Green Light with Chris Long - Bucs Hold Off Falcons, Packers Blow By Lions & Colts Dominate | Chris Long Reactions!

Episode Date: September 8, 2025

Chris Long dives into recapping the WK1 action immediately following the 1 pm and 4 pm games. The Green Bay Packers jumped all over the Detroit Lions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held off the Atlanta Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts blew the doors off the Miami Dolphins. Will Mike McDaniel will be the first coach fired? Make sure to come back at 2 pm ET for our live reactions. (00:00) Intro: Eagles & Chargers Victories! (08:45) Packers Destroy Lions (18:22) Rams vs Texans (21:32) Bucs Hold Off Falcons (32:00) Steelers & Jets Shootout (33:40) Bengals and Browns Fistfight (37:35) Around the NFL: Jacksonville Exclaims DUVAL, Commanders & Dolphins Stumble Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open. Green Light Hotline: ‪[phone]‬ Also, check out our paddling partners at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Appomattox River Company ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to get your canoes, kayaks and paddleboards so you're set to hit the river this summer. Green Light's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where you can catch all the latest GL action: Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Week one is in the books. And it feels like when week one ends, it feels like they've been playing football for a whole week straight, honestly. I mean, it feels like a week ago, the Eagles played the Cowboys. We were in Atlantic City. I sound a lot less drunk. This time, your boy is sober. He's breaking down the week one slate. Welcome back locals.

Welcome back to the Greenlight podcast. Listen, I don't know where to start. I guess we'll go all the way back. I want to go all the way back to Friday night real quick. Chiefs and Chargers. Chargers looked awesome. They really did. And, you know, I didn't put them in the playoffs.

And I would love to be wrong. I'll just say that. So you can you can motherfucker me if you want for that. But I am a big Herbert fan. And honestly, as you survey the landscape of quarterbacks in the NFL right now, like who played better this week, this weekend? I know, you know, like Eagles fans. Fans will say, hey, Jalen Hertz played better.

You know, there's a tingeot homerism there. I thought he did absolutely what he had to do. But when you talk about like a high stakes game for a team that hasn't really been able to get over the hump playing the Kansas City Chiefs, they're smacked with Kansas City out of the gate, week one, all the way down in Brazil, just a clutch performance, wire to wire from him. And you talk about like a team that's going on the road, like when I'm talking about on the road like down to brazil it's it's a trip to another country you know um you've got guys

that haven't played international games before i think kansas city played one a couple years ago in germany so we we made a lot of about the surface on the field like what's that going to look like last year wasn't so good it was a lot better this year um and i thought herbert and the chargers looked ready to roll listen when i broke down charges chiefs going in this season i looked at last year's games and i thought the thing that stood out in the second game of the season i think was the second game of the season was, Chargers couldn't run the football. At least the film I was looking at, I thought Kansas City handed them their ass in the run game, which is, you know, what kind of, if you're the Chargers, how do we want to improve our team going into this

offseason? Well, we're going to bring in 500 pounds of running backs. And what I thought was so interesting is they did not lead with the run game. They led with play action pass and it set up the run game. I thought that was fantastic. It was great seeing Quentin Johnson make some plays, you know, a guy that's definitely been on the hot seat there, had a little case to the drops over his short career. But he was good for them. He was good for them in the red zone. And I think for Kansas City, the crux of it is and Chargers fans like, you guys are the winners of the game, you know, we should be praising you. And I thought it was like an absolute, I don't want to, I don't want to minimize the situation, you know, and say,

hey, this was your Super Bowl, but it felt like a big freaking game to the Chargers. And that's a compliment. They went down there and handled their business and they played with more emotion than the Chiefs. That's what I saw in that game was like, this is a team that had been waiting all offseason to play the Chiefs. You know, I interviewed Derwin James like a couple months ago. It was one of the worst interviews I had, you know, honestly all season.

I was going through some shit in my personal life and I was all scattered all over the place and Derwin gets on and I'm asking them questions about the chiefs and I'm kind of like fuck man they got to be tired of hearing about the chiefs from people like me and the media in general and the NFL landscape the chiefs in their current form right now don't look like the team that's going to win the AFC West but I will tell you this and it is what I talked about in the preview before the season the chiefs have an opportunity to get a lot better as the season goes on now they did not expect for worthy and Kelsey to run into each other you know on on crossers, like right off the bat.

That's something you don't see in a Kansas City offense, that the level of detail that you expect out of them, but were these now out for a while? I think what I said before the season becomes even more true, at least about the Chiefs, and that they're going to look pretty suspect the first four to six weeks of the season, especially with Rishie Rice out. I didn't think, you know, I'm not impressed with their run game.

You know, their screen game isn't as functional without Rishie Rice in the game and now downworthy. you have questions about stretching the field. I thought my homes looked a little shaky out the gate, missed on a couple deep balls. But as the game went on, if you're looking for a little bit of positivity, if you're a Chiefs fan, I think the pocket looked better at times than it did all last year in spots. And, you know, Josh Simmons not perfect, but a pretty good debut. And I thought Kingsley did some good things, some not so great things.

But I look at that group and I say, hey, by the end of the season, they might have the best offensive line they've had in a couple years. And if they can get Rishi Rice and worthy back, fingers crossed, I don't, I'm not a doctor. I don't know what's going on with that. They can be a lot better. The problem is when you talk about making a move offensively or defensively, they don't have the cap room to do what everybody knew Howie Roseman would do and will continue to do. I think Thursday and Friday night, you look at the Eagles, you look at the Chiefs, you look at two teams that, and I told you would not look as good out the gate. But the thing about the Eagles is they've shown a willingness and they can afford in this situation to make some moves. Whereas the Chiefs,

I don't know they can make a bunch of moves to fix what they have going on right now. However, I thought Patrick Mahomes looked like Patrick Mahomes in some spots. I mean, he made some acrobatic plays. The defense is a struggle for me. I look at this defense, and if it's not Chris Jones, I'm wondering who it is. You know, and I think they're trying to work some things outside. they're trying to figure out like, do we like the group with Hicks in the game? Do we like the group with Fulton in the game? Who we noted in preseason didn't look so great. So just an absolutely awesome win by the Chargers and a statement.

And when you look at Denver play, they don't look like they got a lot better in week one. Now, I'm going to set the table for this whole thing. You know, Mark Sanchez, our boy Squanch, on the Broadway. podcast said, week one's a dirty little liar like your ex. And I think that's, that's pretty true because, like, you got to take all this stuff with a grain of salt, although I'm about to really get, you jump on the bandwagon even more when it comes to the team in the NFC. You know, I think week one, there can be some smoke and mirrors. I think the charges look like a good football team. I also think this is true that the injury to Rashon Slater,

which had me kind of worried about the prospects of this offense, it's not going to be, as big a deal against the Kansas City Chiefs in a weird way because they don't have the horses outside of Chris Jones. And at the end of that game, the infamous third down that, you know, you kind of see tranquil and Chris Jones getting into it on the sideline about, I'm going to tell you exactly how that goes. Okay, if they were zoned up, meaning eyes on the rushers, right, behind you, eyes on the quarterback more specifically, you know, zone droppers sitting there with vision, then you have a little bit more leeway on your rush lanes. And in that situation, I would say, hey, Chris Jones, do whatever the fuck you want.

And if I'm Dana or whoever it is rushing next to him, what I do is not important. What Chris Jones does is important. And then I cover him. So if Chris Jones makes that move and I'm okay with the move in that scenario, then Dana's got to work flat down the line of scrimmage and cover for him. But because they do have backs turn to the quarterback in that scenario, you know, essentially with man principles, you're looking at a situation where it is a Cardinal syndicate beat to the quarterback's throwing hand side. And that's the tough thing about being a left end

is generally with a quarterback who's big and athletic like Justin Herbert and to throw the football, you're going to end up in some situations where as the left end, you have to consider that stuff. And I know Chris Jones is putting his hand in dirt and saying, let me win. So I don't think it's a, it's a selfish move by him. He's thinking, I got to get him down. But in that scenario, maybe the wrong situation. And Justin Herbert, part of the tantalizing ability that he has is his ability to tuck and run it. I think he looks great.

He looks great. I know he's going to take that step forward this year. Will the team take the step forward? We will find out. But a huge win for them in week one. Obviously, the Eagles made a move, right? They go out and get Zadaria Smith in the wake of that game. I already drunkenly opined on that game.

Thursday night, you can go back and check that out. If you're an Eagles fan, you missed it. I think what's relevant here as I move into talking about who I thought was the best football team that I saw play Sunday. And the team they played in the Detroit Lions, they did not make a move for Zadaria Smith. And, you know, I texted Nolan the other day, taking my Eagles glasses off for a minute. I was like, hey, if I'm Dan Campbell and I'm Brad Holmes, I'm probably calling right now on Zadaria Smith. As soon as the Eagles game ended, because you know the first thing how he's doing is scouring, you know, a list of players. in the secondary that he probably already had ready,

and we listed some of those names, and also rushers. And what does he do? He goes out and gets Sedaria Smith. I think this Lions team needs rushers more than Philly did before they made that move. And that's tough to say. I think Hutchinson's going to be better this year as far as like then he looked today. I think he's rusty, only had a couple pressures. He's obviously a big part of the game plan.

But I do think, you know, if you're looking at a Philly defensive line and a Lions defensive line fully healthy right now, meaning Jalen Carter hasn't hawked to it on somebody's chest pregame, then I think the Eagles defensive line is deeper and better than the Packers defensive line or the Lions defensive line before they even made that move. So just a little bit of like, hey, when you talk about NFC elite, some of the moves that were made, how it affects everything, you know, the Packers to me coming off of one Sunday, look one Sunday, week one is a dirty little liar like your ex. Mark Sanchez said that, not me. The Packers look like the best team in the NFC. And, you know, like last year they were one of the best teams. I think they were the best team in the

NFL when it came to point differential in the first quarter, or the first half, rather. And they were up 10-0 in this game. They've had leads before, you know, that sort of thing. Last year, I thought they played their worst game against Detroit in the rain at home. And then in the second game, and a lot of the reason that I based my analysis and picking the Packers in the NFC North, looking at the gap that was closed when they just don't play like shit. I think it was a matter of them just realizing,

hey, we're up 10-0 and we're better than this team. Let's play like it. It was obvious to me right off the bat, the way the physicality flipped between these two teams over the past calendar year. it was glaring to me. And I know that we are replacing and reshuffling a combination of three guys up front if you're Detroit. But that did not go well.

That went worse than probably your worst nightmare if you're a Detroit fan. And we haven't even gotten to the edge where they have added a piece in Michael Parsons that was immediately effective in that football game. Some people told me that Michael Parsons wouldn't be a big deal for this team. I don't like did you watch the game today he played 29 snaps they couldn't even play him in some in some of the more mundane moments that would have set up even more third and longs and disruptions they played him in some big spots and he was fantastic the ovation he got when he had that sack and i say micha parsons is like a lion running down like prey it's the closest thing you'll see in the NFL to a lion running day he's some discovery channel shit out there and that that first sack in the attacker's uniform was indicative of that. He's going to win a lot of rushes. He was beating Sewell like a drum early in this game.

And I know the stakes weren't high on fourth down because that game was over. And it was more of a feather in the cap on a great day that that defense played today. You know, it was kind of a situation where him getting that sack, I could see the way the defense reacted behind him. The guys on the sideline, the coaches. they are so excited to have that guy in the building. You saw Lucas Van S had a really nice rush today. You saw Rishon Gary doing what he does best, running through people.

Guys got a chance to make plays. Wyatt made a play. But when Micah Parsons made a play, you could really feel the top come off the place. And the game was over at that point. And I thought that was really cool to see him being so welcomed in his new home. I think he's absolutely going to swing the balance of power in this division. And honestly, you know, the thing I kept hearing was Kenny Clark leaving, you know,

that's the short-sighted thing to Packers. There's nothing short-sighted about making that move. You're telling me that Packers are worried about respectfully. Kenny Clark's been a fantastic player. But when you have a chance to go get Michael Parsons, you sort it out inside. And I also believe that what gave them the confidence to do this, not they wouldn't do it anyways was the guys inside are ready and i thought they played well i mean they've got depth to the point where they're going to get some some quality uh playing time out of nazir stack house you know

like there there's just guys inside they're not household names but they're going to be disruptive they played on the other side of line of scrimmage state there was a statistic at one point in the game where like 15 out of 21 of detroit's runs were hit in the backfield they didn't end up as TFLs. But when you talk about not being used to operating that way, there was a rep in the red zone where Jared Goff wasn't even really pressured. Micah had lined up in the A. And Jared Goff dumped down so fast.

The pocket was clean. To me, there is a little bit of like, hey, I'm sped up now playing this football team. And they do a great job of keeping everything in front of them. That was their calling card last year. And if you're going to tell me, pressures don't. matter you know the pressure that micha parsons put on the quarterback in the first half of the game in a key moment evan williams comes up with the pick so you know i think if you're detroit if your calling card was always running the football the play action pass that comes off that you ran for 44 yards out of

your two backs 20 carries for those guys that's not good enough there were no explosives and the interior of the offensive line did not look good and so whether it's ratledge mahogany glasgow like any of those guys they they have to take it upon themselves to play better because if they play that way green bay is going to do that again when they play them the next time you know you talk about flipping the field this is like a flipping the field from a physicality standpoint in just a year and jordan love look healthy you know they didn't even have to target golden five seven times and they looked way better offensively than they did last year playing that football team jordan love looks better you know i thought taking that shot to Dobbs was such a backbreaker because Detroit was in the middle of having the

ball for like three hours and producing, you know, a field goal. I think they were, what, one for four in the red zone or something like they weren't good in the red zone today. And last year in breaking down game number two, I think they were four for four, something like that. So you didn't see those fourth downs. You didn't get that feeling where as a defense you're stressed in Detroit's, you know, picking up chunks and the screen games going, you know, Morton did not have. have a good feel for this group. I thought LaFleur definitely was going to come out and win the battle against Shepard. Right.

And now if the pass rush doesn't play well, and that's a good group at offensive line, they're deep and the whole thing. But if Shepard doesn't get the pass rush with four, he's going to have to bring pressure. You know, and Arnold left the game at some point. It's just, to me, the Packers looked really good. It looked like what I expected. it looked like what I expected and Micah makes a difference. Surprise, surprise.

I mean, they were so dominant today that they put Belton in at tackle and just got them some reps. Like they were just working the the JV guys, as you put it. Like the JV. guys were in the game. Lions, no sacks, didn't get pressure.

You talk about Hutchinson. I think Hutchinson is going to take a little bit to get back on the bicycle here. You know, it's the lions are not. out of it. This isn't like a death sentence for the lions. They just started playing together up front, but this is not good enough. And the lack of explosives. You talk about Green Bay, one for five in division last year. This is a banner win. It's a banner win. And I love, there was a Jordan

love and LaFleur Dap. I love a good Dap. There's a lot of psychoanalysis. People were psychoanalyzing the dayball neighbors, misstopper. on the high five earlier today for the record i think neighbors didn't even see it i think neighbors had his head down dable just panicked you should have held it out there for a minute or been like hey don't leave me hanging you know that's the thing you got to do lafleur and jordan loved that they had a damp in slow motion where i was like man this is a group that really believes in each other and again making moves for michael parsons and things like that and trying to give him a number one receiver um that tells you they think they're pretty good they think they're pretty good and i think they are too um

But yeah, if this team, who was really good in the first half last year, we talked about point differential, can run the football and play defense, then all of a sudden the skill they had last year jumping out in front of people gets to be a thing that they can lean on. If they can rush the passer at home at Lambo, they're a really tough group. They're walking like a contender. Another team in the NFC that was walking like a contender today was the L.A. Rams, man. I don't know what Matt Stafford has in that airstream, but I want an airstream like that in my yard.

Whatever the fuck is going on in that airstream, I need one. I need one. Also, they almost had to put pook in that airstream. I've never seen somebody look so fucked up in their helmet. I was like, golly. The Houston's secondary and linebackers, they play with an edge. And they talk about the kill zone and all that stuff. that's a physical group.

I'm going to call them the taxman this year because they tax you. Every time you get the ball, they are going to tax you. Like even on mundane plays where you're running out of bounds, they're going to hit you. And to the Rams credit,

as an offensive line, as an offense, the guys outside, they took a lot of shots and kept going today. I thought Stafford made the throws when he had to make him. He looks like an elite quarterback.

He looks like that fifth top five guy. Right? You talk about like, the who's who of quarterbacks in the NFL if this guy is healthy and i guess that's a big if but today it didn't look like it i mean shit it's an athletic play by him snack it's snagging that uh snap that went over his head i mean like he looked i kept looking for him to look hurt he did not look hurt either it's the good drugs or that air stream is fucking his money dude but nakua is just a rock for them he is such a stud um like i said he looked absolutely beat up in that helmet

but made clutch play after clutch play today. Kobe Durant, just an incredible play on the football out there. And then Landman with like an all-pro play. That's like an all-pro play right there. I think Houston's got a shot. They definitely have a shot, but I thought at that point that we're going to go in and win this football game.

And what's so heartbreaking for Houston is this is a team that you know offensively is going to have some growing pains. No question about it. There wasn't a receiver that had a big day. They don't have a potent rushing attack right now, really. The offensive line looks to still be in shambles. They were guys getting hurt, fissures in the game, Byron Young's running people over. I thought he looked fantastic. That defensive front is a terrific test for an offensive line, week one, but they failed. They failed that test. Now, it's not to say that they can't get better, but it to me looked like the same Texans team as last year

if you were to encapsulate the season into one week, which thankfully you don't do in the NFL. So I think they're going to have time to grow. I think you let these receivers grow up outside. You try to find for fuck's sake a combination that works for you up front and try not to be dealt those tough hands on game day with the injuries. But it looked like you talk about all the penalties they had, the second half performances.

They came out of the gate and played like shit in the second half. Didn't get it done. 11 penalties. Shut out in the second half. Offensive line looked overpowered. So the Rams to me look like a contending football team. And that's no surprise if Matt Stafford's healthy. And he looked healthy today.

The other team that I think today in the NFC looked fantastic. And I did. A lot of people think I'm crazy, but I had the bucks going to the Super Bowl. Okay. again, we're throwing darts in preseason. I'd say the class of the NFC right now looks like, in no particular order, Eagles, Packers, Bucks, the Lions have some work to do, right? We haven't seen the Vikings play.

And people are right. We shouldn't disrespect the Vikings. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few teams, the Rams. I just talked about them. The Niners eked out of win today. You know, although, you know, if you're a Seattle fan, you're saying to yourself, hey, we had a chance to beat that football. team and we were driving to do it and end up with a with kind of a freak force fumble off

somebody's back there nick bosed to just overpowering tackle there um i can't wait to dive into that game on all 22 i think you could i'm sure there are fans out west that are saying hey nineers are a contending team but i think the class of the nFC is the the three teams i mentioned earlier at least like my best guess at it philly right that offense if they can run the football with all the weapons they have and the work that we're sure they're going to do on defense, they're going to be in the mix. Green Bay, I just talked

about them. They're fantastic. But Tampa Bay, I thought that was a big win for them today. You know, a lot of people might say, hey, it's just Atlanta. Well, that team dog walked him twice last year with a quarterback that most people think at this age especially doesn't have the same ceiling as Michael

Pennix does. You know, the way Pennix can really paint the whole board there. I mean, his, his, his, his, We know about the strength, the whole thing. They play Atlanta down there in the divisional matchup to start the season. That's going to be a motherfucker, and it was. You talk about starting slow. I think they spent the first 20 minutes of the game three and out or, you know,

punting out of the shadow of their end zone. And Baker looked a little bit off, man. He really did. And he admitted that after the game. He said, I didn't look good, especially in the first half. But I thought the defense really came to play in some big spots. I do. And I told you about this.

Buck's defense, they're going to be a lot better than maybe you realized, right? If you weren't paying attention, there are things like realizing Winfield didn't play a lot of football last year. Servossier Dennis didn't play a lot of football last year. You know, they drafted Morrison, who didn't play today, right? They draft Parrish, who played today, had a big play, knocked Atlanta out of field goal range at one point. You talk about bringing in Hassan Reddick to compliment the other guys up front.

there's a number of things that they did defensively from a personnel standpoint that they have depth now. Like, hey, Morrison, who we want to be up, he's not up yet. No big deal, right? Like, you know, we can play Jamel Dean. He's played a lot of football. Is he part of the plan for us this December? Maybe not. You know, Izzy and can't play.

Well, we'll be fine. We have depth. And I think that's why Todd Bowles was so excited this year. I'll talk to you about two moments for me, defense. with stood out. You know, Tampa didn't have a first down until almost the end of the first quarter. And when you're down on the road like that, and I've been in those situations, indoor, Atlanta can get loud.

It's the first game of the season. That's the loudest Atlanta's going to be, right, unless they win a bunch of games this year. So there's a lot of excitement in that building. And you're playing the bucks. And you're up seven to three. You got the ball, Atlanta does, driving. They ended with third and short. it they hurry up to the line to take a shot not crazy about that i'd rather just pick up the first down

and inch my way towards a 14 to 3 lead right with eight minutes to go in the in the in the first half on the road that's that's that's kind of a backbreaker for tampa well what happened next was vita vea just blew the play up they you know they ran some sort of i think was an insert player something like that but it was vita vea just resetting the line of scrimmage um reddick knifing in posting uh tight end and just ending up in a situation where you're hitting the backfield. And to me, I don't know if Bijan's the right guy for that situation. I would put Alger in the game. So that was kind of a crossroads where they made that play.

And then the second one was the Hassan Reddick sack in the red zone. You know, Bejohn just hit you for 23 on third down. And Reddick was on the sideline, as was Diabia, I think. And we turned to each other and say, what the fuck aren't they on the field? With the very next third down, it's third and four, I think it was. and it was a huge situation. It's 17, 13, Tampa at this point. You know, this is a four-point play, and they make it.

I don't remember the exact score, but Hassan, that's four points on the board for him. Your new rusher, sack in the red zone, that's a big deal. Those two plays were huge. And then Winfield separating the football off of Casey Washington at the end of the football game. And we got a little dicey for him. And that's on the heels of probably the craziest sequence at the end of the football game where you had, you know, first down at the Bucks 11 yard line with five minutes ago, nine plays, two fourth down conversions later, and two Pennix stretching the ball out.

Like, I could not believe he got the first down. And then he's in the end zone, just heroics from Michael Pennix. And this is a guy who played and remember a couple of overtime football games at the end of last season. He was clutch in that moment. And he was clutch getting him down there after Tampa scored that touchdown. But you talk about the roof coming off. a place. And here we go. Baker Mayfield has not played his best football. You get a nice return. They were good in the return game all day, Ponson kickoffs, and you end up at 37-yard line,

get to midfield, just to be able to with the crowd the way they were in a divisional football game where you haven't beaten the Falcons a lot lately, go down the field and not just say, hey, we're settling for a field goal or something like that. We're trying to win this fucking game. that to me is Baker Mayfield in a nutshell. And that's why you go out and draft Abuka. So big win for Jason Light. You know, your rookie nickel makes some plays. You don't even have the other corner that made you so giddy this off season.

Hey, Todd Bowles, hey, we got two more man corners now. But that wide receiver with two of your top three guys out in Godwin and McMillan, he makes huge plays and big throws from Baker big throws from Baker the first one was a little bit of a danger bird like that was a mother that was a motherfucking it was a missile but but it was between three people so Baker was playing a little bit dangerously um but I got to give this team credit and this is why I really like the bucks they did not play perfect football they could have pulled away in a couple moments I thought the odd and miscommunication that could have made it what like a two-score game late, they didn't get that.

And you kind of knew at that point it was going to come down to the wire. They dropped a couple picks. McLaughlin missed a 44-yarder, the extra point, right? Like, it wasn't perfect for them. But I thought the offensive line being able to patch together, and it was almost like they had a secret menu, dude. Like everybody thought Charlie Heck was going to play left tackle. And we joked that maybe it was because of the small market.

that it didn't get out, but that they had a whole other lineup with Graham Barton sneaking out to tackle and Bredison playing center, you know, and then Michael Jordan playing, Michael Jordan playing guard. I didn't see that comment. I don't think anybody did. We prepared for this game as if Charlie Heck was going to play tackle. And I thought they passed the test. You talk about they rushed for 100 yards, didn't give a bunch sacks.

Baker, he's good enough to get out of trouble and he did a couple times, but I thought the offensive live played well. So hats off to them. That was not a perfect situation for Tampa, but they played pretty well in that situation. They found a way to win, and it was not easy early. And I would say this for Atlanta, they're not a bad football team at all.

I think Jeff Oldberg has these guys playing hard. The defense playing more aggressive, the guys up front, you can tell. It's an attitude thing. And it almost was like this group had been waiting for a coach like this so that they could kind of play a little, bit more aggressive. I thought Diablo was fantastic. He was all over the field, a guy that kind of gets lost in a small market. I don't know what you would call the Vegas market, but not a guy that

everybody knows, not a household name in free agency. You see a guy like that, get picked up. Well, he made a lot of plays today in the run and the pass. And I thought Albrecht's group played hard. You know what I'm saying? I thought AJ Terrell had some moments. Obviously, he's a heck of a player. but but I really like the way they played as a group these rushers got to grow up on the fly and they got to make some plays I thought Evakite played well

and I can't wait to dig into the film to look at how the rookies played as well but as a whole I thought that was an impressive day and when you got a guy like Bijjan Robinson who you know basically Dennis on that first touchdown is the whole

player that's a really hard tackle for anybody and with, I mean, they were in a three deep pressure, so everybody's bailing the fuck out of there. Bejohn Robinson and some space is a defense's worst nightmare. I know he probably didn't have the day on the ground that you like to have here, Atlanta, but damn, dude, I think that playmaking ability and down Mooney today. So you couldn't stretch the field in the way you could last year with Mooney on the field.

Obviously, McLeod out on the field, Drake, Drake London, not on. on the field for that very last drive. I think Atlanta's got to feel pretty good about the way they played today, even in a loss. I mean, for a young team that's turning the page and trying to improve the defense, I thought the defense was more competitive.

I look forward to seeing how Billy Bowman played, you know, looking a little closer and seeing that. And then lastly, this is one I can't wait to rewatch Pittsburgh and the Jets, man. That was a freaking barn burner. Low total, 38. Out the gate, you thought, hey, the Jets are going to try to run the ball down their throat.

And they did, but to the tune of like 30-something points. And, you know, Aaron Rogers played well. I would say that. Like, I just watched Rogers the way he moved and the whole nine yards. Like, maybe that two years off of an Achilles thing does apply to even a 42, 43-year-old man. That Achilles is dusty. But it was out there. I mean, he was moving.

He was moving off the spot, made some really nice throws. you know, for them, they're going to rely on, on D.K. Metcalf with the ball in space, breaking tackles, racking up the yak. And I look forward to kind of digging into that offensive film as well, because if you're a Steelers fan, you're like, damn, we went from like zero to a hundred here. Because I think most people were expecting it to be a little bit of a slower process. Will McDonald played well. Listen, the Jets have some good defensive pieces. and I thought Justin Fields played really well. Seems more confident.

Looks sweet as shit in number seven in that uniform. And that's an Aaron Glenn football team. They're going to play hard. I think that was a big win for the Jets, even in a loss, to say, hey, we can compete with a great quarterback like that and a football team that was expected to have a top five defense this year. You know, I know you don't come out of there and say, hey, you know, no moral victories, but you're not the same old Jets.

If you play with a level of competency that you did today, you know. I will say, I will say the Browns-Bangles game was one that I was cringing, that we were going to have another situation where the Bengals start out laying an egg to a perceived lesser team in the Browns. Browns always play them tough. You would have thought they got sacked 10 times. They really got sacked three times in a row, and it felt like, you know, 12 on the game because it happened in sequence like that.

and the Miles Garrett hit on the stunt up the middle was so violent. That is not what you want, right? But Joe Burrow, after the game, kind of sounded to me like, hey, it doesn't matter how we win. I'm just glad we got a damn win. Damn love handles hanging out on my t-shirt on TikTok. That's not exactly aura farming, is it? Having a fucking love handle hanging out of your t-shirt. So, Burrow didn't play, like the offense didn't play that well.

Chase didn't get that involved. But I really, all I looked at after the game went back and busted the defense, because I thought the defense, relative to expectation, and I know it's the Browns, and I know that the Browns drop like five passes. But the tips and overthrows, you got to have those, man. And that's a big mentality thing in the NFL is like, we're going to create turnovers. And even when the turnovers aren't created by the defense, you've got to take advantage of it. And I thought just getting those two picks was the difference in the game.

you know, 44, the young backer, what's his name again? I've been watching. Demetrius Knight. Because I kind of, you know, in my preseason evaluation, I was like, you know what? There's nothing on film telling me he's a good player yet, but I just like the way his body looks out there. I mean, he's a big, strong dude, and he looks like a space player, looks instinctive. He gives you way higher ceiling at Backer.

and of course Logan Wilson was fantastic. So I just want to say, keep looking at night. I think by the end of the season, they got a lot better at linebacker. Shit, I thought Osai had some nice plays. Good rushes in there, three. On the battle pick, he had a pressure. You know, two takeaways. I mentioned those, 49 yards rushing.

Like, Al Golden, take a bow, man. It's a good first day. I think most people thought it would look like a massacre out there, looking at some of the Washington commanders preseason run. and run fits and that sort of thing, but they did a good job. Cam Taylor Britt, not so great, but some guys in the secondary made nice plays.

And shit, I even see Shamar Stewart uses hands a little bit. So good first day. And I look forward to breaking down Mason Graham's tape as well, the rookie defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns man. I actually thought he looked pretty decent out there. He had a nice rush down on the goal line. I got a buzz through tape to give you

better idea. But all in all, it's not supposed to be pretty seeing the Cincinnati Bengals play in September. The important thing is getting a win and they forced to turn over. This was the craziest shit. The final four drives of the game, 12 plays minus 23 yards for the Bengals. I saw that that was the lowest fourth quarter total since at least 1991. They're still going back through it. They're like, they're looking at the Canton Bulldogs right now to see if the Bengals, have more yards than those guys used to in the fourth quarter. That was dog shit. But I am so happy for the Bengals winning a football game in September on the heels of their defense playing well.

We know the offense will be okay. Noah Fant showing up. So the offense is going to be okay. It's the Browns. They always play them tough. But the defense, they were fine. It wasn't a dumpster fire that I think I expected to see when I turned on the film. So, you know, bouncing around the league a little bit.

I look forward to checking in. And hey, Duval, hey, again, I fuck this up, guys. If I'm wrong about the Jags, I'm wrong about the Jags. But, you know, I got to go by my own rule, which is like if a coach has a really awkward press conference or a sound bite before his first job, he's probably going to be the best damn coach in football. He's probably going to be Vince Lombardi, you know, Siriani, Gannon, Dan Campbell, biting kneecaps, you know, everybody clowning these guys that clown, you know, Liam Cohen.

And today they looked in from what I saw competent. And Carolina looked like they regressed. So I don't know what to make of that. We will check that one out. Also, ETN's the guy, huh? That's kind of what stood out to me. My dumb ass took a tank Bigsby prop today. And that didn't work out.

So yeah, if the Panthers are going to be, you know, if they're going to be any better, they've got to be better in the run. And, you know, you knew that going into the season. We'll look at Bryce's tape. All in all, did I forget anything? We bounce around the league a lot. Hey, we're going to have the live show tomorrow 2 p.m. You got two questions.

You got two questions, what you got? Number one. You talked about your NFC Powers. Yeah. Philly, Green Bay, and Tampa. Would you put Washington there in that? Didn't even mention Washington. I got to watch the game.

I think Washington's in there, though, until they give me a reason that they're not. And it's so early. So again, I don't want to take Detroit out of the mix, but if they're going to play like that up front, like that's, that was why you were in the mix. So like, you know, it's not just like, oh, we got this thing, we got to fix.

Like, your strength is now a weakness. Like, and I'll say this, the edge, like, the three guys inside didn't play well. Tackles didn't play well. And to be honest in pass pro, I don't think the tackles are like world beaters. Like I know I got a lot of respect for Pen A Sewell. He's a dog and a great football player. But when I hear people say like,

Sewell's better than Lane Johnson outside, I'm sorry, but I watched, just look at the tape today. Michael Parsons is, he's batting like his pressure rate in the first few rushes is like 75%. So I'm just saying this. And I didn't draw that from a small sample. size the point is i don't think you realize how much of a strength the interior three was for detroit i think people know that and now you're seeing they got a lot of work to do commanders i want to see what they when they get in a football game where they've got to produce some pass rush

like who are they going to be there you know because i i i got to figure out where that's coming from as far as the afc's concerned shit we're looking at one of them right now on tv maybe probably two of them obviously. And right now the Ravens are up 3419. Geezie Peezy. That's not good. But I told you I was worried about the bills in this game. And then the AFC, you know, you got to talk about the Indianapolis Colts.

Oh, yeah. That was my second question. Are the Colts a wagon? The Colts looked like a wagon, but you got to remember they're playing the Dolphins. So, and I, listen, somebody from Tewan tweeted tonight that like, hey, two of haters, you're all right like can we finally do this like it's just football to me dude it's not personal like if you were wrong about too i'm not going to call you a piece of shit or something or make fun of you like i've just you respect the accountability yeah i like i respect the accountability

let's just move on man i don't know this is zach wilson error yet there but but like that that that was ugly that team can't play better if if tua doesn't play better like that team's not going to be better if he doesn't play better. And he played worse today. He looked worse. And obviously they have the fires they have to put out in various position rooms. But like the Colts to me look, look, why wouldn't the Colts win eight, nine games this year? And are they going to be like the Saints last year where we jump out of the gym for them? No, I don't think so. We looked at the Colts roster before the season. I had them going second in the in the, the Colts going second in the AFC South.

And I feel better about that today. I mean, shit, you watch Houston play and you're like, could they? I'm not ready to do that yet. But I look at the Colts and a lot of people shit on Shane Stuyken. But didn't he have them knocking on the doorstep of going to the playoffs a couple years ago? It's a throwing and catch away. You know, on fourth and two or whatever it was in the flat there. And Gardner, Minch, he's your quarterback.

And he's playing against CJ Stroud. So people got to come around on the Colts. Put some respect on the Colts. Shane Steichen pulling up to, what was it? Where did Birdman pull up to? He said he wants some respect on it. Shane Steikin's pulling up to the fucking coach's media day.

Put some respect on my name. But anyways, week one, shout to Mark Sanchez. Is a dirty little liar. So take everything we just said. with a grain of salt but i do think that's kind of the power structure in in the NFL right now um i'm sure i'm leaving somebody out in the uh in the uh i did say minnesota we should wait i want to see them play and wait till we talk about that that that tyler dune damn article about cave of boyans yeah tell you done dune dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun that is that what i read was i mean he was

went scorched earth and it like I didn't even get behind the paywall you had it's a three-part series yeah I was like is there more people are like yeah like you need the the subscription info but I was like fuck I don't know if I want to read anymore I get the idea geez louise and if that's the case all right that's that come see us tomorrow at two o'clock could you um locals others check us out we got a lot of big things going on two o'clock show a lot of energy some new shit going on this year that we will roll out tomorrow all right y'all take care i'm going to finish watching this sunday night football game

and go to sleep footballed out