NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Jets fire Robert Saleh and Guys Who Rule with Colleen Wolfe and Jourdan Rodrigue
Episode Date: October 9, 2024Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Colleen Wolfe and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic to preview the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers. The show starts off with the crew's react...ion to the Jets firing Robert Saleh (01:28) and Patriots naming Drake Maye their starting quarterback (19:04). After the break, it's time to highlight guys who rule (24:54) including C.J. Stroud, Steve Spagnuolo, Kevin Harlan and more! Finally, the show is wrapped up with a preview of the 49ers and Seahawks squaring off on TNF (50:33). Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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And I'm Bucky Brooks.
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Welcome to NFL Daily, where we hope to have a better time at Todd.
of Hotspur Stadium than the Jets did last Sunday.
Getting on a plane soon.
Here in the Chris Wessling podcast studio with my friends, Jordan Roderig and Colleen
Wolfe.
We have had a news day here, Colleen.
Lots of news already.
It's been an eventful morning so far.
It is before we started taping.
Of course, Jordan, Robert Sala lost his job with the Jets.
Very surprising.
Drake May has already been named quarterback for the Pee.
Patriots this week against the Texans.
That's less surprising.
And all of this is just getting in our way
in our segment, guys who rule.
Guys who rule!
I know it.
So yes, we'll talk news.
For a little while first.
And then we'll get to different guys who rule
around the league or maybe just around the world.
I don't even know how creative you guys decided to go with this.
And we'll have to wait and see, Greg.
We'll preview TNF, which is a fun one this week,
Seahawks, 49ers for the first place in the NFC West.
Like, how are you guys?
Oh, feeling great.
You got your Philly sweatshirt on?
Bills play at 2 o'clock.
Very excited about that.
Significant consequences.
I know.
What was your first reaction when you saw the Jets let go of Robert Sala?
I was really surprised.
It's a Tuesday.
You know, they got back from London on Monday.
They're two and three.
One game out of first, like the Monday night football game against the bills is four.
first place. I did not see this coming. Neither did
anyone covering the NFL. Neither did Robert Sala, according to
the reporting that's out there right now. Yeah, there were reports that he was
feeling positive about their chances this week, went into the building on Tuesday
and was blindsided by the news. And how couldn't you be in it? And it's crazy because this is a
team that to me has a lot of connections with the media. They're in New York.
You got the front office in terms of the GM, Joe Douglas. You got Robert
Sala, like, everyone has relationships here.
I don't think anyone saw this coming.
Well, I don't feel like I'm not surprised by it.
Obviously, there are tensions in that building
and evidence by the performance in London
on a huge stage.
And Sala, when he said that he wasn't panicked,
nobody in the building was panicked.
I think he underestimated that a little bit,
considering 24 hours later he was fired.
So I don't know.
Sam Darnold.
Sam Darnold was maybe the straw that broke the camel's back.
Oh, my God.
It's the first time, I know, I know, the first time in Woody Johnson's 25-year tenure that a head coach has been fired during the season.
So this is unprecedented even for the Jets.
Yeah, it's not something they've done at all.
They actually haven't done it as an organization since 1976.
So that's why I'm surprised because, like, what's changed so much?
It's also week six.
That's what I mean.
So, like what's changed?
And frankly, and I'm going to cite Ben Solac for pulling the stats on this quickly
over at ESPN. Since the 2021 season, Robert Salah's first season in New York,
the Jets defense ranks first in points per drive, first NEPA per play, and third in success rate,
despite playing the fourth most snaps over that stretch because they've been in terrible offensive situations.
And this is, that's where I think the surprise comes from, is that there is no question,
that Robert Sala is a really, really outstanding defensive coach.
So I think living in that world alone,
perhaps that's where some of the surprise for him comes from.
But as we know, the ecosystem of that entire organization
at times seems to carry him along for the ride,
less so involve him or less so have him be the one with the power and the control.
That's what it looks like from the outside.
It doesn't fix the offensive issues, and that's the problem.
Right.
It just feels very personal.
listen to
Robert, I mean, Woody Johnson, rather,
the Jets owner talking about the expectations.
And I guess this is what helps explain
why a move like this would happen only five weeks into the season.
You know, I've been doing this for 25 years now.
This is probably the best team I've had in 25 years.
I just felt that the best way to go forward
is with a new direction and taking Jeff
Albrecht and making him the interim head coach
I thought that would get the most out of this team
and give us the best chance
that we all want to have,
which is going to the playoffs.
So Woody Johnson talking about
this being the best Jets team
that he's had potentially.
It reminds me so much of what Shod Khan said before
the season, that this is the best Jaguars team
they ever had. And the way I read into that
is that that's what he believes
based on what he's hearing from the media.
The media has, I think, an impact
on these moves sometimes, and what he's hearing from the front office.
Joe Douglas is out here, the GM of this team.
He's 29 and 69, I believe, since he's taken over.
It's a totally preposterous record.
And I know he took over a 29 and 59, sorry, I want to correct that, 29 and 59 under Joe Douglas.
He took over a tough situation, but they haven't improved much.
Now, Robert Sala has a 357 winning percentage.
That is the worst among active head coaches with at least.
50 games, except for Dennis Allen, but he has 149 out of 163 coaches all time with 50 games.
So that's a pretty rough record, 20 and 36 as well.
But it goes to, I think, believing the hype, and this tends to happen, I think, in New York.
Like, this is not that talented of a roster.
Why is this the most talented roster in Jets history?
Because they have Aaron Rogers, because your GM potentially sold this idea that we fix this
offensive line with like a future Hall of Fame left tackle and draft picks like is the
offensive line playing well? I don't see it. Like they're not playing well. Is Aaron Rogers
playing at a better than like league average level? Like maybe that's an upgrade than over
what they've had at quarterback overall. But they didn't sign up for an upgrade for just an
upgrade. That's the thing about that's the thing that's, I agree, but they didn't sign up for an
upgrade. And that's part of the problem is that the thinking and the rationale here, the expectations seem
to be incongruous with where the state of the roster actually was.
Right.
And so it's sort of like, you know,
Unstoppable Force meets immovable object.
The immovable object in this case is you are going to give Aaron Rogers
a little bit more time coming off that Achilles.
And yet you are thinking as an owner probably and as a staff that change has to be made.
Where I'm confused is why that change wasn't made in adjustments to the offense
versus firing somebody who was.
still running a significantly higher level defense year over year, even though the offensive
issues and not fixing them enough, do have, the head coach is partially to blame for that.
Yeah, the line in Woody's statement that jumped out at me was when he was referring to Jeff
Ulbrick and said he's a tough coach who has the respect of the coaches and players on this team.
I believe he, along with the coaches on the staff, can get the most out of our talented team
and attain the goals we established in the offseason.
Of course, that could just be said in any instance.
But considering the circumstances, I'm reading a little bit between the lines there with that.
And you can see that there's an issue within the coaching ranks.
Maybe it is the respect of the coaches and the players that was a problem.
Right.
You have to only go back a couple weeks to think about the whole cadence issue publicly.
There's a facial expression talking about the cadence.
issue too. Between Aaron Rogers. What about the hug? What about the hug?
Right. There was the hands on the chest. There was Robert Zala and Aaron
Roger. Awkward hug, which if you're watching on YouTube, you can see that. And they made
that into, hey, this is no big deal. And I'm not saying that's the biggest deal at all. And there's
all these reports coming out today that, no, actually Aaron Rogers and Robert Sala had a good
relationship. And I'm sure like on the face of it, it was good enough. But the reality is you had a
public back and forth in a way that if you're emotionally intelligent, which I think both
these men are, but I think Rogers knows especially that, like, he could have handled that
in a different way that didn't make his coach look bad publicly, and all of that contributes.
The reporting around this firing indicates that the Broncos loss was just like a stunner to
everyone. And just like, how long have you been in the NFL? None of this is that stunning.
Like, first of all, the Broncos defense is good. You're out there. It's a week to week league.
like you lost the game.
It was by one point.
Your offense actually looks, you know,
significantly better
than the other team's offense
and your quarterback look better
for what it's worth in that game.
And it was a one point game in the NFL.
If like your whole world is totally rocked
by a one point loss
at home to a decent team,
it's like you're falling for the hype too much.
Let's listen, as you mentioned,
Aaron Rogers and maybe the respect
in the locker room and all that.
Woody Johnson was asked
whether he spoke with Rogers
before this happened.
Well, I did talk to him the night before,
but we didn't discuss this, you know, specifically at all.
I mean, we were basically talking about the previous game and, you know,
his breaking 60,000 yards, 60,000 yard record and accomplishing that.
And sorry, he got hit so many times.
And then how was he feeling?
And so, no, in terms of whether I was going to do it or not, no, we didn't discuss that.
I mean, just watching that game and seeing Aaron Rogers after he did,
passed the mark of 60,000 passing yards.
It was in the middle of like one of the worst spots during the game and he was so frustrated.
And I remember we were watching and we're like, wow, he looks so thrilled to have this milestone now.
And it's just, I mean, I don't know.
I can't, I can't lie and say that I'm not surprised that this is happening.
Yeah.
And I think to just to add on to that a little bit, statistically, productivity-wise,
the defensive side of the ball
was not the problem
with the defensive head coach.
And so if you're pointing to
this being a football decision
or something to maximize
the talent overall on your roster
and you're not making that change
or being patient with the side of the ball
that is actually the one having the issue
or not quite meeting the,
again, extremely lofty expectations
that just placed on.
When those,
expectations circle around a team. Any team, it does not matter what market you're in. It just
clenches you down. You feel it in every like microscopic layer of that building when those
expectations are like, in the perfect world here, it's like it's a vibe change. Because
Albrick is a defensive coach too. He's the defensive coordinator. And he's in the same tree. So
not much is changing from the more successful side. There's just like a lot to push back on
I'm saying you can't call it a decision made for the best of the football team without acknowledging that the offense was the one that needed more time.
And it was interesting. Jeff Oldbrook said publicly today, we're going to take a deep dive on potentially changing the offensive play caller.
When asked about that, I do, I do not, he says I do not see changes in titles and positions, but he's going to do a deep dive and trying to improve whatever process there is.
So who knows, there could be some changes there.
It is talked about before the start of the season, was it not, that they were going to look at.
that, you know, what the offensive roles were.
It was reported that they looked around at hiring someone over Nathaniel Hackett.
Yeah, and you could see Rogers visible frustration on the field to have him get the plays in faster.
I mean, they kept cutting to him over and over again.
I just, it feels very coincidental that Robert Sala, this last game of his as a head coach,
was against Sam Darnold in a loss.
and his first game ever as a head coach for the Jets
was against Sam Darnold in a loss with the Panthers.
I have another one for you.
The last time Aaron Rogers was under an interim head coach was Joe Philbin.
You might remember Mike McCarthy got fired about six years ago now
with Green Bay and Philbin finished out that season.
And the most exciting game in that little Philbin run was a 42 to 36 overtime win
over the Jets and Sam Darnold.
Wow.
It all comes back.
to Sam Darnold.
This is the Sam Darnold podcast, everybody.
The one thing I would slightly push back about Sala and the defense would be that they are playing well this year.
I don't think they are.
They're like 12th in DVOA.
They've gone against the fifth easiest schedule in the league.
They haven't been as good as they've been in previous years.
But that also gets to my point where I disagree with Woody Johnson about the most talented roster that they've ever had.
This is the worst defensive line.
I actually think Robert Sala's had because you're missing us on.
Reddick. You're missing Bryce Huff, who's no longer there. And Quinn and Williams isn't
making the same impact that he had before, whether that's all on him or he just doesn't have as
much help around him. Their defense, to me, this year has been pretty close to average. And they
need to be great. And they've, they've been okay. You also expect your offense to be great and the
two sides to complement each other in that way. Again, that's the incongruous expectation factor that
we're talking about here. And so, and I think if you're 12th in DVOA and you're missing a,
major pass rusher that you thought you were going to have and then other
personnel. And you're still playing the Vikings who have been one of the most
explosive offenses in the NFL. You're playing them like that in London where
played well. The Vikings offense was in knots in ways that we have not seen in
London in front of everybody in front of the world. I think that that is again,
that's where some of the quote unquote surprise factor. Although I
we could sense that this has been clenching and clenching and clenching for some time.
It's been all over our TV.
Do it in the off season, though, because like the thing is, if they're three and two,
they don't make this move.
So it's just like, because you lost by one point,
it just do it in the off season then.
If you're that ready to fire Robert Sala, do it in the off.
And then all the reports just surrounding this with Jonathan Jones
saying that Robert Sala was considering firing Nathaniel Hackett.
That's a juicy one.
The reports that Robert Sala was escorted out of the building,
and that's not something that is typically done.
I just, you know, would be interested to find out the real story here.
Joe Douglas, by the way, also reportedly in the last year of his contract,
really hard to make a full change midseason.
If you're going to decide on one, something has to stay in fact with the language of the building.
Not saying he's unsafe, not saying he's safe, just saying that's the reporting out there.
Oh, I'll say he's unsafe.
I mean, coming into this year, this felt like the biggest boom or bust season in the NFL.
fell, that they had to make the playoffs or else it was going to be a clean house situation
with Sala and Joe Douglas, who's had a lot of time there.
And I think gets a little extra protected because he's such a nice guy that everyone
loves in the media and around and everything.
And it just hasn't had the results there, especially there is something about that he
was an offensive lineman and he came in talking about, it's all about the offensive line
with the Jets.
And that's been a total failure since he's been there, been one of the worst.
respectfully like yes like
Robert
Sala is became a head coach for a reason
but you're also not going to
sit there and say yes you should be
autonomously choosing all of these different
quarterbacks like six different quarterbacks
in New York like that's the GM the GM is
you know I'm seeing a lot of tweets
that are being sort of attributing that
the quarterback misfunction and
rotations and reshuffling where it says
Robert Sala went through six different
quarterbacks in New York I'm like uh Joe Douglas
went through those quarterbacks, too.
I mean, this is a shared situation,
which is why I'm saying it is interesting that he is in last year.
He drafted, he drafted Zach Wilson.
There's layers to this.
The fact that Sala was considering firing Nathaniel Hackett,
who has that close of relationship with Aaron Rogers,
it's just, it's messy,
but that's been the case for this organization for a while.
They have one winning season since 2010.
They have not made the playoffs since 2010.
They have eight straight losing seasons.
That is hard to do in an NFL where everything is set up for you to succeed.
And yeah, it's hard not to think just like Eric Mangini on Fox last week saying he thought
it was going to be a big deal, them playing in London where the owner was an ambassador
and a lot of important people watching that game and that that game would hold a little
extra weight.
And it turned out that way.
And it does, that does remind me like Woody Johnson didn't hire Robert Sala.
That is always an important thing to remember.
Like, who hired who?
It happened to be at a time when he was no longer running the team.
His brother, Christopher Johnson, was running the team.
So you can only presume that Woody Johnson will be picking the next full-time coach.
We'll see if it's a GM.
I still think this team has a chance.
I mean...
Jeff Oldbrits is a good coach.
I'll say that.
I watched him coach at the Senior Bowl this year.
I was sort of shadowing a couple scouts for a project that I was working on for the athletic
and got to see how he runs things, how he operates, really how he connects with...
Big hard knocks, pop.
I loved Jeff Oldbrick got hard knocks.
It's awesome.
Yeah, he's a, I think he's a really solid coach.
It's always hard when you're an interim and it's like the organization is going to make whatever decision it wants at the end of the day.
Other than in a very rare case, such as the Antonio Pierce situation where the players really speak up.
And so this is a trial run for him.
This is an audition for him.
He's a really solid coach, but we'll see if this has a long term.
And a former player too, so he'll get the respect to the players.
Interim coaches are all about vibes and energy.
You're not going to change everything.
And it's like Dan Campbell, fun interim coach when he was with Miami.
Rahim was too.
Rahim, great one.
Joe Vitt was a good one way back in the day.
Raiders,
Antonio Pierce, certainly.
No, but even before that.
It starts with a Bessaccia.
Bessatia bump there.
Yeah, rich Bessatia, who now is with the Packers.
And yeah, I think this Jets team, if I had to guess where they finish,
it's about where I thought they would finish to begin the season,
which is about nine wins, eight to nine wins.
And that's probably not going to be enough, but they could be in the mix.
They win that Monday night game against the bills.
And they are tied for first place.
All right, let's go to the other big news in the AFC East.
Patriots named Drake May, the starting quarterback.
If you happen to listen to my Monday night recap with Bridget Conn,
we kind of felt this one coming.
She's from Massachusetts.
I'm from Massachusetts.
We had a healthy debate back and forth.
I said enough about this.
I'm glad it is happening.
You guys are my favorite math-holes.
Thank you.
I'm glad it's happening.
I know it's a tough matchup this week.
Everyone's so worried that the football player is going to have to play football.
But I think he's going to be fine in the end,
even if he has a completely terrible game.
Like every game has been for the Jacoby percent.
I just think it's one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.
That's the thing that I'm worried about.
I would say the worst.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, there's like Cleveland, for example.
Yeah.
But the, this is, there's a line, I think.
Like, yes, football players need to play football.
But there is a line that you cannot.
afford to cross with a young quarterback.
We, since this is the Sam Darnold
podcast, we've seen it crossed
with players who
still are developing, still need to really
have a clean environment around
them in order to actually operate and do football
things. I think that if you cross that line
where playing football actually isn't
playing football, it's merely surviving.
That's where you start to run into problems. So if they can
try to at least build, if they can
at least try to build an environment around
him that allows him to at least get
cleaner reps, then that's great.
Football players do need to play football.
But again, there's a difference between playing football
and getting meaningful reps and simply surviving.
When can you promise me they're going to have some clean reps in Foxborough?
2007?
Like, there's no guarantee that it's why they were playing Jacoby percent.
Right.
Like, but that's, from what I've seen and what I think, they're like,
I agree.
Like, Darnold was put in a bad situation.
But I've just seen so many quarterbacks be put in the absolute worst situations
and be fine the next year.
You really think that.
Alex Smith, like Eli Manning, like some of the worst situations in NFL history.
And if they're going to have a career, like, they'll still have a career.
And he's probably in, by all accounts, he's a, he's a better football player than Jacoby
Percette.
Really?
You think as a rookie, he's going to come in here behind this offensive line, an offense that
is so bad at scoring points and can't get anything going.
And all of a sudden, this rookie with no reps is going to shine.
No, no.
I don't think that's going to happen.
But I think it wants him to feel pain and they get better.
But I think experience.
Not the Patriots way.
I think experience is good.
He's got the hoodie on too.
I think experience is a good thing for young quarterback.
I agree with you.
I am not disagree.
Like you put out these fourth round, like they're fourth,
like they've got rookies that have never played and don't know what's going on
on the offensive line.
Is it too early to put them out there?
You know what I mean?
Like they have just as much responsibility.
I think that comparing that you very uniquely disastrous situation up front with other
situations that have their own circumstances and variables is probably not the way to go here.
But I think that, again, I'm not disagreeing with you.
He needs to play football.
I am not disagreeing with you there.
I am simply saying there is a difference between taking reps as meaningful reps that build
something that actually advance the progress of a young quarterback who is developing,
who will one day run, like, lead that organization and simply surviving and simply developing
bad habits because there is no chance you're going to get anything to do other than survive
and protect yourself.
Is Drake Mae more mobile than Jacoby Broussett?
I mean, by a million factors, yes.
So then maybe that ends up helping him a little bit?
I think part of it is they're giving him all these reps in practice,
and this is just like little whispers.
He probably looks great.
And the teammates are just kind of like, come on, bro.
Like, come on, play the guy.
It's a tough spot because you also don't want to be the quarterback who's like,
oh, they're shielding me.
Like you can't win over the locker room.
Jacoby's a good player.
like if he was with the Browns right now,
they would have a winning record.
Like him and Kevin Stefansky
make beautiful magic.
Like, he can play football.
It is a brutal situation.
So Drake May gets his first start against the Texans.
That's going to be tough.
Bless his heart.
That's going to be tough.
Bless Jacobi Berset's heart if he also had to do that.
I do think, and I know they're not thinking this,
but this is an entertainment product.
And no one wants to watch the Patriots.
They're awful.
Like, and this gives people a reason to watch.
It's not the reason they're making this.
decision but I do think like these guys are in it to make money and have like a product like
that makes money and like this team couldn't be less entertaining and Drake May is a reason to care
and like a reason to watch the rest of the season. I think that alone, hey, that breaks the tie.
Let's go. He'll be fine. All right, we are going to take a quick break on NFL daily. I'm worried
about him too, but it should be fun. You want to see it. You want to see him get the crap kicked out of
Why would I want that?
I think he's great.
Because that's what's going to happen.
I loved him as a prospect.
So that's certainly coloring my thinking in the preseason and the little time we had.
I mean, yeah, it's looked a little scatter shot.
This is the one o'clock window?
You're going to see some fun games.
It is a one o'clock game, I believe, on Sunday.
Looking forward to that.
Looking forward to our guys who rock segment.
Guys who rule.
Guys who rule.
Maybe they rock the rule.
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
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Back on NFL Daily, it's a segment that's taken many different forms.
It really has. Destation. I've watched it grow up right in front of my eyes.
I've got a suitcase packed in the newsroom.
I'm headed on an airplane.
A lot of stories about the suitcase, Greg.
It's, you know what?
People are talking about.
The streets are talking here at NFL Media.
And if you want to see online just a scale,
that's next to a desk.
So it's the size of a, I guess, a standard desk.
It's a waist high desk.
Yes.
If people want to check out.
For the standard height, waist.
My gigantic suitcase.
Why not take a gigantic suitcase?
I was packing a normal suitcase and everything fit fine.
And I was like, well, what if I want to buy a bunch of stuff there for the family,
for you guys, you know, you know, I'm buying, like, major gear, like, being a big old suitcase
to bring the stuff back in my arm.
I will accept gifts.
But yes, I am a small man.
So having that thing next to me, it's like my big brother.
My reaction, when I saw him walk into the newsroom today, it just brought me joy.
Now I'm annoyed.
I am, I'm ready for this segment.
Okay.
It started out as, what was it, weird guys who rule?
Weird guys who rule.
I don't even know who we were talking about that.
You know, then guys who ruled, guys who rock.
Kirk cousin, that's right.
Her cousin is a weird guy who rules in the nicest way possible.
But this is more, this is simplified.
That was also an IPA text.
Yes, yes.
From all of us.
All of us, mutual IPA text.
This is a great idea.
I was not drinking an IPA.
I was working that night with Daryl McCoy.
I was making some podcast magic.
But I'm excited about this.
Colleen, why don't you get us going?
All right.
Guys who rule.
The Harrisons from Minnesota.
Harrison Phillips and Harrison Smith arriving to London.
Wait until you see how they looked, looking like a peeky blinders absolute vision.
And they had the dark three-piece suit on, the overcoats, the Jeff caps.
If you check out the Vikings Instagram, it has an incredible song playing.
It's raining.
It's a whole vibe.
Harrison Phillips has a pocket watch.
So they looked very London chic here, but also kind of dangerous, which I like.
So maybe they could like rule the city, like in some type of underworld that's going on in London.
That's sort of what I played out in my head.
However, both Harrisons then went on to sack errands.
and Rogers in that game. Harrison Phillips, he had said that Rogers of all of the quarterbacks
playing right now is his favorite, absolute favorite to play against because he's one of the
smartest out there. So I love that he ended up taking him down in London. Also, he honeymooned
Harrison Phillips in Europe this past summer and said that he often got recognized, which I love
for him. And it's also just like a show of how popular the NFL is everywhere. Um,
especially just as a defensive tackle, he's getting recognized.
I mean, I can't imagine he would get recognized many places outside Minnesota,
but Vikings fans travel.
I think they were probably out there having a nice vacation.
Yeah, Harry 99 on Twitter, he is.
But then Harrison Smith, Harry the hitman, he also had a sack of Aaron Rogers celebrated
with the belt championship celebration that Rogers.
Yes, the discount double check.
And then there were all of these fun things that I saw about him.
how in the off season, this past off season, when free agency was approaching, he kind of forgot
that free agency was coming. And he was like, oh, I should talk to my agent about this because he was
working as a carpenter and a welder with his brother-in-law. Wow. He also fixes bicycles and
builds furniture. And a couple of off-season ago, he bought a plot of land and talked about
renting bulldozers, digging ditches, and laying the wiring, because that's the most fun.
thing to do in the off season. So Harrison Smith and Harrison Phillips, the killer Harry's,
I love them. They rule. I can't believe how much Harrison Phillips rules. I mean, listening to you
talk about him for a while until we got into some of the, the track, what was the thing at the
very end that he was buying the plot of land for? The bulldozer. That's Harrison Smith. Okay,
that's here. He also has his pilots license. Like, what? They all kind of almost sounded like
they were Colleen's like, if you were an NFL player, you would maybe.
like if you were an NFL player
you wouldn't forget that free agency
was coming up because you had some
weird side job to try to
make yourself sane. I felt like it was so relatable
in the process. I'm like oh man
what time of year is it again? It's coming up
so soon? Summer of Harry.
Summer of Harry.
Yeah. I also like that we talked
about a Vikings player other than Sam
Darno. All right you go. You go. Another guy's rule. I had one
too. Vives. Vibes alone. Van Ginkle as a Viking.
But I want to get to
Guys, who rule?
I want to get to a safety cluster first,
a cluster of three safeties who I think totally rule.
Jaquan Brisker, Jesse Bates, Xavier McKinney.
Big NFL wants you to devalue the safety position.
But these three players are perfect representatives of the 2024 defensive
renaissance.
They are physical enough.
They can roll down to blitz or defend the run,
although Xavier McKinney plays deep.
They can play in the slot.
They're fast enough to rove the field.
And they're legitimately affecting games week after week.
Jaquan Brisker,
hope he and Tommy Tremble are both doing okay, by the way.
A sack, a pressure, an interception, two pass breakups, one force fumble, and 40 tackles.
Jesse Bates, who Arthur Smith referred to him as when they were getting ready for the matchup,
as the Falcons Jason Bourne said that the Steelers changed their entire offense to avoid the middle of the field
just to take out Bates.
Sorry, Colleen against the Eagles, ice the game.
He's got three past breakups, a pressure, a hurry, two force fumbles, and interception, 37 tackles.
And Xavier McKinney has made history
as the first player
on a new team to have an interception
in five consecutive games
and his DC Jeff Hathley called him
the best safety in the league.
These dudes are the new era of safeties
and yet somehow very vintage in a way as well.
These dudes freaking rule.
They do.
They do rule.
And the safety position rules,
it's always ruled.
And it's crazy to me,
to your point,
how undervalued it is.
you can get a pretty mediocre cornerback in free agency for more money than the top of these
safety market gets. I mean, McKinney ended up getting paid pretty well. But when you compare it to
other positions, it's really not that much. And I think you said it very well. They,
they are showing that they are way more valuable than, let's say, than like a slightly better
than average cornerback. I agree 100%. And they're being asked to do more, too. They're asked to
play more positions. This is the true high.
hybridization of the defensive backfield is happening there.
You're watching more safeties play in the slot than ever before.
You're watching sub packages feature multiple safeties versus relying on corners.
And you have to because offenses are understanding that now they're getting bigger and more physical.
And they're trying to attack smaller defenses.
Okay, well, enter guys like this who rule.
And they're saying, no, they can do a variety of different things.
And they are actually, the fact that they are legitimately affecting games in this way,
is significant because, again, the position market wants you to think that they're just sort of back there doing something.
Every year I overrate them on the top 101 free agents. Maybe I don't overrate them.
I was going to say, maybe you don't. Because you know they rule. I know they rule, but relative to what they make on the open market, it's like all, I have so many safeties near the top. And then they just sit out there on the market and people, like, oh, fine. We'll sign them for like $8 million.
They're running back of the defense. Pretty much. That's, that's, that's, very well said. And yeah.
You know, who doesn't rule is the concussion spotter at the Bears game last week in the protocol.
Not to get serious.
That was hard.
That was hard.
During a fun segment.
What the heck, Greg?
Sorry.
But it's like, this is a guy who's had three different concussions now in his career and you're not protecting the players from themselves.
He had to report it the next day.
That's a bad job.
And I feel like we're seeing that.
Let's get to something more fun.
Let's get to Brian Thomas Jr.
My guy.
You know what rules?
Speed rules.
No one ran faster on a football field
than Brian Thomas Jr.
on that long touchdown pass against the Colts,
which unfortunately got a guy fired.
The Colts cut their cornerback a day later
after giving up this touchdown.
And that's not nice.
And it's nice to have great speed.
We knew that about Brian Thomas.
But the thing that really impresses me so far this season
are his hands and his versatility.
He is ready to go.
He's scoring touchdowns,
but I went back, watched his targets,
and he's been really good on Inbreakers.
Like, I'm not saying he's Chris Godwin,
but people thought he was this one-trick pony
coming into the league,
and he can run routes.
And because of that speed,
which is maybe the best in the entire league,
like it's Tyreek Hill level speed.
It's Rashid-Shaheed level speed.
Look, when he breaks off his routes,
when he's doing some of these comeback routes that I watch,
like he's opened by five yards,
people are just so afraid and there's been a lot of contested catches on the go
balls. He has more long receptions than any rookie in the league, almost than any player in
the league. He's averaging 18 yards per catch. I mean, he's in the top like seven or eight
of just yards in the league right now. He is absolutely awesome. And yes, does it help that he's
helping to confirm my priors? Let's throw up the tweet I had. Yeah, you know, before the draft
when I wrote my only draft take so far is that you can't.
You can't take Brian Thomas Jr. too high.
Okay, fine.
I feel like good about that way.
It's a little surprising set of a twist ever.
I feel it good.
Because you know who else?
Who rules?
I rule!
With that tweet.
I'm sorry.
I was not expecting.
Security head to escort Greg Rosentthal out of the building today.
There's just been a lot of shows this week and not a lot of sleep and packing.
He had soup for lunch.
Yeah.
I love soup for lunch.
I see nothing wrong with that.
The huddle went.
Was it broccoli cheddar?
No, it was Pazole.
It made you feel a little spicier than the...
It was really spicy, and I love spicy food.
No, it was great.
I just, it was a lot, and I liked it.
I just didn't expect such an intense lunch, but I applaud the huddle.
That was before this...
For going big, yes.
Intense lunch, intense show, you know, it all.
It was, I was sweating.
That's aggressive.
That Pazole was the Brian Thomas Jr.
Of the huddle's menu options, like big and bold and coming right out of the game.
as one of the best in the league and you've got to recognize.
And you're getting on a plane right after this.
I hope you're okay.
Is that like a bad?
We talked about digestive foods.
I was like, she thought soup would be good.
Why am I going over this with you guys?
All right.
Give me another guy who rules.
Okay.
I, we saw him last night on the field and he is not one of the players.
He is one of my absolute favorite figures in the entire NFL.
And no, it is not Big Red.
It is Steve Spagnolo.
I love Spagg's so much.
We know what he's been able to do with this defense
and how for so many years it was the offense
that was powering the Kansas City Chiefs.
And then at some point last year,
actually kind of from the beginning of the season,
the defense quietly started being the engine of this team.
And Steve Spagnolo, he is just such an interesting person.
He got married at the Vatican,
which is just like a really random fun fact.
um his wife maria makes the most incredible italian meatballs you've ever had in your life and chris jones
uh frequently will request the meatballs before big games so she will make chris jones some homemade
meatballs and then he goes out and balls out for stees fagnolo's defense so he's just one of the
nicest guys in the world and he's so talented i love to see his defenses thrive i love when he
goes and tries to call timeouts
even though he can't because he's not the head coach
but he's like transported
to another time, a simpler
time perhaps where he could actually be
the one to call the timeouts. He needs a shot.
He needs a shot as a head coach again.
Does he though? He does. He does.
Because he was not set up well. No, he wasn't.
And there are people
in the Rams building
at the time that would agree with you
that he could have been a really
good head coach and that was a brutal
situation in St. Louis for a variety.
of reasons.
They were moving.
Personnel being part of it.
And yes, that hanging over them being another.
But I would push back and say, when they showed those Super Bowl wins he had last night
on the Monday night football broadcast, I was just thinking, like, wouldn't you rather
have Steve Spagnolo's career than virtually any head coach of the last, like, 25 years?
Like, isn't it a good thing to be happy with what you do?
Maybe have, like, slightly less stress than that.
that the headman does, more job security because he's so good at what he does,
working for a great man and Andy Reid that he loves with great players in a great situation.
Like, isn't that better than basically any, almost any head coach resume and just life
that you could come up with over the last, like, 15 years?
He's done it.
I know I've talked about this on the show before, but it was just such a moment after the
Super Bowl when I grabbed him and the confetti was still falling.
and he had tears in his eyes and he was just like
this defense is we're never all going to be together again
and he just came from such a like
it almost felt like a dad place
and these were his kids and he was so happy and so proud
but so it was so bittersweet for him
and he just I mean losing Legerious need
he wasn't sure obviously about Chris Jones
and you know how how important Chris Jones is to that defense
but just those personal ties,
it just makes me like him so much more
because the game means so much to him
and you can see those relationships
how they are in his life.
I don't doubt that he'll get interviews either,
but I would posit that he, I think,
is wise enough now to know the difference
between jumping into a terrible job,
which we talked about.
I mean, there's a lot of them that can exist
in specific few in particular
and jumping into a bad one
versus, you know, accepting
and really understanding the value of your own situation.
I just think he's, he's, you know, I don't want to say, call him old,
but he's wise enough, he's old enough, experienced enough to understand the difference
between the two things because of all the experiences he's had.
I also love that he reminds me of, like, someone who could be running a surf shop in Ventura.
Yes.
You know, like, and then, but then he has a shorehouse down at the Jersey Shore.
Okay, so then there's like, there's something beachy there going on.
Yeah, there's something paddleboard situation.
Good job, Jordan.
I love that.
And they're getting better every week too defensively.
They're sort of the opposite of the Jets.
They've had the second toughest schedule for defenses.
And so that's why some of their numbers aren't like amazing.
But now you watch in a game against like a Saints team,
which isn't quite as good.
And they dominate.
But they've had to play Baltimore.
They've had to play Cincinnati.
These teams always get better as they go.
And you're right.
You're kind of like if I had a Colleen doll and I would,
and you like pulled, you know, the string.
at the back to make her talk, like
Colt stuff would come out and Steve Spagnolo
stuff would come out. There's always
like every couple months, we need a nice little
Steve Spagnolo. Bag season. It's starting
early this year. I absolutely love it.
All right, give us... Okay, Pat Certain.
Rules, rules, rules, rules.
That's a good one. Two interceptions
against the Raiders, including 100 yard,
pick six, during which he reached a top
speed of 20.92 miles per hour.
Hello. According to next gen stats,
four targets across 40 coverage snaps,
so highly productive on the targets that he was given, I guess.
So he has shadowed Mike Evans, D.K. Metcalf, Garrett Wilson, George Pickens,
and collectively allowed against those guys, eight catches for 85 yards,
and then just two more receptions this last weekend.
He's not actually been targeted much because why would you target him?
But it's when he is, it's a 52.7 passer rating.
And guys, this rules the most.
Next Gen stats always does these matchup boxes on their website.
and they always go, you know,
Pat Sertain versus X receiver,
Pat Sertain versus X receiver.
And from the Raiders game,
it literally just says
Pat Sertain versus Raiders offense.
This guy, freaking rules.
He absolutely does.
And I do like that more than other positions,
it does feel like one cornerback always has the belt.
You know, that more than other positions,
and maybe it's because they like to talk it up
and it's the bravado of the position.
and you're just out there on an island.
And there's always, like, one quarterback who has it,
cornerback, and right now it's certain.
I want him to, does he have a cool nickname?
I want, I want people to, no, I'm not sure.
He's at that status, like lockdown, lockdown status to where I think he deserves.
There's just, like, so few players in the game that even get a chance to do that.
Like, Soss Gardner could do that, but they don't use him that way.
You could call him certain, that of Sertan.
Not bad.
It's fine.
It's fine, but we need to start somewhere.
It's fine. All right. You know who's not fine?
I'm having a trouble here.
I'm not going to go under the radar.
I'm going to go with C.J. Stroud just because there are few players in the NFL that I would
rather watch or hang out with.
Like, he might be number one at the apex of just like, hey, if you could just get a beer
with a player, C.J. Stroud. He just seems like an awesome guy.
But also, if there's one player, I could choose to watch play the quarterback position.
And I think if I was starting a team and just,
one quarterback I could have. I know there's a lot of great ones. It's C.J. Stroud. I mean,
some of the plays that he made in this Bills game, and yeah, yeah, the two turnovers. And if you're
watching it on YouTube, you can, you can see on the coaches film. Just these throws into absolutely
tight windows. He's the type of quarterback I love. Like, to me, he sees the game so beautifully. He
can make every certain throw that you want to make, whether it's touch, whether it's power.
The accuracy is crazy. He knows when to go for it. He goes through.
was read so fast. And I think right now, he and Nico Collins are playing so well. It's totally
covering up for a poor coaching job by this Texan's offensive staff. Like, they are sloppy,
not just the penalties and the terrible run blocking, but even the passing game seems a little
disjointed. And there's a lot of pressure in C.J. Stroud's face. And he just makes it work.
And he would never blame. If anything, he is building everyone up around him. He seems like a true
leader. He is my favorite player in the NFL. I think, you know,
Gino's there too, but just like he is the dude, CJ Straff. Yeah, he rules. And you know,
what I like about him, too, among many things, is that this is, you knew that the
defenses of the league we're going to try to catch this offense this year. They were
going to try to do different things to try to expose some of the weaknesses, not having Joe
Mixen also really has hurt them as well. But in terms of that lack of, I guess,
cohesion that you're talking about, you knew that they were going to try to disrupt them
in certain ways, but you have an elite problem solver in C.J. Stroud. Not only do you have an elite
tool, if you're a coach, an elite tool with which to problem solve because C.J. Stroud is that
person and player, but he himself is doing that. He's not making, he's not repeating mistakes,
really. Very rarely do you see him make the same mistake twice in one game, let alone twice in one
season. And that's other than the fact that he also, he knows ball to the point where his his quarterback
and league takes are excellent. Love that. And I love that he, like,
doubles down on them, too.
Like, he knows that he's right.
And it kind of reminds me of you in a way, Greg.
Oh, wow.
Knows that he's right and doubles down.
Don't tell Greg that.
My God.
No.
We build him up just to break him later in the show.
But, yeah, he rolls.
I'm with you 100% on this.
He gets better every single week, it almost seems like.
And the only thing I'm worried about now is Nico Collins being hurt and how that kind of
changes the offense with all of the things that he's already making up for.
I think it would have been natural for him to take him.
take a little bit of a step back this year, which with defense is preparing.
And I think that is sort of happening opposite him, but he is just too good and too smart to
let it happen to him individually. Problem solver is a great way to put it.
Let's do a speed round before we go. So we'll just be quick on these.
Rapid fire. Go for it.
This is super quick. I will let you guys listen first to who my guy is that rules.
Here we go. Shank it down and gold.
The Holmes in the gun
The two in New Orleans
P-Rine in motion
There's a shotgun snap
The fake handoff
The quick throw at the goal line
It's intercepted on the play
By Saunders
He runs the big man
The 10
Near sideline 20
On the near side lane 30
Got a block and from behind
The former chief is taken down
The Saints big man
Got it on the ricochet
At the goal line
On a pass intended
For Smith Schuster
That was a fit pick
That was a thick pick.
That's the part that I love.
The thick pick.
I mean, Kevin Harlan is my all-time favorite broadcaster.
He comes up with these things right on the spot.
I mean, there are some of the most epic games that I've listened to him call the Black Cat that came out.
The Yes.
I'll never forget that.
I love, when I leave here on Monday nights after I finish the pregame show with Mooch,
I always put on Westwood One and I listen to Kevin Harlan.
Kurt Warner on the call
and it's my favorite
and I text Kurt
throughout the whole thing
and it's just
Kevin Harlan
his voice is incredible
he's on it all of the time
and he's funny
he's low key funny
maybe high key funny
I don't know
I mean as he's making that call
he is thinking
in his head thick pick
I have this
to button it at the very end
and he's such a good broadcaster
no fault of Ross Tucker
there who's filling in for Kurt Warner
because I recognize that
Ross did a good job of letting him take the lead there.
Absolutely.
But Ross did kind of come in and stepped on the thick pick.
So Kevin Harlan knows I need to say it again to make sure everyone hears it.
What a great call.
I love it.
I love it.
Exactly.
I love it.
Okay.
I think that Torrey Taylor, the Bears,
oh, yeah.
Rules, rules, rules, rules, rules.
He is a 27-year-old rookie in Ozzy who didn't start playing football until
2019. This is me as a football player.
Famously texted him when he was drafted in the
fourth round that they wouldn't be punting much.
Plot twist, the Bears punted more
through the first three, three, four games than
any other team in the league.
But he single-footedly
ices teams by flipping field
position. He iced the Rams game.
His four punts that day,
four of his punts that day
were inside the 10, including the game sealing one
that landed at the eight. Jalen Johnson
said, I haven't been that pumped up.
for a punt in a long time.
I love it.
Tori Taylor rules.
I love his attitude.
I heard him say,
I want to go out there
and dominate the game
when I have the ball.
I get to have the ball
like five to eight times a game.
I want to dominate.
You just don't hear punter's
mentality.
I absolutely love that.
My last guy who rules
is Brock Bowers.
This guy's better
than I think we expected
coming into the NFL.
That touchdown that he had
his first career touchdown.
That is one of the best
first career touchdowns
of all time to
Moss a guy like that and then race in for the long score.
He, I think, has as much burst as any tight end in the history of the league.
Just those little short routes that they were throwing to him on Sunday's game, Minchu,
and his ability to go from zero to five is special.
It's crazy.
It is so much better than most wide receivers.
I mean, and he's playing tight end.
I really think he has a chance to be an all-timer.
And the more I watch him, I just think.
He's really exciting.
He rules.
I'd call him a power receiver or something like a hybrid because he's going to be playing
receiver, but he has the power and the strength and the ability of a tight end
and can obviously do some things in the blocking surface as well.
But like we got to think of a different name for that position because he's going to be doing things
that are not.
But he's out there.
He's playing tight end.
They're using him all over the place and stuff.
He's doing the thing where he's messing up the opposing formations.
He's playing a little fullback.
He's blocking some too.
He would probably rule a little more if he just came home.
you know and just just shave that that head but um he's going strong oh wow personal attack i mean he
knows it he knows it he's heard it a lot brock bowers is incredible they do need some type of subset though
in the tight end category for these incredible pass catchers and daniel jeremiah talked about
brock bowers leading into the draft how great and talented he is and how he should be taken as
high as he ended up going and i i think he's already right there with the best players at his
position as a rookie, which is wild.
Let's take one quick break.
We're going to wrap up with a little TNF preview after the break 49ers, Seahawks.
Guys, I rule.
What's up, everybody?
Daniel Jeremiah here.
And I'm Bucky Brooks.
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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 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.
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If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you.
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All right, it's time for TNF preview presented by Amazon Prime Video.
Talking 49ers, Seahawks.
Interesting timing for this game on Thursday night.
I'm going to miss it.
I'm at least going to miss the TNF recap.
No.
Both teams, I think, are coming off of humbling losses.
losses that make you question your team inside the building
that maybe we aren't as good as we thought we were.
Now they're facing each other, three and two Seahawks,
two and three 49ers.
We could have a situation, Jordan,
where there's not a team in the NFC West
with a winning record after week six,
which is pretty surprising for what we thought was going to be
one of the best divisions in football.
Yeah, and it still could be down the stretch.
Guys get healthy on a couple of these teams,
But this is going to be an interesting game, not just because the stakes feel high in terms of needing to get back on track a little bit.
But you can see certain flaws that might not be fixable just by getting people healthy, getting people back in the roster on both sides.
49ers' defense looks a little suspect, more suspect than we thought it was going to look.
And then on the converse, the pressure, I mean, it's just awful.
You could see it start to wear a little bit on Gino, who's having to complete over 55% of his,
throws under 2.5 seconds or less. He's been playing outstanding football, but how sustainable
is this when the tackles are not holding up in a big way? Sunday was crazy. His time to throw
was like 2.3 in that game. He's like Aaron Rogers out there. They're both just getting rid of the
ball so quickly. But Gino's not doing it because like he doesn't want to get hit. In fact,
he's running better than ever. He has one of the most rushing values in terms of EPA and KBR
in the league. He's doing it to try to make positive plays happen. Right. Because there's nothing else they can do
because the pressure, the outsides especially,
the interior is given up, you know,
some, I think it's like 38 pressure,
something like that.
But the exterior is now what really,
you know, at least you thought,
you know, Charles Cross was going to hold up.
But both of those tackles are really struggling right now.
They are.
And I mean, to your point, Greg,
these, the losses that they're coming off of.
I mean, I was so surprised that the Seahawks lost to the Giants
and that the Giants looked as good as they did.
So the Niners, though,
Two, I mean, blowing that lead, now they're 0 and 2 in the NFC West,
they're 0 and 3 in the NFC.
All of this is going to factor into a potential tiebreaker at the end of the season.
So this game is so massive.
It's almost like who is more desperate.
And it shouldn't be this high of stakes this early in the season,
but it actually is.
And the Niners are having massive red zone issues without Christian McCaffrey.
They can't figure that out.
Six red zone trips, only one touchdown.
They were the best in the league last year.
and red zone efficiency.
So there's just a lot of issues
on both teams that they need to figure out
on a short week with a lot of injuries.
And they can't even rely necessarily
on their field goal unit at this point,
even if they do struggle in the red zone
because Jake Moody has got a high ankle sprain
and they had to go sign Matthew Wright
because they were in sort of a sudden change
who was kicking the ball for us situation in the last game.
So even with the red zone,
you can't be certain that they'll come away with points at all
in that situation.
Right.
And the Seahawks probably look at the 49ers
if they're being honest and say,
hey, actually, this is a team
that we should be able to protect
Dino Smith against.
Yeah, they have Nick Bosa,
but hopefully, you know,
Charles Cross can help there
and you chip him when he's on the other side.
But other than that,
it's pretty thin in terms of the 49ers pass rush.
And they had that one week
where you play the Patriots
and everyone feels good about their pass rush
after they play the Patriots,
and then it's a comeback down-to-earth game.
They're a little banged up there,
but they also lost Yaturgros Matos,
who was playing at defensive tackle.
I didn't think they were as,
deep as they could have been to begin with.
And then they've had injuries on top of that.
So it's not the 49ers defense that you know, that in theory you love.
The Seahawks would love to run the ball, I think, a little bit more and better.
They are number one in the league the last month in terms of neutral, like, passing rate,
which means on normal down and distance, they're just passing the ball all the time.
You would like to see Kenneth Walker get involved, but partly because they don't trust their run blocking that much.
I came away from these two games a little stunned.
Like if you just watched it on Red Zone a little bit
or you saw how the 49ers blew a lead
or it was the field goal block in Seattle
and you think, okay, well, that sort of thing happens.
It's like, no, the Giants could have won that game by 20.
They dominated in both trenches.
They were the better team by a good amount.
And the Cardinals were similar.
I think the Cardinals were a better team that day
who had some bad luck on a return touchdown
and they still found a way to win that.
They kind of got physically manhandled.
You just don't normally see that with the 499.
The Giants ran all over the Seahawks in this game.
175 rushing yards, where the Giants, they were averaging about 85 rushing yards per game coming into this.
They also didn't have Devin Singletary.
So it was Tyrone Tracy, who had 129 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Like, he went off.
Yeah, if there's one coach who I know is going to just hunker down and run the ball at somebody,
it's going to be Kyle Shanahan.
Mike McDonald's had to stand up there at the lectern and talk about unsound technical work and fundamentals.
and gap accountability in the run game almost every single week.
Now, this is a defense that was supposed to make that area one of its strong points.
I look at their linebackers, and it's a problem.
They got cooked by Brian Davel.
Brian Davel came in and there and was like,
hey, you guys are on a short week.
We've had a little extra time from Thursday Night Football,
and he handed it to Mike McDonald.
It kind of reminded me of the game to help get Mike McDonald's this job,
Mike McDonald versus the 49ers,
when it was Ravens, 49ers on Christmas.
I can't forget it because I was here.
And that matchup is what partly got Mike McDonald this job.
Can he be the Shanahan killer?
Can he be the McVeigh killer?
Like, we'll see when he plays the Rams this year.
But that, to me, is fascinating.
He does not have the players at linebacker that he had when he was with Baltimore.
No one really does.
Or, you know, that the 49ers do, frankly, with Fred Warner.
And so he's having to adjust and they were a big time problem in the running game and the passing game last week.
The Seahawks rushing defense for the 2024 season, they are allowing 4.5 yards per carry and five rushing touchdowns so far.
And this is going to be a Kyle Shanahan 49ers team that I don't think will have any problem hovering down and running the ball.
No, Mason's looks awesome.
I mean, he had that fumble last week, but he literally has more yards than any 49ers running back in history.
And I remember when that first game that he came in
and I was doing the pregame show for it
and we were like, okay, well, it's going to be Jordan Mason
and what?
Should we pick it?
I don't feel good about the Seahawks right now,
but I will pick them because that's what I want to root for.
Really?
They have their throwback uniforms too, those fun 90s.
Those just need to become their uniform.
I love them.
I'm going to pick the 49ers because Brock Purdy,
I think overall is playing really well.
I think that perhaps you can
that are last week more of an outlier game from him than how he has
showed up across the season inclusive to not having a lot of his skill
players around him. So I do want to pick the 49ers in this game. It is
interesting. You're hearing some reports out of there of things feeling
weird, just a little bit off, lots of moving parts. Who purdy? Obviously, no,
no, the 49ers building as a whole. Things feeling a little weird, just
generally off in terms of there's just a lot, been a lot of moving parts
around that building so far missing players adding players back you know some some long-term injuries so
but i do think that brock purdy's going to play better this week i am god this is such a toss-up this
game i'm going to go with the niners right now just because i'm not sure about these seahawks
injuries that they have reek woolen uchena nuosu biron murphy i mean these are significant
players that aren't playing right now and i mean they didn't they put out the estimated practice report
today, and that would be a do not practice for them
or didn't participate. So
it's just, that's going to be
the determining factor. Yeah, they got new Oso back
who was supposed to be their best pass rusher for
less than a full game, and he is now going to
injured reserve with a thigh injury, which was a
new injury. It's good that you pointed out.
Talaneo Fonga
is reportedly going to miss about a month
or so with a wrist injury.
Although his replacements looked really
good. I thought Malik Mustafa has made
some plays for them, so that's been
a nice fine. That was this week's TNF preview,
presented by Prime Video.
Be sure to watch the San Francisco 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks this Thursday on
Prime Video.
We do have some news surprisingly at the end of this show.
Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple weeks with the oblique injury that he suffered against
the Chiefs.
The Saints have two games in the next nine days.
One of them is against the Buccaneers, a big division game, and then the Sean
Payton comes to New Orleans game
and they're not going to have Derek
Carr. That is a bummer.
Really interested to see if they're going to start
Jake Hainer or Spencer Rattler.
Well, Mike Garifolo is saying that Spencer Rattler
is a strong candidate.
Let's go. Good.
And Derek Carr's absence and he cites sources
telling himself and Ian Rappaport.
That is awesome. That's good teamwork.
Thank you, Jordan, for helping.
helping us out there because I really loved what I saw out of Rattler in the preseason.
He is not a normal fifth round pick.
He is talented.
He's fun.
He is going to,
he's going to throw that ball around.
I don't know how it's going to go against the bucks and Broncos.
That is a tough assignment.
But I think it'd be more interesting than Jake Hainer.
And yeah,
this Saints team,
which we were so excited about after two weeks is staring at two and five.
And this is how you manage the season.
You've got to get one of those two games.
You've got to get the Sean Payton Bowl.
Have to.
I'm looking forward to.
to that TNF recap.
Also looking forward
to this week's
TNF recap.
So it's that one,
this game we just talked about,
that's going to be covered
by Patrick Claibon
and Nick Shook.
Everyone that's listening
here, if you haven't been
hearing me talk
about heading to London,
I ask for your
understanding with a little
disruption.
I like that each week
on this show,
we've had a nice routine.
What a great crew.
This is.
See you next Tuesday.
I love our CNX Tuesday group.
That's our text chain.
Yeah.
So the listeners
And yeah. That's the name of our tech change. So we got, we got the preview show normally with
Patrick and Steve. We've got the recap show. And it's the same every week, which I really like
that regularly. As a listener, I like that too. But this week's going to be a little bit different.
I'm heading to a plane right now, heading over to London. He has a PJ waiting for him.
You end your suitcase. That TNF recap will be taken care of by my friends Nick and Patrick
in the middle of the night. But before that happens, we're going to have a preview show going up a little
bit earlier, and I mentioned that because I'm going to actually tape it at the Greenwood Sports
Pub in London. And I don't know. I'm just like throwing this out here. Should I just have
people come by if you want to? Are you asking us? Yeah, I don't know. I'll be right there.
Yeah. If any listeners want to come by. Now, it's not going to be like a live show or anything.
So maybe, maybe show up like before and it'll just be a nice place to have a beer. And then after we're
done, we can have some, we can have some. We can have some.
you know, beers or some fish and tips.
They'll come out. I had a meet up for ATN when I went to London.
So that is at the Greenwood Sports Pub.
It's Thursday afternoon.
So I know people are working.
We're going to be taping and be there from about 12 to 3 or so.
But we'll be wrapping up between 2 and 3 p.m.
But come along.
You know, help out the Bears sports pub.
Why not?
I mean, it's kind of wild that they have an official sports pub like it while they're over there.
And so that would be fun.
And it would be fun to meet some.
NFL daily listeners.
So that show's going to go up a little later in the feed than the preview show normally does,
but it'll still be there pretty early on Thursday.
And then, yeah, Sunday, it's going to be a different crew for the recap show.
I'm excited to get some voices I really love.
Ollie Connolly is going to join me.
Nat Coombs is going to be on the show.
Phoebe Schechter, who I work with at Sky Sports, is going to be on the show.
So it's going to be a lot of fun.
I'll miss you.
Yeah.
But I won't.
But we'll see you next Tuesday.
Right.
I know.
I was going to say, like, they said like, hey, how do you want to do this?
this trip, I said, well, we can do it, but only if it does not disrupt the Colleen and Jordan.
Can't interfere with it. This is such a pivot from his outbursts earlier. I know. What's coming
down the, down the pike here? I need to get you in my favor before. You never know what could happen.
I hope I make it back. All right, let's go. That was it for NFL Daily. And yes, when it's time to
head over to London, you know that football is back. See you on the other side. Have fun.
Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here.
And I'm Bucky Brooks.
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