The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - The Chiefs outlast the Browns, Justin Herbert shows out, the Saints shock the Packers & more with Nate Tice

Episode Date: September 13, 2021

Week 1 of NFL action has wrapped up as the Kansas City Chiefs topped the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers settle down the Bills offense, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers lay an egg in New Orleans, Justin Herbert balls out on 3rd down and much more. Join Robert Mays and Nate Tice for their weekly postgame reaction as week 1 approaches its end.Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sq5ELmnyoEAthletic discount @ theathletic.com/footballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show. Welcome to the athletic football show. I'm Robert Mays. Joining me tonight. It's my good friend Nate Tyson. How you doing, buddy? I'm doing great. I got to ask what Kent with that.

I don't know if you put the music for the waiting room, but it was like a little lo-fi beat going. I was like vibe it. A couple of a minute and a half. I was just kind of hanging out like, okay, this is pretty good. This is a nice little warm-up song. But we made it week one. We spent a lot of time picking that warm-up music.

We did make it week one. Week one is amazing, but it's also a lot. There was so much to keep track of. I always forget it every single year when I actually, the games actually start. I'm trying to keep track of three screens and six games and everything that's going on. By the time the day ends, I'm just emotionally exhausted, which was really good for this week because it meant that I couldn't engage with the Bears game to any sort of degree. So it kind of washed over me in a way where I was watching it in the background, which I was. was probably best considering what happened.

I'm just picturing you like the dad from married with children, like just hand down pants, just like just sprawled, just resigned to his fate of whatever that happened with the Bears game. I mean, hey, Fields, two for two. I mean, you can't, I mean, that, we used to got a little pop right there. At this point, it just seems like they're biting time until he plays. And when you think about the rest of the roster, and that's always how it was going to feel. But that's what tonight was.

You come out, you're playing in their stadium. They're so excited to have Stafford there. and you just see the holes. The offensive line isn't very good. The secondary isn't very good. And until he starts to play and we understand what the future might look like with him at quarterback, the rest of this doesn't really matter. And that's how I felt coming in.

And tonight was just such a confirmation of that entire situation. Yeah. And that's what it felt like. It felt like they just wanted to sprinkle him in just a little bit. Just like, hey, we're going to get you that live reps. Just feed the bullets. But it's like they wouldn't do that if they weren't expecting him to be the guy. coming down the road.

So that's like, I mean, it just makes all the sense of the world. And I mean, I mean, Andy, Andy Dalton did what he could.

I mean, the opening interception was brutal, but you know, at least he did what he could considering the situation that he's being put in right now. Exactly. I mean,

it's just like he was fine. And we knew Andy Dalton's going to be fine. I mean, that's what he is and we understand that. But until Justin Fields plays, it's just, I don't really know what we're waiting for. I don't really know what we're doing.

But that's, we'll have that conversation at another time. For right now, let's get to the first 15. Every single week we're going to start with this, is this is a new way to open the show that we're doing this year. It's the first 15 minutes of the show, which also happens to be a football term.

It's the first 15 plays you come out with with your script. So it aligns very well. So we're going to start with the first 15 every single week. This week we're starting with some of them are key games of the week that featured teams that fancy themselves contenders in the AFC. I mean, there were a couple pretty important matchups in that regard today during week one. Obviously, we got the Browns and the Chiefs.

We got the Steelers and the Bills. Let's start with the Browns and the Chiefs in that afternoon slot, a rematch of a playoff game from last year, obviously. So many things went right for the Browns in this game. So many things. They played so well, and it still didn't end up mattering. And I just can't imagine how frustrating it has to be playing against that quarterback and this Chiefs team when you can play as well as Cleveland did for 90% of that game.

and still just look around at each other in the locker room and wonder, how did we lose that game? I mean, just looking at the stats for both quarterbacks was ridiculous. Like the EPA per play was Baker had 0.31 EPA per play. That's awesome. You'd be stoked if that's where your quarterback got you. And then Mahomes finished with 0.51 EPA per play. It was just for a total of 23 EPA just added. Like it's just, I mean, just ridiculous.

That must be the most frustrating thing ever. I don't feel any less enthusiastic about the Cleveland Browns right now than I did before coming into this game. Because I thought that they would be a real contender in the AFC. I picked them to win the AFC North. And I feel pretty good about that after that performance. Their offense looked excellent. And they were doing so many fun wrinkles. I mean, the ways that they got, I did not expect that much Anthony Schwartz.

Week one coming out of it, even with Beckham. hurt. I know. I still didn't expect him to be that much a part of the game plan. And everything we come to expect from the Browns that we want from the Browns where it's cheap yardage on screens, tons of play action. But it was just one step beyond the stuff we saw from them last year. Like even Schwartz, the first completion to him on that deep cross coming left to right on the boot to the left. Because typically we see stuff coming to that side when they do all those boots to the left. And still, instead, it's all the way across the formation. That's what it was.

It was just like, all right, here's what you come to expect from us, just turned up a tiny bit. And that's exactly what I wanted to see from the Brown's offense this year. It was one of the first third downs. And it kind of like, it showed how like smart of a game playing, Stefansky and Bill Callahan put together. Because they ran a sprint out with Baker Mayfield and he pulled up. And I think this is one we're talking about. But what's so great about that is one, it's a safe, safe as protection. Like it is seven guys full slide usually.

Two, you're moving the quarterback. Well, you're getting the quarterback away from the pocket. So guys, you know, pass rushers are aiming for a point. So you're moving it on them. So they have to, oh, shoot, this is different. And then off the top of that, it's like, you know, like that play going against the chiefs, the chiefs are so aggressive. We've talked, we make jokes about how aggressive spags is.

And all those safeties, all the ds, they cut everything. They're just, you know, how many times you see Tyron Matthew cutting on a dig or something of that, a crosser. And what that play was, that throwback was taking advantage of that. They're like, hey, we're going to have a safe protection. we're not going to let you get after the quarterback and then on top of it we hit a chunk play on you and it's safe it's like that oh that's so good that stuff's so nice and that's what's so funny i like you just said i wasn't expecting that much anthony short sprinkled in and i'm like the first one the or second

one i should say made sense drive starter 22 personnel he's the only receiver out there and it's like shot play circled triangle like starred that a shot play is coming anthony schwarz is not in there to block like that he is in there to just go bombs away like that's caliph rayman with the titans against the ravens you know that is why he is in there so like i was expecting that i wasn't expecting all these kind of normal plays and the actual progression happen they did a great job that i mean they were they were booting them to death early they were taken advantage of what like on those pressures that the chiefs are bringing if you run a flat come the other way the guy that has to cover the flat he has to worry about the run gap and then all of a sudden he has to come all the way back it's really hard against a aggressive team because you're you're not you're going to have to cover the other way back because you're you're not going to have to come all the way back it's really hard against a aggressive team because you're you have to go, oh, all the way back. It's just back and forth, back and forth. And that's, it was just a really nice game plan. And of course, the run game was awesome. The pinpole stuff, the gap scheme, all the power. Like, the counter touchdown was beautiful. I mean, he walked in from 20 yards away. And that was a gorgeous play. I mean, everything about that. Betonio slips into the second level. Awesome. What did you think of just Baker's performance overall? Because I thought he was fantastic.

That's what they need him to do, what he did today. He hit the one I, I'm always going to, I'm a little lower on Baker the most. But like the thing is he hit a comeback throw early on. That was like badass. Like hit a deep comeback in rhythm. And it was in the process of the play. And I want to say it was a boot or a play action. But he,

weird, a boot or play action that they ran. But, but yeah, he hit a comeback. And I was like, that was a pretty badass throw. And even when he had to drop back at the end of the game,

he was, I mean, the pick was just, it happens. That was football. You know, it wasn't like, oh my God,

that was stupid by Baker. It was like, all right, he was getting hit. The ball, you know, shit happens kind of play. I thought Baker played fine. I mean, shit, even the stats back it up. And I, I didn't have any qualms with how we play today. Like, that's what they want. That's what they need

them to play like is how we play today. I mean, there were a couple throws. The scene ball that he ripped to Injoku up the right side was just a gorgeous throw. And then the corner rowdy threw to Injoku on the left side was a gorgeous throw. I mean, there were a couple. He threw the ball about as well as you could hope Baker may feel would throw the ball. And they still lost. And they still lost. And And it's, these are the games that happen. And these are the moments that happen, right? Chub fumbles when they're hoping to go up by two scores and kind of start to put this thing out of reach. That's a huge moment.

Then they have just the ridiculous 50 yard. I'm rolling out to my right. Let me just chuck this thing up and let Tyreek Hill go get it touchdown. And then you have the Chris Jones sack. And then you have the dropped punt. Yeah. I mean, the punter just dropping. And it's because you wonder, it's like, man, how did they manage to let this thing slip away after playing so well?

And then you go back and rewatch it. It's like these little tiny moments. And that's what happens. It's like if you give the chiefs an inch, they're going to take it. They only need a couple little swing plays and they got those plays. But again, I leave this game still believing these are two of the best three or four teams in the AFC. Oh, absolutely. I mean, this was a, it was, it's a, it's a program loss, as they say.

But I'm sure it's so freaking frustrating for the Browns. I mean, it has to be. be. I mean, they, they, they, you get them. And it's just, it's inevitable. I mean, isn't it? It's like, you really just have to beat Mahomes. You have to run out the clock. So Mahomes doesn't have enough time. Like, the joke with like Texas A&M, I think it's like the Aggies never lose. They just run out of time. Like, that's how Mojones feels like when he has the ball. Um, and it honestly, it was kind of cool. Uh, watching like Orlando Brown against Miles Garrett the entire game. That was a really fun, really, really fun matchup. And honestly, even though Miles Garrett got his, I think he got a sack,

couple quarterback hits. Orlando Brown. which is really like really doing a good job being isolated against Miles Garrett for the entire game. So it was good. It was a really good job by them. I mean, it's just the Chiefs. They were doing all what they do. RPO's hitting the Tyre Hill going over the top. It was just really good stuff by them.

All right. Let's get to the other AFC game because I thought that one was more interesting. And I think it was a little bit more illuminating than whatever the Browns Chiefs game was. So let's talk about the Steelers and the Bills. The Steelers end up beating the Bills 23 to 16. Allen finishes 30 of 51 for 270 yards. And it was a little bit of a disconcerting game for the bill's offense. I'm going to be honest with you.

There were some things in that game. I'm sure they'll be fine. But I felt a lot of people, me included even, thought that they were just going to be full speed ahead coming into this year after what last season was. Even after the little hiccup in the AFC championship game against the Chiefs, I still expected their offense to be really good right away, even against a pretty good defense like the Steelers have. And I just was so impressed with the way the Steelers played up front. And it felt like the bills just had no answer for the way that the Steelers were playing against them. I looked up the numbers and I figured this was the case. Alan was the most blitz quarterback in the NFL last season.

If you look at total blitz dropbacks, some of that was just the volume of throws that they had. But teams went after him. The Steelers last year blitzed him on 26 of his 46 dropbacks in their game. I couldn't count five times in this game where they sent five. or more past rushers. Yeah. They were completely inclined and completely comfortable saying, we're going to rush four.

We're going to beat the shit out of you up front. And we're going to play coverage behind it. And the bills just did not have an answer for whatever that recipe was. It was not so blitzberg. It was, uh, yes. It really wasn't. Dude,

Mika Fitzpatrick was a phenom today. He played so well. They were like three or four splash plays. Oh my God. The play before the very weird backwards throwback pass on fourth and one. Yeah. That fourth and one doesn't happen if Minket doesn't come downhill and make that play right in front of the, right on the third down. Yeah.

And he had a couple of those. The third down, and he had a PBU against Cole Beasley early in the game where they tried to isolate Beasley on him from the slot and then had Beasley take it vertical. And he's stuck with him step for step the entire way. That guy is really, really good. Like the Steelers defense is full of incredible players. And then when you have guys like Melvin Ingram just dropped into the equation that are kicking ass from. day one when they get there, it's a recipe for something very special. Like that defense has a chance to just be a top three unit again. They were unbelievable today. Unbelievable. I was like so

rewatching. I was like, oh my God, this is so much fun. They did a really cool thing with Fitzpatrick. I'm really excited to rewatch this game more than I thought I would be. They had Fitzpatrick in the slot looking like he's in the pressure position. And it's a classic look. Like that's the joke. The safety caps the slot. And usually a slot comes on the pressure. Like that's, you know, good defenses will hide that, disguise it in some way, shape, or form. And what they did, they showed it like real early, like he's coming. He then flew into the center like a robber. And from the slot just flew into the center.

And they were really just messing with the defense or with the offense's games. And Josh Allen double clutched it. And they did it a couple of times. It was really cool. I mean, Fitzpatrick was just a phenop. But what they were doing, it was just like they weren't letting Josh Allen be professor chaos and just do all his craziness. And they're playing safe.

And like you just said, they were just rushing for and making him beat. beat them just nickel and diming, which is not Josh Allen's real game. So, I mean, it was just, I'm not too worried about the bills. But I mean, it was a really, really good performance by the Steelers defense. And then Steelers offense was just more of the same. It was a lot of RPO's. It was exactly the same recipe as last year, right? Let's just trust the fact that we have a few playmakers that are going to make some plays. There's the one chunk play to Claypool down the right sideline. There's the one chunk play to Claypool down the left side line. There's the Deate Johnson touchdown in the back of the end. zone. And when you're giving up 14 points in a game or you're giving up two touchdowns in a game and you're shutting down one of the best offense in the league, you only need a couple scattered plays here and there. Block punt, touchdown, game over, we went. Yeah. I mean, it's their defense carried them today. There's no way around that. And again, you talk about guys like Melvin Ingram just doing work against Dion Dawkins at points in this game. And then the contributions of guys like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. I mean, it's just a combination of stuff. I mean, the touchdown or the strip sack by T. J. Watt. he ends up cleaning that play up, but Cam Hayward is just destroying the middle of the pocket. I mean, their front just dominated that game. And I think I don't want to overreact to what happens in week one. It's always dangerous.

But it's not like this Bill's offensive line is full of superstars. Like last year, I think that Alan does a really good job in protection and controlling protections, and he did a very good job last year when teams sent a lot of heat after him. But if they're just rushing four, and there's no way, there's no reason to get the ball out quickly because you're taking advantage of people lacking resources on the back end. Your offensive line is just there to block four guys. And when they can't do that and when it's just one on one, like we're going to have to hold on to it just a little bit when he has to double clutch every once in a while, I think you saw that this group might not be able to hold up against the better pass rushes than the league. Well, especially if they can't get it going on first and second down, and they're stuck in those third and longs and third sevens and eights and nines and tens.

those add up. It's just for how they want to play, that's really, really hard. They want to be in 10 personnel or they want to be in 11 and spread it out. You're in a way, you're making it complicated for the defense in one way, but also you're making it basic in another way because it's like you can't do so much blocking wise and who you have in the backfield and all that. So you can't really get the help that you might want. But that's, yeah, it's kind of a chicken and the egg or kind of a double-edged sword. That's a better idea. I'm going to go with that one when you play that way. But it's it's but that's just how the bills want to play. There's the highest rated EPA player for the bills today was Josh Allen's legs,

even more than Josh Allen's arm. And that's like the safety blanket that Josh Allen gives to that offense that he, you can always go to his legs. But if they just have to get the wrong game going, they did in the fourth quarter a little bit, but that's just kind of like a weird game script kind of thing. So it's kind of they have to, I think they have to figure first and second down out to help everything else out.

So get them out of those third and hard situations. because it's just hard to live that way. And if you have Macon Fitzpatrick locking down your cold Beasley read routes, okay, then what's your answer? What's your next step that's going to come for that? But I trust that they're going to do it. They did it last year. But that's the thing is they're trying to hide the old line by getting the ball out quick

or Josh Allen going to doing something. All right. Let's get to some of the things that grabbed our attention this week. Gentlemen, you have my curiosity. But now you have my attention. As we alluded to at the start, that's a great drop. I'm very happy to have we landed on this. So as we alluded to at the beginning of the show, when you're watching games on Sunday, there's a lot going on.

It seems like there's just a wave of stuff coming at you. So every single week, we want to pick out a few things that stopped us in our tracks. Some of the stuff that's like, all right, I have to pay attention to this. I have no choice but to lock in on this because it's so important and so notable. And the first thing that jumped out to me today was the Arizona Cardinals defense, man. Yeah. I mean, so last year, right, this team finished was seventh and weighted defensive DVOA. And I believe they were ninth just over the course of the entire season.

It felt a little bit fluky. Yeah. You know, they did a lot of cool stuff with their pass rush packages where you got Andrew Gardek making plays. And obviously, Asan Reddick has a career year. But they lose Chandler Jones. They're kind of hodgepodging it together up front. They're playing a ton of man coverage with these corners that we don't really trust, but it's somehow working. Isaiah Simmons is like figuring it out.

And I just didn't know how sustainable all of that was. Like could this defense be really good again? Or with very young, unproven corners on the back end especially, are they going to take a step back? And man, were they really, really good today? I mean, obviously we'll talk about Chandler Jones's performance. But I think overall, just these guys play fast. I just think overall the way that we've seen them play over the last now 17 games is a testament to the job that Vance Joseph is doing there as their defensive coordinator. And you can tell he's getting a better feel for his guys.

And when I say that, it's like Isaiah Simmons, like how he's getting, how he's getting utilized now. Like they have him off the edge. They had them in the slot like going out to the flat. They had him carrying the slot. Like they're starting to use them kind of in better ways. And I mean, he's just becoming a better football player. It's slowed down for him a little bit. I mean, he had a nice tackle on Derek Henry.

That was shocked me. I was like, oh, that was Simmons? Oh, wow. Way to go, bud. But I mean, this defense also, it's, this is what happens when you put two 100 sack guys together. And an offense doesn't know who to help out. Like they didn't, they kept chip helping on JJ's side. And then that opened up Chandler Jones's side.

And Luan, you know, you're expecting Luan to win more than most of those one-on-one matchups. You know, he's going to lose some because Chandler Jones is a hundred sack guy. But it turns out. that Luan lost a little more than more than the uh than the uh won so it's just that's what happens it's just the that's when you have the personnel and you open it up and if you get the five-man rushes that they got a couple times it was just nice like they they had a couple third downs where they were just obviously aware of Watts alignment and and like the titans move the guys over

there like they had a tight end split out there like they had a game plan for it but i just did i just think they really expected their left tackle to hold up uh throughout the whole game and just also just Isaiah Sammons Zios is just really cool. And then I'm, they're really built through the spine. It's Buda Baker, the two young linebackers, and then the D-Line. Like they're not built for the outside. They're making, they're trying to force everything internal. I thought that the corners played well today.

They did. I mean, I thought, I thought that Byron Murphy made a couple really good downhill plays on the ball. He was around the ball. I mean, and you combine that with the way that they played up front. You go back and you watch a guy that has five sacks in the game. And my first inclination every time you see something like that is, all right, did he really have five sacks?

Like, how did he get those five sacks? So the first one, he's unblocked off the edge into a boot. So they just assume he's going to bite down on the run fake. We're not worried about it. And he didn't. Again, really good coaching, really good coaching. Like, in that situation, like, you have to be prepared for boots against this team. Yes.

Tannenhill turns around right into him and the boot gets destroyed for a huge kind of game swinging strip sack that just allows them to create a little more breathing room early. And then, other than that, He's just roasting dudes. I mean, he was destroying. On the second one, Luan tries to jump set him. It goes miserably. He's way out over his feet, a quick sack there.

He's a nasty hump move for sack number four against Kendall Lamb after Luan went out. And then against, excuse me, on sack number five, Zach Allen rocked Saffold on a stunt. Oh, I know. Really stunned him. Yeah. Really stunned him. And then obviously at that, then Jones, comes back in, Saffold is not in a position to pass that thing off.

And the whole thing starts to crumble. So that's kind of what I mean. You have the just singular greatness of a guy like Chandler Jones who looked incredible today on multiple occasions. But then you have guys like Zach Allen making plays to contribute to that. That's how great defense happens. And so I was just impressed with them on multiple different levels today. Like you said, when great defense happens when those auxiliary players, those, you know,

back up. 100%. Those role players also are just making plays. for you. You don't just have to rely on your ace to just do shit every single time. It's a big play. And oh, I know, I love, that's whenever I say like O line edginess that Chandler Jones sacky got on the game. Like, like, that's what I mean right there because they got the O line to different levels and that's not good. You want the pocket, everyone to be really, you know, tight in together and like have just the same levels. So you just, that's what I mean when I say edginess. That's

what it was. That was like the epitome of edginess that Chandler Jones created that. Or I'm sorry, the Allen created there. It was, it was just a, yeah, it was just a kick. ass performance. They really did. Derek Henry couldn't get going. They kept run it like really set the edge outside. So Henry had to plan his foot and get north, which we saw on the Raven. We saw the Ravens game. And then guys were making plays on the backside.

Yes. And that was, that was the fun part is that you had those watt like shoe string tackles one yard deep in the backfield that we'd gotten so used to over the years. And that's the coolest part is that run defense is a team effort. Right. I mean, that we know this. But on the first two drives on first and 10, Watt and Jones both had TFLs to just derail the drives before they even got started.

They were doing that consistently in this game. And then you combine that with just cool little wrinkles. On the first third and 12 that they had, they ran that version of cover two that we talked about with the Giants, where Murphy's down in the slot, bales out to the deep half and the safety drops in, Allen double clutches it, play over. Or excuse me, Tannell double clutches it, play over.

And so that's it. It's like, all right, you get fantastic performances from your stars. you get a play here, a play there from the guys that maybe are a little bit less proven on your defense, and then you throw a couple little wrenches in there schematically, and that's how you get a defensive performance like this, with a quarterback who'd been one of the most efficient players in the NFL over the last two years, finishing 21 of 35 for 212, and Henry finishing with 58 rushing yards, 19 of those coming on a single carry.

He had nine carries for eight yards at one point in this game. I mean, it was a fantastic performance. And that's not even before even getting to the offense. Yeah. Which I'm sure we'll get into it a later date, but I wanted to focus on the defense here. Agreed. Because yeah, no, we always get so negative on the offense or what it could be. And then if we'd never put a shine to what the defense has been doing this last, you know, nine-ish months.

It's- I also don't know if the Titans defense is any good. So it's hard to put that performance in perspective. And some of that offensive stuff was still, hey, Kyler, go do something. Like, I mean, honestly, and Kyler did a lot of things today. Oh, my God. He had the moonball touchdown. That was that was just gorgeous. Might have been a throw of the day.

Oh, and like this is how how much these good players can dictate an offense, like just even the like the plays that are called the flea flicker, the Titans ran. Yeah. First play that Chandler Jones and J.J. Watt weren't on the field together. Like they were off and they went,

okay, we can go out now. And guys will have game plans like where they have like three plays. We're like, okay, Watts off or Von Miller's off or, you know, Kahlil Max off. And then so yeah, yeah, it was pretty funny. I noticed that like rewatch and I was like, oh yeah, they're both out the field.

That's why they went to it. They're like, we're not getting this blown up at all. So it's pretty, yeah, it was a good performance from the Cardinals defense. I'm excited to see them grow because they have a lot of cool young players too, Simmons and Zaven and Collins, the other linebacker they drafted this year. Totally. I mean, this was their offseason plan, right? We get Chandler Jones back.

We go get JJ Watt. Let's let the guys up front carry us and then we'll see if the young guys can come along at the pace that we're hoping for. And that's exactly what you saw today. I cannot wait to see what they look like here in the coming weeks. All right. Our next one here. Shane Waldron, you have my attention.

Yes, you do. You have my attention. Yes, you do. Russell finishes 18 of 23 for 254 and four touchdowns. And people that know a lot about the Seahawks offense and know the Seahawks very well, I've talked about this, this is going to be a blend. This is going to be a blend of the stuff that Russell likes and the stuff that we've seen from the Rams. And that's what it felt like today, where you had kind of these layup completions that we'll get

to and you had the bombs away completions that we want to see. And that blend of stuff, you don't have to make Russell Wilson an entirely different player. He was the MVP of the league for the first half of last year. But I think helping him out in subtle ways and combining that, which is the best ways to use that talent that you have on this team, you could have a really special offense in the making. And they played extremely well today.

They did. And what you just said about letting Russ do the stuff that he does well, just only do that. Just like, hey, rest. So it for, and what that is is those PA deep balls, which, oh,

everyone's kind of done. But they put them on the move a lot today, like even just boot legs, getting them out of the pocket, which is great. It helps everybody out, the old line and just moving the pocket and just making the rush slow down a little bit and Colts had a good rush.

Um, but also they were, they were going to empty and it was a lot of stick. Of course. It's, it's a McVeigh, Shanahan offense. It's,

but they were going to empty and it's just like every concept they had today. Lockett touchdowns one. I don't think that was out of empty, is that they would always have a deep portion on the route. It was just not all pure quick game, which is that's what Russ is not good at. It's everything was pick aside and go. And even the two by two stuff, like the long, long touchdown, the second and 20 that he went bombs away on. That was a two by two mirrored concept. And then he just ran a corner post.

It was a smash, you know, which is a corner flat one side. And there was a flat and a corner post on the other side. So Metcalfe held that backside safety, that other safety on that side. I couldn't see it when I watched a couple of replays, but that's what it felt like. And that's Lockett on both of those touchdowns. His ability to subtly change direction at full speed is truly incredible. Like, I mean, it's on both of those plays. Great ball tracker, but also on that, on that corner post touchdown, he never breaks stride.

It's a step in and then he's going without ever slowing down. And then on the first touchdown, I believe they were in like a single high defense and he acted as though he was running that deep cross and then took it vertically instantly. And he took it right past that safety without ever slowing down. And that ability to change directions without changing gears, that makes you truly terrifying. And that's exactly what he is. And him at his best and Russell at his best, they are a really, really cool combination

to watch play together. When they say, when I say body control, that's what he is just like to a T. That's like what he is so, so good at. And like also even like like with Metcalf, Metcalf wasn't like the star of the day, but they used him in a nice way. It was getting him where he doesn't have to tight turn on anything where he can just run the big deep scissors,

scissors concept. Just get those big legs going. So it was kind of cool having one of the backside of the end zone and the red zone. Like just letting the stuff that he was good at. And I really like that. It was just good. Like it was what we talked about that we wanted to see out of this offense. It was just, hey, Russ, you get, you know,

Russ is exciting. you're like, oh, I want to do this with them. I want to do this with them. I want to do this with them. But it's like, just do the stuff that he's really good at. And he's because he's really, really good at it. All that, all those shot plays, the mirrored stuff, let him scramble a little bit. It's good stuff.

And it just, I just want to hopefully it sustains. You know, like you said, he was MVP of the first half of the season last year. Just want to see it for all 17 games now. I loved how they got the tight ends involved too. Yeah. A few different ways they were very cool. The first little play action screen to Everett to get a drive going in the first half. Those, those layups we talk about.

Yep. I mean, just the tight. The Rams ran the exact same thing to Higby. I don't know if the formation was the same, but the idea is the same, right? It's what you're trying to accomplish is the same. So they hit Everett on that one. And then the throw he had to Disley on a little flood concept to the right side line is just a fucking missile. Oh, my God.

I mean, that that guy's ability to just the torque he can create with his upper body. We've always done that. That's why his arm strength is incredible, even though he's six feet tall. Yeah. Like that, that pole is a laser beam. And then the touchdown to Everett, I thought, was very cool. Because in that situation, they put Everett split out wide to the right. It was a zone tell for Russell Wilson because Colts didn't do anything.

So they cleared that out and then they had Everett come all the way back across. And then Leonard has to keep track of him from all the way outside to the right, loses him easy. Again, layup touchdown. And again, it's just those combinations. Can we get the layups and the threes in this offense that lacked layups? for so long. And I thought they did a really good job of doing that today. And they did it without being boring.

It wasn't the classic, or I should say predictable. I shouldn't say boring because some of this stuff is quote unquote boring. But it's, it wasn't predictable. They kept the defense off balance with when they went to the shot stuff, when they went to a drop back. Like I thought he did it. It was a great example of play calling as opposed to just play design. And I think that's where Waldron, actually, I was more impressed with him than I

thought I would be. Like he had a good rhythm. He had a good feel of when to go. deep or when to just, all right, just run the ball a couple of times. Just gets back in rhythm. I thought, I thought he just did a really nice job. It was a really good, good to see because that's not an easy defense to go against. They can make you play safe and they're badass is up front.

So if you don't have a good game plan to help out your own line, they can really just, it could be a real hard day for you where you just getting really frustrated. I've seen those games where Russ gets frustrated and not today. And not today. It was a good performance from him. All right. Let's get to our last one here. Joe Burrow.

you have my attention. Yes, you do. Joe Burrow looked very, very sharp in his first game back today. I finished 20 of 27 for 261 and two touchdowns. It felt overall like today's performance from them was kind of an argument for the team-building strategy that they followed this offseason. Where you have Chase adding some juice to that offense, which is what that deep shot was. They hit him on a slant. There was a little bit of a yak opportunity.

Higgins doing like very real receivery stuff. Yeah. Like a couple of the plays, we'll get to him, but a couple of the plays he had in the second half where he's just working as the number one receiver on the right side against what I assume was just like a quarters or man corner on that side. Just putting guys in blenders was very impressive. And then just bro playing fast. You know, playing fast. I mean, sack five times, which is still a concern, hit seven times against this front. I think that's going to make sense.

But I think overall, he looked really, really sharp in his first game back. That's the thing you said to like he got sack five times, got hit seven times. it's if you let him because he has no fat in his footwork he has a really good mechanically sound quarterback that if you just give him enough time you don't have to be perfect but if you just give enough time to operate on time he's going to get the ball out and just he'll fuck up defenses i mean today he had he had at least a half dozen throws that were like like good like really good qb throws like or NFL qb throws like third downs like the under and and the sail route to chase i think it was on the same drive um but they're both third downs and both

of those, a free runner came in. And because he got the ball out so like right on time on a hitch if it was five in a hitch or just plant the foot and throwing, that the rush didn't matter. Because that is rather than just throwing a quick game and just getting the ball out that way, if you can get to the five or even seven step concepts and the ball's coming out right on time and the pass rush is not getting home if you bring a pressure, that's, that sucks for a defense. That's really annoying for a defense to just go, brought another blitz and we didn't even get through the line. I know I can kick this left guard's butt, but like I can't. like I can't even do it now because the ball's out already.

And it's not just quick game where guys are rallying and tackling. I thought he put on a great performance today. And a couple hits are a little scary. Not going to lie. Still a little scared. But it was a good performance. And oh my God, T. Higgins looked great. Jemar Chase looked so much better than he did in the preseason.

Still have some issues with press. But it was just. Well, yeah, that's the thing. Those, the big plays that he was making a free release plays. He just ran by Rashad Basha Breeland on that play. And it's like, it's, I'm excited for. almost went through a whole segment without going negative. It's like,

if they're going to, if teams are going to combat him that way, where he's just allowed to run by cornerbacks, he literally did not break stride on the touchdown. That is the element he gives you, right? Like that is the element he gives you in this offense that you want. That's not going to happen all of the time.

No. But again, you need that explosiveness. They lack that explosive element last year. The two, just two elements that stick out to me. The throw, kind of specific moments. He had a throw, Burrow I'm talking about,

Tyler Boyd, who was a second and eight in the second quarter, and they ran a little mesh concept in front of him, and they ran Boyd on like a deep out to the left side, and he threw it from the right hash. And that's a tough throw for somebody like him with his arm, and he made it beautifully. The way he layered that throw up above the corner to Boyd on that play, it was really, really impressive.

And then a couple of the plays to Higgins where it was, really, I think two post corners in the span of like two drives where he's just doing very nuanced work as a receiver on those plays. So that's the formula, right? You have a very nuanced number one receiver in his second season that you feel good about being kind of your number one option when you need a bucket. You have your slockeye and Tyler Boyd and you have this explosive play waiting to happen, hopefully, in Jemar Chase. And you have the progression from Burrow. That is the formula they bet on and that is the formula that I think we see. all today. Yeah. And even that fourth down call, the play action, like, yeah, I love the aggressive

play call. But Burrow threw that guy open. Like that it was a beautiful throw. It was a great throw. And that's the stuff that that's like you said, it's tough for him to, it's a, it's a hard window when you have your arm strength like that. But you can still win this way. We saw Drew Breeze and that's a veteran Drew Breeze do it. But there's been countless guys over the years. As long as you operate on time and you're accurate, you can make a living that way like forever and ever and ever. as long as you're just, you know, stay, stay healthy, of course, or just don't, your knees don't cripple and fall apart. But it's just, you know, but I think Burrow just doing it over and over and over.

I mean, that just stuff is just like, that's how he has to win. That's what I've been wanting to see like that he can do it consistently. And he did today. And they didn't have to be an empty every single play to do it, which is just like, that was like the one concern I kept having. They actually changed up their looks a little bit, which was really cool to see. I want to be clear about something. I think Joe Burrow is good.

Yeah. I wanted to watch Joe Burrow this year. I was excited about what he would look like this season. When I was there, it was kind of after that wave of, oh, is he comfortable? Does he feel healthy? It was post that. And at practice, he looked good. And they were talking about him in a way where they were feeling good about him.

And I wanted to see this offense with that. I still think that their ceiling is capped by what their defense might look like over the course of the season. I absolutely thought this could be a top 10 offense coming into the year. And that's, if they play like they did today, they absolutely have a chance to hit that. Again, the protection is going to be a concern, but I was always excited about Joe Burrow and these past catchers in the best case scenario. So I just want to correct that for the record.

Yeah. The best case scenario is that he stays upright and gets the ball out. So that's why we wanted to see that. No, but I agree. But if he, excuse me, if he plays like he did today, like that's, it's really cool. I mean, seeing quarterbacks operate like that where it's not just overwhelming arm talent, it's truly seeing just everything look like clinic tape or it's like one high level quarterbacking is what we saw from it's it's against a very well

coordinated defense I there's going to be a world where he's not playing against Chris Boyd you know as the as that other corner a lot I mean the the Vikings corners it's not a great situation like Rashop Brewin is a fine player but they don't have a lot of depth there it will see what happens later down the road but it's still a Mike Zimmer defense and there's still a lot of talent on that team and he played extremely well today. Why don't you explain this to me like I am an eight-year-old?

All right. Every single week, we are going to have someone explain to us, or we're going to ask someone to explain to us what happened that day. There is a poor performance, a weird performance, whatever it might be. Somebody is going to have to explain what went on that Sunday. And this week, it is the Jacksonville Jaguars getting blown out by the Houston Texans. I don't even know where to start with this.

I mean, here's what I'll say. First things first. Impressed by the Texans. They did some stuff, especially on offense, where I was like, oh, that's interesting. Yeah. Like some of the RPO stuff that they did with Tyra Taylor, I thought that he played well overall.

But this is a team in Jacksonville that spent money this offseason, that even if they had the first overall pick last year, they brought back their entire offensive line. They had an interesting group of receivers. They went out and signed Shaq Griffin in Free Agency and Roy Robertson Harris in Free Agency and Rayshon Jenkins in free agency and had a bunch of draft picks. And they did not acquit themselves very well here in the first game of the Urban Meyer era. It's sad. It was sadly expected.

Like, I'm not, I think it's because I'm not shocked that, like, that's why I'm not like, I have more to say about it. Like, just how the Jags look through all the preseason. They look so tense. Like, the entire team just looks tense. And I mean, but anyways, but like you said, credit to the Texans, like those RPO stuff, like they are just run pistol like the entire game. Yeah, a lot of pistol stuff. A lot of pistol heavy personnel. Yep. They're 12, 21. And I mean, it was almost like it was almost like the Ravens kind of personnel looks, but like just like a little tweak off of that. And like they'd span this one play, which is just like a zone read RPO where the tight end goes into the flat. And it's a pain in the ass on the end because they don't know if he's getting kicked out or if he has to play like a bootleg. or if you just play an or it's a pain in the ass for him. So they just spammed it the whole game. They're like, hey, they're not getting coached up over there.

So let's just run it over and over and over. But I mean, just even with the Jags stuff, I'm curious to watch this again because I didn't, this game was very, it was minimal. My experience watching this game. I had a, I was more highlights. And I watched, I watched like a quarter because I was like, what the hell's going on over there? But I do want to watch like what Trevor Lawrence did. And of course, I just want to see his progression. He just looked like he was just so super aggressive.

I was talking to you on the phone. It was like he had like a high load. It was like obviously that you should just checked it down. But I could tell he was like, this game's getting away from us. Screw it. He just threw the corner. It was a picked off. The quarter sank underneath it.

It's a great play by Vernon Hargaves, by the way. Great play by. So they're in cover two. Yep. And there was a, the back came as a flat controller to that side. But Lauren stared it down the entire way. Yep. I was somebody, I can't remember who it was.

I think it was Marvin Jones maybe running a little circus route. So try to get back in the whole. and Hargraves just sank right underneath it because he's like, if you're not going to look at the back, you're taking me right to where the ball is going to go. And those are the mistakes you're going to see, right? It's a rookie quarterback. Like the game's getting away from you as a rookie quarterback. He had ball placement issues in this game. I mean, there were a few different plays.

There was an RPO at one point that he missed. I want to say it was, I think it was James O'Shaughnessy. He was a little bit behind him on an RPO. And then very next play, it was behind Shark on a slant. and just he airmailed the first interception that he threw, just a bad throw. But there are several plays in this game where it's like, this guy's unbelievably talented.

I mean, he had a scene ball that was the type of scene ball we saw him throw at Clemson, the touchdown that he threw was a ridiculous throw. I have concerns about everything around him and the infrastructure and just the way he's going to be asked to play this year. But he's a rookie quarterback. I think that he will be better later on down the road. but it was not a good showing, I think, mostly by the Texans defense or the Jaguar's defense. I mean, the fact that Brandon Cooks is making all these plays down the field.

I mean, it's Farrow Brown is screaming down the seam on you, catching. I mean, just, but those, this is a team that the Texans are full of Farrow Browns. Yes. Right? They are full of Farrow Browns. That's what they are. They are full of Farrow Browns. And Brandon Cooks.

And Brandon Cooks is beyond what the Texans are full of. But I think that those guys were put in very good positions to succeed today. The David Johnson touchdown, perfect example, right? The play before the David Johnson touchdown, they had him lined up, I believe wide to the left, and he ran a little whip, and he was almost open for the score. And then the play after that, they clear out, they have him run into the flat, and they're just outmaned on that side. Miles Jack was losing his mind after that touchdown.

And that was the type of game it was. It was the type of game where the Texans consistently put the, their guys in the right spots and the Jags were consistently looking at each other and be like, what the hell is going on right now? And I think it's a testament to the Texans coaching staff. It really is. I mean, it really is. Like credit credit where credit's due. It's they, they did the smart thing. They didn't get spooked off any of their like what they were doing. Like they, they're like, no, we're going to boot the crap out of them and we're going to make these guys like be wrong. We're going to make it hard on them. We're going to make it hard on them as often as

possible. Exactly. And that's like, all right, good job. Like, I mean, you know, you know what you are and you, you won a game. Like, you won a division game. Like, that's what's awesome about it. And I, I really want, I just want to see what they did. Like, I just want to see what the personnel looked like. Because I honestly, like even the Jags defense seemed really heavy. It seemed like they were in 12, like the whole game. And again, so we were talking about the Ravens where it's like these little layers of complexity that you're throwing on things just to make it a little bit more of a pain in the ass to play against us. And I think that's what we saw from this. team today. And Tyrod played well. He made like three or four like really impressive, scattered throws. And it's, I again, I can't learn from this game just being like, all right, man. Like the Texans looked really well coached and like they were really put together and good for them. It's, I don't know what they're going to be over the course of the season. This is a talent deficient roster to say the very least. But there is a chance that over the course of the year, Tim Kelly, their offensive coordinator, who this is his first job. outside, this is his first chance to coordinate this offense when Bill Bryan's not there.

And I'm very curious what sort of offense we're going to see from him when it's like, all right, this is my show now. Like, obviously, David Cully is there, but David Culley's not an offensive play caller. He's more of like a CEO type. You know, he was passing game coordinator with the Ravens. And so is this like the purest version of what Tim Kelly wants from his offense with Tyrault Taylor is the quarterback? And what does that look like? And today, again, it was an offense that was a pain in the ass to deal with. Yes, it stole a game.

And that's what, that's the difference is the Jags offense. Like this is just the best way to kind of like split it out. Like you would take Trevor Lawrence or retire out Taylor a million times over a million, you know. And like, but these offenses like you look at them like if you go paper to paper, it's like, wow, take the Jags offense. Like just even the receiving core and just, you know, line. And going with that, like you know what you're getting with the Texas defense. It's Levy Smith. It's covered two.

Like, you know, you know what you're getting. So that's what is just more shocking that the game playing couldn't be put together that's safer throws. I think they started the game with nine straight throws or seven straight throws or something like that with Trevor Lawrence. And it was just so like again, credit to the Texans. Like they got the Jags in bad position throughout the whole game and it just took advantage of it. So yeah. Yeah. I don't know how to explain yourself.

It's just like, yeah, but good job, I guess. Like great job. Like all those practices they canceled, I guess in OTAs in training camp, didn't need them. Didn't need them. It just came out, torched them. All right. Let's get to a segment that is very important before a week one. And that's pump the brakes.

Pumping brakes, key. A lot of things happen early in the season where it's easy to overreact. It's very easy to overreact. Even down the road, I am prone to hyperbole. I am prone to overreaction. I'm occasionally going to need you to pull me back a little bit. Here, I want to pull a lot of people back. The Packers are probably going to be okay.

I think so. Obviously, you come out, you have the worst loss of the Aaron Rogers as a starter era. You lose 38 to 3 to the Saints. This is a game that got away from them. It's a weird situation. You're playing in Florida. You're playing against a well-coached team that still has a decent amount of talent. A few things go differently here and there.

It doesn't get out of hand the way that it did. I think the Packers are going to be okay. Again, I'm just way more impressed with the Saints after this game than I am disappointed in the Packers. I think that's the best way to put it. It was more like, wow, way to go, Saints. I mean, the Saints defense, like, I mean, it was hilarious, by the way that, like, the third Packers drive of the entire game was with one minute to go in the first half. Like, they, they, they only touched the ball twice in the first, through the first two quarters,

because the Saints had a 15 play drive, I think like a seven or 11 play drive, something like that. And then another 15 play drive. And it was just like that, what a performance. Like, I mean, just they, this is what I. kind of thought the narrative with the Saints would kind of be was that they we would really realize that their best unit is the offensive line we talked about this was show on Friday and or Thursday Friday whatever day was but it was just that whatever day I went 0 and 3 on but it but it was just but like talking about the Saints I think that's just how they're going to be

built is what you just saw today like it was just the play action stuff and James can get deep up with it a little bit um he had a couple quick game stuff but then it was just built through the run with Kamara with a good run game with strong offense aligned. And then the defense just played aggressive as shit. They just kept getting in good positions. Like Rogers just had no time to get in rhythm. They all of a sudden they were just down. I think it was the 17 nothing by the end of the half or whatever it was. But it was just like he just got put the game script just got out of hand. That's why it's one of those games. That's why you're just trying to say to at the beginning. It's, it's, it's not overreact a little bit because it's just the game script got out of the hand.

The Saints pitch like basically a perfect game in the first half. I mean, you can't do any better that you had two 15 play drives in the first half and he scored like yeah i think you're feeling pretty good going in a half like the saints were and it was just good stuff uh james james james played well like he looks a little bit better like he's balls coming out quicker it looks like he plays with his legs yeah he had he picked up several first downs with his legs which i i cannot imagine when you're playing against that team how backbreaking it has to be for james winston to pick up three first downs as a scrambler it seemed i can't remember exactly but i think a couple of them were on third down where it's just like, what, like, Jesus.

Like, that is a deflating. His limbs are flailing every which way. Yes. He's an even more chaotic runner than Mahomes is. Oh, yeah. That says a lot. And when he's doing that, it's like, you know it's not your day. So obviously you have that.

You have the offensive line, which the Packers run defense has been a problem for a long time. I think this is more a case of the Saints offensive line being their best unit and just kicking ass more than it is. Are we going to get more of the same from the Packers? run defense. Again, it's week one. Who knows? Maybe it is going to be a problem, but that's why we're pumping the brakes here a little bit. Yes. I think we should just talk more about how well Dennis Allen has coordinated this team and how well coached their defense looks consistently. There were a couple different plays. The first one that sticks out to me, early, I think it was on the Packers' first

possession. Green Bay got Aaron Jones on a crossing round on third down, which they were like, oh, this is what we want, right? Like Aaron Jones on a linebacker. and he had like two or three steps on Juan Alexander and Alexander takes this an incredible angle and tracks him down right in front of the sticks. Latimore comes up with a little bit of support, a very rich Marshawn Lattimore now. And it's fourth down, it's time to punt.

And it's like those plays kept coming up. Zach Vaughn had a really, really nice play where they tried to slice Tanya and out into the flat like they do a million different times in this offense. Vaughn read it perfectly, played sideline and sideline. Yeah, ate him, ate out that, ate the route up. And then it allows Marcus Davenport to clean it up for a sack. That complimentary football is every piece playing together.

That's what their defense was doing today. And just little tiny wrinkles, like Juan Alexander being the fourth rusher in a lot of their pass rush packages, will they have Tano who is last name I can't pronounce, number 90 who came over from the Saints. Just another like, I'm going to knock people around type guy. The mallors. That's what they do. That's what they do. Just these 285 pound defensive ends.

So we're going to have him, Cam Jordan, and Dadport on the field together with Kwan as a fourth rusher. So you still have seven guys in coverage. And we have this weird package where we have one speed rusher that's working in stunts with these three guys. They're just going to kick your ass. Yes. And move guys. They just, I've always appreciated what they do in those third down situations. Last year they had that, the package was just three down rushers.

where they had the two wide guys in the nose where they would put those three defensive ends on the field together. Just little tiny things that they do consistently, I'm always impressed by. And today was another one of those games. I think the pick that Rogers threw in the red zone is a perfect example. Like Cam Jordan's lined up over the right guard. He beats Royce Freeman, the rookie. Instant pressure. Rogers feels a little bit antsy in the pocket, throws a ball that he shouldn't.

It's a red zone interception. The game completely swings on that play. But you give credit to the Saints defense on that. play. And they just have a lot of guys who can still make plays. And I think a coaching staff who consistently puts them in the right spots. Yeah. And that's what you just said, that last sentence. Yes. Like putting them in right spots. How many times were they just driving on guys? Like just all those short routes. It plays so fast. So fast. That that that's what the, the Packers breathe off, not just a nice run game, but just that those nickels and dimes. Like we talked about the layups,

the layups, the layups, layups, and then they, boom, then they hit three just gut shots on you. Like, boom, that's like the kind of their game. plan. And the saints were just going, we're not even going to let you get that short shit. Yeah. I mean, the Lattimore had a couple really nice plays. They were just all over those guys. They knew what was coming. They really had a good cognizant game plan. And that's like you said, that speaks to Dennis Allen and the coaches put them into players, of course, for operating that fast. But we've seen this before, one of the few years ago, one of the reasons I got on Cliff Kingsbury was he got basically blitzed out of his third down place because he had to throw hot over and over

and over it and the Saints defenders just kept tackling them short. So it would be like third and eight. They tackle them like four yards short and they just happened the whole game. And honestly, like Cliff actually kind of grew from that at first. But it's like that's what they do. They use those pressures not so much to get to get to the quarterback, but to make quarterback go like get the rid of the ball and they're going to tackle and they're going to play sound.

So it's cool to watch a defense play that. Aggressive defenses are always going to be fun and especially his because they're sound. It's not just running shit to run shit. It's actually like really good stuff. And just the way they were playing off MVS too was such an indication of that's a coaching point. It's like, fine. I let you complete this underneath.

Like there is one thing that is not going to happen. You are not going to run by me right now. There was that played on the left sideline when Rogers tried to take the shot. It was not there at all. And then the pick that Williams made, the Marcus Williams made, just a bizarre choice. I mean, maybe you get to a point in the game where you're pressing a little bit. I don't know what he saw there when he just chucked it deep because, I mean,

it seemed like they were in two high. I look where Williams is on the other side and just walked into the interception. But again, that's just the type of play that happens, I think, when the game starts getting away from you. Exactly. That's a pressing play.

Like, like, just a waltz, like, go over to the ball. He, like, meandered around the ref as he was running.

Like, he managed, like, do a left-hand turd signal and pass him. But it was like, that's exactly what it was. It was like, that's what Rogers kind of did.

Rogers did, Rogers has always had such a low interception rate, not because he's just a freak of nature, but also he's, he can be very safe sometimes. So he's controlled aggression. He's all about knifing you when he could feel it. And they just press us, press us.

If he feels that little inch that he can get on you, he's going to go after it. But sometimes he can be safe until he gets to that point. And it's kind of, it was weird to kind of see him being like, like, screw it. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I mean, it makes sense like that maybe he's never felt that way. The stat that they showed at the end of the game, the 35 point deficit was the largest loss in the game started by Aaron Rogers. Oh, the one before was 31 points. This is the largest one he's ever had.

so maybe that's why it is so weird to see it because he's never really been put in a position like this. Yeah, I think they'll be fine. But again, I came away from this game like, oh, yeah. Like, I forgot, like the Saints may not be the Saints with Drew Breeze anymore. Yes. Like, we'll get to Sean Payton here in a bit. There's still the Saints in some ways. Like, this is still a very well-coached team with talent, isolated and important parts of the roster.

Yes, and a former number one pick at quarterback. It's not like James Winston. Some like six-round journey, man. Yes. He's a former number one pick. Come on. Not asked to do a ton today, but almost you like that. We don't want him to throw the ball 55 times and play it like that.

It's like, play within yourself, make a few scatter plays here and there. I'm excited to see what it looks like over the course of the year. Not today, my good man. I'm feeling saucy. All right. It's time for this week's Secret Sauce. This segment for those who are uninitiated is about just a subtle aspect of the weekend that we thought was particularly important. something that a team did that really was the difference in them winning or losing.

And today we're going to talk about what Justin Herbert did on third down. As Bill Barnwell pointed out this afternoon on Twitter, Herbert finished 13 of 16 for 160 yards, 11 first downs and a touchdown on third down. Sometimes third down stats are a little noisy. It's hard to sustain. I think today was a combination of an Uber talented quarterback, some very cool designs, and some just on. the screws throws when they had to be made. He hit a couple outbreakers that were, yeah. That's what we're talking about, baby.

But like you said, it was the combo of that. Like I, you gave me, you kind of like, hey, let's talk about third downs. I went through every single one. I can't like, I broke them now, play by play. There's so, I have six of them. Every single one of them is a little bit different. So my favorite one, the one that kind of made me want to do this is on their first drive. And this happened a couple different times.

The Texans did this with cooks. and I want to ask you about it. So on their first drive, it's third and five from the 10, with about 10 minutes off from the first quarter. Have Keenan Allen wide to the right, they motion him into the backfield. And I think they just let him, it didn't seem like, it felt like that they run that play,

you run that play, assuming you're going to get man coverage there. And then having, he runs an angle route out of the backfield, just right across. They've seen backs do a million different times. Yes. But you're doing it with Keenan Allen. And he's wide open.

Herbert hits him easy first down. the Texans also use cooks in the backfield today on a key third down they motioned him down so when you do that when you're the chargers what are you trying to accomplish in that moment well and like first off you're in that play the one you're talking about they bring him to the backfield yeah that so angles as anyone that's played madden i think they run in NCAA too it's a great play in the red zone it really is because you get manned and you get quarters and quarters coverage cover four that's a great beater against that. And you know what Jack Del Rio? Okay. You know what Jack DeLoreal likes, Del Rio likes to run?

Man. We'll get some of the quarters here in a second. So it's so on those plays, you're going to have a crosser. The outside routes are what changes up based on the team. What you tag everybody else on the outside routes. You have alerts sometimes. You might have some over the top, but always on those angle plays also known as short post. There's some other names. People call it by Noah's angle. Texas if you're running with the running back. Texas route. Yeah. Yep. But I angles. The funny thing is we've seen Camara do it how many times? A million.

And in this situation, it's keyed it out. Dude, dude, we theorized about it. This offense was the Saints offense. This entire day was the Saints offense. Yeah, I'm excited. Again, we're going to talk about it later. But like that angle plays. So you're always going to have a crosser and then you have the angle behind it.

And so if it's quarters, the crosser is going to occupy the linebacker and it has that void right behind it, almost like right inside the hash. And then if it's man, man, if it's one hole and if there's no pressure, they just bring four. the whole player is like reading up it's he's reading the quarterback's eyes depends on the game plan but the other defenders are playing with outside leverage so same thing so you have the whole defender there then the crosser occupies him same thing outside leverage boom there's the angle route right there they ran it's kind of funny they bookended their third downs today with angles they did the one of keen out out of the backfield and then they did keen it out again but out a bunch and then they put that which is the typical angle play and they just did it where he was the outside guy which was pretty cool usually

you do it with the number three guy, like, you know, the inside guy. So that was pretty cool. And they did and that's what they iced them the game going into the red zone again. But I mean, there's, they did smash drive. They, oh, I want to talk about one. Okay. I want to talk about this more like overall offensive philosophy. Why I always say I love my ball winning X's. All right. Mike Williams in this offense is why I like my ball winning X's. This is a traditional NFL offense. And when you're in a three by one set, there was a three by one where he, hit or four by one or four by one yep same same same theory but you're isolating a guy he has to win a true one-on-one and what a lot of those are ends up being go balls fades and stops and it's just like you have to man child a guy and what what you're doing with those three by one concepts you know three three receivers or four by one is what herbert was doing is you're bypassing the read and you're saying my guy is going to win and i'm just going to screw whatever defense you just ran i know i mean you either have man or quarters or cover three over there it's one-on- one between my ex and your one receiver and your one corner over there.

And he hit him like two or three times a day. He hit the stop route. It was in the bunch. And then for the touchdown. The touchdown. It was a four by one touchdown. It was the fade touchdown. And then he hit another one where he backshouldered him on the final drive to ice the game.

He had another one, all the same thinking on those plays. And it's actually kind of cool. You saw the first like the kind of like short, third and short version, which was a stop route. You saw the third and long version, which was a go ball back shoulder. And then you saw the low red zone version, which is a fate. which is so you kind of got to see all three varieties of this. But that's why having those traditional Xs because that's called a gimme.

You're saying that's my gimmee throw. I like the 101. It's a gimme. Take it. Screw the read. Gimmie. So that's why I love that. And of course, it helps when you have Mike Williams, who that's what he's best at,

just posting guys up and just drop stepping on. I'm like, you know, he's a bruiser in the post. But that's what I want to see from this offense. I want to see them perfectly understand how to utilize their personnel. And it was, they happen in so many different ways. Oh, my God. There was a Keenan Allen one where there was a little stack. They motioned him down.

He releases inside against St. Juist and then cuts back out for another third and five. My favorite throw that he made, though, on third down. It's third and ten from their own 43 with 930 left in the third quarter. And they're on the right hash mark. They run off the quarter's corner on that left side. And then from the right hash mark, he throws like a 15 yard deep out to Jared Cook and makes it look easy. Yeah. Like, easy.

When I was talking to Brand Staley a couple weeks ago about Herbert for the story that I wrote, we were talking about those throws. And we were talking about if you have a quarterback who can throw the ball outside the numbers from the other hash consistently and accurately, it literally changes everything for a defense. It changes everything you can do. And he is a rarely talented thrower of the football. And when you can make those throws consistently, you change the complexion of how teams can play against you.

And that's what he did today. And you just saw that. I mean, is he going to go 13 of 16 on every single day on third down? Probably not. But I think that this was a perfect encapsulation of what happens when your quarterback's ability, offensive design, and one-on-one personnel battles fall in your favor against what is a very, very good defense. Justin Herbert won them that game down the stretch.

He made like five or six throws on the nails that won them that game. and it was awesome to watch. He had, well, and that's what is so cool, Herbert, too, is that all these different throws were describing all required different kind of skill sets or a different ability of throwing. I don't know what an official term I would call it, but it's like, like you said, that deep sail route to cook. Okay, that's a, that's an arm strength throw. And that's like, and he stood in the, I think some guy was kind of barreling down to where a guy came

was rushing. And he was like, I don't care. Whipped it just first down, fine. And then like the next one, like he's hitting out route to Keenan Allen. they ran the smash concept in the red zone puts it like high to own because the guy was on the low hip that was a layered throw that was a layered throw that was beautiful spicy and that my favorite was the third the third and 16 uh they ran all curls and they were they were this is what you can do with justin herbert they do the this is what the chiefs do at my homes on third and extra long or third

long is they go into traditional seven man pro where it's it's the tight end the runnerback or if you have two runoffbacks they chip and release and what you're doing is if you want to to bring pressure, we're going to wad it up and block it up because we're going to attack deep. It's a traditional seven step drop back. Herbert can do that because that's what that deep curl concept was. And he hit the middle one to Keenan Al, just lasered it. I mean, he hit the back foot of his drop. Alan was just turning his head around.

I mean, it's just like, oh, I mean, that stuff is so good. And on the same drive, like he's hitting like the basic dig. I mean, the back shoulder stuff. And then he's like doing like under center quick game, like three step quick game running stick. Like it wasn't even out of the gun. Like he did like he looked like Drew Brie. He looked like a six six Drew Brees. Like one, two, three.

It looks weird seeing a six, this guy do three step drops under center. And he's just, I mean, just. And they're all in third down. Those are just third down to those. Those are just third down. It makes me giddy to think about. I mean, it's just like. Yeah.

And again, this is against the defense that we think it'd be really good. Top five. It means really good. Yeah. And just he's making those plays. I cannot wait to watch what they look like all year. Seriously. Because he was just, he was on a level today.

That was the whole shot to the field. This was the first downplay. It's not third down. Oh, yes. He hits only against cover two. field. It's like, oh, dang. Makes it looks easy. That's what that's more frustrating, but I'm jealous. I think that's the best. I'm very jealous. All right. Last one here. This is our last new segment. We're going to talk about who gets the belt from week one. All right. Every week,

we're going to pick somebody that won the day, right? The guy that just owned that Sunday of football. And in a nod to Nate's very deep love with professional wrestling, it's only good. It's only right. that we give that guy the championship belt. So Nate, who gets the athletic football show belt for week one? I'm giving them that Sean Payton. And I mean, I guess I give that to the entire staff and the team, but it's it's Sean Payton. I'll give it to him.

I mean, give him the title belt. How prepared they were today, offensively, defensively, special teams. I mean, just the entire unit came out to play, I mean, entire team came out to play. Getting James Winston to look like a polished quarterback consistently. not just one or two snaps, but actually making a lot of smart decisions. I mean, I'm going to credit that to James Winston

because I've seen him with different coaches before and I've seen the blemishes he had. It's one game. I know it's one game. But I'm going to give him the belt because I just think it was a fantastic job by the entire Saints team today. I totally agree.

This is the conversation we had on Friday about why Sean Payton would be a good coach of the year to bet because this is, this season has the chance and the set up to be a Sean Payton showcase season. where you have this team that I think we all thought over the last few years that arguably the best roster in the NFL top to bottom, right? And they had Drew Breeze. And it was hard to extricate what Sean Payton was as a coach from what Drew

Breeze was as a quarterback. We had some data, right? Yeah. We got to see Chetty Bridgewater and scattered starts and Tason Hill and whatever, and they look good. But that was stretches. Now we get a full season with no Breeze. We get a team that had to go trade for a corner that they couldn't even play this week.

where you're Paul Sinadibo and Desmond Truffant are playing and you know you don't have the depth that you've had before. Deonti Harris is the number one receiver on this team right now with Marquez Calloway. That's where this team is and they shalacked the Packers. It wasn't that they beat the Packers. They destroyed them on a neutral field. And I think that's all you need to know about the job that Sean Payton did, how ready these guys were.

The fact that they have been away from the. New Orleans for the last however many weeks since the hurricane. The fact that they've been displaced and they're dealing with all of this stuff and to play with the energy they did today when you consider just how high the degree of difficulty was. It says so much about that staff and just the overall mindset and approach and is everything that they have come to be as a franchise. I was extremely impressed. It felt like a bowl game atmosphere there.

Like it was like, you know, like it was not a neutral site. It was like, I know. It was like that's what it felt like. It was like 70, 30 Packers fans. It was actually really cool to see the Saints fans at the end of the game. Just like just high-fiving the shit out of each other. Just like this should have been our, this should have been the Super Dome. You know, like just it was pretty cool to see that.

But I know it felt like it felt like it should have been at the Gator Bowl. I mean, between a Big Ten and the SEC team and the SEC team didn't travel. The Wisconsin fans couldn't get ready to get out of the cold. All right, a few things that we're going to keep an eye on this week that we're going to rewatch that we didn't have a chance to talk about or didn't have a chance to watch as much we wanted live. Sam Donald's performance against the Jets. I definitely want to go rewatch that. I mean, the numbers were very good. He had a couple really nice moments.

You know, it's the Jets defense. Obviously, it comes with that caveat. But how he looked in his first game, curious to watch that. Eagles Falcons, I didn't watch the Eagles Falcons. I caught a couple scattered plays. You can't watch everything. I'm going to rewatch that game this week. I'm sure we'll talk about it.

And I want to dig deep. into everything about the Chargers game. The way they looked on defense, you know, just some of the, the fact that they really talk about putting a roof over somebody, that Washington had nothing going down the field the entire game, and that's by design. So I'm excited to see the way that the Chargers use their defensive personnel. That's all stuff that we will get to. One bit of housekeeping before we get out of here, we have a mailbag show that we're

recording tomorrow. Please submit questions. I would really appreciate that. We have a voicemail line, so you can call and you can leave us a voice. voicemail. We will use them on the show. The number is on the screen right now. For the podcast, people, it is 872-22-7073.

One more time, it's 872-22-22-22-7-3. Call us. Leave me a message. We would love to hear from you. I'm recording the show with Mike Sando tomorrow. Really looking forward to that. We'll have a different rotating co-host every single week. You can also email us, athletic football show at gmail.com.

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