Latest / Football Junkies podcast / Ep.101: Game Over?

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Ep.101: Game Over? · Football Junkies podcast

• 0:03
  Double bag alert double bag alert double bag
• 0:05
  alert folks. That's right. We got a low Sweet
• 0:09
  episode full of twists and turns, hot takes,
• 0:12
  truth bombs, and more, okay? Jeremy Ruckert and
• 0:14
  Jacoby Myers get paid. Brandon Ayuk and the 49ers
• 0:18
  are headed to a divorce. Tua gets benched. Falcons
• 0:21
  and Bucks recap. Chargers and Chiefs recap. Bills
• 0:24
  and Patriots recap. Packers and Browns recap.
• 0:26
  And Dolphins and Steelers recap, okay? All of
• 0:29
  this and more on the 101th episode of Football
• 0:31
  Junkies Podcast, okay? I am your host with the
• 0:34
  most, all right? I am your chief, Bad Girl Dominance.
• 0:36
  That's right, chief. Head of the table. Anything.
• 0:38
  and everything related to the bag, rumors to
• 0:40
  the bag, and more. I am your hopium, hopium,
• 0:42
  hopium, hopium, hopium dealer. That's right.
• 0:45
  All the hopium that you need to make it through
• 0:47
  the last remaining games of the regular season,
• 0:49
  I am your guy, all right? I am your GM who currently
• 0:52
  is not on a team right now. But don't you worry
• 0:55
  about it, all right? Don't you worry about it
• 0:57
  because guess what? I am all these things and
• 1:00
  more. But most importantly, the most important
• 1:02
  thing that you must remember is I am your host,
• 1:04
  Kale. Buckle up. You're about to get a lot of
• 1:07
  truth bombs, hot takes, and everything in between.
• 1:09
  So guess what? On three. One, two, three. Let's
• 1:12
  lock in. All right, folks, let's get to the meat
• 1:39
  and potatoes of everything that is going on in
• 1:42
  the league right now. So you know when we have
• 1:44
  bad alerts, we got to get them out of the way
• 1:46
  before we get into the good stuff, all right?
• 1:47
  So Jeremy Rucker tied in for the Jets, inks a
• 1:50
  two -year $10 million deal. He'll be making $10
• 1:52
  million a year. When we look at his stats from
• 1:55
  this season so far, 23 targets for 20 receptions.
• 1:59
  152 receiving yards, one touchdown, and 7 .6
• 2:02
  receiving yards per reception. A proactive, team
• 2:04
  -friendly deal for a productive tight end. Although
• 2:06
  there is a lot of teams that don't like to do
• 2:09
  contract negotiations during the regular season,
• 2:11
  I feel like they should change that. The reason
• 2:13
  why I say that is because whenever you have deals
• 2:16
  like this, it's better to hash them out during
• 2:19
  the regular season than to wait until the offseason.
• 2:22
  Because if you do that, sometimes a team may
• 2:24
  overpay for that player just because they either
• 2:27
  have them on their draft board or they were really
• 2:30
  interested in them. So rather for you to do that,
• 2:33
  you could just hash it out during the regular
• 2:35
  season. It's going to save you some money while
• 2:37
  at the same time create more money for the cap
• 2:40
  next year. Proactive versus reactive. Come on,
• 2:42
  guys. Now, Jacoby Myers, wide receiver for the
• 2:45
  Jacksonville Jaguars, inks a three -year $60
• 2:48
  million deal, $40 million guaranteed. He'll be
• 2:51
  making $20 million a year. When we look at his
• 2:53
  stats from this season so far, 87 targets for
• 2:56
  60 receptions, 707 receiving yards, three touchdowns,
• 3:00
  and 11 .8 receiving yards per reception. So here's
• 3:02
  a few junkie nuggets with Jacoby Myers, okay?
• 3:04
  Since the start of last season, Jacoby Myers
• 3:08
  has a 1 .4 % drop rate. That's three drops on
• 3:12
  216 targets. Among players with 150 -plus targets
• 3:18
  in that span, A .J. Brown and Trey McBride have
• 3:21
  lower drop rates according to the 3013. Now,
• 3:25
  since being traded, the Jags are 5 -1 since acquiring
• 3:30
  Jacoby Myers, according to U Stadium. Now, think
• 3:32
  about that for a second. Because I know I'm going
• 3:34
  to have to take back what I said about them when
• 3:36
  it came to the trade deadline and whatnot. But
• 3:38
  at that time, nobody said anything about the
• 3:41
  Jaguars and Jacoby Morris possibly working out
• 3:44
  a deal. So this is a 100 % curveball that I think
• 3:48
  nobody was expecting. But at the same time, I
• 3:52
  think the Jaguars realized that at some point,
• 3:55
  I think we need to hash out a deal now so that
• 3:58
  he doesn't hit free agency. Because they knew
• 4:00
  that if he hits free agency, he's going to get
• 4:02
  a big bag. Because he's been really productive
• 4:05
  since joining the Jags. Trevor Lawrence has actually
• 4:08
  looked good because of Jacoby Myers. Like really
• 4:12
  think about that for a second. I'll be honest,
• 4:14
  I was wrong. And I'm probably going to be having
• 4:16
  a lot of apologies in this episode. So bear with
• 4:19
  me, okay? I was wrong about the Jags being losers
• 4:22
  for the trade deadline. You're getting a productive
• 4:24
  veteran wide receiver. You're pairing him with
• 4:26
  Trevor Lawrence and it's working. And right now
• 4:29
  the Jaguars are in a position where they could
• 4:32
  possibly get a high seat in the... playoffs and
• 4:34
  possibly go on a good run. Now, am I saying they're
• 4:37
  going to go on the Super Bowl run or AFC Championship
• 4:39
  run? No. But what I am saying is this. This is
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  what happens when you give ballers. This is what
• 4:46
  happens when you make that aggressive move to
• 4:49
  help out your quarterback. Because at that time,
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  Travis Hunter was hurt. Brian Thomas wasn't playing
• 4:54
  his best ball. They let go of Gabe Davis. So
• 4:57
  they didn't have a lot of options. So making
• 4:59
  the move for Jacoby Morris has paid off. Now
• 5:02
  the question is, what are they going to do in
• 5:04
  the draft? But we'll save that for later because
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  I have an idea that I'm going to probably start
• 5:08
  doing fairly soon. Stay tuned for that. All right.
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  Now, with all that being said and done, this
• 5:13
  is a good deal. This is a pretty good deal. 20
• 5:15
  million a year. I feel like that's perfect. I
• 5:18
  feel like anything over 25 was a reach. I think
• 5:21
  this is perfect. He liked the Jaguars and the
• 5:24
  Jaguars liked him. So, hey, who's really complaining,
• 5:27
  right? Now, let's talk about Kyle Shanahan and
• 5:29
  Brandon Ayewa because they're headed for a nasty
• 5:31
  divorce. And the reason why I say that is because.
• 5:34
  A couple weeks ago, Diane Rossini and a few other
• 5:38
  reporters that follow the 49ers were reporting
• 5:40
  that the 49ers were going to void future guarantees
• 5:44
  for Brandon Iyuk. So when that was announced,
• 5:47
  I'm thinking something crazy must have happened.
• 5:49
  And since then, nobody has really given a detailed
• 5:53
  response on why this is happening. But yesterday,
• 5:57
  Kyle Shanahan had to say this about Brandon Iyuk,
• 6:00
  and I quote, I didn't get to hang around Ayud
• 6:03
  much since he tore his ACL in Week 7 against
• 6:05
  Kansas City. We've been trying to get him back
• 6:08
  to our team since then and haven't been able
• 6:10
  to pull that off. Having totally had the opportunity
• 6:13
  to get him part of our team, this is what Kyle
• 6:15
  Shanahan said, this is not what I'm saying, this
• 6:17
  is what he said, he has been extremely distant
• 6:19
  since he got hurt. Was hoping it would happen
• 6:22
  once he got healthy, but it never happened, end
• 6:25
  quote. And this is from Grant Cohn from Sports
• 6:27
  Illustrated, which, believe it or not, if you're
• 6:29
  a 49ers fan, you should probably follow him.
• 6:31
  Okay, free promotion. Now, before I get into
• 6:33
  my opinion about this, we need to talk about
• 6:36
  the past so that we can catch everybody up, right?
• 6:39
  So in 2024, he signed a four -year $120 million
• 6:42
  deal, a $23 million signing bonus, $45 million
• 6:46
  guaranteed at signing, and $76 million in total
• 6:49
  guarantees. Now, according to SpodRat, the 49ers
• 6:53
  paid out $48 .1 million of his contract for only
• 6:56
  seven games, 25 catches across two seasons. Now,
• 7:00
  the 49ers have voided the remaining $85 .1 million
• 7:03
  that is left on Brandon Ayuk's contract. Now,
• 7:06
  if the 49ers release Brandon Ayuk before June
• 7:09
  1st and without a post -June 1st designation,
• 7:12
  the 49ers will take on $29 .5 million in dead
• 7:15
  cap in 2026 with a loss of $14 .1 million in
• 7:19
  cap but freeze up $41 .7 million in 2027. Now,
• 7:24
  if traded before June 1st, the 49ers would take
• 7:27
  on the same amount of dead cap as a release,
• 7:29
  which would be 29 .5 million with a loss of 14
• 7:32
  .2 million in cap. Now, if designated as a post
• 7:36
  -June 1st, the 49ers would carry Brandon Ayuk's
• 7:39
  15 .3 cap hit and then take on dead cap hits
• 7:43
  of 13 .3 in 26 and 21 .2 million in 27. Now,
• 7:48
  for those of you who don't know, a post -June
• 7:50
  1st designation allows teams to release a player
• 7:53
  but not fully process the move until after June
• 7:56
  1st. So my takeaway from this move is that the
• 7:59
  49ers are done with Brandon Iyuk. They've tried
• 8:03
  to reconcile with him. They've tried to make
• 8:05
  things work. They've tried to patch things up.
• 8:08
  And clearly, Brandon Iyuk isn't satisfied. Why?
• 8:11
  I don't know. You literally held out the entire
• 8:15
  offseason into training camp looking for a contract.
• 8:18
  They were getting ready to trade you to Pittsburgh.
• 8:21
  They finally give you an ultimatum. Either you
• 8:23
  sign the contract or you're going to Pittsburgh.
• 8:25
  You finally sign the contract and everybody is
• 8:28
  thinking all is forgiven. Water under the bridge.
• 8:32
  Everybody's buddy, buddy. But that's not the
• 8:34
  case. Instead, there's more drama between Brandon
• 8:37
  Iyuk and the 49ers. For all of you who wasn't
• 8:40
  following the Brandon Iyuk saga, it was really
• 8:43
  nasty. There was a point in time where Brandon
• 8:46
  Iyuk was wearing the wrong colored shirts and
• 8:48
  Kyle Shanahan approached him about it in a nice
• 8:51
  way. He didn't yell at him. He didn't cuss him
• 8:53
  out. He didn't expose him in front of everybody.
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  He just walked up to him and asked him, hey,
• 8:58
  can you change your shorts? Because we're not
• 8:59
  wearing that color today. We're wearing this
• 9:01
  color today. And he caused a whole scene about
• 9:04
  it. And there were points in time where you can
• 9:06
  see that both Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch were
• 9:10
  heavily affected by this entire saga. Because
• 9:13
  that was the craze from the national media and
• 9:16
  the 49ers media. Everybody was asking the same
• 9:19
  thing. When is the deal going to get done? When
• 9:22
  is there going to be some resolution? And there
• 9:24
  was a point in time where Brandon Ayuk was possibly
• 9:27
  going to be traded to the Steelers. Because originally
• 9:30
  it was the Patriots, it was the Steelers. And
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  I think it was like two other teams that were
• 9:35
  really interested in trading for Brandon Ayuk.
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  There were teams that already had a contract
• 9:41
  in place. And all they had to do was disagree
• 9:45
  upon the compensation. And Brandon Ayuk dragged
• 9:48
  his feet the entire time. Now, let's be honest
• 9:52
  here. I understand that when players are trying
• 9:55
  to get their money, a lot of times they got to
• 9:58
  get nitty gritty. They got to do the whole traditional.
• 10:01
  I got to delete everything off my social media.
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  I got to change my profile picture to black.
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  I got to have the hood on, you know, in the corner
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  somewhere looking angry and disgruntled, looking
• 10:13
  like my stomach has been hurting for like two
• 10:15
  weeks or whatever. That whole shenanigan playbook
• 10:19
  that everybody plays, right? And, you know, the
• 10:21
  49ers have had problems when it comes to contract
• 10:25
  negotiations with their wide receivers. Let's
• 10:28
  look at Debo's situation, for instance. His was
• 10:30
  just as public as Brandon Ayuk's. There were
• 10:33
  points where he was in the club somewhere and
• 10:35
  they had a sign up about him re -signing with
• 10:37
  the 49ers. He was like, nope, I'm not re -signing
• 10:39
  with the 49ers. These are the things that continue
• 10:43
  to emerge with the 49ers and the 49ers said to
• 10:47
  hell with it. We gave you the money. We still
• 10:51
  want you here. We still love you. But what we're
• 10:55
  not going to do is deal with this bull. And that's
• 10:58
  exactly what they did. And I don't hate them
• 11:00
  for it. Now, it doesn't help that Brandon Iyuk
• 11:03
  isn't saying anything about this. Now, if Brandon
• 11:06
  Iyuk comes out and he, you know, just spills
• 11:09
  out what happened and what led up to this decision,
• 11:12
  okay, I think people will have a different opinion
• 11:15
  about Brandon Iyuk. But right now, he looks like
• 11:18
  the villain in this story. And it doesn't help
• 11:21
  that right now they need Brandon Iyuk because
• 11:23
  all they have is Jawan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall
• 11:26
  and Kendrick Bourne. Now, Kendrick Bourne and
• 11:29
  Jawan Jennings are doing their thing. Saul can't
• 11:31
  stay healthy. But this is when you would need
• 11:34
  your 30 plus million dollar wide receiver to
• 11:36
  come in and do his thing. But clearly he doesn't
• 11:39
  want to be there. And this is a conversation
• 11:41
  that I was having with somebody on Twitter, GM
• 11:44
  Kale, for all of those who want to follow me,
• 11:45
  GM Kale, K -I -L -E. That's where I do a lot
• 11:49
  of my interactions with a lot of fan bases. And
• 11:51
  the person was simply saying, oh, the Steelers
• 11:54
  dodged a bullet by not signing Brandon Ayew because
• 11:56
  they will be dealing with this drama and foolishness.
• 11:59
  And I had to break it down to him and say, listen.
• 12:02
  you have to look at it from Brandon Iyuk's perspective.
• 12:04
  He's stuck between staying on a team that is
• 12:07
  very competitive and can possibly win a Super
• 12:09
  Bowl or going to a team that's nowhere near a
• 12:12
  Super Bowl contender, let alone a playoff contender.
• 12:16
  That's a difficult decision to make, especially
• 12:19
  when the 49ers said, we're not willing to meet
• 12:22
  the number that you want. And the Steelers said,
• 12:25
  we're willing to meet the number that you want.
• 12:27
  Now, depending on who you listen to and ask,
• 12:30
  most people are going to give you a different
• 12:32
  response about Brian Iyuk. Me personally, I just
• 12:36
  feel like he's conflicted. One minute he wants
• 12:39
  to do this, the next minute he wants to do that.
• 12:41
  I don't know what Brian Iyuk wants to do at this
• 12:43
  point. And if we can be honest here, I don't
• 12:46
  know if he really wants to play football anymore.
• 12:48
  His actions show that he's complacent with not
• 12:52
  getting the rest of his money. So if he's okay
• 12:54
  with that, cool. But if he does want to play,
• 12:58
  just know. Any team that he goes to, they're
• 13:01
  going to lowball him. And they're probably going
• 13:03
  to make the contract heavy on the incentives.
• 13:06
  And they're probably going to make it to where,
• 13:08
  listen, any of those antics, you're gone. Or
• 13:11
  they'll just do what the 49ers did, which is
• 13:13
  we're just going to void all your future guarantees
• 13:15
  if they give him that long of a contract. So
• 13:18
  I just think this is just a nasty situation.
• 13:21
  And I think this is just a lesson learned for
• 13:23
  the 49ers because most likely what they're going
• 13:25
  to do from now on is not pay a boatload of money
• 13:28
  to wide receivers. I would have rather for them
• 13:31
  just move off of Brandon Ayuk or just pick up
• 13:34
  his fifth year option than to just go through
• 13:36
  what they went through with him. And in some
• 13:38
  ways, they went through a little bit of a tussle
• 13:41
  with Jawan Jennings as well because he was looking
• 13:43
  for more money. And even then, his situation
• 13:46
  is worse because for one, He's an older player.
• 13:49
  He's not a wide receiver one or two. He's a three
• 13:52
  at best that sometimes can play the role of a
• 13:55
  two. And his market value is not that strong.
• 13:57
  So if you're the 49ers moving forward, most likely
• 14:00
  you're just going to start drafting a boatload
• 14:02
  of receivers. Now, granted, next year, the wide
• 14:05
  receiver class is actually supposed to be really
• 14:06
  good. So if I'm the 49ers, I'm either drafting
• 14:09
  a left tackle or I'm getting one of those receivers,
• 14:12
  specifically one of those receivers from USC.
• 14:15
  That's what I'm doing. I'm just going to just
• 14:17
  flood that position with cheap talent. Because
• 14:20
  what I'm not going to do is go through the same
• 14:23
  conundrum that I just finished going through
• 14:25
  with Deebo Samuel, a little bit of Jawan Jennings,
• 14:28
  and Brandon Ayuk. But on to Tua getting benched.
• 14:31
  So for those of you who don't know, Mike McDaniel
• 14:34
  has made the decision to bench Tua. And Quinn
• 14:38
  Ewers is now the starting quarterback and Zach
• 14:40
  Wilson will back him up. So this is what Tua
• 14:43
  had to say. And I quote, naturally, I'd say I'm
• 14:46
  disappointed. It's a normal human emotion. Outside
• 14:48
  of that, I got to do my part. My role here right
• 14:51
  now is to help whoever the quarterback is going
• 14:53
  to be for this team. To lead this team, help
• 14:56
  him in whatever way I can to help the team win
• 14:58
  this game on Sunday, end quote. And that quote
• 15:01
  came from Eric Richter of the New York Post.
• 15:04
  Let's just talk about this whole situation with
• 15:06
  Tua, okay? Now, according to SpotRack, if the
• 15:10
  Dolphins are unable to find a trade candidate,
• 15:13
  then the Dolphins will designate this as a post
• 15:16
  -June 1st release. Now, $99 .2 million of dead
• 15:19
  cap is currently attached to the deal, including
• 15:22
  $54 million of fully guaranteed salary. Tua's
• 15:25
  26 cap hit is $56 .4 million. with a 15 million
• 15:30
  dollar option bonus that may be exercised in
• 15:33
  march now if they designated this as a post june
• 15:36
  1st transaction 67 .4 million of tua's money
• 15:40
  will become dead cap and 31 .8 million of that
• 15:44
  will become dead cap in 27. even with the post
• 15:47
  june 1st designation the dolphins would lose
• 15:50
  11 million in cap now the dolphins could convert
• 15:53
  54 million of tua's money into a signing bonus
• 15:56
  prior to a post -June 1st designation, which
• 15:59
  would result in $27 million of his salary being
• 16:01
  converted with a cap hit of $46 .8 million, and
• 16:05
  a debt cap of $45 .8 million in 26, and then
• 16:10
  a $53 .4 million debt cap hit in 27. So with
• 16:14
  that being said, let's just unpack this entire
• 16:16
  situation. Now, was this expected? Yes, to some
• 16:20
  degree. And the reason why I say that is because
• 16:22
  Tua did not have a good game against the Steelers.
• 16:25
  which I know we're going to talk about them towards
• 16:26
  the end of the podcast. He wasn't able to push
• 16:29
  the ball down the field. He wasn't aggressive
• 16:31
  when he needed to be. He was holding on the ball
• 16:33
  for too long. He just was bad. And I understand
• 16:37
  that prior to the Steelers game, they're on a
• 16:39
  four game winning streak and there was a chance
• 16:42
  that they could make it into the playoffs and
• 16:43
  whatnot. But after that Steelers game, Mike McDaniel
• 16:47
  probably had no choice but to bench him. Now
• 16:50
  with this move, this most likely means that they're
• 16:53
  just done fighting. They're going to give up
• 16:55
  and they're going to try to see if they can get
• 16:57
  a high enough pick to address whatever position
• 16:59
  that they're going to address next year and just
• 17:01
  go from there. But the question is this. If you
• 17:05
  fire Mike McDaniel and you bring in a new head
• 17:08
  coach and GM, what are they going to do with
• 17:11
  Tua? Because it doesn't help that next year's
• 17:14
  draft class for quarterbacks is not good. And
• 17:18
  it's starting to shape up that Fernando Mendoza
• 17:20
  may be the only quarterback that's going to be
• 17:23
  drafted in the first round next year. So if that's
• 17:25
  the case, you're going to have to stick with
• 17:27
  Tua. Because there's no other options in free
• 17:30
  agency that you can get. Daniel Jones is probably
• 17:32
  going to go back to the Colts. Sam Darnold is
• 17:34
  staying with the Seahawks. Kyler Murray probably
• 17:36
  doesn't want to go to the Dolphins. Kirk Cousins
• 17:39
  doesn't want to go to the Dolphins. So who would
• 17:41
  be an upgrade over Tua? At this point, you may
• 17:45
  have to keep him just so you can try to figure
• 17:48
  out the financial part of his contract because
• 17:51
  nobody is going to be trading for a quarterback
• 17:53
  who has an extensive injury history. You can
• 17:56
  see that his mechanics are off, and you can see
• 17:59
  that he is no longer the quarterback that he
• 18:01
  was just two years ago. No one is giving up a
• 18:04
  first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth,
• 18:06
  a sixth, a seventh. No one is doing any of that
• 18:08
  because it's pointless. And it also doesn't help
• 18:11
  that you're not going to have a lot of cap space
• 18:12
  next year as well. So you're really in a bad
• 18:15
  space. Now, you could probably move some money
• 18:18
  around, you know, create some cap space because
• 18:20
  the cap isn't real and whatnot. I get all that
• 18:22
  blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada. But the fact
• 18:24
  of the matter is this. What are you going to
• 18:27
  do with Tua? Can anything be salvaged with Tua?
• 18:31
  Is his hip injury starting to show its ugly face
• 18:35
  again with Tua? Because something is wrong with
• 18:38
  Tua. And it sucks because there's not a procedure
• 18:42
  or a routine or medicine or workout or something
• 18:47
  different that can be done that can help Tua.
• 18:51
  So if you're the Dolphins, what are you going
• 18:53
  to do at this point? How are you going to sell
• 18:56
  this to a GM and a new head coach? How are you
• 18:59
  going to sell it that most likely you're going
• 19:01
  to have a quarterback who you can't get off of
• 19:04
  because the team decided to give him a stupid
• 19:07
  contract that if we're being real here, he did
• 19:09
  not earn? Granted, I understand he was putting
• 19:12
  up crazy numbers, but you have to look at what
• 19:14
  he had around him. You had one of the best running
• 19:17
  back tandems at that time with Raheem Mostert
• 19:20
  and Devon Achan. You had Tyree Killen, Jayna
• 19:22
  Waddle. You had Teron Armstead as your left tackle.
• 19:25
  So of course you were going to ball out. But
• 19:27
  since then, what have you done? Nothing. But
• 19:30
  if the Dolphins were to trade Tua, I think the
• 19:32
  number one question we need to ask is, what is
• 19:35
  Tua's market? Is it high? Is it low? Does he
• 19:39
  not have a market at all? What can you do to
• 19:41
  ease the pain with this process? Because it's
• 19:44
  going to be painful. And there's going to be
• 19:46
  a lot of people that are going to be leaving
• 19:47
  the Dolphins. I would not be surprised if Jalen
• 19:50
  Waddell actually gets traded next offseason.
• 19:53
  It's just a bad situation for everybody. And
• 19:55
  so if you're a team that needs a quarterback,
• 19:57
  like the Steelers, like the Jets, like all those
• 20:01
  other teams, is Tua on your radar? And if he
• 20:04
  is, what are you willing to give up to get Tua?
• 20:07
  Are you willing to take on the contract? Are
• 20:09
  you willing to give up a high pick to possibly
• 20:12
  acquire him? Do you have an infrastructure that
• 20:15
  is better than what he has with the Dolphins?
• 20:18
  These are the questions that need to be asked.
• 20:21
  Because right now, the league may view him as
• 20:24
  a backup. Or the league may just say, you know
• 20:26
  what? We're just done with Tua. And I can see
• 20:29
  why. You've had a lot of crazy head injuries.
• 20:31
  You have a bad hip. Your mechanics are off. Can't
• 20:34
  push the ball down the field. Your deep pass
• 20:36
  is gone. What do you have? What is something
• 20:39
  in his game that an offensive coordinator and
• 20:42
  a head coach can at least enhance? Because I
• 20:45
  would venture to say there's nothing. And this
• 20:47
  is no shot at Tua. I think Tua is probably a
• 20:51
  great person. But the fact of the matter is your
• 20:54
  production has declined. And now the Dolphins
• 20:56
  are probably trying to figure out how do we get
• 20:59
  off of this contract? What are we going to do?
• 21:02
  Now they could take the barbaric route and just
• 21:04
  take all that dead cap at one time and do what
• 21:06
  the Broncos did. Or you could try to divvy up
• 21:09
  and just take it on piece by piece by piece.
• 21:12
  Either way, you're going to feel the pain. But
• 21:15
  one more thing we need to talk about with the
• 21:17
  situation, then we'll get into the games. This
• 21:19
  somewhat proves the stereotype of what GMs are
• 21:23
  looking for when they're trying to get quarterbacks.
• 21:25
  And that is bigger body quarterbacks. Quarterbacks
• 21:28
  that are 6 '2 and above. When you look at some
• 21:31
  of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, what
• 21:33
  is the one thing that they all have in common?
• 21:36
  They're big. And the reason why you want to get
• 21:39
  a bigger body quarterback than these smaller
• 21:41
  quarterbacks is because they're able to handle
• 21:44
  the blows that comes with the season. A smaller
• 21:47
  quarterback can't handle that. And if they do,
• 21:49
  they can only handle it for so much. There's
• 21:51
  a difference in a threshold of pain that Justin
• 21:54
  Herbert is able to take compared to a Kyle Murray
• 21:57
  or a Tua. And even if you do get a smaller quarterback,
• 22:01
  the best thing that you can do is to build an
• 22:04
  offensive line that is going to protect them.
• 22:06
  But the Dolphins were unsuccessful in doing that.
• 22:10
  And if we're being real here, the last few years
• 22:13
  was probably the best time that they actually
• 22:15
  made those investments. You drafted Patrick Paul,
• 22:18
  which actually looks like a pretty good tackle.
• 22:20
  You drafted Jonah Sevenaya. He looks like he's
• 22:23
  pretty good. You should have been doing that
• 22:25
  earlier on into this process, not doing it now
• 22:28
  because it's too late. But we'll talk about this
• 22:30
  more when the offseason arrives. So let's talk
• 22:33
  about the Falcons and Bucs, all right? So Kirk
• 22:34
  Cousins. 44 attempts for 30 completions, 373
• 22:38
  passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 8 .5 yards per attempt,
• 22:41
  and a 68 .2 completion percentage. Bijan Robinson.
• 22:45
  19 attempts for 93 rushing yards, 4 .9 rushing
• 22:48
  yards per carry, 1 touchdown, and 3 rushes of
• 22:50
  10 plus yards or more. Kyle Pitts. 12 targets
• 22:53
  for 11 receptions, 166 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns,
• 22:57
  and 15 .1 receiving yards per reception. Baker
• 23:00
  Mayfield. 34 attempts for 19 completions, 277
• 23:04
  passing yards, two touchdowns, one pick, 8 .1
• 23:07
  yards per attempt, and a 55 .9 completion percentage.
• 23:10
  Bucky Irvin, 16 attempts for 60 rushing yards,
• 23:13
  3 .8 rushing yards per carry, and two rushes
• 23:16
  of 10 plus yards or more. Mike Evans, 12 targets
• 23:19
  for six receptions, 132 receiving yards, and
• 23:22
  22 receiving yards per reception. So here's a
• 23:25
  few junkie nuggets, and there's a lot of junkie
• 23:27
  nuggets with this game. When operating in shotgun
• 23:29
  formation, Kirk Cousins completed 23 of 29 passes
• 23:33
  for 281 passing yards and three touchdowns. When
• 23:36
  passing over 2 .5 seconds... Kirk Cousins completed
• 23:39
  21 of 32 attempts for 300 yards and two touchdowns,
• 23:43
  his most passing yards on such throws since week
• 23:46
  five against the Bucs last season, which he threw
• 23:48
  for 323 yards. When matched up against Kobe Bryant,
• 23:53
  Mike Evans hauled in four receptions for 102
• 23:55
  yards on five targets, the fifth most yards a
• 23:59
  wide receiver has gained in a coverage matchup
• 24:01
  this season. Baker Mayfield has had fewer than
• 24:04
  200 passing yards in each of his last four games.
• 24:07
  the longest streak in his career. This is the
• 24:10
  longest streak by a Bucs quarterback since Mike
• 24:12
  Glennon in 2013. Since their Week 9 bye, the
• 24:16
  Bucs have lost four of their five games. The
• 24:18
  Bucs were 5 -1 in one possession games before
• 24:21
  the bye and are now 1 -2 in one score games after
• 24:24
  the bye. James Pierce and Jalen Walker lead all
• 24:27
  NFL rookies with six and five sacks. The Falcons
• 24:31
  have 25 .5 sacks by players under the age of
• 24:34
  25 this season. which is eight and a half more
• 24:37
  sacks than any other team in the NFL. So the
• 24:40
  main takeaway from this game is that the Buccaneers
• 24:43
  have cooled. There was a point in time where
• 24:45
  I was considering Baker Mayfield as a potential
• 24:48
  MVP candidate. And since I made that claim, he's
• 24:51
  just declined. And I don't know if it's because
• 24:54
  certain people were hurt or the matchups, but
• 24:57
  this team as a whole is not the same team that
• 25:00
  we saw in the first six weeks of the season.
• 25:03
  And it's a little bit troublesome because The
• 25:05
  season is about to end. And right now, it looks
• 25:08
  like the Panthers are probably going to win the
• 25:10
  division. Even though you were in pole position
• 25:13
  to win the division. Make it make sense. And
• 25:16
  another thing we need to talk about is these
• 25:18
  questionable plays. Specifically, Kyle pitches
• 25:22
  catch. Because that's considered a catch. But
• 25:25
  what Isaiah likely did against the Steelers was
• 25:28
  not considered a catch. Make it make sense. Second
• 25:31
  and 10. Five minutes and 12 seconds left. Moody
• 25:34
  fumbles the ball, but it stays with Atlanta,
• 25:37
  even though there's multiple Buccaneer players
• 25:39
  around the ball. Make it make sense. Between
• 25:42
  that and the ticky tack penalties, I don't know
• 25:45
  which one was worse because the penalties were
• 25:48
  really starting to irritate me. It seemed like
• 25:51
  almost every single time there was always a penalty
• 25:54
  and it was always on the Falcons offensive line.
• 25:58
  Jake Matthews had a whole bunch of penalties.
• 26:00
  This person had a whole bunch of penalties. And
• 26:03
  I'm just thinking to myself, what are we doing?
• 26:05
  What are we doing? Can we at least get through
• 26:08
  one drive, one complete drive with no penalties
• 26:13
  whatsoever, please? But on a serious note, I
• 26:16
  think the Falcons are starting to see the return
• 26:18
  in drafting both pass rushers, which is very
• 26:20
  promising. However, I still believe that the
• 26:23
  price that they paid to acquire both pass rushers
• 26:25
  was a little bit too high. And the reason why
• 26:27
  I say that is because... there's most likely
• 26:30
  a chance that you're going to have to draft a
• 26:31
  quarterback within the next two years. And with
• 26:34
  you not having that first round pick, what are
• 26:36
  you going to do? Because you needed that first
• 26:38
  round pick. It'll be different if the team was
• 26:40
  already built up, there wasn't a lot of holes
• 26:43
  on your team, and all you needed to do was just
• 26:45
  address that one position, and there was a player
• 26:48
  that you really, really, really wanted. Okay,
• 26:50
  fine, no problem. But that's not the case. You
• 26:53
  still have other positions of need that you needed
• 26:56
  to address. And there's a good chance that you
• 26:59
  could possibly address it in next year's draft
• 27:02
  class. But you can't do that now because why?
• 27:04
  The Rams now have your first round pick. So with
• 27:07
  that first round pick, they can either address
• 27:09
  something on offense, on defense, or possibly
• 27:13
  flip it for another first round pick in 27. That's
• 27:16
  the only knock that I have against the Falcons.
• 27:18
  Outside of that, I think they play really well.
• 27:21
  Defensively, they were going after Baker Mayfield.
• 27:23
  And the Buccaneers didn't have an answer for
• 27:25
  it. And at times, it made you wonder, Should
• 27:28
  they rely more on the run game? Should they try
• 27:30
  to at least scheme up something a little bit
• 27:32
  different? Should they try to get Chris Godwin
• 27:34
  involved? Should they try to get Emeka Buka involved?
• 27:37
  What can they do to get back on straight street?
• 27:40
  Because I don't know what's happened, but they've
• 27:42
  just fallen off. And I'm talking about tenderism
• 27:45
  falling off. If you know, you know. I'm trying
• 27:48
  to be humorous about this, but at the same time,
• 27:51
  I'm trying to be serious. Because it's really
• 27:54
  saddening to see that this really good roster
• 27:57
  is just falling off a cliff. Even though just
• 28:00
  a couple weeks ago, I was talking very high about
• 28:03
  them. I was thinking, oh, they're going to run
• 28:06
  away with this division and they're going to
• 28:08
  face the Eagles or the Lions or whoever else
• 28:12
  is in the NFC and whatnot. But clearly that's
• 28:16
  not the case. So what's going to happen? Better
• 28:18
  yet, what needs to happen? One more thing I want
• 28:21
  to bring up about this game. Falcons fans, if
• 28:24
  Raheem Morris finds a way to win out, even though
• 28:27
  you guys aren't going to make it in the playoffs,
• 28:29
  do you feel like that's enough for him to keep
• 28:32
  his job? Y 'all let me know on our YouTube at
• 28:35
  Football Junkies Pod, all right? Now on to the
• 28:38
  Chargers and Chiefs game. So Justin Herbert,
• 28:41
  29 attempts for 19 completions, 210 passing yards,
• 28:45
  one touchdown, one pick, 7 .2 yards per attempt,
• 28:47
  and a 65 .5 completion percentage. Omarion Hanson.
• 28:51
  15 attempts for 61 rushing yards, 4 .1 rushing
• 28:54
  yards per carry, and one rush of 10 plus yards
• 28:57
  or more. Oronde Gatson, the second. Five targets
• 29:00
  for four receptions, 61 receiving yards, and
• 29:03
  15 .3 receiving yards per reception. Patrick
• 29:06
  Mahomes, 28 attempts for 16 completions, 189
• 29:10
  passing yards, one pick, 6 .8 yards per attempt,
• 29:12
  and a 57 .1 completion percentage. Gardner Minshew,
• 29:16
  five attempts for three completions, 22 passing
• 29:18
  yards, one pick. 4 .4 yards per attempt and a
• 29:21
  60 % completion percentage. Isaiah Pacheco, 11
• 29:24
  attempts for 21 rushing yards, 1 .9 rushing yards
• 29:28
  per carry. Yeah, that is horrible. Travis Kelsey,
• 29:32
  nine targets for seven receptions, 70 rushing
• 29:35
  yards and 10 receiving yards per reception. So
• 29:38
  here's a few junkie nuggets with this game. Patrick
• 29:40
  Mahomes was under pressure on 48 .6 % of his
• 29:43
  dropbacks against the Chargers. His second highest
• 29:45
  pressure rate this season. When pressure. Mahomes
• 29:48
  completed four of his 10 passes, which is 40%,
• 29:51
  for 53 yards and one pick while being sacked
• 29:54
  five times, the most in a game this season. Without
• 29:58
  being pressured, Mahomes completed 12 of 18 passes,
• 30:01
  which is 66 .7%, for 136 yards. Justin Herbert
• 30:05
  was blitzed on 19 of 34 dropbacks, which is 55
• 30:09
  .9%, which was his second highest blitz rate
• 30:12
  he's faced this season. When facing the blitz,
• 30:15
  Herbert completed 10 of 17 passes, for 101 yards,
• 30:19
  one touchdown, and one pick. Since 2019, the
• 30:22
  Chiefs generated their second highest blitz rate,
• 30:25
  generating 10 to 15 pressures. The Chargers defense
• 30:28
  generated pressures on 21 of 40 dropbacks, which
• 30:31
  is 52 .5 % against the Chiefs, despite blitzing
• 30:34
  only twice. Khalil Mack and Tuli... Tulepilatu
• 30:38
  generated 8 of 7 pressures while both generating
• 30:41
  pressure rates of 20%. Adafia Way and Tule Tulepilatu
• 30:45
  each recorded 2 sacks while 9 different Chargers
• 30:48
  defenders recorded a pressure. Since being traded
• 30:51
  to the Chargers, Adafia Way has generated a 14
• 30:54
  .1 pressure rate. We're going to put a bookmark
• 30:57
  on that for just a moment. My main takeaway from
• 31:00
  this game is that the Chargers are heating up
• 31:02
  at the right time. This is the point where a
• 31:04
  lot of teams either heat up or they cool off.
• 31:07
  And right now, if you're Pittsburgh, if you're
• 31:10
  the Bills, if you're any of those AFC teams that
• 31:13
  may have to face the Chargers, I don't know if
• 31:15
  you really want to do that. Because defensively,
• 31:18
  they're on fire. And offensively, Justin Herbert
• 31:20
  has been cooking. And that run game low -key
• 31:23
  has been cooking as well. Greg Roman, I see what
• 31:25
  you're doing, my boy. I see what you're doing.
• 31:28
  And mind you, Justin Herbert is doing this without
• 31:31
  his starting tackles. If you would have told
• 31:34
  me that the Chargers would be playing the way
• 31:36
  that they've been playing without their starting
• 31:38
  tackles, I would have called you a liar. But
• 31:40
  Justin Herbert has been able to adapt with it,
• 31:42
  make it work, and win. And that's a good sign.
• 31:45
  But it's also a dangerous sign as well. Because
• 31:47
  then that means he's playing with house money.
• 31:49
  So anybody that he faces, oh, you about to get
• 31:52
  the business. Steelers, I really hope you guys
• 31:54
  don't have to face the Chargers. I really do,
• 31:57
  because I don't want to see that, honestly. But
• 31:58
  we're not talking about that, okay? All jokes
• 32:00
  aside, though, I think we need to have an honest
• 32:03
  conversation about the Chiefs. And I know most
• 32:05
  people have been hearing about it from, you know,
• 32:07
  different platforms and whatnot. Oh, is the dynasty
• 32:10
  over? Is it over? What are they going to do now?
• 32:13
  I'm here to say that the Chiefs dynasty is over.
• 32:16
  Yes, I still have my GM hat on. Yes, we're going
• 32:18
  to go a little bit deep about the Chiefs. Although
• 32:21
  Patrick Mahomes got hurt. I think this was the
• 32:24
  perfect moment to have this conversation with
• 32:27
  the Chiefs. Because what we've seen in the last
• 32:29
  few years is that they have been declining significantly.
• 32:33
  And I think at this point, it's time for you
• 32:36
  to make a significant change. It's time for you
• 32:39
  to let go some of these veteran players go that
• 32:41
  have value and just rebuild this team. What you
• 32:45
  have right now offensively is not good enough.
• 32:48
  When you compare this Chiefs offense, or better
• 32:51
  yet, the last... Two years of the Chiefs offense
• 32:55
  compared to the first three years of the Chiefs
• 32:58
  offense. This offense right here would get crushed.
• 33:02
  And granted, I understand they don't have a whole
• 33:04
  lot of talent. They don't have a Tyree kill and
• 33:05
  whatnot. But you would have thought by now that
• 33:08
  Xavier Worthy would have taken that next step.
• 33:10
  You would have thought Rasheed Rice and Hollywood
• 33:12
  Brown would have taken that next step. You would
• 33:14
  have thought somebody in the tight end room would
• 33:16
  have taken that next step. But clearly nobody
• 33:19
  has it. The run game has significantly regressed.
• 33:23
  And so if you're management, it's time for you
• 33:26
  to let go some of these players. Now, me personally,
• 33:30
  I would venture to say you're probably have to
• 33:32
  get rid of Chris Jones first. Now, I know these
• 33:34
  fans, you're probably, you know, probably freaking
• 33:36
  out right now because of what I just said. You
• 33:38
  probably stopped listening to this podcast. And
• 33:40
  for that, I say thank you for listening to the
• 33:42
  Football Junkies podcast, okay? But on a serious
• 33:44
  note. I think you need to approach Chris Jones
• 33:47
  and I think you need to ask him, would you be
• 33:49
  willing to take a pay cut? And if he says no,
• 33:52
  trade him. Because he still has value. Somebody
• 33:55
  would be willing to give up a first round pick
• 33:57
  for Chris Jones. Somebody would be willing to
• 34:00
  give up a second or third round pick for George
• 34:02
  Kaloftis. Somebody would be willing to give you
• 34:05
  X amount of draft picks for some of these players.
• 34:08
  Your team needs to get younger and it needs to
• 34:11
  get cheap. Right now, according to SpotRack,
• 34:13
  your free agents are Hollywood Brown, Eliza Mitchell,
• 34:17
  Jerry Tillery, Kareem Hunt, Brian Cook, Juju
• 34:20
  Smith -Schuster, Derek Nandi, Leo Chanel, Deion
• 34:23
  Bush, Robert Tunyon Jr., Gardner Minshew, Janorius
• 34:27
  Robinson, Tyquan Thorin, just to name a few.
• 34:30
  Now, granted, you are in a good position from
• 34:33
  a financial standpoint because you can still
• 34:36
  create cash space. So, according to SpotRack,
• 34:39
  Patrick Mahomes right now carries a $78 .2 million
• 34:43
  cap hit into next year. That's second only to
• 34:46
  Lamar Jackson, who carries a $80 .7 million cap
• 34:49
  hit, which most likely is going to be adjusted.
• 34:51
  But the Chiefs can convert $54 .5 million of
• 34:54
  this compensation into a signing bonus this March,
• 34:57
  bringing up $43 .5 million of cap space for 26.
• 35:00
  That is the model that you want to do for a lot
• 35:03
  of these contracts. And you need to convince
• 35:05
  them by saying, listen, If you take this pay
• 35:09
  cut, we're going to be able to surround you guys
• 35:11
  with better talent so that we can continue to
• 35:14
  win. But we can't win if you guys are taking
• 35:17
  on a lot of money. And if they don't want to
• 35:19
  hear it, ship them off. Whoever is giving you
• 35:22
  the best offer, whether it be a divisional rival
• 35:24
  or not, ship them off. Because that's what you
• 35:26
  need to do at this point. Because what you have
• 35:29
  right now is not sustainable. The Broncos have
• 35:32
  finally catched up. They got their act together.
• 35:34
  Their Chargers are starting to get their act
• 35:36
  together as well. There are other teams in the
• 35:38
  AFC that you are now going to have to worry about
• 35:42
  moving forward. So what are you going to do?
• 35:45
  Because the model that you have right now is
• 35:47
  not sustainable. Granted, you guys won a championship
• 35:50
  after trading away Tyreek Hill. Cool. But since
• 35:53
  then, this offense is not dynamic, explosive,
• 35:57
  or consistent. And another thing, you guys might
• 36:00
  need to bring back Eric Biennemi. No disrespect
• 36:02
  to Matt Nagy, but brother, you are just absolutely
• 36:05
  atrocious. Like, this offense is just bad. You
• 36:10
  mean to tell me that Isaiah Pacheco was averaging
• 36:14
  1 .9 rushing yards per carry? This is no shot
• 36:19
  at Isaiah Pacheco. This is not me saying that
• 36:22
  he went up against the Steel Curtain or the Four
• 36:24
  Horsemen or whatever. But are you serious? 1
• 36:27
  .9 rushing yards per carry? That means your rushing
• 36:30
  game was just non -existent. You need to surround
• 36:34
  Patrick Mahomes with more reliable weapons. The
• 36:37
  speedy receiver model is dead. You need to be
• 36:40
  going after some Nick Harbors of the world, Denzel
• 36:43
  Bosses of the world, Makai Lemons, Cardinal Tapes,
• 36:46
  just to name a few. Those are the people that
• 36:49
  you need to be concerned about. Because the speedy
• 36:52
  receivers, they don't work no more. You have
• 36:54
  Xavier Worthy. And what has he done? What has
• 36:57
  he done that makes you think that he is wide
• 36:59
  receiver one? Be honest. What are you going to
• 37:02
  do with Trent McDuffie? That's a lot of money
• 37:04
  that you're going to have to pay him. Are you
• 37:06
  going to be willing to pay him? Because the quarterback
• 37:08
  room that you have right now isn't sustainable.
• 37:11
  You have a lot of tough decisions that you have
• 37:13
  to make moving forward. And I think if you're
• 37:15
  Andy Reid, you're going to buy into the process.
• 37:19
  But if you feel like the process is just a little
• 37:22
  bit too slow for you, then just walk away. Because
• 37:25
  right now... you have solidified yourself as
• 37:29
  one of the greatest head coaches of this era.
• 37:32
  You are going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer
• 37:35
  without question. I would rather for you to just
• 37:38
  ride off into the sunset than for you to stay
• 37:40
  way too long. But again, this is why we have
• 37:43
  to appreciate the Patriots model because they
• 37:46
  were not only coaching well. but they were convincing
• 37:49
  players to take less. And by taking less and
• 37:53
  trading away players two years earlier than two
• 37:56
  years later, they were able to sustain long -term
• 37:59
  success. The number one thing that messed up
• 38:02
  the Chiefs was when they paid Patrick Holmes
• 38:05
  a bunch of that money, Travis Kelsey a bunch
• 38:07
  of that money, and then Chris Jones a bunch of
• 38:09
  that money. Granted, I understand those are the
• 38:12
  three faces of this team. And I understand without
• 38:15
  those three faces, A lot of people are not going
• 38:18
  to want to go to the games and buy those jerseys
• 38:20
  and merch and whatnot. But at some point, you
• 38:23
  have to draw the line and have to say, I understand
• 38:25
  what you want, but are you trying to win more
• 38:28
  championships or are you trying to stuff your
• 38:30
  pockets? Because if you're trying to win a championship,
• 38:33
  you know what you got to do. Look at Tom Brady.
• 38:36
  Look at Gronk. Look at Julian Edelman. They don't
• 38:38
  have to work another day in their life if they
• 38:41
  don't want to. Because you know why? Every time
• 38:43
  they go on a show, every time that they go on
• 38:45
  a podcast, every time that they make appearance,
• 38:48
  what do they say? Three -time Super Bowl champion.
• 38:50
  Six -time Super Bowl champion. Seven -time Super
• 38:53
  Bowl champion. That's the first thing that they
• 38:55
  say about them. And that title alone is money.
• 38:58
  But we're going to talk about that when the offseason
• 39:00
  comes. Let's talk about the Bills and Patriots.
• 39:03
  But before we do that, We got to pay some bills.
• 39:06
  Pardon the interruption, but this is your GM,
• 39:08
  your bag road domus here to talk about RSS .com.
• 39:11
  All right. So if you guys already don't know,
• 39:14
  I'm a RSS .com affiliate. And so I just want
• 39:17
  to tell you for just a quick moment about why
• 39:20
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• 39:23
  on my journey of podcasting, I was looking at
• 39:26
  different platforms just to find the right place.
• 39:30
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• 39:32
  but i checked out rss .com and it was the best
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  ads program. So now you can get paid for posting
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• 40:15
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  And thank you, RSS .com, for making me an affiliate.
• 40:45
  Now back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks.
• 40:48
  So I know I was supposed to talk about the Bills
• 40:49
  and Patriots game, but there was a few things
• 40:51
  that I forgot about the Chiefs game. So for starters,
• 40:54
  the Chargers clearly won the Odafeo Way trade.
• 40:58
  Now, I know in previous episodes, I've said every
• 41:00
  time a pass rusher leaves Baltimore and goes
• 41:02
  to another team, they have success. And that
• 41:05
  is true. And we're seeing that with Odafeo Way.
• 41:07
  Here's a stat for you. During weeks one through
• 41:10
  five with the Ravens, Adafia Way pressure rate
• 41:13
  was 13%. Now, during those same weeks, Adafia
• 41:17
  Way didn't record a sack, but since being with
• 41:21
  the Chargers, has four sacks over the last four
• 41:24
  weeks with the Chargers, and has a 40 % pressure
• 41:28
  to sack conversion rate. You don't believe me?
• 41:30
  Here's another stat. Since being traded to the
• 41:33
  Chargers, Adafi Owe has generated a 14 .1 % pressure
• 41:38
  rate. The proof is in the pudding here, folks.
• 41:41
  Something clearly is wrong with the Ravens. Because
• 41:45
  when he was on the Ravens, he really wasn't that
• 41:47
  good. He wasn't able to showcase his skill set.
• 41:50
  But since being with the Chargers, he's been
• 41:52
  going off. And I know people are going to say,
• 41:54
  well, of course you're going to go off because
• 41:56
  you have Khalil Mack, you have this person, that
• 41:58
  person, but... Adafi Owe was creating pressure
• 42:01
  just by himself. Same thing as the other pass
• 42:03
  rusher and Khalil Mack. They were going after
• 42:05
  Patrick Mahomes and he didn't have an answer
• 42:08
  for it. And if we're being real here, I would
• 42:10
  venture to say this is probably, well, let's
• 42:13
  see. I can't even remember now to think about
• 42:15
  it. This is probably the one year where I've
• 42:17
  seen Patrick Mahomes run a lot. Usually he'll
• 42:20
  do it in spurts and he'll usually do it like
• 42:22
  in the playoffs, but every chance he gets, he's
• 42:25
  just escaping the pocket. And I think a lot of
• 42:27
  that had to do with, you know, people not getting
• 42:29
  open and defenses now have the personnel and
• 42:34
  they now have something in place. to counteract
• 42:37
  Patrick Mahomes. But again, we're going to save
• 42:39
  that for the offseason. Okay, so let's talk about
• 42:41
  the Bills and Patriots. All right, this time,
• 42:43
  this time for real, we're going to do it. All
• 42:45
  right, so Josh Allen, 28 attempts for 19 completions,
• 42:48
  193 passing yards, three touchdowns, 6 .9 yards
• 42:52
  per tip, and a 67 .9 completion percentage. James
• 42:55
  Cook, 22 attempts for 107 rushing yards, 4 .9
• 43:00
  rushing yards per carry, two touchdowns, and
• 43:02
  three rushes of 10 plus yards or more. Khalir
• 43:04
  Shakir, Five targets for five receptions, 65
• 43:07
  receiving yards, and 13 receiving yards per reception.
• 43:10
  Drake May, 23 attempts for 14 completions, 155
• 43:15
  passing yards, one pick, 6 .7 yards per attempt,
• 43:18
  and a 60 .9 completion percentage. Travion Henderson,
• 43:21
  14 attempts for 148 rushing yards, 10 .6 rushing
• 43:25
  yards per carry, two touchdowns, and two rushes
• 43:28
  of 10 plus yards or more. Mack Hollins, eight
• 43:31
  targets for four receptions. 41 receiving yards,
• 43:34
  and 10 .3 receiving yards per reception. So here's
• 43:36
  a few junkie nuggets. The Bills are 10 -1 when
• 43:39
  James Cook rushes for over 100 scrimmage yards,
• 43:42
  and are 0 -3 when he has fewer than 100 rushing
• 43:46
  yards. The loss to the Bills was the first game
• 43:49
  the Patriots allowed over 27 points. The Patriots
• 43:52
  have allowed 23 or fewer points in 12 of the
• 43:55
  first 13 games this season. The Patriots allowed
• 43:58
  a season -high 168 rushing yards against the
• 44:01
  Bills. the first game allowing over 140 rushing
• 44:05
  yards this season. In the first half, Josh Allen
• 44:09
  averaged 2 .4 air yards per attempt, but in the
• 44:12
  second half, Josh Allen averaged 9 .8 air yards
• 44:17
  per attempt and completed four of seven downfield
• 44:19
  passes for 91 yards and one touchdown. He also
• 44:23
  had 11 carries for 48 rushing yards, including
• 44:26
  32 rushing yards on three design runs. On short
• 44:31
  passes, Drake May completed 11 of 13 attempts
• 44:34
  for 89 yards, but struggled downfield going three
• 44:38
  for nine for 66 yards and a pick on passes over
• 44:41
  10 air yards. May also ran for 43 rushing yards
• 44:44
  and two touchdowns. Now with that being said,
• 44:47
  let's unpack this game because there's a lot
• 44:49
  to be said about this. For starters, I really
• 44:52
  believe that the Patriots had choked this game
• 44:55
  away. But when I actually looked at the game
• 44:57
  again, I was like, the refs may have cheated
• 45:00
  them out of this game. Perfect example, third
• 45:03
  and goal, three minutes and 50 seconds left,
• 45:05
  James Cook rushing touchdown. Now, when you look
• 45:08
  at it, it looks like he's not in the end zone.
• 45:11
  It looks like he hasn't crossed the white line,
• 45:13
  but apparently they ruled it a touchdown. Why?
• 45:17
  I don't know. Another example, fourth and two,
• 45:20
  11 minutes, 22 seconds left, fourth quarter,
• 45:23
  Josh Allen throws a deep pass to Khalir Sakhir
• 45:26
  that they rule a catch, even though technically
• 45:30
  speaking, It probably should have been an interception.
• 45:33
  Or better yet, just replay the play. But outside
• 45:36
  of those two controversial plays, Josh Allen
• 45:39
  was cooking in the second half. Second and goal,
• 45:41
  two minutes left. Josh Allen throws to James
• 45:44
  Cook for a touchdown. Second and goal, third
• 45:46
  quarter, 11 minutes, 35 seconds left. Josh Allen
• 45:50
  throws to Dawson Knox for a touchdown. Third
• 45:52
  and seven, the third quarter, 10 minutes and
• 45:54
  five seconds left. Drake May is sacked by Matt
• 45:57
  Milano. Third and goal. Three minutes and 50
• 46:00
  seconds left. Well, actually, no, we just talked
• 46:02
  about that actually now that I think about it.
• 46:04
  Third and goal, 10 minutes, 10 seconds left.
• 46:07
  Fourth quarter, Josh Allen to Dawson Knox. Second
• 46:10
  and one, six minutes and 53 seconds left. Fourth
• 46:13
  quarter again, James Cook rushing touchdown.
• 46:16
  Now, in between all this, you know, Travion Henderson
• 46:18
  runs for a touchdown and extend the lead, and
• 46:21
  Drake May, you know, catches up with him one
• 46:23
  down. Ooh, it's a great thing, it's a great thing,
• 46:25
  but... I'm listing off those plays because I
• 46:29
  believe that those plays were the turning points
• 46:32
  of this game. Because once Josh Allen started
• 46:35
  cooking, the Patriots defense didn't have an
• 46:37
  answer for it. And mind you, they wasn't doing
• 46:39
  anything spectacular. They were doing the same
• 46:42
  thing. He was passing the ball well. They were
• 46:45
  running the ball well. And Josh Allen was just
• 46:47
  being Josh Allen. But my thing is this. Why did
• 46:50
  you stop running the ball like how you did in
• 46:53
  the first half? Because in the first half, you
• 46:56
  ran 33 plays for 285 total yards, 11 passing
• 47:01
  attempts for 9 completions, 108 passing yards,
• 47:05
  22 rushing attempts for 177 rushing yards, 3
• 47:09
  touchdowns, and 16 first downs. Now in the second
• 47:12
  half, you ran 18 total plays, 100 total yards,
• 47:16
  12 attempts for 5 passing completions, 47 passing
• 47:20
  yards, took 3 sacks, 1 pick, And three rushing
• 47:25
  attempts for 69 rushing yards, one touchdown,
• 47:28
  and three first downs. What happened? And I don't
• 47:30
  want anybody to say, well, they got this person
• 47:33
  or that person on the defense. That defense for
• 47:36
  the Bills really isn't that good. They just clamped
• 47:39
  you down. They made adjustments. They figured
• 47:41
  out what you were going to do. And they took
• 47:43
  it away. And they dared you. And if you're the
• 47:46
  Patriots, that has to leave a bitter taste in
• 47:49
  your mouth because you had the lead. The game
• 47:52
  was yours. All you had to do was maintain the
• 47:56
  lead. All you had to do was continue to run the
• 48:00
  ball. But you didn't want to run the ball. Why?
• 48:03
  I don't know. So now you've given the Bills a
• 48:06
  glimmer of hope. Now am I saying that the Bills
• 48:09
  can face the Patriots in the playoffs and possibly
• 48:11
  beat them? At this point, anything is possible.
• 48:14
  With the Chiefs being eliminated from the playoffs,
• 48:17
  this is basically open season for any team. Anybody
• 48:22
  that you feel like could make a run this year,
• 48:25
  this could be their year. But I will say this.
• 48:27
  If Josh Allen doesn't make it to the Super Bowl
• 48:30
  this year, there is no excuses. I don't care
• 48:33
  what any Bills fan says. I don't care what any
• 48:36
  Josh Allen fan says. I don't care what you pull
• 48:40
  up. There is no excuse on why they shouldn't
• 48:45
  be in the Super Bowl this year. because they
• 48:47
  are in the prime position to do it. You don't
• 48:51
  have to face the Chiefs this year. The only other
• 48:54
  team that you really have to worry about is the
• 48:56
  Broncos. As long as you don't have to go to Denver,
• 48:59
  as long as you don't have to go to LA, as long
• 49:02
  as you don't have to face the Texas again, you're
• 49:04
  good. But let's talk about the Packers and Broncos.
• 49:08
  So Jordan Love, 40 attempts for 24 completions,
• 49:10
  276 passing yards. one touchdown, two picks,
• 49:14
  6 .9 yards per attempt, and a 60 % completion
• 49:17
  percentage. Josh Jacobs, 12 attempts for 73 rushing
• 49:21
  yards, 6 .1 rushing yards per carry, one touchdown,
• 49:24
  and two rushes of 10 plus yards or more. Jaden
• 49:27
  Reed, six targets for five receptions, 55 receiving
• 49:30
  yards, and 11 receiving yards per reception.
• 49:33
  Bo Nix. 34 attempts for 23 completions, 302 passing
• 49:37
  yards, 4 touchdowns, and 8 .9 yards per attempt,
• 49:41
  and a 67 .6 completion percentage. RJ Harvey,
• 49:45
  19 attempts for 65 rushing yards, 3 .4 rushing
• 49:48
  yards per carry, and 1 touchdown. Cortland Sutton,
• 49:51
  10 targets for 7 receptions, 113 receiving yards,
• 49:55
  1 touchdown, and 16 .1 receiving yards per reception.
• 49:59
  So here's a few junkie nuggets. Prior to week
• 50:01
  15, Jordan Love had only threw four picks. When
• 50:06
  Jordan Love throws one or fewer picks, the Packers
• 50:10
  are 9 -1 -1. And 7 -0 when Jordan Love doesn't
• 50:15
  throw an interception at all. Jordan Love faced
• 50:18
  pressure on 52 .2 % of his dropbacks, the highest
• 50:22
  pressure rate of his career as a starter. Now
• 50:25
  when facing this pressure in the first half,
• 50:28
  Jordan Love completed 8 of 11 passes. for 119
• 50:32
  yards and one touchdown while not taking a sack.
• 50:35
  In the second half, Jordan Love completed two
• 50:38
  of eight attempts for 28 yards, one pick, and
• 50:42
  took on three sacks. Bo Nix faced zone coverage
• 50:45
  on 89 .2 % of his dropbacks, the third consecutive
• 50:49
  game he's faced zone at a rate above 89%. Now
• 50:54
  when facing zone coverage, Bo Nix completed 21
• 50:57
  of 30 passes for 267 yards, the second most of
• 51:02
  his career. The Packers were in 12 personnel
• 51:05
  on 25 .4 % of offensive plays, which is 16 out
• 51:09
  of 63, averaging 9 .4 yards per play. The Packers
• 51:14
  accumulated 150 total yards, including Josh Jacobs'
• 51:20
  40 -yard touchdown run. Luke Musgrave catching
• 51:23
  four of six targets for 52 yards. And John Fitzpatrick
• 51:27
  catching three of four targets for 18 yards.
• 51:31
  My takeaway from this game is that the Broncos
• 51:33
  can go toe -to -toe with any AFC or NFC opponent.
• 51:37
  And the reason why I say that is because every
• 51:40
  time Jordan Love made a play, Bo Nix responded.
• 51:44
  And he didn't just tamper down. He increased
• 51:47
  as the game continued. And as the game continued
• 51:51
  for Jordan Love, he decreased. Now, is that because
• 51:54
  he threw picks? Is that because he got sacked?
• 51:57
  Who knows? But Bo Nix showed that he can go toe
• 52:01
  -to -toe with the best of them. And mind you,
• 52:03
  the Broncos was really beating the Packers in
• 52:06
  the air. It wasn't on the ground. The Packers'
• 52:09
  secondary allowed 302 passing yards. I feel like
• 52:13
  that's a bigger story to talk about than Micah
• 52:16
  Parsons tearing his ACL. Now, granted, I understand
• 52:20
  that with Micah Parsons being out for the rest
• 52:23
  of the year, their Super Bowl chances are basically
• 52:26
  slim to none. But come on. The Broncos were shutting
• 52:30
  down Micah Parsons. He wasn't doing anything.
• 52:33
  They were double and triple teaming him every
• 52:35
  single time. And it worked. So if you're the
• 52:38
  Packers, what do you do at this point? Because
• 52:40
  Rashawn Gary can't just do it by himself. And
• 52:43
  there were a lot of times where... the Packers
• 52:46
  secondary just gave up a crucial play for no
• 52:48
  reason. And it really didn't make any sense.
• 52:51
  Let me just read off to you some of the plays
• 52:54
  that I feel like were the turning points in this
• 52:56
  game. 3rd and 10, 3rd quarter, 5 minutes and
• 53:00
  36 seconds left. Jordan Love gets sacked by Jonah
• 53:03
  Ellis. 2nd and 10, 2 minutes and 34 seconds left.
• 53:07
  Bo Nix to Troy Franklin for a first down. 1st
• 53:11
  and 10, 1 minute, 7 seconds left, 3rd quarter.
• 53:15
  Bo Nix to Marvell Mims for a first down. Parsons
• 53:18
  also got hurt on that play as well. Praise to
• 53:21
  him. Second and 15, six seconds left. Third quarter,
• 53:25
  Bo Nix to Troy Franklin. The two -point conversion
• 53:28
  failed. Fourth and three, nine minutes and three
• 53:31
  seconds left. Fourth quarter, Bo Nix to Cortland
• 53:33
  Sutton for a first down. First and goal, seven
• 53:36
  minutes, 32 seconds left. Fourth quarter, R .J.
• 53:39
  Harvey's rushing touchdown. Second and eight.
• 53:42
  Six minutes, 37 seconds left. Fourth quarter.
• 53:46
  Jordan Love throws a pick to Riley Moss, even
• 53:48
  though the pass was intended to Dontavian Hicks.
• 53:51
  Second and eight. Three minutes and 56 seconds
• 53:54
  left. Fourth quarter. Jordan Love gets sacked
• 53:56
  by Tillman. Fourth and 10. Two minutes and 33
• 54:00
  seconds left. Fourth quarter. Jordan Love gets
• 54:03
  sacked again, but by Nick Benito and Zach Allen.
• 54:07
  Fourth and one. One minute, 15 seconds left.
• 54:10
  Fourth quarter. The Packers stuffed the Broncos,
• 54:13
  okay? So now you're thinking, what's gonna happen?
• 54:17
  Fourth and 15, 50 seconds left. Fourth quarter,
• 54:22
  Jordan Love throws an incomplete pass. As I just
• 54:25
  said, as the game continued on, the Broncos became
• 54:29
  more relentless in trying to go after Jordan
• 54:32
  Love. And they were successful. Nick Benito,
• 54:35
  Zach Allen. Jonah Ellis. I can continue to go
• 54:39
  down the list. All of those guys was creating
• 54:41
  a lot of pressure on Jordan Love. And at the
• 54:44
  same time, that secondary was able to hold their
• 54:46
  own against the Packers receivers. So I think
• 54:49
  with the Packers having a leaky secondary and
• 54:52
  their offense having to rely on Jordan Love having
• 54:55
  a perfect game and not throw any picks, I just
• 54:58
  think right now they're not in a position to
• 55:00
  compete for a Super Bowl. I think if they did
• 55:03
  this again in the Super Bowl, I think it would
• 55:05
  have been the same outcome, which is the Broncos
• 55:08
  beating the Packers. Because I feel like defensively,
• 55:11
  they know when to turn it on and turn it off
• 55:13
  when it comes to blitzing. And they have the
• 55:15
  line that is able to create pressure from multiple
• 55:19
  players. It's not just coming from one player.
• 55:22
  You have to worry about Nick Benito, Zach Allen.
• 55:26
  Cooper. You have to worry about Jonah Ellis.
• 55:28
  You have to worry about Roach. You have to worry
• 55:30
  about every single one of those guys. You have
• 55:33
  to worry about Hufanga. You have to worry about
• 55:35
  Dre Greenlaw. They were playing a physical brand
• 55:38
  of football that as the game continued, the Packers
• 55:42
  weren't able to match their physicality. And
• 55:45
  it got to a point where Jordan Love just looked
• 55:47
  demoralized because there was nothing else that
• 55:50
  he could do. And I don't blame him for it. Because
• 55:53
  again, you're going up against the best defense
• 55:56
  in the entire league. And I dare anybody to say
• 55:59
  otherwise. I'm going to ask this question again.
• 56:02
  If you're the Packers, do you still believe that
• 56:06
  you are playoff contenders despite losing Micah
• 56:08
  Parsons? Do you still believe that you can make
• 56:12
  it to the NFC Championship? Do you believe that
• 56:15
  this season is a waste no matter the outcome
• 56:18
  of the rest of the season? You guys let me know
• 56:20
  in the comments on our YouTube, Football Junkies
• 56:22
  Pod, all right? Football Junkies Pod. I really
• 56:25
  want to have an honest conversation with you
• 56:27
  guys. I really do. I look forward to the conversations.
• 56:31
  I'm not somebody that's just going to ignore
• 56:32
  what you have to say. I value each and every
• 56:36
  one of your opinions, regardless if I feel like
• 56:39
  it's wrong or indifferent. I value your opinion.
• 56:43
  This is how we have honest conversations about
• 56:46
  teams and players and games and all those different
• 56:50
  things. But let's talk about the Dolphins and
• 56:52
  Steelers, okay? So Tua, 28 attempts for 22 completions,
• 56:55
  253 passing yards, two touchdowns, one pick,
• 56:58
  nine yards per attempt, and a 78 .6 completion
• 57:01
  percentage. Devon A. Chan, 12 attempts for 60
• 57:04
  rushing yards, five rushing yards per carry,
• 57:07
  and one rush of 10 plus yards or more. Devon
• 57:09
  A. Chan again. Six targets for six receptions,
• 57:12
  67 receiving yards, and 11 .2 receiving yards
• 57:15
  per reception. Aaron Rodgers, 27 attempts for
• 57:19
  23 completions, 224 passing yards, two touchdowns,
• 57:23
  8 .3 yards per attempt, and an 85 .2 completion
• 57:26
  percentage. Kenneth Gainwell. 13 attempts for
• 57:29
  80 rushing yards, 6 .2 rushing yards per carry,
• 57:32
  and 1 rush of 10 plus yards more. DK Metcalf,
• 57:35
  3 targets for 3 receptions, 55 receiving yards,
• 57:39
  1 touchdown, and 18 .3 receiving yards per reception.
• 57:42
  So here's a few junkie nuggets. Tua finished
• 57:45
  with an average time to throw of 3 .36 seconds.
• 57:49
  The first game of his career with a time to throw
• 57:51
  longer than 3 seconds. Tua completed four of
• 57:55
  his six dropbacks over four seconds for 60 yards,
• 57:58
  one touchdown, but faced 10 pressures, which
• 58:01
  is 30 .3%, if you want to do pressure rate, right,
• 58:04
  and took on four sacks. The first time Tua has
• 58:08
  faced double -digit pressures in a game since
• 58:11
  week five. Between the numbers. Aaron Rodgers
• 58:15
  finished 17 of 18 for 173 yards, recording a
• 58:19
  94 .4 completion percentage, his highest in the
• 58:23
  game since week 14 of the 2016 season. On 30
• 58:27
  pass blocks, Dylan Cook didn't allow a single
• 58:30
  pressure at left tackle. Dylan Cook faced Bradley
• 58:34
  Chubb on 18 matchups. Bradley Chubb's most pass
• 58:37
  rushes against a blocker without generating pressure
• 58:39
  in any game since 2018. In their last two matchups
• 58:44
  following the bye, the Dolphins have primarily
• 58:47
  used zone coverage on over 80 % of opponents'
• 58:51
  dropbacks. When playing zone defense before the
• 58:54
  bye, the Dolphins allowed 4 .5 yards per play
• 58:57
  and held opponents to a 40 .8 % success rate.
• 59:01
  Now before we get into all the games and whatnot,
• 59:04
  I just have one thing to say. And this is directly
• 59:06
  at Andrew Filippone and every single personal
• 59:09
  axe grinder that had something negative to say
• 59:12
  about Mike Tomlin. You thought I wasn't going
• 59:14
  to say something, but I am going to say something.
• 59:17
  Because all of you fools. I was going to use
• 59:21
  another word, but I'm not going to use that word.
• 59:23
  All of you fools. was saying, Mike Tomlin needs
• 59:27
  to be fired. Mike Tomlin's got to go. He's an
• 59:30
  embarrassment to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He's
• 59:33
  wasting the prime years of our great players.
• 59:36
  He's got to go. He's got to be fired. Well, he's
• 59:40
  in pole position to win the division. He beat
• 59:44
  the Ravens in Baltimore. And now there's a chance
• 59:47
  that he could beat the Lions as well. And if
• 59:50
  he beats the Lions, that makes it much more easier
• 59:53
  for him to win the division. So again, you guys
• 59:57
  put the cart before the horse because of your
• 1:00:00
  personal feelings about Mike Tomlin. Because
• 1:00:03
  you guys don't like Mike Tom because you're just
• 1:00:05
  so tired of seeing him be successful and seeing
• 1:00:09
  him persevere through all the crazy things that
• 1:00:12
  has happened within the last five years. Just
• 1:00:15
  say it. I would rather for you to say that. Then
• 1:00:19
  for you to go on your platforms and say, Mike
• 1:00:22
  Tomlin's got to go. He needs to be fired. Fuck
• 1:00:25
  Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin is a punk. He's a no
• 1:00:28
  good coach. He's a horrible coach. What do you
• 1:00:31
  want to say now? What do you want to say now?
• 1:00:32
  I just want to know what you want to say now.
• 1:00:34
  I'm going to ask again. Name me one head coach.
• 1:00:37
  that is able to do the exact same thing that
• 1:00:40
  Mike Tomlin has been able to do in the circumstances
• 1:00:43
  that he's been in for the last five years. I
• 1:00:45
  don't know a lot of head coaches that would be
• 1:00:47
  able to still carry teams to the playoffs and
• 1:00:51
  still have winning records with Kenny Pickett.
• 1:00:55
  Oh, no, wait, excuse me. Lenny Pickett, okay?
• 1:00:58
  Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Mitchell Trubisky,
• 1:01:01
  Aaron Rodgers, and Mason Rudolph. He has been
• 1:01:04
  successful. With all of those quarterbacks. And
• 1:01:08
  with Matt Canada. And with Arthur Smith. And
• 1:01:11
  another thing, I was wrong about Aaron Rodgers.
• 1:01:14
  Now, do I take back anything that I've said about
• 1:01:16
  Aaron Rodgers in the offseason? No. I still will
• 1:01:18
  stand ten toes down on everything that I said.
• 1:01:21
  And I still believe to this day that Aaron Rodgers
• 1:01:24
  should have committed to the Steelers earlier
• 1:01:26
  just so he could really be around everybody.
• 1:01:29
  Now, I understand that he was going through things
• 1:01:32
  and whatnot. You know, he's still playing really
• 1:01:35
  well, but I just would have wanted to see that.
• 1:01:37
  This was the Aaron Rodgers that I wanted to see.
• 1:01:41
  If you would have told me that Aaron Rodgers
• 1:01:44
  would be a class act professional from the start
• 1:01:47
  of the season until now, through everything that
• 1:01:50
  he's gone through, through periods of the offensive
• 1:01:53
  line not blocking well and him breaking his wrist.
• 1:01:58
  you know, the team losing whatnot and the offense
• 1:02:01
  underperforming at times. If you would have told
• 1:02:03
  me that he would still be a professional like
• 1:02:06
  how he is, I would have called you a liar. And,
• 1:02:09
  you know, kudos to Aaron Rodgers for really turning
• 1:02:14
  over a leaf and really proving the naysayers
• 1:02:17
  that, hey, despite what you guys think about
• 1:02:20
  me, I am a good guy. I'm a really cool guy. And
• 1:02:25
  I appreciate that. Now, he's had his moments
• 1:02:27
  where he's been a little bit critical of certain
• 1:02:29
  people and, you know, in different questions
• 1:02:32
  that have been asked about him. But overall,
• 1:02:35
  he has been a breath of fresh air for the Steelers.
• 1:02:38
  And he's been a light to these younger players
• 1:02:40
  on the offense. And I think that's great. Now,
• 1:02:43
  would I like to see, you know, him and Pat Fryer
• 1:02:46
  move to connect a little bit more? Of course.
• 1:02:48
  But I'm not going to nitpick. But since we're
• 1:02:51
  talking about Pat Fryer move. I would like to
• 1:02:54
  see Pat Frymuth be used in a unique way like
• 1:02:57
  how Johnnie Smith is used. That play when Johnnie
• 1:03:00
  Smith was lined up as a running back and he rolled
• 1:03:03
  out and he rushed in for a touchdown, I would
• 1:03:05
  like to see Pat Frymuth do it. I believe he can
• 1:03:08
  do that. You got to scheme something up different
• 1:03:10
  with move, man. I know he can do something special.
• 1:03:13
  You just got to give him a chance. Give him a
• 1:03:15
  chance. But on a serious note, we knew that the
• 1:03:19
  Dolphins' win streak was going to end with the
• 1:03:21
  Steelers. We knew that at some point the Steelers
• 1:03:26
  were going to flip a switch and they were just
• 1:03:29
  going to end whatever little hope that the Dolphins
• 1:03:31
  had. Now, granted, in the first half, they were
• 1:03:36
  playing real physical ball. They was hitting
• 1:03:38
  the Steelers. But then the Steelers responded
• 1:03:40
  with more physicality. Jalen Ramsey was getting
• 1:03:45
  the sack. This person was getting the sack. They
• 1:03:47
  was just everywhere. And the Dolphins didn't
• 1:03:50
  have an answer for it. And then Tua was holding
• 1:03:53
  on the ball for far too long. He wasn't able
• 1:03:56
  to push the ball down the field. And the Steelers
• 1:03:59
  limited Jalen Waddell. Or better yet, they eliminated
• 1:04:03
  Jalen Waddell and Devon A. Chan. And by the time
• 1:04:06
  they started to get something going, the game
• 1:04:09
  was essentially over. The Steelers had a significant
• 1:04:12
  lead, and the Dolphins knew that they couldn't
• 1:04:14
  make a comeback. And I think with the offense
• 1:04:17
  not being productive with Tua, I think that probably
• 1:04:20
  opened the door for Mike McDaniel to possibly
• 1:04:23
  consider making a change at quarterback. Because
• 1:04:26
  as of right now, you're eliminated from the playoffs.
• 1:04:28
  So you have nothing to fight for. So at this
• 1:04:31
  point, all of your starters, just count them
• 1:04:35
  out. Bring on some of these younger players.
• 1:04:38
  Let them start and play significant snaps on
• 1:04:41
  Sunday just to see what you have in them. And
• 1:04:43
  just go from there. Because at this point, Minka
• 1:04:47
  is probably going to be gone. a lot of those
• 1:04:49
  defensive players are going to be gone. So just
• 1:04:52
  accept your losses. It was a good run, but it's
• 1:04:56
  just time for you to admit your faults, admit
• 1:05:00
  that you guys weren't going to go that far, and
• 1:05:03
  just admit that this entire Tua remodel experiment
• 1:05:06
  was a failure. And I understand that Mike McDaniel's
• 1:05:11
  number one priority the minute that he was hired
• 1:05:14
  by the Dolphins was to refine and to rebuild
• 1:05:18
  Tua and whatnot, but it didn't work. You guys
• 1:05:22
  did it the wrong way. You guys can't throw a
• 1:05:25
  boatload of money at Teron Armstead and Tyreek
• 1:05:28
  Hill and Jalen Ramsey and this person and that
• 1:05:32
  person and think that you have a competent team.
• 1:05:34
  It doesn't work like that. Because when you guys
• 1:05:36
  was putting up 70 points on the Broncos and you
• 1:05:40
  was just super fast and you was just putting
• 1:05:43
  up these crazy numbers against all your opponents,
• 1:05:45
  that all stopped when you went to Kansas City.
• 1:05:49
  Because they beat you over the head. So if you're
• 1:05:52
  Mike McDaniel, at this point, you have to admit
• 1:05:56
  that you probably bit more than what you can
• 1:05:58
  chew with this whole Tua situation. And I think
• 1:06:01
  it's just best that you go into a more productive
• 1:06:04
  and better situation than what you have right
• 1:06:06
  now. Because staying with the Dolphins is not
• 1:06:10
  going to help you. All it's going to do is just
• 1:06:12
  ruin your reputation. Same thing with Anthony
• 1:06:15
  Weaver. Same thing with any of those veteran
• 1:06:17
  players. I would rather for you to go on a more
• 1:06:20
  competitive team and possibly win a championship
• 1:06:23
  than for you to be on this team and you guys
• 1:06:25
  don't go anywhere. Because let's be honest. a
• 1:06:29
  majority of the people that is on this team right
• 1:06:31
  now are most likely going to be moved fairly
• 1:06:34
  soon. But I'm going to end this episode here.
• 1:06:36
  If you guys like what you're listening, please,
• 1:06:37
  please, please, please, please make sure you
• 1:06:39
  guys leave a five -star, five -star, five -star,
• 1:06:41
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• 1:06:44
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• 1:06:46
  We are available on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere
• 1:06:49
  else that you can listen to podcasts, all right?
• 1:06:51
  But if you want to find those other places, you
• 1:06:53
  go on Google, type in rss .com football junkies
• 1:06:56
  podcast. It should be the first link. You click
• 1:06:59
  on that and it'll give you an option to... Listen
• 1:07:01
  to the podcast through whatever internet browser
• 1:07:04
  that you're using. Now they have different sites
• 1:07:06
  and whatnot. So, you know, just choose what.
• 1:07:08
  Choose whichever one you want to, okay? Now,
• 1:07:10
  for my YouTube people, like, share, subscribe,
• 1:07:12
  turn the notification bell on, leave a comment
• 1:07:14
  down below. Let me know your thoughts on anything
• 1:07:17
  and everything that I have discussed on this
• 1:07:19
  episode. Am I right? Am I wrong? What are your
• 1:07:22
  thoughts? Please let me know. I want to have
• 1:07:25
  a debate. I want to have a conversation. I'm
• 1:07:27
  not going to be somebody that's going to say,
• 1:07:29
  you're wrong. You don't know what you're talking
• 1:07:31
  about. I know more than you because I have access
• 1:07:33
  to certain things that you don't have access
• 1:07:35
  to. No, I don't. I'm not going to be that. person,
• 1:07:38
  okay? Now, when you go on our YouTube, Football
• 1:07:41
  Junkies Pod, Football Junkies Pod, there is a
• 1:07:44
  link tree. When you click on that link tree,
• 1:07:46
  it'll take you to anywhere and everywhere that
• 1:07:47
  we have Football Junkies content, all right?
• 1:07:49
  Now, for my TikTok people, Football Junkies Pod,
• 1:07:52
  Football Junkies Pod. I was going to continue
• 1:07:55
  to post clips from gut check time, but I'm not
• 1:07:58
  going to do that. I'm going to post some other
• 1:08:00
  clips from other more recent episodes, okay?
• 1:08:03
  Just so you guys can be more enticed and we can
• 1:08:06
  have more debates about certain things on what
• 1:08:08
  I said about this podcast, all right? Now, for
• 1:08:10
  my Instagram people, football underscore junkies
• 1:08:12
  pod, all right? Football underscore junkies pod.
• 1:08:14
  Junkies pod is not what? It is together, not
• 1:08:22
  spaced, okay? It is together, not spaced. Football
• 1:08:26
  underscore junkies pod. Now for my blue sky people,
• 1:08:30
  G -M -K -A -I -L -E. G -M -K -A -I -L -E. It's
• 1:08:35
  the same thing with Twitter. G -M -K -A -I -L
• 1:08:39
  -E. As always, I hope I gave you guys the fix
• 1:08:42
  that you guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate
• 1:08:44
  you guys so much. Thank you guys for listening
• 1:08:46
  to the best football podcast that you can listen
• 1:08:48
  to on a week -to -week, day -to -day basis. As
• 1:08:51
  always, this is your GM Kale signing out. Peace
• 1:08:54
  and love. Later, guys. And another thing. You
• 1:09:06
  thought I wasn't going to talk about the Steelers
• 1:09:07
  offense. I am going to talk about the Steelers
• 1:09:09
  offense because Aaron Rodgers was cooking. DK
• 1:09:12
  Metcalf was cooking. Everybody was cooking. And
• 1:09:15
  we also have to talk about Cam Hayward trying
• 1:09:17
  to do TJ Watt's celebration. And he couldn't
• 1:09:19
  even get his leg up that high. But we'll probably
• 1:09:22
  talk about it on another episode. So, as always,
• 1:09:25
  I love you guys. I appreciate you guys so much.
• 1:09:27
  Stay tuned. We may be talking about college football
• 1:09:29
  in the next episode because... Ty Simpson plays
• 1:09:33
  tonight with Alabama. And then Dante Moore plays
• 1:09:36
  on Saturday. So maybe by then we'll probably
• 1:09:40
  have a little bit more understanding on who's
• 1:09:42
  declaring for the draft and who isn't. We'll
• 1:09:44
  talk about all of that and more. So as always,
• 1:09:47
  I love you guys. Peace and love. Later.