The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Football GM: A unique TNF match up, 2024 QB draft class and Week 13 predictions

Episode Date: December 2, 2023

Mike and Randy start their discussion with Week 13 odd and unique TNF match up, Then the guys take a look at some of the quarterbacks that will be a part of the NFL 2024 draft class. From there they share their thoughts on Frank Reich firing. And then lastly, the guys wrap up their discussion with the GM notebook and their Week 13 predictions.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show's football GM podcast. Welcome everybody to the football GM podcast. Mike Sando here along with the GM, Randy Mueller. Randy, happy belated Thanksgiving. How was your Thanksgiving? We missed last week. Yeah, thank you very much. Thanksgiving is always a great time for me.

It's probably my favorite holiday. But growing up as a, you know, hunter and a fisherman, there's always a lot going on around Thanksgiving. So I love to be in Idaho and the weather turns to wintertime. and usually hits around Thanksgiving. So last week was no exception. Well, not only that, you grew up a cowboy fan, so Thanksgiving and Cowboys, you had it all. Yeah, that was a good thing.

We got a lot of games, and I enjoyed a lot of turkey over Thanksgiving and then Cowboy wins as a kid, that's for sure. And then when you start working in the league, all that fandom stuff goes by the side. So, Randy, when I first started covering the league, I'd been a Raiders season ticket holder, and then I started covering the Seahawks,

and all my friends said, how could you cover the rival, don't it? And within like a year, you're like, oh, this is so weird. I'm not a fan anymore in the same way. You end up covering the team. So you're not obviously a Cowboys fan now, but we got to be a fan of a game with 76 points scored Thursday night with the Cowboys.

And I think these are a couple of interesting teams to talk about. Sometimes a Thursday night game, we don't want to recap it that much. But I thought this was certainly better than the Thursday night, some of the other Thursday night games we've seen in terms of compelling theater from the officiating to the lack of defense, not even being a punt, to some of the decision-making late in the game. And these are just two teams that are kind of interesting.

You know, if Seattle had won that game, they would only be one game behind the Cowboys. It just feels like they've been miles behind them, and now they are for losing that game. But there's kind of a lot to unpack here. No doubt. And I agree. I think it was an interesting match-up. I don't think it was a statement game like some in the media have portrayed it. I thought it was more of a step for the Cowboys.

They did, you know, let's face it, the Seahawks now are 500 teams. So it is what it is, but you're right. It was a very unique matchup, a very kind of odd game. Maybe this is the new way we're going to get officials to, you know, chop up the game with everything. And I'm not saying some of the calls weren't legitimate. I think the defensive backs were legitimately nagging and pulling and holding receivers. And I'm an offensive guy, so I don't like to see that either.

So I'm not blaming the officials. I just think it was a disjointed game. And then you say, well, they didn't even punt. So there's plenty of offense. And it was a little bit messed up. I thought both teams probably came out of this game, in my opinion, for developing what I think about them like they went in. I thought the Cowboys were better. I thought they would kind of take one step forward in this game, which they did.

I don't think Seattle is elite. So I don't think it's a great measuring stick. but it was a typical Pete Carroll, find a way, muck it up enough to where it's a game at the end, and that's what Seattle is done. So I'll be honest with you. I thought the biggest thing for me was,

and I know I'm being long-winded here, but I love the throwback uniforms, and the fact that Seattle went to Dallas and played, brought back Thanksgiving Day memories for me. This was probably before your time, but we took a team down there one time when Tom Landry was still coaching in Seattle and Seattle and Chuck Knox

and kind of kicked the crap out of them on one of the Thanksgiving Day worst defeats they've ever had. So I love to see those Seahawk old school unies going to Dallas and playing well for the most part. I was on the couch watching probably with my dad then as a fan, as a kid watching those great Landry, Roger Stobach, into Danny White era teams,

really fun with a lot of great players. So you've written down a few notes here off of the game, I see a mention of DAC, a mention of Pollard. What are other sort of things you got for Dallas? Well, I think Dallas is really, and this is not taking any expert analysis for sure. They go as DAC goes. And DAC has played out of his mind the last month. And I think we talked a little bit about last week.

Six weeks ago, I thought DAC was an average quarterback. But what I should have said was he's playing average because he's definitely stepped it up. And I think he's been outstanding, as good as any quarterback. in the league right now with his anticipation, with his confidence. But the thing I've seen most that's changed the way I feel about DAC is his legs are back under him. This guy's legs are under him from a maneuvering in the pocket standpoint, from a throwing on the run standpoint. He's just his sturdiness is back. And he was kind of fragile for me for a year, year and a half there, mainly when it started with the injuries he had to the ankle and all that. So I would bet if

you gave Dak some truth to him, he would say, I finally feel like I have my legs back. And that's a good thing. I was not impressed with the running game. I think they can run the ball a little better. I'm not impressed with Pollard. I think they have a franchise tag on him and I don't think he's anywhere near a franchise back. I do think they've found a little, you know,

ulterior option in Rico Dowdell. I think he's a legitimate NFL back that, you know, probably can carry more of the load. So that's a good thing. And let's face it, their receivers are stepping up and making plays when they have to be made. And that's good for deck because he can spread the ball all around. Now, you were one of the few people, Randy, before the season who kind of were intrigued and liked the idea of Mike McCarthy taking over the offense and the play calling.

McCarthy obviously took a lot of heat at the end of the Rogers era in Green Bay, and people talked about, you know, his offense being stale and static. And sometimes with the benefit of time, you get to see, okay, maybe some of that had to do with Rogers, too, right, in the way he wants to play. It's not like that offense that Nathaniel Hackett has now taken to. two places is suddenly the way to go. But just curious what you think about that partnership, the role McCarthy might be playing in this revival, because I don't think a lot of people were saying before the year, you know what, Dak Prescott's going to play the best ball of his career and hit stride under Mike McCarthy. Do you think that this is a marriage now? Do you think McCarthy's a big part of this? How would we tell? I think, yeah, without a doubt, he's a big part of it.

and I credit Mike for kind of changing some of his staples to fit exactly what D. And with the receivers as well. I mean, he's moved some receivers around in different positions. C.D. Lamb now is available all the time in one-on-one situations where he was having to run option routes and do other things. And I think we broke that down for the listeners a couple weeks ago. So I do think it's good. And to that end, I think, I think Dak will be the highest paid player in the league. It's just a matter of win. That's how good he's playing. He's got Jerry over a barrel now. They can't have him at $54 million next year on the cap.

So he's going to get a new deal. And that's why I thought it might have been a good time to do it a couple weeks ago. Yeah, yeah. Now, Seattle offensively in this game was much better than they had been before, kind of unexpectedly to me. They just looked terrible against the 49ers. Maybe it was a short week and Gino Smith was hurt. But I think they've been kind of trending in the wrong direction offensively

to the point that some tough questions were going to have to be asked. And just last week, Pete Carroll, said, kind of put his offensive coordinator on alert complaining about the usage of the receiver, specifically said the rookie Jackson Smith and Jigma needs to be part of this thing more. And so I had noticed in just kind of reviewing Seattle that an incredibly high amount of Gino Smith passes were going outside the numbers. They weren't using the middle of the field. That used to be the criticism when Russell Wilson was there, blamed on his height,

but Gino Smith doesn't have height issues. He should be accessing more of the field. And sure enough in this game, right away, you know, over the top, down the middle of the field, touchdown 70-some yards to D.K. Metcalf, we saw that matchup exploited, especially earlier in the game. What do you make of them offensively? Do you think that this is a back-on-track situation? Or were you surprised? I was kind of surprised.

I thought it could be a rough game. Well, I don't think this team is operating on all cylinders. and I don't think they are where they would like to be from a roster standpoint. Obviously, Walker, the running back was missing. I'll be honest with you, Mike, and this may hurt some feelings in Seattle. I don't think they have a legitimate tight end. I don't think they have anybody that can work the middle of the field, like you said. And they don't use their backs.

I'll piggyback on what Pete said. They don't use their backs in third downs and in the red zone as receivers. The only guy that has that skill set for me is Walker, and obviously he didn't play Thursday night. So I think there's some elements that they can expand on that would be beneficial for Gino. I don't think he is going to make a living throwing outside the numbers because I think you've got to throw those balls early.

And sometimes his anticipation to do that isn't what it should be. But I do know this. He can run some of that inside veering stuff, some of the angle routes that are kind of old school to backs and to tight ends. And I think that's probably what Pete was eluding to when he, like you said, put Shane Waldron on notice. So I think there's some upside there. I'm going to be honest, though.

I don't think Seattle is a deep run playoff team. just not. They're a good, solid team in the NFL right now, probably, you know, a little better maybe than 500, but they are what they are at this point. Most teams are with their record, and we'll see how the last few weeks go. I think they've got some work to do in the offseason still to acquire players. They just don't have enough guys, in my opinion. And what I mean, guys, I mean like dogs, front line guys, blue chip guys. And they just haven't been able to acquire that, mainly because they're a victim of their own success. They're never picking the top five. last year was a little different and they got Witherspoon from from picking up there but they don't

normally pick in the top 10 for that matter so they've been lacking they've had to hit on some guys down the road which they've done a decent job of but hey they're still a work in progress at least in my opinion from a roster standpoint yeah I see a you know but Kenneth Walker the back and to some extent D.K. Metcalfe because of his size or maybe a couple of guys that you could you know you could say are guys that you notice when you see them and then Witherspoon would be the one on defense The thing that's concerning to me is there's a couple things here. Number one, you wrote in your column early this week about, you know, and we'll talk a little about this when we get into Carolina.

You know, the head coach has to make a difference on game day, right? And for me, I mean, look, maybe Pete Carroll helped do that with the offense getting right this week, but the defense is his baby. And this defense was really bad in the game. It has been not that great for a while. And my, we talk about needing to retool, I'm seeing Bobby Wagner playing the most highest percentage of snaps on the team, like 97%. And anytime they play a good coordinator, well, they're going to put him in the crosshairs. He doesn't run in the way that he used to.

Jamel Adams playing quite a bit, you know, probably is a dosage guy at this point or in a specific way to use them. I just think you can't have games like this where, you know, the opposing offense just just, sure has their way with you, like the Baltimore game this year was one. And you can kind of understand Baltimore is a certain type of team, but Dallas doing the same thing. I mean, this is a game. Pete Carroll was, I believe the graphics said 36 and 0 when he's, or something like that, when his team scored 35 points. Well, 36 and 1 now. That's an inexcusable loss to me for a, for a defensive team. Well, I think you're right, but I think that's what I'm talking about is their offer their roster has to undergo a little bit of an overhaul and I think when you have a

I don't this probably going to sound bad but we all know Pete is on the other side of 70 he's he's not going to coach forever and therefore change any rebuilding with younger talent that's going to be a struggle for them they're not going to want to do that right now so at some point they are going to have to turn the page because I'm with you Jamal Adams I won't say underachie but he's a target they're going to find a way to get somebody on him that he can't cover because he's not going to be able to do that at this point. Bobby Wagner, I love him, but you're right. They're going to isolate on these particular players who aren't what they used to be

and find ways to win matchups against them. So, yeah, it's a struggle. Again, that's part of what you get when you're sticking your finger in the dike from a roster-building standpoint and not building toward the future, younger, faster, athletic guys that can be around for longer term. I understand those guys that we just mentioned, their intangibles are off the charts. And that is important, no doubt. But I do think you have to take them, like you said, in small doses, which means you've got to have other options to go to. And Bobby Wagner can't play 95% of the snaps.

That's just the way it is. Yeah, well, I would say their corners are all a couple years, been in the league a couple of years, you know. I agree with that. It's not like they played great last night either, though. So there's some inconsistency. They're grabbing all over the place. They're grabbing all over the place. There's some inconsistencies there, no doubt.

Yeah. So a couple of interesting teams. Anything else on those guys, Dallas, Seattle? Again, I think it was a step for Dallas. I don't think they can beat their chests about this. It's just another game that they had to win. They were really a desperate team. They couldn't fall any further behind.

But from my money, they still got to beat good teams, and I haven't seen them beat good teams yet, so we'll see. So it's kind of status quo for me. The funny thing about that is because they beat Seattle, Seattle does not have a winning record. Yep, that's right now. They have no win still this season over a team that currently has a winning record because they made.

Seattle not have one. That's almost unfair for them, but it is what it is. They're going to get a chance, though, because they've got some good teams coming up. And I think this about them, almost no matter what they can do, what they do, it's all going to be judged on the playoffs, right? I would agree with that, yeah, because they've been here before. They've had good regular seasons before. But really, kind of sneakily, Dak Prescott, if he keeps doing this, is going to be in the MVP discussion. If if Mike McCarthy has an MVP quarterback not named Aaron Rogers, I think that's a nice little Federer. for him, but it's all going to come down to, yeah, if you're one or done in the playoffs,

nobody cares. And then what do you do? You're going to still pay him $55 million? Because that's what it's going to take to get him signed. Oh, I think they will. Yeah. Oh, I know they will. It's just a matter of, yeah, it's just a matter when, not if.

I agree. But like, what would you do? I mean, would you do something else going a different direction? I would always have other options, Mike. That's my difference in a lot of these teams, the way they're run nowadays. You have to keep giving yourself options. When you don't have options, you make crazy deals. And I'm not saying paying DACC is crazy.

Don't get me wrong. But there's no attempt. Cooper Rush is not an option. So unless you have other options, you're going to have to pay the top dollars. So no, I'm not saying I wouldn't know. It's not a big needle mover for you. Not an option. Not an option at all.

Sorry. I know. Yeah, no, I know. You're just trying to poke the bear, aren't you? I am. I'm poking the bear. There's probably a bear within about, there's probably a bear within a quarter mile of you there.

and I would imagine right now. You might want to keep the food covered up and keep the doors latched. Talking about options and having options at quarterback is just a perfect little segue into this little check-in we want to do on the NFL draft and quarterbacks that are going to be in this draft. And of course, we'll review all of this when it gets to be draft season. But we're starting to see, I think the athletic had its first kind of mock draft recently came, published this year. And, you know, a good chunk of the league is already kind of, you know, at least the fans are looking ahead, wondering what might be. And so

let's talk a little bit about these quarterbacks. I know you've kind of, you've kind of, you know, You've seen some of them. You've watched some of them. You have some opinions. And I'll just say, take it away. You do the work. Well, I don't know that there's a great time in place to start talking about the draft, but you're right.

Half of the league right now has fans and some of them are listeners who are looking forward to the draft right now. And it seems like there's always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for them because they read and they see the prognostications of, hey, this is a great draft for quarterbacks. There's four or five of them that are going to be franchise guys. And I always like to take a look a little. bit ahead and sometimes maybe I'm the grinch in this whole process, but let's don't, you know,

get carried away with ourselves here thinking that everybody's going to find an answer in a college quarterback. So I thought there was three guys that I've seen talked about most around the league and around by a lot of our evaluators, both at the athletic, on some of the other platforms. And those guys are Caleb Williams from SC, Drake May from North Carolina, Jaden Daniels from LSU. Most of those guys, I think now have kind of creeped their way into the first round, some very high. where you see changes made and the process play out is NFL teams don't ever weigh in on this stuff. And as you know, Mike, you've been covering it forever. At some point, things will start to leak out about how NFL teams do feel about some of these players.

And I thought it may be fun to kind of just take an early peek at how I think these players are and where they fall. Because, again, I've just spent my whole life in the NFL. So I think I have an idea and a gauge of how they will be viewed by NFL standards. So the difference in the evaluations, you see sometimes at this time of year don't have the criteria that the NFL teams really want and vary from team to team. So I thought it'd be kind of fun to look at the things that are important to me, I think, which probably carries over to most NFL teams, just a couple things. Physically, can they make all the throws? The NFL will require for them. And this comes with not only arm strength, but touch, accuracy, ball placement.

That's all part of it. So sometimes you have to just take that for granted that physically they can make all the throws for exercise like this. The next thing for me is can they process enormous amount of information and have the worth ethic to study it week in and week out so that they can regurgitate it on Sundays. The amount of information that these guys are forced to take in on a weekly basis is crazy. Most listeners would just shake their head. It is important. You cannot be a video game guy and expect that it's going to by the end of the week. sink in. And that happens 17 times plus playoffs every week. So you see these quarterbacks when they

retire, they still love to play. It's the grind from Monday to Friday that send them to the couch because it is a long, arduous process and make the seasons really long. So that's another thing for me. And does he have the ability then to anticipate open receivers and throw before they're coming open? We see a lot of these college quarterbacks now, Mike, that come into the league and they've been thrown to wide open people all the time. That doesn't happen in the NFL. These windows have to be anticipated ahead of time, and the ball has to be thrown accordingly. If you wait for receivers to open, one, you're going to get injured because you're going to get hit in the pocket a lot. And two, you're going to get a lot of reactions for defensive backs that are much quicker, close on the

ball a lot better, which are going to be negative results for offenses. And then the last thing for me really is the athleticism, having the athletic ability to get away from a rush, to extend plays, to even move within the pocket. So when you see these college quarterbacks run around, just know this. That's not the top priority. It's really not for NFL teams. It's nice to have, trust me, and I'm not saying we're not looking for it. But as you just heard, that's about fourth or fifth on my list. So long-winded answer, but those are kind of some of the things that I would look at, Mike. I hope that makes sense. It does. Now let's apply that a little bit to the guys that we talked about there. Do you see a big separation between them? Is it easy for you, one, two, three? Do you think there's

going to be in this muddied? Well, there's always muddiness depending on the lens you look at it through. For me, there's least mud with regard to Caleb Williams, a kid from USC. And I've heard everybody trying to beat this kid up about some of the things and these reactions to losses and this and that, anywhere from painting his fingernails to whatever. I'll be honest with me, Mike, I don't care about any of that. And I don't think any of it's negative and it's not going to affect him at the NFL level. I think he is a really good player that has all the criteria that I just listed. He can make all the throws. He's very instinctive.

He can adjust and extend plays. He's accurate. he can anticipate and throw into windows. Now he's six foot one half, 250 pounds. So is he giant? No. But I don't think his vision is affected by only being six foot one half inch.

Some of this stuff will be cleared up in workouts, in meetings with teams. You'll understand players a lot better when you do that. But with the information we have right now, I think Caleb is the total package. And he's a guy that teams are going to find ways, find their way to explore getting to the top to get him. These guys are pros now that come out from a standpoint of NIL has changed it, right?

And it's funny. Caleb is taken on a little bit of a negativity because the team has struggled this year. None of it, in my opinion, is his fault. It's not that he hasn't prepared. It's not that he hasn't played good. The NIL for these kids is now researched by NFL scouts. And a guy like Caleb Williams, he'll have made $7 or $8 million now before he gets to the pros. So he's already a pro.

And I think that's a good thing because you don't have to really reflect a guy's character now and project it, project it to what is it going to do to change him. He's already had the money part of it. So then let's hit on a couple of the hot butt and issues. Do you want your starting quarterback after the loss in the opener to go over to his mom in the stands and not talk to the media after the game? Is that, that's just meaningless stuff to you? And I'm being a little facetious here.

But shoot, I could picture a time when people would have said, oh, that's a red flag. He's not a leader. What do you make of that? I think two different, totally different situations. I blame a little bit on the administrative side for him not dealing with the media like he should. Blame some of that on the coach. I don't think he has any choice in that. I don't think he has anything to say about it. They should have rolled him out there and he should have been prepared to do that ahead of time, not after the game and have any decisions to make. I'm not for making these decisions in the heat of the moment. So that one bothers me, but I do blame some of that on the USC people.

The jumping in the stands of his mom, I totally get. I don't have any issue with that at all. I don't think that reflects that he can't lead men. I think these kids, and in his case, him specifically in that game, had given everything he had. He had given everything he had on a week-to-week basis, and his team was going to win the national championship in his mind. It didn't happen.

He lost that game. So something changed. I think we saw it last week in Washington at the Apple Cup when Michael Pennix put his hand under the mat of the electronics. machine over there and never came out either. Yeah. He had enough. He had just had enough. Emotionally spent. Yes, emotionally spent. Exactly the same scenario. So I don't hold that against these kids at all. And I think those that do aren't being realistic with the things that players at the collegiate level nowadays have to deal with. It's a lot. And don't forget,

these are 21, 22 year old kids. They are not growing men of 35 and having families. So they have put everything they can in there. And so I'm cutting them slack for that. I am not cutting them slack for not dealing with the media afterwards. That's ridiculous. I think that's great context, though, Randy, because the times have changed in terms of what's expected of these guys from a young age. And they've been on social media since they were 12 years old. And they've had the weight of all of this on them, you know, the expectations on them for, you know, in a manner that's just so outsized from before, you know. Yep. It's good and it's bad. It's good that they've had the experience when they get to the pro

level of being the face of a franchise because now they're the face of a city as well in a collegiate town. The cities just get bigger when they get to the NFL. That's one thing. But the bad news is it kind of wears them out before they get to the pros. And so you do have some downside with regard to that. It is a big job. Let's face it. It's not all fun in games. And they are professional athletes now at the collegiate level with the rules the way they've been set up. Yeah, absolutely. So Kaylee Williams to you far and away, he's, you're taking him number one overall. No questions asked, right? I am without a doubt. I don't have any questions. I like his background. You know, he's a private school kid from D.C. area.

Well-raised, good family, no red flags decision-making, no legal issues that I know of. And I think people that dig and pry on these things, you're going to have a hard time coming up with any big red flags, in my opinion. So just clean, no problem. There's nothing. In recent years, there's always been a, oh, yeah, Bryce Young, he's short. Or there's some red flag or something that would make you pause. There's no pause right here with Caleb Williams. Now, you have Jaden Daniels, I believe, LSU next.

transfer from Arizona State? How big is the gap? Let's talk a little bit about him and where you would take him. Well, I would say probably I'm a lone wolf in this regard because I hear everybody talking about Drake May for the last two years. I get it. 6-4-2-30. The best thing I think Drake May has going for him is his measurables,

but I see more of a complete NFL quarterback in Jaden Daniels right now. And I wouldn't have thought that when the season started, but I think he has proved that he has everything you're looking for to. This kid's 6-3, although he's only 200 pounds. He's a little slight. I had had conversations with some scouts around the league about some of the concerns of his, he's like I say, a little frail, but that's not going to carry over to be a problem. I think Jaden Daniels, for me, Mike, is an NFL starting quarterback that equates to a guy like,

and I don't, I'm not saying he's C.J. Stroud, but I see a lot of similar characteristics in what I saw with C.J. Stroud coming out. So I know we're getting ahead of ourselves here, but I really like Jaden Daniels, and I'd have no problem picking him early. The more I see of him, I think, and I've seen a lot of tape on him because I even watched him young in his career at Arizona State.

He can make all throws. He's really accurate. He's really athletic. He seems like a kind of kid that processes from the pocket. I see him scan in the field from standing behind center. There'll be some nuances to the game, but I don't think a game is going to be, the speed of the game is going to take this kid back at all.

So I see a really good play. that at the end of the day, I think most NFL teams will flop him up toward the top. And he may pass the Drake Mays of the world in how the NFL teams view him. Yeah. And yeah, you said he's a little bit of size-wise and thickness-wise. You're not too worried about him. Looks like he's pretty strong through the legs. Yeah, I think he's a little bit of a frail kid.

He's not. He plays strong, Mike, but he's skinny. He's 200 pounds. But this kid's going to run 45-5. He's really athletic. I can't think, I'm trying to think of a guy other than C.J. Stroud, who he reminds me of. The guys that were a little thinner to me that worried me were like Teddy Bridgewater or Robert Griffin. Even though Robert Griffin had like, you know, on paper, it was like whatever, you know, 6-2, 215.

It didn't feel that way to me. I was always a little worried. Right. For him, is this like that or not really? No, I think I don't have any questions about the kid. And that was one of the comments I got in. And I got obviously a lot of buddies that are in the league scouting to this day. And a couple guys said, well, he's a little frail.

And that's the only point I'm making. He's a little frail looking. That's all. Doesn't affect his play. Hasn't been hurt. Don't have any issues with that. He operates from the pocket like a bigger guy. He's six foot three.

So he has, he's not compromised by his frame at all. That's the only point I'm making. I think he'll stand in there. Yeah, he will add some weight. He'll stand in there versus pressure right in his face. That doesn't bother him. I think the kid has all the NFL tools. to be a starting quarterback early in his career.

So for me, he's number two. And we've kind of, I don't want to disparage Drake May because I think Drake May is, is a good player in his own right. But we're not projecting that. We're putting them in an order as to how we like him. And for me, he's the third of these three. Yeah. And I think some of your attack on him is just more because some in media are saying, hey,

he might even be the one at the top. And so, you know, some of the reaction, some of the eval of him is, hey, wait a minute. Not only do we not think that, but we're saying Jaden Daniels, would be ahead of them for you. So that's some of the reaction, right? He would be for me. There's no doubt. I think the Drake May inconsistencies, one with accuracy and two at times with processing

from that pocket. It hasn't really played in a lot of giant games being at North Carolina. You kind of have that in the back of your mind. But I think the kids' measurables, like I said, are his biggest attribute. And how he develops a game from there, fine. I mean, he's a decent enough athlete, too. I think he's one of those kids that will be a decent NFL quarterback. back, I don't see giant upside with him like I do with these other two guys because of their

instinctive and innate ability to play the position. This is more of a manufactured player in my mind. And Drake will get drafted. I love that insight, though, Randy, that's the type of stuff that we love here because the consensus sort of media ranking has a different way, so that's a good insight for us. And nice as we go forward looking into the way this season wraps up. One team that looked like Randy was going to be in the market for picking really early when the year started, but isn't now as the Denver Broncos. I want to talk about them because five-game winning streak, they're taking themselves out of one of those top picks for a quarterback, but kind of remarkable to me the ability to stabilize because really a lot of the wheels were off to start the season.

When you talk about, you know, the defense was abysmal. Sean Payton seemed to be kind of even all over the place. Here was this great coach, but he was making mistakes in the game. the games and then obviously he was frustrated with the offense and, you know, with the quarterback specifically. This looked like it could have been a dumpster fire. And here they are with a five-game winning streak. You went and looked at some of the film on Denver.

What do you see? Well, I think it was a dumpster fire. I think it's a testament. It burned out. Yeah, it burned a whole dumpster out. You gave up 70 points in an NFL game. You better throw the dumpster out and get a new dumpster. So that's how bad it was.

But you're right. And you brought it up. you said, have you watched much Denver on film? Because what they're doing now is completely different. And I'll be honest with you. I kind of saw what I expected to see. It's not fancy. They are doing it, in my opinion, with discipline, with detail tacking in the running game,

kind of an old school, two back, full back, two tight end offense, not really recess-oriented seven-on-seven like we're seeing around the league. That's not what these guys are. offensive line really struggled in that first month this season. Well, guess what? They're playing really good together right now. Somebody needs to get credit for that. Shoot, they had a couple guys that I wouldn't want on my team after the first month, and now they're playing themselves into contract extensions. So it's a good group. They've developed an identity for me, Mike. They play downhill. They run the ball. Shoot, last week alone, I think they ran the ball for 169 yards. They came at teams with certain packages in the run game that are working, six out of 14

on third down last week, and they rushed for 10 first downs alone last week. So they have kind of made themselves into a different setup than anybody's seen Sean Payton before, which again, I give Sean credit for. He's had patience. He's dealt with what they have as a group. Pretty dang good. This is not the Saints of 10 years ago, so it's not the same team. But I give Sean, credit. He's changed a little bit of his thinking. And what is the opposite of letting Russ cook? I'll let you name that. I don't know what it is, but that's what they're doing. Former colleague at ESPN when I worked there, Mina Kimes said instead of letting Rush Cook, they're letting Russ make snacks. I thought that was pretty funny. That is pretty good.

It was pretty funny. I had to tip my cap to her on that one. It was pretty funny to me. That's about what they're doing because they're running the RPO's, they're running the play action. predetermined target stuff, they're not letting him cook anything, any meals, no meals. It's paint by numbers. And it's, he has become this, like, risk averse. And I think it's been beat into him. The other thing I think Sean has done is he's made him more likable because of this. We sat here a year ago last year, we wouldn't give two pints for Russell Wilson.

Now you, you at least are willing to listen to him when he talks and everything else, you know. I think one of the biggest things that's happened is Russell just couldn't get out of his own way last year with all the social media stuff and kind of the things that everyone rolled their eyes at, right? It was it was all about him. Unlikable. You couldn't like the guy. It was unlikable. And that's just gone away. I feel like there's really nothing negative about Russell Wilson in terms of anything.

We can talk about it's conservative. They've taken the ball out of his hands and all of that. He's not cooking. But he's also, you know, not annoying everybody. And that matters as a leader. I'll just throw that out. It matters as a leader. You saw the body language that these players had last year when he would miss this or miss that.

You saw the receivers throwing up their hands and beating their helmets. You don't see any of that now. So it's a different guy. And I'll say this, he's not what he was physically. His accuracy is average. He still can't throw on the run like he used to do. But he still can throw deep balls pretty dang good with touch and accuracy. And the fact that he's been willing to stay within the offense, and maybe again,

it's Sean that's beat it into him, but it's been effective. So I give him credit. His mind is making appointments that appointments that his body can't always keep, but he's also limiting those appointments to the ones he knows he can keep, if that makes any sense. Hey, do you know that a couple weeks ago when they played Minnesota, they, they were down by five points with, I believe about three minutes left, 307 left, and they ran the ball in third and ten. Is that conservative? Yep. I went back and looked and the last five years. Teams had third and ten down,

you know, needing a touchdown to the tire win. They had passed the ball 114 out of 114 times. This is the only run I could find on third and 10 in that situation. So that is a, that is as our,

as your old colleague and my old coach I used to cover, Mike Holmgren used to say, we have to play a certain way. Remember Mike you say that? We have to play a certain way. He wasn't telling you exactly. It was,

you had to, it was implying that you could figure out the certain way, but usually Mike, you're reasonably intelligent guy, you figured out. Yeah, yeah. What usually Mike would, what usually that meant for Mike was like both starting tackles are out or there's, you know, we're playing with the third quarterback. We have to play a certain way, meaning not the certain way that I wanted to play when I had Joe Montana and Brett Favre when we could really step the gas. Yeah. Denver is playing a certain way, but they are making it work for them to win games. And we'll see if they can get that to continue. I'm curious to you, you know, let's just say that it doesn't, the wheels don't really come off the rest of the year.

And, you know, we don't think they're going to make a deep playoff push. But shoot, Randy, by the end of this year, Russell could have 30 touchdown passes, eight interceptions of 100 rating, but kind of be doing it this way where you're the only team that maybe runs on third and 10 and you are playing, quote, unquote, a certain way. And he's got a big old salary next year. That could be some kind of interesting meetings, couldn't it, in terms of what we want to do? And maybe Sean Payton buys another year of it, or does he not? you have to look at what your other options are.

I think it's kind of fascinating. It always comes down to that, Mike, and you hit the nail on the head. It's always about options. You've got to find options. And I think Sean will do whatever he can to make it work with Russ as long as there's not a better option.

If he can find a better option, and we talked about Caleb Williams. Maybe we mentioned this on the podcast. A year ago, when Sean was at Fox, he said Caleb Williams is one of those guys that was worth tanking for. So his eye is still out there. I thought he was tanking this year,

but he's clearly not tanking. He's not tanking. No. So he will look. He will check out options. He's not going to want to run the ball in third and ten the next five times, Mike. So your numbers are going to still stay true, I think. That's not the way he choosing to play, but he knows he's got to play that way with this group. So I think all options are going to be on the table. And I don't think it's going to change until the off season. But I give him kudos for doing what he's doing with the hand he's been dealt for sure. I know. It's really been the most improbable turnaround. But they're kind of playing the way maybe we thought they were going to coming into the year. It just took them a few weeks to figure it out. You figured Russell Wilson would be a little more efficient. They would make it less about him and that Sean Peyton would find a formula to win some games, even if we didn't think they were going to be a contender. And that's kind of what they are. Yeah, no doubt. Still not convinced that the receivers are what he wants or his style, but they're trying. They're doing everything they can to hang in there. So I think there are work in progress that, like you said, they're playing like they have to play. Yeah. Okay. Before we get, well, we get a couple more things here before we get to the GM notebook, before we get to our illustrious picks, which I'm sure are going to be 100% hits again this week. Frank Reich was fired after only 11 games, and I think that's been hashed and rehashed a lot of different places.

But I'm really, I think we can go in a little bit of a different direction in terms of what we actually evaluate here, you know, because Tepper's been criticized a lot and rightfully. so, but maybe not always for the exact right things. I'm just curious, you wrote a little bit about this in one of your columns this week about these different situations where coaches are on the hot seat or in Frank Reich's case, it's no seat at all anymore. Let's hit on some things that you think are interesting. You've got a few notes down here.

I think it's a good topic. What do you got? Well, I think it's different in that some of these other changes we've seen. We've kind of foresaw. This is one we didn't foresee. And to fire the coach in the first year, I'm not blaming Tepper for that at all. I understand it's a production business and they had won one game. So I get it.

I understand Frank getting fired. My guess my issue would be when we hired Frank, what did we think we were getting there? And what do we do with the process that clearly has failed in his account two or three times now to make it different the next time around? So, I mean, he hired Matt Ruhl. He hired Frank. I mean, it hasn't gone well for him, so what's he going to do to make it right this time? I squirm a little bit in my chair when they rolled David Teper out there, and you and I talked about it. His explanation of why they drafted Bryce Young after the draft last year that kind of was a video that made the rounds the last couple weeks.

It made me laugh. It made me chuckle, but it also made me feel bad for the people inside the building because the reasoning he gave for why they drafted Bryce Young with regard to they ran the probability. charts. He gave them the most probability, highest probability to win Super Bowls, blah, blah, blah, blah, none of it made sense to me. And so it just tells me, I don't know that David Tepper is capable of asking the right questions. I don't think he knows how to run a football team. That's evident. And I feel bad for the guys that now have to sit in the room and listen to that. But yet I know we'll question when the meeting breaks up if he's even on the right track or not. So I don't know. It's a tough spot. Like I say, every time they roll him out there in front of the media, I think less of

the plan and I'm less confident that what we're going to do in the future is going to solve the issues. And that's why from, you know, from your standpoint, the focus now is going to be on finding the next coach, but maybe he needs to ask what it is he actually wants, right, and be looking for the right things. Well, and what the vision truly is. Did he think they were going to win games this year by giving away the farm to trade up for a rookie quarterback? Did he really think they were going to win a lot of games? Was their goal to develop the quarterback? Was it to win games?

Both of those don't align. And so I get the fact that we're pissed that we won one game. But he needs to look at some of the records around the league when Troy Aikman started out, when Peyton Manning started out. It's going to be a struggle now. You don't have a good team. That's why you picked where you did. Well, being honest about who you are,

being able to self-evaluate is a huge part of this thing. And so I get the feeling that they thought they were a lot further along. And when you looked at that temper video after the draft, what did he say? He said, well, we got the defense kind of squared away under Matt Rule. We got the offensive line fixed once Scott Fitterer got there as a GM. And now we're going to take this step on offense. Well, I think the defense has been okay. I don't think it's been the problem.

The offensive line has been a problem for whatever reason. and obviously they don't have the team that the owner thought they had. The expectations weren't set properly. Right. And you and I both know Scott. I think he's a good guy. He does well at his job. I get that part.

But I think this is one of those situations. When you have an owner that is in the middle of everything, you almost need a buffer, somebody with some skins on the wall that can say, hey, Dave, that's not right. Someone that can actually tell him, this is a bad idea. And I don't know that Scott can never put himself in that position because it is about keeping your own job too, right? And somebody needs to put their foot down and say, wait a second, this is a dumb idea. What are we doing here?

And I just don't know if he'll ever accept that temper, I'm saying, as a part of a team building exercise that makes us better. So I don't know what they're going to be able to hang their hat on going forward. I really don't. I know this. And I'm not disparaging probability reports and all that. but he needs to find a different way to evaluate what they're doing, that's for sure, rather than ask silly questions or talk about probability charts. This doesn't fix the problem, but I think I would want a coach in there who is no nonsense,

not going to take a bunch of BS because I think Frank is Frank Reich is more likely to be a little bit more pliable or get along with the owner, you know, that sort of a thing, just by the nature of his personality, kind of known as a great guy, you know, and that sort of a thing. I think somebody like a Jim Caldwell who's there or an Eric B. Enemy who could be in the market, they're not afraid to maybe be direct or they're strong enough in their personality and just their makeup to call BS, maybe even to the owner's face, maybe even to risk at their own peril. I think Jim Caldwell, yeah, is a great indicator. and a great idea by you because he has been there.

The other thing that he comes with is he is Bill Pollian's guy. And if they could, if I was ever advising, I would say, hey, you need to hire a Bill Polion. You need to hire a Kevin Colbert. Somebody that's been there, done that, has skins on the wall. And a guy like Caldwell, like you said, that probably could get and lean on some Bill polling stuff that TEPA could use as well is how to build a team. that might come part and parcel with a guy like Jim Caldwell.

That's interesting, yeah. And Caldwell has also been good working with quarterbacks. So, you know, that's his. He's a possibility. I'm sure he'll get some consideration. What I would hope they don't do, and I hope they don't think this is the way to go, is just hire another play caller.

Hire some young offensive guy to call plays and that that's going to fix and build this team because that's not going to matter if you don't have the team. And again, you can say we've used these choices on these players. We should be better. These players aren't playing up to that. level. So you either mis-evaluated them or they haven't been developed. So that part of the process has to be examined. We just can't say we're going to find another play caller and that's

going to solve it all. Hey, when switching gears to another team here with the Miami Dolphins playing the commanders should hopefully for them be able to win this game. But Zach Hertz was cut. You like him as somebody the Dolphins should pick up. Why? Well, I know this, that Zach Hertz is going to want to go somewhere where they have a chance to win and go deep into the playoffs. I think it's an area where the dolphins are lacking and I think he fits with what their other parts are. Frankly, I'll say this. I don't think the Eagles got any better when they let Ernst go, and I know Dalles Goddard is their guy and all that. I didn't see a big uptick in their production there when Ertz left. And Ertz went to Arizona, which was never a great fit, in my opinion. But he went there in a year

where they had lost a tight end. And to me, he's been around Peg being trying to be jammed into a square hole in Cliff Kingsbury's offense ever since. So the fact that he wants out of there, I get it. He's got his way now. I just think the dolphins would be a great fit for him. I've heard some of the other mentions of teams that, that Adam from ESPN, Schaefter, had mentioned as possibilities.

To me, they didn't pass the test, didn't pass the smell test. I don't think Baltimore's a spot. I don't think Buffalo's a spot. I forget who else was on his list. These places have tight-ins or they have young guys that they're developing, but I think it's a void that dolphins could use and a weapon that could make them better. And I don't think the dolphins have been hitting on all cylinders on offense the last month of season either. So this could be an added guy for them, but I happen to think it's a good fit.

I don't know how you feel about it. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I've been looking at the dolphins offensively because, you know, they've had some, obviously a couple of good seasons. but last year they tapered off late in the air. Obviously, the quarterback, to a tongue of low, was injured, so that's a part of that. But they have not been the same team offensively. Maybe A-chain comes back, and that helps them.

But I've been, if there was one concern for them this year, for me, it was just the ability to sustain this offense throughout the whole year, either through the health of the players or, you know, I think they were ahead. Let's face it, they were ahead of everybody with the way they used motion to start this year. They got sharper with it. They were able to run it at a faster speed. And it was a sight to behold for the first half of the season. Well, people adjust.

So I'm looking right now, since week seven, a period of five games, the dolphins have a 24th ranked offense. Yeah. You know, now they, when you win 70 to 20 and score on, score touchdowns on every drive of the game, basically, that's going to hold your stats for the year. Like if you were to look for the whole year, Miami's going to be up there with the stats,

but a five-game run where, you know, the top team since Week 7 are Dallas, Baltimore, Philly, San Francisco, Houston, you've got to go through a lot of teams to find Miami on there. They've been a team over that period that, by the way, ranks number one on defense. Now, some of this is who you play. I'm not saying it means they're the best defense in the league.

But they're three and two over their last game. and last five games and over that period, number one defense, number 24 offense. So I do like the idea of adding a piece there. And then I guess the follow up is, you know, do you have any concerns about the offense or do you think it's going to be fine? Well, I think the offense is going to be fine. I do think you've always got to continue, though, to tinker. And like you mentioned, the second half of the season, especially the last third of the season, is all about adjustments. Defensive coaches are really good. And I go every year to that at this point. you've got to find a second pitch.

You've got to find a third pitch if you're an offensive coordinator or a play caller because people figure you out. So I just can't imagine in the back of my mind that Zachers could talk his way out of Arizona and not have a deal somewhere else. So I don't think we'll have to wait long. It doesn't seem right to me that he would bypass where he's at now if he didn't have something lined up. I don't know who Zach's agent is, but I'm assuming the person knows what they're doing.

And I surely wouldn't want to leave him hanging out there on a limb. So something will come up. Buffalo is the other team, and I don't see him going to Buffalo, don't see him going to Baltimore, don't see any of these other teams that make sense. So I think there is a good fit with Miami, so time will tell. It would be nice for him to sort of ramp up and get going, maybe just contribute something for the playoffs, right? I mean, he's, what, 33, just turned 33 years old.

So he could have a little bit left here for a team in the playoffs and be a lot more fun than just sort of finishing it out in Arizona, which is going to be a team in transition. What do you got in the GM notebook this week, Randy? Well, we can run through a couple things. The one thing that has been on my mind all the time, and you and I have talked about it at nauseam, but this A-Rod playing for the Jets at some point in December just has never felt right to me.

It's almost felt contrived. It's almost felt like it's been out there to take pressure off Sala, the Jets, all the above. So I don't think there's any merit to it, and it surely doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe you can help me make sense of it. Why would they roll him out there? I have no idea. They're not in the playoff mix right now. and I don't see how they're going to be Tim Boyle playing quarterback.

So I just don't, I don't know why they're doing this. And I surely wouldn't want to put him at risk. I did see a little crack in that armor this week in some of the comments he made about, well, you know, we've got to be determined if we have a chance to get to the playoffs or not. So maybe a little bit of backtracking off that. But I know he's been selling hope for the whole franchise. Selling hope is great. But I just don't, I haven't bought any of it to this point.

I think Rogers, though, enjoys Bucking Convention and being the guy who figured out of his own cure for COVID or he's got his own special surgery that's way faster. And when you open this window now and he's practicing, hey, I made it back in 11 weeks. No one said that I could. I think he's always got some sort of angle like that that, you know, elevates him or separates him. And he seems to kind of revel in that. You know, the darkness retreat is certainly maybe it was a great thing. but it's like he's always just a little bit smarter than, you know, than what everybody else would do.

And this, maybe it's a challenge for him. Maybe this is a stuff that kind of keeps him going. But it seems to be a consistent theme of, you know, his personality through this stuff. So, hey, he made it back. I think it's actually kind of cool that he was, look, he wasn't out there running gassers. But, you know, in 11 weeks, he was out there moving around through the drills. I agree. I don't think he's going to play.

I think it's kind of a little bit for show, but he's probably further ahead than, I guess, if he just disappeared, we never heard from him. This is a little bit more impressive than that to me that he's at least made it back and can jog around. And, you know, I don't know. In the end, is it all that harmless or all that harmful? Well, no, I think he's done his best to take the focus off

what really has become kind of a shit show in New York. So I think from that standpoint, it's probably pretty good. I think what we'll see if, and I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I would bet in three weeks from now. We'll just see him go back on injured, his window closed and not play. Yeah, I would think so too, but he will have been able to say, hey, I could have. If we were in it, I was ready. I made it back, which was what he said from day one he was going to do.

So he proved, he can prove himself right, but not have to actually do it, not take the risk and get the downside of it, which I thought was what was going to happen from day one, most likely. So what else he got? The other note I had in here, and I know there may be some, pushback from others on this, but the New England quarterback situation has kind of become a comedy of errors. You know, Mack Jones has been benched now, what, three or four times? Now it looks like this week he's going to be the third guy. My question was, does this team build that is happening

in New England and this kind of comical quarterback offense, the whole plan, does that taint bills, they won't taint his legacy, but the post Tom Brady time, is that going to hurt him from going somewhere else and taking over another team? Or how is this going to reflect now of him being the team builder at another city in another? Because I think that's what's going to happen. I think he's going to go somewhere else at the end of the year. And again, I don't have that on any good faith from anybody. I just think he's going to. Does this affect it at all is what I'm saying? Because I think it's, I'm not a Mac Jones guy. I never have been. You know, I feel okay. about Zappi, but I'm not saying he's the answer.

This has gone from bad to worse the way this is played out. So is there any way that, like if he reached agreement with the Panthers, would you think it's a disaster? Because so if he goes to the Panthers, he'd have Josh McDaniels as his offensive coordinator and he'd have, you know, Joe Judge's special teams and he'd have his son and be the decontor or whatever. And Bill could call it if he had. to, does that do anything for you? And would that be the Panthers better off than what they are now?

I think they would definitely be better off than where they are now. I like the idea that they already have a few players in place. I guess where I'm saying is it's, and it's kind of always been out there in NFL circles, is Bill the GM letting down Bill the coach. They have a few pieces. I just think wherever he goes, the more pieces lined up, the better for that franchise. Because I don't know that Bill's going to figure out to go with a team build for three or four years. He's built the Patriots in exactly the light we see him in. That has been, they've done that. This is his team. So do we want any more of this? I don't know. No, I agree. I agree. I think it's definitely a fair question. I would just like to see the reporters ask Coach Belichick of the Panthers. How was your meeting

with David Tepper this week? How'd that go? Did he have any ideas for you? I'd like to see that. All right, anything else in the GM notebook? No, that's it. That's probably as long as I can stall to keep us off the picks. That's as long as I can go. So now you're going to have to go with the picks. Our picks have been so up and down. We've had weeks we were 4 and 0, 0 and 4.

And last week was a bad one for, or it was two weeks ago. So we've just dipped under 500 on our picks against the spread for this year. But you know what? Who's counting? When we go ahead, I'll tell you exactly what the record is. Hey, I watch college game day every day. And the picks they have on there, Mike, are comical, so I think we are outstanding. In fact, we should probably be getting

pilfered by ESPN for that college game day show that they have. I saw that, that gentleman's record is like, I don't know, 10 or 15 games under 500. So, and he's the expert. We're not. Yeah. You're the expert. What are you talking about? We're not gamblers. Who do you got? What games do you got and why? Well, I'm going with a little bottom feeding approach this week to start with. I'm kind of picking a game that may not interest many, but I am picking the L.A. Rams. I'm not a flacco guy. I think the Browns defense is beat up. I think there's some questions that they have to fill. And I think the Rams are capable of scoring a few points. So I like the Rams. They're four point favorites now. So I'm going to pick them as my first game of the week.

And I know that's probably not on the front burner of everybody to watch the Browns and Rams, but I like the Rams. The game's in L.A. That's my first pick. The second pick for me is I'm going to pick Denver three points at Houston. I like the physical. Yeah, they're getting three. I think we talked about it in the segment. I like their offense for fitting what they're doing. They have a little bit of an identity. Their defense in Denver is actually playing really good the last month. Lights out as a matter of fact. So I like the defense. I like where they're headed. I think they'll give C.J. Stroud some different looks. So I like getting three points with Denver. And then I'm I'm riding the Steeler train.

Steelers are six and a half point favorites against Arizona. I think Pittsburgh is a better team. I think their offense is better without Matt Canada. I think defensively we know what they are. I think pickets being used correctly. So that's my third pick. I'm giving the points and I'm taking the Steelers. I'm getting points and taking Denver.

And I'm giving four points and picking the Rams over the Browns. I like it. I like it. Those are good games. We have three different games this week. I'm going to take Detroit giving four at New Orleans. So we'd talk a little bit before we, started recording about maybe the Saints being a team on the brink here a little bit.

And I feel like Detroit needs one now, you know, just where sort of where they're at. And this might be one, you know, an indoor game, get their offense going a little bit, just a team that should have a little bit better mojo. And so I'll go with the lines, take my chances there that it's more by more than a field goal. I'm going to take the Colts and give a point at Tennessee. Talk about making a difference on game day. I think Shane Steichen does that. Would you agree?

I agree. 100%. I think the way they're schemed, the way they play offense, I love some of the inventive types of things he does. He had a really creative fourth down play last week,

you know. And when you got a six-year deal or whatever he's got in year one and you don't have your quarterback, you can kind of, you can kind of get creative. They're in a good place. They're in a good place.

You can kind of like, you know, go all in a couple of hands here and there, you know, it doesn't matter if you lose. And you've got some built-in excuses. Yeah, we'll be to have a quarterback. Yeah,

I feel like stike. Got a little bit of that going right now. I agree. Yeah, and we'll see, you know, this is where, you know, they're going to get Will Lathis too. And maybe this is, I think one of your points on him when we were talking earlier was interesting about maybe sometimes, you know, the more he gets, the harder it gets for him. And so they have maybe hit a little bit of a wall of where they're at offensively, would you say? I would agree 100% with that. And we've seen this from certain quarterbacks throughout.

my career in that they started like a house of fire, but the more they gave them as an offense, the more looks they had to decipher on defense, the deeper they weighed out into the water, the more of a struggle it is. And I think that's where we're seeing Will Levis right now is he's swimming right now. He's just treading water. And he was, you know, outstanding to start with and not so outstanding in the last few weeks. Yeah. So those are the two I'm going to take.

I'm going to chicken out on my third one, but I want to talk about the game. I want to talk about the 49ers and the Eagles, because it is a marquee game this week. And the Eagles opened as maybe a two and a half point favorite. It has swung to the 49ers by three. I was a little tempted to take the 49ers and give those three points. But, man, the Eagles just seem to find a way to be in these games, even when they're not supposed to be, right?

And a couple games where they probably should have lost, and they just are somehow there in the end. They're like a fighter that can go 15 rounds. You know, they're hard to knock out. You get them on the ropes and then, you know, smelling salts, and there's Jalen Hurch staring you down with a, you know, a black eye and a welt on his head, right? Yeah. And maybe this is the time the week where they get knocked out. I kind of am afraid for them that it could be.

What do you think? Well, I thought they were the – I thought Buffalo was the better team last week for two-thirds of the game, and they came alive the last six or eight minutes of the game and win the game. So you're exactly right on how they've played, and that's not a secret. They've been like that all year long. I think this about the 49ers. I said this on another show earlier in the week. Before you do it, though, I'm actually going to take him and give the three points. Now, go ahead.

I'm going to do it. Go ahead. You're taking the 49ers? I'm going to make it one of my picks. I'm going to do it. Holy macro, where did that come from? I just want, before you started talking, I didn't want it to be that you swayed me. But I think I'm going to do it.

So I'm going to do it. Go ahead. I don't want to be around having to talk you off a ledge because I think you just might jump with whatever I say. That's not right, man. That's great. I love it. Go ahead. The 49ers, I think, for me, if healthy, I think are the best team in the NFC.

I think they are healthy now. I think Purdy's right. I think having the receiver back makes a giant difference, Debo. But I think more than anything, them having the left tackle back is as big of a get to have him back in the lineup as any injured player returning. And that's not easy to say because most of these skilled position guys, the bells and whistles guys, the guy's a score touchdown matter. But having the left tackle back is a giant thing. And I think he controls their confidence.

I think he controls their swag. I think he has a giant effect on how the 49ers, one, call their game and how they play. And I think that's a big thing. So I'm with you. I would pick the 49ers in this game. I think the point swing really doesn't affect me because I thought the 49ers are, I think they're a better team. Yeah.

And so, you know, if it's a close game and they win by a field goal, it's a push. You know, you don't, it's not like you lost the pick on that. But I just, I kind of feel like if one team were to win by more, it would be the 49ers, right? If a team were to win this game by 10 or something, I think it was more likely to be the 49ers. Maybe the Eagles will prove me wrong. I get a lot of respect for them because they just sort of have been finding ways. But maybe this is the game. Sometimes in these series where, hey, in the playoffs last year, it kind of went the Eagles,

way, Purdy got hurt. Maybe there's a little bit more for the 49ers here, and they're on a little bit of a higher swing while Philly's coming off. Man, it's an exhausting game, right? They've had, so they've been through the ringer a couple times here, so I guess I will go with the 49ers.

We'll see if we can get a good week. I like it. Yeah. We've got six different games picked. Hopefully we get a couple of them right, and I'm going to enjoy some games this Sunday. Sounds good, man. Enjoyed it again. All right, everybody. Thanks for coming along. We'll talk to you next time. This was the Athletic Football Show's Football GM podcast.