Latest / NFL Now / QB Injury Updates, Cowboys/Packers, NFC East matchups, Justin Fields improves, and Stafford Questions

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QB Injury Updates, Cowboys/Packers, NFC East matchups, Justin Fields improves, and Stafford Questions · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
0:08
Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. It's a fresh hour of NFL Now, Mike,
0:19
Speaker 1: I'm with you so much to get to. In fact,
0:21
Speaker 1: we'll recap what happened last night little TNF action, and
0:24
Speaker 1: we'll put Deonta Foreman's night into perspective. But there is
0:28
Speaker 1: some significant injury news that continues to trickle in to
0:31
Speaker 1: the NFL Network newsroom. We will start with Josh Allen
0:35
Speaker 1: watch and yes, everyone has been focusing in on his
0:38
Speaker 1: availability on Sunday. Of course, he got banged up Sunday
0:42
Speaker 1: and that loss to the Jets. Didn't see him at
0:43
Speaker 1: practice Wednesday, didn't see him at practice again on Thursday,
0:46
Speaker 1: and in the open session today he was not out there.
0:49
Speaker 1: If he can't go, case Keenum would get the start.
0:52
Speaker 1: Here's his head coach, Sean McDermott addressing the media. I
0:56
Speaker 1: heard you just say hour by hour here literally with Josh,
1:00
Speaker 1: What if any can you give us detail wise in
1:03
Speaker 1: terms of prog rest you've seen in whatever capacity he's
1:07
Speaker 1: been working this week? Yeah, I mean it's it's tough
1:11
Speaker 1: to do that right now, John, because he hasn't practiced.
1:16
Speaker 1: Um So we are literally in a hour to our
1:21
Speaker 1: situation here just looking at how he's going to progress
1:24
Speaker 1: through the day and as he goes through his different
1:26
Speaker 1: tests medically, um making sure that he's able to check
1:32
Speaker 1: the box the boxes in a progression to where we
1:36
Speaker 1: can see if we can proceed through the course of
1:39
Speaker 1: the day. Or it sounds like a really tenuous situation.
1:43
Speaker 1: NFL network inside of Ian Rappaport is with us for more.
1:46
Speaker 1: You know, what more can you add to the situation
1:48
Speaker 1: regarding Josh Allen. You know Josh Allen den with that
1:52
Speaker 1: you see l injury, the elbow sprain that is not surgical,
1:56
Speaker 1: something minderstanding. He can manage his way through. Which is
1:59
Speaker 1: why they are being so kind of up in the air,
2:02
Speaker 1: wishy washy whatever, because you don't really know how he's
2:05
Speaker 1: gonna respond. You don't know how he's gonna respond today
2:07
Speaker 1: compared to yesterday and and everything going forward. So there
2:10
Speaker 1: really is a lot to evaluate for the Buffalo Bills.
2:13
Speaker 1: But he was not spotted at practice fire reporters at
2:15
Speaker 1: the beginning of practice. So though there are some local
2:18
Speaker 1: reporters who mentioned that they saw him in a jersey
2:20
Speaker 1: walking out to practice. We'll see v ns are being
2:22
Speaker 1: listed as limited or d n p uh. And the
2:26
Speaker 1: reality is the Buffalo Bills have plenty of time, right
2:28
Speaker 1: they don't need to declare a starter right now. If
2:30
Speaker 1: they're really, if he really truly is questionable, they could
2:34
Speaker 1: simply label him as that and figure it out tomorrow
2:36
Speaker 1: or on Sunday morning. Seems to me, just reading the
2:39
Speaker 1: tea leaves that it's unlikely he plays. But you know,
2:42
Speaker 1: it's an elbow, it's a nerve, and things can always
2:45
Speaker 1: change quickly. So we'll see what the final injury report
2:48
Speaker 1: says before making any determination. And you know, in the
2:50
Speaker 1: last time we were talking about quarterbacks and some health issues,
2:53
Speaker 1: you give us an update on Kyler Murray. But there's
2:56
Speaker 1: actually more to add now. Cliff Kingsbury talking about his
2:59
Speaker 1: quarterback status. What is it? Cliff Kingsbury, the Arizona Cardinals
3:02
Speaker 1: head coach, saying that his quarterback is going to be
3:05
Speaker 1: game time decision. He was it practice today. That is
3:07
Speaker 1: a very good sign for his availability. Also a practice yesterday,
3:11
Speaker 1: So two good practices in a row. We'll see if
3:13
Speaker 1: he was limited today or full. But two practices in
3:15
Speaker 1: a row and no setbacks usually points a player to
3:18
Speaker 1: being on the field, and Kingsbury said officially he is
3:21
Speaker 1: a game time decision. Still waiting word on what is
3:24
Speaker 1: going to happen at RAMS practice. Does Matthew Stafford practice?
3:28
Speaker 1: Is he able to dis he progress through the protocol
3:30
Speaker 1: enough to where they say at least has a chance
3:31
Speaker 1: to play. If not, and it seems like it's leaning
3:34
Speaker 1: closer to the if not category. If not, then you're
3:37
Speaker 1: likely to get John Walford in as the starting quarterback
3:40
Speaker 1: his RAMS backup. He's not very well known, very respected
3:44
Speaker 1: in the building, and someone I know they think highly of,
3:46
Speaker 1: So certainly there is a chance we see him in
3:48
Speaker 1: some encouraging news from a Pittsburgh perspective. And I haven't
3:51
Speaker 1: been able to say that a lot this season. No,
3:54
Speaker 1: you have not, And yes, there has been some very
3:56
Speaker 1: good news for the Pittsburgh Steelers. T J. Watt is
3:59
Speaker 1: back a lot, of course to tours pectoral muscle not tending,
4:02
Speaker 1: but muscle about seven weeks ago. Has not played since,
4:06
Speaker 1: has been rehabbing. Told reporters in the locker room today
4:09
Speaker 1: that he's good to go. He's got no snap count,
4:11
Speaker 1: he is resuming his starting spot. Everything is basically like
4:15
Speaker 1: it was, and for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have relied
4:18
Speaker 1: on his presence on the edge so so so much
4:21
Speaker 1: over the course of the last several years, and obviously
4:24
Speaker 1: when he's not been in there, the drop off has
4:26
Speaker 1: been dramatic. They get one of the best defensive players
4:29
Speaker 1: in football back this Sunday. Looking forward to seeing him
4:33
Speaker 1: back on the football field, just wreaking havoc. You know,
4:36
Speaker 1: is appreciate the insight in the details, and I know
4:38
Speaker 1: if there's anything else that trickles in before we finished up,
4:41
Speaker 1: you got discovered. All right, We'll check in on T
4:44
Speaker 1: and F from last night beyond the last hour here
4:47
Speaker 1: on NFL. Now, Mark Ross is telling us about this
4:50
Speaker 1: culture reset and guys wanting to play for each other.
4:53
Speaker 1: You cover the Carolina perspective, So I'll ask you about
4:55
Speaker 1: Atlanta now some throws that I'm sure Marcus Mariota would
4:59
Speaker 1: love to have back. Should we be thinking about a
5:01
Speaker 1: quarterback change in the A T L Yeah, without a doubt.
5:04
Speaker 1: The You know, when they drafted Desmond Ridder the rookie
5:07
Speaker 1: this year, you always thought it was, at what point
5:10
Speaker 1: are they going to get Desmond Ridder? Because I didn't
5:12
Speaker 1: have a whole lot of faith that Marcus Mariota would
5:15
Speaker 1: be able to keep the job throughout the season and
5:17
Speaker 1: perform at a high level. And look, they've done a
5:19
Speaker 1: wonderful job this year so far Atlanta and being in
5:22
Speaker 1: the mix of that poor NFC South, if they won
5:24
Speaker 1: the game last night, would have still been in the
5:26
Speaker 1: lead of the division. But Marcus Mariota, you saw all
5:30
Speaker 1: his flaws last night, and namely the accuracy. You know,
5:34
Speaker 1: only six act completion percentage throughout the season, had that
5:39
Speaker 1: terrible interception last night laying on the ground, and I
5:42
Speaker 1: think the biggest indictment of his accuracies at Kyle Pitts
5:45
Speaker 1: has just been a non factor. And when you've got
5:47
Speaker 1: who I thought was the most gifted tight end that
5:50
Speaker 1: that I've ever scouted, and he's just you don't even
5:52
Speaker 1: know he's on the field unless Mariotta sailing balls over
5:55
Speaker 1: his head. You know, that's the biggest problem now. I
5:58
Speaker 1: think with Arthur Smith, uh and Mariota's provided key plays
6:02
Speaker 1: there here and there, but just not the consistency and
6:04
Speaker 1: Arthur's myth. I think we'll not take him out just
6:06
Speaker 1: because they are still in the mix and not put
6:09
Speaker 1: it with the rookie. But if Mariota keeps stringing together
6:12
Speaker 1: these games and Atlanta is out of it. Mike, you
6:16
Speaker 1: have to go with the rookie to see what you
6:17
Speaker 1: had there for the for the seat for this season,
6:19
Speaker 1: but also for the future. It was while you know, Mark,
6:22
Speaker 1: I was sitting next to you on Draft night, we
6:23
Speaker 1: were doing our coverage on NFL dot Com, and Uh,
6:26
Speaker 1: if memory serves me correct, you actually thought this was
6:28
Speaker 1: a good fit for Desmond Ritter in Atlanta. So sooner
6:32
Speaker 1: rather than later, I mean, we might actually see this
6:34
Speaker 1: change actually go down. Mark, always appreciate the insight, man,
6:37
Speaker 1: and I know you're gonna be joining us in just
6:39
Speaker 1: a couple of minutes for a little bit more. Uh,
6:42
Speaker 1: let's focus in though, on a matchup that's not being
6:45
Speaker 1: played in the States. Facts we're going to Munich here.
6:49
Speaker 1: How about it's the Seahawks and the Bucks. An opportunity
6:51
Speaker 1: to see them for the first time on German soil practicing.
6:56
Speaker 1: There's the goat, an opportunity to get another international win. Effect.
6:59
Speaker 1: He has undefeated those situations. He's got a pretty good
7:02
Speaker 1: target in Mike Evans. Sarah Walsh found him Mike fresh
7:06
Speaker 1: off the field here at the FC Byron's place. What
7:09
Speaker 1: has it been like so far in your short time
7:12
Speaker 1: in Germany? We had a lot of travel. Guys are
7:14
Speaker 1: a little sleepy, but this is an awesome moment for us.
7:18
Speaker 1: A lot of guys first time out of the country,
7:19
Speaker 1: so this is a pretty cool moment. We're taking advantage
7:21
Speaker 1: of it. We know that we've heard Byron say each
7:24
Speaker 1: and every week that this offense is close. What gives
7:27
Speaker 1: you the confidence that this could be the week we
7:29
Speaker 1: see this offense turn a corner. We watched the film
7:32
Speaker 1: and we're right there. We're just making a little mental
7:35
Speaker 1: errors here and there that we have to clean up,
7:37
Speaker 1: and we feel like it's the time to do that.
7:38
Speaker 1: So hopefully it comes Sunday we can put it all together.
7:40
Speaker 1: What do you expect out of this atmosphere on Sunday?
7:43
Speaker 1: What have you been told already? Know, it's been crazy
7:45
Speaker 1: so far, so I can only imagine what it's gonna
7:47
Speaker 1: be like at the stadium. We just hope we put
7:49
Speaker 1: on a great show for the fans. It still feels
7:53
Speaker 1: like no one necessarily wants that division at the point's
7:55
Speaker 1: been made here on NFL. Now, at least the Bucks
7:57
Speaker 1: have the talent. We will see that on display Sunday morning,
8:01
Speaker 1: nine thirty am Eastern time, right here on NFL Network
8:05
Speaker 1: an NFL Plus. There's another game that's got our attention.
8:09
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy, who spent thirteen seasons as the Packers head coach.
8:12
Speaker 1: What a super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers making his return
8:16
Speaker 1: to Lambeo is former quarterback Rogers talking about that moment
8:21
Speaker 1: on the field. I think as time goes by, the
8:24
Speaker 1: gratitude for that time, as you look back on the
8:27
Speaker 1: journey of your career is uh, you know, goes up
8:30
Speaker 1: a little bit and you appreciate the little things a
8:32
Speaker 1: little bit more, because really, this game in life is
8:35
Speaker 1: about the journey. And I'll always be be tied with
8:39
Speaker 1: him because of the connection that we had in the
8:42
Speaker 1: years we spent together. Obviously my longest tenured coach, longest
8:46
Speaker 1: tenured play caller. UM thankful for those years and thankful
8:51
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit more as the years go by.
8:56
Speaker 1: All Right, a lot of emotions around this game. Jane
8:58
Speaker 1: Slater is with us right now. Jenny get an opportunity
9:01
Speaker 1: to talk to a lot of these players inside that
9:03
Speaker 1: Cowboys locker room. What are they saying about their head
9:05
Speaker 1: coach in this return to Lambeau. You know, it's interesting.
9:08
Speaker 1: In the three years that Mike McCarthy has been here,
9:11
Speaker 1: it was sort of hard to get a feel for
9:13
Speaker 1: what he's brought to the locker room. Obviously, the first
9:16
Speaker 1: year was a little tricky with the technology and the
9:17
Speaker 1: COVID rules, But I've slowly start to see this relationship
9:21
Speaker 1: between the players and Mike develop And you know, I
9:24
Speaker 1: did specifically ask Ezekie Elliott about this on Wednesday, and
9:27
Speaker 1: he said he loved the fact. I thought this was
9:29
Speaker 1: interesting because there's been such a narrative Mike McCarthy not
9:33
Speaker 1: being opened to constructive criticism from his players, which was
9:36
Speaker 1: kind of an interesting one. It was Zeke who offered
9:39
Speaker 1: that up. He said, they have a leadership counsel, and
9:41
Speaker 1: they love the fact that they can go to Mike
9:43
Speaker 1: McCarthy give him some feedback and he's typically pretty receptive
9:46
Speaker 1: to it. He's also really good at making sure they
9:49
Speaker 1: preserved their bodies the veteran rest days and listening to
9:51
Speaker 1: guys like Michael Gallup and Dalton Schultz when they played
9:53
Speaker 1: the Giants saying they weren't quite ready to play. So
9:56
Speaker 1: some interesting feedback there, but also as much as we
9:59
Speaker 1: talked about, this is a return game for Mike McCarthy.
10:01
Speaker 1: Keep in mind that twenty seen game where Dak Prescott
10:04
Speaker 1: was a key. Him and Ezekiel Elliott went up there.
10:07
Speaker 1: They got a monster road win. Remember it was thirty sixteen.
10:10
Speaker 1: He had three touchdowns over two d fifty yards and
10:13
Speaker 1: it really solidified him becoming the franchise guy when Tony
10:17
Speaker 1: Romo was healthy and getting ready to come back. So
10:19
Speaker 1: that was an interesting one to watch. Here's another storyline
10:21
Speaker 1: I'm watching in Dallas. We talked about this earlier this week.
10:24
Speaker 1: Mike m oh b J. I've talked to a number
10:27
Speaker 1: of reporters this market. I've covered the Cowboys for ten years,
10:30
Speaker 1: and I can tell you I've never seen them openly
10:32
Speaker 1: petition for a free agent the way that they have
10:34
Speaker 1: for O. B J. Had caught up with Jerry Jones
10:36
Speaker 1: a few weeks ago on the sidelines I had a
10:38
Speaker 1: free agency and said, you know, are you guys gonna
10:40
Speaker 1: be active? And he said it would take a Don
10:42
Speaker 1: Sanders type player. He goes on the fan and says
10:45
Speaker 1: he loves the fact that his players are talking about
10:47
Speaker 1: oh b J. Because it was reminiscent of how they
10:50
Speaker 1: felt about Dion Sanders when he brought him in, So
10:53
Speaker 1: what's the hold up. There's been a lot of talk,
10:55
Speaker 1: no action in Dallas. I talked to a couple of
10:57
Speaker 1: sources on this. A source with knowledge of the situation
11:00
Speaker 1: tells me that O. B. J absolutely considers the Dallas
11:03
Speaker 1: Cowboys of possibility, but he is waiting to see what
11:05
Speaker 1: the playoff picture looks like before he makes a decision.
11:08
Speaker 1: You know, he's thirty years old, he's got these two
11:11
Speaker 1: A C. L injuries on the left knee. The Cowboys,
11:13
Speaker 1: for their part, want to make sure that they can
11:14
Speaker 1: get him in the building, work him out, and get
11:16
Speaker 1: their medical staff to get a hand on that knee,
11:18
Speaker 1: make sure that everything is copasetic. But again, there's a
11:22
Speaker 1: lot of smoke here, and there's been a lot of smoke.
11:24
Speaker 1: I always joked during free agency time, it's attached your
11:27
Speaker 1: name to the Cowboys season because it helps run up
11:29
Speaker 1: the numbers. This feels like it could absolutely be a
11:32
Speaker 1: fit and one that a lot of us that are
11:33
Speaker 1: covering the team are certainly keeping an eye on. But
11:36
Speaker 1: I don't think it's any coincidence that we're hearing guys
11:38
Speaker 1: like Dac and by the way the wide receiver's room.
11:41
Speaker 1: Ceedie Lamb, who's supposed to be the number one guy
11:42
Speaker 1: this year, sort of struggle with that. You think he
11:45
Speaker 1: might be a little salty about it. These guys are
11:46
Speaker 1: all in likning it to bringing in a guy like
11:48
Speaker 1: a Marii Cooper who allowed them all to have those
11:51
Speaker 1: gaudy numbers when he was here. Jane, you want to
11:53
Speaker 1: stay busy, don't You would be kind of cool if
11:55
Speaker 1: he ends up in a Dallas uniform. Never a dull
11:58
Speaker 1: day here, No, not at all. You'll be on NFL now,
12:00
Speaker 1: you beyond total access. We'll we'll run the gamut, and
12:02
Speaker 1: you know we're gonna be focusing in on that story
12:05
Speaker 1: as it continues to unfold. There's smoke, there's fire. That's
12:07
Speaker 1: usually what we say, Jane. Always great stuff, Mike, I'm
12:13
Speaker 1: with you back here on NFL. Now, it's a week
12:16
Speaker 1: tend matchup the Giants getting a host the Texans for
12:19
Speaker 1: a little bit more judicatistas with us. All right, Judy,
12:22
Speaker 1: from look, I'm a Giants fan. I'm not gonna lie
12:24
Speaker 1: so from a Giant's perspective, I'm smiling ear to ear.
12:26
Speaker 1: But how do you think this team handles some of
12:28
Speaker 1: the prosperity that they've had. Well, that's a big question.
12:31
Speaker 1: And Colby Frank I never thought we would be having
12:33
Speaker 1: this conversation this season how to handle prosperity, But here
12:36
Speaker 1: we are with the six and to start, they've shown
12:39
Speaker 1: a lot of metal, for instance in coming from behind.
12:42
Speaker 1: I actually think that's something they'd like to improve on.
12:44
Speaker 1: They'd like to get out to faster starts in the
12:47
Speaker 1: second half of the season. But this week Brian dave All,
12:50
Speaker 1: the head coach, was actually asked, have you sort of
12:53
Speaker 1: addressed with the team the playoff possibilities that you find
12:56
Speaker 1: yourself in now and he no, this is the quote
13:00
Speaker 1: he said, we just live in the moment. If you
13:02
Speaker 1: get too far ahead of yourself again, if us you
13:05
Speaker 1: back to reality real quick. Okay, well I'll do it
13:08
Speaker 1: for them. Teams that start seven and two on the
13:11
Speaker 1: season make the playoffs one nine percent of the time,
13:16
Speaker 1: so this is a huge game. They have an opportunity here.
13:19
Speaker 1: They have two straight home games against the Texans and
13:21
Speaker 1: against the Lions, teams that have been struggling. They have
13:24
Speaker 1: a real opportunity to get to eight into and then
13:27
Speaker 1: go into Dallas on Thanksgiving. That would be a huge
13:31
Speaker 1: showdown game to get to that point. What do they
13:33
Speaker 1: have to do? Well? You mentioned Seattle actually did a
13:36
Speaker 1: really good job bottling up the run. They took away.
13:38
Speaker 1: Daniel Jones is rushing games, they rushing lanes. They bottled
13:42
Speaker 1: up Sa Kwan Barkley really well. But the Texans have
13:45
Speaker 1: the worst rush defense in the entire league. So the
13:48
Speaker 1: Giants need to get back to running the ball with
13:50
Speaker 1: both Say Kwan and Daniel Jones. That has been their
13:53
Speaker 1: formula in the first half of the season, and it's
13:55
Speaker 1: fairly clear that is going to be the formula that
13:58
Speaker 1: if they are going to get to the playoffs, that's
14:00
Speaker 1: the formula that will get them there. You know, will
14:02
Speaker 1: be kind of cool to you, Judy, like not trailing
14:04
Speaker 1: in a game, just sort of see what happens. They've
14:06
Speaker 1: trailed in every game so far this season. They kept
14:08
Speaker 1: it close, they've executed down the stretch, but playing with
14:11
Speaker 1: fire every week. I think Gab would like that too. Yeah, yeah, Like,
14:15
Speaker 1: I mean, it's kind of cool. But let's let's just
14:17
Speaker 1: roll with it and see if this offense can get
14:19
Speaker 1: going out of the gates. Judy always appreciate the context
14:21
Speaker 1: we'll hear from you in just a little bit. All right,
14:24
Speaker 1: Let's keep it in the division jail and Hurts. He's
14:26
Speaker 1: won each of his last eleven regular season starts. It's
14:29
Speaker 1: the longest streak by an Eagles quarterback since they've been
14:32
Speaker 1: tracking this thing since nineteen fifty. Only other quarterback with
14:35
Speaker 1: a longer regular season winning streak in the last five seasons.
14:39
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson wanted eleven starts of his nineteen Yes m
14:43
Speaker 1: VP campaign. For those who do remember that very well,
14:46
Speaker 1: it wasn't all that long ago. Still is waiting to
14:49
Speaker 1: get paid, just throwing that out there. Mark Ross with
14:51
Speaker 1: us for right now. Alright, Mark, from an Eagles perspective,
14:54
Speaker 1: how do we keep this thing going? Because I hate
14:56
Speaker 1: using the term track game, but it's a divisional matchup.
14:59
Speaker 1: I don't know, commanders to me got a little swag going.
15:01
Speaker 1: So how do how do we keep the good times
15:02
Speaker 1: rolling in Philly? Well, you know you're a Giant fans,
15:05
Speaker 1: so you won't like what I'm gonna say right here. Yeah,
15:07
Speaker 1: and I've worked for both teams from Philly, But you know,
15:10
Speaker 1: let's start. Let's forget this Washington game. Let's talk about
15:13
Speaker 1: Kevin's Eagles team go undefeated the rest of the season,
15:17
Speaker 1: these last nine games, and when you look at their schedule,
15:20
Speaker 1: they'll probably be favored in all the games the rest
15:24
Speaker 1: of the way. The tough stretch is in December where
15:27
Speaker 1: they have to go at the Giants at Chicago and
15:30
Speaker 1: then at Dallas on Christmas Eve. That's the tough stretch there.
15:34
Speaker 1: I think they'll be favored in two of those games,
15:36
Speaker 1: the New York and Chicago game. We'll see how Dallas
15:39
Speaker 1: it goes from here until that game. They may be favored,
15:43
Speaker 1: Dallas may be favored in that game. But of course
15:45
Speaker 1: there's always those slip ups. But when I look at
15:47
Speaker 1: this Eagles team, they're so well coached. Nick Sirianni has
15:50
Speaker 1: done an outstanding job. Coach of the Year candidate. But
15:53
Speaker 1: they have so much talent and they're so well balanced
15:56
Speaker 1: where every aspect of their team. Jalen Hurts is playing
15:59
Speaker 1: at the MVP level. They can run the ball with
16:01
Speaker 1: Miles Sanders, playmakers with A. J. Brown and DeVante Smith,
16:04
Speaker 1: the offensive line one of the best in the league,
16:07
Speaker 1: and then on the defensive side of the ball at
16:08
Speaker 1: every level, they can rush the passer. Now they got
16:11
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn in there to add to that, they can
16:13
Speaker 1: stop the run playmakers in this second day with big
16:16
Speaker 1: Place Sleigh at James Bradberry. So there really is no
16:19
Speaker 1: area where you look at the Eagles team and say, Okay,
16:22
Speaker 1: this is a week that's there. It's all strengths at
16:24
Speaker 1: each level of this team. And I think they'll be
16:26
Speaker 1: focused and I don't. I think they'll avoid a trap game.
16:29
Speaker 1: If the team beats them, they're going to have to
16:31
Speaker 1: earn a victory against Philly, possibly your Giants there in
16:35
Speaker 1: New York. There again, we know how things get crazy.
16:37
Speaker 1: They're in the middle end. They usually do. But you're
16:39
Speaker 1: right about this Philly team, and you can make an
16:40
Speaker 1: argument one of the best teams, if not the best,
16:43
Speaker 1: on both offense and defense. Bill certainly come to mind.
16:46
Speaker 1: Niners if they're healthy, also one of those teams. So
16:49
Speaker 1: not a lot of flaws here, um, Mark, despite the
16:51
Speaker 1: fact that you're not picking them against the Giants. Um.
16:53
Speaker 1: We'll have it back a little bit later. All right. Oh,
16:55
Speaker 1: good by the way, Mark, I got a little side
16:57
Speaker 1: hustle for you, just in case you're looking the Super
16:59
Speaker 1: Bowl coming to Phoenix in February three. The Contemporary Service
17:04
Speaker 1: Corporation hosting a Super Bowl fifty seven hiring event taking
17:08
Speaker 1: place in State Farm Stadium Saturday in November twelve from
17:10
Speaker 1: ten am to three pm Pacific Time. Got part time
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Speaker 1: events staff security positions available, so don't miss an opportunity
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Speaker 1: to come to State Farm Stadium and interview on the
17:20
Speaker 1: spot for a position, a once in a lifetime experience.
17:23
Speaker 1: It's Super Bowl fifty seven. To learn more and register
17:26
Speaker 1: for an interview, you can go to C s C
17:30
Speaker 1: Dash USA dot com Slash Phoenix Events. To rock and roll,
17:36
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if you heard, but we got a
17:38
Speaker 1: game in Germany. Let's go Sunday, nine thirty am Eastern Time.
17:43
Speaker 1: It's the Seahawks and the Bucks. We got you know
17:45
Speaker 1: Smith certainly in that conversation for m v P, and
17:49
Speaker 1: it's the goat trying to figure things out. NFL Network,
17:51
Speaker 1: NFL Plus, and of course a little bit more on
17:54
Speaker 1: this matchup coming up later here on NFL. Now, all right,
17:58
Speaker 1: we got some fast facts for you. Speaking of Seattle.
18:02
Speaker 1: You know this dude has been a monster, the rookie
18:04
Speaker 1: running back Kenneth Walker. You scored one or more rushing
18:06
Speaker 1: touchdowns in five straight games. In fact, former running back
18:11
Speaker 1: and one of our good buds. Maurice Jones. Drew holds
18:14
Speaker 1: the rookie record right now for consecutive games with one
18:17
Speaker 1: or more rushing touchdowns in NFL history with eight. He
18:20
Speaker 1: won't say it, but I'm gonna say it, like I
18:22
Speaker 1: don't know if m j d wants that thing going down,
18:24
Speaker 1: that record he likes someone and stuff like that. Eagles
18:26
Speaker 1: twenty nine team in Super Bowl in the Super Bowl
18:28
Speaker 1: era to start eight No. Eight of the previous twenty
18:31
Speaker 1: eight went on to win the Super Bowl. The last
18:33
Speaker 1: team to do it the Saints back in two thousand nine.
18:37
Speaker 1: Mark Ross was just telling us that this team doesn't
18:39
Speaker 1: have many flaws and maybe we are talking about ns
18:42
Speaker 1: a Super Bowl winner at the end of the year.
18:45
Speaker 1: Dolphins wide receiver Tyree Hill leading the NFL with one thousand,
18:48
Speaker 1: one hundred and four receiving yards this season. Keep in
18:51
Speaker 1: mind he's also had three quarterbacks. In fact, he still
18:54
Speaker 1: needs eighty six yards or more this week against the
18:56
Speaker 1: Browns to surpass Julio Jones for the most by any
18:59
Speaker 1: player in the first ten games of this season in
19:01
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl era. Eighty six yards. That dude, my
19:05
Speaker 1: get it. In the first half alone. He has been
19:07
Speaker 1: that good this season. I don't know if you could
19:09
Speaker 1: point to another dude that is having a better outside
19:12
Speaker 1: of some of the quarterbacks out there. I mean, he
19:14
Speaker 1: might be the offensive player of the year. It's new
19:21
Speaker 1: right now here on NFL. Now we've been monitoring and
19:24
Speaker 1: checking in on the status of Matthew Stafford, who, according
19:28
Speaker 1: to Sean McVeigh, who just said a few minutes ago,
19:30
Speaker 1: he will practice today in limited fashion, has been in
19:33
Speaker 1: concussion protocol. So it is good that he is going
19:36
Speaker 1: to be back on the practice feel hopefully trending towards
19:38
Speaker 1: playing against Arizona this coming weekend. Meanwhile, josh Al major
19:43
Speaker 1: story all week as they host the Minnesota Vikings. Good
19:46
Speaker 1: to see him wearing a uniform out on the field.
19:49
Speaker 1: As far as the status go, Sean McDermott said, he's
19:52
Speaker 1: day to day, quote hour to hour, so still waiting
19:55
Speaker 1: to find out as we creep a little bit closer
19:57
Speaker 1: to the game on Sunday, if he's gonna be able
19:59
Speaker 1: to suit it up and actually get out onto the fields. Meanwhile,
20:02
Speaker 1: justin fields three straight games with at least one passing
20:05
Speaker 1: and one rushing touchdown, only had one of those games
20:08
Speaker 1: in his career before this stretch, he has been terrific
20:11
Speaker 1: using his legs, and all of a sudden, that Chicago
20:13
Speaker 1: offense looks a whole lot more dynamic. For deeper dive
20:17
Speaker 1: on Justin Fields and some other topics happening around the NFL,
20:21
Speaker 1: Bradsfieldburger from PFF, he's one of their NFL analysts, He
20:25
Speaker 1: joins us. Now, Brad, take me through this. What has
20:28
Speaker 1: changed in terms of this offense more specifically, what's changed
20:31
Speaker 1: with Justin Fields and what we're seeing from him. Yeah,
20:34
Speaker 1: Over the last three weeks, Justin Fields has thirteen rushes
20:36
Speaker 1: of ten or more yards than most of any player,
20:39
Speaker 1: not just quarterbacks. An underrated reason as to why the
20:41
Speaker 1: Bears have found success utilizing Justin Fields as a runner
20:44
Speaker 1: with five to ten design rushes per game and some
20:46
Speaker 1: passing concepts that are one read and take off is
20:49
Speaker 1: because of the coverages they're facing. And it plays into
20:51
Speaker 1: this weekend. After the Bears Thursday and I lost the
20:53
Speaker 1: Washington Fields was our lowest graded quarterback against man coverage
20:56
Speaker 1: and about middle of the pack against zone. Since that bye,
20:59
Speaker 1: they put the New England Patriots, who are second in
21:01
Speaker 1: man coverage, and the Dolphins, who are fourth man ver
21:04
Speaker 1: zone different in a lot of different ways, but one
21:06
Speaker 1: key element is where the key the eyes of defensive
21:08
Speaker 1: backs are in man coverage, they're not facing the quarterback
21:11
Speaker 1: in zone they are, so when he takes off and
21:13
Speaker 1: gets to the second level against man cover, corners had
21:16
Speaker 1: to turn around, flip their hips find where he is.
21:18
Speaker 1: And he's so good at using the full width the field,
21:21
Speaker 1: manipulating angles and leverage and that's why he's leading the
21:24
Speaker 1: NFL on explosive Russians. Yeah, we were talking about this
21:26
Speaker 1: the other day, Right, it's almost like watching a little
21:29
Speaker 1: bit of vic. I mean, I want to go that far,
21:31
Speaker 1: but he kind of moves like that. It's actually a
21:34
Speaker 1: ton of fun to watch. There's another quarterback in the league, Brad,
21:37
Speaker 1: that also moves maybe not like what we're seeing from
21:41
Speaker 1: justin fields, we certainly could pick up some huge chunk yardage,
21:43
Speaker 1: and that's Patrick Mahomes. Do you think we should be
21:46
Speaker 1: talking about him more for m v P consideration? Yeah,
21:49
Speaker 1: he's the odds on favorite, and he should be. You know,
21:51
Speaker 1: I think we focus a lot on how he's adapted
21:53
Speaker 1: to the loss of Tyreek Hill, which we should because
21:55
Speaker 1: he's on pace for a two thousand yards, But there
21:58
Speaker 1: may not be enough discussion about how Mahomes has overcome
22:00
Speaker 1: shaky play at tackle. He had two great book ends
22:03
Speaker 1: early in his career in Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher,
22:05
Speaker 1: who were top ten in the rate of pressure allowed
22:07
Speaker 1: against him. This year, his tackles have allowed the fourth
22:10
Speaker 1: highest rate of pressure um. He's still top five in
22:12
Speaker 1: PF passing grade went pressure, so he's overcoming that. Back
22:16
Speaker 1: to the subject wide receivers though, he's averaging nine point
22:18
Speaker 1: seven yards per attempt when targeting just wide receivers, which
22:22
Speaker 1: is the fourth best mark in the NFL. You now
22:24
Speaker 1: adding Kadarius Tony from the New York Giants, the former
22:26
Speaker 1: first round pick, He's probably gonna get even better as
22:29
Speaker 1: he develops more chemistry, which should scare a lot of opponents.
22:32
Speaker 1: And last, but not least, there's been this theme all
22:34
Speaker 1: season of teams playing more and more too high coverage
22:37
Speaker 1: or middle of field open It's a trend that frankly,
22:40
Speaker 1: Mahomes probably had a lot to do with when he
22:42
Speaker 1: was tearing up the NFL to start his career. So
22:44
Speaker 1: now team shifted to playing a lot of two high
22:46
Speaker 1: safeties limiting passing games, and it gave him problems last year,
22:50
Speaker 1: but he's adjusted. He's gotten better at taking with the
22:52
Speaker 1: defense gives him underneath, not trying to find Tyreek Kill
22:55
Speaker 1: downfield all the time. And he's top six in PFF
22:58
Speaker 1: passing grade against both middle of field open to high
23:00
Speaker 1: safety and middle of closed single high safe. So we
23:04
Speaker 1: net out is really good, really good. I think we
23:07
Speaker 1: got a sneaky good game. I'm kind of hoping this
23:10
Speaker 1: both of these teams get a little bit healthier. On
23:11
Speaker 1: Sunday night, we've got Chargers and Niners. Is there a
23:14
Speaker 1: matchup or two that you're really keyed in on? I
23:16
Speaker 1: think the biggest mismatch might just be physicality. You know
23:19
Speaker 1: that the forty Niners are smash mouth football team and
23:21
Speaker 1: the Chargers they struggle on defense. They continue to allow
23:24
Speaker 1: the second highest e p A per rush allowed and
23:27
Speaker 1: they have the fifth highest rate of mis tackles. Meanwhile,
23:29
Speaker 1: the forty Niners lead the NFL with seven yards after
23:32
Speaker 1: the catch per reception, which that number might continue to
23:34
Speaker 1: climb with Christian McCaffrey in the fold, Deebo Samuel now healthy,
23:38
Speaker 1: and their six their offensive one is six and yards
23:40
Speaker 1: before contact created for rushing attempts. So give an injured
23:44
Speaker 1: you know, Chargers defensive front, they might get really you know,
23:48
Speaker 1: decimated up front. I think the interesting matchup will be
23:50
Speaker 1: Derwin James, the safety. He played seventeen snaps on the
23:53
Speaker 1: edge last week. He played twenty two the entire season
23:56
Speaker 1: before that, so I think it helps you against the run.
23:59
Speaker 1: But then George Kittle, the star tight end for the
24:01
Speaker 1: San Francisco forty Niners, might get some better mess ups
24:03
Speaker 1: in the passing game. So it's kind of this this
24:05
Speaker 1: cat and mouse game there. And then you mentioned the injuries.
24:09
Speaker 1: Mike Williams not expected to play for the Chargers, Keenan
24:11
Speaker 1: Allen still dealing with that hamstring injury from week one.
24:15
Speaker 1: Austin Neckler has been great. You leave the NFL among
24:17
Speaker 1: running backs and receptions and receiving yards on fortunate forty
24:21
Speaker 1: Niners are allowing the fourth lowest yards per reception to
24:24
Speaker 1: running back. So just not a great matchup for for
24:27
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Charges in a lot of ways. Yeah,
24:29
Speaker 1: Josh Palmer, keep your eye on him. He's been targeted
24:31
Speaker 1: a whole lot the last couple of weeks. At this point,
24:33
Speaker 1: you mentioned Derwin James Brad for me, if there's like
24:35
Speaker 1: I'm going down to Dark Alley, he's probably like the
24:37
Speaker 1: last two that I want to see see there. Man,
24:39
Speaker 1: he is intimidating as they come in the league. Always
24:43
Speaker 1: appreciate your insight. And once again it's the PF Forecast,
24:46
Speaker 1: PF y Are. You can catch more from Brad on
24:48
Speaker 1: those shows as well. Thanks again, man, thank you. It
24:52
Speaker 1: is new right now. It is just coming into the
24:54
Speaker 1: NFL Network newsroom just two moments ago. And this is
24:57
Speaker 1: kind of a buzz kill at this point, the Colts
24:59
Speaker 1: placing Shikill Leonard on I R. He's been banged up
25:03
Speaker 1: most of this season, was dealing with the concussion, broken nose.
25:05
Speaker 1: He's only played in Week four, eight and nine, and
25:09
Speaker 1: now because of a back and ankle injury, he's going
25:11
Speaker 1: to be on I R. This just continues to get
25:14
Speaker 1: worse for this Colts team. Meanwhile, we've got a little
25:17
Speaker 1: bit of optimism here, rams said coach Sean McVeigh, saying
25:20
Speaker 1: that Matthew Stafford will be practicing today on a limited fashion.
25:24
Speaker 1: I was dealing with concussion, he was in protocol, so
25:27
Speaker 1: weren't exactly sure about his status. But at this point,
25:30
Speaker 1: it looks like he might be trending in the right direction.
25:33
Speaker 1: I mean, better to be on the football field in
25:35
Speaker 1: a livid way than not on the football field at all.
25:37
Speaker 1: For a little bit more on this team, Kalaburton is
25:39
Speaker 1: with us. You got to hang with the squad yesterday.
25:42
Speaker 1: R So take me through this. If Stafford can't go,
25:45
Speaker 1: what's the situation looking like. If Stafford can't go, John
25:48
Speaker 1: Wolford will most likely will be going. I mean, that's
25:51
Speaker 1: the situation for the Rams right now. But as you
25:53
Speaker 1: just mentioned, really good news for Matthew Stafford. It's still
25:56
Speaker 1: up in the area. He is going to practice at
25:57
Speaker 1: a limited pace today. He is not practiced at all
26:01
Speaker 1: this week, and John Wolford will be substituting in if
26:03
Speaker 1: he is a no go wolf or by the way,
26:06
Speaker 1: as Cooper Cup calls him, the Wolf of Wall Street.
26:08
Speaker 1: He made an impact back in his first career regular
26:11
Speaker 1: season games. So happened to be in week seventeen, ironically
26:16
Speaker 1: against the Arizona Cardinals, which is the exact team that
26:19
Speaker 1: the Rams are playing this Sunday, and he made an impact.
26:21
Speaker 1: This is an athletic quarterback who clinched a playoff birth
26:25
Speaker 1: that very same game twenty two thirty eight one yards,
26:29
Speaker 1: a touchdown, fifty plus rush yards. So this guy can
26:31
Speaker 1: do it. He's feeling confident. He's also said earlier this
26:35
Speaker 1: week he's preparing as though he is the starter. That
26:38
Speaker 1: has not changed his mindset since he's been in that
26:40
Speaker 1: locker room for now four years. So John Wolford looked
26:43
Speaker 1: to him to be a go of Stafford does not
26:45
Speaker 1: play on Sunday. All right, let's look this to the defense,
26:47
Speaker 1: because this is a team that's three and five coming
26:49
Speaker 1: off of a Super Bowl. I don't know how many
26:51
Speaker 1: people would have anticipated this. At times, there's going to
26:53
Speaker 1: be some frustration. Jillen Ramsey let some of that frustration
26:57
Speaker 1: out when he was talking to the media. What are
26:59
Speaker 1: some of the guys inside that locker room saying about
27:02
Speaker 1: his comments about the offense needing to get things done? Well,
27:05
Speaker 1: they're saying that this is Jalen Ramsey, the All Pro corner.
27:08
Speaker 1: This is a player who is a competitor. He has
27:10
Speaker 1: that dog mentality and he showcased that in their game
27:14
Speaker 1: on Sunday. He said, for those of you who don't
27:16
Speaker 1: know that, he was obviously frustrated that the defense had
27:19
Speaker 1: to go back on. He said they shouldn't have to
27:21
Speaker 1: go back on. They got several stops Tom Brady, of course,
27:24
Speaker 1: giving him the ball back with just under a minute
27:27
Speaker 1: to go is a problem that shouldn't be the case
27:29
Speaker 1: considering the offense for the Rams had the opportunity to
27:32
Speaker 1: close out the game well. Head coach On McVeigh also
27:34
Speaker 1: said that Jalen Ramsey would say the same thing if
27:37
Speaker 1: this was a defensive perspective. He says, this is a
27:39
Speaker 1: guy who means well. And Raheem Morris, the defensive coordinator,
27:43
Speaker 1: checks in with Ramsey after every single game. He checked
27:46
Speaker 1: in with him. He made sure that he's okay, on
27:48
Speaker 1: the same page and they actually love that he has
27:51
Speaker 1: that mentality. And for the offense right now, offensive coordinator
27:54
Speaker 1: Liam Cohen says they have to be more efficient, specifically
27:57
Speaker 1: on those first and second down Right now, the Rams
28:00
Speaker 1: are a bottom five team when it comes to first
28:02
Speaker 1: and second down conversions, also bottom five when it comes
28:04
Speaker 1: to scoring, which is really what matters when you are
28:07
Speaker 1: struggling on that side, averaging just over sixteen points per game.
28:10
Speaker 1: Scott to get better, and maybe it happens against this
28:13
Speaker 1: Arizona squad because we still don't even know about Kyler
28:15
Speaker 1: Murray status. He's dealing with that hamstring injury as well,
28:17
Speaker 1: so on a quarterback situation. Lessons of the q VS
28:20
Speaker 1: right now. Seriously, let's get healthy out there, Kelly. Great
28:23
Speaker 1: stuff by you. Thanks, thanks having me time for one
28:26
Speaker 1: more thing. It is slowly becoming my favorite thing that
28:29
Speaker 1: we do. Not because that means the show is almost over,
28:31
Speaker 1: but because I can probably grab some lunch. Judy, you
28:33
Speaker 1: lead us off. Happy birthday Bucks assistant coach Tom Moore,
28:38
Speaker 1: who turned eighty four years old this week. That's right,
28:42
Speaker 1: he's still an assistant coach at age eighty four. There
28:45
Speaker 1: was a video on the Box website that Vidavea took
28:48
Speaker 1: of Tom Moore in the cafeteria. He wished him a
28:51
Speaker 1: happy birthday. He has coached everybody from Peyton Manning to
28:54
Speaker 1: Lyn Swan to Barry Sanders and is one of my
28:56
Speaker 1: very favorite people in the NFL. Very cool and do
28:59
Speaker 1: you go to America's Best Racing Horse Racing out but
29:02
Speaker 1: you will see they have now announced their to Fan
29:05
Speaker 1: Choice Awards Top Race Track Threads. There's the rapping Board family.
29:11
Speaker 1: Vote for me. It's simple, just log on and vote.
29:13
Speaker 1: Give me all the votes, don't vote for I love it.
29:16
Speaker 1: Your boys are adorable, by the way. Take after mom, Kayla.
29:19
Speaker 1: All right, how do you talk this? Well, I'll try
29:21
Speaker 1: to hear. Congratulations to the Matthews family. That's right. Falcon's
29:26
Speaker 1: left tackle Jake Matthews and his wife Maggie just had
29:29
Speaker 1: their firstborn child. Beckett is his name, and Jake actually
29:34
Speaker 1: left Charlotte prior to the Thursday night football game, went
29:37
Speaker 1: to Atlanta, came back as a dad. So what better way? Yeah,
29:41
Speaker 1: that's amazing. We will definitely take that, all right, kind
29:44
Speaker 1: of a cool maya stone my one more thing. Cardinals
29:47
Speaker 1: and Rams first time we will experience as you got
29:50
Speaker 1: Asian American players on both sides of the field and
29:53
Speaker 1: an official Kyler Murray lucky Foe to Taylor Rap and
29:55
Speaker 1: low Van fam will be officiating. And I absolutely love it.
29:59
Speaker 1: I get fired up for stuff like that. Thanks so
30:01
Speaker 1: much for watching, guys. NFL Now is a production of
30:04
Speaker 1: the NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio. For more
30:08
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Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.