Latest / Football Junkies podcast / Ep.98: FRAUD WATCH

Transcript

Ep.98: FRAUD WATCH · Football Junkies podcast

0:00
Fraud. Why? That's right, folks. We got some
0:03
frauds on the field. The teams that we should
0:07
be talking about in a positive manner, we now
0:09
have questions on if they're going to make it
0:11
to the Super Bowl. But before we get there, we
0:14
got some things we got to talk about, all right?
0:16
Brian Dable gets fired. Joe Witt loses his defensive
0:19
play calling abilities. Raiders and Broncos recap.
0:22
Falcons and Colts recap. Steelers and Chargers
0:24
recap. Packers and Eagles recap. And Bills and
0:28
Dolphins recap. Okay, all of this and more. on
0:31
the 98th episode of the Football Junkies podcast,
0:33
okay? I am your host with the most, all right?
0:35
I am your hopium, hopium, hopium, hopium, hopium
0:38
dealer. I am your GM who currently is not on
0:41
a team right now, but don't you worry about it,
0:43
all right? Don't you worry about it because I'm
0:46
your chief bag roll dumber. That's right, chief,
0:48
head of the table, anything and everything related
0:50
to the bag, rumors to the bag, and more. I am
0:53
your GM who currently is looking at all the top
0:57
prospects for the 26th draft class. Just you
0:59
wait. to give you my opinions in the next few
1:02
weeks, all right? But all of this doesn't matter
1:04
because why? I am your host, Kale. You already
1:08
know how these things are about to go. This is
1:09
going to be a loaded episode. Steelers fans,
1:12
you're not going to like what I have to say,
1:13
but guess what? I'm going to say the things that
1:15
need to be said at this point. So guess what?
1:18
On three, one, two, three, let's lock in. Lifeboats
1:43
doesn't get into the meat and potatoes of everything
1:45
that is going on in the league right now. So
1:47
before we get into the games, let's talk about
1:50
Brian Dable because there's a lot to unpack with
1:53
that situation. So this was the statement that
1:56
was put out by both John Merritt and Steve Tisch,
1:58
owners of the New York Giants. And I quote, We
2:01
spoke this morning about the direction of our
2:03
franchise on the field, and we have decided that
2:05
at this time it is in our best interest to make
2:08
a change at the head coaching position. The past
2:10
few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing.
2:12
We have not met our expectations for this franchise.
2:15
We understand the frustrations of our fans, and
2:18
we will work to deliver a significantly improved
2:20
product. We appreciate Coach Dable for his contributions
2:23
to our organization. We wish the Dable family
2:25
all the best in the future, end quote. With that
2:28
being said, John Mayer and Steve Tisch have already
2:31
said that Joe Shane will remain in his position
2:34
as general manager and will lead the search for
2:36
a new head coach. But this is what they had to
2:38
say about Joe Shane moving forward, and I quote.
2:41
we feel like joe has assembled a good young nucleus
2:44
of talent and we look forward to its development
2:46
unfortunately the results over the past three
2:48
years have not been what any of us want we take
2:51
full responsibility for those results and look
2:53
forward to the kind of success our fans expect
2:55
in quote but they go on to say this though and
2:59
i quote these are difficult decisions and john
3:02
and i do not take them lightly but we feel like
3:04
this is the right thing to do at this time and
3:06
will allow us to move forward, end quote. Brian
3:09
Dable's overall record is 20 -40 -1. Now, if
3:12
you break that down year by year, here's what
3:15
it is. In 2022, 9 -7 -1, they made it to the
3:19
playoffs that year. In 2023, 6 -11. In 2024,
3:23
3 -14. In 2025, 2 -8, even though the season
3:27
is still going. If we want to be honest here,
3:29
Brian Dable was on borrowed time. Technically
3:32
speaking, last year he should have been fired.
3:34
But they decided to give him and Joe Shane another
3:37
year, thinking that they're going to turn things
3:39
around. And so far, they really haven't been
3:41
able to. Now, some of that is because of Brian
3:44
Dable, and some of that is because of Joe Shane.
3:46
But I think the part that's really grabbing a
3:48
lot of people's attention is how Brian Dable
3:50
conducted himself with both players and coaches.
3:53
So according to Jordan Renan of ESPN, Brian Dable
3:56
flipped a tablet at Daniel Jones. He was on the
3:59
sideline going back and forth with Wink Martindale
4:02
that led into the locker room during a 2023 loss
4:06
against the Cowboys. He was caught on camera
4:08
giving his special teams coordinator a death
4:11
stare during a preseason game. He was fined by
4:14
the league for illegally going into the blue
4:16
tent while Jackson Dart was being assessed for
4:19
a concussion. And Joe Shane had to listen in
4:22
on communication between him and his coaches
4:25
just to make sure that everything was right.
4:28
But here's the cherry on top. Apparently, a player
4:31
told ESPN. that Brian Dable had exploded and
4:35
threatened to take away the play calling from
4:38
Mike Kafka after tight end Theo Johnson dropped
4:41
a crucial third down pass against the Eagles.
4:44
Now, I understand that, you know, as a coach,
4:47
you have to deal with a lot of responsibilities
4:49
and sometimes your frustrations can leak over
4:52
into the sidelines. I get that. But there is
4:54
a level of professionalism that you must abide
4:57
by. You cannot do these type of reckless things
5:00
and not think that no one's going to say anything
5:03
about it. I understand that when you lose a lot,
5:06
a lot of the dirty laundry comes out, but you
5:08
just have to find a way to just eliminate the
5:11
outside noise and try to be focused on the task
5:14
at hand. Not go at your coaches and players and
5:17
giving people death stares and whatnot. You have
5:20
to be able to control the things that you can
5:22
control. Now, I'll be honest here. Some of these
5:25
things are out of Brian Dable's hands. The way
5:28
the roster is built, that's out of his hands.
5:30
You have to take that up with Joe Shane, but
5:32
we're gonna save him for a moment because we
5:34
have to talk about how the Giants have been unsuccessful
5:36
in hiring head coaches. And this goes back for
5:40
a while now. 2017, when they had Spaggs, his
5:43
head coaching record, one and three, and then
5:45
they let him go. Pat Shermer from 2018 to 2019,
5:48
nine and 23. Joe Judge, 2020 to 2021, 10 and
5:53
23. Brian Dable, 20 and 40. There is a track
5:58
record that shows that the Giants have not been
6:01
successful in hiring a good head coach. Now,
6:04
the question is, can you blame John Mayer for
6:06
this? Can you blame the GM? Who do you blame
6:10
with these hires? Because all of these hires
6:13
have been bad. Now, granted, I mean, Spaggs has,
6:17
you know, had a resurgence in his coaching career
6:19
as a defensive coordinator with the Chiefs. But
6:21
outside of him, who else can you say is still
6:24
coaching in the league right now? None of them.
6:27
Now, while I was preparing for this episode,
6:29
I was like, you know what? What is the angle
6:32
that I want to take with this Brian Dable incident?
6:35
And so, you know what? I decided to look at all
6:38
the offensive rankings during his tenure with
6:41
the Giants. So his first year with the Giants
6:44
in 2022, they had the 19th best offense in the
6:48
league. And they averaged 21 .5 points per game,
6:51
333 .6 yards per game. 5 .2 yards per play, and
6:57
38 touchdowns. They were 26th in passing offense
7:00
and they averaged 185 .7 passing yards per game,
7:04
5 .5 passing yards per play, and 17 passing touchdowns.
7:09
They were 4th in rushing offense and they averaged
7:11
148 .2 rushing yards per game. 4 .8 rushing yards
7:16
per play, 21 rushing touchdowns, and 74 rushes
7:20
of 10 plus yards or more. In 2023, they were
7:23
29th in the league, and they averaged 15 .6 points
7:27
per game, 280 .5 yards per game, 4 .5 yards per
7:31
play, and 25 touchdowns. They were 31st in passing
7:35
offense, and they averaged 169 .8 passing yards
7:39
per game. 4 .8 passing yards per play, and 15
7:42
passing touchdowns. They were 16th in rushing
7:45
offense and they averaged 110 .2 rushing yards
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per game, 4 .1 rushing yards per play, 10 rushing
7:52
touchdowns, and 49 rushes of 10 plus yards or
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more. In 2024, they were 30th in the league and
7:58
they averaged 16 .1 points per game, 294 .8 yards
8:04
per game. 4 .7 yards per play and 28 touchdowns.
8:08
They were 28th in passing offense and they averaged
8:11
189 .9 passing yards per game, 5 .1 passing yards
8:15
per play and 15 passing touchdowns. They were
8:18
23rd in the league in rushing offense and they
8:22
averaged 104 .9 rushing yards per game. 4 .2
8:26
rushing yards per play, 13 rushing touchdowns,
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and 46 rushes of 10 plus yards or more in 2025.
8:32
They were 14th in the league and they averaged
8:35
21 .7 points per game, 332 .9 yards per game,
8:39
5 .2 yards per play, and 26 touchdowns. They
8:43
were 17th in passing offense and they averaged
8:45
209 .9 passing yards per game, 5 .9 passing yards
8:50
per play, and 13 passing touchdowns. They were
8:52
11th in rushing offense and they average 123
8:56
rushing yards per game, 4 .3 rushing yards per
8:59
play, five rushing touchdowns, and 32 rushes
9:02
of 10 plus yards or more. So outside of his first
9:05
year, the Giants offensively have regressed significantly.
9:09
Now, can we blame that on Daniel Jones? Can we
9:11
blame that on Saquon walking from the Giants?
9:14
Can we blame that on people getting hurt? Most
9:16
likely you can. But the proof is in the pudding
9:19
here, folks. The offense has not been good enough.
9:23
And I'll be honest here, and I don't want to
9:25
seem like I'm just grinding my axe against Joe
9:27
Shane, but I believe the number one thing that
9:29
hurt the Giants the most was Saquon leaving.
9:32
Because Saquon wasn't just a running back. He
9:36
was the offense as a whole. He could be the receiving
9:39
option. He could be the bell cow. He could be
9:42
whatever you want him to be in the offense. And
9:46
Joe Shane didn't want to pay him. And Joe Shane
9:49
laughed in front of John Mayer and said, who
9:51
is going to pay a running back X amount of dollars?
9:54
And you know what the Eagles said? We'll do it.
9:56
And you know what happened? They won a Super
9:59
Bowl off it. And I think another thing that really
10:02
hurt the Giants was just letting Daniel Jones
10:05
just walk. I understand that at that point he
10:09
had been hurt and he had just, you know, regressed
10:12
significantly and he just wasn't himself. I get
10:15
all of that. but you just don't let somebody
10:17
like a Daniel Jones just walk. Because now look,
10:20
he is now looking like a potential MVP candidate
10:24
this year. He could be the sole reason why the
10:27
Colts make a deep playoff run this year. So I
10:30
understand that everybody has their opinions
10:33
about Brian Dable, but the person we need to
10:36
be talking about is Joe Shane. Because it's just
10:39
weird to me how Brian Daybo leaves, but Joe Shane
10:42
is staying, and he now has a voice in who the
10:46
next head coach is going to be. I'm sorry here,
10:49
folks. I'll just be honest here. Joe Shane, to
10:51
me, this is just my personal opinion, cannot
10:54
be a GM. Anytime you have somebody that is focused
10:57
on the defense way too much and is willing to
11:01
move heaven and earth for Brian Burns, even though
11:04
right now it's looking like it's paying off very
11:07
well. But you're not willing to pay your homegrown
11:10
talent in Saquon Barkley? That is a problem.
11:13
When we look at Joe Shane's draft classes since
11:17
being with the Giants, in 22, he had Kayvon Thibodeau,
11:21
Evan Neal, Wondell Robinson, Cordell Flott, Daniel
11:24
Bellinger, Dane Belton, just to name a few. In
11:28
23, you had Deontay Banks, John Michael Schmitz,
11:31
Jalen Hyatt, Eric Gray, Trey Hawkins, Jordan
11:35
Riley. 24, Malik Neighbors, Tyler Newman, Andrew
11:39
Phillips, Theo Johnson, Tyrone Tracy. 25, Abdul
11:42
Carter, Jackson Dart, Darius Alexander, Cam Scadabo,
11:46
Marcus Membo, Corey Black, just to name a few.
11:49
Ask yourself this. Under Joe Shane, do you believe
11:54
that the Giants are much closer to being competitive?
11:58
Or do you believe that they're in the same spot?
12:00
Let me know in the comments on our YouTube Football
12:02
Junkies pod. Let me know. Because I already have
12:05
the answer for you. And it's a flat out no. Now,
12:07
with that being said, I know there's a lot of
12:09
people who are giving their two cents on who
12:11
they believe should be the next head coach for
12:13
the Giants. But I'll be honest here. The number
12:16
one thing that they need to shoot for is somebody
12:20
that has head coaching experience. Not the hottest
12:24
name, not the hottest offensive coordinator,
12:27
defensive coordinator. They need to go after
12:29
somebody who has been a head coach, a successful.
12:34
head coach specifically. And another requirement
12:37
for the next head coach is they need to have
12:39
a track record of developing rookie quarterbacks.
12:42
And I think the number one name that comes to
12:45
mind is Mike McCarthy. For starters, he's familiar
12:47
with the division. He has a track record of really
12:50
good offenses and most quarterbacks under Mike
12:53
McCarthy play really well. So I think that checks
12:56
all the boxes moving forward. Now the question
12:59
is, does Mike McCarthy want to be the head coach
13:02
for the Giants? Only time will tell. But let's
13:05
talk about Joe Witt losing his defensive play
13:07
calling responsibility. So this is what Dan Quinn
13:10
had to say about this, and I quote, When something's
13:13
not working, we shift from the question of why
13:15
isn't it working to what do we need to do to
13:18
get it right. Right now, that'll call for some
13:20
change. I'll take over the role as a defensive
13:22
coordinator and all that it entails. Joe's been
13:25
my right -hand man for years and took the news
13:28
like the pro that he is. As a defensive staff,
13:31
including Joe, We're all consumed by getting
13:33
it right, and that's exactly what we intend to
13:36
do, end quote. But Dan Quinn goes on to say this,
13:39
end I quote, I think now just after watching
13:42
and reviewing the tape, we felt off. I thought
13:44
this is the time to add into that and lean in.
13:47
Joe and I have got a great vibe together. We've
13:51
worked together through our time in Dallas, and
13:53
we'll lean back into that space where he'll help
13:55
me along the way and all that leads up into the
13:58
game and calling it end quote. Now, here are
14:00
the defensive rankings under Joe Witt. So last
14:03
year, they were 13th in the league, and they
14:05
allowed 23 points per game, 326 .9 yards per
14:09
game, 5 .4 yards per play, and 43 touchdowns.
14:13
They were third in passing offense, and they
14:15
allowed 189 .5 passing yards per game, 6 passing
14:20
yards per play, and 25 passing touchdowns. They
14:23
were 30th in run defense, and they allowed 18
14:26
rushing touchdowns, 137 .5 rushing yards per
14:29
game, 4 .8 rushing yards per play, and 64 rushes
14:33
of 10 plus yards or more. Currently, they are
14:36
30th in the league, and they have allowed 28
14:38
points per game, 394 .6 yards per game, 6 .4
14:43
yards per play, and 31 touchdowns. They are 31st
14:47
in passing defense and they have allowed 260
14:49
.2 passing yards per game, 7 .9 passing yards
14:53
per play, and 22 passing touchdowns. They are
14:56
23rd in run defense and they have allowed 9 rushing
14:59
touchdowns, 134 .4 rushing yards per game, 4
15:03
.6 rushing yards per play, and 35 rushes of 10
15:07
plus yards or more. I'll be honest with you guys.
15:09
I knew at some point something was going to happen
15:12
because the commanders defensively have been
15:15
giving up way too many points over a period of
15:18
time. And so some move was going to be made.
15:22
Either a coordinator was going to get fired,
15:24
a position coach was going to get fired, someone
15:26
was going to have to turn over their play calling
15:28
abilities. But can we blame Joe Witt for this?
15:31
Yes and no. And the reason why I say that is
15:34
because during the offseason, they didn't do
15:37
enough to add in younger talent. You can't just
15:40
give the big money that you gave to Javon Kinlaw,
15:43
sign old -ass Von Miller, sign old -ass Preston
15:47
Smith, and think, oh, okay, this is going to
15:49
work. No, it hasn't worked. You can't stop the
15:52
run. You can't stop the pass. What are you good
15:55
at at this point? And it also doesn't help that
15:58
the commander's defense is one of the oldest
16:00
defenses in the league. The average age on the
16:04
commander's defense is 28 and a half years old.
16:07
They're right behind the Vikings. So if you expect
16:11
the same thing that you saw last year from them,
16:13
you're sadly mistaken. It doesn't help that your
16:16
pass rush isn't able to create pressure on quarterbacks.
16:19
It doesn't help that your interior defensive
16:21
line can't do anything. It doesn't help that
16:24
Marshawn Lattimore is out for the year. Trey
16:26
Amos is out for the year. You didn't do enough
16:29
during the trade deadline to at least bring in
16:31
some younger talent. My hope next year is that
16:35
they address the defense hard. The pass rush
16:38
class is supposed to be really good next year.
16:39
There's a few good corners that are catching
16:41
my eye. Caleb Downs is there. Arvell Reese. The
16:45
list goes on. So you have to bring in younger
16:48
talent because right now what you have is not
16:51
going to be successful. It's the same thing with
16:54
the offense as well. If you expect to do the
16:57
same thing that you did last year, you're sadly
16:59
mistaken because why? Everybody now has tape
17:02
on what you like to do. They know your tendencies.
17:06
They know how you like to use your corners, your
17:08
defensive linemen, your pass rushers. While I
17:11
was recording this episode, I was watching the
17:13
Commanders game. I just wanted to see, hey, is
17:15
this going to be the game where they lock in
17:18
and they actually try to get a win? No. When
17:21
the game went into overtime, The Dolphins ran
17:24
the ball down the commander's throat and the
17:27
commanders didn't have an answer for it. So what
17:29
in the world do you guys expect? Did you guys
17:33
really expect for this defense to do the same
17:35
thing that they did last year? No, because why?
17:38
You don't have the horses to do it. The only
17:41
person in your pass rush that actually has upside
17:44
is who? Jacob Martin. Outside of him, Frankie
17:48
Lou Vu is a hit or miss. Von Miller is a hit
17:51
or miss. Preston Smith is a hit or miss. Deron
17:54
Payne is a hit or miss. In a league right now
17:57
where the defensive line is one of the most important
18:00
things for a team, where you have to create constant
18:03
pressure on these elite quarterbacks, you would
18:06
think, hey, maybe we should just at least make,
18:08
you know, one good move. Or maybe we should do
18:11
something a little bit more creative just so
18:13
we can have a little bit of an edge over our
18:15
opponent. No. I literally saw this Commander's
18:18
team, when they faced the Lions last week, get
18:21
demolished in the run game. They had no answer
18:24
for it. But again, you cannot put all the blame
18:27
on Joe Witt. You have to put that on Adam Peters.
18:30
But don't worry. We're going to talk about that
18:32
during the offseason, during gut check time.
18:34
We're going to talk about this. But let's talk
18:35
about these games, all right? Let's talk about
18:37
the Broncos and Raiders first. So, Geno Smith,
18:40
26 attempts for 16 completions. 143 passing yards,
18:44
one pick, 5 .5 yards per attempt, and a 61 .5
18:48
completion percentage. Ashton Genting, 19 attempts
18:51
for 60 rushing yards, 3 .2 rushing yards per
18:53
carry, one touchdown, and one rush of 10 plus
18:56
yards or more. Tyler Lockett, six targets for
18:58
five receptions, 44 receiving yards, 8 .8 receiving
19:02
yards per reception. Bo Nix, 28 attempts for
19:05
16 completions. 150 passing yards, one touchdown,
19:09
two picks, 5 .4 yards per attempt, and a 57 .1
19:13
completion percentage. J .K. Dobbins, 18 attempts
19:16
for 77 rushing yards, 4 .3 rushing yards per
19:19
carry, and one rush of 10 plus yards or more.
19:22
Pat Bryant, two targets for one reception, 43
19:25
receiving yards, and 43 receiving yards per reception.
19:28
Crazy, right? I know. So a couple takeaways from
19:31
this, all right? For starters, the play calling
19:33
in this game for both teams was very questionable.
19:36
There was a point in time where the Raiders were
19:37
doing the tush push and they wasn't even close
19:40
to the line of scrimmage. So I'm trying to figure
19:42
out why you're doing this now. I understand Thursday
19:45
night games are bad. I understand that it's one
19:48
of those games where you just leave it on for
19:51
background noise if you're cleaning up your room
19:53
or you're cooking or you're doing some work or
19:57
whatever. But this right here was atrocious on
20:00
both sides. The Broncos did not look like the
20:02
dominant team that I thought they were going
20:04
to be. Right now, they're looking like some frauds.
20:06
Outside of that defense, that offense is looking
20:09
a little bit shaky. So I don't know what they
20:11
need to do, but they need to lock in. Because
20:13
right now, the Broncos are staring at a chance
20:15
to make a deep playoff run. The only teams that
20:18
you have to worry about is the Chargers, the
20:20
Colts, and the Patriots, and possibly the Ravens
20:23
if you want to sprinkle them in there. Outside
20:25
of those teams, you can beat anybody. else. You
20:28
can beat the Chiefs. You can beat the Bills.
20:30
But that offense has to be clicking. Now, it
20:34
doesn't help that they've lost J .K. Dobbins
20:36
for a period of time. So now the question is,
20:38
what are they going to do now moving forward?
20:40
Because the run game was successful on Thursday
20:42
night. And you know you're going to need your
20:45
run game as the season begins to dwindle down
20:47
and we start to get closer and closer to playoff
20:50
seeding and then the actual playoffs. But keep
20:54
a bookmark on that. for future episodes, okay?
20:58
Let's talk about the Raiders. This by far has
21:01
to be Geno Smith's worst game of his career.
21:04
I understand that Raheem Mostert didn't block
21:06
for him and, you know, he got in his face and
21:09
then later on on the sideline, he's trying to
21:11
dab him. Hey, man, come on, man. You know, I
21:13
was just angry with you, man. Raheem Mostert
21:16
looked at him and said, man, if you don't get
21:17
out my face, if you don't get out my face, like,
21:21
this is the Raiders that we're talking about.
21:23
The same old Raiders that we've been seeing for
21:25
the past five years just continue to drop egg
21:29
after egg after egg. But the question I have
21:33
for the Raiders is, what are you going to do
21:35
next year to at least try to make things better?
21:39
Are you going to make a change on offense and
21:41
defensive coordinator? Are you going to possibly
21:44
let go of Geno Smith? What are you going to do
21:47
to at least give fans a little bit of hope? Because
21:50
right now, there is no hope for the Raiders.
21:52
But on to the Falcons, okay? So Michael Penix,
21:55
28 attempts for 12 completions, 177 passing yards,
21:59
one touchdown, 6 .3 yards per attempt, and a
22:02
42 .9 completion percentage. Bijan Robinson,
22:05
17 attempts for 84 rushing yards, 4 .9 rushing
22:09
yards per carry, and three rushes of 10 plus
22:11
yards or more. Drake London, eight targets for
22:14
six receptions. 104 receiving yards, 1 touchdown,
22:17
and 17 .3 receiving yards per reception. Daniel
22:20
Jones, 26 attempts for 19 completions, 255 passing
22:25
yards, 1 touchdown, 1 pick, 9 .8 yards per attempt,
22:29
a 73 .1 completion percentage, and took on 7
22:32
sacks. Keep that in mind, because we're going
22:36
to talk about that in a little bit. Jonathan
22:38
Taylor. 32 attempts for 244 rushing yards, 7
22:42
.6 rushing yards per carry, 3 touchdowns, 7 .1
22:45
rushing yards after contact, and 5 rushes of
22:48
10 plus yards or more. Tyler Warren, 10 targets
22:51
for 8 receptions, 99 receiving yards, and 12
22:54
.4 receiving yards per reception. So here's a
22:57
few junkie nuggets. Jonathan Taylor gained 228
23:01
of his 244 rushing yards after contact. The most
23:05
by any running back over the past 9 seasons.
23:08
In 17 matchups against Sauce Gardner, Drake London
23:11
caught two of four targets for 26 yards and a
23:14
two -point conversion. Daniel Jones was blitzed
23:17
over 40 % of his dropbacks at 46 .2 % for the
23:21
first time since week two. He was sacked seven
23:25
of his 16 pressure dropbacks, and in the past
23:28
two weeks, Daniel Jones has committed over five
23:31
turnovers when under pressure. The Falcons' defense
23:35
generated 16 pressures and 39 dropbacks while
23:39
having a 41 % pressure rate. They converted seven
23:43
of those 16 pressures into sacks, their highest
23:47
pressure -to -sack ratio this season. Nine different
23:50
Falcon defenders had at least one pressure. James
23:54
Pierce had five. Caden Ellis and Jalen Walker
23:57
had four pressures apiece. So with that being
24:00
said... I'll be honest here, because I know I
24:03
think I was a little bit too hard on the Falcons
24:04
last episode with gut check time. The Falcons
24:07
are playing better than what their record shows.
24:10
Believe it or not, this is actually a really
24:12
good roster. But it's going to rely on the progression
24:16
of Michael Penix. If he can continue to grow,
24:20
the Falcons will be a problem within the next
24:23
two years. Because you're already seeing promise
24:26
with both Jalen Walker and James Pierce. You
24:29
know B. John Robinson is a dog. You know Drake
24:32
London is productive. And you know the offensive
24:35
line is still intact. So there really isn't a
24:37
lot of holes on this team. All they need to do
24:40
is just get better. And that takes time. But
24:45
the fact that the Falcons defense was able to
24:47
create constant pressure on Daniel Jones is very
24:50
promising. And I think that's something that
24:53
you can hang your hat on moving forward. Because
24:56
for the longest time, What was one of the knocks
24:58
against the Falcons? They weren't able to create
25:01
pressure. Now you have two guys that are able
25:03
to do it, and they're doing it at a very high
25:06
clip. When you look at the Colts, however, I'll
25:09
be honest here, Jonathan Taylor is either the
25:11
MVP or the Offensive Player of the Year. I'll
25:13
just be honest with you. Right now you have Jonathan
25:15
Taylor, you have Daniel Jones, you have Sam Darnold,
25:18
possibly Baker Mayfield, and maybe two or three
25:22
other players that you could say, hey, those
25:24
are potential MVP candidates this year. But it's
25:27
just crazy that you have two players on the same
25:29
team that are balling out this year. Which, I
25:32
mean, is a little bit crazy because, you know,
25:34
the Giants had Daniel Jones, but they decided
25:36
to just let him walk. And you know what? We're
25:39
not talking about the Giants. We're talking about
25:40
the Colts, okay? We're focused on the Colts.
25:42
A troubling trend we're starting to see with
25:44
the Colts' offense is they're allowing a lot
25:47
of pressure. And you have to give credit to the
25:49
Steelers for giving the blueprint for all the
25:51
other teams to see, hey, this is how you can
25:54
disrupt Daniel Jones. Because there was a point
25:57
in time in this game where it looked like the
25:58
Colts almost lost this game. And if it wasn't
26:01
for Jonathan Taylor being the bell cow and dog
26:05
that he is, they would have lost this game. Because
26:08
Jalen Walker and James Pierce and Caden Ellis
26:11
alone were creating constant pressure on Daniel
26:15
Jones. And he was looking like a deer in headlights
26:18
sometimes. I know there was like one part of
26:21
the game they were showing Daniel Jones. His
26:23
mouth was all bloody. You would have thought
26:25
this man was in a street fight or something.
26:27
Because Jalen Walker and James Pierce was just
26:30
going at Daniel Jones. You might as well want
26:34
to call them Team 3D at this point because that's
26:36
what they were doing. They were 3D -ing Daniel
26:39
Jones through a table. If you know, you know
26:41
for all my wrestlers fans out there, okay? That's
26:44
a wrestler pun right there. You know what? Forget
26:46
about that. But on a serious note, I think this
26:50
was a really good game for both teams. And even
26:53
though the Falcons lost, you still won because
26:56
you're starting to see promise in your younger
26:58
players, which is a good thing. And it's starting
27:01
to give you a little bit of confidence into next
27:03
year. I'll be honest here. I sort of take back
27:06
a lot of things that I've said about the Falcons
27:08
this year. Because I feel like I was a little
27:10
bit too hard on them. And after seeing that game,
27:12
even though it was just one game, there's promise
27:15
with this team. If they hit on at least two more
27:18
drafts, that will be the team that people are
27:22
going to have to worry about moving forward.
27:24
They're in a good spot. You just have to build
27:27
off of it. Now let's talk about the Steelers.
27:36
Let's talk about the Steelers, folks. Aaron Rodgers,
27:40
31 attempts for 16 completions, 161 passing yards,
27:44
one touchdown, two picks, 5 .2 yards per attempt,
27:47
and a 51 .6 completion percentage. Jalen Warren,
27:51
14 attempts for 70 rushing yards, five rushing
27:54
yards per carry, and two rushes of 10 plus yards
27:57
or more. DK Metcalf, 7 targets for 3 receptions,
28:00
35 receiving yards, and 11 .7 receiving yards
28:03
per reception. Justin Herbert, 33 attempts for
28:06
20 completions, 220 passing yards, 1 touchdown,
28:10
6 .7 yards per attempt, and a 60 .6 completion
28:13
percentage. Kamani Vidal, 25 attempts for 95
28:16
rushing yards, 3 .8 rushing yards per carry,
28:19
1 touchdown, and 4 rushes of 10 plus yards or
28:22
more. Ladd McConkie, 6 targets or 4 receptions.
28:25
107 receiving yards, 1 touchdown, and 26 .8 receiving
28:29
yards per reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets
28:32
with this game. When running to the left side
28:35
of the formation, Kamani Vidal was 25 carries
28:38
for 95 yards and 1 touchdown. Aaron Rodgers didn't
28:42
complete a pass under pressure, finishing 0 of
28:44
5, taking 3 sacks in safety. On pass attempts
28:48
under 2 .5 seconds, Justin Herbert was 15 of
28:52
21, which is 71 .4%. for 145 yards and one touchdown.
28:57
But on throws longer than 2 .5 seconds, Justin
29:01
Herbert was 5 of 12, 41 .7%, for 75 yards. The
29:07
Steelers ranked 26th in third down conversion
29:10
percentage at 36 % this season so far. They were
29:14
21 .21 % in the last three games and 18 .18 %
29:20
in the last game, according to TeamRankings .com.
29:23
Shout out to them. The Chargers' time of possession
29:26
this game, 37 minutes and 35 seconds, while the
29:30
Steelers' time of possession was 22 minutes and
29:33
25 seconds, according to ESPN. The Steelers'
29:36
third down efficiency was 2 for 11, while the
29:40
Chargers' was 6 for 17. Kudos to the Chargers
29:44
for playing a really good game against the Steelers,
29:47
especially defensively. They did their job. They
29:50
made sure to take away Rodgers' first read. And
29:53
they made him pay for it every single time. And
29:56
mind you, the Chargers wasn't playing a flashy
29:58
game at all. All they were doing was just the
30:01
routine things. Making the tackle, getting after
30:05
the quarterback, creating constant pressure,
30:08
and most importantly, control the game. And sometimes
30:11
just doing that, you can win more than lose.
30:16
But major props to the offense for playing the
30:18
way that they did without their starting tackles.
30:22
If you would have told me that going into this
30:23
game that the Chargers wouldn't have neither
30:25
one of their starting tackles, but still found
30:28
a way to win, I would have called you a liar.
30:31
Because play after play, drive after drive, they
30:35
were grinding the Steelers down. And you saw
30:39
how it was affecting them, especially in the
30:41
fourth quarter. Because at that point, the Steelers'
30:43
defense was gassed. Because why? They were on
30:46
the field for way too long. But I think what
30:49
the Chargers have right now is sustainable, and
30:52
I think they could definitely make some noise
30:54
in the playoffs. The question is, how far can
30:57
they go? Because right now, in their division
31:01
alone, the Broncos is the only team that they
31:04
have to worry about. You already know the Raiders
31:06
aren't going to do anything, and the Chiefs at
31:08
this point are on the outside looking in. They
31:12
know right now that most likely, in order for
31:14
them to make it to the Super Bowl, they're going
31:16
to have to be on the road. At least two or three
31:19
times. I don't think they want that. And I don't
31:22
think the Chiefs want to have to face the Chargers
31:24
or the Broncos in the playoffs. But we'll save
31:27
that for a couple weeks, all right? Let's talk
31:29
about the Steelers. Arthur Smith needs to start
31:33
using Jalen Warren more. I don't know what it
31:36
is, but Arthur Smith needs to get his head out
31:39
of his ass. Because why is it that you continue
31:42
to not use Jalen Warren when you know every single
31:46
time that he's on the field, he's making plays.
31:49
Every single time he gets the rock, it's almost
31:52
a first down. Every time that he's pass blocking,
31:55
that's buying Aaron Rodgers more time. He is
31:58
the offense. It's not DK Metcalf. It's not Pat
32:01
Friermuth. It's Jalen Warren. And the fact that
32:05
you don't want to use him for your own personal
32:08
reasons is a little bit crazy to me. Because
32:11
this is the same thing that we saw last year.
32:13
We were told that Jalen Warren works better in
32:17
Arthur Smith's system than Najee Harris. So then
32:20
Najee walks and now Jalen Warren is the primary
32:22
back. And now guess what? You're not using Jalen
32:25
Warren. You're instead using Kenneth Gainwell.
32:27
And this is no shot at Kenneth Gainwell. Love
32:29
his game. Love everything that he's done this
32:31
season. But you have to start using your most
32:34
pivotal player. Otherwise, this offense isn't
32:37
going to go anywhere. And Arthur Smith has to
32:40
start scheming up better plays. And I understand
32:43
that Aaron Rodgers a lot of times is probably
32:45
checking out of plays. But you have to do something
32:48
different. Because right now, the defense can't
32:51
do it all. You have to be able to find a way
32:54
to control the time of possession game. Otherwise,
32:57
guess what? You're going to hurt this defense
32:59
more than help it. The defense is going to be
33:02
on the field for 20, 25, close to 30 plus minutes
33:05
a game. And by the fourth quarter, they won't
33:08
be able to make a splash play because why? They're
33:10
gassed. So it's up to the offense to say, you
33:13
know what? We're going to slow things down. We're
33:16
going to grind this game out. And we're going
33:19
to disrupt the rhythm of the opponent's offense.
33:22
Understand something here, folks. The reason
33:24
why the time of possession game is so important
33:27
is because not only are you giving your defense
33:30
time to catch their breath, you're chewing the
33:32
clock while at the same time disrupting whatever
33:35
rhythm that the opponent's offense had. So if
33:38
you're the Steelers, for instance, a team that
33:40
doesn't have a lot of talent on their team, and
33:43
has an older defense, you want to play the time
33:45
of possession game so you can give your defense
33:47
time to regain their juice. Because if you don't
33:51
do that, the opponent's offense is going to slow
33:53
down the game and they're going to grind out
33:55
your defense. And you don't want that. But another
33:58
takeaway from this game that we need to talk
34:01
about is Aaron Rodgers doesn't trust Broderick
34:04
Jones. There was a play where Deshaun Hand just
34:08
flat out manhandled Broderick Jones. And it forced
34:12
Aaron Rodgers to just chuck the ball out so he
34:15
doesn't get a fumble. And he was livid at Broderick
34:18
Jones. And Broderick Jones was like, hey, what
34:20
did I do? What did I do? And that's a problem.
34:23
Everybody realizes that if you want to attack
34:26
Aaron Rodgers, go at the left tackle. Because
34:28
the right side of the offensive line is good.
34:31
And you sending Darnell Washington or whatever
34:34
tight end you want to send over there trying
34:36
to help out is not going to solve anything. At
34:38
this point. Broderick Jones has shown that he
34:42
is not an adequate left tackle in the National
34:44
Football League, and that is a problem. When
34:47
we look at older quarterbacks, specifically Matthew
34:50
Stafford, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning, what
34:53
is the one thing that they all have in common?
34:56
They had a really good offensive line when they
34:58
went to their second team. The first thing that
35:00
the Buccaneers addressed for Tom Brady was getting
35:02
a tackle. And what did they do? They got Tristan
35:05
Wirfs. Because they realize that by giving Tom
35:09
Brady an adequate offensive line, he is able
35:12
to sit in the pocket and pick apart defenses.
35:15
It's the same thing with Matthew Stafford. It's
35:17
the same thing with Peyton Manning. And so far,
35:20
we've seen that Aaron Rodgers in the last few
35:23
years has not had a good offensive line. Even
35:26
his tenure with the Jets, he didn't have a good
35:29
offensive line. He had an old Tyron Smith. And
35:32
then you had Olof Vashonu, who technically wasn't
35:34
a right tackle. He was a left tackle, but we
35:37
all know that he's not beating Tyron Smith. And
35:39
then you go from that to now you have this offensive
35:42
line that has Broderick Jones, who looks like
35:44
a bust, Ida Siamalu, who at this point is probably
35:47
going to retire after this season, Zach Frazier,
35:50
who looks like a promising center, Mason McCormick,
35:53
who looks like a promising right guard, and Troy
35:55
Vatanu, who looks like a beast. So I say all
35:57
that to say this. Whenever you have an older
36:00
quarterback, you have to emphasize protecting
36:03
them because they don't want to get hit. Aaron
36:07
Rodgers doesn't like to get hit, and it showed
36:09
in this game. There were a lot of times where
36:11
he was trying to find a way to scramble, even
36:14
though he realized that, listen, I can't scramble
36:17
like how I used to. So a lot of times he just
36:20
has to be a sitting duck. And who wants to do
36:23
that? But something that really caught my eye
36:25
was what TJ Watt and Cam Hayward said. TJ Watts
36:29
said this, and I quote, we can't continue to
36:32
live and die by the turnovers as a defense. We
36:36
need to get off the field and stop the run. Critical
36:39
third downs, we need to do a better job. No excuse
36:42
for it. We have to play better, end quote. Now
36:45
he goes on to say this, and I quote, we're an
36:48
advantageous group. We feel like we have the
36:51
opportunity to get a turnover on every play.
36:53
We're punching at the ball. We're doing everything
36:55
we possibly can, but we weren't just able to
36:57
get the ball out. On those days you're not able
37:00
to get the ball, you need to bow up on those
37:02
big time third down situations and get off the
37:05
field and we weren't able to do that, end quote.
37:08
Now this is what Cam Hayward had to say, end
37:11
I quote. I'm not looking for an excuse. I'm looking
37:15
to just play better. We talk about it, but do
37:17
we really know what we're doing? Play in and
37:20
play out? Do we trust the guy next to us? Defense,
37:24
offense, do we trust each other to be in the
37:26
right spots to make plays, end quote. I'm going
37:29
to be really honest with what I'm getting ready
37:32
to say. And I know that's probably going to blow
37:33
up on social media and everything. If you're
37:36
the Steelers and you truly believe that what
37:38
you have right now is successful and all you
37:42
need is just a competent quarterback, I think
37:46
you need to pivot on trying to get a quarterback
37:49
in the 26 draft class. And I think you need to
37:51
make a trade for a veteran quarterback. Because
37:54
right now, from everything that I've heard from
37:57
Todd McShay, and I talked about this in the previous
37:59
episode, the 26 draft class for quarterbacks
38:03
has essentially dried up. And there are some
38:06
scouts that have question marks about Fernando
38:08
Mendoza. So instead of you doing what you did
38:11
with Kenny Pickett, I would rather for you to
38:14
get an established quarterback that's already
38:16
in the league than to try to whiff on a quarterback
38:19
again. Now, there are a few quarterbacks that
38:21
I'm thinking about. Tua, Trevor Lawrence, Kyler
38:24
Murray, Geno Smith, possibly. Baker Mayfield,
38:28
if him and the Buccaneers can't come to an agreement
38:31
on an extension. Kirk Cousins, possibly. Brock
38:34
Purdy. You know what? Let's go and break down
38:37
each and every one of these players. So if you
38:41
traded for Tua, right now his base salary this
38:43
year is $25 million, according to Spotrat. His
38:46
cap hit is $39 .1 million. His dead cap this
38:49
year is 137 .8 million. Now next year, his base
38:55
salary is 39 million, his cap hit is 56 .4 million,
38:59
and his dead cap is 99 .2 million. Now he has
39:03
a potential out in 27. So with Tua, you know
39:07
his strengths and his weaknesses at this point,
39:09
but the question is, if you was to bring Tua
39:12
on this team, would he be an upgrade over what
39:16
you have? Or would he be an upgrade over any
39:20
quarterback that you would draft in 26? Now,
39:25
granted, I understand that they're trying to
39:27
get a quarterback. I understand that they probably
39:30
had high hopes about the 26 draft class, as a
39:33
lot of people did. But the fact of the matter
39:35
is, the people that they probably wanted to get,
39:38
they're going back to school or they're hurt.
39:41
So everyone that's left is a question mark. Nico
39:48
Imalava. I could just continue to name names.
39:53
But the fact of the matter is, they haven't been
39:56
playing well. So you could talk yourself out
39:59
of drafting them. We all saw what they did with
40:02
Kenny Pickett. And we all knew that it was a
40:06
whiff of a pick. If none of the top teams, and
40:10
I mean teams within the first five picks, Didn't
40:14
want to get Kenny Pickett? Clearly there's a
40:16
problem. And this has been a trend with the Steelers
40:20
for the past few years. They want to rush and
40:23
draft a need instead of just waiting for the
40:26
next year. They did it with Kenny Pickett. And
40:29
then the following year, you had C .J. Stroud
40:31
and company. They did it with Broderick Jones.
40:34
The next year, you had a really good tackle class.
40:37
You had Calvin Banks. You had Talois Fiwaga.
40:39
You had Troy Furtano, just to name a few. So
40:43
I say all that to say this. Would you go after
40:46
Tua? Would he be an upgrade? Would you be willing
40:50
to give up some of your draft capital to acquire
40:52
him? And that means all you have to do is just
40:55
bring in another wide receiver, get another left
40:58
tackle, and you're good. Now with Trevor Lawrence,
41:01
his base salary this year is only $2 million.
41:04
His team million. His dead cap is $133 .5 million.
41:09
Next year, his base salary is $2 million, his
41:12
cap hit is $24 million, his dead cap is $116
41:16
.5 million. So just looking at his contract,
41:21
it's essentially back -loaded. So this year and
41:26
next year, he has very high dead cap hits, but
41:29
his base salary is fairly low. Now I do know
41:33
during the offseason... There was some rumors
41:35
swirling that the Steelers called the Jaguars
41:38
about the availability of Trevor Lawrence. Now
41:41
the question is this. Would the Jaguars be open
41:45
to trading Trevor Lawrence? Because if I'm not
41:49
mistaken, all of these quarterbacks have no trade
41:51
clauses. So if they wanted to be traded, they
41:55
get to dictate the destination that they want
41:58
to go to. Now with Trevor Lawrence, he's a bigger
42:01
body quarterback. Who's able to sit in the pocket,
42:04
make the big time throws, while at the same time
42:07
still being athletic. I think there's promise
42:11
with Trevor Lawrence if he's put into the right
42:14
situation. The question is, is it with the Steelers?
42:18
Would the Steelers be willing to take on his
42:21
contract? Because it is a significant contract.
42:24
And it really hasn't kicked in. And the way that
42:27
the Jaguars structured the contract, they essentially
42:30
backloaded it to the last two years. So his base
42:34
salary is moving forward is $2 million this year,
42:37
$2 million next year, $6 million in 27, and then
42:40
$11 million in 28. I think that's somewhat manageable.
42:45
But the question is, if you acquire him, would
42:49
he be an upgrade? Let's keep this thing going.
42:53
Kyler Murray. Now with him... He has two years
42:56
left of his contract, not counting this year.
42:59
But this year, his base salary is $18 million.
43:03
His cap hit is $43 .3 million. Now, here's the
43:07
thing with Kyle Murray. There have been questions
43:09
about his commitment to the game and his preparation
43:12
to the game. So would you be willing to take
43:14
on someone like a Kyle Murray? Personally, I
43:17
wouldn't, and here's why. For starters, in the
43:20
AFC North, you need a bigger body quarterback.
43:23
You can't just get a... a 5 '2 or a 5 '11 type
43:28
of quarterback. You need somebody that's at least
43:30
6 '3 or more because they need to be able to
43:34
sit in the pocket when the pocket is collapsing
43:37
and make that last minute throw. Now I understand
43:41
you probably don't want to go after a quarterback
43:43
like Ben because Ben is one of one, but you want
43:47
to get a bigger body quarterback because they're
43:49
able to last a little bit longer than to go after
43:52
these smaller quarterbacks. It shows. Tua and
43:56
Kyler Murray are smaller quarterbacks and they
43:58
get hurt more compared to a Justin Herbert and
44:01
Josh Allen. I'm just being honest here, folks.
44:05
We have to have these honest conversations about
44:08
the Steelers right now. Because at this point,
44:11
if you're Cam Hayward, if you're TJ Watt, what
44:16
is the selling point that the Steelers can give
44:18
you that's going to keep you committed to playing
44:21
for the Steelers? By the time they have a legitimate
44:24
chance to go after a quarterback, you may either
44:26
pass your prime or close to being past your prime.
44:30
Because for all intents and purposes, the 27
44:33
class looks very promising. You're going to have
44:36
Ryan Williams, Jeremiah Smith, and all of those
44:39
quarterbacks. But the question is, how can you
44:44
convince your defensive players to buy into this?
44:48
Now with Daniel Jones, I just put him up here
44:50
just to have a conversation. Do I think the Steelers
44:53
will be able to get him? Probably no. I would
44:56
not be surprised if the Colts and Daniel Jones
44:59
are possibly talking about an extension right
45:02
now. But if they don't come to an extension,
45:06
his market value right now is four years, 183
45:10
.6 million, which is 45 .9 million a year. Now
45:14
hear me out. Daniel Jones was doing his thing
45:17
against y 'all. So the question is, would you
45:20
be willing to get someone like a Daniel Jones?
45:23
I'm just saying. Now, granted, you can credit
45:25
Daniel Jones' success to having Jonathan Taylor
45:28
and a really good offensive line and weapons
45:30
around him. But would you be willing to take
45:34
that risk? Baker Mayfield, let's be honest here.
45:38
I don't think that's going to happen either.
45:40
I think the Buccaneers are going to keep him
45:42
for the rest of his career. Kirk Cousins at this
45:44
point, I don't necessarily see him as an upgrade.
45:48
I don't even really see him as somebody that
45:51
is pulled over for the 27 class. Anytime that
45:54
the Falcons put Kirk Cousins in, he doesn't look
45:57
promising at all. And Brock Purdy, this is probably
46:01
the most controversial one. Hear me out, right?
46:03
If you're the 49ers, would you be willing to
46:07
move off of Brock Purdy? if it means that it
46:10
keeps your chances of possibly being competitive
46:12
and going to the Super Bowl. Because granted,
46:16
the 49ers gave Brock Purdy a big contract. And
46:19
if I'm being honest here, Matt Jones has been
46:22
playing well. And he's been doing this without
46:25
a Brandon Iyuk. And I think with Matt Jones,
46:28
you would be able to get him cheaper than keeping
46:31
Brock Purdy. And Brock Purdy has been getting
46:34
injured a lot within the last two or three years.
46:37
And mind you, he hasn't even really tapped into
46:40
his contract yet. His base salary this year is
46:42
only $1 .1 million. His cap hit is $9 .1 million
46:46
with a dead cap hit of $100 million. 26. His
46:50
base salary is $8 .2 million. Cap hit $24 .7
46:53
million. Dead cap $90 .9 million. 27. $11 .3
46:57
million in base salary with a cap hit of $30
47:00
.8 million and a dead cap of $66 .1 million.
47:04
28. $34 .1 million in base salary with a cap
47:08
hit of $57 .6 million with a dead cap of $38
47:11
.6 million. $29. His base salary is $49 million
47:16
with a cap hit of $72 .5 million and a dead cap
47:19
of $23 .1 million. $20 .30. $49 million with
47:24
a cap hit of $64 .5 million and a dead cap of
47:28
$7 .5 million. So technically speaking, his contract
47:31
is backloaded to the max. So I think if you're
47:36
the Steelers, you may want to go after someone
47:39
like a Brock Purdy. I'm just saying. I understand
47:42
it's a little bit controversial. I understand
47:44
people may not like it. But I think if you're
47:46
the 49ers, if you make this move, you can create
47:50
more cap space while at the same time bringing
47:54
in more talent so that you can at least try to
47:56
go on at least one more run. Because I think
47:59
their window is just about closed. But I think
48:03
they can squeeze out one more crazy run. But
48:06
the only way that you can do it is if you move
48:09
off of Brock Purdy. Now let's talk about the
48:12
Eagles, okay? But before we do that, we got to
48:14
pay some bills. Pardon the interruption, but
48:16
this is your GM, your bad bro, Domus, here to
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back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks.
50:01
Let's talk about the Eagles, all right? So Jalen
50:03
Hurts, 26 attempts for 15 completions, 183 passing
50:07
yards, one touchdown, seven yards per attempt,
50:09
and a 57 .7 completion percentage. Saquon Barkley,
50:12
22 attempts for 60 rushing yards, 2 .7 rushing
50:15
yards per carry, and one rush of 10 -plus yards
50:18
more. Devontae Smith, 7 targets for 4 receptions,
50:21
69 receiving yards, 1 touchdown, 17 .3 receiving
50:25
yards per reception. Jordan Love, 36 attempts
50:28
for 20 completions, 176 passing yards, 4 .9 yards
50:33
per attempt, and a 55 .6 completion percentage.
50:36
Josh Jacobs, 21 attempts for 74 rushing yards,
50:39
3 .5 rushing yards per carry, 1 touchdown, and
50:43
2 rushes of 10 plus yards or more. Christian
50:45
Watson. Four targets for two receptions, 45 receiving
50:49
yards, and 22 .5 receiving yards per reception.
50:52
So here's a few junkie nuggets. Jordan Love was
50:54
pressured on 17 of 42 dropbacks at 40 .5%, the
50:58
second highest pressure rate he's faced this
51:00
season. When pressured, Jordan Love completed
51:03
three of 12 pass attempts for 21 yards and sacked
51:06
three times as well as fumbled. On 36 pass rushes,
51:11
Jalen Phillips generated seven pressures, 19
51:14
.4%, which is the most pressure in a game that
51:17
he's made since week 18 of the 2022 season. This
51:22
by far has to be one of the sloppiest games for
51:25
the Packers offense. I understand that you guys
51:29
made the move for Micah Parsons, but right now
51:32
you guys are not living up to the expectations
51:34
that everyone had set for you. And mind you,
51:37
I wouldn't be talking about the Packers if they
51:40
didn't trade for Micah Parsons. But because you
51:43
traded for Micah Parsons, you have now opened
51:46
the door to any and all criticism, whether it
51:48
be negatively or positively. The defense is doing
51:52
their job. The offense continues to flop week
51:56
after week after week. When they lost to the
51:59
Browns, 10 -13. When they lost to the Eagles,
52:02
7 -10. The defense is holding these teams to
52:06
less than 20 points. And you mean to tell me
52:09
that the offense can't just come up with a couple
52:12
of plays to put some points on the board just
52:14
so they can win the game. This was a very winnable
52:17
game for the Packers. And the fact that you lost
52:20
the way that you lost is very troublesome. Is
52:24
it Jordan Love? Is it Matt LaFleur? Is it a little
52:27
bit of both? Who is it at this point? Because
52:30
right now, you guys have the golden opportunity
52:34
to make it to the Super Bowl. The league is wide
52:37
open. This is the most wide open that the league
52:40
has been in a long time. The Chiefs are weak.
52:45
The Bills are weak. The Eagles are weak. You
52:49
have an opportunity of a lifetime to make that
52:52
crazy run. But you have to take care of business
52:56
during the regular season. If you're not able
52:58
to do that, then somebody needs to come in and
53:01
handle it. Because right now, it just seems like
53:04
the defense is just being the workhorse for this
53:06
entire team. And it doesn't work like that. You
53:09
have just as much talent on offense as you do
53:11
on defense. Jordan Love, you get paid all this
53:15
big money and you're not showing up in the games
53:17
that you're supposed to win. That's a problem.
53:20
Because there is a good chance that you might
53:22
have to face the Eagles in the NFC Championship.
53:24
And right now, I would venture to say that the
53:27
Eagles are going to win that game. Because they
53:30
did what they needed to do in pivotal moments.
53:33
Whereas the Packers, on the other hand, could
53:36
not respond. That right there is an automatic
53:38
problem. Now, I understand in the NFL, anything
53:42
can happen at any time and whatnot. You lose
53:45
to the Browns, okay, fine, chalk it up, all right?
53:48
You lose to the Panthers, okay, I'm looking at
53:50
you from a side eye. But you lose to the Eagles,
53:54
the Eagles, that's a problem. That is a major
53:58
problem. We continue to see inconsistencies week
54:02
after week with this offense, and it's very troublesome.
54:05
When we look at the wins for the Packers, The
54:08
only one that you can say was a good one was
54:11
the Lions. Outside of that, the Commanders are
54:14
trash. The Bengals are trash. The Cardinals are
54:18
trash. And the Steelers are frauds. Just like
54:21
how this offense is. A bunch of frauds. And I
54:24
understand that they don't have the big name
54:27
of a wide receiver. But you have Josh Jacobs.
54:30
You have Matthew Golden. You have Christian Watson.
54:33
Savion Williams. Romeo Dobbs. I can continue
54:36
to go down the list. And I understand that you
54:39
lost Tucker Craft, but you know what? Everybody
54:42
has at least lost one player for the rest of
54:44
the year. Everybody has hurt at this point. But
54:48
the question is this, what are you going to do
54:51
to get the W? Because right now, all I see on
54:55
this offense is a bunch of frauds, except for
54:57
Josh Jacobs. Outside of him, everybody else in
55:02
my mind is frauds. So whatever you need to do,
55:06
you need to lock the hell in. Because if you
55:10
don't, you are going to miss this window of opportunity.
55:14
And then guess what? Three years down the road,
55:16
everyone's complaining, man, we had a golden
55:18
opportunity. We messed it up for ourselves. Well,
55:21
you guess what? You got to blame that on your
55:23
coach. You got to blame that on your quarterback.
55:26
You got to blame that on your offense. Because
55:28
they had a chance. But you choked it. Now on
55:31
to the Eagles. You got the win, but at what cost?
55:36
Because right now, A .J. Brown has said something
55:39
that I think you can't hate him for it because
55:43
it's the truth. This is what he said, and I quote,
55:46
It's not just solely about my situation. I want
55:49
to win too. I think if we're really focused on
55:52
winning and doing our job, we can't just keep
55:54
slapping a band -aid over the defense doing their
55:56
job and getting us out of trouble. At what point
55:59
are we going to pick up our slack as an offense?
56:01
That's what I'm getting at. It's not about, I
56:04
don't care about winning. All I care about is
56:06
stats. No, it's been week after week. Sometimes
56:09
we're not doing our job on offense. You can't
56:12
keep slapping a bandaid over that and expect
56:14
to win late in the year and think you're going
56:16
to go to that at the end of the year. It's not
56:19
going to fucking happen. End quote. This is what
56:21
he said. It's not what I said. This is what AJ
56:23
Brown said. Okay. Now I did a little bit of digging.
56:26
And when you compare the Eagles offense last
56:28
year to this year, I can see why A .J. Brown
56:31
feels the way that he feels, okay? So this time
56:34
last year, they had the sixth best offense in
56:38
the league, and they had a pass play percentage
56:40
of 42 .9%, and they averaged 26 points per game,
56:44
434 yards per game, 6 .2 yards per play, and
56:49
four offensive touchdowns. They were 19th in
56:52
passing offense, and they averaged 206 passing
56:55
yards per game, 6 .9 passing yards per play.
56:59
Which isn't bad, but at the same time really
57:02
isn't that good either. But they were first in
57:05
rushing offense. And they had a run play percentage
57:08
of 57 .1 % and averaged 228 rushing yards per
57:13
game, 5 .7 rushing yards per play, 3 rushing
57:16
touchdowns, and 4 rushes of 10 plus yards or
57:19
more. Compared to this year, right? They are
57:22
18th in the league with a pass play percentage
57:25
of 43 .3%. 10 points per game, 294 yards per
57:31
game, 4 .9 yards per play, and 1 offensive touchdown.
57:35
Now, they're 16th in passing offense this year,
57:38
and they average 183 passing yards per game,
57:41
7 passing yards per play, and 1 passing touchdown.
57:45
1 passing touchdown. Unacceptable. Now, they're
57:50
19th in rushing offense with a 56 .7 % run play
57:54
percentage. and averaged 3 .3 rushing yards per
57:57
play in two rushes of 10 plus yards or more.
58:01
So he is right. Statistically speaking, this
58:05
offense has actually regressed compared to last
58:08
year. Now, is that because of the offensive coordinator?
58:11
Is that because of Jordan Love? You could probably
58:14
say it's probably a mixture of both, but the
58:17
proof is in the pudding. When you turn on the
58:19
tape and you look at the Eagles, you can see
58:22
that offensively they have regressed significantly.
58:25
And it's not like A .J. Brown is out for the
58:28
year or Devontae Smith is out for the year or
58:31
this person is hurt or that person is hurt. No,
58:34
everybody is fairly healthy. So then what's the
58:38
problem? Do I think it's probably because of
58:40
the offensive coordinator? I would venture to
58:43
say yes. And the reason why I say that is because
58:46
for the past few years, the Eagles offensive
58:49
coordinators have just been a nonstop roller
58:52
coaster. One minute you have a really good offensive
58:55
coordinator, then you have a bad offensive coordinator.
58:57
You have a good offensive coordinator, you have
58:59
a bad offensive coordinator. And right now, Kevin
59:02
Petula is not a good offensive coordinator. I'm
59:05
sorry, you have Saquon Barkley, Devontae Smith,
59:07
and A .J. Brown. You mean to tell me that you
59:09
guys aren't dominating teams left and right?
59:12
And granted, I understand that at this point,
59:14
everybody has enough tape on all of these players
59:17
and they know how to at least slow them down
59:20
a little bit. But this offense has regressed
59:24
tremendously. Now, I'm not calling for anybody
59:26
to get fired, but you may have to make another
59:29
move at offensive coordinator. But this is what
59:32
I said a couple episodes ago. The offensive coordinator
59:36
woes will be the reason why A .J. Brown and Devontae
59:39
Smith will want to leave this team. And I will
59:41
continue to stand on it. And one more thing about
59:44
this game. Can we please start officiating the
59:48
tush push correctly? Because every time they
59:51
show the replay of the Eagles doing the tush
59:53
push, you can clearly see that they have a two
59:56
to three second head start over the defense.
59:59
And they're not getting called for it. Even though
1:00:02
they're the inventors of it. But if this is any
1:00:04
other team, oh, flag, flag, flag, flag, flag,
1:00:08
flag. You get a flag. You get a flag. You get
1:00:11
a flag. You get a flag. No. I don't know what's
1:00:13
going to happen with the Packers facing the Giants
1:00:15
because I'm watching the game right now. But
1:00:18
I hope and pray that the Packers find a way to
1:00:21
win this game. Because if they don't, the noise
1:00:24
is just going to continue to grow. And there's
1:00:26
going to start being people that are going to
1:00:28
call for Matt LaFleur to lose his job. Just saying.
1:00:31
Now on to the final game, all right? The Bills
1:00:34
and the Dolphins. So Josh Allen, 40 attempts
1:00:37
for 28 completions, 306 passing yards, two touchdowns,
1:00:41
one pick, 7 .7 yards per attempt, and a 70 %
1:00:44
completion percentage. James Cook. 13 attempts
1:00:47
for 53 rushing yards, 4 .1 rushing yards per
1:00:49
carry, and 1 rush of 10 plus yards or more. Khalir
1:00:52
Shakir, 9 targets for 7 receptions, 58 receiving
1:00:55
yards, and 8 .3 receiving yards per reception.
1:00:58
Tua, 21 attempts for 15 completions, 173 passing
1:01:03
yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 picks, 8 .2 yards per
1:01:06
attempt, and a 71 .4 completion percentage. Devon
1:01:09
Achain. 22 attempts for 174 rushing yards, 7
1:01:13
.9 rushing yards per carry, and 5 rushes of 10
1:01:16
plus yards or more. Jalen Waddell, 7 targets
1:01:19
for 5 receptions, 84 receiving yards, 1 touchdown,
1:01:23
and 16 .8 receiving yards per reception. So here's
1:01:26
a few junkie nuggets. The Dolphins have used
1:01:29
21 personnel on 41 .5 % on design runs this season,
1:01:33
the highest rate in the NFL. When running 21
1:01:37
personnel, Devon A. Chan leads the league with
1:01:41
250 rushing yards and seven explosive runs. Josh
1:01:45
Allen averaged a time to throw of 3 .5 seconds,
1:01:49
the longest time to throw in the game since week
1:01:52
15 of the 2018 season. I'll be honest with you.
1:01:57
Dolphins, I was unfamiliar with your game. Mike
1:02:00
McDaniel, I was unfamiliar with your game. Because
1:02:03
man, oh man, did you guys fight during this entire
1:02:06
game. And you literally saw the energy being
1:02:10
sapped from the Bills. Remember this, my fellow
1:02:13
junkies. The team that doesn't have anything
1:02:16
to lose will fight the hardest. And that's exactly
1:02:21
what happened with the Dolphins. They have nothing
1:02:24
to lose. They know that their season is over.
1:02:26
They know that most likely a lot of the people
1:02:29
that are on this team right now will not be on
1:02:31
this team next year. And you know what? Kudos
1:02:34
to Mike McDaniel. Because in the face of adversity,
1:02:37
he has not given up once. And it looks like to
1:02:40
me that this team hasn't given up on Mike McDaniel.
1:02:43
And I think that's promising if you're ownership.
1:02:46
Now am I saying that he's due for another extension?
1:02:49
No. But I will say this. I think you have to
1:02:53
keep him. And I think you have to keep Tua. There's
1:02:56
something there. But you just can't give up on
1:02:59
Mike McDaniel. Because the players haven't done
1:03:01
so. And that defense? A defense that doesn't
1:03:06
have a lot of talent, you would have thought
1:03:08
they had all the talent in the world. They were
1:03:10
fighting that hard. The energy, the support,
1:03:14
it was just oozing everywhere on the field. It
1:03:18
was oozing on the sideline. You could feel the
1:03:21
energy in the stadium. They were ready to win
1:03:25
that game. Now, if you're the Bills, you have
1:03:28
to be concerned because this was a very winnable
1:03:31
game that, quite frankly, you should have won.
1:03:35
Because right now you need to scratch and claw
1:03:38
with the Patriots, even though if we're being
1:03:41
real here, the Patriots most likely are going
1:03:43
to win this division, which even then that's
1:03:45
going to open up to another conversation, which
1:03:46
I think we'll talk about that probably now. It's
1:03:50
crazy to me how the Patriots can go through their
1:03:54
rebuild. They can go through their woes of, you
1:03:57
know, Bill Belichick moving on and Gerard Mayo
1:04:00
being in and then they move on from him and then,
1:04:03
you know, they're bringing in new coordinators
1:04:05
and whatnot. Now they're back to being what they
1:04:07
used to be. Meanwhile, the Bills have regressed
1:04:12
every single year. I will continue to say this
1:04:16
until I can never say it again. The Bills' last
1:04:20
true opportunity to make it to the Super Bowl
1:04:23
was when they lost to the Chiefs in overtime.
1:04:26
I truly believe that was the best team that they
1:04:29
had. You had Emmanuel Sanders, Stephon Diggs,
1:04:32
Gabe Davis on the offense. Trey White was still
1:04:35
Trey White. And the defense was crazy. Outside
1:04:39
of that year, they have never been the same.
1:04:42
But back to the game, all right? The Bills' defense
1:04:45
didn't have an answer to the Dolphins' run game.
1:04:49
Devon Achan ran wherever he wanted to. If he
1:04:52
wanted to run up the middle, he could do it.
1:04:54
If he wanted to run outside to the left, he could
1:04:56
do it. If he wanted to do a halfback toss, if
1:04:59
he wanted to do a jet sweep, if he wanted to
1:05:01
do a wildcat, he could do whatever he want because
1:05:03
why? The Bills defense didn't have an answer
1:05:06
for it. And a lot of the mistakes that the Bills
1:05:09
made were self -inflicted wounds. So at some
1:05:12
point, we're going to have to ask the question,
1:05:14
is Sean McDermott the guy for the job? Because
1:05:18
year after year after year, he continues to flop.
1:05:23
So at some point, you can't just blame a player.
1:05:25
You can't blame a coordinator. You can't blame
1:05:27
a coach. At some point, you got to take that
1:05:29
blame on the chin and just say, you know what?
1:05:31
It's me. I got to fix me. Because at this point,
1:05:36
your opportunity, as I've said before in previous
1:05:39
episodes, has officially closed. You haven't
1:05:43
been hitting on your draft picks. You're benching
1:05:46
Keon Coleman for whatever reason. I don't know
1:05:49
why. He's inactive today, even though you probably
1:05:53
need him today. And right now, you're going to
1:05:56
have to accept the fact that most likely, you're
1:05:59
going to be on the road for the playoffs. I don't
1:06:03
think you want that. But... We're going to have
1:06:06
to talk about that when we get there, all right?
1:06:07
But I'm going to end this episode here. If you
1:06:08
guys like what you are listening, please, please,
1:06:10
please, please, please make sure you guys download
1:06:12
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Now, if you want to go to those other places...
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Go on Google, type in rss .com football junkies
1:06:30
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1:06:32
and it'll take you to our online page where you
1:06:34
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1:06:37
right? And you click on listen to and it'll have
1:06:39
a plethora of different places that you can listen
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to the football junkies podcast, right? Now for
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my YouTube people, like, share, subscribe, turn
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the notification bell on, leave a comment down
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below. Let me know your thoughts if I'm right
1:06:50
or wrong about the Bills, right? Let me know
1:06:53
if I'm right or wrong about the Giants. Now,
1:06:56
when you go on our YouTube, there is a link tree
1:06:58
in the bio. When you click on that link tree,
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it'll take you to anywhere and everywhere that
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we have football junkies content, all right?
1:07:04
Now, for my TikTok people, football junkies pod,
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all right? Football junkies pod clips. I know,
1:07:10
working on them. Just give me some time, all
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right? Now, for my Instagram people, football
1:07:14
underscore junkies pod, all right? Football underscore
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junkies pod. Junkies pod is now what? It is together,
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not spaced, okay? It is together. not space,
1:07:25
football underscore junkies pod, all right? For
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my Twitter slash X slash blue sky people, G -M
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-K -L, all right? G -M -K -L, G -M -K -A -I -L
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-E, all right? Now, if you're a podcaster that's
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looking for a hosting site, sign up for rss .com
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using my affiliate link, all right? That affiliate
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link is in the description, all right? So as
1:07:46
always, I hope I gave you guys the fix that you
1:07:48
guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate you
1:07:51
guys so much. Thank you guys so much for listening
1:07:53
to another episode of the best football podcast
1:07:56
that you can listen to on a week to week, day
1:07:58
to day basis. All right. I love you guys. We're
1:08:01
almost at 100 episodes, guys. And I have to thank
1:08:05
you for it. So as always, peace and love. Later,
1:08:08
guys. And watch some football. Watch some football,
1:08:11
too. Oh, I forgot one more thing. I forgot to
1:08:14
mention this in the in the earlier part of the
1:08:17
episode. The Commanders were one game short of
1:08:21
setting the all -time record for consecutive
1:08:23
losses by 20 or more points. The 86 Buccaneers
1:08:27
lost five straight games by 20 or more points,
1:08:30
according to Mike Florio via Pro Football Talk.
1:08:35
Keep that in mind. We may talk about it in future
1:08:37
episodes. So later, guys. I'm going to watch
1:08:40
some football.