Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - FANTASY SHOW: Can the Vikings contain Saquon Barkley???

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

Mike Schopp, of WGR 550 in Buffalo and ADP Chasing, joins the show to discuss the Vikings chances of containing Eagle RB Saquon Barkley and if that is their path towards victory on Sunday. The Purple Insider podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Also, check out our sponsor HIMS at https://hims.com/purpleinsider Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. This is the Purple Insider Fantasy Shope with Mike Shope from WGR 550 and ADP chasing. And as always, the show presented by Fandul. And Mike, I think our friends at Fandul aren't really sure what to do with Vikings and Eagles at the moment because of the quarterback situation. we are feeling quite confident that it will be Carson Wentz at quarterback. And I think if you are a fantasy player, that that is much better for you if you are an owner of Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison or T.J. Hawkinson because he has leaned heavily on the weapons. If you're a fan of the Vikings and you wanted to see JJ McCarthy, you're sad. So that's kind of where we're at.

Well, I wouldn't necessarily tab you as a fan of the Vikings, but you wanted to see McCarthy because you thought, like, this is what we should do at this point or what they should do, I should say, at this time. I mean, Wentz is a version of Joe Flacco where you're going to get volume, and that's even good for defenses. So I think you're probably right. We still don't really know what McCarthy can be for any of this. But, you know, yeah, when they sat McCarthy the way they did it immediately after a loss, like, okay, no, he's injured. And we're going to go to Europe for two weeks. Like we're going to take a year off or something and go to Europe and ride our bikes.

I mean, it felt like maybe Wentz was relatively safe to play for the long term. but then Europe went the way it went, and that wasn't so, so much of a sure thing. So, yeah, I guess I still want to have some hope that when McCarthy gets in, which is inevitable, that it'll work out for the past catchers, but for now, revenge game, if you want it, like I'll just, we'll just roll the dice with Wentz. Sure, yeah, Howie Roseman's still there. He's the one that tanked on Carson Wentz and then traded him to the Indianapolis Colts and favor of Jalen Hertz. So there's, there's revengey elements. I think with the McCarthy situation,

well, Kevin O'Connell yesterday called it a very unique and real injury because he has certainly been online enough to see that people think that it's not. It is. It is a very real high ankle sprain. And I buy the explanation that he needs to be able to fully practice and be a hundred percent or close enough to scramble, to make plays, to drive from his back foot. And when you don't practice in full, then you really can't start someone with that little experience. But I agree with your word inevitable. It is very, very likely that he returns at some point. We just don't know when because they have two games in four days. And I think if those go well, then we could see whence. If they don't, then we're definitely seeing J.J. McCarthy.

And until then, uh, everybody waits. But what's, what's, what's well? Well, two wins, one and one, which one is the one? I think if it's two wins, it's a guarantee, even if he doesn't play that good, because the players in the locker room are going to be like, wait, we're five and two. We're not changing quarterbacks, guys. If it's one and one and the Thursday night game is the bad one, then you're probably going back to J.J. McCarthy. The awkward one is if you go one and one, but he plays really well, like let's say you lose 31,

to 28 to Justin Herber. Like, are you going to change quarterbacks against the Detroit Lions the next week? Yeah, that right, it gets a little bit dicey. So you're almost at the point where you have to, if he goes 0 and 2 and he plays poorly, then the decision is made for you. But if he goes one to one, plays well or 2 and 2

and your season's still very much on in a wide open NFC, you just got to roll. You just got to keep going until the wheels come off. And this, I don't, I don't, I don't envy any quarterback or any coach who gets put in a situation with a quarterback controversy. It's just so hard to figure out. When's the right time?

We need to see him. He needs to play. They're excited about him all off season. And then you get a tiny sample, which to me, you can't even really take anything from. And now this injury will not allow him to get back out there, especially as everybody else's 24 quarterbacks are partying these days. Yeah. There are so many different agendas, as we've talked about.

many times. I mean, the Vikings have fewer that conflict than other teams do. I mean, the coach is well established. He will coach again in the league if it ever ends for him in Minnesota, the GM2. Like, they're pretty stable. If you're the Jets and, you know, you just sort of tried on Justin Fields, you have Tyrod Taylor. What does the locker room want to do? You're 0 and 6. What should management want to do? Get to the bottom at this point. Like, just There are, every team is different for this. But that NFC North, everybody is live. I mean, Chicago is off the mat.

And that's a nice win in retrospect that the Vikings have at Chicago. That was good to get in your pocket because, like, without it, the bears would be four and one. And they're kind of thriving, even though they're winning all their games, 25, 24. So, yeah, I mean, you just sort of, you're right now, you're treading water. maybe that's one way to put it with the Vikings. And as you said, I think very smartly, what happens here in the next week, which is two games,

will possibly at least, determine which direction in which they go. And the fact that Wentz has been able to move the offense, has been able to get a game-winning drive against the very, very good Cleveland Brown's defense. I mean, it's not like he's been the usual level of backup quarterback play, where you put him in and just assume, yeah, you're not going to win any games. Like, he's just, he's a little bit above that. That's why the Kyle Orton example kept coming up,

because it's like just good enough to tease you a little bit, probably not good enough to actually take you anywhere. So I'll tell you what, Matthew about Wentz from a distance, I would say. Nobody gets hit or takes a hit like this guy. Like, I know. If, uh, I'm not dating your podcast too severely. Like, He's like watching Super Dave Osborne in these skits where the car drives into a, you know, an overpass. And it just like poor Wentz, it just seems like he's kind of magnetized to it that no matter what is happening on any kind of broken play, he is going to get wrecked. And then, you know, he kind of gets up and there's the next skit. So he's very concerning. Very concerning.

And Super Dave Osborne, that guy, my favorite curb character, by the way. RIP. Yeah, I know, an incredible actor. But, you know, when it comes to Wentz, he's already playing with a pretty seriously hurt left shoulder because he decided that he could run over two linebackers. And if McCarthy is not in a position to play and ends up being the emergency quarterback, we could be talking about Max Brosmer getting into games. And everybody, I mean, Max, everybody is really high on Max, including me. he's been the most impressive undrafted free agent

I've ever seen come into this team but like you are you're that close with Carson Wentz and that when you're talking about treading water that's what it feels like for the next couple of games and get through those and get back to McCarthy and then get back to what you thought you were supposed to be but it is a very tense situation right now and I think we started to see that a little bit

at the podium from the head coach yesterday as well but I'm interested in your takes on Philadelphia here coming into Minnesota because when there's two straight weeks of Philadelphia sports radio and newspaper writing and now blogging and everything else, just tearing this team limb for limb, it has to be one of those games where Philadelphia just finds their second life, right? Or it's the kitchen sink or throw every single thing that they can come up with at the Minnesota Vikings. I think that would be your concern is facing a team that's been ripped apart for the last two weeks, that the motivation is going to be very high for them to win this game.

Sure. And I mean, I like a narrative as much as the next guy, but I don't know. I mean, Philadelphia, the last two years, their seasons went completely the other way in the middle. And this year, they started 4 and 0. And I mean, they were one of the favorites and they still are. But there are serious questions now. they're only a small favorite on Fanduil in this game in Minnesota. They can't run the ball.

And when they throw it to their number one guy, he doesn't really seem to enjoy it that much. So right now, like they're kind of Dallas Goddard. That's kind of what their offense is at this point. Barclay's yards per carry are really low. Devontz Smith isn't doing a lot. And I don't think they really know for this year what they want to be. injuries too defense is not as good secondary is way worse so it's an interesting game because on the

road a team like this i'm not assuming that they're going to just sort of get it right do you think that it's just with sayquan barclay it's just the life of a running back because it's so funny last year i was making all my fantasy selections on proven running backs and then as our season's going along don't i know it don't yeah look at me i'm you you know, who's the fantasy expert now? And then, you know, this year we've got all sorts of randoms who are having good seasons. Javante Williams having a good season. And then Rico Dowdell is suddenly the best running back in all of football for the last couple of weeks.

It's gone back to its old random ways. But I also don't want to say that six games is enough to be like, ah, Sequin, he's cooked. Because if it happened in the middle of a season where there were six games and you average three and a half yards to carry, if it was a great season for that guy, we'd never really take note. If you start the season that way, then it's like, ah, see, he can't run anymore. They can't run anymore. So I don't, I don't want to go that far. I think it's just clear that their offensive line is not the same from what it was last year. Yeah, there are a few very interesting points here. And if I, if I may jump off into a short

tangent, we were in a couple of my friends and I were in a golf tournament with somebody, recently a charity event like a scramble so you know you're just sort of playing your best ball and this guy made he's like I don't play golf but he made like a 25 foot putt on the first hole and basically the whole day we were just like Dave's our putter like Dave is going to be and Dave didn't make another putt but like you know Dave because because Dave can put and that's one thing that gets twisted in sports sort of narrative or parlance you know like the comebacks get all the glory but really what you want to do is establish a thing right away and then you're known for it and so one two six games is not enough for me either to consider anybody cooked but whatever that was

16 can't be either you know like a full season even there's so much variance in the sport you really don't know and then barclay had this historic year with three postseason games and you know record stuff and the history of running backs with that sort of volume the next year is bleak. And so far, that is, that is bearing out. I don't know if he's cooked, but they're, for whatever reason, and I'm not, you know, tape crushing the Eagles to tell you, like, whether it's blocking or whatever it is, but we do know this historically. And that's what I trust. And, you know, Rico Dowdell were sort of like, yeah, it didn't really happen last year, but we're used to this. We know this that if a running back goes out, Chuba Hubbard was pretty,

you know, fine, right? And then he goes out, and here comes RICO Dowdle, in home games against Miami and Dallas, by the way, and is, you know, setting records. Like that, that does happen. That's, to me, a guiding principle in fantasy because we know that historically at running back, the replacement can do the job and sometimes even better. Will Shipley, Barclay's backup in Philadelphia, got hurt week one. He injured his ribs week one. He was already kind of looking good. I mean, he wouldn't go in over Barclay,

but if he had to, he might be as good or better. And, you know, that's, I mean, there are just countless examples of this over the years. And right now in fantasy, Matthew, the problem, a lot of it, like if you have a good team, it's very likely or pretty likely that Puka Nakua had something to do with it or a Mecca, Buka had something to do with it, or Garrett Wilson had something to do with it.

and they all got hurt, and you just don't have this at receiver like you do at running back. If you lose Hubbard but you have Dowdell or somebody else loses Hubbard and you get Dowdell, you can clean up, but you can't expect Jalen Tolbert to go in for Dallas. I mean, Pickens was already on the field for Lamb. Lamb's another one, although that's a while ago. You can't expect Sterling Shepherd or Jordan Whittington, you know, whoever these guys are going to be. to do the same thing because teams don't operate like that. They're not going to give, you know, probably one of the Tess Johnson or whoever else there

is with Tampa Bay, Abuka's volume. And like, so you're stuck. I mean, I went pretty far afield from what you were asking me there. But like that's, as we go into, what is it, week seven in fantasy, like that's the dilemma, if not the crisis right now is like, I've got a team with all three of those guys I mentioned that was, you know, looking great. and then they all went down. So there's not,

there's not an easy pivot or fix. Well, let me circle back to receiver in just a minute, but to just finish the point about Sequin Barclay, I remember when C.J. Spiller averaged six yards of carry. And I wrote a story for WGR550.com when the website was an emphasis. And I looked into how often guys who had X number of 15 plus yard runs

did it again the next season. And even the greats, even Adrian Peterson, even Marshall Falk, they didn't repeat it the next year. And what was the big stat last year with Barclay that got set on every broadcast? Well, he's got 50% of all the league 60 plus yard touchdowns or something for the entire season. It was like, he's not going to do that again. I mean, that's insane if you had him as one of your draft picks in fantasy, but he was not going to have 60 yard touchdowns again.

So I think it's another part of that, too, is that Barclay has always been really good, but he's not, like, unflaught, perfect. He's not the best running back of all time, I don't think, like he looked last year. I think that he does have some flaws in his game that resulted a lot of negative runs. So he kind of has to be boom or bust. And if the booms aren't happening at the same level, then he's not going to be that guy that he was last year. So this regression, I think, was probably the most. obvious. It was glaring with red neon lights that this wasn't going to be the same.

I've just been surprised a little that it's bordered on incompetent, which I also think connects to their receivers and their passing game, which just, I mean, A.J. Brown and J. Hurts. Can you guys have a talk with your coordinator? Can you have a discussion? Like, that is the most dramatic team that's won how many, like what, 20 something out of their next, the last 25 games, and yet so much drama between those guys, what are we supposed to make of Jalen Hertz as an NFL quarterback? Like people, people love to have, sorry, that's for the bark lead discussion, right? The bark. How bad is it? Well, it's, that's a dog barking pretty loudly. So let me just continue the point and maybe the dog will settle down, which is just

that the fact that you have A.J. Brown constantly being frustrated by Jalen Hertz. And yet he's a Super Bowl winning quarterback that dominated through the air in the Super Bowl. I just sometimes I feel like we know nothing even when it comes to a guy who's played for this long. Yeah, that's how I feel too. He's really an enigma. I mean, they've won a lot. It's a great story. I mean, he wasn't a seventh round pick. He wasn't Tom Brady, but he was still like, He was drafted behind Wentz, and who knows if he was, like, it was highly scrutinized draft pick. Why, why are we even wasting a pick on, on this player? And he's been very successful.

His incredible, historic rushing, especially when it's one yard to go is, you know, for the ages. But I don't smirk at the analysts who wouldn't put him in their top 10. I mean, I really don't. Just the passing game is not that. reliable when they were they were three you know when did they play the rams week three or four the game they stole on the on the on the block field goal yeah at the end like that game they came out throwing which was you know interesting but also not successful and a j brown like i don't know i don't spend a lot of time or energy in my life trying to get in heads of people like athletes i

don't know uh but it's very strange to me that he's so grumpy it seems like what is is there a Like a, did something happen between them that nobody would want to talk about? That happens in life. Yeah. Because really, A.J. Brown does not, in my opinion, have much claim to any, any complaint that he doesn't get the ball enough. I mean, for, they win all the time. And for what they do, his target share is very high.

Like, it's elite even. So I don't really get it. But Philadelphia for a couple of years has just been a little bit confusing. I mean, the days before they had their Super Bowl season, everybody thought the coach was a bum and should be fired. Maybe we all still think that, but he's got a ring and you're not going to take that away from him. Very, very confusing. The only thing maybe everybody agrees on with the Eagles is that the GM knows what he's doing.

Yeah. And we'll see what happens here in the next couple of weeks. You've got a trade deadline. And if there is serious conflict, if they lose to Minnesota, then maybe you'll see an important change there. when you're coming off a ring, I think you can kind of get away with being complacent or just kind of letting things ride out, not feeling as much urgency as, say, we do in Buffalo when, you know, the bills are having the same season as the Eagles, where they started like everybody's dream and then they lost two games. And all I do on WGR, it seems, this week, is talk about who they

should trade for. Yeah, well, wide receiver, safety. also safety, but I, you know, I don't know if there's, there's safeties that it will be available, but I think several of them play in the AFC East. So with Jalen Hertz, what I think is that he had two offensive coordinators who really understood the strengths and weaknesses of Jalen Hertz and played to them perfectly. I mean, most quarterbacks are not flawless. In fact, even the great quarterbacks have their little kryptonites, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes over the years,

it's not every game that they go into and throw for 400 yards, three touchdowns, and run for three more. There are ups and downs to even those guys. But I think with Hertz, it's extreme where his strengths are and where some of his weaknesses are. His deep ball is brilliant. His running is brilliant,

but his ability to stand in the pocket at his height and just pick up. And I remember, I think it was David Carr who said this maybe last year and got destroyed for it. But he was like, he's not like a straight dropback passer where he's just going to stand there and break down everything and lightning speed. This wasn't his thing in Oklahoma either. And so if you're playing off the run, play actions, deep shots, easy looks down the field, he's amazing at those. And I think flawed when it comes to the other stuff. So when you have an offensive coordinator who truly

understands that, I think you can you can roll with it. And we see how good Shane Stuyken and Kellyn Moore are at their jobs. Like, Spencer Rattler looks fairly legit with Kellyn Moore. He's really darn good. So I think that that's what they're really missing. Now, you talked about the wide receivers and the injuries, Puka Nakua going down this week. I mean, there's another one for a guy who is having an incredible season. Right now on Fandul, the leaders to lead the league in receiving are Jackson Smith, Njigba at plus 145, Justin Jefferson at plus 500. And then after that, a big drive. drop off to Nico Collins, Drake London, still Jamar Chase, and Amunras, St. Brown.

I mean, what a, what a strange season for wide receivers to really have so few guys having the explosive seasons. JSN has been legit. That's a team I just was maybe the most wrong about Seattle, because I thought the combination, we probably talked about it with respect to Darnold. We certainly did a lot last year when the pressure hits. look out. And Seattle's line was thought to be, you know, average at best. And there might be a top five NFL team. Like the defense looks really good. And Darnold of Smith and Jigba is

really clicking, even though they don't have an obvious second guy. Like Cooper Cup is old and nobody else is really, the running backs kind of go back and forth. I don't know what to do with the Seahawks, but they're alive for me. Jefferson and even Chase in a certain way, although you have to hope that if you have action on him, that like the offensive line just somehow gets it right. I wouldn't want to bet anybody if you're asking me that when they're such, they're so close to even money for an award this early in the season like Smith and Jigba. Last year, for what it's worth, I got Chase at 12 to 1 right around now and that ended up winning easily. So I'd look for a long shot. Yeah, no, I think that's a good point.

And I mean, when you talk about long shots, if I'm going down the list a little bit, the revelation of George Pickens, sometimes it's funny because these receivers, if a receiver is unhappy, we just put them all in the unhappy receiver bucket. Sometimes they are rationally unhappy and sometimes they are irrationally unhappy.

Both of us have covered Stefan Diggs is what I'm saying. But George Pickens, I think, was rationally unhappy. I mean, to be in an offense last year where they're just treating, you know, Justin Fields probably rightfully as an option quarterback. And then with Russell Wilson, the guy can't make a regular pass anymore. He can only just sort of throw it deep. Now that he's with a quarterback who can play the entire game and gosh, you watch DAC and you're

like, man, how is this guy not won a little more in the playoffs with the way he picks apart defenses? It's the perfect situation. and what is he right now, I think plus 2,500, that would be maybe the guy if C.D. Lam's injury continues to kind of stretch out that you might be interested in as far as a long shot goes. That's a fun idea, even with Lamb back, because they've shown they want to throw it. And yeah, he is already like proven well enough that you might get numbers there. That's one, and I don't have the odds right now, but I think also a name to consider. here would be Drake London. Atlanta's already had its buy. I mean, against Buffalo, he was just

always open. And they did not complete a pass. If even did they target another wide receiver in the entire game against the bills. It was London and Robinson. And Robinson is so good that there'll be teams that will need to load the box to stop him, which should open up London. I think Atlanta's line is a concern, but very promising Monday night that they could get him anything he wanted throughout the game. And the fact, again, they've played one fewer game so far, Sunday night at San Francisco for the Falcons, and see if London keeps it going.

Hopefully, he's plus 1,500 to lead the league in receiving. It's not, it's definitely not crazy. And this is yards. And I know penics for a guy with that arm tends to throw a lot of short passes, which kind of surprises me. So I wonder if that could hold him back versus a pick-ins versus a Smith-Bigba. I'm definitely not shot. that Smith and the Jigba is doing what he's doing with Darnold

because look at Justin Jefferson last year, Darnold worked the football to him downfield all day long. That kind of arm, it travels to the Pacific Northwest. And a thing that I've really been thinking about with wide receivers and watching Darnold last year and then seeing him this year is if you can throw to certain spots, you can make them even better than they are. And Smith, the Jigba is fantastic.

But throwing receivers open is the best. talent for a quarterback. And Darnold, now that he understands football and has had it click in for him, he's throwing to where you remember the back shoulder throw against Arizona to win that game. He's not open. Like he's covered, but he puts it in a space. Rogers was the best maybe ever at this, puts it in a space where only his receiver can get it.

That chemistry between them, like is something special going on there. I think even beyond what we saw from him and Jefferson, to me, that's probably not going to slow down. So even though, like you said, it's not a great bet, you know, necessarily at plus 145, but it actually like is understandable. The one other guy that I would toss out there that is a long shot would be Roma Dunezay, who seems to really be coming along. I'm curious about your thoughts on Chicago. They have, they have escaped. They have lucked out. They blocked a kick against the Raiders. I mean, Jaden Daniels, my man, with those giant mitts, catch the ball. hand it to I don't know like game was over if he does right was over right it's harder than it looks

but I mean not really so some things are so the bear I'm not buying the bears is a great team but I mean the production from Caleb Williams despite how Troy Aikman was viewing the game during it um uh respect to Troy uh for actually being critical of a quarterback as opposed to saying nothing so uh but you know he was kind of tearing down Caleb during the game at the end of the night it's pretty good stat line They're throwing the ball a ton, which could really benefit O'Donzee. That's right. He had one called back to that could have even been better for him. Otherwise, it's a quiet night.

But I certainly like having O'Donzee on teams. I mean, that seems like it could have, think about last year with the Bears, and it started okay. And then they just completely fell apart. And all of it died. I mean, you couldn't start anybody. And we went into the season. Oh, this is the nicest supporting cast, a rookie quarterback,

has ever seen ends up, you know, being a complete disaster. Disasters vary in sort of how penal they can be. Some team that you're not expecting anything from being a disaster doesn't hurt you. But if you're investing relatively high draft picks in these guys in fantasy and they can't produce, then you're stuck. You almost kind of have to play them. This is Marvin Harrison last year, I would say. So I like O'Donzea a lot. I think you're right in sort of they've been lucky, but the vibes are pretty good suddenly in Chicago. You have a DeAndre Swift touchdown Monday night. It's just kind of like a short pass that he ends up turning, you know, taking to the house 55 yards or whatever that was. DJ Moore is hurt. A lot of things with the bears where you can

go back and forth. Like another receiver on the team being injured is not necessarily bad or good for your guy. But I like O'Donzee. I think it would be a lot. lot for him to get into the contention, contention for the top, you know, yardage total in the league. But again, uh, you love having them on your team. I could see if he were ever to get into that conversation. I agree that that's why it was a long shot, but sure. I think Chicago's defense is kind of not good. And they're going to have to throw a lot as we go forward because, uh, they've just been pretty unimpressive. Let's go over to some of the other interesting games for Sunday. I don't know how deeply you've gotten into this slate.

Boy, it ain't good. It is. Woof. I mean, we've got the Steelers and the Bengals. We have the Saints and Bears, Dolphins and Dolphic, can you imagine who has to watch the dolphins

and the bears play football? I'm sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. I said Bears. And, dolphins and Browns. And Matthew, they're talking 40 mile an hour winds and rain. Maybe I want to watch now. That would make it watchable. That would make it watchable.

It's not, you know, be careful with your lineups. Be careful starting, you know, Jerry Judy this week, if that's the case. Panthers and Jets, Patriots and Titans. So, but there is an interesting game overseas. Our friend Andrew Philpone called this the best London game ever, he thinks. What? Okay, I don't know. I haven't gone through all the London games ever.

But we've got Rams and Jaguars matching up here. And yeah, I don't know. So Trevor Lawrence on a weekly basis, is he good? Is he not good? I think I'm pretty settled on. He's not good. But his over under for this game, 221.5. And the discussion just continues with Travis Hunter,

39 and a half yards in this game on Fandul. I have hated how he's looked as a wide receiver. I just don't think he looks like one outside of one miraculous catch against Kansas City. for me it's just time to pull the plug on that idea and have him play cornerback and sort of admit you got destroyed on that trade with the Browns. I wouldn't do that yet, but I don't disagree with you on sort of how it's gone so far. I'm with you on Lawrence. The Rams can bury you defensively.

Like best London game ever. Haven't there been like 10 other ones or 50 or 100? I've just like, wow. Andrew's not afraid to go into play. places like that. I don't think these teams have ever played the Rams and the Jaguars. I mean, probably they've never played. Maybe there was like a Quinn Gray versus Mark Bulger game on Sunday night football.

Now you're just showing off. I think, I mean, I just sort of instinctively feel like Jacksonville just could get nowhere in this game. And that's how I thought last week would go against Seattle. And it's exactly how it went last week. To me, that was a winning pick. the Seahawks, even though Seahawks didn't really do that much on offense, but the Rams can really take, I mean, verse, and that defense is maybe underrated.

No Puka Nakuwa for L.A., but Adams gets there, Kyron Williams gets there. They're going to probably replace Nakuwa, I'm assuming Nakuwa is not playing, with Jordan Whittington, who has had a couple, he's had his moments in the league. I would be on the Rams side and I would not want to bet Lawrence over. I think the clearest path to that happening is if they're down 24 to 3 at halftime and then it's just garbage time. I would also go Stafford under on 250.5. I think that he is probably going to maybe play a little safer without Nakua. He's a different quarterback without Nakua, by the way.

And Kyron Williams over under on Fanduil 68.5, I would go over on that one because I think they are going to be playing like some grindy football against the Jags. there and London is just always grinding like that's just how every game seems to go the turf isn't great the weather's never good so that should be I don't think it's going to be the greatest London game ever I don't know what it is that tie who was it was at Cincinnati and Washington the tide with Kirk Cousins as the quarterback um that's so early it's so early in the morning that I'm not that lucent when it comes to that I like I like your Kyron Williams thought and Blake Corum is not not 100 so you might get back to if he's a if he's a if he's a William's being more of a belcow.

Now here's what I want to know. Your take, oh, let me give you the line on that. The line is, uh, okay, so the jags are three point underdogs. I would go with the Rams there for sure. Uh, Indianapolis and the Los Angeles Chargers, I will be reviewing after because the Vikings play against the Chargers, but I need, I need your Daniel Jones opinion because, you know, sometimes, uh, the over under for this is two, seven, team.5. I've seen it enough times in Minnesota. It's like the whole history of the team where

just everything works and it's hard to explain and eventually it runs out of gas. But everything is working for them. Their line is great. Their running is great. Their defense is good. And Daniel Jones is just doing his job and he ends up on the best team in the AFC. It is fascinating though for this man to have had one good previous season. Then horror show quarterback. play and now back to having a pretty good season. I really like Josh Downs there and he got concussed on a touchdown last week and it sounds like maybe he won't play in this game. I think that could be a big deal.

Like Jones hit the one to A.D. Mitchell against the Rams where Mitchell famously fumbled pre-celebration at the goal line, which somehow still ever happens in football. But I think Downs was becoming pretty relevant. The dude, well, Jonathan Taylor, obviously, who's the favorite to be the offensive player of the year. But Tyler Warren, as a rookie tight end, is putting up a Brock Bowers season or better. He has immediately become, I think, very important to the Colts. So Jones has, even without Downs, I mean, it wasn't like Downs was having a big season, but enough to work with. and I think they're feeling it

but I think the Chargers are going to be a tough out I mean that they're in close games you know they're kind of respectable everywhere I think it could be a game because the Chargers have the injuries at offensive tackle and for what it's worth at running back where they might be a little bit vulnerable

on offense so I don't mind the idea of Indianapolis winning out there but I think I might like an under for this game pretty much across the board maybe not Taylor Taylor Taylor for a touchdown Kamani Vidal nice I mean I think in fantasy he can easily be started this week from what happened in their game against Miami over Hassan Haskins but otherwise I'm pretty shallow on this game. I mean Kamani Vidal sounds like one of those guys that I wouldn't believe was a real person until Omerian.

I'm sure you said that last year at some point. Omerian Hampton and Najee Harris being out. Justin Herbert over under is 249.4.4. five. I think not a fan. I don't think we're going there. And Indianapolis, I mean, their defense is really, really shining. One more to look at for me that could be a very, very exciting game would be Tampa Bay at the Detroit Lions. I mean, this one, both, both quarterbacks playing great. The defense for the Lions is really banged up. Could be an insane game for Baker Mayfield. Now, but an interesting line here is

the lions are favored by five and a half. Now, the over under is 52 and a half, which is indicative of what I think is going to happen. But five and a half point favorites for the Lions is a little surprising to me, considering, and I know it's been a little cartoony, it's been a little bit 2022 Vikingse win every game at the last second for Baker Mayfield.

But considering the injuries for the Detroit Lions secondary, feels like it could be a huge game for Tampa Bay's offense. So you said five and a half. and 52 and a half. Yeah. So that's 29 implied total for Detroit, 29, 23 and a half. I mean, Tampa Bay with their injuries at receiver might cancel that out. I mean, no Abuca probably, no Godwin for sure.

Anybody talking up Evans coming back yet? I haven't heard it. They do have the extra day with it being a Monday night. I would be all about the lions in that game. And Tampa Bay, I think, has been getting away with a lot. Yeah. And that first touchdown that, by the way, thank you, Dan Campbell. for divulging that the space ref made that call through the flag on Gough

for not being, you know, having stopped in motion on that first touchdown because the NFL always wants to tell you, as the referee did that night, that no, we discussed that on the field because they have it written, which I've never bought, that there are only, there's just their limitations to what the replay assist, I'll just say it, the official way once, can do. think that that's a total lie. Yes. And they,

they took like more than a minute for that flag to be thrown because eventually somebody said you have to call this. And, you know, what we, what we listened to last year when Darnold got that face mask in L.A.

was just like, no, no, no, we can't do that. Of course you can. You do. Yeah. And they did here. But, you know, I digress.

I like all the lions here. I think Tampa Bay is due to get beat. The lions were right there with Kansas City, but they just got that. that's how the game started and the chiefs were really clicking on offense and that's not really ever that big of a story. I'm not sure how that, how much that says about you, I guess, when Kansas City can do that to you. So I like Detroit here. I would take overs on the Lions,

Gibbs especially. Yeah. And Tampa Bay's defense has been pretty suspect. They're playing in a lot of shootout type games. Receivers are having big games against them, even Kendrick Bourne, who has, it was reborn this year. Okay. Right? You know, with his performance. So, no, but I think. I'll do the dad jokes around here.

Leave them off of the podcast. But I would take overs for the quarterbacks on Fandul here, 248.5 for Jared Goff, 242.5 for Baker Mayfield. I am into that all day for both guys throwing for 275 plus. Let me ask you a big picture question before we wrap up here. The league in general is just to me so wide open, probably the most wide open that I can remember. Last year we were having the exact opposite discussion where it's like there's five teams that matter and everybody else can just pack it up and go home. What is your take on that?

Like why such a shift from one year to the next? Because I was kind of thinking based on timelines, teams have embraced tanking more than ever, that that, was just going to be sports from now on. It's like basketball where a team will win eight games and not care. And then you have other teams winning 70. But it feels like that's completely changed this year. Yeah, you know, we grew up with the narrative, the mantra, any given Sunday. And the last few years, no, not when it pertains to Kansas City or Buffalo or certain other teams. Minnesota 14 games won last year and they didn't even finish first. Right. So like, you know, Last year, I think, was unusual for how many teams were really bad.

I think there are a few things for me, and I do think about this. One is that the Chiefs, the Ravens, the Ravens, I mean, kind of fell apart. They were sort of their schedules were front-loaded. It can also even be the randomness of which divisions you sort of match up against. Like Kansas City playing, well, Detroit, who they beat, Baltimore playing the NFC North. like it just sort of falls certain ways and teams that aren't as good get the advantage from the schedule and you end up sort of here where everybody looks kind of the same i mean there's so much variance in it i wonder if even the kickoff rules neutralize games too like it's i saw from jared smola of draft sharks we're at the lowest offensive snaps per game per team in 25 years 60 even which is the lowest since 2000 and you know you've got teams starting drives at the 35 and then kicking 55 yard field goals right you know two good plays if you're i think sort of logically if you're the better team and you have to drive a longer distance to score instead of 30 yards maybe it's 60 yards like it used to be then that's going to benefit you and this way i can be well, I won't use the Jets because they're winless,

but I can be bad and start at the 35 and get to the 40 and score. Right. Like the other team's 40 and score. So I wonder if that's part of it. But, yeah, every year is different. Right now, you're right, though, like Carolina is three and three. I mean, Miami at home, Dallas at home, injuries go a certain way. That's really the NFL.

I think the big story within this is like the elite teams haven't really been that good. Yes. And maybe over the course of time, that'll change, you know, with the lions or the bills, even the chiefs, you know, you might, you might see that sort of get back to normal, if you will. I always think that this part of the season is where we really start to find out who teams are because there's no more like, oh, we surprised someone with some shocking scheme that they didn't see coming. But I completely agree with this kickoff thing. I think it's like one of those unintended consequences.

is, hey, the NFL probably, I think they wanted more scoring. I don't think they really cared that much about the kickoff. I think they wanted more scoring to make games a little high because last year, scoring dipped and it hadn't been that high since 2020. So like, hey, let's get the scoring back going. But the unintended consequences are, hey, you know, one blocked kick or a missed field goal even sets the other team up on the other side of the field. Like these small plays, Kevin O'Connell alluded to this the other day,

like one small play completely swings a game and the randomness factor I think has been turned up on the NFL where as if the touchback is at the 20 yard line, it's going to be the teams that have to drive 80 yards to score a touchdown. Can you do that over and over again or not? Now you don't really have to be that team that does that and you get one turnover. You get one block kick, which those are all over the place now. And all of a sudden you've got a chance to win a game. So it's a fascinating old Roger Goodell's National Football League, and that's why we break it down each week. Next week, we will be recording on Wednesday because, obviously, the Vikings play on Thursday night. So I will talk to you again then.

And yeah, just until then, keep that dog in you, Mike. Oh, boy. Can't wait for next week. And the dog, you know, keeps you on your toes, I guess, as a podcast host. He certainly does. Well, thanks again, man, and we'll see soon. Okay.