OverDrive - Jones on reacting to Bengals' offensive line and defense during the preseason, and Daniel Jones being named the starter in Indianapolis, and the Cowboys dragging out extending Parsons.

Episode Date: August 19, 2025

Senior NFL writer for The Athletic, Mike Jones, joins OverDrive to discuss the Bengals' performance during their preseason wins. Jones shares his thoughts on Daniel Jones being named the starting quarterback of the Colts and the Cowboys dragging out extending Micah Parsons.

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Hey, I'm doing well. How are you guys doing? I'm doing well, and we're just talking about last night's preseason game. Joe Burrow played a couple series, and how concerning is it that the offensive line still can't keep him out right and give him a pocket? Yeah, you know, it was concerning, but also I try to remind myself that, look, there hasn't been a whole lot of real hitting going on in these practices. So this is kind of the first time that a lot of these guys are getting that type of action. And so you kind of try to pump the brakes a little bit. But I tell you, the way that that line was concerning and also just the ease with which

Washington moved right down the field in that first one, you know, because they spent, you know, resources and made changes to try to upgrade their defense. And so you're kind of like, man, you would have liked to have seen a little bit better, even though, again, it's the preseason, first live action for a lot of these guys. So you kind of try to be a little patient with what you see. Are you having patience with Mitchell Tinsley, who was the guy who really popped off last night? Do you think he could be emerging to a guy? Is this someone who, Frankie was talking about week five,

could we be talking about him as a potential player for the Cincinnati Bengals? yeah i mean i mean you would hope so um you know it's you know sometimes you see guys that struggle in the preseason then wind up being okay it's kind of rare that you see guys that really shine um in the preseason and then the wind up being nothing there's always a you know they find a way uh to make sure they contribute uh that's where you know guys really kind of prove themselves establish themselves so i think that uh you know you can hope that he would uh build on and continue to elevate. What's your initial thoughts on Daniel Jones being named the week one

starter for the Colts? And not necessarily just week one, but the quote coming out that like, this is our starter for the season. We are not, you know, giving this a short leash. Yeah, it's definitely, I mean,

I think you've got to be concerned because if your best option is that you've got Daniel Jones as your quarterback, we know what Daniel Jones is. I don't think that he's going to have a revival, or Renaissance, like we saw with, you know, Sam Darnold. You know, it's just, it's concerning because they invested all that in Anthony Richardson, and we've seen him make a couple plays that, you know, make some throws, you're like, wow, he really has some potential there.

But then you see him really make a lot of throws, or there are more struggles than not. And you were hoping that he was going to grow, develop, make some improvement, and we just haven't seen that. And so the fact that they are not just riding with him for a little bit to see if he works his way out of it and that they're just already pulling the plug and saying, hey, we're going with Daniel Jones.

That tells me that maybe he's not doing what they were wanting him to do, and that was part of the issues with him last year, was the approach that they wanted him to take to the game in preparation, and he wasn't. And so, yeah, I don't know what the level of optimism can be. I know that they've got a good defense. I know that they've got a good run game, so maybe they're hoping that, okay, hey, if we run the ball a lot within our defense, maybe we can, you know,

get something that as Daniel Jones. But as far as, like, the ceiling, not too high. No, and I'm a Colts fan. I grew up a Colts fan, and I do not have high expectations on the team this year. But I can't help but feel like possibly, you know, this could have something to do with what happened last year when he tapped himself out of the game. Like, how much is that still like? lingering, you think, within the organization and within the locker room where they just,

in a 50-50 shot, they'd rather go away from him than with Anthony Richardson. Yeah, well, I mean, that's the thing is like you would have hoped that, okay, after that, which was so embarrassing, that was just such a bad look. You would hope that, okay, he would kind of got in the way, gotten his head right in the offseason and realized, you know, hey, I really got to bring it. I've got to change my approach, you know, and I don't know who's in his ear, what kind of mentorship he has, but it doesn't seem like, you know, I think if he was trending upward, they would have been patient with, been patient with some hiccups or some misthroes and things like

that. But the fact that they are going with Daniel Jones tells me that, yeah, he has not won them over. He has not regained their trust. And they'd rather go with the guys they know is limited but carries himself like a pro than a guy that's got all the ability in the world, but can't get the job done and doesn't have the right approach. With Mike Jones of the athletic, Colts week one taken on the Miami Dolphins. Colts are favored by one and a half points on Fanduel. Which coach needs that win more? Shane Steichen or Mike McDaniel?

You know, it's hard to say that week one is like a must-win situation. But I think the guy that's under the most pressure of the two would probably be McDaniel, just because of the fact that they have had, you know, last year was, you know, a really injury-plagged season. When Tua wasn't in there, they really just weren't competitive. When he was there, they had a chance. And then they've had some really disappointing ends to the season. And so they're waiting.

They've finally got to find a way to turn this thing around and really start winning some meaningful games. And so I think that, you know, if you're a McDaniel, you want to come out with a strong statement against a good defense and get that win there. But again, you know, Stuyken, you know, he's under pressure as well. And I think because of that pressure is probably part of the reason why he didn't want to continue experiment with Anthony Richardson, you know.

And so he's like, hey, we need a solid guy. We need to get a win out of the gates. And so we'll see if it plays out. But, yeah, I would go with McDaniel, but Stiking, you know, ownership change, you know, with Jim Mersey passing. We don't know what that leash is like that he's, on and so he wants to come out there and get a win to start things off right when we started the show today my co-host mike who admitted that he's a colts fan you know we were talking about the daniel

jones thing and he right away goes that well arch manning's coming up and i was like so are you already just like forfeiting on the season and saying like you're getting ready for for a top pick in the draft is that like is that a reasonable outlook for a colts fan right now i mean it's so hard to know what's going to play out and, you know, if you're going to be, it's not like the NBA where it's easy to tank and have the most ping pong balls to get, you know, a pick. It's way different in the NFL.

And so I think that, hey, you never know what could happen again. In this division that they're in, the opportunity is there. There's nobody that's like, you know, obviously Houston has repeated. as the divisional champion. But beyond that, there's no clear-cut challenger. So, you know, if you're a Colts fan, you think, hey, maybe, you know, why not us? Why can't we be like Washington last year who turned things around?

Yes, you know, they did it with the rookie quarterback. But, you know, maybe we can finally get things together here and, you know, make some noise in our division. So don't start, you know, thinking about Arch to assume because you never know. There's also some talk that Arch might not come out. you know, next year. So just, just let's focus on right now and see how that all plays out. Is there, is there a team like if this Daniel Jones things work or maybe even if it doesn't work and it's just time for Anthony Richardson to move on? Is there a team that you think would would have some interest or maybe that would make sense for them to go down that route

and try and trade for him? I don't know, man. I don't know that he's shown enough for you to want to give up a premium draft pick, you know, or a few good draft pick to get him, when I'm looking at the teams that need quarterback, you know, I don't, again, he has not done anything to instill any type of confidence. It's not like, you know, even Justin Fields last year when he went to Pittsburgh, at least Justin Fields had some flashes. And so Pittsburgh was like, yeah, let's get him and, you know, have him behind Russell Wilson. And then, you know, he played well enough that the Jets were willing to make an investment in him.

I don't know that Anthony Richardson has really shown enough, but maybe this is good for him to sit behind the veteran and relearn. Because when you think about it, I don't think he even has a total of 2,000 snaps between college and the NFL. He's very raw still, but that approach has got to be something that's got to change. And so I don't know. you've got to have a really stable quarterback situation and you can take on a project guy. And I don't know, you know, who's in that position who would be willing to give up a pick, you know, for a roll of a dice.

Mike, you put out a piece in the athletic today. Anthony Richardson was not part of the top 25 under 25 list. That's for certainty. But you pulled a bunch of various front office members. Was there anything from your findings that really surprised you about your list? Um, you know, it surprised me that a number of people were kind of just felt like Brock Bertie is average. Um, you know, he was on the list last year. This year, um, a number of guys felt like, ah, you know, I'd knock them down so that way I could bring up some other people. I mean,

this is a guy who, you know, has, you know, played in the Super Bowl and he, he runs their system well, but, and he got paid. But again, a lot of people feel like, hey, it's more so the system. And they don't feel like he is, you know, a game changer type. quarterback so that was interesting to me um another you know interesting thing is just the the respect that jalen carter after last year really you know a lot of people felt like he is you know one among the top you know two players um in the the top 25 or 25 you know and just and also uh you know a lot of people really spoke highly at brock bowers um and so yeah it's really it's always intriguing and again everybody has their different top 25 and you know and there a lot of people are

like, how come they didn't have this guy? How come, you know, he's not on here. But it's always just interesting and it's fun to talk about as well. What are your expectations for Cam Ward this season? You know, I don't know. I think that Brian Callahan is a good offensive mind, but they also, they're still trying to build that roster up. So it's, you know, adequate support for a young quarterback.

and that's something that will really help go a long way for him. You know, it's funny because he's the top pick, and there's just not that buzz about him, but maybe that's good for him that he's able to fly into the radar. They're in a place that's not a huge media market, you know, and so we'll see. But I know that they really got to rely on the run, and I think they will because Bill Callahan is the line coach,

and he really believes in that. So we'll see. I'm very intrigued to see what his development process is like. You know, if you go back to when Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud came in, like both those guys kind of went in different directions. And I think a lot of that with Young was the environment around him. C.J. Stroud had a much better environment. Is Cam Ward somewhere in the middle there?

Do you see it kind of going one way as opposed to the other? Like, I guess if those are the two kind of models for how it could go, which side do you kind of hedge closer to? Yeah, you know, in Houston, they had a really good defense. And so, you know, that was something that really helped. But then, C.J. Stroud was just very accurate as a pastor and really understood the concepts that were there for him. Bryce Young, you know, they did not have a lot to work with.

So I feel like, you know, Tennessee's roster is not in the advanced stage. uh, that Houston's was. So I feel like there'll be somewhere in between. I don't think the coverage quite as bare and the situation is not quite as bad as what it was in Carolina, uh, but still just not quite, um, you know, playoff ready, which is what Houston's defense was definitely. With Mike Jones, uh, out in Dallas, the Micah Parsons situation still has not, uh, found a resolution. And early in the process, it sounded like there was an assumption that eventually. Jerry was going to bend the knee and giving the money, much like he's done with a lot of contract standoffs prior. Does it feel like maybe it's getting to a point where

this one could end differently and maybe Parsons is not a cowboy this season? No, I don't think so. We're still, we're not there to the regular season yet. And so I think that Jerry Jones, he loves the attention. He loves the attention. loves the drama, whether it's good or bad, that people are talking about them. And so I still think that he'll drag this thing out. And then just before it's time, he'll go ahead and get the deal done like we've seen him do times before. But doesn't that, like, okay, doesn't that lose its cachet a little bit?

Don't players look at that and say, okay, man, here we go. Jerry's going to do the same thing that he does every single time. He's going to play it up. It's going to get drawn out. And I got to deal with all the stress around it. Or is it just become like a known thing, like between the agents and the players, let Jerry do his thing. We're going to get the number and eventually it all be good. Jerry just likes to get all the eyeballs on us.

Like, I don't know. It's so, it's so weird because it's supposed to be like a working cohesive unit, the same team. Yes, these contract negotiations happen, but it just, it feels like it's Jerry's going to do his antics and you just got to put up with it and then eventually you'll get paid. Yeah, well, part of that, I think that's part, maybe part of the reason why Mikea Parsons, still came there during the OTAs when he could have skipped that, you know, and he decided to come, because I think that he has to know, you know, it's going to get done. Now, you know, he's there doing the hold-in to avoid the fines,

and I know it is frustrating for players. We saw C.D. Lamb, you know, on Twitter talk about, you know, kind of make a remark about it. But I still think that, you know, there's part of them that feels like, yeah, you know what, it's frustrating. It's annoying, you know, but it's going to get done. Mike, really appreciate taking time to join us. day. Hopefully we can do it again soon.

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