the we got
21:49
Speaker 1: the best offense in the league. Stop the pressure meeting,
21:52
Speaker 1: I'm assuming stop Aaron Donald which is easier said than done. Steven,
21:56
Speaker 1: it is, you know, he said, Let I don't know
21:58
Speaker 1: about like that. We're let we're the champions. We earned
22:02
Speaker 1: it and we're gonna take it again. And uh, I
22:05
Speaker 1: think it's a big night for us that the league
22:07
Speaker 1: is ready to see what the Rams are. Are you
22:09
Speaker 1: true or not? Are you here to stay for the
22:11
Speaker 1: long run? Or are we gonna let the new Cinderellas
22:14
Speaker 1: of the league take over? They're happy with what they had, Well,
22:17
Speaker 1: we'll take over from here. Do you like that title?
22:19
Speaker 1: Cinderella's of the league? Cinderella was cute, and the Rams
22:27
Speaker 1: will tell you that last season was more than just cute.
22:30
Speaker 1: It was beautiful. But they brought back a lot of
22:32
Speaker 1: different pieces they weren't. I mean, von Miller decided to
22:35
Speaker 1: get up and lead, but they use that money to
22:38
Speaker 1: go get Allen Robinson. The offense that we see tonight, Stephen,
22:42
Speaker 1: how different will it be without Odell but with Allen Robinson,
22:47
Speaker 1: without Andrew Whitworth, but with Joe Nopoum at left tackle.
22:51
Speaker 1: I think it's a little different to be just as dynamic,
22:54
Speaker 1: I believe. Um. I think the run game is gonna
22:56
Speaker 1: be a little bit more balanced. You have guys like Robinson,
22:58
Speaker 1: as you spoke to, and then Uh, Coop, that's his thing.
23:02
Speaker 1: But when you're balanced like that, you keep the defense honest.
23:04
Speaker 1: They don't know who to go out, the who the target,
23:06
Speaker 1: who to double, and that's what do you like to be,
23:08
Speaker 1: especially when you have a chicken man Lie Staffers. I
23:10
Speaker 1: mean a big part of it too, it is do
23:12
Speaker 1: they stick with the run down the stretch? Last year
23:15
Speaker 1: when cam Akers came back, they ran a lot. This year,
23:20
Speaker 1: you hope cam Makers stays salthy, Darryl Henderson stays healthy.
23:23
Speaker 1: Kyran Williams would get to him a little bit later.
23:25
Speaker 1: He's the rookie part of this puzzle as well. When
23:28
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh goes back to the lab for six months,
23:31
Speaker 1: kind of curious as to what you see for week
23:33
Speaker 1: number one. Well, the game is all about will you
23:36
Speaker 1: know you gotta be able to will your way to win.
23:37
Speaker 1: You gotta be able overcome circumstances in the game. So
23:41
Speaker 1: run game, allow for your offense to build his confidence.
23:43
Speaker 1: That allows the offensive line to far off the ball
23:45
Speaker 1: feel like they're getting back into the groove of the season.
23:48
Speaker 1: Then that opens up everything down down the field. Stevie,
23:51
Speaker 1: last time you heard o Mer say it before? These
23:53
Speaker 1: two teams played twenty three Bills rallied back and then
23:56
Speaker 1: eventually that huge win. UM at the end, are you
23:59
Speaker 1: concerned at all about this team's ability in close game
24:05
Speaker 1: teams one score games last year they were owing six?
24:08
Speaker 1: Uh No, I'm not concerned at all. You know, it's
24:11
Speaker 1: it's a learning experience. You know, it was a really
24:13
Speaker 1: great team. UM. But as far as learning and learning
24:18
Speaker 1: how to win these games, I think we're there now.
24:20
Speaker 1: This is the year that we're there for getting over
24:23
Speaker 1: those huncils, those those late quarter games. UM. But I
24:26
Speaker 1: think we got all of the tools that we need
24:28
Speaker 1: in our players to make that that change. Ask the
24:30
Speaker 1: same questionnaire about how an offense involved. Now with Brian
24:34
Speaker 1: day Ball in New York coaching the Giants and Ken
24:37
Speaker 1: Dorsey taking over, what would you like to see Ken
24:41
Speaker 1: Dorsey do with this offense or potentially with your quarterback? UM?
24:46
Speaker 1: I feel like, don't do too much Josh has spent.
24:50
Speaker 1: Does that mean run them less? Uh No, not necessarily
24:53
Speaker 1: run them less. It's it still gotta be a balanced
24:55
Speaker 1: attack because we got the athletes in the backfield and
24:58
Speaker 1: you know, obviously on a perimeter. UM. But if we
25:01
Speaker 1: try to do too much then I think is gonna
25:03
Speaker 1: be ugly. You know, because when you have a lot
25:05
Speaker 1: of tools, are a lot of options, you know, that
25:10
Speaker 1: can be that can also be a curse at the
25:11
Speaker 1: same time, you know, if you don't know how to
25:13
Speaker 1: utilize it. UM and with the guys that we have,
25:15
Speaker 1: with Josh having that experience three or four years already
25:18
Speaker 1: under this built of tough times and great times, UM
25:22
Speaker 1: is definitely something that we can build off of as
25:24
Speaker 1: a as a team, not just as a coaching staff
25:27
Speaker 1: coaching the team, but that team is is smart enough
25:29
Speaker 1: to to get those What does do too much? Look
25:32
Speaker 1: like like track plays? We don't really need the trick.
25:36
Speaker 1: I feel like we were good. We're good enough to
25:38
Speaker 1: step out there and and and compete man and man.
25:41
Speaker 1: Uh we go. We can probably run a slant or
25:43
Speaker 1: hitching fade all day and you gotta stop it. I
25:46
Speaker 1: don't think we need to do gimmick plays too much,
25:49
Speaker 1: you know. UM, let's just let's just push up all
25:51
Speaker 1: get the four or five yards. Let's not try to
25:53
Speaker 1: get the big plays like doing too much. I'm trying
25:56
Speaker 1: to get fifty yards every places. Not that's not that's
25:58
Speaker 1: not realistic. You know, Let's just play our game. Keep
26:01
Speaker 1: we can pound a rock or we can get short
26:03
Speaker 1: passes with the athletes that we have to to beat,
26:06
Speaker 1: like a running game, and extensive extension of the running game.
26:09
Speaker 1: Steven wants to key to night for the Rams. I
26:11
Speaker 1: think the Rams have to take advantage of the young corners, right,
26:14
Speaker 1: a lot of different person hel sets, make the Buffalo
26:17
Speaker 1: show itself and see if the youth of those guys
26:20
Speaker 1: are able to match up to the to the moment.
26:22
Speaker 1: And when you do all these matchup nightmares, it allows
26:25
Speaker 1: for linebackers and some of these third and four dbs
26:28
Speaker 1: to be out there on the island by themselves and
26:29
Speaker 1: can they hold up. You know you have these two
26:31
Speaker 1: all pro safeties, but if you could keep the running
26:34
Speaker 1: game going, stay on schedule as well as take advantage
26:37
Speaker 1: of these young guys and just see if they're ready
26:39
Speaker 1: for the big, big show, you could have caught your
26:42
Speaker 1: elam their first round pick out of Florida. One of
26:44
Speaker 1: those guys starting at one of those corner positions. And
26:47
Speaker 1: if you remember last year in the Super Bowl, when
26:50
Speaker 1: you double Cooper Cup that leaves Odell Beckham Jr. Open.
26:55
Speaker 1: We saw what he did in the first half before
26:57
Speaker 1: he injured his knee. You you double Cooper Cup tonight.
27:00
Speaker 1: Now it leaves Alan Robinson open, not just in the
27:02
Speaker 1: red zone, but for the down the field stuff as well. Absolutely,
27:05
Speaker 1: Alan was huge in Chicago when he was there. I
27:07
Speaker 1: think he's going to be just as big now here
27:09
Speaker 1: in l a. Um. He's a guy that he's capable
27:12
Speaker 1: of running the rout tree as well as he's a
27:14
Speaker 1: good blocker on the outside. And when you see a
27:16
Speaker 1: sportsive runs, that's because the guys on the edges are
27:18
Speaker 1: blocking and maintaining that that block for the integrity of
27:21
Speaker 1: the play. So A Rob's gonna definitely bring an addition
27:24
Speaker 1: in the passing game, but as well as I think
27:26
Speaker 1: that the run game is gonna be better because of
27:27
Speaker 1: someone like him. All Right, Stephen Jackson is here. Stevie
27:30
Speaker 1: Johnson is here as well, from the Rams and the Bills, respectively.
27:34
Speaker 1: They're both back a little bit later, right, everybody, time
27:37
Speaker 1: for one more thing before we go, with Jim Trotter going, Yeah,
27:40
Speaker 1: I want to shout out to all the individual NFL
27:44
Speaker 1: PR teams and communications staffs. So this week are honoring
27:47
Speaker 1: the late Jason Jenkins by posting group photos of themselves
27:51
Speaker 1: dressed to the nines, which is the way that Jason
27:53
Speaker 1: always dressed. Jason was a senior VP of Communications and
27:57
Speaker 1: Community Affairs for the Miami Dolphins, and he passed away
28:00
Speaker 1: from a blood clot traveling to his heart last week. Tremendous,
28:05
Speaker 1: tremendous loss and a HEARTSI with his family, and a
28:08
Speaker 1: tremendous short of respect there for all the pr staffs
28:11
Speaker 1: around the league. Omar One more thing, impressively consistent. One
28:16
Speaker 1: of the most I've seen covering the NFL was Russell
28:19
Speaker 1: Wilson's weekly visits to the Seattle Children's Hospital. He said
28:22
Speaker 1: that's one of the things he'll miss the most about
28:25
Speaker 1: playing in Seattle. Well, new team, new uh City, same
28:30
Speaker 1: tradition for Russell Wilson. He posted about the Children's Hospital
28:34
Speaker 1: Colorado and his visits. They're good on Russell absolutely Sarah Walsh.
28:39
Speaker 1: One more thing, big win already this week for Todd Bowls.
28:44
Speaker 1: Thirty seven years after he left college. This week it
28:47
Speaker 1: was announced he got his bachelor's degree from Mount St. Mary's,
28:51
Speaker 1: fulfilling a promise he made to his late mother. You
28:53
Speaker 1: will attend commencement in May. Congratulated Bowls, NFL Now for Sarah,
28:59
Speaker 1: for Olmar, for Jam Bob Andrews Senior. NFL Now is
29:05
Speaker 1: a production of the NFL in partnership with I heart Radio.
29:08
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i
29:11
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.