First Things First - Stefon Diggs signs with Commanders, Cowboys ‘top offense’, Matt Leinart joins, Nick’s Tiers

Episode Date: August 5, 2026

(0:00) Stefon Diggs signs with Commanders, Josh Allen has the right mentality? (26:22) Shedeur Sanders makes DC “sleep like a baby”, Can the Cowboys be the best offense? (39:16) Jadaveon Clowney signs with Texans, Is C.J. Stroud under more pressure than any QB?  (44:59) NIck’s Tiers (01:05:25) Rather have Jared Goff or Jordan Love? (01:13:31) Matt Leinart joins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Conditions apply. Visit scotiabank.com slash h-i-s-a-sa to learn more. Scotia Bank, you're richer than you think. Live from New York, it's a show that's back on Cameo doing SideQuest. Wow, I wasn't even going to promote it here, but it is true. Brew is inspired. Brew is inspired me.

Brew, I checked your price on Cameo. I went $1 higher. I got to get back on. Giannis told me I accidentally canceled. Deactivated? I didn't know. Time on threads. Yeah.

Are you on threads? Yeah. Threads is weird. No, threads is great. Draymond's dropping takes on threads. A lot of guys are on threads. Oh, he is? I got to get there.

I'm just telling you. A lot of guys are. Draymond didn't like my little take yesterday on the KD and the 6th. He didn't? What did he say? He might have misunderstood. He said, I got to do better. Oh, wow.

What? Dremont was on the World Series of Poker coverage last night. He was? Yeah. He's all over. He's all over. Is he a came of him? J.

You're working on that J? I'm just saying. He's 35 years old. He's always ready. He's ready. All right. All right. He's a definition of a guy you like, boom.

How many games they're going to win next year? Well, that's 41. 42. I mean, I'm just saying. Average. But he's getting ready for a second career. I get it. First hour, first things first today.

Well, the Cowboys have the best offense in the, in the league. And we talk about some historically great wide receivers. No, that's not what we're doing that topic. Yep, I put it back in the show.

George Pickin says he and CD Lamb. It's interesting, guys. I hope the audience enjoys today. Today it's a rare, it's usually only off air. Today's a rare on-air appearance from KW's alter ego,

Kelvin. Calvin loves talking Tori-hold Isaac Bruce versus CD-LAM George Pickens. Kevin Hates. That's that stuff. Meanwhile, I think it's super, look at Big Cat over there.

Coach's poll is out. Matt Liner joins us to discuss the favorites and the surprises. And whatever happened at your guys last meeting of the handsome men's club. He's got me beat. I'll be honest with you. Yeah, he's the chairman. Yeah, he's like six, five.

Yeah, yeah. Not fair. Pro quarterback. Yeah, and finally, a special five weeks until NFL kickoff episode of tears. Wow. Alongside Chris Broussard, I'm Kevin Wilde. How was the committee's meeting last night?

A little bit of folk. It was a card game. Yeah, we had a card game within the meeting. Okay. Because the thing is this, asking a lot of the committee, because we did tiers 50 days out. And now we're doing them like a week later, not a lot of reason for movement.

So we really had to put our heads together and figure out why there would be movement in the last week or so. Well, if you're grinding tape like Brew and I are. Yeah, no, we found it. But it's just asking a lot, you know, during this committee's some break. But that's why we had the card game.

Okay. Liven it up. We're starting in Buffalo. Josh Allen's got a new coach, new stadium, new wide receiver. Will his playoff results change? Well, eventually, according to him, take a listen. Definitely, we've watched it, we've put it in the past, we've learned from it, and you know,

it's, you've been in the playoffs a lot of times in the last, you know, however many years I've been here now and, you know, just continuing to find ways to learn from it. And I think that's a hard pill to swallow sometimes because we haven't gotten it done. But you know, you knock enough at the door. It's going to open at some point. And that's just what we have to keep doing is keep knocking on that door. Okay. Shout out to Kevin Clark. Lost in the divisional round or conference championship game longest streaks this century. Glass half full. Wow. Nice consistency. Glass half empty. You haven't gotten it done.

And, you know, two of those teams, you know, ultimately made the super bowl. Bowl. One of them, obviously, that Philip Rivers Chargers never did. The Ravens with Flacco, they then made it and won it. The Eagles with McNabb made it and lost. So do you agree with Josh's mentality? I think this is the exact right mentality. I, and I, it is one of, I also agree not only with the mentality with this belief or the sentiment. Like I've said that I believe eventually Josh is going to get a Super Bowl. And obviously, I believe that will happen in Buffalo. I don't think he's going to have to leave Buffalo to get one. And, and, you know, And you can, the problem with the divisional round losses, whether it's the 13 second game

where Josh played great or last year's division around loss where he had the four turnovers, it's hard to full on make the case, man, if we had just made one more play, we would have won the Super Bowl because they're in the divisional round. Like you can certainly, there are, there has been in five, four of their last five playoff losses, you could say they could have won that game by making one more play. The only one that was bad was that Bengals game in Buffalo blew them out. But only one of those would have even gotten them to the Super Bowl. So how close are they as far as on the individual seasons? But you feel like if you're just in the mix, you just in the mix, at some point,

you'll break through what's, I don't know if this is working for or against Josh. Historically, we would have thought he already would have. So most playoff wins by a quarterback without winning or without getting, without getting to a Super Bowl, he has the most by a lot. No other quarterback has six playoff wins without having started a Super Bowl. He's got eight. And then you go to most playoff wins without winning a Super Bowl. McNabb and Kelly have more.

McNabb went to one. Kelly went to four in a row. Marino went to one instantly. The fact that Josh is on this list is crazy. It's crazy. Well, you also, though, there's more opportunities to win playoff games nowadays. You have to say that. Seven teams making it now.

Correct. And fewer buys. And so that part's all true. But it does speak to the, you know, depending on how you want to look at it. Man, they are due to breakthrough or, man, oh man, everyone who has been this due to breakthrough previously had like they had already gotten through at this point they'd at least been to a Super Bowl and so I agree with the mentality I don't think it's a sure thing but I would bet on him being correct they will eventually get there well look and I said this I think

yesterday or day before and it can't be emphasized enough he blew it last year at least the chance to get there because Drake may again great year but second year in the league Boe Dix and who C.J. Stroud, like struggling C.J. Straught. The only great, great quarterback he was going to have to get through is Trevor and he beat him. Yeah. I mean, you, you had. That was the great opportunity. I don't know if that was such a great opportunity. Last year.

Oh, you just think just not having the chiefs saying he was a great opportunity. He didn't have to go through Joe Burrow. He didn't have to go whatever you think of Lamar in the playoffs in Lamar and Mahon. Just the chiefs. Okay, if he has just the cheats, but he has no record of success against the Texans defense. I'm just saying the other quarter. He's not, oh, good, I get to play the Texan defense. He would have lost that game.

The other quarterback being C.J. Stroudling as he is. But had they beaten Dittier, he wouldn't play the Texan defense. He'd have played you guys who you split with. I mean, a team, he certainly couldn't beat. It's never going to be easy in the playoffs. I'm just saying compared to what he's had. We've always said, okay, he hadn't gotten past Mahomes. Everybody hasn't done it.

Taking him a home. Yeah. I'll buy that. I just didn't think it was a cake walk. It wasn't a cake walk. It wasn't a cake walk. But having the patriots, the young patriots, who they split within the regular season,

two close games, certainly better than having the chiefs waiting for you historically. So that can't be stated enough. But I agree that I like the sentiment of let's just put ourselves in position again by having great regular seasons and getting in the playoffs and then we'll break through. However, that is not necessarily true. all right and no one knows that no fan base knows that more than buffalo exactly four straight

super bowls with jim kelly never got through fran targeted in minnesota they got through never break like it happens now i hope josh wins it i would think he will but maybe look john elway hall of fame career MVP great you know career didn't win his super bowls into the last two years of a 16 year career. So maybe you got Josh who needs one, Lamar who needs one. You've got great young quarterbacks coming up. Burrow, obviously Mahomes is still in his prime. So, I mean, it's not promised.

Now, I think Buffalo is really good. I think Joe Brady's going to be great with that offense. I think Jim Leonard, from what I'm reading about what he's done and what he's doing, it looks like the defense is going to be really good. So I think Buffalo is going to be great this year and right there in the mix. But I'm just saying it is not promise that if we keep knocking on the door, it's going to come open. Predictions week, August 31st. Yes.

Early prediction. Oh, outside of predictions week. Okay. In mid-October or before, I think we will have a question that leads this show. Is it time to panic about Buffalo? Is it their early schedule? Here's their schedule. Week one.

They are very tough in Houston. A friendly reminder. Their last two games, Josh against the Texans, which I was kind of seven games. Get it. Go ahead. He had eight sacks. They lost 70 yards. He threw two interceptions.

Was totally overwhelmed against Davis Mills that game. It was a Thursday night game played horrible. The previous year, that's when he completed nine passes for 131 yards. They lost. The Texans defense has his number and the offense should be better. Then it's a short week. We'll be at Nick's House for the viewing party. Oh, yeah.

Of the Lions. The Lions. Oh, is it, is it? That's the open of their new stadium? Yes. Weird, right? Short week, new stadium. The Lions reminds me a little bit of like when the Lions were facing, we had to go to Kansas City.

They won that game. Lions last week, week two, kind of a funky stat, but again, not nothing. Lions facing Ben Johnson in, this was in Chicago? Yes. No, this was at home. They won that game 52 to 20-something. Then it's the Chargers, always hot early in the year. Then it's the Patriots at home.

Again, we... That is tough. We beat the Patriots. They got one light game. We beat the bills in Buffalo last year. The year before that, in Buffalo, we were up 21-0 and kind of the wheels came off. But Drake May is one-in-one in Buffalo. Then the Rams, then the Raiders and a buy.

And then after the buys the Ravens. No, that is a group of course. I didn't, I know I had seen it, but I had not remembered that. where they're at. So worst case scenario. No, worst case scenario is, I guess. Versus one way. You beat the Raiders. To start and then the Raiders, worst case scenario is two and four going into the buy. It's like I just don't. And they're like coming out of the by like, oh good, we've got Lamar. Or you think it's worse? I agree. I mean, they're not, they're a really good team. They're not going to lose five straight games start the year. Just rough. But it.

Sean and Dermott's teams were really good. And they never lost five straight games start the year. This is what I'm saying. I'm saying they're not starting. No, I'm saying they're going to beat you in that game. Oh, okay, I see what you mean. Can I get? They're going to beat you in that game because they, I mean, they could be one and two. I don't know about only three. I don't like it. The flip side of that is they can, they could be four and one going into the Raiders game and be five and one in the buy and be the then they're called.

Super Bowl favorite. Can I give a cross sport comp for player for player quickly, bro? Yeah. Because Josh's career is already an outlier. He's an MVP. I don't feel. I know other people. people do. I don't feel he's ever been the best player in the league, but I think in different eras maybe he might have had a moment where he was. The unique physical presence who plays the position kind of unlike anybody because of size reasons for different things. If I'm a Bills fan, my concern is that at the end of the career, the comp is Charles Barkley. Wow.

Where it's like, Berkeley was excellent in the playoffs. Barclay didn't drop off in the playoffs. You know what I mean? Barclay, it's like, ah, he was up against Jordan, right, versus up against Mahomes. Like, that is, it is, you can't. The thing about what people. Carl Malone dropped off in the playoffs. Ewing was a great player, but not that, not that level. Again, and I think Josh will get one, but that would be my concern, that it's like, man, got close, you know, a number of times.

Barclay did make one finals, but only one. And Josh could make a Super Bowl and lose it. You know what I mean? MVP. And MVP, and it's just, that would be the worry. Here's my worry, a bigger concern is, Cam Newton. Now, I know he's better than Cam.

But the shorter prime. Yeah, just, I mean, the way he runs is similar to Cam. He's running over defenders. He's taking a lot of hits. And does that shorten his prime? Yeah, we say kind of silly things when we talk about Josh. We're like, he's unconstructible. Like, he'll never get hurt.

I mean, he has the Iron Man straight. He hasn't played 10 years. Cam had what, 10, 10 years? Yeah, a little less. Yeah. I mean, that's a, there are a lot of, there are a lot of ways his career ends without a Super Bowl. It's not what I think is going to happen, but there's a lot of ways where it does. And one of them is, like you said, the hits, you just fall out?

Because it is, you know, we're in. Head to Baltimore, Lamar, going under center under a new O.C. Declan Doyle. Now, it's a change of pace for the Ravens offense, which featured mostly pistol and shotgun form. but it's not totally new to Lamar. It's how he played, checking notes, as a child. Take a listen, bro. I'm extremely comfortable with it. You know, on youth football, I was under center.

Haven't been under center since youth football were consistently under center. We did it here and there in the past, but with this, with this balanced type of offense, I feel like it would help us out a lot. Identifying the defense, letting defense, really getting, keeping defense on their toes. Bro, you're in a tough spot. You're a tough spot. Well, no, look, as you might imagine, he was a monster in youth football. Under center, no problem.

C.Y.O. Pop order, whatever he played, Muni. No, look, we showed it. Can we see those highlights again? I know 80% of the time he's in shotgun or the pistol. But he has been under center and you see he's completing passes. That's an interception. Well, I don't know. Show the good ones.

There's plenty of good ones. There's plenty of touchdowns and first downs. Are he all mixed? No, that's a good one. That was a good one. The first one was just an interception. They set you up bad for their rule. That was wrong.

I'm going to be honest. Look, I love this. Really? No, Mr. Yeah, I love it. because, like I said, he has have some familiarity in the NFL with being under center. But it just opens everything up. The play action.

Look, I thought Nick, when they got Derek Henry, I thought he'd be under center more. I didn't too. Because one, obviously play action. Two, it's easier for the tailback to run when your center, you know, quarterback's under center rather than in shotgun. And this is going to make them less predictable. When Henry, last year they were predictive. Last couple years.

If Henry's out there, okay, they're running the football. If he's not, they're, you know, probably passing or whatever. So I, look, Lamar, everything they've thrown at him, they didn't think he'd ever be a good. I actually was wondering, would he ever be a good passer earlier in his career? And he became a great one, I believe. And everything you've asked him to do, he's proven he can do. He was in those meetings with the coaches for the interviews. I'm sure Declan Doyle was like, look,

But I want to have Lamar under center a lot more. I think that opens up all types of possibilities. So Lamar was clearly on board with that. So I really like this. I think he's going to be, I think it's just going to make them so much more dangerous with him under center. I've got one take and then I have an announcement to make about the future of this show. Okay. Declan Doyle is from Ben Johnson's coaching tree.

And we saw this kind of pop up with Caleb. Ben Johnson wanted to put Caleb under center. So we did see Caleb, you know, add another element to his game and become a better player. And that, unfortunately, is going to be the final take I've had on this show. I'm leaving. I got an opportunity to invest in a beverage business. So I'm going to take it. And I'm very well versed in running beverages businesses.

I had a lemonade stand as a child. So they got me as the CEO. now. They said, wow. As a child, you're running a lemonade stand. So can I hear? That last part wasn't. All right. So I here is my, would be my concern, brew. And this will be Kevin Wilde's favorite part of the show. Really? More than a lemonade stand thing. Oh, we love this. This is ratings bananza. So there are just a lot, even if they're high likelihood positive, variables in play for the Ravens this year.

So I just want to go through them quickly and then I'll do the math. Where's the math coming? Oh, you're teasing us with it. So Lamar's health. Let's give, you know what? Let's say that's not. Let's have all the confidence. Let's give him 90% likelihood he plays the whole season.

Let's give him 90% of that. Jesse Minter, new coach, but I really like Jesse Minter. So instead of like the 50-50 proposition of a new coach, let's give Jesse Minter 80% likelihood that he works. Because most new coaches aren't taken over. Correct.

And I also thought Jesse Minter, like, had a good resume, if you will. It didn't feel like out of nowhere. Familiarity. So let's see. Lamar 90% likelihood stay healthy. Jesse Minter, 80% that they hit on the head coach. This under center thing is a little concerning, but let's also give that an 80% likelihood that it doesn't hurt Lamar.

Declan Doyle, I'm going to call it 75% likelihood that he is. a good O.C. So those are all, that's a nine out of ten, eight out of ten, eight out of ten, three out of four. That's great. The odds of the math on that of all of those things being yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, it's like 41%. And I know that's where I said, I know you don't, but you are asking for a lot of things that probably will work to all work. And this is now another variable we're throwing in there, which is adding the under center

plays, which he didn't run a ton of it. Louisville when he won the Hysman. That was a pro-style offense. That was one of the unfair knocks on Lamar. He was Bobby Petrino was running a pro-style offense, but it was pro-style the way he's running now, a lot of shotgun and pistol. You know, it's a young OC. That's, you know, that's at least something of a variable. Those things, that is, that's my concern for Baltimore because I don't believe, and we haven't talked much about this since the Trey Hendrickson and Max Crosby, you know, weeks. I don't know that they're going to have a great defense to fall back on. I think they could have...

You don't think it'll be better than last year? I think... Got it. I think... No, no, no. I think... But there's a big delta between better than last year and great. You know what I mean?

I think it can be good. And so I think the offense... If the Ravens are going to be the team you want them to be, I think it's going to be because they have a good defense and a great offense. And there's just a lot of unknowns going to be. into the offense that would concern me. So where are you at on it? I know you're joking about lemonade and iced tea and all that.

Yeah, I like, I think it is, I think it is a funny quote, but we just saw it with Caleb. And it worked. Well, and he's way. Way ahead of Caleb, where Caleb was at this point. Yeah, so I assume the only odd thing is, can I put it back on that real quick? Go ahead. Yes, he's way ahead of Caleb. It also means he has more muscle memory of doing it one way.

That's what I mean. You know what I mean? Caleb had one year and the pros playing a certain way. Been John Jop. Multiple of the years. At that point, we're just the process and all of that. Yeah, processing it. They have had.

There's a little bit of if it's not broke, don't fix it. That's fair. Passer, number one offense more than one year, two-time MVP, like, hey, we're going to switch it up. Part of me wonders if it's a little Brady to the Bucks-ish. Like, hey. Well, look, they can switch it if it's not working. They will back to do what I'm going to do.

They will if it's not working. Finally, late break. breaking news today. Stefan Diggs headed to the commanders, teaming up with Jayden Daniels. Last year, 85 catches over 1,000 yards, only four touchdowns, but they were memorable. Solid leadership, and he brought Cardi B to Foxborough several times.

Yeah, is he going to be bringing her to the... You know what? It is a bit of a rocky relationship. Are they still to get there? I'm not sure every once in a while. They got a lot of stuff going on there. Do you like this for the commanders? I am...

I am sure. I think it's fine for the commanders. Listen, I think Diggs is the best healthy receiver on the market, and I think he's better than Keenan Allen. Yes. And Tyreeks's not healthy. And Brandon Ayuk, God bless him, I think, is not going to play in the NFL anymore. And so I think if they felt they needed a wide receiver, maybe they were hoping over the last few months that Iuk would get his mentals together.

That sounded bad, but it seems like, yeah, whatever's going on with him that he would get it together. And so they had a spot open. So that makes sense. I am, I was actually going to turn this question a bit on. Should you or I be more disappointed by this? Oh, great question. Great question. Because I thought, you were kind of hoping he might go back to the Patriots. Yes, I don't know. I'm happy he got, I don't think we have $12 million there and we have a crowded wire receiver room. So I'm happy. It always felt like, hey, go get your money somewhere else. You just had a, and I'm curious. much of this is real like I'm curious how much of this is that is it 8 million guaranteed with

4 million incentives I don't know last year was his prove it year coming off of an ACL he was available to the whole league Patriots sign him we'll see what he does he had a thousand yards he had good leadership any sort of like off the field stuff was I get a bit of a mixed bag yes but didn't impact went to the Super Bowl had a monstrous game in week four against the bills when he was ahead of schedule for his ACL. I think that he's in a little bit of his like, his like Lil Wayne guest appearance era of his career. Like, oh, are you doing okay?

How about I hop on your team? And now, C.J. Stroud, you get a little pop. Josh Allen, you get a pop. Drake May, you get a pop. Jane Daniels, you get a pop. So I think Jane Dales needed this. And I think between the leadership, the productivity, he just straight up catches the ball.

It's great. The Chiefs need somebody who can... The Chief should be more disciplined. And it's the... It speaks right or wrong that the Chiefs feel like we're going to ride with

this group that we plan to ride with. It makes me very nervous. I also just want to be on the record because I'm sure he's watching. Lil Wayne until he's 100 years old will be in the Justin Jefferson phase of his career. He does a lot of... He'll pop on a song for you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And make your song not. But, Drew, go ahead. No, look, I think that he'd be really good with the Chiefs. Not all pro or anything, but I think he'd be just what they need. I think this is great for the commanders because you said it. C.J. Stroud, Josh Allen. Yeah, Drake May.

Drake May. Like, he's helped all of those guys become better quarterbacks. I think he's been humbled that hardly anybody wanted him this season. and so he's been on his best behavior in the locker room the last few years. Off the field, whatever, but it hadn't affected the team. I think this good. And he's not their number one. They got McLaurin. He'll be the number two guy.

I think this is a good move for the command. I think that he, at this point of his career, he plays stylistically last year exactly the way Rishie Rice plays. Like no long area, not the YAC, though. Not the YAC. No, but I understand. But my point is. catches the ball near the line of scrimand near the first downline.

And so Kansas clearly feels like that spot is filled. That is a risky guy to rely on. Risky. He did play in 11-11 today, though. Yeah. I participated. Yeah, he played. He caught a touchdown.

Oh, did he really? Yeah, are people sleeping on Shador? What do we think about these helmet cameras? I like them. Is this a social media thing? Or are you supposed to like... No, I think it's probably for your reeds? Yeah, I think it's self-study.

It's ridiculous. Technology. It's great. Technology? I thought you're anti-robots. You can study, study what you're looking like. What are you seeing? What are you seeing, Shabu?

The first ever all-electric 26 Subaru Trail Seeker is the EV for the Trail Obsessed, with up to 444 kilometers on a full charge and DC fast charging from 10 to 80% in about 30 minutes in ideal conditions. Plus, ample ground clearance and symmetrical oil. All-wheel drive, make the 2026 Trail Seeker the most capable EV Subaru has ever built. Test drive it at your local Subaru dealer or visit Subaru.ca. Hey, Predictions Week coming up at the end of the month, August 31st through September 4th. It's going to be star studded. Our first ever predictions week that spans two months.

It's never happened before. It's never unprecedented. A two-month predictions week. Welcome back to the show. Shador Sanders ranked 35th out of 35th. Out of 35 QBs in Mike Sandals, survey of executives and coaches, are people sleeping on him?

Well, one defensive coordinator says yes. Not a compliment. I'd sleep like a baby if I got to play him every week. Brew your reaction. Well, look, this is the NFL. No coddling, no baby, and I'm not worried about your feelings. In fact, I'm trying to hurt your feelings. If you're an opponent, I'm trying to get in your head, make you doubt yourself, and hurt your feelings.

So this is what you signed up for. That's real. I honestly didn't know that hurting the opponent's feelings were part of it. Oh, yeah. I want you questioning, am I built for this? Can I do this? That's what I mean, I'm just keeping it real. That's what it's about.

So that's fair, based on what we saw last year with Shadour, the 35th ranking of the 35 quarterbacks. You got to say it was fair. I mean, you could argue if you want J.J. McCarthy. Their numbers, Shadoors were slightly worse than J.J. McCartney. You could certainly argue him ahead of his teammate. Well, Deshaun, because Jean was, what, 31st?

Yeah. So it looks. We have stats. We're in the 30s, man. I know these stats are shaky, but they are true. What are these? stats from. I have him.

I have his stats. Oh, sorry. These are the practices so far. Six practices. And he is, he's killing Deshaun.

Yeah. Which is surprising to me, but he is. And look, this is what's best for the Browns. I agree that for them to have a competition and let the best man win.

Because Nick, I don't think Todd Monkin can go in there. And if Deshawn Watson was clearly the best quarterback, you can't. can't have credibility in that locker room and give it to Chador. But if Chadour is actually out playing him, the best case scenario for the Browns, Chadour is clearly the better quarterback in training camp.

The whole locker room believes it. He starts week one and Chadour is up to him to make the best of it. Yes. This is, that's just all it is to it. So so far, this is working out for the Browns and we'll see what Chadour can do. And, yeah, and the fact of the matter is he just has to take. the type of leap that I think will take multiple years, and he has to do it in one off season.

If he is going to be able to do what his personal goal probably is, which is not only win the job, but play well enough for them to not draft a quarterback next year. And because they have multiple picks. They have been priming to get ready to get ready to that. Right, trade up. There's a lot of things they can do. So when these were, you know, we say he's 35th out of 35 in the poll.

Here's his rankings with actual stats last year. I mean, he was 35th in completion percentage, which sometimes matters. He was dead last in touchdown to turnover. He was 36th in passer rating. He was tied for 31st in how often he is sacked. Can I ask you this? I saw Joe Flacco get released by the Browns because he was so ineffective. pop over to the Bengals and throw for 750 yards in one game.

Yeah. Okay. And now they have Todd Monkins brand new. Todd Monkins had the number one offense several times. But it's two rookie wide receivers. It is a totally new offensive line. I just, I think with a athlete, if they got, you know, who's the 18th best quarterback in the league?

If they, the-Lan-Hurts theory. He was 16th, Brune. 17th. In the player poll, it's actually Bryce. The, you know, whatever. I think it's a bottom five offense. And so I don't know. So here is the thing.

I listed, here are the quarterback's brew. I could only come up with eight guys that are starters that maybe I could see Shador having a better year then. And I'm not saying all of them, but this is the full, I'm not saying you have a better year than all of these guys. But these are Malik Willis, Gino Smith, rookie Fernando Mendoza,

Jackson Dart, Kyler Murray, Tuatung of Iloa, Tyler Shuck, Jacobi Brissette. And that is being very generous. Waits generous. Tua is very,

as we know Tua is not great. But to In Jim and O'Brien, he's like, what? No, I know. In Kyler as well, right. And so it really, so if we're going to take out DART,

Kyler, Tua, and Shuck. It's Jacoby, the number one overall pick, Fernando Mendoza, just because he's a rookie. Gino, who's probably, you know, potentially this is the last stop. And Malik Willis, who is one of the only guys in the league in probably a worse weapons and personnel situation than you should do. I just don't, I don't see how he is,

I have my own questions about him as the player because of his arm strength and athletic. which I think are below NFL average. And then you add the lack of weapons, the Cleveland dysfunction component, which just hits all their guys. I just don't know how he can have

a successful year. But look, you guys know I liked him coming out of college. And what I like is, like last year, let's just be honest about it. He didn't get a real shot. He did get to play enough games. Once the season started, yeah. But they didn't believe in him. It seems like

Stefansky clearly had no use for him and threw him in there because it didn't seem like he was Savanski's pick right and so at least this year he's got a full training camp Monkin is giving him a legitimate shot and at least on the surface I'm sure he's making Shadour feel like he believes in yeah remember that this is a real shot initial meeting when Monkin came in yeah he said we were going to draft you in yeah yeah yeah remember he bought it Shadour bought him something funny that he was like I I saw and thought of you.

Yeah. That's not. No, I think they have a good question. He's getting a real shot. Yes. And so let's see. So that is the thing. He will, it will, and even if the Browns end up with the second overall pick and drafts a quarterback,

he will at the end of this year he should have 20 some games of film to see if, you know, there's interest around the league elsewhere, a more stable situation. Yeah. Or whatever it is. Like he'll have. He's got to show he's in NFL court. Correct. Like if he does that, even if they're looking at him as, okay, he's a backup.

That'll be good for him now. NFL top 100. We're counting down on this list. George Pickens coming in at number 36. CD was ranked 55 earlier. DAC yet to be listed, but has already coined the phrase. Gotti. The greatest offense there is.

Like John Gotti. Well, I don't know if it's like Godfather. He wasn't the Godfather. What was he exactly? He wasn't the godfather? He was not the godfather. I thought he was. I thought he was the head of a crime family.

But I don't know if you, I, you don't automatically get to become the godfather. Why are you asking me like I'm an accident? I'm because you interrupted the read to clarify something. It's definitely John Gotti. Yeah. It's based off that. You know that. Are you buying the cowboys having the number one offense?

Absolutely. This is what they do when Dax healthy. That's true. Two of the last three times he's played a full season, which is three times in the last five years, they've been number one. They were number one in 2021, number one in 2023. And the second receiver those years to CD Lamb was Brandon Cooks

and Amari Cooper in 21. Okay, that's legit. But Amari, if George Pickens is solid as far as being professional. At that point of his career is not as good as Pickens is now. And then they had Tony Pippins. Pollard, who's very good, but an older Zeke. Yeah. So you can put Williams.

Williams, I like Williams. They don't know that. And so do the Cowboys. So they got two great receivers. Dak, if he stays out, they can definitely. I mean, I don't think anybody can not deny that they could definitely be the best offense in football. So I agree with you, Brew, that it can be.

And I just want to take it a step further. If you can be the number one offense, as long as you do not have a catastrophically bad defense, that means you can make the Super Bowl. And I know like the Cowboys to the Super Bowl is almost over-discussed in sports, not almost, it is over-discussed in sports television as a whole. I think we, you know, we talk about the Cowboys a lot like all the shows do. I don't think we talk about, you know, is this their year as much as maybe others?

but I do think if this might be an offseason where it's relevant, where it's more of worthwhile conversation in the past, because I do think you saw some of that defensive improvement once they got Quinn and Williams. All their draft capital went to defense. You guys know how much I personally, we'll see what he turns into, loved Caleb Downs. I said last year during the college football regular season,

I thought he was a best player in the country. He was a guy I thought the chiefs, you know, could end up potentially taking, well before the Cowboys. New D.C. Right. And so the other investment they made on that side of the ball, they didn't. I thought they were going to get rid of Kenny Clark.

When they brought in Quina Williams, they didn't. Like I thought the cap was going to make it to where they had to. They have a lot of the, they have put the investment on defense to be 14. Wouldn't you be surprised if they're not at least middle of the process? Yes. And that's great. If they can be the number one or number two offense with the number 14 defense, that is absolutely good enough to be a, if not A1 contender, a true contender,

which I think is a legitimate. I know Brew's kind of flirting with that and likes them the most in the NFC East. If you believe in Dak Pickens and CD, I think it's very, this has a potential to be the best team Dak's been on since his rookie year. Bonus video. Bonus video. Bonus video. Brew, your old school.

Yeah. You like old school training techniques. And you're also, since Greg is not here, the only current wide receiver at the desk. Yeah. Did you happen to see the newest training technique that CD Lamb is utilizing? This is from the jugs machine, brew. It's a beekeeper's net. To obstruct his vision.

He can see. So how much can he see? A little. A little. And then George Pickens tried it. It was not a fan. Oh, really? But CD was just, yes, Piggins did not like it.

He's like, you know what, this beekeeper's suit is not for me. You know what? I love it. CD, one way to improve it. Because I'm impressed by him catching it like that. Take off the gloves. No. I'm serious.

If I were a receiver in NFL, I would practice without gloves. Yep. Then maybe one, maybe two days a week I'd wear the gloves to get used to them. But practice catching without the gloves. And then once you're not. you put the gloves on it I mean that's like glue it's made yeah it's glue on there I wish they had gloves like that when I was like the football version of like guys warming up with the super heavy bat that's impressive I mean like I guess when you're swinging your regular bat it's it's the gloves part or the

beekeepers net no the gloves party's talking about I'm saying the gloves are those gloves are great and then well there's also gloves yeah but not like hold on to the bat just you know what Pine tar. That's impressive, though. Now, I mean, I've never had a beekeeper's hat on. You have it? I'm just saying, if it's, that looks impressive. You're really doing like, a bit of your act today.

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Go back to that. Texas offense. We don't know how good they're going to be. Cloudy's back in Houston. He was the number one pick in 2014. So he's thinking about the Super Bowl. Take a listen. My whole thing was to chase the Super Bowl this year.

No better place for me to do it here. I think they had great defense last. year. I said if I can go there, hit my guys. It wasn't about the money because I could have went other places for a little bit more money than this. But I'm like, it's year 13. I started here, go back here, try to win there. Defense, not the issue offense might be. Is Stroud under more pressure than any quarterback in the league? I believe, yes. Ten seconds on Clowny. I was in Houston covering the Texas doing radio when they drafted him. Very unique.

career because same draft as Khalil Mack, people like, you know, that great hit in college. But man, he's still an impactful players, played super long time. Like, Genevian Clowny makes teams better, and I'm glad, like, this is a great fit for him to go back there, so I'm happy

for Clowny. But I don't, I think the only person even close to him as far as pressure is his draft contemporary Bryce Young. I think it's that two guys whose teams want to believe they have the franchise quarterbacks but are not so tied to that belief that they paid them the moment they were able to be paid.

Now, obviously, CJ has shown more than Bryce, which is why there's maybe a little more pressure, but also because CJ's on such a better team that you feel like has real Super Bowl aspirations. Yeah, I don't, I struggle to see anybody other than Bryce that's even close, because it's either quarterbacks with a very long runway like rookie quarterbacks or quarterbacks with the very least, hey, I got my contract. You know what I mean? I'm established, you know, franchise, at least adjacent quarterback. So I think he's on more pressure brew than any player than quarterback in the league.

I like the Bryce Young comp. I'll throw out a few other guys that might be in the neighborhood. Look, Josh and Lamar until they win a Super Bowl are going to be. I know it's not this level, but Shadour is fighting for his career. Yep. Kyler Murray and JJ kind of fighting for, like JJ's fighting for his career and Kyler to be relevant in the NFL. But I agree I would put CJ ahead of all of those guys. I think if he doesn't have a good year, like let's say he plays again like he's played the last couple of years,

I think they're going to start looking for another quarterback, like whether privately or publicly because they can still have his, what, qualifying year or the fifth year? Fifth year option. But they got a Super Bowl ready team. Now, he's got his receivers back. Tank Dell. They practiced today in pads and stuff. God bless him.

Yeah, it's great for him. And maybe, look, Tank, they were close, apparently. So maybe did that have something to do? Did that kind of rock CJ mentally maybe? He was clearly distraught when the injury happened. But he's got his receivers back. Everything else is in place. What do you think happened to him, Wilds?

So I think there's a few options. Tank goes down, Nico was in and out of the lineup, so you just didn't have your weapons. He did not hurt that year halfway. Offensive line, they just didn't prioritize it. I don't know why. It wasn't great as rookie either. But he was, remember, he was doing a lot of escapability. Three, he's, that combination, I don't want to go back to the well here, a little Mac Jonesy, when like, your offensive line breaks down, then your mechanics break down, and all of a sudden, you're not the guy.

that, you know. But I do think Bruce, right. They've had a bad offensive line every year, and his rookie year was one of the greatest rookie years ever. If only there was a moment. Time out. What? Because I was still going, actually.

A moment. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, I was still going. Go ahead, sorry. Nick's got a video. Because I want to just, I want to change, I want to turn the conversation in the direction. Is that okay?

Well, I can. And I want to talk about, like, how good. He could be the Super Bowl MVP. Yeah. But he could also maybe lose his job throughout the year. What do you think about? about that? Why don't we stay on that question? I just redirect it. If he does lose his job, I think we'll look, you'll know the moment it all started. I mean, there's a clear line.

Before and after the lecture that led to the loser. That face is perfect. I'm just telling you guys. Everybody's like what happened and I. I thought you're asking me a real question. I was like, thank you for, I'm right. You actually hit that on the hand. Thank you, bro. You nailed that. It's the line of Not this. Okay. I don't know. Wow. Thank you, Brew.

I don't know. It doesn't look great. This take has aged great. Has aged better than expected. Yeah. I like your love to losing. Everybody knows it. You guys just don't want any bad.

There's one more guy. If I was more likable, everyone would say that. They don't want to give me the credit. There's one more guy that I just figured out is under pressure. I don't know. It's too late. Who? Who?

After this, the pressure just amped up, Justin. The pressure just ramped up. My goodness. Oh, God. Over on camera now, I was standing up. I was going to be going to walk around. Tears next. You can't be doing that.

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Find an agent today at Dejardin.com slash business coverage. Hi from New York. It's the show that's just reminding you. Nothing wrong with being in love. What's the, oh, that's my hair? It's doing the Madison beer. That's nice. Justin Herbert.

Look, Justin Herbert has never performed well in a playoff game. Correct. Right. Okay. Something had to change.

Boom. Engage. That's it? It wasn't. Non-engaged Justin Herbert never won a playoff game. Hold on. Hold on.

He was with the last year in the playoffs. Not engaged. If he, I don't, see, I'm getting out of front of Nick. If Justin, I think he's going to have a great year. If he wins a playoff game, he plays well,

don't attribute it to him playing with his girlfriend. That would be the reason 100%. I wouldn't say it was 0% though. Time and a place is all I was. That's right. There's time in a place.

And not sitting crisscross apples on practice field. It might have been lunch break. It's called camp. There were actually players practice. You can see. Lineman blocking and all that stuff.

Today, golf versus love. Who's running the NFC North? Meanwhile, Matt Liner joins us to talk about the coach's poll. Shout to Big Cat, Matt Liner. Big Noon coming back. Big Cat looking resplendent there. Yeah, it's a good mustache. That's why I had to shave my mustache.

I really, when we come back for our next vacation, will you please at least for a day? Will you just come back with a mustache? Just a mustache. You've never had a mustache. Just for first day of predictions, for the first day of predictions, we have a full-blown mustache.

That would be a ratings bananza. Well, I don't know about that. Last night behind a full spread of rarely ordered Chipotle tacos. They were delicious. They were good. Didn't know they were even on the menu. An elite committee of analysts, football savants,

and people who don't even know how many teams are in the NBA. trying to lecture people. Fought and toiled and burn the midnight oil to concoct the best rankings in all of sports. It's an honor and it's a privilege. It's time for the committee's tears. What a day. Indeed. So here's the deal.

Committee had to do some self-scaling. Because any, because anytime we're going to have a new tiers when there hasn't been massive new news since the last one. Yes, Stefan Diggs did sign earlier today and we worked that in. by the way. We got that late break. Nice. And, you know, a few injuries there here and there, but nothing to really shake it up. So we basically said, what did we potentially get wrong last time in the tiers? What could we manicure and adjust? So directionally, they're similar to last week, but with some significant adjustments. Most normally at the bottom, large group.

This is the group of deep sleepers. And here's what I mean. We always talk about, oh, there's five new teams to the playoffs. And so people are like, oh, okay. Love it. Well, a new team could be the Ravens. A new team could be the Lions. No. A new team could be the Chiefs.

And then people will be like, well, and there's a sleeper team. And like, so this year a lot of people are picking the Giants who's over, under's eight wins or something. Like none of those teams are deep sleepers, meaning a team that if they made it, you're like, oh my God, great. They made the playoffs. Like, CJ, the Texan, C.J. Stroud's rookie year. People thought they're going to be the worst team in the league. They make the playoffs. Like, oh, these are the only six teams that qualify as, oh, my God, they made the playoffs.

So if there's going to be an oh, my God, they made the playoffs team, it's one of these six teams. Titans, it's deep sleep. Are they also like, no chance they're making. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that. Because all, it all feels like. Only team I could even think would be the Titans. That would be a shock.

That's why a deep sleep. That's the only team. So. Take a look at Jacoby Brissette's numbers in the end of the year. The less, the Cardinals. Yeah. Yeah, but play out. Gino, Jets, Jets and Gino.

Again, that's why they're the only, oh my God, teams. Okay. The more attractive but more vapid cousin of deep sleepers, shallow sleepers. Yeah. This is like filling out multiple March Madness brackets. And you're like, oh, I called this. Everybody's going to pick one of these teams. Good, good for you.

Oh, wow, you think there's going to be a shocker out of the NFC South. Whoopty-Doo. Oh, you believe in John Harbaugh. Made the play. The, say it again. Carolina made the playoffs. But they would agree. One of those teams has to.

Well, no, the bucks could. Accept the book. Right. These teams, again, you can call them your sleeper, but there's not really a lot of, umph and gravitas. QB swap. Look,

I'm not here, and this show isn't here to relitigate Tony Fauci. and the COVID pandemic. For a number of reasons, not the least of which is, we're not stuck in a time warp from five years ago. But the moment I saw Aaron Rogers back on MacPhee

talking about vaccines, I was like, you know what? I've seen this movie before. He's a stealer. He's doing these interviews. He's taking shots of different journalists, different networks, mixing into another. I saw this movie.

I didn't think it was that great. I didn't walk out, but I never would. It could be on Prime for $2.99, not interested. You know what I might be interested in? Just complete the full Brett Farr career arc. Go to Minnesota. Meanwhile, you know what the Steelers feels like a Steelers quarterback? Kyler Murray, retread with some options.

You know what I think Kevin O'Connell would enjoy a quarterback with the arm talent of Aaron Rogers? Everyone wins. Just switch. Just switch. Rogers to the Vikings where he wanted to do where he should have been to begin with. Kyle or the Steelers where he should have been to begin with. Everybody, it's something, at least something fresh and new.

What could Kevin O'Connell do with a former top five pick who flamed out his first stop? Yeah, we've seen the movie. They can be good and not great? We've seen it. Okay. Can I ask you? Yeah. So if you were Minnesota and that offer came on your tape, you would definitely do it.

If I were Minnesota, do I think they have a higher upside with Aaron Rogers than Kyler Murray? And if I'm Pittsburgh, do I think I would take the lower upside this year from going from Kyler to Aaron for the lottery ticket up? And you know what? I'd be like, you got to throw in JJ. I get both of them. We're bringing your whole quarterback controversy over here. And we're going to see how worse. Oh, I think Justin Jefferson.

No, no, no, no. No, J.J. McCarthy. Yeah, go throw away. Both your quarterbacks for Aaron. That's the deal. That's the trick. Take the over. Washington, Cincinnati.

I'm not talking about in wins. I'm talking about just in their games this season. They're going to be good offenses. They're going to be bad defenses. There's going to be a lot of points. They're going to be entertaining games. I don't think either team is a legitimate contender. And I actually don't right now in pencil

think either team is going to be in the playoffs. I think they'll score a lot of points. QB prove it here. All for different reasons. Baker doesn't have a contract. He said, I'm going to make them pay for it. No problem. Justin Herbert.

If there wasn't, you know, a lot of scrutiny on you already, thanks to, you know, the latest candid camera video is a little more. Also, it's probably about time you had. You know what? I'm not even going to ask you to win a playoff game. Can you just play well in a playoff game? Baby steps.

Does it play well in a playoff game, win would be a bonus? And C.J. Stroud, we just talked about it being, him being under more pressure than a quarterback in the league. Again, I expect all three of these teams next year to be quarterbacked by the same quarterbacks. They're quarterbacked by this year. Baker, Herbert, C.J.

It's still a bit of a prove year for all three teams for different reasons. High school debate. Any of you guys do high school debate? You guys? Did you do it? I did not. That wasn't really like, that's like, did you do high school debate? I did not.

That's yeah, he did. Danny Parkins was state champion in it. He was? Yeah. Really? Wow. I did, you know, that's a lie. I did it one quarter or one semester.

What happened? I didn't. So I'm glad you asked because that leads right to this. Okay. The idea behind high school debate is you go into, a hot button topic and you don't know which side you're arguing until the moment of the debate. So you have to prepare the case for both sides. And while obviously I'm about as well equipped to do that as anyone who's ever lived, I didn't feel like it was earnest. I felt that was like,

what is something I truly believe in. I like, it was real topics, like real life things, like that you have patent. So I didn't like it. Here's why I say it. I feel like you can make equally strong, very pro and very con arguments for these three teams. Like if you wanted to make an argument, it's why any of these three teams this year they are going to the Super Bowl, there's evidence for it. You can make. You think San Fran's Super Bowl? Yes.

San Fran last year, their quarterback missed half the season. They were the most injured team in the league. They were playing for the one seed in the final game of the regular season, and they won a playoff game. There's the argument. You know what I mean? Brock Purdy's good. Shanahan's great.

Con side. Right. Con side, the substation. Cowboys we've talked about a lot. Philadelphia, I've said. I think they win 14 games. I think Seriani could be fired at Thanksgiving. You could make a very strong

pro-war con argument for these teams. High variance teams, in my opinion. Did you watch Highlander as a kid? No. I didn't watch it either. I don't even know what it's about. I think there's a big leather jacket involved. But I do know the tagline.

There can be only one. Jags, Pats. It's not so much about Drake Trevor as much as this. These are two teams last year that surprisingly won 13 games. The Pats win 14 games. You guys won 14 games. We lost to the Steelers, Raiders, and Bills. Yeah, and then in the Super Bowl, probably a lot.

And won the Super Bowl. But no, but two teams that smashed their win total, both are, in my opinion, prime to different degrees, regression candidates, at least to a degree, have varying levels of confidence from the national media, and I think only one of them is going to be able to duplicate its success from last year. And I'm not even saying it's going to be the Jags. What I'm saying is I expect one of these two teams to be one of the teams

that goes from in the playoffs to out. You know what I mean? It goes from 13, 14 wins to, eight, nine wins. I don't think they're both going to... Maybe, it might be. I don't think they're both going to be there. Sliding Doors moment, 2025.

Midway through the third quarter of a late game in the 2025 season, the Green Bay Packers were nine, three, and one. Micah Parsons was making a defensive player of the year case. He was wreaking havoc. They were beating the Denver Broncos. They were about to have,

I think, be a half game out of the one seat in the NFC, beat Denver and see where they can go. Micah Tears is ACL. The Broncos come back and win that game. The Broncos end up taking off and getting the one seed. The Packers never win again all year. I do wonder how we don't look at those teams last year at all as having similar seasons. I wonder how close they actually were.

When they played, they looked very close. And if that Micah Parsons false step trying to chase down Bo Nix, how much that altered both of their seasons. The Broncos aren't the one seed, and you guys are so many different things. Do the Packers end up winning the division instead of the Bears, all of it? Spot no longer guaranteed.

The best team of the last decade and two of the best teams, you could argue two of the three best teams that haven't won a Super Bowl of the past decade, who the last half decade, we just consider perennial playoff teams. They're in there every year. Last year proof, that spot's no longer guaranteed.

This year they have to go out and prove last year was the fluke. I don't think all three of them are going to prove it. I think one of these three teams were going to come after this year and be like, okay, doesn't mean the window for their quarterback or their coach is over. The Ravens already got a new coach, but it means they have to open a new one. And so spot no longer guarantee. Too much hype question mark. Bill's Bears.

Bears, year two, Ben Johnson, Caleb in year three, the defending champion of one of the toughest divisions in football, just gave Darnell Wright the right tackle all that money. Love the offense, love Colston, Loveland. Caleb, ask Liam, Liam Cohen, he's the only thing on NFL Network's website, which I think is just NFL.com these days. Regardless, the bills, every conversation with them, it's not their fault, it's all anybody asked them out, Super, Super, Super Bowl. Did they get better from last year to this year? I don't know. Maybe they fired their coach. They did add DJ more.

Did they get better? I'm not sure. They're very high in the tears. Too much hype, question mark. KW, what do we worry about for the team that loses the Super Bowl? Oh, the Super Bowl hangover. It's a real thing. Yep.

What was the real Super Bowl last year? Oh, O. The NFC championship game. Uh-oh, Rams. That's Super Bowl hangover question mark. Really? If that was the real Super Bowl, wow.

That's a concern. This whole Miles Garrett's missing practice. with lower body something is all Sean McBase telling us. I saw the news today. Aaron Donald might come back. He also was like filming a documentary series or something. I didn't love that at all. Here's what I'm telling you. We had the Rams at number one.

Committee thought long and hard and said, you know who maybe should be number one? We were like, who did win the Super Bowl last year? We kicked it around. We asked, we tried. Do we check the internet? Very good. One within a row. Forgotten champs.

It's true. Fellas, we do a two hour a day, five day a week sports talk show. Since a week after the Super Bowl, how many Seahawks segments you think we've done? They're very good. We haven't done enough, probably. And if we do, it's like, should we talk more about the Seahawks? And I do, I don't, the Seahawks flew under the, Danny, to his credit, thought the Seahawks were awesome all year.

But they flew under the radar nationally for a big port of, portion of last season. They then won the Super Bowl, went right back under the radar. Even in our graphics, you can just sense our team begrudgingly including Darnold on them. It's like, well, they won the Super Bowl. No, they're very good. They're back atop the tiers. Brew. That's a long version.

I apologize. I probably talked too much there. That's the committee. I like the name. Bob did a great job with the name. Is it Bob? It's Marshall for the NFL tiers. Who was Bob World Cup?

Yeah, I think he was. Marshall. Barrett, though. Good job. Good job. Good job, I'm in a bit of a quandary. Why? Please tell me you prepped the Chargers and we showed you the Justin Herbert video and now you're stuck.

That would be perfect television. Please tell me that's what happened. Bingo. This has me messed up. I'm sorry. I was all ready to sing the Chargers. Chargers too low. I have it written down right here.

And then I see this. I'm sorry. I don't like it at all. Look, there's God practicing. No. I, just make the case for the Chargers. I'm going to try to move past this.

I think the Chargers are going to have a great year. Jim Harbaugh is a great coach. Maybe he was getting water while that was going on. You have to start acting. You have to turn on your acting chops. Yeah. Because your heart is not in this already. Mike McDaniel, great O.C.

Love the running backs. They got their offensive line together. They got their two all-pro tackles back. We're out basically all last year. They added Tyler Biatish to all-Pro Bowl center. I mean, the line is straight. I don't know. I'm just going to be honest.

I think the Chargers. I'm just ignoring what I just saw. Okay. I think the Chargers are going to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year. Are you leaning to picking them to win the division over the chief? Certainly. Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, I mean, I'm certainly strong consideration.

Yes, absolutely. I like, I love everything on paper except what's on video that I just said. Go ahead, KW. All right. Bears. Ben Johnson himself said we're the number one regression candidate. it wasn't his concept. He was just kind of reading the newspaper clippings.

And I'm going to do this and then Bears fans are like, you know what, Danny Parkins particularly, be like, that's unfair with all the facts who just laid out, even though they're facts. I would move the Bears up this tiers if they had a great defense, if they were blasting teams last year, and if they had an easy schedule. Unfortunately, the opposite is true for every part of that.

Defense. Mediocre to bad. That part's true. Now, the wackiest part about how bad or mediocre to bad the Bears defense was is that they had all of these ranks while leading the league in takeaways, which always changes year to year. Bears, the Vikings led, 10th, Steelers, led, fourth, Ravens tied for it. Giants went down to 28th.

That's when, like, Brett saved Dayball's job. Like, man, there's some winning games. Cowboys, that was the famous Dron Blaineer. Like, we remember. They were like, they're not actually that good. Okay. Last year, were they blasting teams like the Seattle Seahawks who we don't really talk enough about?

No. If you were really good last year, and again, I'm a quarterback wins guy and Caleb got the wins. But it is good to look at point differential. Seahawks were blasting teams. Rends were blasting teams. Patriots had an easy schedule.

They blasted teams. Jags, blasting team, bills, bears. Well, hello, we win 11. 26 points. Six wins in the final two minutes or overtime. It's just not a sustainable thing. Finally, this schedule, it's the league's hardest schedule. Now, that's always kind of debatable.

It always fluctuates. It doesn't look that hard, but it's last year's they win total, I believe. Okay. So, you know, you play Seahawks won the Super Bowl. Patriots were in the Super Bowl, Carolina, in the playoffs. But here's the facts. They got the NFC South. Yeah, that's what I like.

But go ahead. Last year, the Lions had the hardest schedule, and they went from 15 wins to nine. The last team to win a playoff game with the hardest schedule, according to the same metric we used to the Bears having a hard schedule, was the 2016 Falcons. That's something. Something. Yeah.

Bears regression alert. Luckily they got a superstar quarterback and great head coach who you used to look. You know, the wind. Let's blast team. Get out there. You've never cared about that. What?

I cared about it since the Celtics NBA run. Oh, that's right. You know what? You're right. I take it. At Desjardin Insurance, we know that when you own a nail salon, everything needs to be perfect from tip to toe.

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Sunday on Fox headed to Portland, IndyCar. Alex below. Still out here, brushing. Sunday at 4 on Fox. I feel like we're going to see them in the studio again. Maybe a little cameo and prediction shoot. Oh, that would be great. Incredible.

The Chiefs. Yeah, great rates, none the both. Back to Sandow's quarterback pole in the athletic. Jared Gough was tied with Drake May at 8, so someone was actually 9. It was probably Jared Gough. Jordan Love came in at 10. So let's take a look at the NFC North duo, how they performed last year. Both only had nine wins.

It was pretty tight. But Jared Gough's team scored more points. And it was without Ben Johnson. Remember, we were worried they would miss Ben. They still scored 28. Yeah, still out here cooking. If you told me that Jared Goff had 34 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, I would have said, I know that.

I host a daily television show in sports. Pass rating 105, Jordan Love, 23 touchdown 6. That bottom line, you tend to care about KW. Yeah, Jordan Love won both of the head-to-head meetings. I care about that a lot. Who would you rather have this year for a row? Look, I like golf. I mean, I don't think he's, like, awesome, you know, that upper elite echelion of quarterback,

but he is very good. You can count on him having, especially with the team around him, having a really solid year. But give me Jordan Love. I think, one, golf always, you mentioned no Ben Johnson, okay, but he still had, I'm in Ross St. Brown, James, Sam LaPorter at tight end, Jamir Gibbs at tailback and David Montgomery last year. So he always, he's got a super team around him offensively. Jordan Love does not have a true number one, at least yet.

I'm hoping Matthew Golden can emerge as that. And they just paid shockingly to me, Christian Watson. They didn't pay him Zay Flowers money. But he's probably a two, like, they got a bunch of best weapon. And he got hurt. And he's got running, you know, run game, but not Jemir Gibbs and company. So I just think golf has so many more, much, has so many more weapons, number one. Number two, golf is what he is.

I think Jordan Love is ascending. Now, obviously, and I'm not even talking about, sure, I will want him for the long term. I think everybody would because of their ages. But he has, like, you can see him making another leap to go into another leap. level, right. And so, and here's the final reason I would take Jordan Love. I know he's had great moments and not so great moments in the playoffs, but he's had the great moments. Golf has, doesn't have great moments in the playoffs. He's played in 10 playoff games. He has had one playoff game with more than one touchdown pass. He's, and that's two touchdown passes. He's

never thrown more than two touchdown passes in the game. Jordan Love in his playoff debut against the great Cowboys at that time. He's got three touchdowns. He's got a lot of leverage off of this one. No, but last year against the Bears that Stafford struggled against. He had four touchdown passes. They lost, but it wasn't because of him. He threw four TV passes, zero, zero interception.

So I'm just saying he's been better in the playoffs. Their numbers are in the playoffs total are somewhat similar. I don't look at golf, I don't consider golf a bad playoff quarterback. No, but he hasn't been. He hasn't had even one, like, spectacular game. Yeah. And love, and he's played twice as many. I look at golf as solid in the playoffs.

You know what I mean? Like, I don't like, he's not a guy who gets, like Baker for one reason. I mean, when they lost that game to Washington. Yeah. And what was it? 52. I get it. The defense was terrible, but.

I just, there are certain quarterbacks we, you know, who, historically drop in the playoffs. There are some usually all-time greats, but not always all-time greats, like Baker we've talked about. His playoff numbers are better than his regular season numbers. I look at golf as, without even looking at it, just in my mind's eye. Like, he's pretty

much steady. Regular season golf is playoff golf. I want you to go before I answer. Well, my... These guys were 9 and 10. Eight tied for 8 and 10. What how peltz do they have on the wall

that make them better than Jalen Hertz? Oh, that's where you're going. Well, yeah, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to kind of want to go last. No, sorry. It feels like we are just like, yes, these guys are top 10 quarterbacks according to this. Like, well, how about Jalen Hertz? Like, no, he's actually outside of the top 10,

even though hit everything. Don't get me wrong. Like I thought Jordan Love played great against the Cowboys and against the Wolfel Bears defense, but he wasn't the Super Bowl MVP. Sam Darnold has is kind of like what you wanted from Jared Gough. High pick kind of gave up on you, bounced around, but my arc is completed. I am now totally back and I am a Super Bowl champion and I put up real numbers.

I wasn't just carried by a defense. So I don't know. So mine was, I kind of took more offense of this on Sam Darnold and Jalen Hertz behalf than. So, yeah. I said, I think it was yesterday that Hertz should have been up. like eight or seven or eight ahead of these guys. So I, so this to me is, I'm going to go back to the old, and we don't show the graphic hubs even though we pulled it.

And this is maybe a blind spot in my quarterback evaluation. I will admit that. I'm not sure if the way I look at it is smart if you're long term for a football team. Because I'm not as big of a Jordan Love fan as Brew. I have bigger, more question marks because about Jordan Love, even last year, remember when he had almost no interceptions but the three interceptions he had were like the worst you remember we talked about that like he didn't make a lot of mistakes but the mistakes were loud mistakes in the modern NFL where I think the best quarterbacks are more physically

gifted than any time in NFL history I'm always going to favor the guy who I think can be a superhero over a guy who I know is the civilian. And I think Jared, and like Jared Goff, I think is, like, as, as apex, like, by my definition of it, and this is where it gets, this is where I can get myself in trouble, I will admit. For all the reasons, Goff's a civilian,

Burrow is too. It's all the same, like, you know, just talking about mobility. I'm talking about. Burroughs arm talent makes me. I mean, I think he's very accurate. I don't think Burroughs got a crazy strong. arm. No, it's not just mobility because Stafford, I look at a superhero.

Stafford's not mobile. You know what I mean? Like just natural... You don't think Burrow could be Stafford. I don't think he has the arm, Stafford does. But the Burrow is maybe the one, the fly in the ointment of my argument, I guess maybe, is what I'm kind of negging myself here. I just think Goff is never going to be superstar. And when if you're asking me, who would I rather have a guy who I think, even if it's a small chance, can be versus a guy who I'm very confident and won't be. Even if the guy I'm confident won't be, I feel like has a,

I think golf's floor is considerably higher than Jordan Loves, and I think golf's floor is good. It's not like his floor is a bad player. His floor is a good player. I think golf is clearly a good, very good player. I'd still favor the guy who I think could be the MVP of the league. I don't think golf. Go ahead and say it.

Jay Love. You notice he never said his name? No, I forgot. I forgot. insurance, we know that when you own a nail salon, everything needs to be perfect from tip to toe. That's why our agents go the extra mile to understand your business and provide tailored solutions for all its unique needs. You put your heart into your company, so we put our heart into making sure it's protected. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today

at Dejardin.com slash business coverage. Welcome back to first things first. Coaches pull out today, joining us now to discuss the star of Big Noon on Fox, Matt Liner, Matt, welcome. Big Noon starts the season in Indiana. New QB, same coach, talking trash. Should we be talking about Indiana repeat? I mean, the fact that you said that, isn't that wild? Like, we're still living in a world where Indiana football won a national championship. And look, I mean, Signetti.

He puts his money where his mouth is. He's a fantastic coach. I mean, I think we talked throughout the year, last year, guys. And, like, it's by far and away, probably the greatest sports turnaround of any sport team that we've ever seen, going from literally the worst football program of all time to now building this into a national championship team. They're going to be very good again. You know, they get Josh Hoover, he mentioned a quarterback from T.C. He's played a lot of football.

He just, he wins. He understands how to build a program. He understands how to get the most out of his guys. And the Big Ten is going to be a tough, competitive conference once again. There's no reason to believe that they're not here to stay another year. If they win another title, we'll see. But they're going to be very good again. All right.

Of the top tier contenders, obviously the one on the longest winning streak is the Hoosiers. The second longest winning streak, though, is Notre Dame. Now, it's in part because they didn't make the playoff and then they didn't play in a ball game. But they, after starting 0 and 2 last year, they win 10 straight. CJ Carr is back. They lose their dynamic backfield. They are maybe one of, if not the best bet to make the playoff, especially because they've kind of adjusted the rules to make sure Notre Dame doesn't have what happened to them last year.

Again, I view them as true, real viable championship contenders. Do you agree with me? What do you think is CJ Carr in Notre Dame? Yeah, I totally agree. Look, they, I mean, you could have argued, obviously, the debate last year with them getting in or not getting in. CJ Carr is the real deal. This dude is probably a top five pick in another year or two, right?

He's only a sophomore, I think. So it's going to be interesting though, Nick, you said, you know, when they lose price and they lose love, you're talking about most of their production as an offense last year, especially in the run game. I mean, those two guys were dynamic. And now there's going to be a lot more on his shoulders. They've obviously recruited well.

They have a great defense. I think Freeman is outstanding coach. I love that guy. It's going to be a lot of fun to see where C.J. Carr goes from here, right? Because we always talk about quarterback play. And even at the highest level in the NFL, you know, you have guys that can be serviceable, can go win you games, but they don't carry a team. CJ Carr has a chance now to put this team on his back with those guys gone.

So obviously they're going to still be able to run the football. That's what Notre Dame is. But, you know, I joke a lot about Notre Dame. you know, but I have so much respect for them. It's a really good program. And again, with their schedule and being independent, and again, as you said, sort of the rules, I think all they have to do is finish in the top 12 to make it.

They are definitely a national title contender, that's for sure. I mean, just real quick to follow up on that, just because you say you joke about Notre Dame. Obviously, some of the news this week, Notre Dame SC going to be back in 20, starting in 2030. You know, you are a huge part of the history of that game and that rivalry. your reaction to that great game coming back. Yeah, I mean, look, I'm happy that it's back.

I never wanted it to end before. And look, I understand USC's argument at the time and wanting to play that earlier in the season and going through a Big Ten conference shit and all that. And people talk online and then USC's ducking them or Notre Dame's ducking sea. At the end the end, it doesn't matter. I was bummed to see it end.

I did understand the reasoning and I know why they wanted to move it to the front. in front of the season and Notre Dame really didn't want to do that. It's all good. Actually, Lincoln called me the other day to tell me that before the news broke, that it was going to happen and be announced. So it's a great rivalry. It's one of the best in college football. I mean, the history, the tradition.

And by the way, like Notre Dame has kicked USC's ass much of the last decade. There's no denying that. And so it would be great for USC to kind of turn this back around. You know, everything, these things are cyclical. They go in cycles. But I'm happy it's back. You know, we've got to wait a couple years for it, but I'm happy it's back. Matt, I want to give you props.

Ex-N-B-A player Ryan Goams was in here in studio today. And he was singing your praises as a basketball player. He said you guys played in some rec leagues after he retired. He said your game is nice. Dude, you know what? Listen, my game, my nice is a stretch. I could shoot. And back when I can move better, I got so many great, you know,

You know I love hoops. I got so many great basketball stories. When I was, that league that Ryan played in, it was a Culver City League out in L.A. And, man, there were a lot of good players in that league. And our team was stacked. And I think Matt Barnes used to run in that league a little bit. So I used to see Matt a bunch. And then I'll tell you guys a funny story really quick.

So the year I retired in 2013, Luke Walton. Luke Walton's a really good buddy of mine. He's a South Bay guy like me. He retired the same year. So he and I started a rest. basketball league or basketball team and put like all these just former athletes on it and we won a championship. Wow.

And it was one of the greatest years of my life. And Chris, this is going to give me street cred. Now that we're talking, I could talk hoops all day. I got, I got invited. This is a true story. I got invited to play in the Drew League, right? Oh, man. Yeah.

That's serious. One time. And I was so nervous, but I was like, I don't remember the team I played for. I think I played against Olden Paul in East. was coaching a team, another team. I played. This was early before all the pros would come. And I, this is, you could, you could Google this.

I, one game and I'm like, man, if I'm going to get some playing time, I'm going to give everything I got. I ended up having 15 points. Let's go. Like six boards or something in my stat line was great. I never played again. I'm like, dude, these guys probably. Leave it at that.

I couldn't miss, man. But it was, it was. I mean, I'm guessing you got recruited. Did you play high school? I'm guessing you got recruited at some level. No, so I played, so I played, I played my freshman year. I ended up, I was baseball football really more than basketball. I ended up playing my, going back my junior, I played with Cedric Bozeman, who went to UCLA.

I played with Jamal. We were in modern days. So like our basketball was a powerhouse too. So Jamson, if you guys remember the name, he ended up playing at Cal in the NBA. We were stacked. So I was like six man. You know, I'd come in and I'd shoot a little bit. big rebounds and all that. But at that point, I was getting recruited by football. So I never really

dove down that, you know, and I wasn't, I wasn't good enough. Like, I could shoot and play and I was a good athlete, but that was about it. That's good stuff, man. Well, okay, let's get back to the football. Ohio State, number one, obviously, in the coaches poll, preseason favorite to win it all. Is that the right pick in your mind? I mean, I hate preseason polls, as I'm sure you guys do, too. It really, Ohio State's great. I mean, they've been great for a long time. And Ryan Day does a great job. Like Julianne's saying is back.

He's really, really good. Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football. Probably was a best player. Him and Jeremiah, I love probably two best players last year in college football. He's a dominant player. They recruit well. Their defense will be good again. They do lose a lot of guys.

I was just looking at their schedule. Their schedule is tough, though. Like, they have, I think they're on the road to USC. They got Oregon. They're at Indiana. I think Michigan is going to be much better with Kyle Whittingham. So to be one or five or ten right now doesn't matter. But as Urban Meyer always says,

no matter what at Ohio State, the expectation is to win a national championship. And if you don't win a national championship there, you fall short of your goal. And I think, oh, yeah, and they go to Texas this year. They got that home and home versus Texas. And Texas is going to be really good. So what are we supposed to expect with Arch this year?

is going to make a huge leap. We're thinking Heisman. We're thinking number one pick. What are your expectations? Yeah, I mean, I think all those things. It's so funny to look back. And I was guilty of this as well because we had that game week one. And, God, I mean, all of us putting them on this pedestal and he's going to be the number one pick and he's going to win the Heisman and we can't.

And then it wasn't fair, obviously, because he hadn't played a lot of football. You know, I think we're going off the pedigree and just the expectation and the hype around it. So he started off pretty. slow last year. But as a season, you know, as a season went on, he was really good. I mean, you saw a lot of the reason why there's that expectation. He's big. I don't know if you guys have stood next to him. He's, he's a big dude now. He's 6'4, 2.30 big legs, thighs and butt and obviously can run. Like, he's built the right way. I actually kind of feel like there's less pressure on him this year. He put together a great season. There's a lot of hype around Texas this

year, but I think he's going to have a great year. I'm excited. He's a great kid, great family. But yes, he has, he has all of what you want in a quarterback. And it's not just the last name and the pedigree because we know that's there. It's the physical attributes. It's the great teammates. It's the leadership. He does things the right way. I'm just, I'm excited to see him progress again. Nice. All right. Before you go, Nation's dumbest tonight on 9 o'clock. How's it going? I mean, it's going. I don't know if you guys have been watching, but it's going. I'll tell you what.

I hope people are watching, and if you haven't tuned in, it's such a well-done show. It's really fun. It's really light. It's really challenging and difficult. And I always use the word like, man, like it was fun, but it was intense because you just, you know, you don't want to be labeled the nation's dumbest. You don't want to make it to the end. But I can't give too much away other than tune in.

The cast is great. It's fun. It brings you back to school. You could watch it with your wives, your girlfriends, your kids, all that. But I have been getting a lot of, you know, a lot of flack for it, though. I can't wait. 9 o'clock odd box. Matt, thank you.

Have a great season this year. Football is almost back. And don't be the dumbest. Yeah. Like, don't be the dumbest. Got to get off the show. Have to watch. Great to see you, boys.

I know I'll see you guys throughout this season, man. Right. Thank you, Matt. Great stuff, man.