The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Week 1 Reaction: Cowboys Calls, Newton & Rodgers Return, The Lions Collapse & More

Episode Date: September 14, 2020

What an opening it was in the NFL. The Athletic's Robert Mays is joined by Nate Tice to break down the highlights of the week with a review of Mike McCarthy's decision to not take the field goal, the Lions' collapse at the hands of Mitch Trubisky, Cam Newton and Aaron Rodgers' returning to form, plus a deep dive into the Colts' loss to the Jags in "What Just Happened?" and more.Get access to The Athletic for only $1 a month at theathletic.com/footballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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I'm Robert Mays. And joining me tonight to recap actual football. Is Nate Tyson. Nate, how you doing, buddy? Actual football. I don't have to watch any 90s Cowboys film on YouTube and throw them up for some likes on Twitter. So this was great. woke up at 4.30 inadvertently and beat my fiance, who had to wake up early for a job and

actually beat her and couldn't go back to sleep to watch today. I kept trying to make myself go back to bed because I'm typically up around 7 a.m. every day just because of the dog. And I was like, I have to go back to sleep. I have to try to sleep more. I'm going to be so tired by 11 o'clock because I'm 33 years old and cannot stay up past 10.30 anymore. But we're here.

It's 11 p.m. central time. We are recording to recap all of the week. one action. It was wild. I don't know about you, but I am definitely not in midseason shape when it comes to watching the games. I was completely overwhelmed. I got another TV from my living room, so I have three. So I had the four box going, the red zone, and then the Bears game in the bottom during the early slate. And I was not prepared. It was just way too much. I felt like I was just swimming from like the first play. Oh, I know. I was overwhelmed. That's the only word to describe. Like you said, my legs were not in shape. My eyes and brain weren't in shape. I was trying

to watch five games at once. And it was like, okay, let's just start with one. And what my first world problem right here was, all right, so I was streaming a Sunday ticket through my Xbox. But then my local blackout channel was the two games I wanted to watch, which was Green Bay in Minnesota. And then the afternoon game was Tampa Bay, New Orleans. So I kept switching inputs. So that was my first world problem of the day. So we're going to have to, you know, it was week one. You know, we're working out the kinks, but we'll get there. And I'll see how it goes from there. So there are a lot of games to sift through, but we're going to start with some of this week's headlines.

Let's start with the game that we just finished watching Sunday night football, the Los Angeles Rams, with a fairly impressive home win to open their new stadium against the Cowboys. Let's just preface every conversation we're going to have tonight with. It's week one. We're going to calm down. they just take everything with like a huge block of salt the size of your fist because we can't learn a lot from this week, but I still think that there are still plenty of things to take away.

I think you can read some things into what happened and that's approach. You know, some guys if you show what they're capable of, I think that's important. So let's just start with a pretty simple question here. When you kind of are processing what happened on Sunday night, are you more impressed what the Rams did or you disappointed in what the Cowboys did? What side of that line do you kind of come down on? I'd say I'm more impressed with what the Rams did. I thought, you know, McVeigh's McVeigh.

I mean, it was cool to see him, you know, throwing some fastballs again today and really, you know, letting golf eat and, you know, putting the training wheels on him as he does. But, I mean, those were, that means he's scheming up stuff and seeing what he needs to see. And, I mean, the play action screen game was great. And I thought the defense was really impressive against a great Cowboys unit, even with they, they were out the right tackle, Al Collins. but I mean, they were, that's still a really good unit and they really performed well. So, yeah, I would say it's more the Rams did real well as opposed to the Cowboys did bad. I think the Cowboys will work out some kinks from that. And they do have a lot of new pieces, even though they do have some continuity.

There are some, there's Alton Smith on the line. You know, those are new pieces that they still have to mesh out and there's injuries. So I think it's more of a Rams impressive day than a Cowboys bad one. I tend to agree. I think that the Cowboys offensive will figure it out. I feel like the offensive line injuries did affect them. You know, that right side was kind of caved in, especially on that last try.

But I think throughout the game, you could see that kind of pop up a little bit. The approach by the Rams, I was a lot of encouraging stuff. I think that it's an exact type of game plan you want to see with golf. I thought he looked really good. You know, he made the throws that were there. When he has time, when he's working within the structure of the offense, he can really look good. I mean, he delivered a couple balls.

The one to Van Jefferson was beautiful. I mean, he had a couple of those today. I like the screen game. I like they're mixing it up in the run game a little bit. You're running some more power runs. They're pulling guys. I think that's what you saw from Shanahan last year. It was like the next iteration of this offense where you're mixing in those power gap runs with some of those zone runs.

Because teams are trying to stop you outside. They're going to be playing laterally. You want to play downhill. I think the Rams did a decent job of that today. And the screen game, that went away with them. Outside of what Gurley did when he was really at his best, they didn't go to that a lot last year. I think they were near the bottom of the league in running back screen. And so them kind of folding that back in, having some layoffs for golf.

And the defense was better than I thought it was going to be. Jaywin Ramsey played well, but this was a really unknown unit. And I think that they came and played against a really good Dallas offense and kind of acquitted themselves well. So the Rams are going to be in it to me in terms of being a wildcard team, everything else. And I think this is the exact version of that team you'd want to see. Yeah, I was high on the Rams going into season. Of course, I sound like a Johnny come lately now after week one of that performance. but I was.

I do believe in McVeigh, and, I mean, he did that, you know, he got a new D-Corporonair instead of Wade Phillips for a reason. And so, you know, and, you know, that was a nice performance from the defensive coordinator. And also it's some of those things where it's like you remember what McVe likes and what he wants. We were talking a lot about 12 personnel and how they might transition to that this year. And then you remember, oh, yeah, every time these last two and a half years, or before, you know, Cooper Cup and the injuries, Brian Cook's last year, was that they want to be an 11 personnel every snap.

And then they drafted Van Jefferson in the second round. And you're like, oh, yeah, that's right. He really, really wants to be in 11 personnel every single snap. So it's one of those things. I really want to see the numbers after the game. Once it's all broken down, how the personnel is broke down. I just really excited to see how it broke down on film as well. Like you mentioned, all the new runs.

And as teams were trying to go into that 6-1 and make it across the board with those zone runs and stop that zone running scheme, they're trying to make it unbalance with how they're attacking it, with windback stuff, with the receiver. coming around and counters or pullers or gap stuff. And they're trying to make it an unbalanced look with pulling stuff to create new gaps because teams are trying to go, okay, you want to go zone on us. This is what we're going to do. We're just going to take away all your angles and all the cloth you can have.

So it's cool that, like you said, it's the next iteration of this Rams offense, just like Shanahan has done that. And it's fun stuff. And I'm really excited to see how the Rams offense keeps progressing and see how Van Van Jefferson gets more looks in this offense. He's fun. I think he's going to be really good. He's good.

He's good. savvy route runners. It seems like he's somebody you can just drop in. It's going to be effective right away. So the fourth down decision by the Cowboys, they're down by three. They choose to go forward on fourth and three down near the goal line. They don't get it. Where do you come down on that decision? Because for me, I go for it there every time. You need to score twice. Even if you tie the game there, you still need to score to win again. And I just don't know if you're going to be a better spot than that. So I have absolutely no issue with it. And when we did the NFC East preview with Sheal, you know, one of the strengths of this team,

And one of the reasons I was excited about the Cowboys is that Jason Garrett was no longer there to make the conservative choices that often held them back. And I want them to be this sort of team. And being this sort of team every once in a while means it's not going to work out. But I love the process. And I hate the fact that McVeigh didn't go for it on fourth and one for midfield when he could have iced the game away. It was an interesting day. I think there were 29 plays today where teams went forward on fourth down that weren't Niels. And it was a mixed bag in terms of the results.

but I do like more teams embracing that. I have no issue with the Cowboys going for it in that spot. Me either. It's process, not results, you know, and I like the process. Be aggressive. Their strength of that team is their offense. So you're betting on your offense, and I'm totally fine with that. I mean, if you're not going to bet on them there,

and you can't assume you're going to have another drive. Like you said, a better situation. You can't assume that that's going to come up again. And also, it's one of those things that's funny that you mentioned that, okay, the McVeigh here didn't go forward on fourth and one. And you remember a few years ago when the Rams, were rolling made their Super Bowl run. They had that huge win in Seattle where Seattle calls a timeout,

fourth and one, Rams were going to punt, and then McVey gets talked into going for it. And I think they've run a QB sneak with golf. I think it might have been a fourth and two. And it's funny. Like it's just how confidence is a hell of a thing, not just a player, but a team, a unit, and a play caller. What did you see from Dallas if you saw anything that worried you? Was there anything?

I mean, we talked, they're going to figure this out. They have enough talent. They're probably going to be fine. Was there anything to you that kind of. of gave you pause and it's like I don't know about that this is something that if it continues is troubling to me you know I I really want to see it again but it looked stagnant still and that that was a complaint when lenahan was there and kellen more as much you know I really like kellen and stuff and it but he's come he's a linohan guy and from those offenses and it just looked very similar to what we've seen

before from the cowboys so cd lamb had a couple nice plays so I'm really excited to maybe take another gander at it maybe if there are new tweaks or is it just more the same they're just on their talent out-talining you. It's, again, like you said, it's a block assault. I really, I think the Cowboys are going to be fine offensively. It's just one of those things. And my Rams played with her hair on fire tonight, brand new stadium, even though there's no fans there.

It's still cool. You know, so it's one of those things that maybe we'll see in a couple weeks. So it's a TBD decision answer for me for all the Cowboys. The only thing to me is if guys keep getting hurt. They lost Fandrash early in this game. We already talked about the right tackle situation. I mean, they don't get Lyle Collins back relatively soon. You know, if the fringes of this team kind of start falling apart

and you're relying on guys that are, you know, two, three deep down the depth chart, they're not deep. They cannot withstand injuries in the way that some of these other really good teams can't. So if they're going to lose guys, especially in the middle of the defense, which is part of their issue last year, then I think it's something to worry about. But right now, I do believe they're going to figure it out.

I just think they're too good not to. And that past interference goes the other way, and then it's a whole different ballgame. Yeah, exactly. You know, that's one play. Yeah, that's, I mean, it's, and I did not love that call. I thought that was pretty, it was pretty weak. I mean, it's, but Jaylon Ramsey, a good cornerback and a very good actor, so good for him.

All right. Let's get to the other kind of marquee game of the week, and that's the Saints and the Bucks. I, I mean, we have two legendary quarterbacks going at it here. I was not impressed with either one. Also, incredibly weird to see Tom Brady in a Bucks uniform. There were some good ones today. like when I saw Todd Gurley running the ball for the Falcons, I was like, this is bizarre. But the Brady one definitely took the cake.

What were your first impressions not only of how he played, but just the way that offense looked with him in there? You know, I thought it would be maybe a little more Brady influence in what they do. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Erians just did what he does. I mean, it's exactly the same as what he's done in 2015 with the Cardinals last year with the bucks. I mean, it's the same offense for better for worse. The one positive I really liked

I love the synergy that he's going to have with Godwin I thought that was going to be great from the jump too I just it was a little shaky today But it just feels like they're made for each other He's like a supercharged version of the players he's good with He's like if Julian Edelman was on steroids Not actual steroids but you know what I mean Exactly he took the Mario mushroom

Yeah yes perfect perfect I know Godwin had a really nice route I tweeted about it but he had a sale route Where he won with the guy and Brady trusted him the whole time. So it was cool that Brady was looking there and knew he was going to win. So I just showed me, he was like, hey, he has faith in this guy. Otherwise, Brady's not a guy that's going to go like, hey, please win this route.

Hopefully you win it. If he thinks you're going to win it, he really thinks he's going to win it. I thought it was kind of cool. He was trying Mike Evans. Mike Evans got his teeth bashed in by Latimore today. I mean, that was a rough go. I mean, the one play before, you know, kind of got out of hand that even Evans hit with the defense of PI,

Lattimore came on a corner blitz. So it wasn't even against Lattimore that that happened. The Saints defense was definitely the story of this game. I mean, I thought that they played so well. And it's just a reminder beyond the star power, just how many guys they have on that team and they can affect the game.

I mean, Lattimore was fantastic on Evans. He essentially blanked in the entire game until it was over. But then you just have guys like Trey Hendrickson making plays, Cam Jordan making plays. Outside of Brady kind of being a little bit, shaking the offense not looking very comfortable. Donovan Smith is going to be a problem if they're going to try to play this way. I mean, he got worked over a couple different times. I thought works, works actually played pretty well against Cam Jordan when he had to deal with him. But I thought

Smith did not. And there were a couple of plays where he stuck out. I was wondering kind of coming in, would Brady be able to mitigate some of that, some of the issues they have in past protection or have had because the way they play. And that just didn't happen. So how that works out over the course of the season will be interesting. But yeah, I was not. not very impressed with how the Bucks played on offense today. Yeah. And like you said with Donovan Smith, it's, and with what Ariens does, it's such an aggressive offense that, you know, Brady is going to take those licks that maybe he's not used to. Exactly. And, and with Donovan Smith over there, I mean, he's holding on the ball a lot. And not only with the pressure it's going to happen,

how aggressive it is downfield. And if Brady, Brady is, his arm strength's okay, I'll say. It's not what it was. He's never been exceptional, but he's been good. Like, he throws a beautiful deep ball and he's accurate. But it seemed to me that some of these, even on the pick six, those throws, Brady can't make a single mistake. He can't be laid on them. He can't miss inside. There's so much less room for error than, I mean, he had some room for error made with some of the throws that he used to have to make. And this offense, that is, I mean, it's built on these explosive plays that are trying to gash defenses, but it's, you know, no balls, new blue chips.

Like, you know, it's, it's maybe Brady's not used to that and pushing it downfield as much as he's going to have to. So I think it's, I want to see. I really want to see what this offense is. It's interesting. I mean, that's the best way to put it. It's going to take a little while. I mean, when you have so many moving pieces, it's something new for him schematically. I'm sure that there is a comfort that's going to kind of emerge over time, but it doesn't look like it's there now.

Jonas Jenkins had the pick six. He's another guy that just, he makes place. I mean, he's just the guy you can drop into that defense to kind of create some chaos. I thought that, you know, Marcus Williams had the other pick. He's another guy. It's just all over the place with this team. Tomorrow Davis at a sack. I mean, at every level, they have people that can make stuff happen.

So I think the Bucks offensive will look better against worst defenses. I mean, this group, I think, is underrated. And at their best, I think, can really give you problems. On the other side, the Sands score 34 points, but that's a misleading number. I mean, Breeze had negative EPA on the day as a passer. He averaged less than five air yards per attempt. It was the second lowest number of the week. I mean, this offense did not have anything going down the field.

And I'm not sure if that's just the way they want to play, how they thought they had to attack this Bucks team. I mean, we're going to find that out over time. But if they're this dink-and-dunk, you know, no chunk plays whatsoever, the only real ones they had are the bullshit PI on Murphy Bunting that was not past interference on that throw to Emmanuel Sanders and the chunk to cook down the left sideline. Other than that, they had nothing where they kind of flipped the field all at once.

And I just think that's a really difficult way to play, even if Drew Breeze is your quarterback. Yes. I agree. It's built on efficiency. And the thing is when you're built on efficiency in the passing game is the quarterback can't make a mistake. It's, it's, everything has to be accurate and all the reads have to be perfect. Breeze is going to have the right read. I mean, it's very seldom he is ever fooled.

But if his arm isn't, we're seeing like usual week nine, Breeze arm, week 10, breeze arm in week one. And that's terrifying. That's scary. Because that is the one thing. When I was, I picked this team to win the Super Bowl. And one of the reasons that I picked this team to win the Super Bowl is I just thought if you played the season a thousand times, they were going to be good more than any other team in the NFC, just because of how deep they were and how many contingency plans they have.

But if we're starting the year and we're already concerned about how live Drew Breeze's arm is, where are we going to be by December? If you are a Saints fan, that is a horrifying proposition that we're already going to be having this. I don't know. How does Drew Breeze look? And we're sitting here on September 12th. I mean, that is not a good thing. And especially as the weather gets colder and they're playing outdoors.

I mean, it's going to be exponential. Yeah, it's not a fast track in week one. I mean, this is, I mean, they've had some issues in week one in terms of stopping people during the Payton era. Would the defenses come back a little bit? Remember that terrible game they played against Minnesota early in the year? I mean, Sam Bradford just went off and put the box last year. So it's that typically they can lose in week one, but on the fast track, I expected them to look good. And they just didn't.

There wasn't a lot happening. I was impressed with the Bucks defense, though. I thought that Devin White was flying around. I thought Murphy Bunting was too. I thought they did a great job on those plays in front of them of cleaning stuff up. Kamara did some stuff to do the goal line. But overall, I thought they did a decent job for a good chunk of the game. But the game plan for the Saints essentially was like, we're going to throw it underneath, we're going to break tackles.

And that's who we're going to be. and that can work in spurs. That can work when you have short fields like they did for most of this game. But for a 16 game season when that offense is supposed to be high powered and explosive, I don't know. I'm going to need to see more than I did on Sunday. That's for sure. Yeah.

And it's one of those things, too, against the Bucks. And they're so aggressive on third down the Bucs defense is too. And I think you brought the point that when we were talking or I was reading your notes, is that they were so good on first and second down. That's where they're built. They're making you getting those third longs. And they're so aggressive. and when you're going against Breeze and what they're trying to do and throw short,

it's not a great matchup with it. And I actually don't even know what the third down stats ended up for, ended up for the Saints. But that is something, it's just, it's the bug, it played into the Buck's hands a little bit as far as defensively versus the buck's offense. But yeah, we'll see, we'll see as the season goes on how it unfold. All right.

So every Sunday night, we're going to have a bunch of different segments. After we kind of kick out of the big stories, we're going to talk about who won the week, you know, not necessarily in the biggest game. just the personalities that really kind of took hold on Sunday. So that's what we're going to do now. Nate, for you, who won week one? I'll say Cam Newton and Josh McDaniels.

Okay. All right. I like it. Yes. And I think McDaniels finally got what he wanted when he drafted Tim Tebow in Denver when he was the head coach there. So I think he finally got. Ten years later, it finally pays off.

It was a Florida quarterback, but it was via different, it ended up at Auburn. But, you know, he just got Tim Tebow's backup. So as opposed to the actual Tim Tebow and as a righty. So but I mean, but it was awesome. I, they actually used Cam way more than I even thought. I thought he was going to maybe a five, six carry. I was shocked. Shocked.

He carried the ball 15 times. 15 times. I thought it was going to be like six. Oh, man. But how they used them, it was like, oh my God, of course they use them in the, it's a Patriots. They're going to use them exactly how he should be used. High leverage situations.

He's loving this. You know Belichick is loving this. This is just, it's the fact that he gets to play this throwback, like option-esque offense. He's been waiting to do this for so long. I'm sure he could win every game 20 to 10 for the rest of the season and he'd be in the best mood all the time. Oh, he's a sad. This game went, like, I think this was probably his favorite game he's ever coached.

Like he was just like, oh, this is what it's like. I mean, so with the things with, I mean, with Cam, what they're doing, I mean, the typical runs we see with the camp, but then they run just like a naked, a lonesome, a lonesome bootleg where it's just Cam on his own. They're not blocking anybody, and he runs it in for a touchdown. It was the same play that Brissette scored on a couple years ago. It was so interesting that because when they signed Cam, I think a lot of people went straight to that Jacoby Preset game from that Thursday night against Houston.

And I think that some people are probably like, I don't know if we're going to make that sort of jump immediately where they're really using him like that. Like that's just too easy. But this is one of the, of all the versions of the Patriots offense that could have existed when they signed Cam. This was one of them. This run heavy. This is what we're going to do. Play action all the time.

They used 80% of their plays in the first half for the play action or runs. And that's what they are. That's exactly what they did. I mean, I thought this was possible, but I even was surprised and kind of a little bit shocked about how drastic they went in that direction. Yeah. It's their own version of what the Ravens are doing. It's just their own Patriots version with a little bit what Camden, Carolina with Shula and the Turner's. And it's really fun.

I mean, it really is. They played it as strengths, and it's fun when Cam Newton plays his strengths because they're pretty strong. And I mean, the play action stuff was a little more vertical than the quick. I mean, they did the typical I formation play action that they had done all these years with Tom Brady. But then they did more that was more vertical hitting. And I noticed they did how much they wanted to hybrid this and make it comfortable. for Cam, they've used Cam's cadence that he is used in Carolina. They didn't use what they've used in New England for the last two decades.

How is it different? So typical Red 80, ready, ready go. You know, that's just a typical Patriots one, a typical NFL cadence. Cam's is the, because they wanted to hybrid it from what he was using at Auburn. He just goes, ready. And then go or whatever there, where it is. But he holds it. That's really funny.

And I was like, okay, but that showed me, though, that they are willing to, hybrid and adapt their stuff to camp. They are not square peg around holding this. And I was really, I mean, I know it's a little small thing, just something little cadence. No, that's so telling though. But even like language and tiny details like that to kind of make things comfortable and really ease transitions, I think is a mark of a really good, smart, open-minded coaching staff. So, no, I think that's super interesting.

Are you with all kind of concerned about just how? Because when I was thinking about this team and their ceiling, I figured the ceiling, the ceiling would be defined by their inability to find big plays in the passing game, just by virtue of their personnel, everything else. They don't have that guy. And I know Edelman dropped a deep dig over the middle on one of their first drives. That would change some of these numbers. But Cam had 5.3 air yards per attempt in this game.

And that's my concern is they're going to have this physical run-heavy offense where Cam is heavily featured, but they're not going to be able to gash you in the passing game. And that's exactly what they were today. So do you think that's just a product? of week one, the game, what they knew they needed to do to win, or do you think that that might show up as we continue throughout the season? I think it'll show up. They need Nikila Harry to make a leap. They do. I mean, that is, that's going to unlock the offense. I know. And that's what I mean. That's, yeah, if we're going, we're going at that point. We're making

bold plays here. Exactly. And but that's what they need. They need a dice roll to hit. And it's, they need somebody to step up and take a leap that they're not expecting. because I think what you saw today is their ideal version of a game plan. And I think really the Patriots will always adapt, especially after four weeks, especially after the buy weeks, they have books on it. But I think that that is going to be their Achilles heel is once they get against a really good defense, I can just sit, and they're really built for it, though, is that the Patriots defense is so good. But they're going to get in these ugly games.

They might lose some games 13-7. but I think they're fine with it. I think they're fine with just uglying it up and staying in every ball game. And there might be some games where Cam just has that magic and just carries them to a victory on offense where they score 20 points. You know, and it's all Cam.

I think they're fine with it. And they're just going to ride with them. Do you know who also is going to love this? Patriots beatwriters because they're going to be at the stadium for two hours and 15 minutes every single week. They keep playing like this. Amazing. The games are going to be so short.

And it's the, I mean, I, there was 12 minutes ago in the fourth quarter of that game. And no other game was had five minutes or less in the third quarter. Like it was like, they were, the game was, I felt at home as a Wisconsin guy. I was like, oh, yeah, this is, this is what I'm used to right here. I'm used to like these two hour. It's like Greg Maddox pitching. I'm just used to these two hour games. We're good.

All right. Let's stick with former MVP quarterbacks because for me, Aaron Rogers won the week. I mean, we're how far removed? So the draft was in April. So we're not even six months removed from the Packers drafting a first quarterback in the first round of the draft and not adding a single receiver. And Aaron Rogers is like, all right, fine, F you. I mean, he was awesome. I mean, there's really no other way to put it.

I mean, he looked like Aaron Rogers, the laser to Adams at the pylon was just ridiculous. The man is 36 years old. I just don't understand that. And then the deep one to Valdez Scantling, I mean, it's a beautiful throw. And beyond that, we knew this offense could have that kind of vertical element. We talked about in our NFC North preview. They had these long striders that could push the ball down the field. What really impressed me about their approach on offense was how they were getting stuff horizontally.

They had Lazard on that little jet sweep. I mean, Adams was doing a lot of stuff underneath. They really did move the ball efficiently and easily. I mean, Rogers had those shots down the field. and they really were trying to get some chunks, but they also had some layups, and I was concerned about where those layups were going to come from. Obviously, a young Minnesota secondary,

but I think you could not have asked for anything more from an offense that I think a lot of people had questions about than what we saw from the Packers today. I like, it's a great point. It's exactly what you wanted to see. They knew their matchup strengths, and they attacked them over and over and over. And that's like we just talked about earlier,

you know, it's a sign of a good coaching staff for a sign of a good game plan. So that was really, really encouraging to see. Glad you brought up the jet sweep touch passes. That was, I mean, they hit that at least several times.

It was twice on the first drive, I believe. I mean, that first drive was really nice. They threw a little bit of everything at them. They had some typical Rogers plays as far as, you know, adapting at the line.

But then they also just had, you know, some, you could see the little floor fingerprints on some of the stuff. And then also you saw the jet suite passes in that drive too. That was really cool. And, I mean, going, I just wrote my note was Rogers blacked out in those two minute drills.

I mean, he did. I mean, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the adams team, he was unbelievable. And then the MVS, I mean, it was like a pat go ball. It looked like a warm up. It was so easy, but it was so cool that we saw the ad lib touchdown. And then we saw the end of pocket touchdown. So it was like, okay, it wasn't just, as long as you're blending those two things.

That's what's important. That touch, the MVS touchdown looked like they're probably in quarters coverage and he just ran past him. Is that what you saw? Yeah. So when you're, when you're sitting there and you know you have a young corner and in quarters when you're lined up like that and it's essentially you know it's man. It's more or less man in that spot. Is that just the decisiveness where he's like, I know if I just go, I'm going to have a young guy that's probably not willing to commit as fast as I am. So it wouldn't be the one read if you go, it's the alert. It's, hey, okay, alert this. And usually alert's a post or a go or, you know, something. And it's always so funny as coaches talk out of both sides in her mouth. They're like, hey, you know, that's just an alert now. That's not number. number one, but then when you don't throw it, they're just like, hey, yeah, you know, that you got to alert that, you know, and it's, it's just the classic coach cop out. It just gives them a bailout.

But yeah, that's, and that's what it was. And that's when you know Rogers is feeling it is he was like, screw it. I'm going to be alert. I'm not checking this down. Like, you know, typically vertical actions against quarters, you know, if it's four verticals, I don't know what the exact concept was, but say it's four verticals against four deep dbs, usually you're going to check that down unless you hit a bender inside. And Rogers was feeling it.

So, you know, he threw that in rhythm. It was not hesitating. It was like, okay, yeah, he was blacked out at that point. Let's get to somebody else who is also absolutely feeling it today. And that is your boy, Russell Wilson. I don't know if he won the week, but he definitely deserves honorable mention. Russell Wilson had more than 20 EPA as a pastor today. 20, which definitely was number one in the league.

And it's just a reminder, I think, watching them today about how good he is, first of all. Because I don't think we really think about. it enough. I mean, in Mike Sandoos quarterback tears, he was right there with Mahomes. He is, in my opinion, the best quarterback in the NFC and probably the second best quarterback in the league. And when he's playing the way they did today, they just don't need much else to go right for them to be a true contender. And you had Jamal Adams making some plays. You had the receiving court do some stuff. Wilson played about as well as he's going to today. And I just don't know what else you need to see from this team than what they show today for you to be

really afraid of them if you're another NFC contender. Yeah, I mean, he had as many incompletions as he had touchdowns. So it's crazy. It's, yeah, I mean, that's, you can't ask for a better week one performance from them. I mean, the touchdown to D.K. Metcalf, I mean, that Russell's going to give his guy's chances.

That's exactly what I expected from them offensively. That when I'm just kind of picturing them and envisioning it, that just kind of deep vertical, hit it, let it go. That's exactly what I assumed they would be. and it's just so cool to kind of watch those two things melt together, your expectations and the results. I'll say the term touchdown to checkdown,

but the checkdown is Russell's legs. It's, okay, if you, if you want to go vertical and take it over, okay, cover us deep, all right. Russell ran three times for 29 yards. I mean, pick your poison. Or it's him scrambling around and there you got four gas D.Bs deep. And then there's, you know, there's Lockett running around underneath, which he did a few times.

And that's what, you know, Falcon's defense looked, how they've looked the last few years. I mean, they struggled with extended plays. They, you know, it's just in the, against the past, against any talented QB, they're going to have their issues. And Russell made them pay. That was the ideal version of this Seahawks offense. This is, you know, Seahawks Twitter had nothing to complain about today. Which is a change.

Which is a change. So we're good. The Metcalf touchdown, obviously it's speed to beat somebody. But you watched how much strength plays a part in a receiver's game because he just, I can't remember who was playing corner on that play. but he just threw him off. Oliver was just, and Oliver's not small either. And he just, he threw him aside and he was totally off balance. I think we just don't talk about how much being strong helps you as a receiver because having that initial separation, yeah, quickness is good to be able to get releases. But also if you just want to shove a guy out of your way, you can do that too. My favorite play of the day, though, I don't know if you saw this one. The one that Russell hit, he was kind of moving around in the pocket a little bit. He never got settled. And he kind of turned his body. to throw back left to lock it, that one on the left sideline at the end of the third quarter, it says it's, one, it's just a ridiculous play. But my favorite part about it is it really kind of shows off what I believe makes him physically

exceptional. And that's how much balance he has and the way he can rotate his body. It's why he has such good arm strength, even though he's small, because he has such incredible torque. But to be able to kind of reset yourself and have that control and balance on the move, I think is what makes him physically just a different. quarterback than a lot of other guys. Yeah.

And with him, if you ever see his throwing style, he almost throws it like a person that looks like he's thrown a dart where both his hips get turned as he's throwing. Yep. And he's thrown like a dart as opposed to the left shoulder forward like a pitcher or something like that. Yep. That's exactly right. And so him throwing on the move, he's just like, ah, I do this every rep anyway. So that's nothing.

I mean, he's the greatest guy I've ever seen throwing on the move. Oh, Rogers. I mean, but wrestles up there. But Rogers is very similar. Rogers is so good at just that upper body control to be able to kind of get your shoulder square and he does such a good job and that's how they create power but it's also just how they create accuracy when they're doing that and i just think we don't talk enough about how wilson gets the most out of his body because that's really to me where he's physically exceptional

is just the balance he has and his ability to kind of play under control while on the move yeah and you know i want to talk about that what you said with oliver and dk too and it's the series before on the third down. Oliver kind of punked DK, Metcalf, and got him on the third down. And they were physical and they're fighting. It's actually kind of fun. I mean, DBs were able to be more physical years and years ago, and then they changed the rules

after the Manning Patriots game and the 2000s. But then it's fun how physical these guys are getting. It's the physicality between corners and receivers has picked up. We saw it in the Buck's Saints game as well. But we saw Oliver. Also, he punk's D.K.

It's the third down. They get off the field, Houten and Holler in that next series, D.K. got him back. So it was cool to see the competitiveness, competitiveness of Metcalf because he might not be that guy that comes up, gets a ball and is all fired up. He's more of just like, I'm a quiet competitive dude.

It was really cool to all of a sudden. He just goes, all right, you got me, but I got you for a score and we're good. Last thing about the Seahawks, I cannot wait to watch Jamal Adams on a good team all year. He was everywhere.

I mean, just and moving around before the Snack, and just getting into the backfield, playing on the edge of the line of scrimmage, covering Julio Jones. I mean, that guy, you can tell how much fun he is going to have being in the mix on a real team this year because he just jumped off the screen from the start of that game. Yeah. And it was so good that they're using him how he should be used.

Totally. I suppose we talk about good coaching. That was a good job by them to just go, hey, you're really good at that. We like to be in cover three, basically every play. No, let's bring you. We're doing stuff with you. And it worked. So that was really good.

Because I had my concerns about that. When you are dropped into a different defense with a coaching staff who's not necessarily as open to be like, all right, just cause havoc. And when they have really a structure that they tend to follow, that was a question mark for me. And to see him in different spots being able to affect the game in different ways, it's important one to get the most out of him. But also, like I was saying before, they don't need a lot. If Russell's going to play like this, you just need splash plays every once in a while. from guys on that side of the ball. Like one or two plays can swing a game for you

when your quarterback is that good. It's the exact formula of the Chiefs fall. The Chief's defense top to bottom is not good. They do not have talent at all 11 spots, but they have two or three guys, whether it's Clark or Chris Jones or Tyrone Matthew, that can fuck the game up in a hurry. And that's exactly what Adams is.

And I just love that chaos creator when you have that foundation that's built on your quarterback. I just think that those kind of, swirling things that, like, orbit around your quarterback are so important. And that's exactly what Adams is to me. Yeah, they're built to go on runs. It's like a basketball team that fast breaks and presses.

They're built to go on runs. And it's like, it's all of a sudden. Touchdown get the ball back. Yeah. And all of a sudden, it's, they just scored 14 points. That honestly is so true, though, because there were moments today where I was watching. I'm like, how do they get the ball back? Oh, my God.

They just had it constantly. I mean, the Falcon's offense was fine. I mean, Ryan through for a bunch of yards. But it still felt like they, Seahawks were in such complete control. And it almost was like a game of one-on-one where it's make it take it and they constantly had it. It's a really good comparison, actually.

All right, one more guy. One more guy who won the week in a bunch of different ways. Definitely has to be mentioned here a little bit. DeAndre Hopkins makes a bunch of money, first of all, which good for him, definitely deserves it. The Texans look terrible on offense without him. I mean, clearly, I think there are issues go way beyond not having DeAndre Hopkins. But if you're new Copkins, you're sitting there looking at that game,

and I'm sure you're enjoying it with like a perverse smile on your face. And also, huge day today. So you wanted to talk about this. I was not impressed by the Cardinals' offense overall. We can talk about that a little bit. But Newk had a huge game. So just in terms of his skill set, fitting into what the Cardinals want to do offensively, how did you kind of see those things meld your first chance to get him in that uniform?

Yeah, I really want to say it was Michael Each had the line. but, you know, it probably was or how mummy, and they're talking about the air raid offense and how they would run the same concepts every year, mesh and for averts and all the stuff and how their stats would be different every year about who had the most catches with that concept. And I think this might have been a Chris Brown story

from smart football. And all of a sudden, he just said, the ball finds the player. Like, it just kind of does. Like, the ball is going to find the player. The ball found the player today. You know, he ended up with 14 catches on 16 targets. And it's crazy.

I agree with you. And no one else I'm more than five targets. I'm looking at right now. So he had 11 more targets than the next highest guy, which is ridiculous. And I agree with you. I wasn't, it wasn't, some of it was Kyle or go do something. Some of it was a lot of that. Yeah.

And that, you might need that against San Fran. And I get that against their defensive and their defensive front. But, you know, that's a little worrisome too. But it's week one. And last year, the Cardinals really adapted. I've mentioned a few times, you know, Cliff has impressed me. He's not just an error rate coach.

He's a creative coach. And even today, it was funny because you could see some of the stuff he ran in the first four weeks last year and the stuff he ran the last four weeks last year. And he kind of like started week one with both of them. And so, but I'm really, I was, I wanted this last year of one of my big negatives with that offense was pressures can make them throw quick. And just because of how they would do hot routes and also, you know, lack of vertical attacking.

And I thought that would be more because of the O line. And I thought with a year shoring up the protections, maybe modern. underizing them a little bit because I think some of their O-line schemes was a little, I wouldn't say archaic or ancient, but it was more what they've worked and maybe in their air raids of pass. And they kind of, after the New Orleans game last year, they modernized them a little bit as a season went on. I just thought they would attack vertically more. They were really getting squatted on a little bit. And Seattle's kind of, or Seattle's San Fran is kind of fine with that with that Seattle type defense with cover three. They're built to make you check down. So I want to, I want to see how this offense looks in a couple of weeks. against different opponents. That's a really good opponent that they still beat. I mean, Kyler was unbelievable. That touchdown run was so impressive. And so I'm still well, I'm still optimistic about this offense.

I really want to see how it adapts to the new pieces that they have and whether they really did adapt with that O line because that might still be their Achilles heel and people might just keep making them throw short. And you can't have Kyler win all the time for you. Maybe you can, but you know, you don't want to bet on that. I want to see them play somebody different because I, I'm just wondering if it's a product of playing San Francisco wanting to get the ball out quick. Kyle average 4.8 yards per throw.

I mean, they were just dinking and dunk in. A lot of design throws, a lot of screens, the same way they did last year. And I was wondering if that approached last season was just because they wanted to keep the training wheels on and they wanted to protect him. But now you're here in your two, you have new Copkins. You have, you know, let's see if this offense can come together. And it's the same type of thing. So I'll be curious to see if they play a team where they're not terrified of the pass rush if they open things up a little bit. Kyler today had 11.58 EPA on scrambles.

He had more expected points added in this game as a runner than Derek Carr had as a passer, which is just absolutely incredible. I mean, they really did lean on his legs. They would not have won this game if it were not for what he did on the ground, just kind of making stuff happen. And that's not, it's a nice little tool. And you'll take that win in San Francisco to start the year every single time. but it's not a sustainable way to play football.

So I just want to see them kind of settle into something that they can actually rely on and that's just not what that offense was today. What's such a big improvement to with Kyle or today too, that he took two sacks, but he only lost six yards on them. So that's already one improvement for Kyle where as well. He didn't have time to take any sacks.

He was taking off or he was throwing it two yards. And they're also throwing it. Yeah, I was going to say, yeah, I don't think he even took a drop today because it was all quick game. But that is an improvement because he was, but he was trying to bail out last year backwards. And so he was losing 12 yards per pop every time he got sacked.

So one improvement there. I will say that with some of their stuff they're doing. But yeah, they might have just been because they threw quick game 40 times. Before we move on, let's take a quick break. It sure was nice seeing teams back on the gridiron over the weekend. Lucky for us, that was just week one. There is no better place to get in on all the action than with Draft Kings,

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Make it rain. Minimum $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See DraftKings.com for details. We're going to call this segment, what just happened? Because that's the name I came up with and I don't have a better one.

So let's start with the Lions and Philip Rivers just engaging in the same sort of late game pain that we have come to know from them. So the Lions collapse. What just happened? What happened in that Lions game? I mean, obviously there was a lot that went down in the final four minutes,

but what do you think was kind of the damning choice either by a member of the Lions or by Matt Patricia in this one? Okay, well, two for five in the Red Zone doesn't help. I would say that, I mean, that field goal is pretty bad. The field goal is easily the worst choice. It is, so I'm watching this game, and I have just conceded that the bears are going to lose. It's like, ah, man, you know, what a shitty game. Mitchell Trebisky played bad again.

You started texting me. That's how I knew. I mean, the defense looks like it's like, you know, they're uninspired. They're broken, which that happened last year. It's like, oh, man, you know, it's hard to play defense consistently when your offense is bad. I think they're probably just beaten down. that trot the same quarterback out they're hoping for a different result. And then up 10, first of all, Matt Stafford takes a bad sack.

He took a sack on that drive that if he had not taken it, it would have been an easier field goal. But Stafford takes a sack, and they elect to kick a 55-yard field goal, up by 10 with about four minutes left. Don't do that. I mean, there's no reason to do that because you're going to give them a short field, and that's exactly what happened.

A couple nice balls from Trubesky. He had Anthony Miller on a beautiful kind of speed out. that really took them down the field. And then he hits Jimmy Graham to get them inside the one on a play where he should have been sacked. And then on the next drive, after a really nice play to get an interception of Stafford by Jalen Johnson and Eddie Jackson, Kyle Fuller picks it off, a gorgeous throw and a really good play call. Going to that play call and trying to get that chunk at once rather than trying to matriculate the ball down the field, trying to use that kind of change in possession. Let's get the score now. I like that a lot.

And then the game is over. And then the bears win the game. So I think the biggest decision, the failure in the Lions here was not a lack of aggressiveness. If you look at their play calls, you know, over the course of those final couple drives, it's not like they were running the ball every time. They were trying to throw a little bit. They were throwing some play action on first down. So I don't mind that at all.

If DeAndre Swift catches that ball in the end zone, it's a completely different conversation. But I do think the one completely unacceptable, indefensible choice is to kick that field goal. I just think you punt the ball there. you make them go down and score twice from a short from a long field and it's just not worth it. The upside there is not worth it to try to get that 55 yarder and give them a short field with not a lot of time left. I agree. And going with Stafford as well is that, you know, he took that sack. So it's already your veteran quarterback's taking a bad sack there.

And then the pick, and like I'm going with off of what you're saying with the aggressiveness. I, you know, they're throwing on third and six there. I think there was about two and a half minutes left, 240 left. And I believe the bears had one time out. So that, you know, if they ran it, they could have burned the time out. So, but I was actually okay with that. There's a, there's some teams out there that would have ran a draw there that would have, you know, lined it up and just ran a basic inside zone. They went for it.

They were going. They were trying to ice this game and keep it going and just go, hey, we're putting a dagger on you. So I was okay with that. But you're just hoping your veteran quarterback doesn't take a sack before the field goal and at all in field goal range and then also throw that pick. But it is what it is that, you know, live by a sword, die by the sword. The fault there was definitely the field goal. I don't, I don't mind anything else. I don't think this is a, the Lions don't know how to play late in games, any of that stuff.

I think the field goal was a bad choice and they could not play defense and then D'Andre Swift drops the ball. We're having an entirely different conversation if he doesn't. Also, I am not ready to kind of change my tune here on Mr. Trebisky. It was not a good game. He did not play well. He absolutely did not play well. He looked completely out of sorts for a lot of that game, but still looks uncomfortable

in the pocket. There's still some issues with what the Bears are doing, even though I think the running game and the offensive line looks better than it did for a good chunk of last year, even though the lion's defensive line is not very good. Had some creativity. Yeah, it was fine. It was fine.

It was fine. You know, some tosses to him. I was like, okay, okay. It's better than nothing. I did like some of the play action stuff because I do think that's the way to get the most out of Trubisky. They didn't do a lot of it last year. We'll see if they keep going to that when it's not in the script.

Because I think early in the game, it's a lot easier to kind of inject those in and not have to go to them organically. But I did enjoy that as part of the game plan. Let's get to Philip Rivers and the Colts because it's just kind of kind of the same old story. The second pick at the end of that game is so brutal, and it's just such typical Philip Rivers trying to do too much stuff. He's throwing the ball way too late, back over the middle of the field.

It just, that's what I hope they were going to try to coach out of him, was Reich just saying, you can't throw that ball and him actually being somebody that Philip would listen to. And I think they're going to be fine. I think the defense was a much bigger problem in this game than the offense, but it is disheartening to see him make those mistakes right off the season he had last year. Yeah, and I mean, he ended up thrown 46 times.

And so I'm really curious, too, is how was Jacksonville loading the box? And that's why, you know, Rivers controls a lot of the line. So it's, yeah, I mean, that's a team that it's weird seeing Rivers with that offense. You know, I mean, how they're built with that offensive line and what they're, what they have been doing the last couple years. So it was just weird. I think I can't really add much more than, yeah. he was trying to do too much and he doesn't have to.

And maybe the defense was leaking today, but I do, I do trust that they, they're going to shore up a little bit. I am still optimistic about the Colts. I think it was just one of those weird games. I think so, too. I mean, and actually, Jacksabell played out of their mind on offense a little bit. I mean, they had some really, yeah. But yeah, I think the Colts are going to be okay.

It's just, yeah, Philip, Phillips just got chill out and just, but others, others do the work for him that he used to have to do everything. I mean, he, 78% completions. he averaged 7.9 yards per attempt. The passing game was fine. I mean, T.Y. Hilton drops that ball on the sideline, maybe having a different conversation if he doesn't. Also, they turn the ball over on Fort Down inside the 10.

They missed a field goal. And Jack Doyle, they had the ball inside the 10 in the second half when it was, I think, tied at 17. Doyle gets called for a 15-yard crackback block. Now it's first in 25. They had three drives inside the Jacksonville 10-yard line. They came away with three points. I mean, that's the type of thing where it's hard to win when you're doing that stuff.

Yeah. My main issue was how the defense played. because Minchu had whatever he wanted to today. And I thought, I know you and I have a similar kind of Minchu mindset here where we like a lot of the stuff that he did. And I really was impressed with him today. Obviously the stats are great. 19 to 20, you'll take that all the time.

But when the Colts play defense, the structure of their defense is not dissimilar to the way that the Seahawks will play defense where we're going to play a lot of zone. We're going to make you play a perfect football. We're going to make you make a mistake. because you're not going to take what's there. You're not going to just attack the areas of the defense that you should be attacking. And that's what Minshu did today.

He took what was there. He played mistake-free football. And you can beat this Colts team if you do that and make the right decisions. And I just thought that it was good quarterbacking all around. He's just hitting spots in zones. The throated shark was really good manipulation where he's faking one way coming back. He does that stuff well. Between the years, he's a very good quarterback.

And he showed that off a ton today. Yeah. And you said between the ears. ears and also his pocket movement's amazing and their line might be a little eh so that's really nice to have and he's used to maybe having that kind of pressure from his Washington state days and i mean the touchdown the shanolte was amazing i mean i'm he i would say amazing but he progressed really well replay that was just waiting half second more to let that ball go was really really well done yes and he progressed to it it wasn't like he locked on that route he was truly reading it out and then he

came to it it must have been his two number two read so it was like oh that's so nice and that route was really nice from from chanolt i think i'm saying his name right but i i really liked him coming out colorado it was really good to see him doing a 201 level it was a double move it was a fake over the ball and then go and a continuous crosser and it was really good to see that they're asking him to do that type of route in week one and i mean it was and the touchdown to chark was really nice it was a it was a fake bubble so they bubble pumped to to the slot to chanol again and then just but uh garner just minchu just put that ball on a perfect spot i mean it was it was It's an easier throw.

You still have to make that throw. It's tight space and you have to get it out on time. Minchu knows what he is. So he is going to max out whatever you give him. And when Gruden is Jay Grun's downup plays like that, that can be fun. It's a cool pairing. It's a really cool partnership because I think it's two guys who are underrated just in terms of the approach and the mental side of the game.

I think Jay Gruden's a really good play caller. I think he consistently puts his quarterback in good spots to succeed. And when you have a guy who really knows how to play the position, even if he's physically limited, I think you can see some cool stuff. I agree. All right, let's get to a couple more here.

Anything else where you were just a little bit confused about what just happened? Okay, so Panthers and Raiders had kind of like a fun, goofy game. Weird game. Very surprising in a lot of ways. I can't wait to go back and watch that, but let's talk about one specific part of it. Okay, so Panthers are down.

They're driving to try and go win the game, I believe, or I think is to win the game. Yes, it is. And it's fourth and one. And they have a healthy Christian McCaffrey, a healthy Teddy Bridgewater, who they've paid both a huge amount of money this off season. And they handed off to the fullback. And it's just, it confused me. And I get it.

And it might be a look that you saw that week that you really like. But you, it's fourth and one and ballgame is on the line. You go to your players and you let your players make plays. And I, it was, it boggled my mind that that's what happened on a fourth and one. And it was really, that's my, you know, what the hell just happened. It was, I was shocked. I was, I really was, because I was, okay, they're going to do something to McCaffrey, you know, dialed up or Teddy, make Teddy throw a quick game, something to get this first down and keep driving. And then hand to the fullback.

So, yeah, that one, that one got an instant tweet out of me because I was just, I was just, yeah, I couldn't believe it. What did you think of the Raiders offense? I mean, obviously the Panthers secondary is a disaster and they probably will be all year. So I'm not sure how much you can take away. But it was encouraging to see Carr pushed the ball down the field a couple times. You know, they had the really nice touchdown to Aguilar, I thought was a beautiful throw. And then the one that's just a classic, like, deep cross the rugs on that play action. We've seen that play a million times from every team.

But the fact that he was willing to uncork it, I was like, okay, like, this is good. These are good signs if the Raiders are going to hit their ceiling as an offense. And Jacobs played phenomenal, which I'm not surprised by. He's a really good player. Yeah. And Jacobs just fits, he's such a nice all-around game, too. He can run any type of run. And, I mean, with that old line, that's really fun.

It's the same similarities that we've seen from Gruden and Carr from these last couple of years. I've compared it to, if you imagine Bill Walsh, 1986, West Coast offense and transport it to 2020. That's literally what it is. It's not like, oh, we use West Coast. West Coast plays. It's like, no, no, literally that split back offense. That's what this Raiders offense is going to be. But the thing is, they actually, like you just said, they attacked vertically.

And it was good to see. You know, they hit at least twice they attacked vertically. And it's like, if we, if Carr can keep them honest and just keep doing it. doing that three, four, five times a game, it would allow them that true West Coast to actually flourish a little bit so you can get those catching runs and not everyone's squatting on it. It was a good performance, but, you know, it's, it's Panthers D was nothing right home about, so we'll see. And I'm really curious too, also to see the Panthers offense a little bit and see that's

something I really want to watch more of when I watch film later this week because I did see some plays that Brady ran at LSU, you know, out a bunch. He ran out the goal line. He ran 11 personnel bunch play. just like he did at LSU. So I want to see how he had, he's adapted his game as a play caller and a play designer as well. A couple more here,

just things that I was kind of surprised and disappointed by the Eagle's second half passing approach. I mean, it was not surprising necessarily to see them struggle and pass protection against a good Washington front. When you got Mack Driscoll out there, right tackle, then he got hurt.

But I was surprised how steadfast they were in playing that way when it was clear that they weren't able to protect. They were going for so much. many play action shots on first down even in the second half and sometimes play action is a way to protect your quarterback but the stuff was so slow developing they said i mean even the things they were doing it just wasn't working in concert with one another there was one play where salamalo came over and pulled the same way you see with play action stuff all the time where he's clearing off the backside but he set up like behind the guard so carrigan is already in the pocket it's

almost a guaranteed sack and at the Washington was sending so much pressure to kind of really take advantage of the lack of communication. I just was really surprised that the Eagles were like, all right, we couldn't throw the ball deep last year, so now we're going to do it all the time. Wentz averaged 12.3 air yards per attempt in this game. And I do think that that aversion of that approach is the way to get the most out of him and this offense, but them just going back to that well over and over again today when it clearly wasn't working, I was really surprised.

And it obviously didn't work out. I mean, they were one of the most disappointing teams a week one. Yeah. And I mean, they have, what, four quarterback guys on that staff too. So you would think maybe one of them would maybe speak up and go, hey, this isn't really working out. So can we adapt at halftime or adapt in between series? Let's take some completions, guys. Yeah, we just get it going.

Hey, we got a lead. I mean, they stormed out on them. I actually, my first note I wrote was like, oh, this might be a rough day for their own. They might take some sacks. And then that first drive, it was fine. Like I think they leaked one in and then they scored right away to Earths. It was first or second drive. Spoiler alert.

It was not fine. It was not fine. Narrator goes, it was not fine. And yeah. So I was, it was, you would hope a Super Bowl winning offensive coach would adapt. And that's what coaching is. I mean, it's day to day prep. It's game week preparation.

It's scouting your opponent. But it's also on game day knowing what, what the hell to do. Not just situationally, but knowing what is working and what's not working. and throwing out entire chunks of your game plan or even drawing something up in the dirt or adapting something that maybe you ran in previous weeks. So that's not promising to see it. It's like they knew that their line isn't like great.

I mean, it's banged up. It's fine. They have some nice pieces, Lane and Kelsey and everything. But it's, it's banged up. I mean, I think you have to differentiate your approach when you know that you're not at full strength and they did not do it. I understand that you built this team to do this in the off season.

You went out and got all the speed because it was what was holding your office. offense back. But at the same time, I think you still have to be able to adapt and you can't be so committed to this one original plan when it was clearly not working. I do want to say before we move on, though, I was super impressed by Washington's defense in this game. It's a unit that I thought on the back end would be a disaster with all the moving parts and everything else. But credit where it's due, Chris Harris is their defensive backs coach. I loved him as a player when he was with the Bears and the Panthers. I think he's a really smart guy. He had his guys ready to play today.

I mean, Moreland broke on that ball so fast on the pick. They clearly knew what they wanted to do, what stuff was coming. And to be able to kind of be aggressive on plays like that and go get the ball while also not getting beat over the top for most of that game. That's a hard blend to hit. And they absolutely did that today. Especially when a team's trying to go bombs away on you. I mean, you mess up one of those passoffs. That's a gash.

And also Deshaun Jackson's flying his wings back into the end zone. So, you know, it was, yeah, I agree. It was a great performance from their front seven. We knew it was going to be good. And they showed up today. Chase Young showed why he was number two pick. And I mean, great point. Their DVs played well as well.

So we'll talk about the Jets being a mess, I'm sure, a lot on the show. I don't think we have to do that today. But for all the talk that Adam Gays had this week about, God, last year was terrible. Just throw it out. Well, this year looks terrible too, Adam. You guys did not play well. One more, I was very disappointed with the Browns. I mean, beyond like the fake punt, which is just, I don't know.

If you're going to go for it fine because you're the worst team, you probably should go for it. But just go for it then. Just line up and play rather than having your punter try to run it four yards against an NFL team, which that guy tried to run that ball looked like what a human being would look like trying to run the ball in an NFL game, just getting absolutely demolished. That choice was not great. But also, are you worried about Baker? He does not. He did not look good today. And it was the same kind of stuff that happened.

last year and just the stuff that really concerns me. He looks unsettled back there. And that is not what I expected playing in this type of offense. I thought week one, he would at least try that he's like, no, I'm playing my foot in cement. And I'm not going out of this pocket. And for a second drive, he was already bailing to his right. It's always to his right. And he just does it every time. It's clean pockets, too, just like he did last year in the year before. And yeah, I thought he would have some improvement. I mean, especially with Stefansky there. That, that, I am concerned. Short answer. Just holding the ball, patting the ball.

I mean, again, it's week one. I don't want to overreact to anything, but I was really hoping he would just look more assertive. The pick was so, the pick was bad because his footwork was so bad. Like, his feet were all out of the whack. And it's like, and he should have thrown another one. I mean, the one, Mleek Harrison had that tip ball later on that one drive that should have been picked off by Chuck Clark.

He did not play well today. He looked really bad. And I, if this keeps happening, and we keep. going in this direction. We're going to have to have a larger conversation. All right. Before we move on, I want to tell you guys about a special offer for our listeners. This is the Athletics, Shield Capadia, here to tell you about liquid IV. Nobody likes to feel dehydrated.

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Our last segment, we get through this here pretty quick. We're just going to call it Ons and Ends. It's a couple things that don't fit in whatever else we're talking about, but we wanted to hit just because we thought it was relevant. And I think this one, you know, the most important odd and end from week one here. What were your first Joe Burrow impressions? You know, I saw what they were trying to do a little bit with him and the fact they were trying to make it.

They ransomed the LSU RPO's at a bunch formation that everybody you know, has augled over this past year. And what that is is they, they line up a bunch. I have 11 personnel and over three receivers. They're running a run play. And then they run a glance with one of the receivers, usually the ex receiver,

the lone guy. And they did it to AJ Green. I saw it at least once. It might have been twice. So it was like, okay, so they're at least sprinkling some of his stuff in. It seems like a little bit what Zach Taylor is doing. It's a little bit of throwing shit against the wall and seeing what sticks.

Which is fine. Which is, I'm completely fine with it. Because as long as this stuff sounds, it's okay. It's the stuff when everyone gets a little gimmicky and they're just doing shit to do shit. That's when the stuff unravels

as we saw with the Browns last year. This one, it was at least sound stuff. So I'm okay with it. And yeah, I don't know. I really want to watch it. That was a weird game overall.

Yeah, I thought he was fine. I mean, I don't think there are a ton of takeaways. A lot of dick is a lot of underneath. him getting the ball out of his hands. I mean, they did not try to push much down the field.

I think that it's a young quarterback. They're trying to keep him safe. That offensive line is not good. I mean, Bobby Hart had hands full with Joey Bosa today. That will be a trend for them this year. But yeah, we'll see what happens. I mean, they could have won that game, which is really funny.

But I, not a lot to take away. Yeah, he looks okay. Yeah, he looks okay. Agent Green's back in. Yeah, I think they'll be okay. I just think the week one, they're clearly trying to wait in here pretty slowly. They're some game where they upset somebody. Yeah, absolutely.

I think they'll be fine. He didn't look bad. I mean, he looks fine. And I think that's exactly what you'd hope for. A couple more things. things here. Big week for the Fox scorebug. You and I are in agreement on this. It looks great.

Great. As soon as I saw it for the first time, I was like, ooh, that's a nice little design. Overall, I thought that the broadcasts were not as weird as I expected them to be. Yeah, I agree with that. Actually, that Bangle's game, the crowd noise was like, actually, I felt, I was like, oh, the crowd's getting into it. And I was like, oh, no, that's, that's pumped in a little bit. But I actually, unless,

it was extra points and field goals. That's when I would just get taken out of the fourth wall would be broken a little bit. Also, then it was just, that would get kick and I look up and also in the stands, there was just emptiness. And I was like, oh, that's right. That's right. They're playing. So the one part where that did have a huge factor. I thought maybe this is anecdotal, there were way more hard counts and neutral zone infractions and everything else in this week than I can remember in a really long time because it's so clear what the quarterback was saying. I'll be curious to see the numbers on that. But did it seem to you like that was a bigger part of these games?

Yeah, a huge part. That's something I really want to touch on because I mean, we saw Aaron Rogers right away. It was like, oh, that's always going to happen, though. I'm on the road in Minnesota and I get to use hard counts. This is great, you know, so I think veteran quarterbacks are going to be the ones that utilize it more just because their heads aren't spinning and then, you know, other stuff, you know, other teams, the coordinator or the coordinator might control the snap count. So, but I think some of these veteran guys are going to get a lot each week. But on the flip side, there are going to be some some jump snaps by the defense line that are going to get some quick hitters, you know, some that guy's going to beat the tackle before, I mean, right. as the ball snap.

But these veteran QBs are going to take advantage of that and it's going to happen. So that road game advantage, you know, that or some home game advantage that some of these teams' defenses have might be mitigated a little bit against some of these veteran quarterbacks that know how to use it. That was a weird part of week one, but for the most part, felt pretty good. Felt pretty comfortable. Felt like we were back at it. I mean, our first week one together, but outside of that, you know, it was like putting

on like a really comfy sweatshirt. I felt good. It felt good to be back. It was so nice just squat and making an in-ded on my couch and then getting up after four hours and going, I got to eat lunch. You know, that was a nice feeling. It's good to be back. All right, buddy. I really appreciate it.

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