Latest / Football Junkies podcast / Ep.91: R-E-L-A-X

Transcript

Ep.91: R-E-L-A-X · Football Junkies podcast

0:03
Make a bag alert. Make a bag alert. Make a bag
0:05
alert. Make a bag alert. Make a bag alert, folks.
0:07
That's right. We got a loaded episode. And yes,
0:10
we're talking about college football. Balance
0:12
has been restored, my fellow football junkies.
0:15
That's right. We got college football in the
0:18
NFL tomorrow. Yes. Yes. Finally, the best time
0:23
of the year is finally here, folks. No more speculations,
0:27
no more simulations, no more stats from the past
0:31
two or three years. Everything has been resetted
0:34
and prepared for the new season, okay? So, Deron
0:38
Bland, Jalen Warren, Luke Godecki. Hunter Lupke
0:42
and Davis Mills all get paid. Texas and Ohio
0:46
State recap. We got to talk about that because
0:48
I see a lot of people, they're freaking out.
0:50
They're burning their Manning jerseys and everything,
0:52
all right? LSU versus Clemson recap. Has Alabama
0:56
lost their edge? Cowboys versus Eagles preview
0:59
and Chargers versus Chiefs preview, okay? All
1:02
of this and more on the 91st episode of the Football
1:05
Junkies podcast, all right? I am your host with
1:07
the most. I am your chief, Bagro Damas. That's
1:10
right, chief. head of the table, anything and
1:12
everything related to the bag, rumors to the
1:14
bag, and more, okay? I am your GM who currently
1:17
is not on a team right now, but don't you worry
1:20
about it, all right? Don't you worry about it
1:22
because guess what? I am all these things and
1:24
more, but most importantly, the most important
1:27
thing that you must remember is I am your host,
1:29
Kale, and you are listening to one of the best
1:32
football podcasts that you can listen to on a
1:35
week -to -week, day -to -day basis. So guess
1:37
what? On three, one, two, three, let's lock in.
2:06
All right, folks, let's get into the meat and
2:07
potatoes of everything that is going on in the
2:09
league right now. So this is going to be a fairly
2:12
short episode. And that's mainly because I want
2:16
to do another episode previewing all the week
2:18
one matchups for Sunday. So any person is thinking
2:22
this is going to be long and drawn out. No, I
2:24
got a whole bunch of episodes that are an hour
2:28
and two hour plus that you can listen to. OK,
2:30
so let's get into these back alerts. All right.
2:32
So Deron Bland corner for the Cowboys. It's a
2:35
four -year $90 million deal, $36 .3 million guaranteed
2:39
at signing, $49 .3 million in total guarantees.
2:43
He gets a $22 million signing bonus and will
2:45
be making $22 .5 million a year. When we look
2:48
at his stats from this past season, 41 tackles
2:51
and he was targeted 46 times and allowed 31 receptions
2:54
for 334 yards and four touchdowns. While I understand
2:57
Deron Bland is a productive corner, He is not
3:00
a true number one corner. He is not a true lockdown
3:04
corner, to be specific. When you compare him
3:06
to a PS2, a Derek Stingley, a Jalen Ramsey, for
3:10
instance, all of those are true lockdown corners.
3:14
Deron Bland is more of a risk -taking corner.
3:17
He's going to give up a lot of yards, but he's
3:19
also going to get a lot of picks. And the stats
3:22
back that up. When we look at his stats from
3:24
2023, to be specific. He allowed 672 yards, but
3:29
had nine picks, but he gave up six touchdowns.
3:32
Now, when you compare him, for instance, to PS2,
3:36
for instance, right? PS2 was targeted 56 times,
3:39
allowed 35 receptions for 306 yards, two touchdowns,
3:43
and had four picks this past season. When you
3:45
look at his stats from 2023, he allowed 790 yards,
3:50
four touchdowns, and had one pick. When you look
3:53
at 2022, He allowed 427 yards, three touchdowns,
3:58
but had two picks. Now, when you compare him,
4:01
for instance, to Jalen Ramsey, for instance,
4:03
Jalen Ramsey gave up 513 yards this past season,
4:07
three touchdowns, but had two picks. The year
4:10
before that, he allowed 269 yards and allowed
4:13
two touchdowns, but had three picks. Let's keep
4:16
this thing going. We look at, for instance, Derek
4:19
Stanley. He allowed 444 yards. five touchdowns,
4:23
and had five picks. The year before that, he
4:26
allowed 320 yards and allowed two touchdowns,
4:29
but had five picks. You see what I'm getting
4:32
here? A lot of the higher paid corners are true
4:35
lockdown corners. Now, are they going to give
4:38
up some yards? Yes. They're going to get beat
4:41
a few times. That happens. Everybody loses at
4:44
least once. But to pay Deron Bland like he's
4:47
a true number one lockdown corner, that you can
4:51
just put him on an island, No safety over top
4:53
help. That's a little bit of a reach to me personally.
4:56
But at the same time, the 22 and a half could
4:59
probably be inflated because there's probably
5:02
a lot of incentives that are probably added into
5:04
the contract that make the number as big as it
5:07
is. And that's perfectly fine. But I just wouldn't
5:10
pay Deron Bland 22 and a half. I think at best,
5:13
you could probably pay him between, I would say
5:16
maybe 18 to maybe 20 million a year. I feel like
5:20
20 is my limit. I'm not going over 20 for Deron
5:23
Blaine. But let's keep this thing going. So Jalen
5:25
Warren, running back for the Steelers, inks a
5:27
two -year $17 .2 million deal. He gets a $5 .9
5:31
million signing bonus, $12 million guaranteed,
5:34
and he'll be making $8 .6 million a year. When
5:37
we look at his stats from this past season, 120
5:39
attempts for 511 rushing yards, 4 .3 rushing
5:43
yards per carry, one rushing touchdown, and 14
5:46
rushes of 10 -plus yards or more. Now, early
5:48
into the offseason, I know Jalen Warren was tendered.
5:52
So in my mind, I'm thinking, okay, maybe this
5:54
is a placeholder and then they'll get a deal
5:56
done fairly quickly. Well, then that didn't happen.
5:58
And so the offseason went the way that it went.
6:01
And so in my mind, I'm thinking, okay, they're
6:03
just going to tender him this year and then just
6:05
let him be a free agent next year since they
6:07
drafted Caleb Johnson in this past draft. But
6:09
for them to give him this type of extension,
6:12
that lets me know that one, they still value
6:15
him on this team. and they realize that he plays
6:17
a very pivotal role in the run game becoming
6:20
more consistent and better. Let's be real here,
6:23
folks. There were periods in time last season
6:26
where Jalen Warren was more productive than Najee
6:29
Harris. Now, a lot of that had to do with scheme
6:32
fit, and a lot of that had to do with the style
6:35
of play. Najee Harris is a downhill type of runner
6:38
compared to Jalen Warren, who he's sort of a
6:41
do -it -all type of running back, and it showed.
6:45
Now that this is out of the way, will the Steelers
6:47
find a way to resolve Cam Hayward and Chris Boswell's
6:50
situation? Because Cam Hayward continues to say
6:53
that he's willing to miss games and Chris Boswell
6:56
hasn't said anything. So will something be done
6:59
within the next 24 to 48 hours? Because pretty
7:02
soon they're going to have to get on a plane
7:04
and they're going to have to go to New York.
7:05
So Steelers, either resolve this or just put
7:10
this on the back burner. Because we all know
7:13
when the regular season starts, what do the Steelers
7:15
don't do? They don't negotiate during the regular
7:18
season. So hopefully something gets resolved
7:21
there. But let's keep this thing going. So Luke
7:23
Gadecki, right tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
7:27
Inks a four -year $90 million deal, $50 million
7:31
guaranteed. He'll be making $22 .5 million a
7:33
year. When we look at his stats from this past
7:35
season, according to PFF, he allowed three sacks
7:38
and 17 total pressures. A really good productive
7:42
right tackle for a market that, I mean, if we're
7:45
being real here, has definitely blown up in this
7:47
offseason alone. Like, really think about this
7:50
for a second here, folks. Both left tackle and
7:52
right tackle markets have blown up in one offseason.
7:57
That is very rare. But it continues to show why
8:01
teams value their right tackles, especially productive
8:04
right tackles. Because it's one thing if you
8:07
have a right tackle that's just inconsistent,
8:10
you can't rely on. He's a weak spot on the offensive
8:12
line and defenses realize it. But it's another
8:15
thing when you have a really good productive
8:17
right tackle that's consistent. He doesn't give
8:21
up a whole lot of penalties. He holds his own
8:23
against a lot of the top tier pass rushers. That
8:26
is what you want. But a trend that not a lot
8:29
of people are talking about that's really starting
8:32
to get my attention is. teams are starting to
8:34
value both left tackle and right tackle. And
8:37
let me explain why. We saw the Jets go back -to
8:40
-back drafts in drafting tackles. They drafted
8:44
Alufa Shanu in 24, and then this year they drafted
8:47
Armu Membu. And then with the Buccaneers, they
8:51
drafted Tristan Wurst a couple years ago, and
8:54
then they also drafted Luka Deki. We're starting
8:57
to see a trend where teams are going to say,
8:59
hey, we value tackles very high. So most likely
9:03
we're going to have to draft them as a pair,
9:06
which is fairly unique, but it makes a lot of
9:09
sense. Because again, like I've said before in
9:11
previous episodes, college football is producing
9:14
at least three to seven elite pass rushers every
9:17
single year. How many offensive linemen, really
9:22
good, consistent, elite offensive linemen is
9:25
college producing every single year? Not a lot.
9:29
there's not a lot of Tristan Wurst and Trent
9:31
Williams and Lane Johnsons and Ronnie Stanleys
9:34
of the world that are coming out every single
9:36
year. There may be some prospects, you know,
9:38
they may have the upside of some of those players,
9:41
but when they come into the league, are they
9:44
on that same level? Probably not. So that's why
9:47
you see a lot of teams are just saying, hey,
9:49
I'd rather pay you and figure out how I'm going
9:52
to be able to afford you for the next three to
9:55
five years. than to take a risk and try to get
9:58
somebody either in the draft or overpay for somebody
10:01
in free agency. And even then, like I said before,
10:04
the offensive linemen that are available in a
10:06
free agency, they're probably not that good.
10:08
For Dan Moore to get the money that he got, that's
10:11
a little bit of an outlier. And even then, we
10:13
all know that Dan Moore isn't that consistent,
10:16
but he is a productive, slightly above average
10:19
left tackle. And some teams will be willing to
10:22
throw money to that. Not every team, though.
10:24
But let's keep going. So Davis Mills inks a one
10:27
-year $7 million deal. He'll be making $7 million
10:30
a year. We will look at his stats from this past
10:32
season. 36 attempts for 20 completions, 212 passing
10:36
yards, 5 .9 yards per attempt, and a 55 .6 completion
10:40
percentage. Folks, this is just routine business
10:42
here. Just making sure that C .J. Stroud has
10:44
a quality backup quarterback. Now, prior to C
10:47
.J. Stroud getting drafted... Davis Mills was
10:50
doing his thing. I'm not going to lie. If you
10:52
look at the stats and if you look at the play,
10:54
Davis Mills was cutting it up a little bit. Now,
10:56
am I saying he's on the same level as C .J. Stroud?
10:59
No. But just knowing that you have a good quality
11:02
backup quarterback, it is a blessing in disguise
11:06
because how many backup quarterbacks in the league
11:09
right now can you say are really productive and
11:12
they can at least get you maybe two to three
11:14
wins and buy you some time for your quarterback
11:17
to get healthy? Not a lot. But with that being
11:20
said, we have to talk about the most important
11:22
bag alert, okay, the biggest bag alert of all
11:25
bag alerts, and it goes to a fullback. That's
11:28
right, Hunter Lukey, fullback for the Cowboys.
11:31
It's a two -year, $7 .5 million deal, $5 million
11:34
guaranteed to make you $3 .7 million a year.
11:37
Now, when we look at his stats from this past
11:39
season, 12 attempts for 38 rushing yards, 3 .2
11:43
yards per carry, and one rush of 10 -plus yards
11:45
or more. Now, his receiving stats, however, are
11:48
a little bit more productive. 16 targets for
11:51
12 receptions, 111 receiving yards, and 9 .3
11:55
yards per reception. Folks, you're talking about
11:58
a fullback that is underrated but very productive.
12:02
Now, I'll be honest. I didn't know the Cowboys
12:04
had a fullback. I was always under the impression
12:07
that it was always the 49ers, the Ravens, and
12:11
I think the Vikings were the only teams that
12:14
had fullbacks. But... This is a surprise to me.
12:17
But I will say this, though. With Brian Schoenheimer
12:20
being the head coach, is there a chance that
12:24
Hunter Lukey's role could be expanded just a
12:26
little bit? Now, I'm not saying that they're
12:29
going to use Hunter Lukey like how the 49ers
12:31
used Kyle Huszczak or how the Ravens used Patrick
12:34
Hart. But I do think if they use him in an expanded
12:39
role, I think it'll stretch the offense a little
12:41
bit more. while at the same time keeping defenses
12:44
on their toes and providing another reliable
12:47
option for Dak Prescott, just in case CeeDee
12:49
Lamb and George Pickens isn't available. But
12:51
let's talk about college football. So Texas and
12:53
Ohio State happened this past weekend, and I'll
12:56
be honest, the game was overhyped. All I kept
13:00
on seeing leading up to that game was, oh, this
13:02
is going to be the game of the year for college
13:04
football. This is going to be one of the games
13:07
that we're all going to be talking about the
13:08
next 10 to 15 years from now. Oh, this is going
13:11
to be a memorable game. Not really. It was actually
13:15
very forgettable, to be honest. But let's just
13:17
get into it. So Archie Manning, 30 attempts for
13:20
17 completions, 170 passing yards, an average
13:24
5 .7 yards, one touchdown, one pick. Contravian
13:28
Wesner, 16 carries for 80 rushing yards and averaged
13:31
5 yards per carry. Parker Livingstone, 2 receptions
13:35
for 47 receiving yards and averaged 23 .5 receiving
13:39
yards per reception, 1 touchdown. Julian Sane,
13:42
20 attempts for 13 completions, 126 passing yards.
13:46
He averaged 6 .3 yards and had 1 touchdown. CJ
13:50
Donaldson, 19 carries for 67 rushing yards. He
13:54
averaged 3 .5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown. Carnell
13:57
Tate, two receptions for 49 receiving yards.
14:00
He averaged 24 .5 receiving yards per carry and
14:04
one touchdown. Now here are some of the notes
14:06
that I took down while I was watching the game.
14:08
So in the first quarter, both teams, offense
14:12
and defensive line, they were just doing their
14:15
thing. I see a lot of potential with both of
14:18
their lines. And I know coming into this game,
14:21
both of them were touted as having some of the
14:24
better offensive. and defensive lines. Now, early
14:28
into the game, Jeremiah Smith really wasn't doing
14:32
his thing. He was dropping a lot of passes. I
14:35
know there was one time he could have easily
14:37
had a touchdown, but Julian Sane wasn't looking
14:39
at him, and so he was a little bit irritated
14:42
about that, but Texas was doing their thing against
14:46
Jeremiah Smith. Malik Muhammad, keep your eye
14:49
on him. That's all I'm going to say. Early into
14:53
the first quarter, Archie was, you know, trying
14:55
to get a feel for the pace of the game, you know,
14:57
trying to get his feet wet. Just try to become
14:59
comfortable because, again, this is going to
15:02
be his first full season as the starting quarterback
15:06
for Texas. And both teams were feeling each other
15:09
out at first in the first quarter, which is perfectly
15:11
fine. But as the game continued on, Ohio State
15:15
picked up that, listen, Archie isn't comfortable,
15:19
so we're just going to attack. Every single chance
15:22
we get and prevent them from scoring. And that's
15:26
essentially what they did. Matt Patricia put
15:28
on a master class when it comes to calling defense.
15:32
He made that Ohio State defense become relentless
15:36
against Archie. They never gave him a chance
15:40
to become comfortable within the game. They never
15:42
gave Texas a chance to find a little bit of rhythm
15:45
within the game. They made sure that they shut
15:48
them down the entire way. Now, going into the
15:52
second quarter, Texas secondary was definitely
15:54
focusing on Jeremiah Smith, and rightfully so,
15:57
because, I mean, he's titled as the number one
15:59
receiver in all of college football. Now, the
16:04
run game for Ohio State, I definitely believe
16:06
it has a lot of potential. I do believe that
16:09
maybe given about three to four weeks, we're
16:13
going to be talking about them a whole lot, but
16:17
only time will tell. But there was a point in
16:19
time where, you know, Archie was showing a lot
16:22
of his mobility. He was definitely, I would say,
16:25
mobile enough to where a team could say, hey,
16:27
we can roll with that. Now, the only thing I
16:30
will say about Archie, you gotta be careful when
16:33
you run out of bounds because every time he was
16:35
running out of bounds, Ohio State made him pay
16:38
for it. Now, granted, he's a big enough quarterback
16:41
where he can absorb those hits and he'd sprout
16:43
up every single time, but that's just something
16:46
you have to be cautious about. But moving forward,
16:48
Matt Patricia, just continued on with just creating
16:52
relentless pressure against Archie. And Archie
16:55
couldn't do anything. Now, before I go any further,
16:58
let me just say this. For any person that says,
17:02
Archie isn't going to be a good quarterback,
17:04
just get rid of Archie. There's no need of keeping
17:08
him with Texas. Relax, okay? I need you to take
17:12
a deep breath with me. I need you to R -E -L
17:23
-A -X. Relax. This is literally his first season.
17:30
I saw a whole bunch of people on social media
17:33
trashing Archie Manning in this offense. When
17:37
in actuality, this is the first time that Archie
17:40
has had a legitimate chance to play. So it's
17:44
not going to look pretty at first. He's going
17:46
to have some bumps and bruises. He's going to
17:48
have some really good games. He's going to have
17:50
some really bad games. But guess what? As long
17:53
as he shows something against the big games,
17:56
who's really caring? No one. That's what happens
18:00
when you're going up against Ohio State in Ohio
18:03
who just finished winning the national championship.
18:06
Did you not think this wasn't going to be hostile
18:08
territory? Did you not think that Texas was just
18:12
going to walk in and just beat Ohio State? No.
18:15
Ohio State had everything in their favor. This
18:19
was Lee Corso's last time doing the college football
18:23
game day. There was a whole bunch of storylines
18:26
leading up to this game. So Ohio State had the
18:29
momentum the entire way. Texas never had a chance.
18:32
And it showed. Matt Patricia showed why a lot
18:36
of colleges will probably start getting veteran
18:39
defensive coordinators from the NFL and making
18:42
them the defensive coordinators in college football
18:44
because In college football, there's a little
18:46
bit more creativity because a lot of those quarterbacks
18:49
don't know certain coverages. They don't know
18:51
certain disguises. They don't know what to look
18:54
for in this coverage and that coverage. Whereas
18:57
a veteran quarterback in the National Football
18:59
League, oh, they can pick it apart like it's
19:01
nothing. And that's exactly what happened. But
19:03
let's continue. So going into the third and fourth
19:05
quarter, Texas was starting to switch their tempo
19:08
and they were doing more short and quick passes.
19:11
QB runs, motions. They were just trying to just
19:15
develop some level of rhythm against this Ohio
19:19
State defense. That defensive line for Ohio State,
19:22
those pass rushers, you're looking at potential
19:25
first, second, and maybe third round prospects
19:28
on that line alone. I'm not even talking about
19:31
Caleb Downs. I'm not talking about the corners.
19:34
I'm not talking about the linebackers. I'm just
19:36
talking about that line. Because they were relentless
19:39
in going after Archie. And rightfully so. But
19:44
towards the end of the game, around 327, maybe
19:48
around 328 is when Texas finally scored. And
19:52
now everyone's thinking, oh, okay, Texas has
19:54
a chance. What's the defense going to do? Can
19:57
the defense make a big play to give it to Archie
20:00
so that he can make a bigger play and ultimately
20:02
either tie the game up or just win the game?
20:05
No. That's not what happened. And the rest is
20:09
history. But I will say this. I'm not a quarterback
20:12
guru. I've never developed a quarterback. But
20:15
you can tell that Archie's mechanics is just
20:18
off. His footwork isn't the best. His throwing
20:22
mechanics is inconsistent. Just the foundational
20:26
things is just off with Archie. And that's fine.
20:29
Because he's in the best situation that any quarterback
20:32
could possibly be in. Because your head coach.
20:36
is one of the better offensive minds in all of
20:39
college football. So best believe, by the time
20:42
that Archie is ready to declare for the draft,
20:44
he will be a much more refined prospect than
20:48
what he is right now. But it's going to take
20:50
some time. As I've said before a couple minutes
20:53
ago, there's going to be highs and lows this
20:56
season for Archie. The highs are going to be
20:58
great and the lows are going to be terrible.
21:01
But this is the process that he needs to go through
21:04
in order to be a better prospect in two years.
21:08
Now, when we look at things from a broader perspective
21:11
for just Texas as a whole, the defense is definitely
21:15
going to be the strong suit for this team. The
21:18
offense, I don't really trust as much. Granted,
21:21
I understand it's just the first week of college
21:22
football, so a lot can happen from now until
21:25
the end of college football. But I just need
21:28
Sark to step up to the big games. I know that
21:32
he can do it. I know from an X's and O's standpoint,
21:35
he can go toe -to -toe with some of the best
21:38
in college football. But bro, you got to do better.
21:43
That run game, if all else fails, needs to be
21:47
your fail safe. It needs to be the red button
21:50
that you got to break the glass and smash. Because
21:53
man, the run game wasn't doing anything this
21:56
game. The passing game wasn't doing anything.
21:59
Nothing was happening with this offense. And
22:03
I understand everyone was saying, well, Texas
22:05
is the number one team in all of college football.
22:08
No, no, not even close. For any person that believes
22:12
any of those rankings, don't believe those rankings
22:14
because you just saw the number one team in all
22:17
of college football get crushed by Ohio State.
22:20
But let's keep this thing going. All right. So
22:22
LSU versus Clemson. Gary Nussmeyer, 38 attempts
22:26
for 28 completions, 232 passing yards. averaged
22:29
6 .1 yards and had one touchdown. Caden Durham,
22:33
17 carries for rushing yards. He averaged 4 .4
22:36
yards per carry and had one touchdown. Arian
22:39
Anderson, six receptions for 99 receiving yards
22:42
and averaged 16 .5 receiving yards per reception.
22:45
Cade Klubnick, 38 attempts for 19 completions,
22:49
230 passing yards, averaged 6 .1 yards and had
22:53
one pick. Adam Randall, five carries for 16 rushing
22:57
yards. averaged 3 .2 yards per carry and had
23:00
one touchdown. Brian Wesco, four receptions for
23:03
66 receiving yards and averaged 16 .5 receiving
23:07
yards per reception. So a couple things. Clemson's
23:11
defensive line is going to be talking about a
23:13
whole lot more than Kay Klubnick. That defensive
23:16
line, I can make a strong case, has probably
23:19
three to five first rounders on that line alone.
23:23
I'm not even talking about A .J. Terrell's brother.
23:27
That's on Clemson. I'm not talking about any
23:30
other position. Just that defensive line. Peter
23:33
Woods, TJ Parker, just to name a few. They are
23:37
going to be top 10, top 15 picks. I guarantee
23:41
it. But between Garrett Nussmeyer and Kay Klupnick,
23:45
I feel like Nussmeyer showed a lot more than
23:48
what Kay Klupnick. I feel like personally, Garrett
23:51
Nussmeyer. was in control the entire game. He
23:54
didn't flinch not once. And I think that's something
23:57
that a lot of teams are gonna be more interested
24:00
moving forward into the college football season.
24:02
Now, am I saying K Club Nick is now gonna be
24:05
a second rounder because he had one bad game?
24:08
No, I still believe he's gonna be a first rounder.
24:11
It's just one bad game. It's not the end of the
24:14
world, folks. Plus, you're going up against a
24:16
really good LSU team. I mean, Harold Perkins
24:19
was doing his thing. The pass rushers on LSU's
24:22
team, I forgot their names at the moment, but
24:25
they were doing their thing. Everybody was making
24:28
plays on LSU. This was a really good back and
24:31
forth game. And so, am I saying that Clemson
24:34
is back? No. But I do believe this team has the
24:38
potential to be one of the better Clemson teams
24:40
that we've seen in the last few years. Because
24:44
the last time Clemson was really dominant was
24:47
when Trevor Lawrence was in college. Since then,
24:49
they've fallen off a cliff, respectfully, disrespectfully.
24:53
But let's talk about good old Alabama. The Tide.
24:57
Because we don't give a piss about what? The
24:59
Tide. Because it's all about the Tide. And I
25:03
think that Tide has finally rescinded. But on
25:06
a serious note, Alabama is starting to see what
25:10
Nick Saban saw prior to this point. And let me
25:13
explain. The reason why Nick Saban left college
25:16
football wasn't because he was tired of it. It's
25:19
because he realized that, listen, I can no longer
25:22
go in somebody's house and say, I want you to
25:25
come and play for Alabama just because it's me.
25:29
No, players are now talking about NILs. How much
25:33
my NIL is going to be worth? Well, I need my
25:36
NIL to be about two or three million. Well, I
25:38
need this incentive and that incentives with
25:41
my NIL. There's not a lot of players are just
25:45
saying, hey, I'm just going here because this
25:47
is the best opportunity for me. And so when you
25:50
factor that in play, of course, Alabama is going
25:53
to be at a disadvantage. Texas every single year
25:56
signs a blank check for recruitment. Georgia
26:00
does the same thing as well as LSU. Alabama is
26:04
the only one that doesn't have legitimate donors
26:06
that they can lean on and say, hey, we need you
26:09
to help us. Case in point, that's why Nick Saban
26:12
went on that rant and took a shot at Dion because
26:15
he realizes that, hey, my pitch no longer works.
26:20
Everything that I used to do in recruitment no
26:23
longer works. And now what you're starting to
26:26
see is the empire that was Alabama starting to
26:29
crumble right in front of our eyes. For one,
26:33
the quarterback play was just bad. I have never
26:36
seen an Alabama quarterback play as bad as what
26:39
Simpson did against Florida State. And I'm not
26:42
discrediting Florida State at all, but I mean,
26:44
bro, he was just atrocious, especially towards
26:48
the end of the game. And granted, I understand
26:50
that we're all used to seeing a Tua or Bryce
26:54
Young or Jalen Hurts -tier type of quarterback
26:58
that's leading an Alabama offense, but... I don't
27:01
know about this guy. I'm going to keep my eye
27:03
on Alabama. But another thing that needs to be
27:07
talked about is we have been spoiled by greatness
27:11
for over 10 plus years. We knew that whoever
27:16
Alabama was facing, guess what? They were going
27:18
to put up a fight. They were going to be physical.
27:21
They were going to be in your face. They were
27:23
going to be dominant every single drive. And
27:26
Nick Saban expected that out of all of his players.
27:30
From being detailed in coverages and route running
27:33
and blocking schemes to just an overall different
27:38
coaching presence. Nick Saban held the SEC with
27:42
an iron fist for over 10 plus years. And now
27:47
that he's exit stage left, this is all they got
27:49
to show. And no longer are we talking about Alabama
27:53
as the team that everyone needs to be fearing.
27:56
Instead, we need to be talking about Alabama
27:58
as... A team that may need to get a new head
28:01
coach fairly soon. But we have some breaking
28:05
news, unfortunate breaking news, to be honest,
28:07
and that is Elijah Veritaker, guard for the Jets,
28:11
will now miss the entire season with a tricep
28:15
injury. Damn, that's not good. That's not good
28:18
at all, folks. Well, this probably could have
28:21
came at a worse time because everybody's preparing
28:24
for Sunday. So if you're the Jets, do you have
28:28
to make a quick move and possibly sign a veteran
28:30
guard? Or do you trust your backups just to get
28:34
you through one game and then you can make a
28:36
further evaluation of what you want to do moving
28:38
forward? Damn. Damn. You hate to see stuff like
28:42
this because you want to see an even matchup
28:45
between the Jets and the Steelers. You don't
28:47
want to see anybody getting hurt or anything,
28:50
but damn, that hurts. And this is the second
28:52
tricep injury that Elijah Veritaka has had. Damn,
28:56
that's not good. Prayers to you, bro. Prayers
28:58
to you. But before we go any further, we do have
29:01
to pay some bills. Pardon the interruption, but
29:04
this is your GM, your bag road dominance, here
29:06
to talk about rss .com, all right? So if you
29:10
guys already don't know, I am a rss .com affiliate.
29:12
And so I just want to tell you for just a quick
29:15
moment about why you should choose rss .com.
29:19
So me personally, on my journey of podcasting,
29:22
I was looking at different platforms. just to
29:25
find the right place and i looked here i looked
29:28
there i looked everywhere but i checked out rss
29:31
.com and it was the best decision i ever made
29:34
from low prices to interactive analytics to as
29:38
well as helping you with your distribution rss
29:40
.com does it all not to mention they just started
29:45
a slack channel where you can network and interact
29:47
with other podcasters and even get some insightful
29:51
tips on how you can increase your podcast even
29:54
more. Also, RSS .com just launched their paid
29:58
ads program. So now you can get paid for posting
30:02
your content. Not to mention, all you have to
30:06
do is just have 10 downloads and you're qualified
30:09
for it. Who would want to get paid for doing
30:12
something that they're passionate about doing?
30:15
So head on over to rss .com. I will be attaching
30:19
my RSS affiliate link within the description.
30:21
When you click on that link, I will be able to
30:24
receive some compensation for it. And with that
30:27
compensation, I will be able to give you guys
30:29
a better product. A lot of that money will go
30:32
towards upgrading the microphones, computers,
30:35
new subscriptions for more analytical information
30:38
that we can use for future podcasts, all of that
30:41
and more. Thank you for your support, and thank
30:43
you, RSS .com, for making me an affiliate. Now
30:46
back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks,
30:49
and we have football to talk about, all right?
30:52
Cowboys versus Eagles. These are four points
30:55
that I'm going to be keeping my eye on during
30:58
this game. Can the Cowboys offense keep the game
31:01
close? We all know that the Eagles are one of
31:04
the better offenses in the league, and we know
31:06
that they have multiple ways of scoring. So can
31:09
the Cowboys find a way to keep it close with
31:11
them? How will the Eagles secondary handle the
31:14
Pickens -Lamb duo? Because we all know Quinion
31:17
Mitchell is going to go up against CeeDee Lamb.
31:19
So who's going to face George Pickens? Because
31:22
I know there was one point in the offseason where
31:24
a lot of people were saying the Eagles were going
31:26
to move Cooper DeGene back to safety, but would
31:30
it be better to just use him in more of a hybrid
31:32
role? Maybe? Just saying? Because I mean... I
31:37
think they still have Adoree Jackson. And I'm
31:40
going to be honest with you, that's a barbecue
31:42
chicken alert right there. No disrespect to Adoree
31:45
Jackson, but I believe right now George Pickens
31:48
is going to be a problem. Whoever has to face
31:52
him. But can the Eagles avoid a Super Bowl hangover?
31:56
Now, I know everybody's been saying we're not
31:58
focused on the past, we're focused on the present.
32:00
But guess what? Actions speak louder than words.
32:03
So I want to see it so that I can believe it.
32:06
And how effective will the Cowboys D -line look
32:08
against the Eagles? I understand they have Kenny
32:11
Clark, but Kenny Clark is just one person. How
32:14
is everybody else going to look going up against
32:17
the Eagles? Because this is going to be a team
32:20
effort. It can't just be just one person doing
32:23
everything. Everybody is going to have to step
32:26
up in order for this defensive line to actually
32:28
be productive this year. But here's a few junkie
32:31
nuggets. So during the 2024 season, George Pickens
32:34
had the 7th highest deep route rate in the NFL
32:37
at 23 .8%. When targeted on these routes, George
32:42
Pickens had 15 receptions for 515 yards and 1
32:47
touchdown. In 2024, the Cowboys generated a 37
32:52
.1 pressure rate, which was the 4th highest rate
32:55
in the league. The Eagles allowed opposing offenses
32:59
to generate explosive plays on 10 .7 % of their
33:02
plays, which was the lowest rate in the league.
33:05
Now, explosive plays are defined by a 10 -plus
33:08
yard run or a 15 -plus yard pass, according to
33:12
NFL Pro. Between the tackles, Saquon Barkley
33:15
totaled 170 carries for 848 yards, seven touchdowns,
33:21
and averaged five yards per carry, which was
33:23
the fifth most in the NFL. If I could make a
33:27
prediction for this game, I would venture to
33:29
say Dak Prescott throws for two touchdowns, one
33:32
pick, and 300 yards, I would say. Don't hold
33:40
it against me. Please don't make a bet with what
33:42
I just said, please. Please don't do that. I
33:44
would feel so bad if that doesn't happen, okay?
33:48
But on a serious note, I do think the defense
33:52
is going to make some plays. I think Trevon Diggs
33:55
is going to show why he's still one of the better
33:56
corners in the league. I think Deron Blaine is
33:59
going to do his thing as well. But the question
34:01
is, will this run defense be a lot better than
34:05
what it has been the last three years? Now for
34:08
the Eagles, however, I think Saquon is going
34:11
to score two touchdowns. I think Jalen Hurts
34:13
is going to throw one touchdown. And I think
34:16
that defense is going to create a lot of pressure
34:18
on Dak Prescott. But let's talk about the Chargers
34:21
and Chiefs. So four points I'm keeping my eye
34:24
on for this game. How will Josh Simmons hold
34:27
up against Khalil Mack? How will the Chargers
34:29
receiving room go up against the Chiefs? How
34:31
will Joe Ault look at left tackle? And how different
34:35
will the Chiefs offense look this year? I've
34:39
been very critical of the Chiefs offense this
34:41
offseason because I feel like it's reached a
34:43
point where it's starting to become stagnant.
34:45
I understand Travis Kelsey is the most reliable
34:47
weapon for Patrick Mahomes right now. Somebody
34:50
is going to have to say, hey, I got you. Because
34:53
this offense cannot afford to go down the same
34:56
road that it did last season. And we all know
34:59
that a majority of that season, it was the defense
35:02
that was carrying the team, not the offense.
35:05
So everybody's going to have to step up. This
35:07
is going to have to be a group effort. Now, when
35:10
we shift things over to the Chargers, however,
35:12
I'm focused on Joe All. I want to see how he
35:16
looks at left tackle. With them losing Rashawn
35:18
Slater, Justin Herbert isn't going to be comfortable.
35:21
And there's actually a stat that shows that Justin
35:24
Herbert actually plays better with Rashawn Slater
35:27
on the field than off the field. So according
35:29
to NFL Pro, since 2022, when Rashawn Slater was
35:34
on the field with Justin Herbert, he averaged
35:36
1 .4 more air yards per attempt with Rashawn
35:39
Slater, which is 8 .2 air yards per attempt,
35:42
than without him. which is 6 .8 air yards per
35:46
attempt. The stats don't lie, folks. But moving
35:49
forward, though, I want to see how this Chargers
35:52
receiving room is going to do against this Chiefs
35:54
secondary. Granted, I understand they brought
35:57
in Keenan Allen. I know they still have Ladd
35:59
McConkie. I know they have Trey Harris. But is
36:02
that enough to go toe -to -toe against this Chiefs
36:05
secondary? Because we all know Spags is going
36:07
to have them ready. I think Ladd McConkie is
36:09
going to have a good game. I think Trey Harris
36:12
is going to have a good game. But I want to see
36:14
how the Chargers going to use Keenan Allen. Are
36:19
they going to use him as a primary X? Are they
36:21
going to move him around? How are things going
36:23
to work with him? But here's a few junkie nuggets.
36:27
So Joe Alt had a 6 .9 pressure rate last season,
36:31
which was the ninth lowest among right tackles
36:34
and the sixth lowest by a rookie since 2018.
36:37
Khalil Mack led the Chargers in pressures at
36:40
54. and had 13 quick pressures. The Chiefs' outside
36:44
corners used press coverage on 51 .5 % on defensive
36:49
snaps, which was the second highest by any defense
36:52
since 2018. The Chiefs had the second highest
36:55
12 personnel rate last season at 34%, averaging
36:59
5 .6 yards per play. So expect the Chiefs to
37:03
be in 12 and 13 personnel a lot during this game.
37:07
I think they're definitely going to run the ball
37:09
with Isaiah Pachenko and Kareem Hutt a lot. The
37:13
Chiefs were one of six teams that have three
37:15
players log 100 or more snaps at left tackle
37:18
last season. We all know that left tackle has
37:21
been a problem for them for the last few years.
37:23
They've tried to address it in free agency. They've
37:26
tried to address it via trade. They've tried
37:28
to address it via the draft. And hopefully Josh
37:31
Simmons is the answer to their left tackle woes.
37:35
When the line at edge, Chris Jones generated
37:38
23 pressures, which was the most among defensive
37:42
tackles. I think Patrick Mahomes is going to
37:45
have a pretty good game. I think he's probably
37:46
going to throw maybe two touchdowns, probably
37:49
300 yards. Travis Kelsey does his thing. Isaiah
37:52
Pacheco does his thing. Chris Jones becomes the
37:55
game record that we all know and love and fear.
37:58
But I think this Chargers team, I think they're
38:01
going to put up a fight. I think that Chargers
38:03
defense. is going to give Patrick Mahomes a run
38:06
for his money. I don't know how they're going
38:09
to do it, but I believe that they're going to
38:11
do it. But I'm going to end this episode here.
38:13
If you guys like what you're listening, please,
38:14
please, please, please, please make sure you
38:16
guys download the episodes. Share the episodes
38:19
with somebody who loves football just as much
38:21
as you do, okay? For my audio listeners, make
38:24
sure you guys leave a five -star, five -star,
38:27
five -star, five -star, five -star review on
38:29
anywhere and everywhere. that you can listen
38:32
to podcasts, all right? We are available on Apple
38:34
Podcasts. We're available on Spotify and a few
38:37
other places. If you go on rss .com football
38:41
junkies, there'll be a few other links that'll
38:44
take you to all the other places that we are
38:47
available to listen to if you are an audio listener.
38:50
Also, the link to my RSS channel is available
38:54
in the description. It's gonna be available on
38:56
YouTube and anywhere else, all right? Now for
38:59
my YouTube people, make sure you guys like, share,
39:01
subscribe, turn the notification bell on, leave
39:04
a comment down below on what you think about
39:06
these upcoming games. Let me know your thoughts
39:08
about college football. Should I start talking
39:10
about more college football matchups? Let me
39:13
know and I'll do it. When you go on our YouTube
39:15
page, Football Junkies Pod. Football Junkies
39:19
Pod, there is a link tree. When you click on
39:21
that link tree, it'll take you to anywhere and
39:23
everywhere that we have Football Junkies content,
39:25
whether it be our TikTok, our Instagram, Blue
39:28
Sky X, you name it, all those links is there,
39:31
as well as our RSS affiliate link if you want
39:34
to sign up for rss .com. Now, for my TikTok people,
39:38
Football Junkies Pod, all right, Football Junkies
39:40
Pod, I want to thank each and every one of you.
39:43
for blowing up my last clip about left tackles.
39:46
I appreciate you guys so much for it. Stay tuned.
39:49
I still got more clips. I still got clips from,
39:52
I think, the storylines for the few other teams
39:55
that I haven't even finished on, but they will
39:57
be coming out fairly soon. Stay tuned for that.
40:00
Now, for my Instagram people, football underscore
40:02
junkies pod, all right? Football underscore junkies
40:05
pod. Junkies pod is not what? It is together,
40:12
not. space. All right. It is together, not space
40:16
football underscore junkies pot. Now for X slash
40:20
Twitter, GM kale. All right. GM kale, K -A -I
40:25
-L -E. It's the same thing with blue sky as well.
40:28
GM kale, G -M -K -A -I -L -E. As always, I hope
40:33
I gave you guys the things that you guys need.
40:35
I love you guys. I appreciate you guys so much.
40:38
Thank you guys so much for being with me on this
40:41
journey. And stay tuned. There will be another
40:43
episode coming out fairly soon. So as always,
40:45
this is your GM, Kale, signing out. Peace and
40:47
love. Later.