The Fumblerooski Podcast - Mr. Worldwide -Ep 291 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: September 6, 2024

The NFL is back! Are the Ravens’ struggles and Chiefs’ big plays indicative of the season to come? With the NFL expanding to Brazil, will the Eagles or Packers make their mark in a foreign country? Can the Packers prove they weren’t a fluke? Can the Eagles redeem themselves? Chris Costich, Adam Wright, and CJ Medeiros debate these topics and more! Also this episode features the return of our weekly pick ‘em predictions!

the Chiefs beat the Ravens by a toe on Thursday night football to open up the 2024 season. Tonight, the Packers face off against the Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Followed by that, we'll have our game picks for week one of the 2024 season, including our game of the week. You're listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns.

Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. You are listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power 88 Dean Radio and Secret Weapon Consulting. I'm Chris Kostich. With me, Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, as we have our first Friday episode of the season, and it's week one. And what a way to start week one with the game that we had last night between the Ravens and the Chiefs. A thunderstorm to start the game, delaying the game by 20 minutes. And boy, I'm freaking tired right now just from having to stay up to watch this game. But boy, was it worth it.

Chiefs going up by 10. Ravens crawling their way back to make this thing a game and give themselves a chance to even tie this thing up. And it came down to a Lamar Jackson jump ball to Isaiah Likely. Isaiah Likely, you would have thought it was Mark Andrews. No, it was Isaiah Likely who had nine catches, 111 yards, and one touchdown. And it probably could have been two touchdowns if he just kept his big toe from being on that out-of-bounds line.

Whew. What a start to the season. Fellas, what are your thoughts? Wow. Well, my initial thoughts are the Chiefs may or may not have found their wide receiver one. I thought Rasheed Rice was incredible in this game. Every time the ball was in his hands, not only did he showcase his speed, but he showed his quickness. He has great hands as well. This is a kid who, I mean, they may have found their Tyree kill replacement. I don't, I'm not saying he's going to be as good.

There are levels to being a wide receiver one. And I think maybe they found that guy, which is exactly what they needed in order to stay in content tension for years to come. So it was an encouraging sign for the Chiefs, and I think that's my biggest takeaway, is they found a guy who can move the ball down the field for Patrick Mahomes. Completely agree. Had three touches, and those three touches got himself 68 yards and two touchdowns, and he showcased that speed like a mother.

That's for sure. CJ, your thoughts. This was a game. I mean, I'm not going to lie. I was kind of expecting fireworks, and I feel a little let down. I'm very whelmed, not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed, just whelmed. And it was one of the games of all time. Oh, yeah, it was certainly one of the games.

But the thing for me is that I know Kansas City won, but it felt more like Baltimore lost because they were just so undisciplined, so many missed throwsined so many missed throws so many penalties and I'm sorry Ravens fans that was not a touchdown the amount of Ravens fans are actually saying oh no they should have let it stand no now look I am no all-seeing ref guy but it was likely not a touchdown. And on top of that, I mean, look, Lamar played well, but it's just, they did not utilize Derrick Henry as much as I figured they would. And I know they were playing from behind, but this guy is a proven playmaker. And look, he had 11 carries on the game. You may say, okay, that's a little underutilized.

That doesn't sound too bad. Well, it does when you realize that eight of those 11 carries were in the first half. He toted the rock three times in the second half. That is unacceptable. And as for Kansas City, yeah, Rasheed Rice might be that guy. And also, here's a shout out to the recently extended Noah Gray. This guy was making plays all night. And by the way, I would officially like to offer my condolences to any fantasy owners of Travis Kelsey and Mark Andrews. It wasn't y'all night, I'm sorry. But overall, yeah, this is a good win for Kansas City, obviously. I mean, even though I do think it was more Baltimore losing, you cannot mistake the fact that Kansas City did take advantage of a lot of opportunities, and they didn't let any setbacks like the Roquan Smith interception really, they didn't let that get to them and they were able to play good football. They almost folded in the end, but football is a game of inches. And for the Ravens, this is just like a measuring stick game. You can go toe-to-toe with them,

but it's still clear you need a little more. And yeah, by the way, one last thing, Ravens fans, for God's sakes, work on your offensive line. I think Adam mentioned it last episode. Three-fifths of the offensive line is gone. And it showed. Outside of Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum, actually, let me rephrase that. Outside of just Tyler Linderbaum, because it's a matter of when, not if Ronnie Stanley gets hurt, you're screwed,

but Kansas city, take the win saver. We'll see you next week. I just want to touch on a couple of points that you just made there. CJ, that I think really outlines this game and kind of is what we saw in the AFC championship game, unfortunately,

right? Like Derek Henry only having 13 carries and three of them were in the second half. It's the same thing that we saw in the ball in Baltimore, in the AFC championship game against the chiefs, the Ravens feeling like they have to go to the past game all of a sudden and just strictly throw the ball when they don't really need to. They're down by one score,

the majority of this game. And even being down by 10 with 10 minutes to go, I feel like you should still be comfortable with running the football. Yeah. You kind of have to have some urgency, but you still should be comfortable running the football with Derrick Henry, especially Derrick Henry in that spot. I mean, Lamar Jackson also had himself a lot of carries, 16 carries, under 22 yards.

But the reason you have Derrick Henry there is to take the load off your quarterback, especially a guy like Lamar. So that's just me. And on top of the mistakes, they only had one timeout, and they only had one timeout remaining by the time there was five minutes left in the game, and they used it with two and a half left. That's missed opportunity there. Yeah, and that might also come down to the offensive line as well.

Lamar Jackson, we want him to have a better throwing ability than he has. We know that he has a good arm. We know that from time to time he can make very good throws. We saw it last night a couple of times. We know that he has a good arm. We know that from time to time, he can make very good throws. We saw it last night a couple of times. We saw some bad ones. We also saw some pretty good ones. You can't do that if you don't have an offensive line to give him time to sit in the pocket and find the guys who you went out and got. You used first-round picks on Rashad Bateman and Zay Flowers. You have Isaiah Likely, who had a pretty good game. You have Mark Andrews.

You signed Nelson Aguilar. I mean, it's Nelson Aguilar. It's a wide receiver three. Take that how you choose. It all comes down to the offensive line. If Derrick Henry can't find holes to run through, if Lamar Jackson is forced to tuck and run every time, which clearly the Chiefs were completely fine with them doing,

he was able to run all over the team, but it looked like the Chiefs didn't really care about it. They're sitting back and they're saying, unless we can get this guy to take the top off our passing defense, not a rushing defense or passing defense, he can do whatever he wants. And they allowed him to do that and they were still able to win by a touchdown. And that's something to look at because usually the Ravens have some pretty good offensive lines this year this year it looks worse than it has ever looked under Lamar Jackson it's at a point we may be able to make a strong case they're Bengals the rival offensive line is a little better this year

which is a lot to say because those Bengals offensive lines, even with good personnel, those teams suck because their coaching is also bad. That was something to look at. And if you guys have anything else on this, I have another point to touch on if anybody else wanted to. I hit all the points I wanted to make, so. Okay. Let me guess.

Are you going to talk about Xavier Worthy? No. Oh, thank God. Xavier Worthy. Listen, there was nothing really to prove with Xavier Worthy. He looked solid, but we'll have to look at that later on in the season because it was too small a sample size. He had two catches, and he had one handoff.

Two touchdowns. good but not enough to say we found our wide receiver one rishi rice is that guy right now but uh my point was did you guys notice travis kelsey in this game no he had like three catches that was most of it i noticed a lot of the time he was on the line blocking and my point is what did they really do to replace the left tackle they just i understand donovan smith was nothing was not really much kind of a bit of a nothing burger but at least he kept mahomes on his feet i I know we're going to say a lot about this Ravens offensive line today. We already did. But let's not excuse that Chiefs offensive line that never replaced their left tackle in Donovan Smith.

I get it. Highly, highly, very much penalized tackle but again what he did well was keep Mahomes on his feet if Travis Kelsey has to stand on the line to be an extra guy to block that's one less target one less elite target I might add where you need other guys to step up. And that could be Travis Kelsey's days are limited. He's going to be out of the league in a few years or at least past his prime. But if you're looking at just winning right now, that does affect him right now. Yeah. Yeah. yeah and yeah especially when you're you're gonna have hollywood brown back maybe next week

if you're the chiefs he's gonna be starting to practice again next week potentially gonna play week two so you're gonna get one more weapon coming back so i mean if that's the route that the chiefs go that's the route that the chiefs go and i feel like that even if you have noah gray or travis kelsey act as half a left tackle or whatever half a right tackle whatever you want to call it they're still going to have like solid weapons to spread the ball around to, to the point where it probably won't be. What's the word? It probably won't be as big of a factor, but I mean, it's week one. We'll see how it happens.

A lot of times teams will throw something out that's in week one and then week 15, it's a whole other thing and it's completely different so you never know any final thoughts before we move on yeah one last thing on the left tackle spot replacing donovan smith was a byu rookie kingsley suamataia i believe it's pronounced yeah and here's the thing you know that they don't have a lot of confidence in this kid if they're sending Travis Kelsey out to block. Kelsey is a notoriously lazy and just poor blocker. This is not news.

But it's the fact that if you are having him block, you are truly in dire straits. And Suomata'ia did okay. He did allow a sack and he did get away with a few holds but you know what else is new but overall i would say he did fine i think this is just like a learning experience for him but you better hope this kid pans out and pans out fast because oh my god if he doesn't it's actually going to be problematic listen travis kelsey had a decent game blocking i thought he was all right um it was good enough so that mahomes he had time to throw and they were able to run their plays with pacheco with with rushing plays but uh

i mean like they like you said we need this kid to pan out because they need travis kelsey out wide they cannot have him on the line i know we we want those all-around blocking tight ends as well but there's no denying travis kelsey's best feature is his past his his uh his receiving ability not his blocking if he he can block, great. But they need more help in that pass-catching core than they've ever needed before. And if they're going to win three straight, be the first team to ever do that in the Super Bowl era, they're going to need Travis Kelsey doing what he does best.

So that was the concern for me last night. I just, I was like, why is this kid not out running routes? And then you notice on replays that he's out blocking. It's like, Oh no. I mean, it seems like the guy figured out like I gets a Ravens defense that historically is always really good.

So I think that, like I said, I it's one of those week one things i think once we get to week 15 we're looking at a completely different thing yeah so those are the thoughts that i had rishi rice uh both offensive lines were something to look at it was sloppy football play um yeah cj cj pointed this out before the episode i mean this was i mean it was a good game but don't let the fool he said don't let the score fool you and i'm speaking for i'm speaking for him as he's right in the the frame next to me on this episode but um yeah i mean don't let the score fool you. It was kind of, it was a little sloppy play.

Yeah, there was some scoring, but the offense looked a little shaky on both sides. And that's just goofy early season play. So let's see what both of these teams look like later on in the season. All right. And with that, we'll move on to tonight's contest. The Green Bay Packers versus the Philadelphia Eagles playing in San Paulo, Brazil. God, I hate the fact they're in Brazil right now. This is what a cluster frick this is, to say the least.

Nobody wants to be in brazil you got the two teams that wear the color green in a city that you'll get shot if you wear the color green i can't believe that they did that they can't even leave their hotel because of said potential to get shot because you're wearing green there's a lot of sickness and a lot of violence in general going on in South in San Paolo. So they can't even leave their hotel room. I can go on and on about this, but I'm not a spread is at two and a half in favor of the Eagles.

I say that tonight is going to be the Eagles night. I'm going to go with the, the line here with, I think it's going to be the Eagles night, but it's going to be the Eagles night. I'm going to go with the line here. I think it's going to be the Eagles night, but it's going to be a close one. Jordan Love is going to really show out tonight. Kind of, what's the word? What's the word? What's the word? Only you can answer that, man.

I believe in you. I don't know. Kind of continuing on from the momentum that he brought from the end of last season into this season, he's going to come out with a really good start to this season, but I don't think it's going to be enough to get his team the win for week one. And we've talked about this a lot on the show as well, how Nick Sirianni's coaching for his life.

I think he starts out with a week one win despite that i think that there's a great potential he is done by week five but i think yes the week one win puts a little bit of faith in philly nation and they start out with a good start yeah i i'm looking at this packers team that finished the finish the season as hot as any team in the entire league last year um they pulled off they pulled off an upset in the wild card round and they danced with the eventual conference championship the eventual conference champion san francisco 49ers they very nearly beat them i'm looking at that i'm looking at the fact that the eagles they didn't finish the season very strong i'm just looking at purely at momentum right now and i'm also looking at the the fact that the Eagles added a lot of new faces to this team. Most of this Packers team is all returners. And you look at that,

I think the Packers have a pretty good shot at an upset today. You know, you're going into, and you're both heading into unfamiliar territory. It's all, no one has home field advantage here. I think the Packers have a very good chance at winning this game. And I think Jordan Love going into his second full year starting, Jalen Hurts, I think this Eagles team is going to figure it out. But I think they're going to take some time in order to do it because not only did you have a really bad start to last season,

you also have some new faces on this team that you're going to have to figure out over time. That's not just going to gel together. That's not how football teams work. You can't just throw a whole team together and then just have it work out. I think this is a good Eagles team, and they will be eventual NFC East champions.

But, I think they lose this game. Give me the Packers. CJ, what say you? We got one and one. Ah, yes. I get to decide the popular opinion. Very nice. nice so first and foremost i think this is going to be a good game i am actually expecting more fireworks than we got in kc baltimore watch the statement come back to bite me but that's just my opinion and they're coming to us live from beautiful brazil where the fauna is as plentiful as the gang violence i'm sorry chris i

had to you you stole my bit from me but sorry no but i'll like i feel like what was the nfl there okay but all that aside philly as you know i have have going to the NFC Championship game. And for that roster, absolutely. But there's going to be a gelling process, like I believe Adam mentioned, that needs to happen. And whereas the Packers are largely the same team they were last year, except for the fact they're now a little older, a little wiser. And Jordan Love got the extendo, to borrow a word from our good friend Chris. And I just, I feel like this is going to be the true definition of a measuring stick game, at least on the defensive side of the ball, because the Eagles' pass rush, that front seven is nasty, ferocious even.

But the back four is a wee bit questionable. I mean, look, you got big play, slay, and that's cool. Wonderful. But you got not one, but two rookies in Cooper Dejean and Quinion Mitchell. And the Packers, like I said said I'm not the highest on their receiving room but Jaden Reed Christian Watson and Romeo Dubs are all pretty solid in their own right and I would say that there's not a single guy in their top three that I would outright consider bad not by any stretch of the imagination I would consider underrated in my opinion.

You know what? I could give them that. I need to see more, but underrated is an acceptable term here. And as for Philly, it's all going to come down to play calling because Philly has more star power, but it's all on Sirianni's shoulders. Now they have a new OC and they have a new DC. Thank the Lord, because the others there just were not getting it done. Even a blind man could see that. And Saquon, he's the new guy. He's a new kid on the block for Philly, but he might hold the key to this game because you don't want your Golden Goose and Jalen Hurts running all willy-nilly

and getting hurt. Tush push or not, which will they try it without Jason Kelsey? Let's see. And you're going to have to run the ball more because if you have just Jalen Hurts just ripping it 30 times a game, we learned last season that does not work. And I bring all this together to say that true, the defenses are going to be tested, but this is going to be a battle of coaches. Who is going to out-coach the other? And just solely on that, I think the Packers will take the upset. I think that Packers head coach LaFleur is going to out-coach Sirianni. It might be a close game, and I expect there to be fireworks, but the Packers will be the ones standing and walking out of Brazil, albeit very fast at the airport so that they don't get shot.

I'll make a mini-p mini prediction within this Packers team in the next couple of years. Between their trio of wide receivers, the young kids that they have, Romeo Dobbs, Christian Watson, Jaden Reed, it's a matter of when, not if, one of these guys turns into a number one target. Just history with this Packers team shows some of these wide receivers take some time. Jordy Nelson, Devontae Adams, neither of those players eclipsed a thousand yards within their first three seasons. And then they just flipped a switch and then they just turned it on. And all three of them have that potential to do it. And when you have an elite potential, I'll say potential,

so that nobody thinks I'm jumping the gun on Jordan Love, even though he looked amazing last year. They have a potentially elite franchise quarterback in Jordan Love to help them do it. So you have a bright future ahead in Green Bay, and I think we're going to see that in this upcoming game tonight. All right, and with that, we'll step aside from the Green Bay and Philly game and move on to our 1 p.m. games. So if you're taking notes from this podcast

bet the Packers bread and bet the over that's basically what we're saying alright so we'll take a quick break when we come back we'll get into our Sunday pick starting with the 1pm slot you're listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the staff sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws.

Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. You're listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast. Chris Kostic, CJ Medeiros, Adam Wright, and we're all powered by Power 8018 Radio and Secret Weapon Consulting. So we move on to the Sunday slot.

We have the first two games of the season out of the way, and now we got the 1 p.m. slot, starting out with what will potentially be the worst game of the weekend the patriots versus the bangles in cincinnati ohio since he has the spread by eight and a half over unders 40 and a half this one's a weird one this one's a weird one right got jacob brissett starting for the patriots it's whatever on the bengal, you might not even have Jamar Chase holding special in Cincy. So, you know, this might end up being a better game

than what most people anticipate. That's why I'm not calling for the Patriots to cover. I still think the Bengals are going to win this one by at least 10. This Patriots team, I mean the defense is still going to be fine without you on, but it's not going to be what

they were able to do last year. Christian Gonzalez is going to have a tough task with covering Jamar Chase if he even plays. If he even plays. If even plays if he doesn't then he's going to go up against T Higgins we know what he can do against T Higgins but like I said I his Patriots team especially the offense is not going to do a whole lot so I'm going to go with Bengals on this one by 10 at the very least 10 I'll keep it short and sweet give go with Bengals on this one by 10, at the very least 10. I'll keep it short and sweet.

Give me the Bengals. It's not going to be close. It'll be – I'll rephrase. The Bengals, sometimes they have tough stretches early on in the season, but I think for once they're not going to start 0-2. I'll just say that much because the Patriots, let's face it, they're a mess. And they're not playing for this year. They're playing for one to two years in the future when Drake May is developed and they somehow, someway find their wide receiver one

and a competent offensive line to not get Drake May murdered. So, yeah, give me the Bengals. This isn't an easy pick. This isn't an easy pick. This isn't a hard pick. So for me, Adam mentioned it. Cincy is notorious for struggling out of the gate, and that has been an issue that plagued them. But on the flip side, for New England, there's a talking head up in that region who described it as a, quote, take your medicine year for the Pats. Once again, you're not playing for this year. You're punting this year, right? head up in that region who described it as a quote take your medicine year for the pats once

again you're not playing for this year this is a you're punting this year right so as a result even when since he's well documented for season struggles i do not see new england pulling off this game i don't even think they're going to cover the spread. I could see the Bengals by two scores. But mark my words, if it's close, like even if Bengals win and New England covers the spread, that actually is going to make me panic for Cincy. I like it. So basically, Cincy all around the board. Yep.

Move on to the next one, Steelers-Falcons. And this is one of those games where it's really going to come down to one offense and one defense. It's going to come down to the Steelers' defense versus the Falcons' offense, right? First games with Kirk Cousins at the helm. First games with all the very, very pretty toys that the Falcons got on defense.

Steelers, first game with Russ. How great. How great. So, Falcons, I'm going to take the Falcons. The spread's at three and a half. I say Falcons by seven on this one. Like I said, it's going to come down to the Steelers' defense and the Falcons' offense.

Because the way the Falcons' defense is right now, they were good last year, and they're going to be really good this year. And the Steelers' offense, potentially worse than what it was last year. It is – actually, not even potentially. It really is worse than last year. So I'm going to go Falcons by seven. This has the potential to get ugly, though. I'm going to agree with you 100%.

In just about every single way, this Falcons team is better. I think the defense, it's close on the defense, but not that close. They have a couple pieces on that defense, and that's it. The Falcons all around have a really good defense. They have a good offense. That's something the Steelers don't have. They lost more than they gained this offseason. It's not close.

Give me the Falcons. the Steelers, I just, they do not have the flash that Atlanta does. Pittsburgh got worse this offseason, and now you have a bunch of Steelers fans crying into their breakfast of Primanti's and Jim Beam screaming, Steelers country, let's weld. Yeah, no, I'm sorry. There will be no welding today. Give me the Falcons. And by the way, your OC is Arthur Smith. So it's like, oh, but he's a step up from that other guy they had whose name I'm blanking on.

But no, it's not a step up. It's a lateral step. You have not changed. And now you are short one Deontay Johnson. It's a lateral step. You have not changed. And now you are short one Deontay Johnson. It's over. Give me the Falcons, and they're going to win by more than three and a half. Matt Canada is the name you're thinking. Oh, yeah, Matt Canada.

No, I'm sorry. I do not see a difference between Matt Canada and Arthur Smith. I just don't. Once again, not a step forward, a lateral step. I don't understand why they thought that was a step up. One coordinator who failed to utilize his star players to another who did the exact same thing over in Atlanta. This is a Steelers organization that's supposed to be one of the best

in the league, one of the best in the league. One of the best in professional sports. But what the hell was that? I don't know. Cardinals-Bills in Buffalo. Spreads at 6.5. Over-unders 47.5. I say Cardinals cover.

Cardinals are going to cover. But I'm going to go Bills on this one. I think it's going to be a one-score game. Cardinals are going to come out flying in this one. I feel like this Cardinals team has got a lot to prove. It is much better than what it was last year. And I think they're going to shock some people, but not to the extent of beating the Bills as well.

I think that Josh Allen is going to have a really good game because, let's be real, the receivers that he has this year, he basically has the same receiving core that he did last year, right? Because just Fawn Diggs the last half of the year was nonexistent. No Gabe Davis as well. You trade him out for Curtis Samuel. He's basically in the same position as what he was in last year, essentially. It's true.

What? Who are you taking? Bills. Bills? Yeah. Me too. Give me the Bills. We're going to find out just how elite josh allen is obviously you need a wide receiver one so one of those guys who you have right now

needs to step up curtis samuel khalil shakir keon coleman one of those guys needs to step up but they're still going to be a solid team because as long as you have josh allen you have a chance to be competitive um and we're going to find that out with, against this Cardinals team that is still kind of in its rebuild process. They're, they're working on it. They're working through it. They have some good players. They're not there yet. And the bills, I think they're, they're despite all they lost. They're still a little, they're still a little closer. Also, this is a counterpoint, but I just wanted to make this point in regards to the entire season for the Bills.

Last year, other players showed out on Stephon Diggs' watch because Diggs drew so much coverage from the defenses. Now Khalil Shakir is going to have a lot more defensive attention. Same thing with Keon Coleman. They were open because Stephon Diggs was there. Now you're at a point where Diggs isn't there anymore. He may have disappeared,

but he was still a wide receiver one. And he's a guy who, he's more valuable than the bills think so for me i actually think it's going to be close the cardinals are going to fight tooth and nail and this game it's going to be a win for buffalo but it's going to be an ugly win i've mentioned this on the show before this is going to be that win that will raise more questions than it answers. But Buffalo will still win. That's why I say Cardinals will cover on this one

with the six and a half spread. I don't know. It's all about the Cardinals this year. Adam, as you mentioned, it's still a rebuilding year, but I still think they're going to turn some heads this year. Next game on the docket, Titans-Bears. We got our first look at Caleb Williams in a Bears uniform.

Keenan Allen in a Bears uniform as well. And they'll go up against Will Levis and the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field. Spread is three and a half in favor of the Bears. And I don't know. I feel like this could be a good one as well. This could be a good one. Titans are sneaky on the rise. We know what the Bears can be capable of.

But I'm feeling a Will levis big breakout season and i think it starts with a big win at soldier field which he won't get i'm taking the bears but it's gonna be it's gonna be a damn close game though yeah i this is i was going over these picks last night um since we're doing this episode pre-recorded in the morning um i was going over these picks last night since we're doing this episode pre-recorded in the morning. I was going over these picks. This is the one I had the most trouble with because these are two teams where they could either be very good or they could be very bad, and neither of which you would be surprised with. Both of them in the exact same boat. It's very hard to predict how these two teams are going to be.

But I think because of the flashiness and the overwhelming amount of talent the Bears have, they're going to come out with this victory, whether they're good or not. And I've said this during the offseason over the summer several times. Caleb Williams only has to be average. He can even be somewhat below average in this. This bears team will still be competitive because they just have that much

talent. You have three potential wide receiver ones. That is, and you have an offensive line. That's in my opinion, very underrated. You have a defense that's very underrated as well. And your coaching, we'll see how the coaching pans out, how they handle this roster. But give me the Bears. It's no shade against the Titans, but I think the Bears slightly. This is probably the most evenly matched game this week. And like Adam said, with Caleb Williams, he doesn't even need to be elite for Chicago to win

just because of how many weapons he has. However, I will tell you this. This is also something that Adam once said, and I think he's right. We're going to find out if Will Levis can play real fast. And Levis, I think, would have to do more to get the Titans the victory. And we need to talk defenses, right?

Because the Titans overhauled their defense. You now have LeJariusia smeed and chidobe awoozie and the bears you know you're locked up jalen johnson so this is just i mean you could say that the titans have more experience i don't think it comes down to experience it's going to come down to flash and skill and it's going to be close, but I think Chicago just ekes it out. This was a tough one to call, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah, Bears-Titans is going to be it. This is probably going to be the best game of the weekend, minus the primetime games.

Texans-Colts. In Indianapolis, Colts hosting the Texans Colts in Indianapolis. Colts hosting the Texans, but Texans are favored by three in this one. So we get C.J. Stroud again, and Texans in their brand spanking new unis as well. So they get to wear them for the first real time this season. And we get to see Anthony Richardson back in the pocket, back under center for the Colts this year after being out for 75% of the season last year. So going to be interesting to see how the Colts end up using Anthony Richardson, how much they actually really use him to run the ball.

They said that we could see him in a big Cam Newton role, but I don't think that's going to matter in this one because the Houston Texans are going to win this one. They're going to beat the Colts by seven. I'm thinking maybe we're going to see a good Tank Del Day. Maybe Anthony Richardson has himself a good game on the ground. Maybe he has a Lamar Jackson type of game from last night. Never know. Bucket, bucket.

Anthony Richardson has a Lamar Jackson Thursday night game and take Dell over 100 yards. Bada boom, bada bang. Adam, what do you say? Sounds like someone already set their parlay. I didn't. I didn't. That was literally just right off the dome.

You know what? I've been picking the safe pick all episode. I'm actually going to go the opposite way. I'm going to go the Colts. I think the Texans have a couple of new faces, and they're going to have to figure it out with you have so many targets, you only have one ball. And this team has so much pressure on them to be good,

and I think they will, but I think this is another team that's going to struggle out of the gate. They're very young, and they have to be able to handle this kind of pressure. I think the Colts have so little expectations to be good that I think that out of the gates they're going to have a pretty good game. An offensive line that surpassed expectations last year, pretty good offensive line. It wasn't always good. It wasn't supposed to be good, and it ended up outdoing itself.

Some pretty good targets. You have Michael Pittman. You have Alec Pierce. You have the other kid who's Josh Downs. Yeah, Josh. Did I get that right? It's off the top of my head. Yeah. Jonathan Taylor's finally healthy,

and he kind of looks like his vintage self. That'd be nice to see. A defense that looks pretty good. I think at home, the Colts make some noise, and maybe they're competitive this year. Give me the Colts. I think the Colts will be competitive,

but for me, it comes down to defense. I'm not afraid of the Colts' defense. They don't really have any playmakers that are going to wow me. And while the Texans, you could you could argue too many mouths to feed i just think they have too many weapons for you to deal with at once because yeah kenny moore is a good corner but you only have one kenny moore don't you meanwhile houston you know you got stingley and will anderson and they signed aziz al-shahir and they grabbed another good corner it's like deniel hunter too huh don't forget deniel hunter deniel hunter yeah no it's like there's just a lot of guys for houston to name and i think it's

gonna be a lot closer than what a lot of people are thinking, but I trust Houston's offense against Indy's defense more than I trust Indy's offense against Houston's defense. So that being said, I'm going to lean towards Houston. I like it. I like it. Moving on to the next game, Dolphins-Jaguars, and that brings us to our breaking news. Jalen Ramsey just signed a three-year

extendo. 72 mil to the deal, making him the highest paid cornerback in the NFL again after Patrick Sertan took over that coveted title. So, Dolphins locking in Jalen Ramsey for an extra three in that regard.

And what a time to do it because in two days they'll host the Jacksonville Jaguars. And well, the Dolphins, we already know it. They are, they love to play at home. They love to run fast. And I think they're going to run flying through Jacksonville this weekend. Put it on the board. Give me a 10-point win for the Dolphins this week.

Yeah, Dolphins, early season at home. This is a team that loves to play well in the regular season, especially early on in the months of September and October. And we're thinking, is this the team to beat? Is this the team in the AFC that's going to beat the Chiefs? We always jump the gun on the Dolphins. And there's a reason why, because they play their best football early in the season when the weather's warm.

They're going to do it again here. I know the Jaguars are also a warm weather team, but they have some things to figure out. And until they do that, I'm never going to put my trust in the Jaguars until they figure out their coordinator situation. They have good personnel, but they have some stuff to figure out. Give me the Dolphins. I also want to point out real quick before CJ gives his pick,

one more point that I wanted to make. Dolphins, they really need to win some games early on because the last six games of the season, holy moly. At Green Bay versus New York, the Jets. At Houston versus at home against San Francisco. And then they're on the road against the Browns and the Jets to end the season. And mind you, we're talking about cold weather games here,

and the Dolphins absolutely suck in the cold weather. So they need to really win the first half of the season here before they go through hell in the second half. CJ, your pick. I just don't think the Jags can keep up with Miami. And I've been harsh on Miami in the past I've called them all smoke and mirrors all sizzle no steak and it's true but I don't but we all know the thing about how they can't beat contenders and I'm sorry the Jags are not contenders ergo

you can beat the Jags gimme. It's not going to be particularly close. Panthers versus Saints at the Superdome. Saints by four for the line. And I'm going to go with the Panthers. I'm going to go with the Panthers. I've just been seeing a lot of what they've been doing with Bryce Young over there. How they're utilizing him correctly. The way that he should be used.

What a theory. What an idea. We use our quarterback the right way? What? What? So, alright. I'm thinking that this is going to be a Derek Carr stink fest as well. I think this is going to be a game where Saints fans are going to be pulling

their hair out to an extreme extent because of Derek Carr. Bryce Young is going to really turn some heads in this one. I'm going to go with the Panthers. Yeah, give me the Panthers. I like what they're doing right now in year two for Bryce Young. You, you know, you had it, you had Adam feeling great, but you needed more than just that. So what did you do? You, you traded for Deontay Johnson, not only that, but you traded back into the first round, the round that you traded out of in order to trade up last year to, to go and get

Bryce Young, but you went and got Xavier Leguette, a player who I think is one of the most underrated wide receiver prospects in this draft class. So you have that big three. One of those guys, if not more, will turn out to be a wide receiver one this year and give Bryce Young, it won't require Bryce Young as much time to stand in

the pocket in order to throw the ball. That's huge. So Bryce Young in year two, I like this kid and against the Saints team, that isn't all too much to write home about. Give me the Panthers week one upset. upset? I don't know why the Saints are favored in this game. They are the definition of forgettable. Now, we all know that New Orleans is home to a vibrant cooking culture. However, that is ironic to me because if the Saints were a spice, they would be flour. They're just so unforgettable. And at least the Panthers are taking strides to be better, whereas the Saints have been stuck in second year for as long as I can remember, at least since 2019.

So I'm sorry. It's going to be the Panthers. Once again, don't know what the odds makers were thinking there, but I'm rolling with Carolina. That was a crazy connotation about the flower you made. I never thought of that one before. It took him time to think of that. Yeah.

Final game on the 1 p.m. docket, Vikings versus Giants at MetLife. Jeez. Come on. Come on. Come on. You know who's winning. Give me the Vikings. Vikings. It's not close.

I know you have Sam Darnold, but that whole team has weapons. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson. You went and got Aaron Jones. That whole team is loaded besides the quarterback position. And the Giants aren't. It's not complicated. Give me the Vikings. So the thing for me is that I can draw a parallel, this week at least, between the Vikings and their other brother in the AFC North, the Bears.

Specifically, how my good friend Adam mentioned how Caleb Williams doesn't really have to do a whole lot to win. Ditto Sam Darnold. If Darnold can just be a game manager, that's all he needs to do, then the Vikings will win. And at barest of minimums, I think he can be an okay game manager, which is still better than Danny Derbs. So yeah, not a whole lot of thought required. Give me the Vikes. All right. With that, we'll take a short break. When we come back, we'll get into the 4 p.m. slot. You're listening to the Plumler Roofsky Podcast.

It may not have always showed it in the staff sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. You're listening to the Fumblers podcast sponsored by Power 88 Dean Radio

and Secret Weapon Consulting. Chris Kostich, Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros. Getting to the 4 p.m. slot as we start with in Englewood, California, the LA Chargers facing off against Las Vegas Raiders. Spread is at Chargers by three. I don't like that. I don't like that one bit.

Give me the Raiders, the Raiders. I'm feeling them. Are you okay? Feeling some Minshew magic for this one. I just don't really like the Chargers right now. I like the Chargers with Jim Harbaugh, but I just don't like them right now, if that makes sense. Somebody had an extra cup of coffee this morning.

Holy crap. I didn't have any. You have some energy tonight. I need to bring some energy. I'm the one bringing the energy here, man. I mean, I had two cups, but damn. But I don't know. I think the Raiders have a different energy about them.

They got their guy at head coach, Antonio Pierce, and we saw the way they played last year. Completely different vibes from when they had Josh McDaniels. So I think it's going to carry over into week one this year. They're facing off against their division rival in the Chargers. But granted, the Chargers are also going to be coming back and trying to whoop the Raiders ass for hanging up 60 on them last year. I forgot about that.

Yeah. I still think it's going to be the Raiders, but a much, much, much closer game. I'm going to say it's going to come down to a field goal, maybe by a point, if anything. This game's not going to end up meeting much, just because I don't think either of these teams are sniffing the playoffs, but I'm going to take the chargers. I think you have an elite quarterback and you have now an elite coach. I think that's more important than having targets and having nothing at coaching. And also you have a little more time for Herbert to throw

because you have, you just added another tackle, which is huge. That offensive line has been bad for a very long time for Herbert. So I think in some ways this chargers team is going to be a little better. So yeah, give me the chargers. I don't think they're making the playoffs, but I think they're making the right steps towards doing right by Herbert and putting them in contention, which is where they should be with an elite quarterback like this. So the thing for me is that, look, I know the

Chargers don't have weapons, but let's not act like Jim Harbaugh is some great unknown. He's coached in the NFL before. Heck, he took Colin Kaepernick to a Super Bowl. So like I said, let's not pretend he's green behind the ears. And he's coming off a championship win with the University of Michigan. The Raiders, look, Antonio Pierce is solid. Minshew is solid. But I just think this is going to come down to coaching. And I don't care how long he's been out of the league. I think that Harbaugh is still a little bit better than Pierce. I would not be shocked if the Raiders won. But I will concede that it's going to be a close game.

It's going to be a gritty win. So it's not going to be a sexy game, but at the end of the day, the Chargers will be the ones left standing, but barely. I concur. I concur with that. Next game on the docket, Broncos Seahawks. Seahawks by six. We're going to see the first game for Bo Nix in a Broncos uniform as he's the week one starter going up against Geno Smith,

starter for the Seahawks. And look, I'm just going to keep this straight and narrow. The Broncos are a bottom five team in the league. They're a bottom five team in the league. Give me the Seahawks. See, I think the Broncos are going to be a little better than we give them credit for this year,

just because I think they found a decent guy in Bo Nix. From what we've seen, he's on the older side. Bo Nix. Don't stop. Bo Nix. From what we've seen, he's on the older side for a young quarterback, but for a guy who's what you would call one of the older rookie quarterbacks, he looks exactly how you would think. He looks more polished right out of the gates. And Sean Payton, I think he found the right guy. They were celebrating on that reach of a pick at number 13. There had to be some merit to that. Therefore, I think this is going to be a moral victory for the Broncos,

and the Seahawks are going to win this one. Not even saying that the Broncos are going to make the playoffs, but I think there's going to be some reason for optimism over in Denver. So the Seahawks, they win, but very narrowly. I think the Seahawks are good for winning games now. The Broncos are good for games in the future, in 2025. I am so unimpressed by both teams. I really am.

But I do like the new head coach, McDonald, for the Seahawks. He's going to make the defense a lot tougher. And as it sits right now, I just think that with, what's his name there, Kenneth Walker and D.J. or D. or DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. I just don't know if the Denver defense, which doesn't have squat outside of Pat Sertan is going to have an answer for it. I think Denver will keep pace. And I think that Denver is going to cover.

But this is the Seahawks game to lose, and I am choosing them here. And now we move on to America's game of the week, Cowboys versus Browns. It's going to be the first game with Tom Brady in the booth, and Browns getting Deshaun Watson back, CeeDee Lamb fully secure. Thing that was pissing me off this entire week, including last week,

after CeeDee Lamb signed that extension, was on Fantasy Football, he still had the big red O next to his name for out. I'm like, brother, you just signed an extension. Just rule him available. Anyways, I think this is going to be a repeat of last year, if anything, in terms of Dallas not playing well on the road against teams that are actually good.

So I'm going to go with the Browns on this one. Spreads at two and a half. I think the Browns cover but barely cover. So I'm going to go with the browns on this one uh spreads at two and a half i think the browns cover but barely cover so i'm gonna go browns by three on this one the browns uh rather the cowboys tend to play their best football early in the year and they still have the star power to do it i understand last year they weren't the best uh road team but they are also a very good early season team just like the dolphins except a little better than the dolphins um give me the cowboys the cowboys again they have some things to prove their star quarterback is still looking for a big deal

and cd lamb just got paid usually quarter Usually wide receivers still play well after they are paid that big extension. But Dak still has a chip on his shoulder, and so does Micah Parsons. I think this Cowboys team is going to be very competitive this year, and it's going to show on week one against the Browns. Give me the Cowboys. When I just look over this Cowboys team, I don't see how the Browns stack up. And Chris said,

you know, they're the Browns are getting to Sean Watson back. If I were a Browns fan, I'd rather Joe Flacco. And this has got to be a very frustrating game for Deshaun Watson, because let's face it. Dallas is not a masseuse, meaning talent-wise he can't touch them. So I'm sorry.

I think that the Cowboys are going to whoop the Browns. That is just the truth. That's why it's America's Game of the Week. A lot of differing opinions. I love it. I love it. I love it. Last 4 o'clock game. Well, technically 425 game on the docket.

Commanders and the Bucs in Tampa Bay. And some potential thunderstorms, which is wild, considering the Buccaneers were the worst run team in the league last year. So they're actually going to have to really pound the ground with Rashad White in this one, most likely. But there's also a lot of people saying that Bucky Irving could potentially be the next guy up for Tampa Bay as well. Other storylines, Jaden Daniels making his NFL debut for the Washington Commanders. And a lot of good stuff over there in

Washington right now, a lot of high praise for Jaden Daniels, but I think that this is going to be the Buccaneers time in this one. You know, there's a lot of rookie quarterbacks don't usually get that week one victory. I'm going to say that Jaden Daniels is going to be one of those guys. I mean look Washington definitely got themselves improved compared to last year especially over the offseason but I'm thinking that it's going to be Tampa's day this Sunday so give me the bucks commanders i'm taking commanders um jayden daniels is playing around a team as far as

personnel goes that is still pretty darn good and when you look at it that way um and given again jayden daniels age he was part of the intrigue to Daniels at the top of this draft was that he was closer to big league ready than a lot of the other quarterbacks in this draft. It's going to be the same way here as I thought with Bo Nix, except it's not going to be a moral victory because there's a better team around Jaden Daniels and he is impressed in camp and in preseason. So I think the commanders get off to a decent start, and they pull off the upset. I have the commanders pulling off the road victory. This is just a strange game

because I am higher on Rashad White than most for Tampa. But I also think that even though he's more known for Super Bowl meltdown, Dan Quinn is the better head coach here. I just, this is a game that could go either way. And I know that Tampa is favored. And a lot of people have told me, hey, this is the definition of a trap game. But I don't see it for one reason. Defense. I know that Dan Quinn is supposedly the defensive mastermind, but there is not a single person in that commander's defensive backfield that scares me meaning that mike evans and chris godwin are going to eat and so and so will rashad white when he breaks into that next level so i'm gonna have to go with uh the bucket nears and it's not gonna be like a route but it'll be a respectable win

yeah i'm not expecting this to be a route and if the weather does go the way that it's showing according to accu weather 90 degrees and thunderstorms i mean they're not going to play a thunderstorm but if it's going to be wet then it's definitely going to be a closer game than what most would probably expect. With that, we move on to the Monday night game. Jets, 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Niners have the spread at four and a half, and I'm going to go with the Niners on this one. I just don't think the Jets stack up as well as most people would think.

The Jets just don't really impress me even with Rodgers. There's nothing about them that I necessarily think is a Super Bowl contender. Give me the Niners. I wasn't going to pick the Jets,

but you kind of forced my hand here. I'm taking the Jets. I wasn't going to pick the Jets, but you kind of forced my hand here. I'm taking the Jets. I'm forcing your hand. I'm forcing your hand. I think so, yeah. I think they're a very competitive team this year, and they completely revamped their offensive line. You add an elite quarterback who, if he is completely healthy

in his normal self, he's perfectly fine. You have Garrett Wilson. You added Mike Williams as a wide receiver too. You still have Alan Lazard and you have an elite defense and you have Robert Sala, a decent, a decent head coach. I have the jets winning this game.

And if they don't, then they're still going to be competitive this year because I, I'm very much higher on this team than you guys are. I'll give you credit on lazard he is good i wasn't gonna pick the i wasn't gonna pick the jets for week one i wasn't gonna have them but you know what i'll do it i'll do it we gotta be different don't we so the thing for me i just i'm like chris the jets don't particularly me, and I've been called foolish for this take, but Garrett Wilson has never really scared me. Brees does a little bit, but is Rodgers still going to be MVP Rodgers? Maybe. I mean, from his MVP season to the very next season, there was a

noticeable drop-off, and I don't see that improving. Even if he can be a game manager, just he can't keep it close. And I know the Jets have an elite defense. The only issue for me is that the Niners just have too many ways to attack you. Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, the newly extended Brandon Ayuk, and Debo Samuel. I mean, I know the Jets have a really tough, gritty, stingy defense, and I do think it's going to be close, but are you familiar with the phrase, death by a thousand cuts? That's how the Jets are going to meet their end, and I got the Niners. This offensive line has gotten significantly better for the Jets.

John Simpson, they added from the Ravens. Morgan Moses, same thing, Ravens tackle. Olu Fashanu, they got in the first round. Tyron Smith has been a very good tackle for years. This offensive line is not only better than it was before, but it has decent depth to it as well. And I think that is huge for a team that needs to do a better job of protecting Aaron Rodgers. Can't have this guy

getting hurt three plays into his Jets career. Can't have that happening. But they added weapons for him. They added to the offensive line. And if this guy is the same guy that he was with the Packers, then I have them, I have them being a very competitive team this year. How competitive is going to Matt is going to depend on if Rogers still has it or not. And I think he does. My only counterpoint is Leonard Floyd, Javon Hargrave, and Nick Bosa. We'll see. Yeah. I think it'll be a good game. I think it'll be a good game.

But I just don't think that the Jets are going to really get it done in the most simple terms possible. A little short on time, so we're going to get right into our Fumble Rooski game of the week. The Sunday night game, the Rams versus the Lions. The NFC wildcard rematch. Matthew Stafford making another return to Detroit. And I'm going to bet you it's going to be just as loud as it was for that wild card game where the Rams went to town.

And I'm going to go with the Rams on this one. They're going to get their revenge on the Lions. And now here's the thing with the Rams. Obviously, you lose Aaron Donald, and that's a huge loss. So their defense is definitely going to be reeling for this year and trying to fill that gap, basically. And the Lions did improve a little bit on defense compared to last year, but I'm calling it right now.

This is going to be an absolute shootout an absolute shootout by these two offenses that the rams pull out with a victory in it was roughly four years ago the the fumble ruski podcast had just begun just it was it had been only a month old when this trade was made between the Rams and Lions. And I can't believe this ended up being a tie. I mean, the Lions are in contention right now and the Rams are still kicking around and competitive and they already won their Super Bowl. And I'm so glad that they are both competitive and that they face each other while being competitive. It's awesome. And I'm so glad that this is the game of the week.

I hope they meet again in the playoffs. It ends up being another thriller. But here I have the Lions. I think they have the most momentum here. As you mentioned, that Rams defense has lost a lot since their glory days of 2021. It's lost a lot and that's a huge problem for them. And the Lions, their defense got better. They saw their weaknesses, their run defense and their secondary was highly flawed. They addressed both of them this off season and now it's hard to find the

weaknesses here. It really is. And so the way I look at it, this Lions team is going to be a juggernaut this year. Give me the Lions. I don't see the Rams winning because the Rams, their offense has improved. You know, Kyron Williams is coming back. You got Cooper Cupp coming back. Puka, we know what he can do. It's just without Aaron Donald, the engine of that defense, you're relying on a lot of young guys. And they're too far removed from, you know, their glory days,

like Adam said, you know, where they won the Super Bowl. So at this point in time, these are just two teams on opposite trajectories. I think that the Lions have passed them out, right? And this game is going to reflect that. I like it. I like it. Well, that will do it for our Friday review for week one. Anything else that you fellows would like to add before we end the show? I think they had plenty.

Our audience got plenty for our hour and 11 minutes of coverage of week one. And boy, did we need all of it. Football is back, and I couldn't be happier. Oh yeah. That'll do it for the show tonight. Thank you for listening. New episodes out Tuesdays at seven 30 Fridays at five. The Friday episodes are officially back.

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We also, we also have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple podcast, I art radio, Google podcast, and so much more. Be sure to follow our Instagram, Fumblerooski underscore podcast, and our TikTok, Fumblerooski pod,

to keep up with our podcast and the latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, from Chris Gossage, Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, and the rest of the Fumblerooski crew, we say so long. We'll see you on Tuesday. Over and out.