Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - BONUS EPISODE: NFL Kickoff Live | Giants v 49ers Reaction. Jets break Pats curse? Saints, Bucs, Falcons all 2-0.

Episode Date: September 23, 2023

 The New York Giants without Saquon Barkley faced the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football. The New York Jets haven’t beat the New England Patriots since 2015, can they break the curse without Aaron Rodgers? The New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons are all 2-0 in the NFC South, which teams are for real? What’s the deal with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals? How good are the Miami Dolphins? Why aren’t the Denver Broncos and Sean Payton clicking yet? NFL Kickoff Live goes around the league with the latest stories and can’t miss games of the week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just how good are the 49ers? Can the Jets finally beat the Patriots? We've got all that and more on NFL Kickoff Live. Welcome into NFL Kickoff Live. This will be the best two hours of football talk every single Friday. We'll go around the NFL, talk about every team and every game, and we'll get local insight you can't get anywhere but right here on Locked On. I am your host, Tenetra Batiste. Alongside me is Jarvis Davis and Kyle Krabs.

Let's go straight to Thursday Night Football, where the Giants did their best to keep up, but sorry, just couldn't. The San Francisco 49ers remain perfect in 2023, beating the New York Giants in primetime 30-12 Thursday night. Hey everybody, I'm Brian Peacock, host of Locked On at 49ers, and Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers young quarterback, weathered a storm from New York Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale. The Giants blitzed Brock Purdy on nearly 85% of his dropbacks, the highest percentage in the next-gen stats era. And Brock Purdy, despite some early

hiccups, was up to the challenge and actually ended up with a career-high 310 passing yards in this one. Two touchdowns, no interceptions, and it was playmaker Debo Samuel, the du jour for the 49ers who have no shortage of playmakers on offense. Six catches, 129 yards, and a touchdown. Christian McCaffrey got into the end zone as well as the 49ers rolled to a 30-12 win and are now in control in the NFC West and really just rolling 30 points for the third straight game in Week 3. The New York Giants dropped the 30-12 decision to the San Francisco 49ers on

Thursday night football, and any momentum that the Giants had found in the second half of last week's come-from-behind win over the Arizona Cardinals went out the window thanks to a sluggish showing by the offense. New York only managed 150 net yards in 20 minutes and 50 seconds of play versus the 49ers who racked up 441 yards in just over 39 minutes. The Giants defense wasn't much better. New York struggled to get off the field on third down, allowing 9 of 16 for a 56% conversion rate. The defense was also guilty of several missed tackles, including four on a third quarter 40-yard catch and run by receiver Debo Samuel on a drive that ended in a 21-yard 49ers field goal that made it a 20-12 game at the time. The 1-2 New York Giants now have 11 days to figure things out before they

have the next take the field. That will come on, of course, October 2nd, Monday Night Football, at home against the Seattle Seahawks. You know, it was scary if you are a Giants fan. To see what you saw last night, I don't know if 11 days is going to make a difference. If you're a 49ers fan, it was a good look, and the rest of the NFC should probably be afraid. Yeah, Tanitra, I think it's not surprising to find out that the Giants struggled offensively the way that they did without Saquon Barkley and Andrew Thomas, who

we're being honest, are their two best players on that side of the football. But talk about an all-time tough draw to get San Francisco in San Francisco with that defense, with how good that they are playing. It doesn't seem to matter who's really calling the play. San Francisco's talent foundation defensively is just so strong. And you saw Nick Bosa show up with that sack that nearly resulted in a safety. And Fred Warner's flying around. And Noah Hufunga flying from depth. Not the game to not have your two best players on the offensive side of the ball.

And I think the Giants called the game accordingly. You looked up and you're kind of hanging around there for a little bit, but I just, I'm not surprised they didn't have the horses. And if you're looking for what difference can 11 days make, maybe you get those guys back. And Saquon Barkley, he shared in the pregame show, I believe he shared it with Taylor Rooks, that he actually does have a high ankle sprain.

So that is some cause for concern about what availability he's going to have. But that's what I'm looking to if I'm a Giants fan saying, okay, we got to get this thing right. Let's get these best players on the field. I know our producers certainly hope so, Kyle. But Jarvis, what did you see last night in terms of just the dominance that we saw from the 49ers versus say the Giants who look to stop that domination for a moment in time and then you just they just couldn't I think you know Brock Purdy

was the way he was able to get rid of the football I was just um very I was very impressed by that because you know we talked about you know and on a previous show about how do I am I a believer in Brock Purdy? I'm not saying I'm a believer, but I understand. I understand why San Francisco has so much conviction about him. I understand why they went ahead and moved on from Trey Lance and kind of took the brunt of the criticism that wasn't as great as we thought it would be. But so I think that Brock Purdy, even though Wink Martindale was throwing everything under the sun at him, as far as from a pressure standpoint, he was just exactly – he knew exactly where he was going with the football

as soon as that ball was snapped. It's almost like it was predetermined because he just – he gets that offense, he understands that offense, and obviously Kyle Shanahan is putting him in a great position to be able to make those plays. Kyle, did you see something in San Fran that made you think not just NFC but that they're maybe one of the top three teams in the league overall? Yeah, I definitely think from a talent perspective.

And look, San Francisco didn't have Brandon Ayok in this game either. So you talk about talent that's not on the field offensively. San Francisco had their fair share too. And I'm glad Jarvis mentioned, you know, how Brock Purdy played the game because I do think they called that game for San Francisco. And this is where Kyle Shanahan's great. And this is why I do think they're a top three team in the conference. They know what their players are.

They play to their players' strengths.ck purdy came out kind of hot he was missing some throws and they dialed him back in they called some screen passes they got the ball easy into debo samuels hands with manufactured touches they got into christian mccaffrey's hands with manufactured touches and then next next thing you know, Brock Purdy's throwing hot against pressure on a speed out in the end zone to Ronnie Bell for a touchdown. And it's that encapsulation of they put the bumpers on him when they need to because he's still a young player. He only has eight career starts. But then you see these flashes where it's like he gets the offense. And it doesn't always look pretty.

It's not always perfect. But it's what we talked about last week, where you in a vacuum doesn't really matter so much as you amongst what your team is trying to achieve offensively. And I think the fact that Brock gets it with the offense does have me in a position to say, this is probably a top two team in the NFC conference. And then you look over at the other side of the fence. I do think right now, this is a top three

team. Now it's a marathon, but I'd put them in that stratosphere right now. Absolutely. Now, Jarvis, when something that Kyle made a good point about, when you look at the team in all fairness and you look at the game in all fairness, yes, the Giants didn't have Saquon Barkley, but 49ers didn't have Brandon Ayuk. And you look across the entire league and there are some issues all the way around when it comes to injuries. We, of course, heard and believe, though, I'll say the biggest injury, maybe because of how well they're playing as a team, you know, would be Trevon Diggs with the Cowboys. But we're also looking at two rookie QBs and Anthony Richardson in concussion protocol and now Bryce Young going down. So, so early in the season, so many injuries. Is that something that really has you kind of

scratching your head and kind of wondering if that's really going to be one of the big factors in determining who ends up on top at the end of the season? I mean, I think it's always been like that. I just think that, you know, like being there, all of these injuries are happening like so early on. I feel like, you know, it's a little bit overstated, I believe. But I think just as to a reason why, here's my scenario. How about the fact that they don't play real football until game one? You know, they barely hit in practice, if at all. And then a lot of teams,

or even down here in Atlanta, Arthur Smith played the starting offense for 17 plays. How can you get ready to play football by practicing football? You get ready to play real football by playing real football in those real games when, hey, the quarterback can go to the ground. The quarterback understands like, yeah, that is the opposing defense and he can put me on my behind if I don't get rid of this rock. So I think that being able to get into a rhythm, not only is just to be able to establish a rapport with wide receivers and defensively, that's why you see the defenses are getting off to a pretty solid start because, hey, you know, those guys are able to just, hey, you get down there and you go. But if you're not

experiencing those hits, experiencing those things for four quarters, your body isn't going to be used to it. So I think that's kind of what we're seeing right now. We're talking about like all these guys getting injured and everything like that and and so many guys are having to to step in and like like like a bill a late round draft pick out of Michigan you know he has to come and step in and and be that guy because guess what you know he played a lot during the preseason because because you know rookies got to play because you got to make the you got to make the club so I think that those that's why you see some of those guys some of these names we never heard of, or like Pukum and Nkulu up with the Rams.

Those guys are stepping in and making plays because they've been playing. They've been playing real football. So I think that's what we're kind of experiencing at this moment. And the NFLPA will probably have a little something to say about that. We've already heard a little chirping about it as it relates to conditions on certain football fields being an issue or concern as well. So we'll be following this story throughout the rest of the season. And listen. In New York, they're following the Jets to see if the Jets are going to jet. We'll talk about it in a minute. But first, Travis, let's talk game time.

All right, folks, I'll listen to tell you about some game time. guy. All right, folks, y'all listen up. I'll tell you about some game time, man. You know, you're talking about all that planning and stuff. You know, your wife trying to say, we need to plan two weeks ahead so we can go to the game and get some tickets. Bump all that. I need you to go to game time because wait till the last minute and go get these tickets. They're going to, I promise you, they're going to guarantee you some great deals because the tickets are right up to the day of the event, right? And you can get exclusive flash deals on tickets for football, basketball, baseball, concerts, comedy, theater, and more. So yeah, you can go to the game, get some really

good tickets, and then you can swing the deal, swing the pot with your wife and say, hey, baby, I'm going to get these theater tickets right here. And we're not planning that either. We're being spontaneous. That's how you sell it. So yeah, I need you to get these theater tickets right here. And we're not planning that either. No, we're being spontaneous. No, that's how you sell it. So, yeah, I need you to go to Game Time, guys. And here's what all you need to do. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase.

Yes, you heard that correctly. $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off. Go ahead and download that Game Time app today. Be spontaneous. Get some coupons with your wife or your spouse or however you get down and get those last minute tickets. Lowest price guaranteed. Now, Jarvis and Kyle, do you remember what you were doing on December 27, 2015? I know

I don't, but Jets fans probably do because that's the last time the New York Jets beat the New England Patriots. Jets, of course, don't have Aaron Rodgers, but do they have enough to finally beat their division rivals? Will John Butchco from Locked On Jets and Mike DeBatte from Locked On Patriots break down if they see the streak ending this week? Would you like to offer a score prediction today for the outcome on Sunday in East Rutherford? Well, maybe this is wishful thinking. Maybe this is me being a homer.

Although I did pick against the Jets last weekend. I picked a closer game than they got, but I do think the Jets will win this game. I think that they'll finally break this long losing streak that they have against the Patriots. I like the way this defense is going to respond. I think that this defense is kind of built to contain the New England offense. I think that, you know, as Sauce Gardner said, this is not necessarily the most explosive offense in the league. They're very well coached. They executed the high level. But I think this is the type of offense the Jets defense is built to kind of slow down. I think on the other side of the ball, you'll see a relatively conservative game plan. I worry about Zach Wilson. I think if Zach Wilson can play turnover-free football, the Jets

are going to have a really good chance at winning this game. I think it's kind of a coin flip game. These are two tough teams. I think these teams may be combined for a 1-3 record. I think these are both really solid football teams. Look at the opponents they've played so far. Can you have a tougher schedule than these two teams through the first two weeks? Patriots getting Philadelphia and Miami. Jets getting Buffalo and Dallas. I think these are two quality football teams that will be in the playoff race.

I think the Jets will still be in the playoff race near the end of the season, even without Aaron Rodgers. I think the Patriots will be right there. I think that the Jets figure out a way. I think Zach Wilson finally avoids the big mistake. So I'll take the Jets 17, the Patriots 14. I think it's going to be a low-scoring game. I'll definitely take the under on that.

I think the Jets eek one out at home. Folks, this is the fourth year that John and I have been doing crossovers together, and you can tell we think alike and share half of the same brain. I also have this game going 17-14 because I do think it's going to be a defensive slugfest. I'm going to pull out the Homer card on this one and say the New England Patriots pull this out. And the reason I do believe that is because I think the Patriots are going to win the turnover battle this week. And I think that's going to be key for them to be able to move forward and try to salvage right now what

a season could be if they're one and two. All of a sudden it gives them a little bit of life. Oh, and three in this division is really, I think, the kiss of death. And New England knows that their backs are up against the wall. I think they're going to have everything in their arsenal at their disposal this weekend, and they're going to need it. That means that Mac Jones is probably going to play a very conservative game, trying to hit the inner part, the intermediate areas of the field. Short passes down the field, lead the receiver under the defense

where they can get it, and then get yards after the catch. They have to use the run to be able to open things up. They're going to have a very difficult time against this defense, who I think, guys, especially in that secondary, like Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reid, are going to really make things difficult on the Patriots pass catchers, especially deep. So it's going to be imperative for the Patriots to win the short game battle. I think they do it. And I think they pull this one out 17-14. But like you said, John, this is a coin flip. It would not shock me to see it go the other way. The Jets have an extremely talented team. Aaron Rodgers or no Aaron Rodgers, this is still a formidable matchup for the New England Patriots and one they have to be very, very

careful for because the Jets can take it to you in so many different ways. And interestingly, both of these teams, we're going to see a lot of punts on Sunday. Both of these teams in the last two years have won a game on a punt return touchdown. Now, not such a pleasant memory for the Jets because it happened when these two teams met last year, but week one, the Jets won on the Xavier Gibson punt return touchdown. So special teams could be an X factor in this one, Mike, as it always is when these teams meet. Absolutely. Just ask Brendan Schooler how important special teams were.

The only reason why Patriots fans have any smiles this week is because of that move around the edge to be able to block Jason Sanders' field goal attempt last week. The Patriots always have a wrinkle up their sleeve when it comes to special teams, and the Jets are very well coached in that area as well. Great X-Factor, John. So we have the good fortune of having Mr. Locked On Dolphins himself right next to me, Kyle.

So, Kyle, you are very familiar with this particular division, and it kind of feels like right now it's the Dolphins and Bills, and then it's the other three, right? So what is it going to take, starting with the Jets, what is it going to take for them to get a W, and is that going to be something that lays at the feet of Zach Wilson? I just need one minute, if you don't mind, to fully bask in Mike of Locked On Patriots talking about as the Patriots, a consolation prize of smiling over a blocked field goal in a loss. What a time to be alive. Wow. But I digress. Janitra, your question was about the New York Jets and their ability to win the football game. Zach Wilson needs to not do the things that Zach Wilson has done pretty much any opportunity he's had since he came into the NFL.

So I know the optimism was, well, Nathaniel Hackett and Aaron Rodgers, and they've remade and fixed Zach Wilson. Why watch Zach Wilson go 12 to 27 and throw three picks last week? So at the end of the day, the New England Patriots play a very specific brand of football, which is we are close to the vest and we will let you beat yourself. The Jets can't beat themselves. So can you run the ball? What's the status of Dwayne Brown at left tackle? We don't know right now.

You need to run the ball. You need to be able to give the ball to what you paid Dalvin Cook to come here to do, what you drafted Brees Hall to come here to do. You guys have to run the football and turn this into a grinded-out game because I do think the Jets have better defensive talent. The Patriots are really banged up in the secondary coming out of that Week 2 game against Miami. I think if you're able to run the ball, the Jets have better healthy and available defensive personnel. able to run the ball, the Jets have better healthy and available defensive personnel. But if you play field position and get caught up and try to do something or be something that you want it to be, but you can't be because Aaron Rodgers is hurt, the Patriots are exactly that

team that is just going to lie in the grass and wait. And then when you let your guard down or you try to do something ambitious, they will jump on you and they'll probably win the football game. your guard down or you try to do something ambitious, they will jump on you and they'll probably win the football game because Jarvis, it sounds like Casey is saying, don't leave this game at the foot of Zach Wilson, but should the Patriots and Bill Belichick count on Matt Jones to be the one to get it done for them? No, not really, to be honest with you. I think that Ramon J. Stevenson is more than capable of carrying his team to a win. Because at the end of the day, like, would Bill O'Brien brought some stability to this offense?

What? Did I just? Wait. Bill O'Brien? Bill O'Brien and stability? Did I just say that? Yes. Like, how does that go together in a sense? But I think that given what they were dealing with last year, and I ain't going to even mention the coach's name,

we already know who we're talking about. First-time offensive coordinator, play caller ever, you know, getting the opportunity to do call plays for a young quarterback, I think that was just the worst situation Bill Belichick can put his quarterback in, and I don't think enough people have said that, just from a general manager standpoint. So I think that you know, this game is going to be a grinded out. I wholeheartedly agree with Casey. This is going to be a grinded out, pounded out game.

And I wouldn't be surprised if they don't combine for more than 30 points in this game because this is going to be something that, you know, the Jets, Robert Saylor, he understands who Zach Wilson is. He's going to make sure that Nathaniel Hackett doesn't put this game in the hands of Zach Wilson is. He's not, he's going to make sure that Nathaniel Hackett doesn't put this game in the hands of Zach Wilson. And I think no, for a fact that Bill Belichick is not going to put this game in Mac Jones's hands and he's not going to allow Bill O'Brien to do that either. So I think this is going to be something that this, it might be a game winning punt returns that, that actually get who gets the dub in this one.

Indeed. Now you're looking at not putting either one of those teams and getting a W at the feet of those quarterbacks. But other than last week and the week before, anytime anyone would have said, put the game on the line and give the ball to Joe Burrow, everyone would have said that's a dub for the Bengals, right? But this season, it has been a struggle for Joe Burrow that is really a head scratcher, if you will. And so that's one of those teams, how we talk about teams that are 2-0 going into week three, and they're a little bit surprising. Well, the Bengals are surprised going 0-2. Granted, they played the Browns and the Browns kind of smoked them. That was questionable. The Ravens, that's always going to be a back and forth for that AFC North. And now they've got the Rams, which might be an opportunity for Joe Burrow to kind of get back on track.

But will this be the time where we end up seeing Joe Kuhl come back to his Joe Kuhl self? Well, I guess what's tough is he re-aggravated the calf if he didn't have to deal with that re-aggravation i'm looking at this game and i'm feeling yeah really good you might get a lot of points in this game but i would expect the the bangles to outscore the rams just based off of that depth chart right now is aaron donald and ernest jones and a bunch of first and second year guys right like they got a ton of young guys on that death chart and some of them are playing really well, but they're still inexperienced versus the chemistry that you would expect

Cincinnati to have. But no JD talked about in the first segment, Bengals Joe burn and play. He didn't play the entire preseason. He missed almost all training camp with the calf strain had to get carted off. We were all freaking out about that and i think it's it's just another testament of that and you feel for joe because like he had like appendicitis one year in the preseason and it's just always been something for joe coming into a year so i don't think that we're necessarily in uncharted waters with a timing chemistry ball placement not a lot of exotic scheme,

but really just we're going to bank on our chemistry with quarterback and wide receivers, getting that reignited, and that's how we beat you. That's usually what they do and not having the time. I'm not surprised with that, but is Joe Burrow going to play? Like what are the Bengals signed to Reed Sinnott? Is the potential backup quarterback of Joe Burrow can't go and you know as I'm sitting here really trying to wrap my head around that if Joe Burrow doesn't play I can't pick the Bengals to win the game we just yeah you really can't you really can't

because DeMart Chase and T Higgins really you know they don't have that chemistry with whether it's whomever it is a guy not named Joe Joe Burrow, right? Could be Drake Browning as well, I think is on their depth chart. But here's one of those situations where normally we would not say that it's going to be Joe Mixon. We wouldn't say that it's going to be the run game that's actually going to save the Bengals. But in this case, Jarvis, I feel like Joe Mixon in that run game, they're going to have to really step up and do some things because you're not going to be able to count on, definitely if Joe Burrow doesn't go, you're not going to be able to count on somebody that just walked into the practice room a couple of days ago and is just now starting to catch up on schemes through films, et cetera. And it's going to need, the Bengals are going to need

that defense to step up. Yeah. And I think it starts with running the football, right? Because that, that offense didn't get going, you know, early on until they started giving a rock to Joe Mixon, whether it be passing to him out of the backfield or, or just handing it off to him because like Joe Max, Mixon is a very good running back. So I think that, you know, I get all the, you know, the pretty, pretty weapons all on the outside, Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and Tyler Boyd. You brought in Irv Smith at tight end. Yeah, that's all cute. That's real cute.

But at the end of the day, when things are slow, when things are not working out how you want to in the passing game, you can always count on that running game, especially when you have a guy of Joe Mixon's ilk back there uh waiting to get put that ball in his hand so I think that you know if they are able to you know whether or not Joe um Joe Joe Burrow plays they still need to make sure they are implementing Joe Mixon into this offense because here's the thing that is what's going to ease ease him into the season like like case he mentioned it like you have those instances where he's always dealing with something coming to

the year how about handing that bad boy off and he so he won't have to take that many hits and or give him to him in a play action or give him to some screen give him some easy throws get him going and then you start going up top to your pretty guys on the outside of those hash marks. So I think that, you know, if they're able to get that running game popping off, I really feel like they'll have a chance. But if Joe Burrow doesn't play like everyone has said on this show, I don't know what that offense is going to look like. No clue whatsoever.

We all know. Should I jump in real quick? Yeah, yeah. Here's my concern with getting the running game going for Cincinnati, and I agree with you, JD. They're in 11 personnel 90% of the time on first down. They're in the shotgun 97% of the time through their first two games on first down.

If you're going to do that, and I agree, you got to change some of what you're doing. You got to get up under center. You got to get some heavier personnel out there so that you can create gaps in space. Because if you're going to go spread 11 personnel and you're going to have on one side of the formation, it's just a split out slot wide receiver. You're not putting any structural stress on the defense.

And they're going to play nickel, and you're going to try to go five-on-five plus a tight end to fit a six-and-a-half-man box. And that's just such a hard way to run the ball. I will be looking for what does first and ten look like for Cincinnati. And if you get out of 11, that's the, that's their DNA. They did that all year last year too. But if you're going to get this thing going and you're going to be a little

bit more balanced, you have to change something with how you are putting personnel out on the field. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it sounds like on locked on NFL kickoff live, we are not so much buying what's going to happen with the Bengals, whether or not they're finally going to get in the win column this coming week.

But we'll tell you what we will buy and why right after Jarvis tells us about PrizePix. Hey, guys. Jarvis Davis here for PrizePix. What I need you to do, let you know that PrizePix is the most fun I've had winning up to 25 times my money this football season. You just select two or more players, pick more or less on the projected stats and place your entry. If you think that Jamar Chase is going to get off and you're not trying to hear what we're talking about as far as that passing game and they need to sling the ball all over the yard, hit the over on Jamar Chase. Go ahead and put some money down. Put some money where your mouth is. And all you got to do, like you said, is test your skills because this is the most exciting way to play

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Come on. I got you. It's your boy. Go to prizepicks.com slash locked on NFL and use code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. Yes, you heard that correctly. All you got to do is go to prize pick.com slash locked on NFL use code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. I'm telling y'all prize picks. It is the daily fantasy sports made easy. Well, you know, what is not so easy at this point in this football season is to figure out who we

actually believe in and we think hey that's that's a good team that's starting out of the gates playing good or a team that maybe they're a head scratcher because we thought they were going to be good but they're looking pretty bad so it's kind of one of those where we've got to figure it out it's hard to tell the nfc south is a great example of hard to tell because who thought we were going to be talking about three 2-0 teams at this juncture? And then of course, you've got the NFC East with the same. So Kyle, I mean, when you look at the NFC East and you see that the Cowboys and the Commanders and the Eagles are all 2-0, which one of those teams are 2? Or maybe all three that you say, hmm, I think they're actually all really good. So I think you could probably draw a line in the sand

and say half of the 2-0 teams I think are pretty good. And then I think there's the other side of the line in the sand is teams that you look at and ask yourselves, okay, well, who have you played? And you look at Washington, and they eked out a win that they had to come back from behind or needed a defensive touchdown to beat the Arizona Cardinals, who are widely considered the worst team in the league, and needed a stopped two-point conversion with the defensive pass interference while also coming back down from 18 points in the first half to beat the Denver Broncos.

It's like there's, it's still enough of a small sample size where you look at the record and you say, wow, I didn't expect you to be here. And then you look at how they got there and you say, oh, okay. Yeah,

I can, it makes a little bit more sense now. So I look at Tampa Bay. I think the teams that Tampa Bay has played do not have the personnel to really challenge the issues that Tampa Bay has with their offensive. You think about Chicago last week, right? And they've got a defensive touchdown because they got to pick six on a screen pass when Chicago was backed up inside

their own five. So I think Tampa Bay is one that stands out to me. Washington's another one that I'm not buying as two and O teams, but I sneakily like those Atlanta Falcons guys. They very much have, and it's fitting because Arthur Smith coming off the Mike Vrabel coaching tree they are NFC Tennessee with what Tennessee was where they said it's smash mouth football we're gonna run the ball we're not gonna try to be anything that we're not we're not gonna panic if we're down two stores we're still gonna run the football and play hard-nosed defense and they did all that and it got him a win against Green Bay last week because they gave the ball to B. John Robinson more than Tyler Algier,

and lo and behold, we got that sweet Instagram clip of B. John from the overhead shot with the ball moving around, which is probably the coolest football shot I've ever seen in my life. I think I'm buying the Falcons as a team that maybe not going to win double-digit games and have home playoff games, but is absolutely going to be in the thick of this thing to the end as far as a race for that division title, because nine might get it done when it's all said and done. Interesting that you say that, because we all here in this in Atlanta say, hey, the only way they're going to probably get in the playoffs is to win the NFC South outright. And somehow they're going to probably need but they won't actually need 10 wins to do it.

So you're absolutely right about the double digits piece. And Kyle, they're getting potentially Jeff Okuda back. I think Jarvis would agree that in all likelihood he's participated to now three days in a row in practice, looking like he's going to come back as well. But Jarvis, when you look at and I'll swing up to Kyle's way. Right. When you look at the the AFC East, I mean, I think everybody would have been okay saying that the Dolphins were going to be 2-0, but I think you probably thought that the Bills would have been 2-0 as well. So maybe a situation where you're looking and saying, oh, okay, wow, those teams are good, but it's almost like are the Dolphins as good as 2-0 early sample size?

And are the Bills as bad as 2-0 early sample size and are the bills as bad as one and one if you will or what are some of the teams that you're looking out there and saying hmm really good hmm really bad or maybe worse than we actually think they are i'm gonna start with with kyle's team they are 2-0 like if as long as 2-0 stays healthy long as Tua stays healthy, I am buying the Dolphins all the way. When you're talking about what they're able to do with their offense with Jalen Waddell and Tyree Kills and the burners that they are and being able, and Mike McDaniel, the mad scientist Colin plays down there coming off that Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. I wouldn't put him on Kyle Shanahan's play calling

capabilities, but he's dang close. He's doggone close, Kyle. Yeah, so I'm buying the Miami Dolphins all the way. And I'm going to push back on the Washington Commanders. Hear me out, Kyle. They finally have a guy who knows what he's doing when it comes to coaching quarterbacks, cultivating quarterbacks. Eric being in me is finally going to get his just due this year as far as from a play call standpoint, because a lot of people don't want to give him the credit because Andy Reid,

he has the big old sheet, you know, and big red out there just calling plays and doing his thing. I kind of get that, but I think he went to Washington Commanders specifically to prove that, hey, I know what I'm doing when he calls plays, and I feel like he's putting Sam Howell in a good position to be able to do that. And also to go along with that, we talk about the surrounding talent. We talk about the San Francisco 49ers and how Brock Purdy has all the talent on offense. And they have a baby of talent on the defensive side of the football as well.

Commanders got that too. It's specifically up front. Montez Twett and De'Ron Payne. De'Ron Payne is out here just mauling folks. He's just having just an amazing season. It's funny how cats continue to play once they get that fat check, and he's just out there like, yes, I am worth every penny. So, yeah, I think that when you have a team that has been so inept at that offensive position on the offensive side of the football

and you have a defensive-minded head coach, I think that Eric Bien-Ami is going to get his shine on this year. And I think you're starting to see the benefit of that early on in the season. I think Eric's biggest test, and I agree with you, I think he's done an awesome job from a scheme perspective, is the personnel up front on the offensive line, where Andrew Wiley was kind of the big acquisition to play right tackle for them. Andrew Wiley was kind of the big acquisition to play right tackle for them.

And you look at some of the personnel, whether it's Charles Leno at tackle or they had the upheaval at guard and it's Cosme and Sadiq Charles and Nick Gates at center. We're going to find out the next two weeks because they play the Bills and then they play the Philadelphia Eagles. So that for me is if Washington can pass the test and block up front the next two weeks and allow the scheme and the plays to develop for Sam Howell to execute it, then I think even if they lose both games,

I could come back in two weeks and say, hey, they blocked them up better up front than I thought they would. They were able to put points on the board. I think I'm buying this team long-term, but I just look at that. It's that age old question of like, can you coach around the limitation on the offensive line, which is how I perceive them right now, based off of what we have off the sample size, because you look at Arizona and you look at Denver and you don't really see the disruptors that potentially could derail a game plan. Indeed. So I think we all agree on what we think about those 2-0 teams,

but let's switch it up to 0-2 teams, the Los Angeles Chargers. 0-2, they're traveling to face another 0-2 team in the Minnesota Vikings. The Chargers are the one and a half point underdogs in that one. So here's David Drogmeier to sell you why the Chargers will cover that spread. The Chargers have had a really tough start to their 2023 season, obviously starting 0-2. But they are a desperate football team, and they are going to get back into the win column this Sunday, and they will cover the fan duel spread of one and a half. And here is how they are going to do it. The Minnesota Vikings, they are a one-dimensional half. And here is how they are going to do it. The Minnesota Vikings,

they are a one dimensional offense. They do not run the football. So that means you got to allocate all your resources to stop in the past and stopping that very lethal threat of Justin Jefferson. Justin Jefferson is on an absolute tear. And so the chargers need to make sure they know where he is at all times. I believe they will allocate those resources to stop him. I believe they will have a safety hanging over the top.

I want the Chargers to double team him every single chance that they get. Remove Justin Jefferson from the game plan. Force anyone else on that Minnesota offense to beat you. And then as far as the Chargers on offense, the game plan, it's very simple. It's run the ball. The Philadelphia Eagles just ran all over the Minnesota Vikings to the tune of 259 rushing yards on 48 carries. They were very dedicated to running the ball, but they also were able to set up some shot plays and hit the Minnesota Vikings over the top for a couple of big, deep plays. The Chargers need that. They need more explosive plays. I think the running game is going to be able to allow them to draw the defense in and allow the Chargers with Justin Herbert and Mike Williams and Keenan Allen to hit the Vikings

over the top and dial up some of those deep shots. I think that's very important. And I do believe that's going to happen in this game. And those are going to be the reasons why I believe the chargers are going to cover the spread and they are going to beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday to improve to one and two on the season. But for more on this game and for more on the chargers, please check out the lockdown chargers podcast,

your team every day. You guys buying the chargers in this one i am yes what does it come from oh no no here's a here's a thing man like i really i really feel like this is a must win game now i'm not trying to be dramatic and everything for both charvis or or i think it's a must win for the Chargers for sure because Brandon Staley has to be on the hot seat because you talk about the weapons, Justin Herbert

everybody can potentially agree that it's a generational quarterback, right? And then you have the weapons on the outside with Mike Williams and Keenan Allen and they're able to put up points but Brandon Staley is a defensive mind head coach. And that defense just hasn't been anything worth speaking of. And I really

see this game turning into a shootout because we all know when the Minnesota Vikings just traded for Cam Akers and now they try to see the value of a running back or having a capable running back. Now that's okay. Now you're trying to do that. Now you understand. And, you know, by letting down the cook and cutting down the cook. So I think that all of those things are factors that I really feel like when you're in a situation where you have all this talent and everybody always says, hey, if I'm starting a team today, that position is going to be QB. And the Chargers have a quarterback. They have a guy that is more than capable in winning some games for them,

but they just haven't been able to figure it out. It's just been so weird with this team. And I think Brandon Staley is going to ultimately fall on the floor for it. And Casey, I thought that was interesting as well, where we're talking about the Chargers, right? And we're talking about the fact that we all agree, we think that's the team that is in a must-win situation. We think that's the team that's going to get it done. But David didn't really talk a lot about Justin Herbert as being the catalyst for the Chargers getting it done. I thought that was interesting. Yeah, especially because I look over at the other side of the ball with Minnesota and what they have in the secondary. They don't have a lot of talent there. And Brian Flores likes to play a lot of high pressure. And you saw that against Philadelphia where they're mugging linebackers up in gaps. They got six guys on the line of scrimmage. field with A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, and you just don't have the guys in the secondary to do that at a very high level. So while it disrupted Philadelphia at first, Philadelphia eventually

said, okay, we're going to come out in 12 and we're going to run the ball down your throat. And they didn't change what they were doing defensively. So if I'm the Chargers coming into this game, yes, I want to be balanced because I don't want Brian Flores to be able to tee off on me with their pressure schemes. But I am looking to really take advantage of the matchups of who's covering Mike Williams. And if you double Mike Williams, I got Keenan Allen. Okay. And then if you're doubling both those guys, then I'm going to run the ball and I'll run it right down your throat like Philadelphia did because they've got the offensive line to do it. Even with if Austin Eckler doesn't play play I know he's dealing with an ankle injury right I think

there's enough talent disparity on the outside for the Chargers when they have the ball that there's no way Minnesota should be right with consistency for 60 minutes now I think there's another game that we can talk about that again we'll probably all agree on who's going to win but the spread is interesting the Chicago Bears are 13 and a half point underdogs to the Kansas City Chiefs heading to Arrowhead this weekend and here's Lauren Cox of Locked On Bears to sell you why the Bears will cover the two touchdown spread the Chicago Bears can cover a double-digit spread against the Kansas City Chiefs if Travis Kelsey gets his heart broken by Taylor Swift and is no longer able to go out there and play try and pull off an upset victory in this game against the Chiefs, clearly outmatched by one of the Super Bowl defending champion here on the other sideline. But I do think realistically here, the Bears can do this if all the adversity they've dealt with this week,

losing their defensive coordinator, some media drama with fields on the offensive coaching staff, left tackle going on injured reserve if all of that can bring the team together and not drive them apart certainly it's easier said than done but if they can band together throughout this and kind of look themselves in the mirror and find ways to turn a few things around and shake off some of the sloppiness that they've had through the first couple of weeks of the season there's a formula here where they can start to get something going here. The Chiefs aren't as dominant as they've been years past so far. They've been sloppy.

They've made their own mistakes. And if the Bears can get some of those mistakes from the Chiefs to help them out, lift them up, and the Bears can stop shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and silly mistakes, players running the wrong routes, turnovers, all of a sudden you can start to put together a little bit of hope here, and that's what Bears fans have certainly been holding on to here. So, yeah, if the Chiefs offense can stumble a bit more and the Bears can find a way to sort of revamp their offense

and attack a Chiefs defense that's been really, really solid this season, that's their path towards covering a spread in what otherwise is going to be a very difficult game where a lot of Chicago Bears fans are bracing for a blowout. Unfortunately, I think, Casey, it's 13 and a half points, but Chiefs will cover that. The Bears will cover the spread. I'm not sure that the Bears will cover the spread. I'm going to be honest. You don't think so?

Okay. There is not a worse unit for unit mismatch than kansas city with a top five offensive line against chicago's defensive front chicago is they have 189 rushing yards through two games with justin fields a quarterback we got us the entire appeal of justin fields And he said this week, I'm going to just go back to playing ball, right. And try not to internalize so much of what's,

what's being directed at me. And there was a whole circus that was made for three hours over that comment before he talked to the media again, after practice at the end of the day, what Justin Fields and what the bears did well last year for Justin Fields was they got really exotic quarterback run schemes. And they said, look, we got a powerful runner, 240 pound quarterback that runs a four three. We can run the ball option oriented run game, put defense in stress and really try to out gap you in the run game because we have an extra hat because we're

running the ball with the quarterback. When you don't do that and you try to do what Chicago has been doing this year, you're taking away the best part of what makes Justin Fields, Justin Fields. So unless you're going to go back to that, which I have no confidence that they will, then I look over at the other side of the ball. I don't see any reason how you stand up against Kansas City with their offensive line. So that for me, I look at both sides of the ball, I don't see any reason how you stand up against Kansas City with their offensive line. So that for me, I look at both sides of the ball, and I think Kansas City's got a good advantage. And 13 and a half, I'd probably take Kansas City cover.

I would. Yeah. I wholeheartedly agree because here's the thing, man. The Bears are a dumpster fire right now. You got the defense coordinator may or may not have had his home rated by the FBI, resigning. Like Kyle mentioned, talking about Justin Fields and getting back to myself. There's too many voices in my head, and I just need to get back to being me.

This dude just going through it mentally. The face of your organization, Polo, just bless his heart. Just bless Justin Fields' heart right now. I think it's just too much going on in order for him to get this out. Because take it back to last year. We were having this same conversation, Kyle, last year about using this dude's talent. Yeah, he could throw the rock. Don't get me wrong, but he's one of his best assets.

If it's not his best asset, it's running that bad boy and using that because that is a tool that you can use to take advantage of the defense if your passing game isn't up to par. And he didn't have any weapons last year. They traded a second-round pick for Chase Claypool, who has just been awful since he stepped into Chicago. So I think right now it is just we're having the same conversation about Luke Getze trying to figure this thing out.

It took him seven games to do it last year, and they finally were able to solve some of that greatness that they were able to take advantage of by using his legs to be able to run the football. And you're talking about 189 yards, two games in. That is absolutely ridiculous. And you got a running back in Roshon Johnson that you need to use more as well. So it is so, if they have that game plan right there by running the football, I feel like the Bears could cover. They could cover, but they're not going to do that because that's why I feel like the Kansas City Chiefs, they're going to easily cover this 13 and a half point spread point spread. Yeah. And I have to agree and kind of check myself because I was thinking, wait a minute, did I say Bears?

Nah, I meant Chiefs. So let me just be clear. I think that the Chiefs are going to be just fine covering that spread. It'll be interesting to see though how this goes down because yeah, I think even more so than covering the spread, it's what's going on internally with the Bears and whether or not they're going to, how they're going to make it through this entire season is a bigger deal for them. Now, you look at the Denver Broncos, another 0-2 team, and not so much internal issues. It's almost like they just can't get it done and close out at the end of the games. They're headed to South Florida, so they're going to have a serious test with Kyle's team, the Miami Dolphins.

The Broncos are six-and-a-half-point underdogs. Cody Rourke of Locked On Broncos, however, is Miami Dolphins. The Broncos are six and a half point underdogs. Cody Rourke of Locked On Broncos, however, is here to sell us why the Broncos will cover that spread. This is Cody Rourke of Locked On Broncos. And the Denver Broncos head into week three Sunday showdown in South Beach against the Miami Dolphins at six and a half point underdogs, according to our friends over there at FanDuel Sportsbook. So why do I think that the Broncos will cover the spread here against the Dolphins? Well let's take a look at maybe some circumstances here through the first two weeks of action. When you look at where Denver's offense is at with Sean Payton and Russell Wilson, they're third in the NFL

in plays per drive and yards per drive. They're first in the NFL in points per drive. Now, granted, sitting at 0-2, something doesn't add up here. And we saw the Broncos collapse in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders. Denver can put up points. The offense is better, though they went through a little bit of a stalwart last week against the Commanders from the second quarter until a little bit late in that fourth quarter where they came back and had the Hail Mary there.

Denver has the pieces and they have the tools, but it's about establishing balance on the offensive side of the ball here. And I think the number one thing that we've seen Denver's offense going against the Miami Dolphins defense now coached by Vic Fangio, former head coach of the Denver Broncos and former Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb playing there is they love to pressure and they love to force offenses to throw the ball short. They rally and tackle. Denver capitalized on downfield plays last week against the commanders and then they went away from it entirely. You have to dictate the pace here. And I think if the Broncos offense can continue to maintain the efficiency that they've had on the offensive side

of the ball, they will cover the six and a half point spread here this week against the Dolphins. I think the bigger question, the wild card is can Denver's defense, which is right now one of the ball they will cover the six and a half point spread here this week against the Dolphins I think the bigger question the wild card is can Denver's defense which is right now one of the bottom ranked units in the NFL can they find a way to mitigate the big explosive plays from Tua Tunga-Vailoa and Tyreek Hill Raheem Mostert in this game that's the question here but if Denver can do things offensively in the way that I think they can, they will cover the six and a half point spread. Well, Kyle, this is right down your alley, up and down your alley in South Florida. So how's it going to go down in South Beach this weekend? I am very encouraged by the way that practice has gone for the Dolphins this week with Teron Armstead, who didn't play in the first two games as a high-priced offensive tackle. I know y'all in Atlanta know him really well from his time in New Orleans.

So Teron, Mike McDaniel said today, optimistic for him in week three. Jalen Phillips did not play on Sunday Night Football with back spasms that he suffered on Friday's practice. He's good to go. He's going to play. Jalen Waddell practiced today in red non-contact. He's in concussion protocol, but he practiced today and he was a part of the stretch. So it would seem to be he's in phase four of concussion protocol. There's a chance that he clears and is able to play in this game as well.

You look on the other side, Justin Simmons didn't practice the first two days. He got shook up with a hip injury. I just think the personnel trends plus Denver high altitude coming to 95 degree heat index, one o'clock PM kickoff. Miami's wearing their whites. There's a whole lot of layers here that you piece it all together with that defense that Cody talked about with the Broncos. But the Broncos, I agree the Broncos have the capability. They had three explosive 50-plus yard plays in the game against Washington. They had a 60-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims. That was a quarters beater. They hit a shot down the sideline that was against cover one where he beat press coverage on the outside and ran by him down the sideline. And then they had the Hail Mary at the end of the game.

The Dolphins have allowed three completions of 15 yards or further down the field through their first two games, and they played the Chargers. So if Vic decides you're not getting over the top of us, you ain't getting over the top, period. So I think that's the biggest hurdle is the Broncos, who have been penalized 19 times through the first two games that they played. They got to play discipline to be able to string drives together with consistency. And I don't have the confidence

that they'll do it. So I would fade the Broncos to cover six and a half. And it's interesting you say that, Casey, because literally as you're talking about it, that was my first thought. That team under Sean Payton, no doubt, has been a very undisciplined Broncos team. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are showing themselves to be quite disciplined and they're getting some of their weapons back, Jarvis. So that should make all the difference in terms of this game and who covers the spread. Yeah, I think that when you look at what Miami,

the Dolphins are able to do, like, because when you're building the defense out, like the edge rushes are so important, right? Like when it comes to in the running game and also when it comes to rushing and passing, when it's time to get home. And we got guys like Bradley Chubb, a guy like Jalen Fields coming back, and I absolutely love that cat coming out. I wanted to see him in black and red,

but, you know, we don't care about doggone pass rushers down here. We like pretty weapons. But, yeah, that's another whole conversation. Kyle, sorry sorry I'm getting in my feels here but when you look at what those guys are able to do and be able to take advantage of that Broncos offensive line I really feel like that's that's what's going to be the difference in the game because Russ is cooked y'all can we can we can we can we go ahead and stop acting like that's not the case? Russ is cooked. He's cooked.

That's one of the reasons why this hasn't all panned out for Sean Payton. And Sean Payton, let me stick, we'll get to Sean. But I think that, you know, overall, this is, Cody had me all the way up to he said, you know, all I got to do is just, you know, be able to stop Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddell. What? All you got to do? All you have to do, right? One thing that I learned in life, T and Cal, if somebody starts to send off a sentence about saying all you have to do, I normally turn my ears off because more than likely it's probably going to be come hell or high water. You're going

to have to be able to say, hey, you know what? I don't know about that. You know,'s probably going to be come here out of water. You're going to have to be able to say, hey, you know what? I don't know about that. You know, it's going to be a pretty difficult task. And I think that that's going to be another reason why I feel like the Broncos will not cover that spread. Yeah, that'll be an interesting game. That's an intriguing matchup. I can't wait to see what happens.

Now, I know you guys can't wait for round two from this NFL kickoff live crew, but if you're hungry, you probably want to hear first about DoorDash. Let me ask y'all something. Jarvis Davis here for DoorDash. Have y'all just been sitting at the house and saying, you know what? I'm hungry, but I don't feel like driving. I don't want to go anywhere. Guess what? We at DoorDash, we got you covered. All you got to do, they're going to deliver your favorite restaurants and you can get grocery delivery that actually delivers as well. Come on, y'all. Thousands of grocery stores to choose from. You'll find the best in your neighborhood and boost your local economy with each and every order. We even talking about politics, getting this bad boy going with them. It's easy substitutions right in the app and best in class customer support. DoorDash delivers groceries exactly how you want them, exactly what you want right there to your door.

So all you have to do, guys, if you're sold, like Jarvis, you got me. What do I need to do? All right, here you go. Get 50% off your first DoorDash order up to a $20 value when you use code LOCKEDONNFL at checkout. Limited time offer, terms of pride. That's 50% off, up to $20, no minimum subtotal, and zero delivery fees on your first order when When you download DoorDash in the app store and enter code LOCKEDONNFL. So don't forget, LOCKEDONNFL for 50% off your first order with DoorDash. Well, I could use some DoorDash right now, but I won't. I won't because we got to start off number two, our number two of NFL Kickoff Live, because it's where you guys are going to get the best football talk every single Friday.

We'll talk and take you around the league. We'll talk and take you to every team. We'll talk and take you to every game, any breaking news that seems to come up every Friday for us. If it comes through, we're going to bring that to you. The Baltimore Ravens, of course, they ruled out Odell Beckham Jr. We're looking for some others that are kind of teetering like a Cordero Patterson for the Falcons now. Just a few minutes ago right here on Locked On, that's the kind of thing you're going to hear from us. Moments ago we heard this.

Then you'll hear from us as well. So I'm Tanitra Batiste. Still got my guys Kyle Crafts and Jarvis Davis right here to bring you all the tea. Now I'm going to give you guys a couple of team names. And I know that nobody said these were the teams that were going to be 2-0 heading into week three. At least not all these teams, right? Cowboys, Ravens, Dolphins, Eagles, Commanders, Falcons, Bucks, and Saints. Now we talked a little bit about some of these teams before but when you bring that group together as the teams that have two and oh records there are a couple of those

teams that do not belong in the conversation kind of like one of these things is doing its own thing back in the sesame street days which teams actually don't belong in the conversation of good teams who are 2-0. That's starting to intercede, Sal. How about the New Orleans Saints? Oh, my. Shots fired at Ross Jackson. They do not deserve to be in this conversation because guess what? Derek Carr is a loser.

65-79 as a starter in the NFL. He's an okay quarterback, and he came with all his hoopla saying, oh, Derek Carr is going to come save the day. No. Yeah, like that game against the Carolina Panthers last week, absolute snooze fest. It took them so long to get that offense going, and we know what the Falcons did to the Carolina Panthers. The Carolina Panthers are probably going to have the number one and it's probably you know it's going to Chicago so yeah

there you go that's what the Carolina Panthers are they are the worst team in the NFC South and you sat there for a good two and a half quarters and said you know what hey we're trying to figure this bad boy out and guess what who? Who's the head coach? Dennis Allen. Don't trust him. I don't trust him. Yes, I love Cameron Jordan. One of my secret favorite players ever to play. The dude is an excellent pass rusher. He's making a fair case to get into the Hall of Fame.

But he's up there in age. And that defense matches that, right? The defense is getting up there. Demario Davis doesn't have that many years left. So I'm not trusting the New Orleans Saints right now. That is a team that I feel like does not belong in that conversation as one of the better teams in the NFL. Well, Kyle, Jarvis chose violence on the Saints.

Who are you going to choose violence towards that does not belong in that conversation? Move over, JD. I'm getting in the car with you. Let's talk about the Saints here for a second. you going to choose violence towards that does not belong in that conversation move over jd i'm getting in the car with you let's talk about the saints here for a second i think this i do think this team in the grand scheme playing in this division with this defense is probably top five defensive football okay so i think they will kind of like atlanta they're going to be in the conversation but do you trust them to run away with it? Here's some numbers for you.

36 points scored against Tennessee and Carolina defenses. That is 25th in scoring offense through the first two weeks. They have one passing touchdown through the first two weeks. That's 29th in the NFL. They averaged 3.4 yards per rush. I know they got some running backs that are banged up, but the offensive production has not been there. That 3.4 is 24th in the NFL. And then you get into the red zone offense.

They're 29th in touchdown percentage getting into the red zone, three of eight. Small sample size, but the switch has to flip. And until it does, I look at New Orleans and it's like your margin for error is going to be pretty small in any given week. And as Derek Carr showed you the last couple of years, he's not immune to that game where he makes a couple of mistakes and they snowball and they compound and it loses you a game that you shouldn't. So I take all that and then I look and say, OK, you're at Green Bay this week. Then you're home against the Bucs. They got a tough defense. And then you're at New England. And then you have two more road games in the next three weeks after that. You're going to spend a lot of time in the next month and a half on the road away from New Orleans and the offense has to click.

So that for me is where I'm watching New Orleans and I'll be asking myself, how much am I ready to buy the team? Because right now I think there are some red flags and there's some red tape around how they've gotten to 2-0 that it can't be like that all year. Now we're talking about some defenses that are aging a little bit, right? And yeah, there are some young studs for the Bucs defense, but I do think they're kind of a defense that's up and down and aging as well. And I think for me, that might be the team. I kind of agree with you guys, like the Saints surprised me a little bit as well, but I kind of think the Bucks surprised me as 2-0 too,

because this is a team that many are saying they're going to be in a, they were going to be in a dog fight with the Arizona Cardinals for the number one pick for next year. Now, granted, not surprisingly, the guy who covers the Saints, but the Vikings, you know, they held the vikings to 17 points that was a little shocking because we know that can be a high-powered offense now they held the bears to 17 as well not so much shocking probably more shocking that the bears actually

scored 17 points if we're real about it but then they start to really get into the test because they got the eagles so we're going to really see what they're made of when they take on the Eagles. It'll be an interesting, and I'm going to use the term loosely, interesting with the Saints. And then they've got something to face with the Lions as well. So we're about to find out just how legit that 2-0 is. That is maybe the team where I feel like they don't quite belong in this conversation. For more of NFL Kickoff Live, check out your favorite Locked On NFL YouTube page and get the second hour where we go over our best bets for the week.