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NFL Week 1 Overreactions: Jets & Giants Win, Josh Allen Shines & Fantasy Football Takeaways · Rice on the Radio

• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Rice on the radio episode.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Ian Rice.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And we finally have actual football to talk about.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: No more mock drafts, no more what-ifs.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: No, we got real week one football.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, after one week, I got some things I feel pretty good about.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Might also have a couple things that I might have to need to walk back eventually, but that's a different story.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Also, if my voice sounds a little weak, I uh I was at the Met game on Monday.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: It was Pete Alonzo's first game back at City Field in a different uniform.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: All that screaming and yelling, probably not the uh best idea if I'm gonna record a podcast the next day.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, yeah man, we got football.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Jets are one and oh, Giants are one and oh.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: I went 10 and 6 picking games around the league in my own personal ledger.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Rolling the dice with rice is off to a hot start going 4-2.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you remember last year we started terribly.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: And somehow, my fantasy team for the Rice Bowl Invitational won week one by less than a point, despite me doing just about everything I could to lose.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, football is back, boys and girls.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's really the theme here.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Week one gives you information, it gives you evidence, it does not give you the answers to the entire season.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to rip up everything you thought in August because of one weird Sunday.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: But you also shouldn't ignore what your eyes just showed you because you're too married to something you said three weeks ago.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we're going around the league.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk a little fantasy.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, the eagle has landed.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: We'll check in on the rice bowl invitational.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: We'll even take some receipts on the roll in the dice with rice segment.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: But really, there's only one place for me to start.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because God, how good did it feel to watch the New York Jets start a football season and not immediately put a check in the loss column.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know, I know, it's the Titans.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm well aware.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need somebody in my mentions telling me Tennessee might be one of the worst teams in football.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: They probably are.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's fine.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because for once, the Jets went into a game against a team that they were supposed to beat, and they beat him.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: 23 to 10.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: No circus, no catastrophic fumble, although it almost did happen, no muff punt, no quarterback throwing across his body into triple coverage, no blown coverage in the final two minutes.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I can go on and on and on.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: They just took care of business.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, maybe the weirdest part of watching the entire game was that I felt comfortable, like actually comfortable as a Jets fan.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Do you understand how bizarre that sentence is?
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: I never had that feeling where I'm sitting there on this edge of the couch going, okay, here it comes, here comes the mess.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know the Jets feeling.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody who has watched this team for long enough knows the Jets feeling.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're up 10, there's six minutes left, everything looks fine, and your brain is already constructing the exact sequence of events that's gonna ruin your afternoon.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that feeling never came.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, that might have been my favorite part of the entire game.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it started on the first drive.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: The Jets went down the field and scored a touchdown on their opening possession, which sounds like something a professional football team should occasionally be able to do, right?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, apparently, for the Jets, that's asking a lot.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was their first opening drive touchdown since 2016.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And this their seventh since 1993.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: It was two years old.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is one of those stats that I I almost I almost wish I didn't know, you know?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: You you hear it and you go, Jesus Christ, this franchise.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: But here we are, Ken Yon Sid gets the ball on that drive, first touch of his NFL career, and he takes it in on the ground.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I know I I talked about him a little bit already, but I came away really excited about the kid.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: He's a tight end, and he moves like someone half of his size.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: They're already showing you that they're willing to get creative with him.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: They're not just asking him to stand six yards down the field, turn around and catch a hook.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: They're moving him.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're putting the ball in his hands.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying after one game that he's gonna be Tony Gonzalez or anything, relax.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: But five years from now, six years from now, if Kenyon Sadiq is a major part of this offense, I don't think anybody who watched week one is going to be shocked.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then you look at Gino.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: 19 of 24, 215 yards, no interceptions.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't sacked.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, the number that matters the most to me isn't even a number, it's just the fact that he looked comfortable.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: There is such a difference between a quarterback who's standing back there hoping somebody opens up before somebody destroys him, and a quarterback who looks like he knows where he's supposed to go with the football.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: First read's in there, fine.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Second read, check down.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Move, live for another play.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: The offensive line gave him time.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Garrett Wilson looked like Garrett Wilson.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Brees Hall goes over 100 yards and gets a touchdown.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: The Jets ran the ball 39 times.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it never felt like they were doing it because they were scared to throw.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like they were doing it because we're bigger than you, we're better than you, we're controlling this football game.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Why should we stop?
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: That is what competent football looks like.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that sounds like the lowest bar in America, but welcome to Jets Fandom, boys and girls.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's where we're at.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Defensively, same thing.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: David Bailey flashed pretty good.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Six pressures in his first game.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: You could see why they were so excited about him.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm happy they took him at the number two spot.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: The front seven was very active.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Demario Davis was exactly what you bring a veteran in like Demario Davis for.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: He was physical, smart, communicating.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Took control of everything.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, Tennessee didn't really do anything until the very end of the game.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: They get the late touchdown at the end to make it look a little bit prettier than what it actually was, but it felt like the Jets had control of it basically the entire afternoon.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: There are some things to clean up, obviously.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: The end of the first half was pretty ugly.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: You got around 40 seconds, you you decide you're gonna try and go get some points.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Fine.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good with being aggressive.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then it's a false start, and then it was another false start, and now you're all the way back to 45, the other, your own 45.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, not the best.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's the kind of shit where against Tennessee, you go, okay, whatever, it is what it is.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City, that's a possession that costs you.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: So you gotta clean that up.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: But just the fact that we're even talking about Jets being competent, and that's the biggest mistake they had all game, it's a good sign moving forward.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Injury-wise, also, Mega Fitzpatrick left, Omar Cooper left after an awesome catch and spin and run with the ball.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: You hate to see that, but overall, man, I really don't have a ton to complain about.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: The Jets went on the road against a bad football team and did what good teams are supposed to do to bad football teams.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't shit the bed.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: They took care of business.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And now this gets a little fun here.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, Jets fans are they're fired up, right?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: We're ready to go.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: We think we're going to the Super Bowl.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you got Green Bay coming into MetLife.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Home opener.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Jets are 1-0.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And we're doing a little whiteout action.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: A little Penn State action.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: White helmets, white uniforms.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: The place is going to be loud because you're coming home with a winning record, which is rare for week one, week two.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And also, I'm pretty sure Green Bay is looking at this game going, okay, you know what?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: We blew week one.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's get right against the Jets.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's beat them up.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Nah, man.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Fuck that.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're not volunteering to be your get right game anymore.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: I understand that we beat Tennessee.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not throwing a parade down Broad Street just yet.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: But Green Bay just lost a game where they had 419 yards on offense and led 22 to 10.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're not some unbeatable monster walking into MetLife here.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: They're a talented team that just lost the football game.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: They absolutely should have won.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: So why can't the Jets win the game?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Why can't they be 2-0?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: I might be getting ahead of myself, but for once, I would love the other fan base to have to sit there on a Sunday afternoon and go, ah shit, man, we gotta we gotta play the Jets.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Look, maybe we're not there yet.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: But at least week one gave me the permission to ask the question, why not us, right?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And speaking of New York football giving me something I haven't seen in a little bit, how about the Giants?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: I watched Giants Cowboys Sunday night at the bar, and the thought that I just kept having the whole time was that looks like John Harbaugh football.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Already, week one.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: You could see his fingerprints all over the franchise.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And this wasn't some random Sunday afternoon game against Carolina.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: No, this is Dallas, prime time, Sunday night at MetLife, week one, a spot where you religiously get your ass kicked.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: And the Giants didn't steal the game, they didn't survive it.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: They physically controlled Dallas.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: 37 rushing attempts, almost 37 minutes of possession.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: And when you watch the game, that's exactly what it felt like.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: You got eight-minute drives.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Get hit, get up, run it again.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Make Dallas tackle.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Third and two, fourth and one.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Keep the offense on the field, keep the defense sitting on the bench.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Make those defensive linemen keep getting up.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually those four-yard runs become six-yard runs.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then those six-yard runs become eight-yard runs.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: That little shoulder tackle that worked in the first quarter stops working in the fourth.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's hardball football.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it tells you something about the way this roster was constructed.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they drafted Francis Mauioga 10th overall instead of taking Caleb Downs.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Big, physical, thick offensive linemen.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: They kept multiple running backs instead of cutting them.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think they have four running backs.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Cam Scatabow gets 18 carries.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Dart runs it 11 times.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Even Singletary was getting involved in a passing game.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's not pretty for the sake of being pretty.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's we're going to make this game feel like something.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's all those years where it was Harbaugh versus Tom when it was Steelers versus Ravens.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: It was the black and blue game.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: It was the you're going to need the ice tub after this.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's the kind of football that Harbaugh is trying to bring to the Giants.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it looked great if you're a Giants fan, week one.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and by the way, Jackson Dart, really good.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: 23 of 29, 230 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, 54 more yards with his legs.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't even fully capture it, honestly.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: He looked like he belonged.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't look overwhelmed by Sunday night football in primetime against his hated division rival.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he didn't look like the young quarterback trying to prove that he could make every throw in the playbook.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: He played the game.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: He took what was there.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: He used his legs, didn't give the football away, trusted the run game.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I saw everything that I needed to see in the first quarter when he took that pop on the sideline out of bounds, got the flag.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: There might as well have been a brawl on the field from how many Giant fans, uh Giant fans, giant players ran over to protect Dart and like stand up for their quarterback.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's a room of grown men that believe in a 22-year-old leading them to the promised land.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: And the best part was they were disciplined enough to, you know, push and shove, but not get the flag to negate the run that he had.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta love that, man.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Malik Neighbors look good.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah likely, hello.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Eight catches, 78 yards, two touchdowns.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great welcome party to MetLife.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be a lot of likely jerseys floating around uh the New Jersey, New York area soon.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then Dallas, God, I don't I don't know, man.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: We spent this offseason talking about the Cowboys' defense was getting better.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: That Caleb Downs coming in was gonna be a big difference.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: That Kenny Clark and Quinning Williams up the middle was gonna help stop the run.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: The Giants ran the ball 37 times and Dallas couldn't get them off the field once.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Dak wasn't terrible.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think Dak lost them the football game, but he wasn't good enough to take control of it, that's for sure.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: CD had five catches for 44 yards.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Pickens barely even existed in the game.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, man.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: After watching it, I kind of almost feel like I wonder if Dallas walked into MetLife and it was like, yeah, it's the Giants, man.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's week one.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's Sunday night, it's prime time.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: We always kick the hell out of them.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: We this is our homecoming game, you know.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're supposed to win this game.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they didn't.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't know what was in their heads, but it that's that's what it looked like to me, man.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: It looked like they were expected to win.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: They they thought they were gonna get given the win, and then they got punched in the face.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's the one thing that I've been saying about Harbaugh since he got hired here for the Giants.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, too many times the last three, four, or five years for the Giants, it looked like they weren't ready for the game.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: They might be prepared, but they weren't, you know, pumped up and ready to go.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: It looked like the game started in the second half for them and it was too little, too late.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, with Harbaugh, that that is never gonna happen.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: He knows how to get his guys ready.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe this Giant team isn't talented enough to beat every team on the schedule.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna lose games because the other team just has better players, but you're not gonna catch them looking like they got off the bus at halftime.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna beat them because they're unprepared.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna beat them because they're soft, you know?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I think Dallas thought they were.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: So the New York football starts the year 2-0.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Jets win, Giants win.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'll take it.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's great for business, great for the podcasting business, especially in the New York area.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if we're gonna leave the locals, we're not leaving New York quite yet.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just head a little farther north because Bills Texans might have been the best football game of the day.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: 36-31 Buffalo wins.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And this felt like an AFC playoff game in September.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this wasn't one of those week one games where you're watching two teams knock the rust off because nobody played in preseason.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: These two looked ready early.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I know I have said this before.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Josh Allen, as much as I hate to admit it, is absolutely ridiculous.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: 344 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns against a Houston defense that I think is legitimately one of the better defenses in the football.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: And this wasn't just Josh Allen running around like a lunatic trying to save everybody on every play.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: That has been Buffalo sometimes.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Josh pulls out the Superman cape and says, fine, get on my back, I'll figure it out.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Week one, there were answers.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been saying this all offseason.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: DJ Moore might be the secret sauce here.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Five catches, hundred yards, touchdown, 43 yarder.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's exactly the point that I'm talking about.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: You give Josh Allen a guy who can threaten the defense horizontally, vertically, catch underneath, do it all.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now what do you do?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: You want to sit on James Cook?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Fine.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: We'll throw over your head.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: You want to back everybody off?
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Fine.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Kincaid goes for 130.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's what makes Buffalo scary right now.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Josh Allen has spent years being good enough to overcome imperfect circumstances, right?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, what happens when the circumstances start getting better?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: And look, I don't leave this game thinking anything negative about Houston, to be honest with you.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Quite the opposite.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're driving to win the game at the end.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: They get to Buffalo's nine-yard line and 30 seconds left, you fumble the ball.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Look, Stroud wasn't perfect.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't have to be with this defense.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Nico Collins is still Nico Collins.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: David Montgomery gives him a real solid backfield.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it just if that defense is good enough, as I is as good as I expect it to be, CJ Stroud doesn't even need to be 70, 80% of what he showed he can be.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: Let Nico make plays, run the ball, play great defense, you're gonna win a lot of football games.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is Buffalo isn't just a good team, they're a great team.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: And they seem to be hitting their peak right when they should.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: So Buffalo gets the win, but Houston gets my respect.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And this is exactly what I mean when I say week one isn't just wins and losses.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you learn something good about the team that lost.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Baltimore, well, nothing complicated there.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: They're actually terrifying.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: That was the biggest question.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: New head coach, new coordinator, new center, things changing around Lamar.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Would it look different?
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: Would it take a couple weeks?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, it didn't.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: 41 points, 506 yards.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Lamar throws for 324.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Zay Flowers, who they just paid, had 150 yards basically before he gets hurt.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: And Derrick Henry, oh boy, Derrick Henry.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, anybody that had any doubts, 24 carries, 144 on the ground, three touchdowns.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Even Father Time apparently gets a stiff arm from Derrick Henry.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: At this point, I'm kind of done trying to understand it.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think he's just one of those generational backs that's he can just do whatever he wants, and then when he decides he's done, that's when he's done.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: He might be 47 years old.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody's gonna hand him the ball and go on second and six, and just he'll find his way to get those six yards.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Baltimore looks exactly like what Baltimore is supposed to look like.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: And Indy, well, this one matters to me for personal reasons because the Jets own the Colts' first round pick in 2027.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I am now officially an Indianapolis Colts hater on every Sunday.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's not personal.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's just business here, babe.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: If the Colts would like to lose 12 football games and hand the Jets a premium first round pick, I appreciate your service.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Jonathan Taylor was basically the entire offense.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: Daniel Jones didn't show me anything.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Tyler Warren gets the touchdown late, I guess, which pretties up the box score a little bit, but Baltimore looked like an AFC heavyweight.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And they they answered some questions that I think some people had about them early.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: San Francisco and the Rams.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: This one surprised me, man.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, uh I hate to admit it.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: I took the Rams in a survivor pool.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: So week one Wednesday.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thursday?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thursday.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Week one Thursday.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm already out of a survivor pool that I was in.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's fun.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: I don't look the the narrative the whole year was San Francisco is old.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: San Francisco is hurt.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: They missed their window.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's leaving.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: The roster's falling apart.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yada, yada, yada.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, man.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: Kyle Shanahan's there.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: He knows how to make it work.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Brock Purdy is Mr.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Irrelevant.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you another thing.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Mike Evans looks pretty goddamn good.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: Through all the injuries, through all everything.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: They even lose Deshaun Shribling during the game, who was like the up-and-coming rookie.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Christian McCaffrey still looked pretty fresh.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: The line looked pretty good.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: The defense looked pretty damn good.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: They held Puka to five catches and 60-something yards.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Devontae Adams didn't do anything.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think we were might have been wrong here about San Francisco.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: And the Rams, don't get me started.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: The Rams, the uh the anointed Super Bowl champions, the favorites.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna run through everybody.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald and that Dvan, bop, bop, bop, bop, bah.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think the last time a Super Bowl favorite by the Books won the Super Bowl was probably 15 years ago.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're minus like three, or not minus, they're like plus 300, plus 350 to win the Super Bowl.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, am I saying that the Rams are gonna be bad?
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, not at all.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: But that division is really tough.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: And a week one loss in Australia that everybody kind of penciled you in to beat the Niners on.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: Not the best start to the season.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you should have caught the earlier flight to Australia.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Just saying.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: The next game that I circled, maybe the most absurd football game on Sunday, the Bears game.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago 59, Carolina 37.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: Ben Johnson, God bless you, spent the offseason basically getting up to that podium every day and saying, we are going to light the scoreboard up.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to be in historic offense.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to do anything and everything we want.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: No one will ever outscore us.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you're sitting there looking at him like, this guy just guy just made his own grave.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Anytime somebody gets up there and makes a proclamation like that, usually goes the other way.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, how about dropping a 59 spot week one?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: How's that sound?
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Caleb Williams, 269 passing, 65 rushing, two touchdowns through the air, two on the ground.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: DeAndre Swift goes for 124 rushing.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, Kyle Menungay also goes for 100 and a touchdown.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: They just kept attacking.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that part.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of coaches get up two scores and they immediately go, okay, let's just nobody make a mistake.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: Let's drain the clock.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago said, How fast can we score?
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: And can we get the ball again?
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: They had to, though.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's the other part of this uh equation here.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's the other part of this puzzle.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: The Bears' defense is god awful.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I talked about it all offseason, talking about, you know, this is why you want these guys for fantasy and you want a good quarterback, but a bad defense, blah, blah, blah.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: I knew it was going to be bad.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't think it was going to be this bad.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Carolina are not world beaters.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Bryce Young looked good.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Tetra Toa McMillan is good.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Jalen Coker is good.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't expect him to put up 37 points every weekend.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's insane.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: So you might love Chicago, but if that defense can't stop anybody, Ben Johnson might have to score 35 every week and then some.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: Not to mention, by the way, we're going to come back to this in the fantasy corner towards the end of the episode, but Colson Loveland had zero catches in this game.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago scored 59 points and he had zero catches.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Don't worry, we'll get there.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: But as a real football game, 59 to 37, a score gami, by the way, a score that's never happened in NFL history.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: 96 combined points, highest scoring week one game in NFL history.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Ben Johnson promised fireworks and he delivered.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: He might need to keep delivering because I'm not sure his defense plans on helping him very much.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, for now, God bless.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: Next game I circled was Detroit and New Orleans.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: This was uh one of the games that we were watching at the bar, but really not watching.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: It was on one TV in the corner and it was doing nothing for a long time, you know?
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden Detroit goes up 21-0.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it was kind of just like, okay, well, that's that.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Saints, Saints think the Tyler Shuck hype might not have been real, but, you know, okay, whatever.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's a tough game, is what it is.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Suddenly, after uh a beer and a shot here, you look back up, and New Orleans is alive, baby.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Shuck settles Shuck settles in.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: How about that?
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Do that one three times fast.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: Shuck settles in, throws for 410 yards out of nowhere, three touchdowns through two picks.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's probably gonna be the Tyler Shuck's experience for a little while here.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you can see it.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: The arm is there, right?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: He's willing to attack.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: He's also gonna put the ball in places where you go, that wasn't the best move.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: What were you thinking there, kid?
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you what, Chris Olave, for all his injuries, he looked fantastic.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: 10 catches, 182.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: New Orleans ends up with 469 yards in total.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, the the Saints, the Saints get more respect for me in losing this game than Detroit does winning it.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because coming into the year, right, the the question was the Lions secondary, what's the defense gonna be like, you know, what's it gonna be like without David Montgomery, Jameer Gibbs show, which it was, it was the Jameer Gibbs show.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: But that's part of the problem.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Gibbs ran away with the game, but it still wasn't enough.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you didn't get Amon Ra super involved in the game, you didn't get Jameson Williams, Sam Laporta.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you got a lot of options, you got a lot of weapons over there.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: It can't be the Jameer Gibbs show every single week.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: You can't expect him to tote the rock and keep his fresh legs.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: Regardless, you survived week one.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: Cause if they connect on that two-point conversion and you lose this game, now you're looking at another division game.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's the Bears.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think the Lions have the Bears next week.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of one and one or two and oh, you might even be looking at 0-2 if you lose this game.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're New Orleans man, look, nobody expects shit out of you.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: Good on you.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: You were down 21-0.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: You fought all the way back.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: I got no problem with the the going for two in overtime.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna give the Lions the ball, and then what?
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: They can take it down, they get it, they kick a 60-yard field goal to win the game with a minute left.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Nah, man, go for the win.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Fuck it.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Who cares, right?
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: And one last game that I want to go into a little bit of detail here before I start rapid firing a couple here.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: That Green Bay Minnesota game.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: What a joke if you're a Green Bay fan today.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: What a mess, man.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we talked about Minnesota, we talked about the head coach, and you know, maybe Kyler Murray's got some more juice to him, him and Justin Jefferson, maybe they can get on the same page.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see how things turn out, we'll see how it goes.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Green Bay comes out firing on all cylinders.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: They go up early.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: No problem.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: And Kyler Murray gets bounced, gets his head bounced off the turf, concussed early in the game.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: You're sitting there, you're thinking, all right, Green Bay, easy division, pocket win, no problem, all good.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: How about the red machine himself, Carson Wentz, who's been passed around from team to team to team to team, comes in and drops the hammer on you guys.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: You were up 22 in the like the second half.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: It was like 22 to 10 or whatever the hell it was.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you let Carson Wentz drop three touchdowns on you to lose the game.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a Green Bay man, you you're you're hurting today.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Oof.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: You are not doing well.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's a tough loss, and it's a tough division loss.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if it was some AFC who cares team, fine.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no, no.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: These are the Vikings.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: Your division.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: That hurts against the standings, babe.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oof.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: The Seattle-New England game, that was a mess.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: Drake maybe was a line that uh one of my listeners threw at me before it started making its way around social media.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: So shout out to him.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: I just didn't see it.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: He beat me to it, but that was that's a fantastic line.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: I do still think Drake May is pretty good.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think he maybe benefited from the schedule last year, and now losing AJ Brown for four weeks or so is gonna test him here.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: He's got a big test coming up next week with Pittsburgh's defense.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure TJ Watt wants to rip somebody's head off.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: But I think the game really was more about Seattle's defense still somehow being underrated.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: They they just said they picked up right where they left off last year.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, we're gonna do whatever we want.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can't stop us.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: Sam Darnold even leaving the game.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't even blink, they didn't even care.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: Good on Drew Locke, good on uh good on Seattle, man.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: Pittsburgh and Atlanta, not a lot to see here.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's the Aaron Rodgers tour, goodbye tour.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: Atlanta is just flat out terrible.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: Feel bad for anybody that drafted Drake London.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: Rodgers threw for 40 attempts.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Rodged had 40 passing attempts, and he only threw for like 200 yards, 100 and something yards, 185 yards with a touchdown.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: If prime Rodgers is throwing for 40 attempts, he's probably throwing for 350 and four touchdowns.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: The only reason Atlanta is even relevant at all was Bijan.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: He had a ridiculous day on the ground, so that is what it is there.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: Jacksonville took bell to ass on Cleveland, which we kind of all expected.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: That was probably the better survivor bull pick, survivor pool pick.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, I'm just an idiot, but yeah, this game, I mean they were up, I think 28-0 and a half.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: I I think uh Trevor Lawrence got pulled at the end of the third quarter.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even think he played in the fourth quarter.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Cleveland's a mess.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: I understand, I don't know.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, I don't understand.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't understand starting Deshaun Watson.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: He clearly is nowhere near anywhere the caliber of player that he used to be.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: And he looks like he doesn't care.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: He looks like he doesn't care at all.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: So why not start Shador Sanders just because what what better?
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: At least he's caring.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: At least he he's giving some solid effort.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: The Browns are gonna be a mess.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: They might be another 0-16 team, and I I I I don't know.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Who are they beating?
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't know who they're beating.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: I really don't.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: And Jacksonville looks like it picked up right where they left off last year.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: So good on them.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's nine straight, eight straight going back to last year.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Cincinnati-Tampa game actually actually speaks a little more volumes if you dive into it a little more.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really want to get into it too much.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Cincinnati is good.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they always either win games 35-38 or they lose games 35-38.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, they beat Tampa 33-27, and that was with Tampa having four turnovers.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: Four.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: If they have two turnovers, Tampa probably wins that game.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe Cincinnati's defense got a little bit better, but maybe they just dodged the bullet, to be honest with you.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be interesting to see how they go forward.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: Also, Jamar Chase had two catches for 12 yards.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm sure that's gonna get better, but I don't know.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: Anytime you tell me a team has four turnovers, I'm gonna tell you that team lost.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: Arizona and the Chargers, that's a disaster.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: The over-under for Vegas for Arizona was three and a half, sometimes two and a half.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: I took the under in my own personal pool.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: I thought they'd maybe have two wins.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, guess what?
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: They got a win week one against a team that was vaunted and talked about all offseason about Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniels is gonna be able to unlock Justin Herbert, and everybody's healthy, and we got this.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_00: And spare me.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: The Chargers are good when they're supposed to be bad and bad when they're supposed to be good.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's been like that since Phillip Rivers, since they lost to the Jets in the playoffs.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's always their MO.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: So them losing to the Chargers, actually, uh to the Cardinals actually doesn't surprise me as much as it should have.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Trey McBride is a beast.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: Jacoby Brissett seems to have it figured out a little bit.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: And between Jeremiah Love and Tyler Algier, they're gonna run the ball.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: So Arizona's actually not as bad as I thought they were gonna be.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: And the Chargers just stink.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Jesus Christ.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's a layup win and you lose it.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: Vegas, Miami, there really is not too much to talk here, except if you're an Ashen Jante fan like myself, and I drafted him in as many leagues as I could.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: I knew going in with Kubiak taking over, it was gonna be a run-heavy offense, a drop check down offense, also with Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza, either one of them, they're gonna get them heavily involved.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: The revamped offensive line.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: Happy to see.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sucks about Brock Bowers, but is what it is.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Miami, well, Miami stinks.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's no ifs, ends, or buts.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: It just their secondary is bad.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: Malik Willis is okay, I guess, but he's got nobody to throw to.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: And HN, Devin HN is good.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: He's a really good running back.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: He had like 23 yards or like 33 yards rushing.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's not good.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: So Miami is uh is another candidate for mess of the year here.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the Philly Washington game.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: Philly almost blew this.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think they were up 20 to 3.5, and they let Washington storm back in.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: Good on Washington.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: They actually surprised me a little bit, man.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was a little sketched out about the offensive line, about, you know, the running game situation.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: They made it work.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: So Philly not looking like the powerhouse team that used to just bury players, bury teams, I should say.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: And Washington actually not looking as bad as I thought they might.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't think they're uh gonna do too well.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: They still have a really tough schedule, but not great.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: Not not terrible.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: And Philly, I I don't know.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: The loss of AJ Brown, Saquon didn't exactly have a good day on the ground here.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: Devontae Wicks had 73 yards receiving, but one of them was a 64-yard catch and run.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be it's gonna be interesting to see how Philly pants out here.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: And last but not least, Kansas City Denver, Monday night.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: And full disclosure, like I mentioned in the intro, I I didn't watch any of this game live, at least.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: I saw a couple highlights, I saw a little bit of this, that, and the other.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna bullshit you.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm not gonna pretend I broke down all 67 snaps, right?
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I was at City Field.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was Pete Alonso's first game back in Queens since leaving the Mets.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: The place was insane.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: There was fire stern's chance.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: They were cheering for Pete Alonzo, who doesn't play for the Mets, louder than they were praising and cheering for the Mets team themselves.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: I saw Juan Soto, I was sitting in right field, I saw Juan Soto turn around and look, like, what the what the hell is going on here?
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's where my intention was Monday.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: Kenneth Walker dominated.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think he had more rushing yards than the Broncos had yards in total.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I told you guys this.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: I told if Kenneth Walker can stay healthy and you give Andy Reid a true three three down back, you're looking at LaShawn McCoy.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: You're looking at Brian Westbrook, you're looking at Deuce McAllister, okay, in a revamped Kansas City offense that doesn't really want Mahomes moving around too much, even though he did run one in anyway.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not exactly saying the Chiefs are back.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of just actually saying I don't know if the Chiefs ever left, to be honest with you.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_00: And and I'm high on Denver, man.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: I I I think I think Bonix is a good player.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think the addition of Jalen Waddle is gonna help him a lot.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think as long as J.K.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: Dobbins stays healthy, they'll have a decent running game.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see what happens with RJ Harvey, but that defense is pretty serious.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what happened.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just week one division game in Kansas City.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: People forget how hard it is to play and win in that stadium.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's really only been one player to do it, and that's Joe Burrow, you know?
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: So Denver loses, but I'm not saying they're down and dead just yet.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure a lot of people are gonna count them out.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: So now the best transition from one segment into the other without segment music that you're ever gonna hear ever in your entire life, because I'm great at my job here.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh fantasy, fantasy corner time, fantasy football time, right?
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I kind of I want to start this the same way that I'm probably gonna start every fantasy corner after week one.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you won your first week, congratulations.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you lost your first week, that's fine too.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because the point isn't to win week one.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's nice.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: The point is to win the season.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is the part of fantasy football where people lose their minds.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_00: You drafted somebody in the fifth round, he scores four points.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now you hate him, you want to get rid of him, you need to trade him, you're ready to drop half your roster.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_00: Relax.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: In the words of Aaron Rodgers, R E L A X, relax.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: The important thing after one week is not just fantasy points.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's usage, it's role, it's whatever the offense looks like it's trying to do, and it's whether what happened looks repeatable, right?
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: Ashton Janti, I feel really good.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: Not just because he scored me almost 30 fantasy points.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean that helps.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not complaining.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: But the role looks exactly like what I wanted.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_00: Heavy carries, receiving work, red zone involvement, better ecosystem.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing there scares me.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago, a little more interesting, right?
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago just scored 59 points.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_00: Caleb looked awesome.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: Swift goes over a hundred.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: Menung goes over a hundred.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: Luther Burden gets involved.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: Roma Dunce, even being hurt, makes a couple plays.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: And Colson Loveland, zero catches, two targets.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you spent a fourth, fifth, sixth round pick on him, you're looking at that box score and saying, What the fuck did I do?
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: I just messed my whole team up for the year.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, you didn't.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: Relax.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: This guy was too important to that offense last year.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's too talented.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't suddenly forget how to play tight end.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't suddenly forget how to catch the ball.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago scored 59 points in its opening week.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: You think they're scoring 59 points every week?
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_00: You think Swift and Menungai are both running for 100 yards every week?
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: You think Loveland is catching zero passes every week?
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: Also, no.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's the actual takeaway.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago might be an awesome fantasy offense.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_00: It might also be a pain in the ass trying to figure out which guy gets to eat every Sunday.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this brings me back to the Julio Jones and Roddy White days.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: Julio Jones would have 35 points and Roddy White would have two.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then the next week it would be the other way around.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's only so many touches to go around.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's only so many targets.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: One week Rome is going to kill you.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then Burden.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then Lovelin, and then Swift.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's fantasy football, man.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's how it goes.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: Don't confuse a good offense with guaranteed weekly production for every individual player.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: Which also brings me to James Cook.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think better days are ahead.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this isn't a panic thing, right?
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: Houston was one of the best rushing defenses in football last year.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if I'm Houston going into this game at home, James Cook is who I'm game planning against.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: Do not let this guy get downhill.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do not let Buffalo become balanced.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: Do not let him catch the ball out of the backfield.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: Make Josh Allen beat you.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that's actually that's exactly what happened.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: Josh Allen beat them.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's what happens when Josh Allen is your quarterback.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: Buffalo only had 21 rushing attempts.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_00: Cook had 13 of them.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: The role did not disappear.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not worried.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just be patient.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's better games coming, trust me.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_00: I promise.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, waiver wire-wise.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'll keep this short, right?
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to become another 45-minute fantasy episode here.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_00: I got three names.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah Likely, if somehow he is sitting on the shallow end of leagues somewhere in the waiver pool there.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, go get him.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: You should have got him.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: You should have drafted him.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: Eight catches, 78 yards, two touchdowns, no real wide receiver two on that team.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he's gonna be very, very, very involved in that offense.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: Dontavian Wicks for Philly, a little more speculative, but I don't know.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not chasing 73 yards and a touchdown every week.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: And uh Wicks didn't.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm sure Hertz feels pretty comfortable with him.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_00: Worth grabbing on the waiver if he's still there.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: And another player worth having on your radar, Kenyon Sadiq.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is more of a uh get there early waiver wire play.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he he had the touchdown.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure a lot of people are gonna go after him this week.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: He could do nothing next week, and people be like, oh, goddamn Jets, and drop him.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna want to hold on to him.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna want to have him on your roster at some point during the season, and then when he explodes, you can either, I don't know, trade him or maybe have him for a keeper next year or whatever.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: But he is too good to I can't believe I'm gonna say this, and I might even curse it by saying it.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_00: He might be too good of a player for the Jets to fuck up, and I mean that.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: You're not, you know, 6'5, 6'4, 240 pounds and run a 4'4 and not be good, you know?
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: At worst, he's probably Dustin Keller.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's somebody I want on my fantasy roster.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: So trust me, Frank Reich is gonna find a way to use him in his offense.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: And lastly, before we get out of here, rolling the dice with rice.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, a little bit of change in format here.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we used to put episodes out every Thursday, and I would give you my picks for the weekend.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna try to still do that mostly on on the pod, but really, if you want my picks, you're gonna have to uh follow the Instagram because I'll probably end up just doing some reels or some kind of content for them there.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_00: So just to recap from week one, four and two, I'll take it.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's much better than we started last year.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think last year we started like one and fifteen through week three.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_00: So four and two here.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: So looking good.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'll take it.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: We had Jonathan Taylor over 80 rushing yards, that was a cash.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_00: We had Saints Lions over 49 and a half, that was a cash.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_00: I had Tetrartoa McMillan anytime, and even first time touchdown didn't happen for all the points that were scored.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: That sucks.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then for the night game, for the Giants Cowboys game, we had over 46.5 that hit.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_00: We had CeeDee Lamb anytime touchdown, that hit.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then I had Cam Scat about under rushing yards because I thought, I don't know, the Giants, uh excuse me, the Cowboys defense might be a little bit better against the run.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that didn't happen.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_00: Is what it is.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh like I said, four and two to start the season, two separate two and one cards.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: 67% is not bad to start the year.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_00: Which brings me back to where we started.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_00: One week gives you evidence, it doesn't give you the entire answer.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: I feel better about the Jets.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: I feel better about the Giants.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: Buffalo might have another great year.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_00: Baltimore looks terrifying.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: Chicago might score 45 every goddamn Sunday, which also should probably just take the over every Sunday for them.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: And surprisingly, Arizona might be annoying.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_00: Kansas City clearly just didn't get the memo that everybody thought they were going to be shit this year.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: But that's the best thing about week one.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_00: We think we know.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_00: I got news for everybody.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know shit yet.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_00: There's still so much football left to be played.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I look forward to watching a whole bunch of it this season.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_00: As always, thank you for listening.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is the part where I plug all the uh social medias at Rice on the Radio.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's on TikTok, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, on YouTube, you know, whatever, whatever you feel like killing some time with and scrolling through, at Rice on the Radio is there.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, guys.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate it.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you uh leave a review if you want.
• 53:13
  SPEAKER_00: Leave a little comment.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: Just engage.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: Just DM me.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: Who cares?
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always up for a good conversation.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, before I go on too long here, I am Ian Rice.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_00: This has been episode 85 of Rice on the Radio.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_00: Spread good energy out there.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_00: And tell someone you love them.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_00: Means more than you think.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'll catch you guys next time.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: Cheers.