NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Anxiety Index: What’s Next for Vikings, Commanders, Bears, Bengals and More

Episode Date: September 16, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Jourdan Rodrigue and Colleen Wolfe to preview the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Dolphins and Bills. Before the preview, how much anxiety should the Vikings (04:10), Panthers (15:30), Commanders (21:50), Chiefs (28:00), Bengals (35:12), Jets (42:30), and Bears (45:20) should feel through two weeks of the season? The show is wrapped up with a preview of the TNF matchup featuring the Dolphins at the Bills (50:50).  Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily, where one of us just said, I forget everything. So when the day is over, everything is over. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm here in the Chris Wesleying podcast studio. I'll let our listeners guess

whether that was Jordan Rodrigue or Colleen Wolf, who said that. Tough one. Hello. Hey, it's great to see your faces. Great to have you back. Great that Jordan made it to the show in one piece.

What a journey. She was in Las Vegas last night. I don't believe that she slept. Vegas, baby. Vegas. Yes. Yes, which when phrased that way makes me sound really professional. But no, I was covering the Monday night football game for the athletic. And I had a 6 a.m. flight out of Vegas.

And the Monday night football game ended at about 1130-ish, Pacific time. And then I got out of there at 1.45. Then went to the airport, sat in the front before TSA was open and edited with my editor. Shout out Gary Gremlin on this one. and just went over edits in a Google Doc until about 4 a.m. A true pro. You know? Wow.

Now I'm here. You know, I'd love to talk about football every day. That sounds like an amazing. Actually, it is like the best. It's the best job ever. Yeah.

But, you know, we're out here grinding. Yeah, and I saw none of Vegas. And my Uber driver was judging me so hard, taking me from the stadium to the airport at about 2 a.m. He was like, you know, we're right around the corner from, the strip. Aren't you going to go and, like, kill some time there before your flight? And I said,

no, I'm going to go to the airport. Like, I would totally lose track of time if I walked into a casino right now or something like that. Like, and, and he's like, oh, okay. And then was quiet for the rest of the drive. And then he, and then he dropped me off at the airport. And then he goes, well, I guess have fun at the airport. No. And I was like, what? A 3 a.m. Vegas airport has to be the most depressed. blessing place in the world. It was you know, it was like being inside a McDonald's ball pit. Oh, my God.

You know? But I'm here and I probably smell great, Greg. I can appreciate the aroma from here. You're doing great. So today, we're all anxious people sometimes, you know? Why'd you look at me first? We all deal with anxiety in different ways

and all this news came out on Monday that was giving me anxiety and imagining all the fans and certainly the players and the coaches who are feeling anxious after the injuries. And we decided not to hit them on the Monday night recap show on the doubleheader so that we could do it here. We will also preview our Thursday night football game this week, Dolphins and Bills. But yes, there was something about having Colleen on the show that maybe kick started this. And so what we're going to do is we're going to have an anxiety index on this show. We're going to talk about seven different teams, some of whom are dealing with quarterback

injuries now, some of them whom are just, you know, giving me anxiety. And we're going to put them on an anxiety index where if you're watching us on YouTube, you can see. I'm just going to write it on a little whiteboard. We'll pick where they are in this. But he's very nervous about his handwriting. I'm just, I'm nervous about this whole thing. What is your relationship with anxiety, Colleen? Well, it's a close friend of mine. I wouldn't even say friend. It's just like some, it's as person that like keeps coming over to the house and staying and they're unwelcomed and I keep being like, what time is your flight? When are you leaving? Are you staying for dinner? No, please. Um, but yeah, it's been, you know what? It's been fine. Lately? Really good. Chill and haven't

seen anxiety for a sec. And how like, would you say you like handle anxiety and how much less anxious are you now that those methods are legal? Mm. Oh, um, listen, you know, I just take it one day at a time. Sorry. Let's talk Vikings. Okay, so we're going to hit a bunch of different teams. And we're going to start with the Vikings because the most surprising injury news on Monday is that J.J. McCarthy is likely out for this week with a high ankle sprain.

Carson Wentz is expected to start. Aaron Jones, by the way, is also out with a hamstring injury, adding more injury to the problems that the Vikings' offense are having. I might be going to watch Carson Wentz in Dublin. Same with you, Colleen. You're going to be over there now. You're right. It could be Carson Wentz versus Aaron Rogers, which is just a wild matchup in Dublin.

We'll see. But this exercise is more to talk about the Vikings as a whole, including the JJ situation, because I think that's the biggest one. They have the Bengals. We'll get to them in a little bit, a little later. How are you feeling as someone who took the Vikings and the Survivor Pills?

picks Jordan in week one. You wanted to in week two. Yes, I did. And you opened up and I thought it was brave of you to just admit that you're just a Vikings gal now. How, how anxious are you feeling after quite a disappointing performance from J.J. McCarthy and the offense in week two and then this injury on top of it? Yeah, I'm probably about a six or a seven for the Vikings at a 10 right now in terms of the anxiety scale. I had the great honor. And, pleasure of watching Carson Wentz's last active start, which was sort of in the garbage time of the Rams season two years ago. So memorable. Yeah. And so this was, if Kevin O'Connell wants to win with Carson Wentz, I think he's going to pull exactly from what the Rams did. And they used him

a ton in the designed run game. And this is something where I think you give him a lot of layups. You know, you get the tight ends pretty activated in this. You get Jordan Mason going. And you also use Carson Wentz as sort of I called him at the time the battering ram from Lord of the Rings called Grand. You sort of use him in that fashion to just try to present different looks and different options to the opposing defense. I think that's how you squeak out a couple of wins with this guy at this point. I think he could be an upgrade from JJ McCarthy. It was not just for clarity his last start because he did get a start in week 18 last year against the Broncos where they lost 38 to nothing. I deleted it from my memory.

You're right. Granted, he was playing with backups for the chiefs who were resting. He got Pooka Nakua, the record, the rookie receiving record. A couple of years ago, yeah. So that's fair. My memory. He will be, I believe, the first player in NFL history to start a game for five different teams in consecutive seasons. So I was there, you know, watching during the, you know, Carson Wentz, Nick Foles the year.

And it's amazing to think that he's here. But I kind of want to talk more about, like, JJ and the Vikings and where they're at. Because if you had told Vikings fans going into the season, how panicky, J.J. McCarthy would look for most of his time on the field. I know he had that fourth quarter against the Bears. But his week two start, he just was not comfortable in that matchup. He didn't show a lot of touch when he did have a couple open receivers. It was a learning experience. There's offensive line issues.

There's a lot going on here. But if you had told them that the first two starts would go. this way and then he would be hurt and not be able to try to improve things on the field. Like that is basically a worst case scenario for how this season would start. Yeah, he's struggled. And now he can't get the reps that he needs because he's going to be out after missing all of last season. So that's definitely not something that the fans want or the team in general. I'm sure Justin Jefferson has to be beside himself. There were a couple shots of him during the game, just like close, tight shots of his face. He obviously was unhappy.

But I think about Carson Wentz just in terms of Josh Dobbs last year when he came in and it was a short week. He didn't know the cadence. He didn't know anybody's names. And they ended up getting the win with Kevin O'Connell there in him. So this is a place that they've sort of been before. Obviously, Josh Dobbs kind of declined after that first game where he really went off. But I think that Carson Wentz, he's a veteran. so you can probably pull some concepts from the Rams.

And that's why they signed him is because he's seen a lot of football and you can pick stuff up quickly like that. But also, as a place... Well, and their first plan failed. They traded for Sam Howe and he just didn't work out. So that was them like taking a public L essentially. Yeah.

And honestly, they needed to go and find somebody who, again, could arrive late, the latest possible time in training camp. And then potentially need to go spot start if necessary. And you saw what Carson Wentz was doing in week one on the sideline. He had the headset on. Obviously, he's understanding the timing of the calls. He's hearing how Kevin O'Connell likes to do things.

So there's that. But the problem, the reason why my anxiety level and the index is really high for me, for Minnesota is, you know, I believe in the skill players. I believe in Kevin O'Connell's ability to maximize whatever juice a quarterback has left in the tank. And I believe in his ability to adapt and adjust. but with Aaron Jones out, right, and that's someone who could really help you in past protection still, even if he's a little bit slower

in the run game itself, he can still really help you in other phases and really settle the offensive line down a little bit. And it's also, JJ McCarthy needs, like you said, Colleen, needs reps and he's not going to be getting them while he's recovering.

If this was just a straight up benching, which it shouldn't be, by the way, but if it was... Kevin Ocano was clear to say this had nothing to do with performance reasons. But if it was, I would feel better because then you're at least getting him reps and practice that he needs to get.

You're restructuring your entire workflow to make sure he's actually behind the scenes rebuilding that confidence. I think that anybody who watched or even read reports of what was going on in practice, all training camp with J.J. McCarthy, it was this. They were prepared for this experience where there's going to be streaky days and then he recovers, he recalibrates, and he really bounces back well. Didn't get a chance to last week. probably part of it because he was hurting a little bit after that injury. And his wife

had a baby? Yeah, no sleep. Yeah, no sleep. It's just like a basic human. I think it's helping your performance, Jordan. That's no excuse. Thanks, Craig. I'll go cry in the corner now. I know. I'm saying, I'm saying you're knocking it out of the park. You're usually terrible.

Oh, stop. I would not know that you did not sleep. That's a negative way to view that. That's my anxiety. My anxiety. Speaking of our relationship. You guys are doing great. Do you want any, like, Zoloft or anything? Do you have some?

No, but I have a guy. We missed you so much last week, Colleen. Stop. My anxiety is even higher because I, he didn't look ready to play. And everyone's like, well, he's a rookie. Well, he's not a rookie. Like, he did get a lot of the experience that you thought were going to help him. Like, this start was the last couple of weeks, I think, were as bad and as, like,

worrisome anxiety inducing as certainly any start any of the rookies had last year from his, class. I wondered this watching the game. And then I heard a couple people talk about, including I'll give credit, Luke Braun on Lockdown Vikings. I think the operation was so off that you wondered if J.J. McCarthy knew how to call the plays. Like if everything was coming out the right way, because there were some plays where it looked like people were not on the same page. You can see multiple times where the running back is asking J.J. McCarthy where the play is. And the whole operation of just like how it was coming out. And I, and that would help explain to me maybe a little more of why Justin Jefferson would be upset. Because I know McCarthy missed a couple

passes, but that, you know, that, that's typical. He also hit one to JJ down the field to just Jefferson down the field. Look, he's had a couple really nice throws. It's not that that's happened, but it's just looked really off. His timings looked off. Everything's kind of been in slow motion. Maybe it's the offensive line that's helping to make him look bad because they haven't been on the same page, like Ryan Kelly, their center, who also got hurt. That was an issue in camp, too. They were trying, when I watched their joint practices, and I brought this up to my colleague, Alec Lewis, who does great work covering the Vikings for the athletic, they were

very clearly testing out their snap and not just timing, but where JJ likes the placement of the snap. And that led to some of the inconsistencies, the pro nation on the football after the snap. We mentioned this on the show after the joint practices. it affects your touch on the football if you don't quite necessarily know how you want to receive the football in your hand in the first place.

If it's spinning backwards into your hand, then you've got to spin it forwards to pronate it the right way to the receiver. All of these things I know sound like I'm on mushrooms right now and very, very small details, but everything matters and everything gets is a little thing

that gets in the quarterback's head that he's thinking about that then potentially leads to, okay, I'm thinking about this right now, so I missed my timing of thinking about the other hand. And you have an inexperienced quarterback who's finishing the game with a second string center and a third string left

car or left tackle too so none of that is helping you know the left tackle situation has been a problem christend darisaw has a chance to play this week it's it's weird because part of me thought well maybe it's not the worst thing for him to take a step back right now because he just didn't look completely ready and maybe he'll he'll feel more comfortable when he comes back in in the short term i'm not sure if carson wens hurtser helps their chances of winning like this specific game against another backup with the best Bengals, when I heard Ian Rappaport throw out a possible timeline. And right now, McCarthy's officially week to week, he noted that there's three games before they're by against the Bengals

and then at the Steelers and Browns. I would say that's an average schedule in terms of the defenses you're facing. Wait, both of them are overseas, right? Are they back to back, Dublin and then London? Yes. It's Dublin. So just hope nobody's watching. Yeah. It's the two international games. So when I say at like technically, you know, that, They're counted as road games. But, yeah, it's with the Steelers and Browns overseas. So there's a chance, like, do they keep him on ice through those three games? The Browns certainly are probably the best defense of the three.

But that's a winnable schedule. We'll see. My anxiety is very high just because, man, after missing all the last season and starting like this, you really hate to see it. I have a list one to seven. And we're just blind putting this into a spot. We can change it. we want. Seven is the most anxiety?

Well, no, it's, we're ranking the seven teams, which has the most anxiety right now. And I got to think the Vikings are going to be near the top. So right now I'm going to put them at two. What do you guys think? I'm going to go two. I think two is good. Two is right.

Two feels good. And if we want to erase it, we can. Right now, they're at two in the index. Oh my God. You're hand writing. I can't read it. It's absolutely terrible. It's absolutely embarrassing.

And I'm going to fix it. I love when we and Colleen. the same wavelength. You guys suck. It's a race to the joke. So harsh. Speaking of harsh, let's talk about the Panthers quickly.

I wanted to kind of attach the anxiety to the news. And when I saw that they're missing two offensive linemen two injured reserve starters, I just thought they were a team that we should bring up here. Robert Hunt,

who they gave a lot of money to in free agency and really did a good job for them. A year ago is going to be on injured reserve with a torn biceps. Very often that knocks you out for the whole. season. Sometimes it can depend a little bit on the severity, but he's going to be gone for a long time. And then Austin Corbett, their starting center, also going to IR with a knee injury. They are

second to last. So it's only two weeks, but second to last in overall DVOA, second to last in offensive DVOA. It's looked like it. It's not that their schedule's been that hard relatively. They played the Jags and the Cardinals. Like, it's just a bummer for them to start out the season like this. How are you feeling about the Panthers? I'm thinking about last season and what, after an 0 and 2 start, what happened? Wasn't Bryce Young benched at that point? And I think about the fact that he was able to sort of bounce back in the game this past week. And most of his mistakes were made when he was under pressure.

So obviously now missing two of his offensive linemen, it's like driving a car without airbags. Yeah, and interior guys too. Good metaphor. I know. Speaking of anxiety, I know. Yeah, this is one of your teams. It has to bum me out a little bit. It does bum me out because that's also two interior offensive linemen. And that's really important for Bryce Young because he is but a wee man. And so I feel like this, this is going to be really important.

I really appreciate it. There was a couple of drives that he put together late in the second half of that Cardinals game, especially attacking deficits and deficiencies that the Cardinals had due to injury. that I thought was really good football that Bryce Young played. He's still feeling out his receivers. Xavier Leggett has, like, disappeared from this offense, essentially. It's like all Hunter Renfro and a sideline catches by Tet McMillan. But you need time to do that.

And I'm concerned about this for him. This is, this really sucks for Austin Corbett, who's really struggled. I mean, it sucks for both of them. But Austin Corbett just came back from significant injury and multiple surgeries and all of that. And now this is happening again. You hate to see this happen to players of their status. The offensive line was a strength of the Panthers. It was their run game. They could really run the ball. He can't believe he threw 55 times. Yeah. And it's, yeah, this stinks. But I also feel like I, after watching the last two weeks of Bryce Young, I almost don't have more anxiety because

my expectations have been pretty low. I've always compared him to Alex Smith. Like, could he just be Alex Smith and really I think Alex that's that's mean to Alex Smith I feel no no no no my point was coming off his rookie year Alex Smith had one of if not the worst rookie seasons any rookie quarterback has ever had and almost immediately the next season they brought in and off a new coach it was North Turner and he improved to like average and it was like okay we stabilize everything and I and I just thought can they do that with Bryce Young and they kind of did that last year with Dave Canales. Two guys who are a little undersized, obviously

Bryce is more, who are more athletic than you think. Alex Smith, I would say, is even more athletic than you think, but who are going to have to win with anticipation and everything. And then I think about Alex Smith's career and it's like, yeah, he had that second season where he got a little better, but it took about four, five more years

to really stabilize. He had injuries. He needed to get with the right offensive coordinator and the right head coach. And when he finally did, everything started to click. And then he was pulled and then had to go out on the field and flip a coin as a captain in the Super Bowl where he should have been the starter. I don't know why I'm not defending him so much. But that was like seven years into his career. It's a long way of saying like I'm not as worried about Bryce long term as I am

about, first of all, the 2025 team. And then second of all, because of David Tepper, their owner's history, everyone that works there, because you're going to have to show progress this year. And they haven't. It's only two weeks into the season, but they're going to have to show progress. Dan Morgan, I always thought, was a bizarre hire that they hired, like, internally when he was kind of the guy who was getting the team together that was there before. And they've just been on this bad cycle. And you just worry about the Panthers. You want stability for them. They have the Falcons, the Patriots, the Dolphins, the Cowboys, the Jets coming up, which on paper is actually about as easy a schedule as you could have.

The Falcons is the hardest of those games. So there is an opportunity here to bounce back. Anxiety is at like a seven for me. It's not very, it's not high. I will say something that does give me a little anxiety is Colleen, you mentioned the possibility. I mean, I don't, I don't that neither of us think that this actually is going to happen right away. But if there is a benching, you're looking at Andy Dalton coming back in. You're looking at the potential of three red-headed quarterbacks starting games in the National Football League.

That gives me a little anxiety. Whoa. Carson Wentz, Andy Dalton. Just a rare year. It just is, it just feels like some sort of. rip-in-the-space-time continuum happens after that. I didn't even think with Carson Wentz back, you know, he's got a chance to really go out there and take command.

Maybe we could have... Oh, jeez. No. Don't bring it back. The return of... I can never unhear it. Because the expectations were so low to begin with, I'm going to put the panders down at like fifth here.

Yeah. What do you guys think? I think that's too high, but yeah. I'm six for them. I also want to say... Six. So that's the bottom here. I am, I am team Redhead.

I just think so many of them playing at the same time. You're worried about them possibly. Something cosmically happened. Something cosmically happens. Okay. All right. So keep an eye out. Just keep an eye out.

Everyone will look alive. It's always hilarious before the show where I'm like, this show might be too quick. We got to hit the minimum for our fast show. Hilarious that you say that every time. I do like to leave a lot of. Greg finds new ways to scold us every week. That's got scolding. I love a hong fest.

Let's talk commanders. Jaden Daniels might not play this week. That was surprising. He was one of, I believe, six players to get an MRI on the team after their week two loss. Two of them are going to be out for the season, Austin Echler and Dietrich Wise, who I think were important players for them.

They were starting for a reason, especially Wise, I think, was a guy they brought in to add a little run defense, a veteran in that room. But the surprise was that Daniels, after really getting hit quite a bit against the Packers and was limping at the end of that game. So maybe I shouldn't be

as shocked. Got the MRI on his knee and he's day to day. We will see. We're taping this on Tuesday. But his week three status against the Raiders is in doubt. If you're ever going to sit for a game, Colleen, maybe

maybe this one would be the one. That's Raiders defense erasure. Looked pretty good. Minus a 60-yard Justin Herbert bomb. Okay, I'm just saying, we'll start with you then. You just wrote the piece. Right. This is fresh.

The definition of a backup quarterback piece. No one can write about backup quarterbacks for at least like three years on the internet because Jordan did such a good job. It was like in oral history style on what it's like to be a backup quarterback on the athletic. And, you know, one of them was Marcus Mariotta, who I do believe, based on how he's looked in Washington in the regular season and the preseason is one of the best backups in the league. And he's also thrived with Kingsbury. very before.

Yeah. Right. So I'm just saying if it was on a knife's edge of whether he could play or not, you'd feel good about Mario. Yeah, this is the lowest on my anxiety here, having Marcus Marriota running that offense. He is one of the best backups in the league. He could still start games for a team if it was the right fit for him with coordinator and line and all those things, as it would be for so many.

The way that one reason I really like doing that piece, thank you for mentioning that, was because I really wanted to know how people take information that they're never actually using, you know, in real life. They just absorb this massive amount of information and studies, but they never actually get to use the things that they learned and the things that they're doing in the film room and teaching room. You've got to get ready. Yeah.

And so now he's going to get, if this goes the way that it, I think it will, he'll get the full week of reps. And he's already doing the same types of early morning walkthroughs that Jaden Daniels is doing with the quarterbacks coach with Cliff Kingsbury. Marcus Marriota is doing that with Tevita Pritcher, the quarterback's coach. Like they're doing, they're trying to keep this as even as possible for the sake of the rest of the

offense. And I think that's a really important and mature kind of way to look at it. One thing that is sticking out to me early, I think, remember last year and Colleen, I think you're on top of this one. We were keeping stats for like teams after they had played the Lions. Yeah.

And how beat up they were after they'd played the Lions. I think the Packers are the new team this year. Oh, yeah. I mean, watching them watching the way that they hit. Houston, just kind of competing for that a little bit, but especially the way that they went after Jaden Daniels. I mean, you really want to protect him. And the Raiders don't have much of a pass rush.

But, you know, it's like you still, you want to play a capable quarterback against Max Crosby. One huge advantage for that is just from the schedule makers. You cannot have a bigger schedule advantage rest-wise than they do. They had a Thursday night game. The Raiders had a Monday night game. And the Raiders have to come all the way to. the East Coast.

I mean, that is a pretty big deal, not just coming off rest, but for all the players early in the season. That's tough. Having had to play so much, watching them, like, are you, I don't know. Well, so the only thing that would bump up my anxiety meter a little bit higher is just the fact that Jaden Daniels and Terry McLauran just have the, they're off. Like, their connection, it's not there yet. There's just, they're out of rhythm.

And now it's sort of like the same thing with J.J. McCarthy, with J. Daniels, he's not going to be able to find that rhythm. And I feel like the whole contract situation, all the negotiations, it really does make a difference whether or not you get that practice time and you get those reps during training camp because we're kind of seeing that now play out. Turns out if you already know you're going to eventually extend the player, you should do it before training camp. I don't get it.

Why? Why do they do this? Because he wanted like more than they were willing to give and then they were. putting all this all this out there is like how dare he asked for this like he wanted this top shelf stuff oh yeah just like just terry mccloren who's like the spider man meme of spider man standing in front of the train when the organization is in total dysfunction holding it and straining to keep everything together as like the face of that organization forever we don't need to relitigate yeah i have a little anxiety though that it was the worst game of jaden daniels's

career yeah and i think the opponent i mentioned after week one i thought they looked a little too loose. They were a little uneven in week one. They have Josh Connerley, who's their first round picks starting at right tackle. Right now, he leads the NFL and pressures allowed. Now, that'll happen after going against Michael Parsons and Roshan Gary, but he, you know, he struggled a little bit in week one. He's had tough matchups. Well, he might have, you know, Max Crosby on the same side of him this week. So that could be difficult. You know, you lose Echlor. That's not a massive one, but I do wonder if it was after one year of Cliff Kingsbury, whether, you know, he has a next move. And I think they will. And I think I'm not worried about Jaden Daniels at all,

but I do think that the depth of the weapons on this team is not great behind McLaurin and Debo Samuel. So are we going to put them last though of these? Ultimately, they're the only one with Jaden Daniels on their team of all these. Yeah. And I'm contextualizing in the fact that we don't necessarily think this is an extended injury yet. We don't know. And also, I think they've got the best backup in the league. Okay. So are we going to, we want to put them at the bottom? I think so. Don't We can also move these around if we need to. Don't be, don't be new. I've really taken command of the...

I love that. It's also interesting that Mariotta played for the Raiders too, even though he just never started for them. You know? All right, let's do one more before a break. The Kansas City Chiefs are 0.2. I don't know if you guys heard. It's hard being on top.

And do you feel guilty as an Eagles fan for sending great? individuals like Nick Wright into like a shame spiral. Oh my gosh. You know, I'm so sorry for everyone out there that is reeling, but you should have known that this was going to happen.

I look at this Chief's offense and obviously they're going to not look the way that they did before, but even the way that they did before they weren't an explosive offense and now you're down your top two best pass catchers. You're going to have some issues. But they're not going to be able to sustain this with Patrick Mahomes just trying to do everything himself.

And this is so unfamiliar, this territory for them starting the year off 0 and 2 after losing a Super Bowl too. I just, I don't know how the team comes together, but Kansas City is known for figuring these things out midseason or anytime during the year. I think multiple things can be true here that it is different than it's ever been. Because they see they seem anxious. Right.

You see Chris Jones snap to snap talking back and forth to the lineman opposite him and talking on the sideline and he seems anxious. They seem like they're tight right now. It's hard being on top. And like they will bounce back. They lost two one score games, which was their magic potion a year ago. Just figure out a way to good teams, to very good teams.

At the end of the year, we could look up and the Chargers and the Eagles could be two of the, if not the toughest teams that they face all year along with the Ravens. And so their one score, you know, losers in those games, that's not something to totally panic about. But to me, it was like they were only watching it within one score because they were the chiefs. It was like their old one score magic of they are really well coached and they have one of the greatest players of all time

and they have all the organizational and institutional sort of culture that they're not going to get blown. Like that was the only thing that's keeping them close because I look at the players and I do think there's a talent gap. here, especially on the defense. So my anxiety is way higher on the defensive side, because they're going to get those players back on offense. They have Patrick Mahomes on offense. They have Andy Reid helping out with the offense. I think the offense can still be top shelf. I don't know if they have the dudes on the defense ultimately. Yeah, we talked about spags and how brilliant he

can be in scheming up pressure. But it got to a point against Philadelphia where you're almost stretching yourself too thin with the amount of blitzing that you had, you had to do because you could not rush with four. And that's a Chris Jones comment, you know, and that's something where it is really strange for me. And he's, I believe, started slow in the past before and then really turned it on at the end of seasons and all of that. So I don't necessarily rule someone of that elite talent ability out. But you mentioned the talent gap. It's also an age gap between the two players, Travis Kelsey and Chris Jones, and who they most have to rely on. outside of Patrick Mahomes, and then there's a sort of a middle age group that hasn't quite

come up to where it needs to be. And then there's a lot of young players. You guys know I love Josh Simmons at left tackle. There are still going to be some bumpy moments with a rookie who is starting for you, Xavier Worthy, who's not on the field yet after some accidental contact by Travis Kelsey. And then this defense, there's a lot of missing, there's a lot of missing pieces in terms of this collective unit that we're so used to seeing not only rush is one, but also attacking coverage as well.

And they can't run the ball. And even when Xavier Worthy returns, he's not going to be 100% with this harness or whatever he's going to have to wear. You're still waiting for Rishi Rice to come back. You still have, what, four games left now? And they're in a really tough division now with the chargers looking good.

I think my anxiety is pretty high. Two game advantage now by the Chargers, which is so rare to have that happen. And the Chargers suddenly have, not suddenly, but over the last two years, have the best defense in the league not named the Philadelphia Eagles.

So they're at the Giants this week. There'll be a heavy favorite there. Then they're back home for the Ravens at the Jaguars and the Lions before Rishie Rice is back. So you think about this early schedule. It's really front-loaded. And so them not being kind of fully ready

for the start of the season. is going to come back to get them. And I started by saying multiple things can be true. They can bounce back, but still not be the old chiefs. And you think about that Patriots, and that is the comp, because no other team in history has made it as far in the playoffs as the Kansas City Chiefs in the entire NFL history consistently, other than those Patriots teams.

And yet you look at that run, and there were many years where you pretty much knew that they didn't have it, that they were short a number of pieces, and you tried to convince yourself, like the national media or the local fans would. But it's like, you know, the years they just had like no running game where their defense didn't make sense. And because it's Tom Brady and Bill Belichick,

it's like they still were getting to the wildcard round before they get blown out by the Ravens or they get to the divisional round or even maybe to the conference championship before like Peyton Manning takes care of him. But like they would have slow starts too. They had shortcoming. And that's what this team feels like to me because I don't know where the help is coming from.

Nick Bolton, like he's one of those middle-aged younger players. He looks old. like he's taking too many big hits. And then you're trotting out some of these same guys, Charles Menehu, Derek Noddy on the defensive line. And it's, I just don't see it. So my anxiety level is quite high. And it hurts when you're used to being the best

if you're just like pretty good. Like there is a different sort of anxiety. What did you guys think when you were watching that game and it was so close at the end? Because normally if this was even last year or the year before, you'd be like, oh, God, they have plenty of time. I can't believe the Chiefs are in this game, but they're not going to do it.

Yeah, and I was thinking calmest team wins. And that's the Eagles. Yeah. It didn't feel scary. Wow, it sounds like we're anxious. I thought they were going to be on the bottom of the list because of the Chiefs. We have the Vikings at two. And yes, the visual accompaniment, the production value is so high right now with my little whiteboard. Where do you want to put them? I'm going to put them at four personally because they still have Patrick Mahomes. Right. That's the thing. And they're getting guys back. They do have champagne problems. Like, ooh. we might be this five seed, like, you know. I mean, I'm thinking more of like a three. I feel a little higher, but we can keep them at four. We'll see.

See how it pans out. But for me, it's higher. All right. So far, we've gone over four teams. The Vikings, the Chiefs, the Panthers, and the commanders. Let's take a quick break. Hit a few more teams and TNF after the break. I'm anxious about this segment.

Is it working? what's up everybody daniel jeremiah here and i'm bucky brooks on move the sticks we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies coaching trends and how front offices construct winning rosters every week we study the tape talk to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else is the kind of conversation that connects the dots from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow we break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year.

Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Matt Jones. Now, I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

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So, Colleen, when you say you get to the end of the day, everything is over. You're just like, it's kind of like you're rebooting a computer the next day and everything that happened before doesn't matter. Like the hard drive just erases. Like I'm working off of MS DOS on a massive computer that is very outdated. The software has not been updated in a super long time. Another, a positive way to look at it would be, you know, I see a lot of kind of faux spiritual stuff on Instagram whatnot of like live in the

moment and that's living in the moment. That's what I do now. Just like I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, present. Beware your feet on the ground. That's all that matters. Ten toes down. That and the three teams we have left to talk about. Okay, so we hit the Bengals situation pretty hard on Sunday night. I don't want to repeat what Nick Shook and I said on that show. Joe Burrow is having surgery on the turf toe.

He is officially on injured reserve. As of Tuesday, they activated Brett Rippin to the active roster. Another one of your backups in your piece. I don't know if they were cursed or it was good luck because technically he's making a lot more money now. It was good luck. Not for Joe Burrow. This is my fault.

Brett Rippin's getting a game check this week and before he was getting the practice squad check. So he's going to be active. They also signed Sean Clifford and Mike White to their practice squad. So they have a couple. Oh my God. The room is full. Yes.

Oh my God. What happens with Kirk Cousins? Like is no one, is this not? I feel like Atlanta just doesn't. want to let them out of the building. Really? I feel like they, they're,

the reports that you've heard so far is that they're asking for so much. Okay. Right? As a season continues, we'll see if that changes. But the reports early on this year is that they're asking an egregious amount, right? And we'll see how that shakes out before the trade deadline. I predicted,

we didn't have the tiny table in here, but I predicted that we'd see at least two quarterbacks traded before the deadline this year. I think he'll be one of them. We got a while to go. We got a while to go. Yeah. Because you think he would fit this offense, I think, Kirk Cousins.

That said, Jake Browning has been in that building a long time in 2023 when he played, you know, by far the most football he's ever played at the NFL level and really got to the point where he got a nice contract and he's staying with Cincinnati. For the seven games he started, he led the NFL in completion percentage. He was eighth in ESPN's QBR. That season, in games that Joe Burrow started, they were 500. And with Jake Browning, they were, you know, four and three. I'm not saying that's that meaningful. But the offense comes- Because wins are not a quarterback step.

No, that's why I said in games that Joe Burrow started, you know, they didn't have that record, but the team made up for it. And they made up for it in interesting ways. The offense was totally different with Jake Browning. It was a lot more like the Sean McVeigh-Tree, Kyle Shanahan, Tree offense, we're used to seeing under center play action and much different than the kind of Joe Burrow, I'm just back in shotgun

almost running the offense myself and on paper their schedule overall isn't that tough if you look at the average opponent but the defenses they play coming up are brutal at Minnesota at Denver and then they have the lions at home and at Green Bay arguably three best defenses in the league plus the lions where you got to try

to outscore them so that's No wonder they have so many quarterbacks. Yeah, they're like, it's bodies. They're loading bodies at this point. They're like, yeah, they need more, actually. Wow. Do you think they have enough defensively, offensive line, coaching, weapons?

No. Weapons, yes. I just mean overall to do kind of what they did a couple years ago, but on a longer trajectory. If it's three months minimum, that means he has to, you know, play about 12 games, let's say. Can he go five and seven? which gets them to seven and seven and then Joe Burrow can return.

If they lose four straight, these four straight games, like they, that team falls apart. Put them on ice at that point. Yeah. I don't buy it yet with their defense. I think they've showed in terms of their run defense. They showed flashes. I don't buy it yet on their defense. I, their weapons are the best among the best in the league, if not the best one and two that you

can possibly have. That's great. They've got even a great three. They've got a good pass catching tight end, you know. But Chase Brown could run the ball. You know, I don't buy it with their offensive line, especially coming up against these groups, these defenses that they're coming up against.

You know, yes, he looked good and yes, scheme can get you to a certain point. But when we talk about these crazy streaks for backups and all of that, we don't often say Zach Taylor's name. We say like Kevin O'Connell, Matt LaFleur, with what he did with Malik Willis and all these different types of things. I think Zach Taylor, I'm a little anxious for him in terms of he needs to kind of prove what he adds brings to the table.

That's always been my thing that he's the polo shirt of NFL coaches. Like, he's totally fine, you know, but like you're not super excited. And yet he kind of did prove it with Jake Browning before. That was in some ways, like the highlight of his NFL coaching career, that they developed this kid, Jake Brownie, who not a lot of people had high hopes about. And their offense was pretty good with him. And oh, by the way, he led a comeback victory in which he entered, you know, behind on the scoreboard.

And he threw a couple groaners in terms of interceptions. But he also led them on like a 90 plus yard touchdown drive to win the game. Yeah, he completed, what, nine of his last 10 passes. So he adapted. But I do like the fact that so many of his teammates are talking about how chill and calm he is, even when everything else seems chaotic around him. that he's just like a very, I think Yoshivas said he's just a chill

bro. And like he's just easy to have a good rapport with. So that's nice at least. He's not like freaking out out there. Yeah, I asked how the Wesleyan brothers were feeling about it. And they had some level of optimism that he can keep the ship

afloat. They also pointed out that his, that Jake Browning's girlfriend is conventionally attractive. So just throwing that out there. That was one of the comments. Where do we put the Bengals on the anxiety index. Now everyone's Googling this, including myself. So, you know, are they the team we're the most worried about on this entire list?

I'm more worried about, I'm more worried about Joe Burrow in a vacuum than I am about the Bengals. That's the thing. It's more of an existential, like losing the season, you know, another season and he's just turning into an injury prone quarterback. Oh, I hate that label for him. Are they number one on this list? Yeah. well they they may be three him won for sure that's where i'm i'm torn it's all we got to write the bengal's name you know in general you guys where do you feel Greg i don't know i think three

let's go three all right the right now the number one spot is still up for grabs this is a very confusing idea i yeah want to talk a little bit about the jets so we were so high on them oh and two justin fields is in the concussion protocol i just wanted to get that in the show We'll be quick. We've talked a lot about the Jets. I'm curious to hear what you think, Colleen, because, yeah, they had like the worst case scenario for week one, which was like everyone was so excited about a moral victory. And then they got the doors blown off them in week two. What is your anxiety about this Jets team? I feel like if it's, if it's on an anxiety meter, like level that is just within, not the one on the whiteboard, but just a different one, it would be like crippling self-doubt.

Like, that is the Jets to me right now. Imposter syndrome. We've just seen, we've seen this movie so many times. And it just feels like the ending, it's not different ever. Like, they come out with different iterations of it, but it's always the same result. And it's just, I can't imagine. I'm so sorry to Jets fans out there. I would put them lower if we're going to put them.

I'd put them lower actually because there was so much hope after out of that week one. But it was like genuine. There was proof of concept on. their tape. And like, they have good young players along this offense. Even, you know, Brees Hall, he'll bounce back and all of these things. They've got Braylon Allen behind him who looks great. Garrett Wilson is obviously locked in for a while. I am such a believer in Armand Membu. Their offensive line looks good. Justin Fields, you're going to get Feast or Famine games with him. You just are coming into the season, you knew that. But when he's great, he plays like the best

quarterback in the NFL. And when he struggles, you get these dips. right? And so then, and then obviously, you know, him being out, you're going to have to sort of make hay with that, or him being in the, excuse me, the concussion protocol, potentially being out, you might have to make hay with that. But at the same time, we came into this season saying about the Jets, just want to see progress. Right. So that's why my anxiety isn't as high is because you are seeing progress. Well, you can't, you can't have too many of those week two type of games. That was as bad a game defensively as almost any in the Robert Salah era. Really overall. Like, it was an embarrassing performance. But yeah, my

anxiety is a little less for the Jets. So I'm going to put them out of five because it's about the process. But Darren Mugi, some of the moves that he made, the GM in the off season, Jamie and Sherwood was a linebacker. They gave a big contract to. It is not working out right now. They did not add enough at the wide receiver position. They were a little thin there.

They kept this guy Michael Clemens, who all Jets fans just hate because he gets a personnel foul penalty and he's not much of a passage or every single game. Isn't that the guy who like brought the spiked bat or something to the. done a lot. And he got that 15-yarder against Josh Allen. So they're low on the list. Let's wrap up with the Bears. They're 0-2. And they made this segment because Jalen Johnson, their cornerback, sounds like he's possibly out for this season. And it just brings up, like they're banged up in the back end of their secondary on top of the inconsistencies they're seen out of Caleb Williams. So I think Ryan Poles is going to feel

the heat a little bit more than Ben Johnson because Ben Johnson to me is more important in that organization. I know they gave polls a big contract. Those mean nothing. He gave, well, they mean a lot to like the future polls generations, but yes, I hear what you're saying. I'm just saying he got, he got generational money for the next five years. Okay, Greg, because clearly that's what I was talking about. I know you're not. I'm just saying, Ryan Poles is like, congrats to the Poles family for many generations to come. Within the context and structure of the organization, it does not mean a GD thing. If the head coach is in charge of everything and splits the power balance in a way as the season continues to where he is running the show, then that extension, the years on it specifically do not

mean anything. I'm just so excited to bring up the Poles family now all the time. We should send them a Christmas card. We should start a list. He had four high picks. So everyone was all excited about the DJ Moore trade that you get DJ Moore, you get all these extra picks, you end up with Caleb Williams. Everything ended up so perfect. But you do need to hit on those picks. I think Colston Loveland's going to turn out to be a really good pick. But it was hard not to notice in this game.

You know, between him and Luther Burden, they didn't have a catch. Those are their first two picks. Then their next two picks were literal healthy scratches. Their left tackle, Ozzie Trapilo, who they thought would maybe start. And then Shamar Turner or a defensive tackle at a position, they're banged up and thin.

And that's where you wonder a little bit about the coach and the GM if everyone's on the same page. Internally, I know there is optimism about Ozzie Tripilo over the long term. Throwing him out in certain situations probably wouldn't be the healthiest thing to do, especially when, you know, Braxton Jones was awful this last game with something like nine pressures that he allowed. But at the same time, like you have to walk that line, almost like you do with quarterbacks, is when do you put the new left tackle out there? And, of course, playing on the right side before, that's different. Um, Ben Johnson, the reason I have so much anxiety about this is Ben Johnson called out several of those players that you just mentioned, uh, when asked about it earlier this week, uh, by the, the, the beat reporters there, basically saying like, we're looking at the things they do away from the ball and we'll see who wants to play the most. Oh. Like he basically was like, they're going to earn, they're going to earn their looks. They're going to earn their targets. They're going to earn their snaps based on everything they do when they're not being targeted. And, and all of those things that we know are so important to him that he lost his freaking mind over.

all throughout training camp, the little details when you're not actually the one getting the ball. It goes, the anxiety goes beyond the quarterback, who I think I saw progress from Caleb Williams this week, despite the fact that the score was so lopsided, I'm anxious about the defense. The denisance is off. We should have let you know before the show.

Yeah. The denisance that we saw for three quarters is very much off. We're calling it at this point. It's so tricky judging early in the season because you don't. Well, it's two games. Right. You also don't know schedule-wise. Two games and a lot of gum.

Like, okay, looking great against JJ McCarthy for three quarters. Apparently, like a lot of defenses probably could have could have done that in week one. And so you don't really know. It's like last year when the Saints had those great two games. Exactly what I was going to say. Taking the words right out of my mouth. Yes.

Like, they ended up in the end having faced two of the worst rush defenses in NFL history. But no one knew that at the time. And everyone was like, Clint Kubiak is amazing. Oh, poor Clint. Okay, Bears, I guess, The only spot left is number one, but we can make a change. Do you think the Vikings, the Bengals, or the Chiefs deserve to be at number one over the

Bears, or do you think you're most anxious about the bears? I agree with your point about Caleb Williams. We can talk about him on the preview show. I think he took a step forward, even if some of the bad things were similarly bad. I think, and let me explain my particular brand of anxiety. It's called high functioning anxiety. Basically, what it means is you're anxious pretty much all the time, but you also use it as sort of an adrenaline drip

to fuel you into working as much as you possibly can. And that's what I think the bears have. And that's why I put them at one. And I think they're going to need that, honestly. That is the particular brand. And the fans are so disappointed right now. To me, the bears and the Vikings are one too. Because they don't know about their yet.

So much different at this point in the year, Ben Johnson was even like, we're not going to look fully formed even after four games. Exactly. And it's a great point. point to bring up, Colleen, because I did not expect them to look great out of the gate. This is going to take some time. I think we all knew that. However, I think you need this palpable tense anxiety that drives you into really honing in on the details. So when people look at your

board on the screen, they're going to get mad at this, obviously. When they hear the explanation, this is why, this is why, this is why I think that they are. I think I might be more personally anxious about the Vikings because I think there's nothing worse than an offseason of excitement and now they're in this weird period for a couple weeks where there is part of I think every Vikings head you know fans head and it's not fair wondering like shoot did we get the right quarterback and I think bears fans feel that too and that's why I think yeah one and two but at least Caleb's shown a little more we'll leave I'm way more anxious about the chiefs and the Vikings than you guys are

I love the the chiefs for me are higher what but What if we put, yeah, well. I'm going to do some erasure. We're going to talk about Thursday night football. Oh, right. Who is the anti-anxiety team? Like, who's a viby team? Yeah, like a Zen garden.

Yeah, I think the Rams are, like the me of teams, you know. I think we go to break. I'm a lot of things, but I don't think anxious is, is one of them. No, you're not. Anxious is not one of them. Oblivious is maybe one. I often describe you as a calming presence in my life. Shut up.

All right, I'm going to put the Vikings now, number one. I'm sorry to the Vikings fans. And the Bears, the Bears are going to be number two. And yes, if you're curious, the final list, Vikings, Bears, Bengals, Chiefs, Jets, Panthers, and commanders, as written by your local eight-year-old boy. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from Scouting Reports and player development.

To team-building philosophies, coaching trends and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision-makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze match-ups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you.

Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit. different? Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies.

Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. It's beyond anxiety in Miami. They are 12.5 point underdogs in Buffalo on a short week. Yes, it's the prime video team with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstry.

Let's listen to Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins coach, talking about why he thought TNF was actually a good thing for the Dolphins. Thursday night games are, you know, after a loss, they can be a blessing because you have no time to think about anything else. And quite literally, you know, I kind of paint a picture that I think the team is, you know, understanding is that every moment that you spend not preparing, that you spend thinking about anything, but the opponent is going to serve you in the worse. He looks older.

thing that happens to NFL coaches has now happened to Mike McDaniel. Yeah, he's, it's aging like presidential years. Mm-hmm. So. He's feeling a lot of pressure. You know, in this matchup, he's lost six straight. If you think about these two teams a couple years ago, the dolphins were that fun, up-and-coming trendy team.

They go to Buffalo in the snow. I remember watching that game. I think I was there for that game. Oh, you were at the game. Yeah. It was a great game. Yeah, because the dolphins almost. won. They came back. It was a close game.

Mm. Right? I was at the game. I think it was a Saturday night game. I was at Hanano with Lakeisha, our friend, watching that game. And it was so close. It was great. And it actually was like a moral victory. People were like, you know what? They can play in the snow. It was tough. It was back and forth, but the bills came out and won. And since then, they've played five more times. The dolphins have been close a couple times, but they've also been blown out three of them. It's not a good matchup for the dolphins, even in good times. And you think about this Bill's offense, especially their running game, I think. They are fifth right now in DVOA.

They are first overall in EPA per play. And I think people kind of sleep on how good this running game is, even outside of Josh Allen running the ball. That's the matchup for me that I highlighted first was James Cook obviously coming off a huge game. And then this Dolphins run defense has just been obliterated. These first two weeks, they allowed 156 yards to the Colts in week one, and then 122 to the Patriots.

And now you have James Cook and Josh Allen. They're going to eat. And a little Ray Davis mix in there. Yeah, and that's the cool thing about what the bills can do on offense is, hey, let's say James Cook had a massive workload and you need to, you know, rep share a little bit going into a certain matchup or you think, okay, this is a safer one to split a little bit and then also present different looks more unscouted looks that maybe the dolphins wouldn't be expecting out of the two backs or out

of Ray Davis, who I mentioned this before, seemed like Joe Brady had so much fun scheming up place for, you know, whenever he has been in the game. Yeah, this is really concerning. I think where I effed up with the bills. Eric, I know you're listening closely on this one. It was I dramatically underrated how much this offense could bandaid over the defense because I'm still concerned about the bill's defense right I'm concerned about

upfront at Oliver getting injured before last week's game he's their best defensive player I'm concerned about their depth along their line I'm concerned about their safeties and their corners I am concerned about their linebackers and the angles that they've been taking against the run and I think the thing that happens

is that Josh Allen and the absolute power and dynamism and the multiplicity of what this offense can do and the depth that it has run and pass now makes that to where you almost you almost forget to worry about the bill's defense. I still am, but maybe should not have been quite so worried out of the game. I think they'll probably look a little bit better. So you should rest assured this week against the Miami offensive line. Rest assured me.

Yeah. Rest assured me. Dolphins are down a few starters on the offensive line. The bills, you mentioned at Oliver. He hasn't been at practice, so it sounds like he's going to miss this game. To Ron Johnson, their excellent slot cornerback, was back at practice on Tuesday. So that's trending towards returning. Matt Milano might return to practice on Wednesday, but did miss Tuesday.

So he might be out too. I actually think the dolphins, you know, offense look like the Dolphins' offense for the most part against New England. If they're going to win, it's going to be by scoring a lot of points. It's going to be by running the ball. Devon I chain has looked pretty good. The problem is, like, the difference. difference in these two teams when the quarterbacks are pressured. Obviously, Josh Allen is incredible when he's pressured. When Tuatung of Iloa is pressured, he just gets sacked. I couldn't

believe this. On PFF, he has a pressure to sack ratio of 50%. They're actually, according to pressure per staph. Now, he gets rid of the ball quickly, not as quickly as he used to, but still quite quickly compared to average, like one of the fastest guys in the league. But he is kind of panicking. He is not a guy who can come up with an out of structure play. And he is just going down. And Joey Bosa, one thing I regretted not mentioning on a recap show, had one of the most Joey Bosa games ever in week two. He's played 26 snaps and had seven pressures, two force fumbles, a sack and a quarterback hit. And they're really using him in the ideal way for Joey Bosa, just like 30 snaps a game. And he looks really fresh. So that's one really positive thing.

Two at the beginning of the season, just how he doesn't have to be the guy there now, which it's a way different role for him, but mentally I think that that's probably really helping him because he just knows he can pick his spots and be so super dominant. Yeah, and let's not forget, too, that after two more games, they get Michael Hoyt and Larry Ogunjobie back,

and that's going to be really significant. When I talk about worrying about their depth all along the line, that's another really good inside and outside pass rusher that you get in Michael Hoyt, who they're so high on over there, despite the suspension for a legal substance issue, a illegal substance. I'd probably

butcher that. PEDs. PEDs. Yeah. I haven't slept, guys. No one would have noticed. You're nailing it. Yeah. I like the hat. I like the chain. It's all working. Thanks, Greg. I feel like that's the new one. This is usually how I come in. Yeah. Exactly.

It's just Tuesday for Colleen. Last thing I'll say in this game is I think the Dolphins pass rush has probably been the most disappointing part of their team. It's where a lot of the resources are. Chop Robinson's been very quiet after a great rookie year. Bradley Chubb, Jalen Phillips haven't really been making a huge impact. And again, they're going up against...

The most continuous offensive line in football, right? Right. Yeah. Year after year, week after week, it's the same guys. And it is really a weapon. And so it's a tough matchup for them. And they will mix it up in terms of what they show Josh Allen. I think you have to disguise.

you have to confuse him because I do think that's something that doesn't show up in the box score but man Josh Allen is just on another level mentally

I think it's true with him and Lamar it's not like they weren't before but you play six seven years in the NFL they are now to me at their very fully formed like dialed

like intelligent you know athletic peak and obviously they're only going to keep getting smarter in terms of experience but now they're at another level like

you better send some disguises at Josh Allen or else he's going to kill you. I don't know. Maybe the dolphins cover 12 and a half at the very least, but it would be shocking if they won. 12 and a half. Okay, that's the prime video game. We will preview every single game

on our mega preview show, AFC and an NFC. Are you going to be ready for that? You will get some sleep. I was ready for this. You know what? You don't have to get ready if you stay ready. That's right.

I'm fired up. Let's take a break and come back in about 24 hours. The NFL preview show, every single game. That was a pro host pivot. You've done it. Steve Weiss in the studio. Patrick Claibon in the studio. We'll hit every single game.

I can't wait. It was great to have you back. Great to be back. Love you guys. We will see you next Tuesday. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies

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