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#4: WTF Texans? · 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: Welcome to a brand new edition of NFL Power Rankings
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  Speaker 2: on Mike Aam along with the man who does all
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  Speaker 2: the heavy lifting, Eric at Home his rankings one through
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  Speaker 2: thirty two, which you can catch on NFL dot com
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  Speaker 2: and Eric, you know, before we even get to the
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  Speaker 2: top teams right now, in the NFL Special Teams, some
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  Speaker 2: people will say, hey, like, how big of a deal
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  Speaker 2: is it? Based off of what we saw this past weekend,
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  Speaker 2: it is a huge deal.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you mess up on special teams, you throw away
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  Speaker 3: the game. That's what it probably should mean, right, And
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  Speaker 3: we saw these these field goals there were blocked, four
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  Speaker 3: of them to run back for touchdowns, blocked extra point.
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  Speaker 4: The Seattle Seahawks built a thirty eight.
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  Speaker 3: Six halftime lead with about the same number of yards
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  Speaker 3: and zero turnovers along with the Saints. So don't tell
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  Speaker 3: me special teams doesn't have an impact.
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  Speaker 2: I'm with you, you know, I was eager. I'm walking off
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  Speaker 2: the set Monday Night Football, our postgame show on NFL Network,
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  Speaker 2: and that's when I get the preview of what is
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  Speaker 2: going to hit NFL Dot com and I said, Hey,
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  Speaker 2: I wonder where some of these teams are going to land,
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  Speaker 2: especially some of the best teams in the NFL. Off
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  Speaker 2: Eagles was one of those squads, and I noticed in
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  Speaker 2: your column, Hey, you thought about it, but you still
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  Speaker 2: keep them number one despite being down nineteen points in
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  Speaker 2: that third quarter. They obviously hold on to win the Bills.
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  Speaker 2: At number two, the Detroit Lions. They move up three spots.
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  Speaker 2: I cannot wait to talk about that team with you
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  Speaker 2: in just a few moments. Finally, some love to the
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  Speaker 2: Chargers moving up five spots. This might be the best
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  Speaker 2: ranking they've ever had on Power Rankings. In that fourth position,
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  Speaker 2: the Bucks at five, the Packers take a deep breath.
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  Speaker 2: At six, the Baltimore Ravens will discuss them. I don't
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  Speaker 2: know what to make of that squad and the Commanders
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  Speaker 2: with Marcus Mariota holding on tight to that eighth position.
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  Speaker 2: All right, how do you in your mind come to
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  Speaker 2: terms with keeping the number one team, the Philadelphia Eagles
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  Speaker 2: in that top spot, knowing they needed a whole lot
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  Speaker 2: of help from their offense and exposed to place which
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  Speaker 2: we hadn't really seen so far this season to get
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  Speaker 2: this done.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, Jalen Hurts center after the game, We've
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  Speaker 3: played so many different styles. He almost seemed kind of
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  Speaker 3: astounded that they actually did sort of pull this comeback
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  Speaker 3: off against the quality team, right, a team that almost
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  Speaker 3: beat them in the playoffs last year.
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  Speaker 4: But I thought about it.
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  Speaker 3: I thought about moving Buffalo up, but thought they were
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  Speaker 3: a little bit underwhelming on Thursday, and with the status
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  Speaker 3: quo just sort of being the cleanest way to do it,
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  Speaker 3: I kept the Eagles on top. Look, I could have
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  Speaker 3: made a case for the Lions probably too, but the
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  Speaker 3: way Philly has done this consistently now for over the
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  Speaker 3: course of a year, and yes, I'm sort of still
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  Speaker 3: counting a little bit of last year too, because the
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  Speaker 3: leadership and the talent core is the same from a
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  Speaker 3: Super Bowl team that to me just as are There's
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  Speaker 3: so many resume builders that they have already. They built
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  Speaker 3: up so much sort of trust and goodwill that I
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  Speaker 3: don't want to say you expect Sunday to happen with
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  Speaker 3: all the craziness that occurred, but you believe that they're
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  Speaker 3: going to have a chance, just like I thought the
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  Speaker 3: Ravens were going to have a chance to go win
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  Speaker 3: that game. But didn't, but the Eagles pulled it off.
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  Speaker 3: And so to me, that's that's number one type quality
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  Speaker 3: right there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is now two games in a row for
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  Speaker 2: the Rams against the Eagles where they're going to be
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  Speaker 2: kicking themselves knowing they had an opportunity to try to
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  Speaker 2: close things out. They don't. We'll show you exactly where
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  Speaker 2: the Rams are. Well, Eric, let's move on and take
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  Speaker 2: a look at one of the biggest movers this week,
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  Speaker 2: and it's gotta be the Lions. Based off of the
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  Speaker 2: statement type win, I can't imagine getting a more important
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  Speaker 2: win if you are Dan Campbell than on the road
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  Speaker 2: against the Ravens.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, they pretty much out Ravens the Ravens, right. I
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  Speaker 3: know it's hard to say, but still thirty eight rushes,
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  Speaker 3: two hundred and twenty four yards, four touchdowns on the ground.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, who does that in Baltimore.
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  Speaker 3: The other team certainly does not do it on a
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  Speaker 3: regular basis, even against the beat up Ravens defense. Down
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  Speaker 3: a couple starters, I mean, containing Lamar, sacking him seven times.
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  Speaker 3: Six different Lions got in on those sacks, you know,
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  Speaker 3: and Mike, I really thought the difference in this game was,
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  Speaker 3: you know, We could say execution if you want to
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  Speaker 3: use a coaching term, but let's boil it down tackling.
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  Speaker 3: Tackling was maybe the Ravens' biggest problem of Monday Night,
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  Speaker 3: and I think it was the Lion's biggest strength. They
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  Speaker 3: look like the more prepared team, the tougher team, and
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  Speaker 3: the smarter team Monday Night. And for me, the questions
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  Speaker 3: about you know, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn replacing those guys,
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  Speaker 3: I think it's time to end that narrative. I think
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  Speaker 3: Kelvin Sheppard did an amazing job Monday Night. John Morton
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  Speaker 3: has called two straight great games. These guys I think
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  Speaker 3: have earned their stripes and I want to put that
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  Speaker 3: whole discussion a bed, because the lines are back, baby,
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  Speaker 3: they are in.
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  Speaker 2: A meaningful way. I'm glad to bring up the coordinators.
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  Speaker 2: There's we saw that in full display and I get it.
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  Speaker 2: Week one was week one, But how they've ever spotted
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  Speaker 2: over the last two weeks, I think is really telling it.
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  Speaker 2: I think it speaks to the point that you're making.
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  Speaker 2: I'll also say this, we know that Dan Campbell is
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  Speaker 2: an aggressive minded coach. These the fourth down calls we
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  Speaker 2: saw late in that game, fourth and two at midfield
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  Speaker 2: and then you know, obviously it was a beautiful pass
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  Speaker 2: from Jaredoff to Amen Ross Saint Brown and then Montgomery
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  Speaker 2: runs it into the end zone on that next play.
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  Speaker 2: But just before halftime, I think they got the ball
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  Speaker 2: back with like twenty four seconds to go. It was
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  Speaker 2: tied at fourteen, you know, Eric, and they're trying to
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  Speaker 2: move the ball, and I'm thinking of myself like, yep,
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  Speaker 2: just take the knee and just head into halftime. Now.
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  Speaker 2: I know they didn't get the points on the field goal,
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  Speaker 2: but in my mind that was telling, Like I think
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  Speaker 2: that sent a message to Baltimore, like, dude, like where
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  Speaker 2: it's all gased the rest of the way, Like, just
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  Speaker 2: be prepared for it.
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  Speaker 3: No doubt about it. I mean, that's the mentality they forged,
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  Speaker 3: right it was. It was kind of a cute thing
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  Speaker 3: at first. Now it's become their identity, it's become who
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  Speaker 3: they are. It instills fear in other teams. They know, hey,
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  Speaker 3: the lines are probably going for it next time, so
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  Speaker 3: we've got to be extra aggressive. And you know, it
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  Speaker 3: kind of makes it their style of game in some ways,
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  Speaker 3: and you know, help them win a big one.
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  Speaker 4: Less on Monday Night.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Sunday, as I'm watching the games, I'm like,
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  Speaker 2: Where's Eric going to put the Chargers Because this is
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  Speaker 2: a team that all of a sudden just continues to
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  Speaker 2: figure it out. First time they're three in osince two
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  Speaker 2: thousand and two. You go back and google it. Drew
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  Speaker 2: Brees was their quarterback. Is Justin Herbert going to be
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  Speaker 2: in this MVP conversation by season's end?
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  Speaker 4: I think so.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, one of the things that I worried most
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  Speaker 3: about heading into the season was pass protection, especially Ray
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  Speaker 3: Shawn Slater going down shuffling parts up front. Beckton had
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  Speaker 3: some some weird ailments there for a minute, but he
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  Speaker 3: is processing so quickly now and getting rid of the
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  Speaker 3: ball faster, delivering it still with incredible accuracy. Mike, I
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  Speaker 3: think his touchdown throw to Keenan Allen there at the
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  Speaker 3: end was one of the better throws you'll see in
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  Speaker 3: the NFL. Off balance, drifting to his left, putting it
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  Speaker 3: on the money. Just a fantastic play right there. It's
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  Speaker 3: fair to ask about the run game, right they move
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  Speaker 3: up this big move this week. Naja Harris goes down
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  Speaker 3: a lot of pressure in Amari and Hampton, the rookie Look,
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  Speaker 3: he had to fumble in the fourth quarter last yay
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  Speaker 3: or two get you know, week two, So I don't
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  Speaker 3: want to just say this kid's gonna take over.
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  Speaker 4: Everything's gonna be gravy.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe they do need a little veteran help to kind
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  Speaker 3: of buoy the situation there. But the way Herbert's playing
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  Speaker 3: those passing game weapons, the confidence he has, and I
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  Speaker 3: think the confidence Jim Harbaugh has in him is really
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  Speaker 3: showing itself.
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  Speaker 2: Look at number five, and I think it's important to
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  Speaker 2: note here because we got to give those Chargers team
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  Speaker 2: some love. They've had some dramatic wins, but no one's
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  Speaker 2: had more dramatic victories than the Tampa Bay Bucks. Our producer,
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  Speaker 2: hye them says, Oh, they're born hithen Like, what are
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  Speaker 2: you watching, dude? Like this is this is dramatic with
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  Speaker 2: Baker just making some moves. But you finally, I think
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  Speaker 2: you're on board with this team. And not to say
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  Speaker 2: that you weren't before, but I think this is showing hey, like,
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  Speaker 2: this is a team that we wouldn't be surprised as
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  Speaker 2: they're in a conference championship game.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, how are they going to navigate a really tough schedule?
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  Speaker 3: And also some injuries, right, we know about some of
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  Speaker 3: the pre existing ones, and then Mike Evans goes down,
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  Speaker 3: He's gonna probably be out for a spell here already
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  Speaker 3: have some injuries at receiver, O line, D line. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: those are some important positions, So I do worry about that.
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  Speaker 3: And to be fair, they never should have blown that
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  Speaker 3: lead in the first place. But you know, the defense
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  Speaker 3: giving up two long drives in the fourth quarter is
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  Speaker 3: a concern. Special teams breakdown something they got to work on.
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  Speaker 3: But Baker Mayfield, we know he's got it in him.
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  Speaker 3: He's got that guts, you know, the guts to get
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  Speaker 3: through there. I think that shows a lot about the
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  Speaker 3: character of this team, and I think Todd Bowle has
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  Speaker 3: done a really good job overall this year. But again,
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  Speaker 3: that scheduled Eagles at Seattle forty nine ers. I think
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  Speaker 3: they got the Lions in Detroit right after that, So
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  Speaker 3: that next four pack of games is going to be
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  Speaker 3: a gauntlet for them. They're going to have to find
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  Speaker 3: their way through it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, we'll see where the Jets land on
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  Speaker 2: your rankings. But the fact that they were in this
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  Speaker 2: game and showed some signs of life to me is
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  Speaker 2: definitely a positive. The Will McDonald though play at the
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  Speaker 2: end of that game that had Aaron Glenn dancing. I
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  Speaker 2: just encourage people, if you haven't seen it before, want
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  Speaker 2: to take a look, just pull it up on YouTube
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  Speaker 2: or wherever you get your highlights, or on NFL dot com.
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  Speaker 2: This is a defensive end who looked like a corner.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, the athletic ability to hurt the guy I
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  Speaker 2: mean is it really was a spectacular moment on the field.
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  Speaker 2: Eric I get to do game day preview on Sunday mornings.
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  Speaker 2: I made a statement about the Green Bay Packers and
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  Speaker 2: Boyle boy Do I regret saying that I thought that
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  Speaker 2: they would efforts to get to the super Bowl because
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  Speaker 2: they go against and I get it, number one total
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  Speaker 2: defense in the NFL Cleveland. They humbled those dudes.
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  Speaker 4: They did, and they beat him in the trenches.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, there was a severe mismatch between the Browns
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  Speaker 3: defensive front and what the Packers were putting up with
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  Speaker 3: their blockers. Obviously, two guys get hurt, Aaron Banks, you know,
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  Speaker 3: and Zach Tom having trouble staying healthy.
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  Speaker 4: That's been a big problem last couple of games.
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  Speaker 3: We've seen some pressures get through now they've been able
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  Speaker 3: to manage it prior to that Cleveland game, and look,
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  Speaker 3: even at ten zero, with what three minutes to go,
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  Speaker 3: you feel still pretty good about their ability to.
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  Speaker 4: Finish it off.
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  Speaker 3: But you know, Love sacked five times, he had a
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  Speaker 3: horrible pick in the fourth quarter. You know, just does
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  Speaker 3: those offensive questions kind of leave the door open? Are
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  Speaker 3: they truly in that elite group?
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  Speaker 4: You know?
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  Speaker 3: I kind of hedged a little bit and brought them
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  Speaker 3: back to earth. They looked phenomenal Week one, great week two.
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  Speaker 3: Week three did sort of answer ask some questions about them.
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  Speaker 3: But if they can get that old line figured out,
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  Speaker 3: get some of their receivers healthy, I'll feel a lot
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  Speaker 3: better about it. But Sunday was a nice wake up
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  Speaker 3: call for them. I think they understand now they can't
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  Speaker 3: play with fire very often.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and by the way, from a Cleveland perspective, because
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  Speaker 2: I think that team deserves its flowers, we spent we've
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  Speaker 2: done too much of a disservice. And I say we,
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  Speaker 2: I mean that like the media in general spending so
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  Speaker 2: much time talking about this team and what's going on
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  Speaker 2: at that quarterback position and in that quarterback room. In
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  Speaker 2: the off season, the reality is all we should have
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  Speaker 2: talked about is how great this defense is because those
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  Speaker 2: dudes are absolute juggernauts out on the football field. One
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  Speaker 2: team that I thought was going to be a juggernaut
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  Speaker 2: this year to the Baltimore Ravens. I don't know where
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  Speaker 2: to go on this one, because for like a year
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  Speaker 2: and a half, every time we do game picks, I
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  Speaker 2: don't think I've ever not picked the Baltimore Ravens. I
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  Speaker 2: think the best roster in the NFL. Let's start with
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  Speaker 2: Derek Henry. It's three consecutive games, it's a fumble, He's
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  Speaker 2: lost two of them. Is there an issue going on
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  Speaker 2: right now?
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  Speaker 3: You know, a couple of years ago in Tennessee, late
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  Speaker 3: in the twenty two season, they had a terrific record,
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  Speaker 3: We're steamrolling to the playoffs, and then out of nowhere,
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  Speaker 3: Derrick Henry I think, fumbled like five times in a
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  Speaker 3: five game span and the Titans started losing games. It
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  Speaker 3: became kind of an epidemic. Now, he fixed it the
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  Speaker 3: next year, but that was also his final year in Tennessee.
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  Speaker 3: And I'm just saying we've seen in the past where
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  Speaker 3: you know, he fumbles once, he fumbles twice all of
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  Speaker 3: a sudden, it sort of.
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  Speaker 4: Becomes a little mini epidemic.
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  Speaker 3: There hasn't been the case for most of his career,
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  Speaker 3: but there was that.
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  Speaker 4: One recent stretch. The scares you.
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  Speaker 3: He had three all of last season, now three in
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  Speaker 3: three games. So yeah, that and I would say the
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  Speaker 3: Ravens defense right now, no Madabique, no van neyt jyr Alexander.
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  Speaker 4: Was a healthy scratch.
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  Speaker 3: They're mixing some things up, but still they've got to
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  Speaker 3: find solutions, and especially when they face the elite offenses
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  Speaker 3: in the NFL, like the Bills, like the Lions, et cetera.
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  Speaker 3: That's the kind of team that they've had the biggest
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  Speaker 3: trouble stopping. Like I mentioned earlier with Detroit, the tackling
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  Speaker 3: on the Ravens was a huge, huge problem last Monday Night,
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  Speaker 3: and they got to get it fixed.
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  Speaker 2: This is a one and two football team going to
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  Speaker 2: Kansas City, a Chiefs team that also needs needs a win.
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  Speaker 2: At what point do we just say, hey, like, maybe
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  Speaker 2: we're just wrong about the Ravens. I'm not ready to
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  Speaker 2: go there, but I think some people might look at
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  Speaker 2: this record and look at the results at home against
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  Speaker 2: the Lions and just say like, hey, are they just
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  Speaker 2: not who we thought they were.
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  Speaker 3: They've had some curious losses in early seasons, you know,
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  Speaker 3: I mean last year. You know, they lost at home
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  Speaker 3: to the Raiders a couple of years ago with Gardner Minshew,
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  Speaker 3: I think at quarterbacks. So you know, obviously they've had
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  Speaker 3: some performances that are less than super Bowl caliber in September,
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  Speaker 3: maybe even October as well. That lost to Pittsburgh last year,
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  Speaker 3: probably stuck in their crop quite a bit. But you know,
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  Speaker 3: they tend to get better as the season goes on.
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  Speaker 3: That's the best thing they have going for him. I
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  Speaker 3: know they'll get healthier defensively, but can they find solutions
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  Speaker 3: on that side of the ball.
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  Speaker 4: And also protect their quarterback.
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  Speaker 3: Look, I know that the Lions did a terrific job
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  Speaker 3: attacking Jackson, but you don't win a Super Bowl without Lamar,
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  Speaker 3: and you got to take care of him.
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  Speaker 4: First.
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  Speaker 2: Seven sacks Todd for the most that Lamar has suffered
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  Speaker 2: as a game. I can't even imagine Lamar getting sacks
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  Speaker 2: seven times another time. I witnessed it last night and
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  Speaker 2: I'm thinking to myself, this is just crazy town, but
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  Speaker 2: it's facts. This is what we saw on Monday night. Still,
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  Speaker 2: the come We just went through the first eight teams,
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  Speaker 2: eight more to go. We touched on the Eagles. Where
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  Speaker 2: does that leave the Rams and don't look now, Giants
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  Speaker 2: fans Daniel Jones and the Colts undefeated? Where do they
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  Speaker 2: sit on the rankings? That's coming up next back here
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  Speaker 2: on Power Rankings along with Eric at home, I can
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  Speaker 2: I'm with you. Eric's teams nine through sixteen. We'll talk
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: about the Colts who check in at number nine in
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  Speaker 2: just a moment, and the Rams at ten. Kansas City
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: Chiefs staying even with that win on Sunday Night football
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: against the Giants. There are at eleven the Niners figuring
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  Speaker 2: out ways with the depleted roster to get some victories,
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: also three to zero at the twelfth position. At thirteen,
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: it's the Seahawks who move up one spot. The Broncos
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  Speaker 2: trying to figure things out. They've had some late game
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: situations where they've lost. Basically at the buzzer, they moved
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: down four spots at fourteen, the Vikings move up four
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: spots to fifteen, and the Steelers with the win against
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: the Patriots, also moving up four spots to sixteen. Let's
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: take a closer look at the AFC South odds to
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: win the division no surprise with an undefeated record. The
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: favorite right now the Indianapolis Colts. The team on the
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: back end of this that needs some help plus four
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  Speaker 2: four thousand, five hundred that is the Tennessee Titans, So
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  Speaker 2: probably gonna need a little help to get there.
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  Speaker 3: Eric, Yeah, I mean he hasn't been touched and when
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  Speaker 3: there's been pressure, he's been able to escape with his legs.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: I mean, they have zero turnovers on the season, they
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: have one punt, and they have two sacks allowed on Jones.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: So look, I mean he's done a great job of
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: navigating the pocket, averaging career highs and completion percentage and
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: yards per attempt. So I mean that tells you they're
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: getting the ball vertical and they're getting yards after the catch.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: But you also have Jonathan Taylor. I mean, I think
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: both guys could make a case for being top ten
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: MVP candidates at this point.
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: They've both been terrific.
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: And on top of that, you still have guys like
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: Michael Pittman, Tyler Warren, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs. You know,
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: those first three guys are all averaging fifty seven sixty
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: yards a game.
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: Receiving.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: So the diversity of this offense, it's really tough to contain.
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: You take out one guy, we've got three other guys
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: we can go to. So that and the defense doing
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: a very good job for the most part, has spelled
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: out three and zero. We'll find out a lot about
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: him against the Rams. But boy, I like their chances
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: a lot more than I thought I would a couple
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: weeks ago.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I like that you bring up the Rams because, look,
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I get why you have them where they are coming
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: off this loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. It makes sense
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: just based off of wins and losses for the teams
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: of them. They're still a dangerous team. They were still
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: up nineteen points against the raining super Bowl champs in
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: the second half on the road. How do I get
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: out of my mind some ugly issues and special teams
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: with some blackfield goals?
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that happens, right, I Mean a team looks dominant
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: three quarters, things fall apart.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: The fresh memories in our mind are.
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: All the mistakes that happened late, and it's hard not
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: to look back at those those special teams errors, and
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: they clearly cost them the game. Hard not to look
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: back at that secondary and say we've kind of known
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: about it for a while. This is an issue. We've
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: got to clean this up as well. You know, theoretically,
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: the offense did almost everything right right. I mean, they
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: got two plus first downs on every single drive in
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: the fourth quarter, got them into field goal range a
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: couple of times. But you know, just consistently getting the
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: ball to their playmakers. Sometimes you can, you can get
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: to Matthew Stafford, sometimes you can, you can contain Pukinaku
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: and DeVante Adams. That might be an issue at some
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: point if they're not running the football. But this, like
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: you said, dangerous football team. They've got to fix those things.
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: They've had team's airs in the past. It's something that's
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: plagued them at times throughout the Sean McVay era.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: Well, inside this division you have a San Francisco forty
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: nine Ers team that you moved up one spot. They
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: sit twelfth right now in the rankings. I don't know
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: how many teams, and look, to be fair, they weren't
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: able to navigate injuries in the last couple of seas,
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: especially last year. This year they have been able to
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: No rock Perdy mac Jones comes in. They're winning some games.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: Nick Boson now done for the year. He's got the
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: torn ACL. George Kittle's been dinged up as well. I
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: actually think what Kyle Shanahan is doing is pretty damn impressive.
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: Absolutely. Yeah.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: I mean, look, you can look at the ugly factor
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: and say these weren't pretty wins, but you have to
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: consider all the factors you just mentioned.
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: For once again, the injuries are striking this team. So far,
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: they have a drop one.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: The defense has kept the opponents off the scoreboard for
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: the most part. They've made important clutch plays in the
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: fourth quarter in their games, so you know, you got
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: to give them a lot of credit for the execution.
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: Even with Mac having some missteps and not having a
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: perfect game. I think it's another measuring stick game against
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: the Jaguars. Both teams have some some questions, but also
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: a winning record and some positives.
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: That outweigh those negatives.
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: So the Bosa injury clearly hurts puts a lot of
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: pressure on Mike hil Williams. He's been very good, but
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: that's a big ass for a rookie to fill those shoes.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, it's never easy. I mean, I think
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: from a fan's perspective, you sit there and you say, hey, guys,
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: get cut and it's business. But there's the personal side
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: of this. I don't think it was easy for John
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: Lynch and coyleege Shanahan to go and cut a kicker
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: they took in the third round in Jake Moody. But
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: it pays dividends because Steady Pinero buries a game winning
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: field goals. So at least they could take some solace
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: in that the Seahawks are right behind the Niners. They're
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: thirteenth defense looks real. I know you wrote about this
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: on NFL dot Com. How much are you legitimately buying
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: the Seahawks in this division?
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they're one of the teams Mike that I think
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: I've had to kind of recalibrate my expectations on or
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: reset my thinking on a little bit, because I wasn't
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: sure what the identity of the offense was going to be.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: I wasn't sure if this defense was going to be
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: far enough along in the Mike McDonald era to play
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: the kind of ball that I thought he wanted to play.
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: But they're able to kind of mix some swashbuckling, you know,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: daring throws from Sam Darnold that that two headed running
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: attack on offense. They've managed some issues on the old
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: line pretty well, I think for the most part. Defensively pressure,
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: you know, speed to the ball, still doing it without
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: some of their better players who have been injured too,
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: So you know, credit to him for kind of holding
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: things together. And look, I kind of mentioned earlier. I mean,
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: you know, the the yardage in that game between the
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: Saints and the Seahawks, you would have thought just looking
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: at the stats, no turnovers for both teams, roughly the
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: same yards.
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: How is it thirty eight to six.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: Seattle dominant special teams in that game? Was the difference
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: punt return, touchdown, the block returned as well? You know,
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: it's just a terrific all around showing and great field
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: position gives the offense so much better opportunities.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Saints fans are like, really, this is
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: the week where we're going to get killed in special teams.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: But once again, and we'll show you where the Saints
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: are a little bit later. We got a Bears team
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: by the way, that is horizon. We've got a Bengals
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: team that is falling, and I think it's safe to
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: say the Cowboys aren't a little bit of trouble for
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: sixteen teams down, the last sixteen still to go. That's
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: next on power rankings. I'll back here on power rankings,
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: Mike Aman, Eric at home with you as we look
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: at the rankings seventeen through twenty four. The Jags moving
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: up six spots. Here we go, Trevor Lawrence in company
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: to seventeen the Arizona Cardinal State. Even tough loss against
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: the Niners. The Bears. Nice to see Ben Johnson in
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: that locker room getting fired up with his guys. Win
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: number one for that team. They move up three spots
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: at twenty. It's the Bengals dropping four spots. That was
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: a tough going without Joe Burrow and it was Jake
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: Browning this week. Carolina Panthers moving up eight spots. Hello Atlanta,
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: Oh my lord. Speaking of the Falcons, they're at twenty two.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: At twenty three, I didn't think I'd see this this year,
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: but the Houston Texans dropping six spots into that position
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: in the Dallas Cowboys also dropping three spots. They sit
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: at twenty four. All right, Eric, I want to do
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: a little rapid fire. I'm gonna throw some teams your way,
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: just kind of what stands out about them, And we'll
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: start with the Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams looking like
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: college Caleb out there and really some special moments for
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: that offense.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: And Ben Johnson looked like in the play caller and
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: play designer he was last year. I mean, getting Luther
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: Burton involved, getting Colston Lovelin involved early, you know, and
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: having better protection too. I know this Dallas defense has
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: plenty of problems, but I thought the creativity of the
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: game plan, the you know, the number of things they
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: threw at Dallas, it was a lot to stop. And
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: you get Caleb going early, and you hit these shot
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: plays like this one to Burdon way.
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: Down the field.
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: That's going to give a little energy to the crowd,
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: to the offense as well, and the defense picked up
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: the slack and I thought played pretty well. So they
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: do it against the Raiders. I'll be a believer right now.
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: I'm in kind of hold, wait and see mode.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: Okay, I'm still trying to figure out if I can
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: believe in the Cincinnati Bengals without Joe Burrow.
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: No, I mean, look, we saw what Browning did a
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: couple of years ago with this offense, in some ways,
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: he played about the same level, maybe ninety five percent
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: of the level Burrow did. That was not the case Sunday,
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: and it certainly wasn't the case even with the comeback,
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: or excuse me, even with his first effort last week.
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: He's got five interceptions now on fewer than sixty passes.
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: So this is the concern.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: Look, they could have had seven turnovers, and they had
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: two of them run back for touchdowns. Two of them
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: they recovered their own fumbles. But boy, you just can't
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: play that sloppy football with a backup quarterback and a
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: defense that already has questions. Too many things going on
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: right now, even with the winning record.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Minnesota juggernauts on the defensive side. Meanwhile, the Panthers,
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: we gotta love up this team. Man, you gotta be
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: kidding me. I didn't think we'd see a performance like
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: this maybe for a couple of seasons, if I'm being
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: honest with you.
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: Throttled Atlanta, Yeah, I mean the pick six obviously kind
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: of helped. And you know, I thought the defense did
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: a really good job on Michael Pennix. You know, Bryce,
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: you owng was fine. The offense was just no cablieve
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: it or not. But you know, you look back to
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: really halftime in that Arizona game. The last six quarters,
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: including this this beatdown of Atlanta, Panthers have played some
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: good ball. They haven't allowed a single point I think
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: in their last ten or twelve possessions. So it's been
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: really impressive to see how they've come together. A lot
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: of questions about that no name defense, but they stepped
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: up in a huge way last week.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think this is like a little bit
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: of a reset from a Falcons perspective. My god, I
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: didn't think that would happen. I was just loving them
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: up last week on this show. The Texans WTF Like
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: most described the way the season has played out.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, three close losses, three good teams, obviously, but still,
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: you know, the offseason, I look back, they fired the
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: oc they fired the O line coach and said, Okay,
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: that's it. We're going to fix this thing. Bringing a
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: couple new.
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: Coaches will be all good. It hasn't happened so far.
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: Got to improve the protection.
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: Stroud's got to be a little stronger in the pocket
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: and make better throws. And you know, the receivers have
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: to be more reliable too, the run games of questions,
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: So they have multiple issues on offense right now.
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: That's plaguing them.
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: But even with that record and even how these games
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: have gone, I still think they have a chance to
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: climb themselves back in, especially if the Colts can't keep
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: up their winning streak.
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: Look, this is a Texans team still looking for win
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: number one. They sit twenty three on the power rankings,
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: which has me thinking about some other teams that are
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: behind them. The Cleveland Browns. You actually move them up
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: six spots with that win. They're at twenty five, the
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Raiders at twenty six, the Patriots trying to figure things
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: out at twenty seven, Gangreen, the Titans, twenty nine, the
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: Giants at thirty thirty one is the Dolphins, and thirty
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: two the Saints. Jackson Dart, by the way, getting the
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: start for the New York Giants this week against the Chargers.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: Tough sled in here against an LA team Eric that
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: obviously has got some umph at this point. So something
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: tells me if that offense gets going, I'm gonna be
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: on you Sunday night. Like, let's try to try to
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: slot this team and move them up in those power Rankings.
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: Thanks everyone for watching.
• 23:32
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• 23:35
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• 23:38
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