Latest / NFL Power Rankings / #1: Are the Houston Texans a top-5 team?

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#1: Are the Houston Texans a top-5 team? · NFL Power Rankings

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  Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
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  Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we have been waiting months to get to this point.
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  Speaker 2: We got our pre season power rankings. We're going to
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  Speaker 2: be doing this all season long. Mike am Eric at
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  Speaker 2: a home with you. If there's interest in finding out
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  Speaker 2: where teams should be slotted, there's no one better than
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  Speaker 2: Eric to give you the skinny on that.
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  Speaker 3: All right, break this down.
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  Speaker 2: For me, Eric, before we reveal some of your top
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  Speaker 2: teams here, would love to know what's the criteria. Is
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  Speaker 2: it simply just based off of end results from a
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  Speaker 2: season ago, a.
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  Speaker 4: Lot of dart throwing, a lot of responding to threats
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  Speaker 4: on Twitter. No, seriously, I do try to kind of
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  Speaker 4: balance things out with the analytical side, right, You got
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  Speaker 4: to use the numbers. You have to have some kind
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  Speaker 4: of evidence to back up your claims, but vibes do matter, right,
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  Speaker 4: And obviously you can see a team with a good
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  Speaker 4: record we're talking about Week twelve, like the Eagles last year,
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  Speaker 4: and you know ten and one, they must be number
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  Speaker 4: one team. Well, we could see that was a little
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  Speaker 4: bit of a house of cards. So there's always a
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  Speaker 4: little bit of an adjustment made kind of between vibes
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  Speaker 4: and analysis and try to ride the balance between the two.
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  Speaker 5: So it's not perfect, but we do our best.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, well, we will try to do our best the
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  Speaker 2: entire season. I want to unveil some of the top
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  Speaker 2: teams that you have in the NFL heading into this season,
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  Speaker 2: no surprise, sending at number one the raigning Super Bowl
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  Speaker 2: champs and the Kansas City Chiefs number two, the San
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  Speaker 2: Francisco forty nine ers at three, the Baltimore Ravens, who
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  Speaker 2: I think you could have made an argument was the
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  Speaker 2: best team in the NFL a season ago, had they
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  Speaker 2: not lost an AFC Championship game and then obviously not
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  Speaker 2: even get to the Super Bowl. The Lions checking at four,
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles at five, Cincinnati at six, at seven, Houston Texans,
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  Speaker 2: and at number.
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  Speaker 3: Eight the Buffalo Bills.
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  Speaker 2: And Eric will dive into a couple of these squads,
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  Speaker 2: but let's start at the top. From a super Bowl perspective,
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  Speaker 2: they're trying to be the first team to three peat.
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  Speaker 2: Is this as simple as you got, Patrick Mahomes, You
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  Speaker 2: get the benefit of doubt, and you should be number one.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's hard to ignore the fact Mike that they've
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  Speaker 4: got most of the band back together, right mahomes Andy
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  Speaker 4: Reid obviously a great coaching staff there as well. Steve
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  Speaker 4: Spagnola might be a Hall of Famer one day for
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  Speaker 4: all we know. Travis Kelsey, you know the band by now.
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  Speaker 4: But you know they still have some pieces they have
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  Speaker 4: to worry about. No lagerious sneed that puts Trent McDuffie
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  Speaker 4: in that number one role and a rookie left tackle
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  Speaker 4: Kingsley Sua Mataia. You know, how is he going to
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  Speaker 4: hold up? Especially with some tough games early in the season.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, you've got Baltimore week one, Cincinnati Week two,
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  Speaker 4: Houston and Buffalo on the schedule as well, so you know,
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  Speaker 4: AFC West has gotten tougher. They place some of the
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  Speaker 4: heavyweights in their conference. It's going to be a battle
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  Speaker 4: as usual. But you know, last year proved Mike that
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  Speaker 4: they don't even have to have a great regular season
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  Speaker 4: and they could still be the best in the top
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  Speaker 4: of the mountaintop when the season ends.
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  Speaker 2: Well, the team that had the best season in the NFL,
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  Speaker 2: least in my mind, was the Baltimore Ravens, who you
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  Speaker 2: have sitting at number three statistically speaking, first team since
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  Speaker 2: nineteen seventy to leave the NFL scoring defense, takeaways and
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  Speaker 2: sacks in the single season. They don't have Mike McDonald,
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  Speaker 2: their defensive coordinator, who now heads to Seattle. Did you
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  Speaker 2: think about slotting them number two?
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  Speaker 5: I did, Yeah, obviously it's it.
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  Speaker 4: You know, it looks like I just cut paced last
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  Speaker 4: year's conference championship games in the top four slots, and
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  Speaker 4: you know that's a fair criticism. But I do worry
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  Speaker 4: about the offensive line a little bit. You mentioned the
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  Speaker 4: defense to Mike McDonald, gone, you know, Zach Orr, thirty
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  Speaker 4: one year old defensive coordinator. He's got guys on his
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  Speaker 4: defense older than he is. That's a question mark. But yeah,
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  Speaker 4: the offensive line, I mean, you could argue there are
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  Speaker 4: questions at four of the five spots. Possibly you know,
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  Speaker 4: first year starters at right tackle, Roger Rosa Garden, left
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  Speaker 4: guard Andrew Worries was seventh round pick, didn't play last year.
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  Speaker 5: So I realized Lamar and Dereck.
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  Speaker 4: Henry their new running back. Those two guys can kind
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  Speaker 4: of make up for a bad offensive line with their
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  Speaker 4: ability to either break tackles or run around him. But
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  Speaker 4: there still has to be that protection up front. There
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  Speaker 4: still have to be the takeaways and sacks on defense.
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  Speaker 4: So I didn't feel like they quite stacked up to
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  Speaker 4: where we saw them for most of last season.
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  Speaker 3: Wow, I feel like you're going to get some heat
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  Speaker 3: on this Derrick Henry alone.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, No, probably look teams in in the AFC, certainly
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  Speaker 2: in the NFL, they almost build their rosters to take
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  Speaker 2: out Kansas City. I think the addition of Derek Henry
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  Speaker 2: in that backfield might be that missing piece we saw
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  Speaker 2: in that AFC Championship Game two design runs for Lamar Jackson.
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  Speaker 2: Something tells me Lamar ground to pound if we get
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  Speaker 2: a rematch this upcoming season. The lines were darling last
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  Speaker 2: year heading into the NFL campaign. You have them at four.
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  Speaker 2: They're no longer you know, they're the team that's now
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  Speaker 2: getting hunted at this point. Did you hedge a little
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  Speaker 2: bit and maybe want to slide them back a little bit?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, you still have to see improvement on
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  Speaker 4: that defense, right, and we know how explosive that offense is. Obviously,
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  Speaker 4: Jared goffback Ben Johnson, the talent and play caller, gave
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  Speaker 4: up a head coaching opportunity in Washington to stay in
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  Speaker 4: Detroit and keep this train rolling, and you know they
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  Speaker 4: can score with anybody, But have they made enough defensive improvements.
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  Speaker 4: That's where I just hold back a little bit. I
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  Speaker 4: want to see it first. And they made additions in
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  Speaker 4: the secondary. They added to the front line as well.
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  Speaker 4: DJ Reader Marcus stab and poured a little bit of
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  Speaker 4: the question with his injuries in the past. But those
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  Speaker 4: two rookie corners, Arnold and Rakestraw rounds one and two
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  Speaker 4: clearly targeted that as a major area of need of improvement.
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  Speaker 4: So if there are significant strides on that side of
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  Speaker 4: the ball. They were actually decent defensively the first handful
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  Speaker 4: of games of the year and seem to regress as
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  Speaker 4: time went on.
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  Speaker 5: I'd love to see the opposite right.
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  Speaker 4: If they start slowly, that's fine, but by the end
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  Speaker 4: of the season, as long as they're in that kind
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  Speaker 4: of middle of the pack, opportunistic defense, get key takeaways,
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  Speaker 4: make red zone stops, whole teams the field goals.
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  Speaker 5: Boy, what a difference that could make.
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  Speaker 4: That could have cost you know, that could have cost
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  Speaker 4: them a seventeen point lead in San Francisco in the
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  Speaker 4: NFC Championship game. That defense is certainly going to be
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  Speaker 4: in the spotlight this year, but I think Detroit, you
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  Speaker 4: have to put them among the super Bowl contenders. They're
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  Speaker 4: one of my Super Bowl teams this year, so I'm
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  Speaker 4: excited about what might happen in Detroit this year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we had to do it for one of our shows,
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  Speaker 2: and I actually went with the Lions as the team
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  Speaker 2: that I thought could get to the super Bowl. And
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  Speaker 2: I'm with you, I'm sort of buying on some strides
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  Speaker 2: on that defensive side.
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  Speaker 3: You know, I was privy. I get your list and
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  Speaker 3: by the way, Eric's fullest on NFL dot com. You
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  Speaker 3: can go one through thirty two.
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  Speaker 2: Last night, I'm analyzing it and I took a deep
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  Speaker 2: breath and I said, Philadelphia sitting at five, and I
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  Speaker 2: don't hate it. But at the same time, I saw
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  Speaker 2: a collapse last year where this team lost five out
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  Speaker 2: of the last six.
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  Speaker 3: I get at Saque's there, but they lose leadership.
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  Speaker 2: Kelsey gone, Fletcher Cox now on the defensive side, he's gone.
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  Speaker 2: How much did you waiver on having them as a
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  Speaker 2: top five team in the NFL?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, as I said in the intro there,
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  Speaker 4: I mean, they were a ten to one football team.
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  Speaker 4: But at the same time, when you watch closely. They
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  Speaker 4: had a loss of the Jets, they almost lost the
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  Speaker 4: Patriots Week one. They had a couple other games where
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  Speaker 4: they really had to grind their gears.
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  Speaker 5: To get the victory.
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  Speaker 4: So, you know, this is a team that only outscored
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  Speaker 4: its opponents I think by five points last year, despite
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  Speaker 4: a pretty good record, even with the townfall at the
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  Speaker 4: end of the season. But yeah, what happened in December
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  Speaker 4: and January has to worry.
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  Speaker 5: People on the big scale. Is this to carry over?
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  Speaker 4: Is the perceived awkwardness between Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts
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  Speaker 4: going to kind of cloak this entire season. I don't
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  Speaker 4: know the answer to that, right, I'm not inside the
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  Speaker 4: locker room. But Hurtz has had a good preseason. He's
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  Speaker 4: had a good camp.
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  Speaker 5: He's got that quiet, stoic style. Will that translate.
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  Speaker 4: Look, with all the weapons they have and now Vic Fangio,
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  Speaker 4: the guy they wanted on defense, maybe that unit stops
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  Speaker 4: underperforming and maybe the offense can finish drives just a
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  Speaker 4: little bit better this year with Saquan and all those weapons.
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  Speaker 3: They You know, you mentioned that defense.
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  Speaker 2: Back half of that defense a year ago was the
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  Speaker 2: walking wound in and we saw them address that in
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  Speaker 2: the draft with their first two selection, brought in some
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  Speaker 2: free agents. One of the leaders of that team a
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  Speaker 2: couple of years ago in CJ. Gardner Johnson. So I'm
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  Speaker 2: with you, cautiously optimistic. Maybe that awkwardness is in the
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  Speaker 2: rear view mirror and this team can really thrive.
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  Speaker 3: Cincinnati at six.
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  Speaker 2: Joe Burrow when he's healthy, Eric, and you know this
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  Speaker 2: that they're playing inn AFC Championship games. He wasn't a
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  Speaker 2: season ago. He missed the final seven games. I just
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  Speaker 2: get worried. It's a risk injury for him. But you
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  Speaker 2: have him as the six ranked team heading into the
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  Speaker 2: season in the NFL. It seems like you're not concerned
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  Speaker 2: about it.
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  Speaker 4: Well, it's one of those balancing acts again, Mike, because
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  Speaker 4: I have him as a super Bowl team and I
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  Speaker 4: fully recognize their shortcomings or there are potential weaknesses, their
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  Speaker 4: achilles heels, whatever you want to call them.
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  Speaker 5: If Joe isn't protected, we know what happens.
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  Speaker 4: Right the seasons where he's been able to play sixteen
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  Speaker 4: games or more, the Bengals have had team success. They
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  Speaker 4: got to a super Bowl, they've reached an AFC Championship, game.
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  Speaker 4: In seasons where he's started ten or fewer games, including
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  Speaker 4: his rookie year and last year, things haven't gone as well.
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  Speaker 4: So there's a direct correlation between how the Bengals perform
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  Speaker 4: and how Joe Burrows is feeling health wise, So it
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  Speaker 4: worries me. Trent Brown is out, They've got to count
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  Speaker 4: on Amarius Mims, the rookie right tackle, but he's looked
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  Speaker 4: special early on.
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  Speaker 5: He's a talent.
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  Speaker 4: They have a lot of second and third year guys
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  Speaker 4: right to elevate in roles, and so maybe that defense
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  Speaker 4: in that run game. Those are probably the two other
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  Speaker 4: big worries. Maybe they're not as big a concern when
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  Speaker 4: you have guys like Chase and Higgins and andre Usibas.
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  Speaker 5: I think it's going to have a good year as well.
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  Speaker 4: We assume Chase is going to be there, right I
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  Speaker 4: have a lot of things, a lot of plates spinning
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  Speaker 4: in the air right now and crossing fingers and doing
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  Speaker 4: whatever I can to make it work. But assuming Goadjavar
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  Speaker 4: Chase shows up, I feel great about.
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  Speaker 5: This team in the long run, even with all the questions.
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  Speaker 3: The division is brutal. Just throwing that it in there,
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  Speaker 3: which is going.
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  Speaker 2: To be another factor. But I'm with you, Joe Burrow
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  Speaker 2: when he is healthy. I mean, the dude is just
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  Speaker 2: throwing darts out on the football field. And there's a
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  Speaker 2: reason why it was back to back AFC championship games.
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  Speaker 3: Obviously last year. That didn't happen in a nine and
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  Speaker 3: eight campaign.
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  Speaker 2: Checking in at number seven here you have Houston, and
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  Speaker 2: I can't help but think that that front off is
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  Speaker 2: two years ago, is sitting there going, hey, this is
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  Speaker 2: going to be a project. We got our quarterback. This
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  Speaker 2: thing is going to get built out over time. Next thing,
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  Speaker 2: you know, they're thinking about a Super Bowl right now.
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  Speaker 2: They bring in digs on the offseason. Daniel Hunter, I
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  Speaker 2: don't think we talk nearly enough about that addition. On
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  Speaker 2: the defensive side. I think Stout's a tough five quarterback
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  Speaker 2: in the NFL. Like there's a real argument, Eric and
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  Speaker 2: I think fans and Houston might sit here and go, no,
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  Speaker 2: we should actually be higher than seventh.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I've been pumping the brakes ever so slightly. I'm
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  Speaker 4: not selling stock, I'm not dumping, I'm not offloading. I'm
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  Speaker 4: just saying, hey, let's keep an eye on the fact
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  Speaker 4: that they had a pretty easy schedule last year, right,
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  Speaker 4: I don't want to put too much stock into that,
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  Speaker 4: because Strau was amazing, Will Anderson was terrific, Demico Ryans
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  Speaker 4: was a brilliant first year head coach. I think this
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  Speaker 4: team is going nowhere but up. But to me, they're
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  Speaker 4: a little bit in that same place that the Jaguars
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  Speaker 4: were one year ago. Everybody's darling. They had the big
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  Speaker 4: playoff upset Trevor Lawrence. Things are finally right. They started
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  Speaker 4: eight and three, crashed down down the stretch. So could
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  Speaker 4: I see something like this happening with Houston with a
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  Speaker 4: loaded schedule and everybody now kind of having them in
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  Speaker 4: their crosshairs.
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  Speaker 5: Possibly.
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  Speaker 4: I still think they're good, but you look at the
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  Speaker 4: number of teams they play, it is daunting. So how
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  Speaker 4: will they hold up in some of these early season
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  Speaker 4: tests and you know, against like the Bears for instance,
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  Speaker 4: and kind of these second tier teams that'll that'll give
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  Speaker 4: us an idea how they can stack up against the
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  Speaker 4: heavyweights later on in the season.
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  Speaker 5: I'm excited, believe me, I am, but I also recognize.
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  Speaker 4: That maybe we're just elevating them a little too fast
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  Speaker 4: at this point.
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  Speaker 3: There's a part of me that's almost buying what you're
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  Speaker 3: selling there.
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  Speaker 2: But at the same time we're showing video and if
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  Speaker 2: you're watching this, you can see CJ.
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  Speaker 3: Stroud out on the football field.
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  Speaker 2: And if you're listening to this podcast right now, you
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  Speaker 2: can just close your eyes and just picture what Straud
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  Speaker 2: was able to do with season ago.
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  Speaker 3: The guy was absolutely remarkable.
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  Speaker 2: Eric, we are just getting underway here preseason power rankings
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: for everyone. The tire list is available on NFL dot Com.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: But it's got us thinking about.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Some of the teams that Eric doesn't.
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  Speaker 2: Have necessarily in that top eight. Gang Green is one
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: of those squads still to come. Here on power rankings,
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: we will focus in on the Jets team. Where does
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  Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers and this team sit?
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  Speaker 3: That's coming up next.
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  Speaker 2: Back here on power rankings and Eric at a home
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: you'll be able to catch his entire list of rankings.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: You can go through one through thirty two.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: You could scand the QR code or just head to
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: NFL dot com. Sitting at number nine the Green Bay Packers,
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  Speaker 2: who just paid Jordan Love two hundred and twenty million.
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  Speaker 2: They won six of their last eight games last season.
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  Speaker 2: Dallas CD is paid. They check in at number ten
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  Speaker 2: Miami eleven after tu Tungo by Loa.
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  Speaker 3: I ended up getting over two hundred million dollars.
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  Speaker 2: The Jets at twelve, the Chargers at thirteen, the Cleveland
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  Speaker 2: Browns at fourteen. In what is a make or break
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  Speaker 2: season for Deshaun Watson. The Rams, I think, is a
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: team that's on the short list maybe to make a
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: run in the NFC. They check in at fifteen and
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: the Chicago Bears at sixteen.
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  Speaker 3: Eric I want to start at number twelve.
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  Speaker 2: With the Jets' longest playoff drought in the NFL active
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  Speaker 2: drought at thirteen seasons. Right now, they were the talk
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  Speaker 2: of the town a season ago, every show that we
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: were doing on NFL Network, it seems a year ago,
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  Speaker 2: as Aaron Rodgers was in the A block and then
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  Speaker 2: he gets hurt. Almost feel like a remade offensive line.
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  Speaker 2: There's an argument they're going to not only be in
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  Speaker 2: the playoffs, but they can make a run, don't you
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  Speaker 2: think absolutely?
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  Speaker 4: I mean part of me wants to say, hey, look,
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  Speaker 4: we have to reflect the team that was put out
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  Speaker 4: there last year, where you know, some weeks they were
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  Speaker 4: terrific defensively and the offense couldn't do anything other weeks,
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  Speaker 4: the offense was at least passable and the defense.
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  Speaker 5: Would let them down in key moments.
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  Speaker 4: Look, I still think this is a top ten defense,
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  Speaker 4: and if there's a healthy Aaron Rodgers out there, I
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  Speaker 4: don't know about seventeen weeks, but for the majority of
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  Speaker 4: the season, I think they have a terrific chance. Garrett
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  Speaker 4: Wilson is a superstar. Bres Hall another year removed from
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  Speaker 4: ACL surgery, and the biggest thing for me, Mike just
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  Speaker 4: kind of making me feel warm and fuzzy about the
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  Speaker 4: whole operation or a little better anyway. The offensive line depth,
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  Speaker 4: that's the biggest thing. You got Tyron Smith, you got
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  Speaker 4: Morgan Moses, two veteran bookends, and then you draft Ola
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  Speaker 4: Fashion as well. I think they're protected on the outside,
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  Speaker 4: and that was such a big concern obviously four plays
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  Speaker 4: end of the season, it was a concern, but it
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  Speaker 4: continued to.
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  Speaker 5: Be an issue all year long. They seem to have
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  Speaker 5: it fixed now.
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  Speaker 4: I'm hoping this u uh Hassan Redick holdout doesn't last
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  Speaker 4: too much longer because they lost Brice Off.
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  Speaker 5: They need some.
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  Speaker 4: Juice on that pass rush. Do they have it without them?
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  Speaker 5: I'm not sure.
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  Speaker 2: Starting new left tackle starting new left guard, brand new
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  Speaker 2: right tackle. If you watch some of our inside training
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Camp shows, Aaron Rodgers was a guest on it. Loved
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: up that unit in a big way. I talked to
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: a former Jet over the weekend. He said, look, this
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: was a team that was third ranked defense total defense
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: in the NFL.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they don't need Aaron Rodgers to be the MVP.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: Just be really good. They were thirty first in.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: The NFL in total offense. So you play the averages.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: The Jets are going to be a better football team
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: this upcoming season. The squad that you have slotted right
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: behind them at number thirteen, the Chargers lose Keenan Allen,
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: lose Mike Williams, lose Austin Eckler. And for context, here
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: you have teams like the Browns, the Rams, the Jags,
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: the Steelers, the Falcons, and the Bucks all.
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: Behind the Chargers. Please sell me on this selection.
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: Yeah, historically, I'm not looking very smart right now. Right
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: you're looking past performance now. It doesn't have anything to
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: do with future performance. But knowing what the Chargers have
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: been through recent times, historic times, this is a leap
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: of faith. But I believe in Jim Harbaugh. I think
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: he's terrific coach, and I think you look at his
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: pattern history everywhere he's been year one, he's made the
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: team better.
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: They had a lot of bad luck last year.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: They were five and twelve, not a great football team,
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: but losing Justin Herbert, losing close games, not maximizing their
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: talent on defense, so many things here.
• 15:21
  Speaker 5: I think they have good special teams.
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: Cameron Dick are one of the best kickers in the game.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: They're going to have a run game. They added tight
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: ends and backs all offseason. That offensive line is a
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: good unit. So if they just get better at stopping
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: the run, making a few takeaways on defense, getting a
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: guy like Derwin James maybe to have his best season ever.
• 15:40
  Speaker 5: I think the Chargers can push the Chiefs a little bit.
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: I don't know about take over the AFC West, but
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: I think they're in that mix for one of the
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: final playoff spots if they get a little luck and
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: start bringing some of that hardball early in the year.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to get into the weeds on this
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: as a preseason show, and we will look next week.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: When we do this, I want to see Justin.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: Herbert out there healthy, little concern right now with this
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: foot injury, A few guys that I've talked to have said,
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: this is one of those injuries that lingers for a
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: long period of done. So hopefully he is aoka because
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: he is really the engine that's going to drive this team.
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: Chicago sitting at sixteen. Eric.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: A couple of years ago for nfil Network, I was
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: covering the draft. I had the Niners, they had the
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: third pick in the draft, and I remember sitting on
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: Zoom at the time, John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, they would
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: tell you before the draft, teams that picked this high
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: don't have rosters that look like ours, and those guys
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: were right. The Chicago Bears picked number one overall, they
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: get Caleb Williams. This is not a reclamation project. You
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: have them at sixteen. But I don't think either one
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: of us would be surprised if they're well, clearly they're
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: sitting around the middle, but really are pushing towards that
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: top ten, right.
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean even in a really tough nofcn orth
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: and I do think that division is going to be
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: a bear, right, I mean, they think about the Vikings,
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: we're steaming the division, but pretty good.
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: Right, So in the Bears case.
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: You're expecting improvement on defense, You're hoping that offensive line
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: comes together, and yes, elephant in the room, Caleb Williams
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: needs to be pretty good too. Yes, there's plenty of
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: weapons around him. I think this system is going to
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: help him flourish, even with a few hiccups along the way.
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: But you're still kind of counting on him to be good.
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: But to your point, I can't think of a situation
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: that's been much better than what the Bears have right
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: now that any rookie quarterback in recent times have stepped into.
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: So he's got a lot going for him. That tray
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: with Carolina worked out brilliantly. Ryan Poles set this thing
• 17:28
  Speaker 4: up so well, and I think it's you know, with
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: those receivers, assuming there aren't a rash of injuries up
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: front on the offensive line, the running backs they added,
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: this could be a potentially special offense. Two tight ends
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: as well, Shane Waldrin calling plays, and if that defense
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: just takes a little bit of a tick upward, I
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: think they're going to be in great shape for that
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: playoff run. I'm just holding back a little bit, but
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: I am very encouraged what I've seen.
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: Oh Look, we watched him in the preseason. I remember
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: being on set.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: With Brian Baldinger before one of their preseason games on
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: NFL Network, say, how we got to lower the expectations
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: we get to halftime, We're comparing them to Patrick Mahomes.
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: He's got like the Nola the side arm stuff.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: So I'm with you. I don't think we can squash expectations.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: Caleb Williams look terrific in the preseason, and he's the
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: future in Chicago. Hopefully he's able to stay healthy and
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: he looks like this in week number one. Eric, more
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: to come from you, and once again, the entire list
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: of Eric's preseason power rankings available on NFL dot com.
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: Speaking at quarterbacks, I got paid, Kirk.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: Cousins got a large bag in Atlanta. Is that gonna
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: pay off in terms of the rankings? And don't look now,
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: but Baker and the Bucks, where are they gonna sit
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: in the rankings?
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: That's covered up next.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: I'm back here on power rankings and the entire list
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: available on NFL dot com. Eric at number seventeen has
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: got the Jacksonville Jaguars eighteen, the Steelers you have their
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: rolling with Russ nineteen the Falcons after paying Kirk Cousins.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: Number twenty, the Tampa Bay Bucks, and just in case
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: you're wondering, we will have a conversation about this order
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: with those two teams in just a moment. The Colts
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: Anthony Richardson is healthy. They check in at twenty one.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: The Seahawks with Mike McDonald now they're head coach. At
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: twenty two.
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: Anessota.
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: They got Sam Darnold ready to rock and roll. They
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: check in at twenty three and the twenty fourth ranked
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: team according to Eric. Fans in Arizona might be a
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: little happy with this after a four win campaign, but Eric,
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: let's jump into this at number nineteen, the Falcons. I
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: am high on this football team, so I can't push
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: back too much in the fact that the Bucks are
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: actually behind them.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: They pay Kirk Cousins.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: Matthew Judon I think is a dark horse to win
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: Defensive Player of the Year. I'm that high on what
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: this guy can go when he's out there in healthy.
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: Raheem Morse I was down in Atlanta. I feel like
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: nineteen is too low for this team.
• 19:36
  Speaker 5: It could be right.
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: They're the NFC South favorites or co favorites. Maybe with
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: the Bucks right now. So obviously you say, look, they're
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: one of the fourteen playoff teams. One of these two
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: teams are certainly one of the four in that division
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: are going to make the playoffs. Now, part of what
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: these rankings reflect is how deep can they go? Can
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: they make a Super Bowl type run? I'm not yet
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: convinced that this team is capable of that. I mean
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: I was actually somewhat higher than people were on the
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: Falcons a year ago. I thought this defense is better
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: than people realize. Yes, the offensive play calling was a mess,
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: but they clean house and the coaching staff Rahie Morris
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: and his crew come in now, I think we'll see
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: a cleaner operation. Obviously, Kirk up greats things so much
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: there and just getting the weapons that the touches they need, right,
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: I mean, Kyle Pitts, Drake Lennon had a breakout season,
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: but also be Jon Robinson too.
• 20:24
  Speaker 5: Making sure they're all fed properly. That's a big part
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: of their formula success.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: The Bucks have won this division though three consecutive times.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: Why are they sitting behind Atlanta?
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, obviously a couple of them with Tom Brady,
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: you know, so they've made a quarterback change, and Baker
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: Mayfield was really good last year. I mean, for the
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: most part, I think he exceeded expectations. They re signed
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: and there's a reason he's back. He and Mike Evans
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: and a lot of that crew are going to return.
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: But I do worry about the defense a little bit.
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: I mean, you look on that side of the ball
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: and you say to yourself, Hey, you know, Carlton Davis
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: is gone, Devin White, Shaq Barrett, some new faces there.
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: They've got to figure things out on that side as well,
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: you know. And maybe the offensive line is in a
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: complete unit yet. I think it's getting there, but not
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: quite so, you know, can they topple the Falcons? I
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: obviously put them pretty close together in the rankings.
• 21:11
  Speaker 5: It's possible.
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: Last year they sort of survived everybody else in the division.
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: I want to see a little bit more firepower and
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: a little bit more proficiency throughout the course of the season.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Eric, Let's get to the rest of the rankings right now,
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: and at number twenty five, a new era in Tennessee
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: Brian Callahan now they're head coach. They got Calvin Ridley,
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: by the way. At twenty six, it is Washington twenty seven.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Bone Knicks is the guy in Denver, the New Orleans Saints.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: I did a double take. Here you have him at
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: twenty eight Vegas, at twenty nine, thirtieth the New York Giants.
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: Oh boy.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: At thirty one, it's New England. I am worried about
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: their roster. And at thirty two it is the Carolina
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: Panthers are coming off a two win campaign. Let's go
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: a little rapid fire right now. Let's check in on
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: number twenty six and the commanders. Dan Quinn is there.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: They got Jayden Daniels. I feel like they could knock
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: off some good teams this year.
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: I think they're sneaky tea.
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: By the end of the season, we're going to say, hey,
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: look look how much they've improved. Daniels maybe an offensive
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: Rookie of the Year candidate. Quinn is somebody who's going
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: to raise the energy level in this building. And Adam
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: Peters the job he's done with this roster. Building from
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: the bottom up. I really love the approach. It's going
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: to take some time, but I am optimistic. I've just
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: been inching them up my rankings every month or so
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: this offseason.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: Are you not a believer in bow Knicks. Who you
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: have the Broncos at twenty seven.
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: If you look around at other people's power rankings, they've
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: got them Denver at thirty thirty one. I think, Wow,
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: the disrespect for an eight to nine team. Yes, I
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: think Knicks could be pretty darn solid this year. I mean,
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: Sean Payton ran off Russell Wilson to make sure he
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: could get somebody like this, and they've been seemingly in
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: the same sort of mind frame this preseason. He didn't
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: hesitate name and I'm a Week one starter. Does he
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: have the weapons outside Courtland Sutton? We'll see, but I
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: do expect this team with Sean Payton his record. I mean, look,
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: he's never lost or never won fewer than eight games
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: in a season. Now, this might be too low, but
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: it's even a little higher. I'm surprised to see elsewhere
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: in other power rankings.
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: Eric, you know I was excited about doing this show.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: I thought we would be fast friends. You know I'm
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: a Giants fan.
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: You have them checking in over thirty.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: This is insane thing, Thelak Neighbors, Are you kidding in
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: they retool their offensive line and if that new Daniel
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: Jones is healthy. You know, a couple of years ago,
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: they won a road playoff game in Minnesota.
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: If Jones is anywhere near his twenty twenty two level,
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: I'll eat these words, and I'll admit I'm wrong. Brian
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: Burns is gonna help on defense too. Secondaries young though
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: love Wandale, but I think you know, he and Neighbors
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: may be the only two reliable weapons out there.
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: It's just lacking a little bit of juice for me.
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: Again, I'll eat it if they end up playing pretty well.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, Eric, you're going to be eating it. Man, You're
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: going to be eating it. I just saw I've been
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: bringing Burns in the offseason. I think we all watched
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: Hard Knocks, and you know, of course, I'm disappointed Saquon
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: Barkley is not there, and you actually had the Eagles
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: checking in at number five, so they need to figure
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: out that backfield. But Molik Neighbors. What we saw from
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: him in glimpses in the preseason him, yep, was really terrific. Eric,
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: This's gonna be a ton of fun. We're going to
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: be rolling every single week here throughout the course of
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: the NFL season. If you love the rankings, you can
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: at me. If you have an issue with the rankings,
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: they're all erics. I'm just throwing that out there. You
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: do not want to miss us all season long.
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: Of course, you'd be able to catch us on nfl
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: dot com and YouTube channel.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
• 24:29
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• 24:33
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