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NFL 2027 Season AFC South Coverage | Banter with the Boys - Gridiron Updates · Banter with the Boys

0:00
Get laced up! Let's go! It's time for Banter
0:04
with the Boys! Welcome back to Banter with the
0:17
Boys Gridiron Updates where we're back to talk
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about football, I guess. Football? Football!
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Jake's here. I am. What's up, Jake? Hi, Jake.
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Our resident Ravens fan. If you missed, if you
0:29
want Ravens talk, listen to our last episode,
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the AFC, what was it? South. No, I'm just kidding.
0:35
No, we're talking about the South. Yeah, this
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is the AFC South preseason episode. Roberto right
0:42
here in the Skull shirt. Yeah, buddy. Skull of
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Vikes. Skull of Vikes. Skull of the Bowl. We
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already know. Had to sneak that in there, even
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though it's not an NFC North episode. It's all
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right. We're on the AFC. We're trying to figure
0:52
out what team we're going to play in the Super
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Bowl. Oh. Oh. And it's going to be the Colts?
0:57
Because that's who we're starting with. Is that
0:59
who it's going to be? They will not be the team.
1:01
Right on. I mean, everything about the Colts
1:04
is about Daniel Jones and his health. Well, he's
1:07
apparently healthy. We were just talking about
1:08
that pre -record, pre -record in the studio.
1:11
But until the bullets start flying, you put that
1:13
flak jacket on, you don't ever know which Daniel
1:15
Jones you're going to get and how much that knee.
1:18
You do have Jonathan Taylor still, one of the
1:20
best premier running backs in the NFL. He is
1:23
a nice guy. hand the ball off and not have to
1:25
pass um interesting though they lost i mean they
1:30
got alex uh what's the white out out there like
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pierce they did lose pitman which that's gonna
1:38
be the interesting how much that often changes
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without that threat that's that's like my one
1:43
of my big watch it things for the colts is like
1:47
are they gonna actually miss pitman like Was
1:50
re -signing Alex Pierce the right decision, or
1:54
should they have kept Pittman? And then seeing
1:56
how Pittman does in Pittsburgh versus what Alex
1:59
does in Indianapolis is going to be. Well, and
2:02
then bringing in Keenan Allen as receiver three
2:04
to run some underneath stuff is nice to have
2:06
those opportunities. He had a great year last
2:09
year. Yeah. Well, he just picked up a D -dub
2:11
last night. Unfortunately. But when he's back
2:16
from whenever, you know, he'll be good. And then,
2:19
obviously, you've still got Tyler Warren there
2:21
as an option. So it really depends on Daniel
2:24
Jones coming back from that Achilles. And we
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know he's, as we saw with, for example, Kirk
2:31
Cousins, it took him a while to kind of even
2:33
have that opportunity. Trust it. A guy that we
2:36
had on the pod, what, two seasons ago already?
2:38
Matt? I don't think he was on last year at all.
2:41
It might be two years ago already was the Kirk
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Cousins Achilles. You know, you could tell, you
2:46
know, Kirk wasn't super trusting of it yet. And
2:50
watching videos of Daniel Jones through camp
2:52
here, he looks to be moving pretty well. And
2:55
they're saying he's acting like it never happened
2:57
before. Was he wearing a red jersey? It'd be
2:59
sweet. No, it was blue. Oh, okay. Just making
3:04
sure. Because, you know, if he was wearing a
3:06
red jersey, they wouldn't be allowed to put a
3:08
finger on him. Right, right, right. I think I
3:11
would never allow my NFL defenders to ever put
3:14
a finger on a quarterback anyway. Get away from
3:18
him. You're too close. He's too expensive. Don't
3:20
touch him. If you guys have been watching Hard
3:22
Knocks, Seattle coach got after. Everybody's
3:26
like, that was so scripted. Okay. I know exactly
3:32
which one you're talking about. Yeah, yeah. Anyway.
3:35
Frankly, no. They lost him to Green Bay. He's
3:38
been that huge loss. Veterans centerpiece in
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that defense forever. They did pick up the linebacker
3:44
from Georgia, C .J. Allen. He's got to step in
3:47
some big shoes there. I have a feeling this team's
3:52
going to be a little bit worse. I'm going like
3:54
a... 6 -10, I don't know, above 500. It's all
4:00
about Daniel Jones. It's all about Daniel Jones.
4:02
And I just don't believe that that knee is back
4:06
yet, but I could be totally wrong. Achilles,
4:09
sorry. But so that's kind of where I'm going
4:12
with a somewhat healthy Daniel Jones, 7 -10 -ish.
4:16
Because they were, what, 7 -1 before he tore
4:20
his Achilles? Yeah. And then they just fell off
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the map. Yeah, that's right. So, yeah. It weighs
4:28
on DJ. Yeah, I think that that's fair. It's hard
4:36
to say what the first couple of games are going
4:38
to look like. I would think that they're probably
4:42
still going to end up landing at 8 -9 again.
4:45
They'll open against your boys. But they'll probably
4:48
start off slow. 1 -0. Easy. No, that's definitely,
4:54
I'm already calling that pick. That's a Ravens
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W for next week's spoilers. All right. Threw
5:02
him off base. Yeah, he did. Thanks a lot, Rob.
5:04
That's what I do. No, I think that they're going
5:08
to still end up landing eight and nine. They're
5:10
going to start off slow as Daniel Jones starts
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to, like, get accustomed to playing at game speed
5:15
and recovering from the Achilles. And then as
5:17
the season wears on, he'll probably get better,
5:20
more comfortable, and then he'll start slinging
5:22
it again. I agree. I think they'll be able to
5:25
battle in the AFC South up there with the likes
5:28
of, like, the Jaguars. But we'll talk about them
5:31
a little bit here. But, yeah, I don't know. Yeah,
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like we keep saying, if Daniel Jones can be healthy
5:39
to start the season, that offense should be nice
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as long as they're not running JT into the ground,
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who was running outstanding last year to start
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the season as well, I believe. And then also,
5:50
did he go down with an injury as well at some
5:52
point? I think he did get hurt or at least nicked
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up. What? I mean. position to play. And they
5:58
play in a super tough conference, and I expect
6:00
some other teams to be better this year, too.
6:03
I don't feel like the Colts really got better.
6:06
They opened against Baltimore, Kansas City, Houston,
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and the Commanders. That's a very tough schedule
6:13
for them. So that's where I stand with the Colts.
6:22
Let's move along to. For your equestrian fans
6:25
out there. Equestrian fans. Let's move to the
6:30
Tennessee Titans, which had a little rebrand.
6:33
Big movers and shakers. And they updated their
6:37
logo. Looks all nice and shiny. Huge news. Cut
6:40
Will Levis. That's it. How long is he in the
6:45
league? Will? This is the third, fourth year
6:48
then, probably. Sorry to interrupt. You didn't
6:51
interrupt anything. He's going into year four.
6:55
New head coach down in Tennessee. I love Robert.
6:58
We love Robert. Robert. Is Cam Ward the dude?
7:03
I feel like towards the end of the season, he
7:06
was really up and down. He had some games that
7:09
really looked like he could have been the guy.
7:11
I know you were kind of liking him. I'm kind
7:13
of like me, too. He's he's he was quiet good
7:17
last year because you had all of this great rookie
7:20
wide receiver play. And he was just like the
7:23
team itself didn't play well. But when you looked
7:26
at the stat lines, you're like, you know what?
7:28
He actually played OK. He plays pretty clean.
7:31
And there was not really a whole lot of attention
7:34
thrown at him. So he's just like playing his
7:37
game and under the radar. And I think that that's
7:39
good for him. I watched the show Quarterback,
7:43
and I fell in love with him. He was on there.
7:45
And so they kind of went through last season
7:47
of him. And Titans definitely were not a good
7:50
team last year. But I think he has all the intangible,
7:54
definitely has the arm talent. I do believe the
7:57
Titans got better. They added a bunch of guys.
8:00
They have the O -line for them. So he's one of
8:03
those quarterbacks, too, like, you know, like
8:05
you can get away with a little bit. I mean, you
8:08
like it to improve and be a little bit better.
8:11
It's a young crew. I think with Robert Sala coming
8:15
in there and, you know, his staff and his approach,
8:18
I'm kind of up on the Titans a little bit this
8:21
year. Me, too. I'm up on the Titans. I like a
8:24
lot of the changes. How up are you on them? Like
8:27
plus minus seven. Plus. Plus? Okay. Yeah. I could
8:35
see them being. One minus seven, but just to
8:38
be clear. Okay. Okay. But, yeah, plus seven,
8:41
okay. Yeah. I could see plus seven. When I look
8:47
at it, like. To me, their only loss was really
8:49
Zeitler on the offensive line, which is kind
8:53
of a big deal. But I mean, they drafted a replacement
8:56
for him. So you're starting a rookie guard. That'll
9:02
be questionable. But they really put a lot of
9:05
emphasis on the defensive side of the ball late
9:09
in the draft and in free agency. Which they desperately
9:12
needed. And in free agency, they picked up Wandale
9:17
Robinson from the Giant, former Giant. He had
9:20
a really great season when Malik Neighbors went
9:23
down. Well, signed a big contract, four years,
9:26
$70 million. And then they used one of their
9:28
first -round picks on Carnell Tate, so they added
9:30
weapons for Cam Ward. Fourth overall for Ohio
9:34
State by guys. Yeah, so I really like that. And
9:37
then all of that emphasis on defense, getting
9:39
Jonathan Franklin Myers from free agency, Alante
9:43
Taylor, Cordell Float. and then also drafting
9:47
Kendrick Falk, they're loading the defense because
9:50
that's how solid coach is, and that's his brand.
9:54
We're going to play defense. He's going to want
9:56
to punch you in the mouth. I love it. Watch out,
9:59
AFC South. You're feeling really good about the
10:05
Titans right now. What about you, Coach? What
10:07
are you feeling, huh? Come on. Take the plus
10:09
seven. Hey, listen, he was on a roll. I was just
10:14
letting him take it, man. What I do like about
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the Titans that benefits Cam Ward a little bit
10:22
is, I mean, Tony Pollard did have a 1 ,000 -yard
10:24
season last year, still able to have some miles
10:27
left in him, and I like their spillback. Tajay
10:31
Spears, too. He's a little quick guy, a little
10:33
change of speed. So I do like what they have
10:38
going on. I'm worried about the O -line a little
10:42
bit. And that's all rankings -based. I didn't
10:47
get to watch them a ton last year. I did watch
10:49
some of Cam Ward tape, but it's usually towards
10:51
the end of the highlight, which is there's no
10:53
O -line. He's out of the pocket. I'm concerned
10:58
about the O -line. Where are you going? I'm under
11:01
seven for sure. I think they can double like
11:03
six. But I think even that's pushing it. They
11:08
might be closer to five. I'm going to go six.
11:11
You're so close. I'm not really. I think they
11:16
could still be not great. Let's move into another
11:20
team I think that could actually regress a little
11:23
bit. This is Jacksonville Jaguars low key. Yeah.
11:27
I've been heavy on the Jaguars for, like, if
11:30
you've listened to the pod, I have, like, a weird
11:31
soft spot for them, and I like Trevor Lawrence
11:33
and crap. But I feel like they could regress
11:36
a little bit. I don't think they can have another
11:38
13 -win season this year. I think they're going
11:41
to regress a lot a bit. A lot a bit? Yeah. How
11:43
far? Why do we all think the same here? I don't
11:47
know. Probably eight wins. No, you're wrong.
11:52
I think they're going to. I think they're going
11:56
to regress to eight and nine under 500. Yeah.
12:01
I mean, first place schedule this year. They,
12:03
they didn't resign. They didn't resign ETN. Yeah.
12:06
They cut Devin Lloyd, probably their, their like
12:10
biggest piece defensively as far as, as far as
12:13
leadership goes. And they didn't, I feel like
12:15
they didn't really add anything. And so quiet
12:18
free agents. Yeah. And so it's just like, if,
12:22
They were not a team that I would look at and
12:27
be like, oh, yeah, just run this team back. I
12:30
wouldn't have run that team back. I would have
12:31
tried to have retooled something a little bit.
12:35
Especially with Houston in that conference. Yeah,
12:37
and you're going to be playing against a tough
12:41
Titans defense now also. So under 500 is what
12:44
we're feeling here? That's what he's feeling.
12:45
That's what I'm saying. I think they can still
12:50
somehow squeak out 10 wins. I do think the loss
12:52
of Travis Etienne is big. Let me just quick,
12:57
a little quick peek at their little schedule
13:00
here. Nah, I mean, there's still plenty of winnable
13:05
games in there for them. Because defensively,
13:09
they were still the number one rush defense team
13:11
in the league. I think they could not necessarily
13:14
repeat at that, but be top five at least again
13:16
in that aspect, which at least in their division,
13:20
if you can shut down the rush and make them throw
13:23
the ball, the other quarterbacks are still trying
13:26
to figure that part of it out, it seems, other
13:29
than Danny Dimes maybe. I give him the edge over
13:31
C .J. Stroud in the division. Okay. Yeah, I don't
13:37
know. I still got them at ten wins. I think they
13:39
can – they're not going to win the division at
13:41
ten wins, I think they're going to be better
13:45
than your Tennessee Titans over there. That's
13:48
his new team, by the way. Yeah. Yeah, it's that
13:52
loss of ETN, that running game. I think that's
13:57
where they struggle. They still got Brian Robinson
13:59
Jr. on the outside. He doesn't feel like a true
14:02
number one. He kind of regressed last year after
14:04
his rookie year. I don't know if he had some
14:07
more lingering injuries or something we didn't
14:09
know about, but yeah, maybe he saw coverage is
14:12
a little different in his second year too, so
14:13
he definitely needs to come out and help him.
14:16
That loss of Devin Lloyd, we were talking about
14:18
one of the best runs. That's the guy that kind
14:21
of helped that number out. I think there's still
14:23
enough left. I'm not saying... They won the division
14:26
last year, so they got some quality, but I'm
14:28
kind of thinking a little regression here, too,
14:31
out of them. I could see them slipping under
14:33
.502. Especially in that division, and I think
14:37
a lot of the other teams in that division, well,
14:39
I think Titans got better. And then that first
14:42
place schedule, you said the schedule's not the
14:44
worst. I don't think it's the worst. But I just,
14:48
with the Texans still in there, I think the Texans
14:51
even got better, too, which we'll get into next.
14:53
But, yeah, I'm thinking a little regression under
14:56
500. Could they squeeze into the wild card? Yeah,
15:00
that's their ceiling, I think. It's just wild
15:02
card. I'm just, I'm not, I don't. know what Jaguar
15:07
team we're going to get with the loss of that
15:09
heavy running game of him and then Lloyd in the
15:11
middle. Some people are going to have to step
15:14
up for him to continue to win that division.
15:17
Right on. Let's do our last. This is the last
15:21
one, right? It is. The one that at least I think
15:25
is winning the division, the Houston Texans.
15:29
I think they're going to be higher than a 12
15:32
-win team. I think they could vie for the number
15:34
one seed in the AFC, hopefully. I hope C .J.
15:37
Stroud can take steps forward. God, he's a weird
15:43
one for me. He's so up and down, so inconsistent
15:46
at times. I don't understand him yet. That should
15:53
probably start happening. You know, you should
15:55
start, if you're going to be that guy, you should
15:58
now be up here and staying up here. Palace coach.
16:01
There's still games where he just, I'm just saying,
16:03
there's just still games where he just, he drops
16:05
below that. I mean, I'm not trying to use the
16:08
word elite status because he's, I don't think
16:10
he's ever been elite, but he just drops below
16:12
where he should be. Okay. That's my biggest concern
16:16
with the Houston Texans is the quarterback play.
16:19
Defensively, they're fine. I mean, we know they're
16:21
fine. They may be the best defense in the NFL.
16:23
Yeah. What's your vibe on C .J. Stroud? Because
16:28
you dig deep into the quarterbacks. You ever
16:30
dug deep on CJ? So, I mean, last year, mainly,
16:32
is they were injured. Nico Collins was hurt right
16:35
away. And then the other receiver, Danny got
16:37
hurt, too. And then the running back scenario
16:42
was Joe Mixon had an off -field foot injury that
16:45
never played all year. So, they started the season
16:48
off like that. Adding David Montgomery. Yeah.
16:50
And then their offensive line was totally banged
16:52
up. So, they were just struggling offensively.
16:55
So, that's why Stroud struggled. He had no. one
16:57
to throw to, but their defense was so good that
17:00
it kept them in every single game. They just
17:04
got to stay healthy. That offense, as I said,
17:06
they added I really like the David Montgomery
17:08
ad for them. His durability. I think this is
17:15
going to be the best Houston, Texas team we've
17:17
seen yet. The defense is such a good age range
17:19
too. I'm going AFC championship game style Texas
17:26
this year. Even last year, how injured they were,
17:30
that defense, it can just, the defense is so
17:35
good, the offense just has to be above mediocre,
17:38
and they're going to be above 500. Can David
17:41
Montgomery be an every down, every day back?
17:44
Oh, for sure. For sure he can. Okay. I mean,
17:47
they'll spell him. I mean, he's not going to
17:50
get 25 carries. Interesting enough, Montgomery
17:52
had 716 yards last year, and Woody Marks, his
17:56
spill, had 703 right behind him. So kind of interesting.
18:00
Yeah, it's all about Nico Collins and the health
18:02
of the wide receivers. It hurts that Tyson got,
18:05
oh, wait, that's New Orleans wide receiver got
18:07
hurt. So if they can stay healthy, I think they're
18:11
solid. And Collins is healthy right now, ready
18:14
to go. He's a top 10 receiver in the NFL when
18:17
he's healthy. Yeah, and I think Tank Dell is
18:19
on the popper. He's on the IR with the designation
18:23
to return, so he'll come back. Yeah, and they
18:26
didn't lose anybody. And they added, what's his
18:29
name? Butte. Butte. Booty? Booty? How do you
18:34
say his name? I'm really butchering it right
18:37
now. Keishon Boutte. Boutte, okay. That's what
18:40
I thought. It's French. That's what I said. Yeah,
18:43
they traded for him in response to another wide
18:46
receiver injury. He's depth, but... Yeah, the
18:50
wide receiver health historically has been a
18:54
concern, and I agree with that. I think the addition
18:56
of David Montgomery is really going to be...
18:59
Well, I hope and anticipate that that's going
19:02
to be the answer to the running game that they've
19:03
been lacking. And then just adding. a more dynamic
19:07
running game or a better running game is going
19:09
to take some of that pressure off of C .J. Stroud
19:12
where he feels like he's got to throw the ball
19:14
30 times a game in order to make a play for that
19:20
defense to do something else or at least stay
19:23
off the field just a little bit longer. Yeah,
19:25
they picked up a guard tackle. They drafted a
19:28
center. They signed Reed Blankenship for Eagle,
19:35
like a veteran safety, smart player. He's going
19:39
to fall right in line with how that defense wants
19:41
to play. Texans are going to be a very tough
19:44
out. Yeah, all year long. Will Anderson Jr.,
19:49
over under 13 sacks. Over. Over, okay, right
19:53
on. He had 12 last year, so I was just curious.
19:56
And this will be year three or four? Come on,
20:02
Coach. Tell us. 2023. This will be year four.
20:07
See, I had to count them all. That's right. That's
20:11
how we learned back in our day in the school
20:14
time. Rob had to count rocks or something. I'm
20:19
just kidding. That's my stuff. I count stone
20:22
hedges. You actually helped build them. I told
20:28
him where to put them. That's right. Yeah, well,
20:32
we're all in agreeance. The Houston Texans should
20:34
not only win the AFC South, but make a deep playoff
20:37
run. Yeah. Calling it. Good. And Titans are a
20:41
lot better. And the Titans are a lot better.
20:43
And that's the only thing I haven't agreed well
20:47
with you during these last few episodes. I mean,
20:50
they're better, but we'll see how much. We'll
20:52
see about how much. Okay. Okay. Okay. Well, let's
20:56
wrap this thing up then. Don't forget to like,
20:59
comment, subscribe, you know, wherever you listen
21:01
to the banter, whether that's YouTube, Spotify,
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Apple Podcasts. Excuse Jake. He's crumbling up
21:06
paper right now. Am I distracting you, Coach?
21:09
No, iHeartRadio. Nope, I remembered it. There
21:11
it is. Or wherever you can listen to the banter,
21:14
whatever. What did I say? Whatever. It's time
21:16
to go. It's gone. Throw the paper. There it is.
21:19
Boom. Oh, another perfect. Don't forget to follow.
21:25
Don't forget to follow, like, and subscribe.
21:29
Tune in next time for more banter with the boys.