The Fumblerooski Podcast - No Rush -Ep 196 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: June 28, 2023

Who are the top-5 pass rushers headed into the 2023 NFL season? How will the AFC West division stack up? Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, and Robert Shelley discuss these topics and more!

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It's in. pass rushers and the afc west that is our next summer episode coming up right now on the fumble ruski podcast i'm adam wright with cj medeiros no justin tucker but for a substitute, we have our very own Robert Shelley, also host of the Pesky Bowl podcast, the Red Sox podcast. Go check it out. Robert, how are you doing today? Hey, just so we're clear, it ain't a dead channel. We have three episodes up in a row. Put some respect on my name. I never said anything about it being dead.

You said it, not me. It sounds like someone already believes the inevitable i think i may need to talk to a lawyer before i answer any future questions about my podcast anyway i'm doing very well if we are recording i'm hanging i'm hanging in there how are you boys i i'm doing great can't complain with a functional podcast that posts episodes every week. So, you know, and we have working laptops over here. Oh,

come on now. I'm sorry. I'm going, I'm going off too much, but all right, this is going to be a great episode guys, because we are in our player rankings. We have reached the defensive ends.

So the way we kind of did it is more pass rushers because there's so many different positions that can get sacks. ends. So the way we kind of did it is more pass rushers because there's so many different positions that can get sacks. They're the interior defensive linemen like Aaron Donald. They're the outside linebackers like TJ Watt. And then there's the typical actual defensive ends like Brian Burns. So this is going to be a great episode, guys. But Robert, how about you kick us off with your number five pass rusher? My number five pass rusher. So just for the people at home, I was brought into this episode about 10 minutes before it aired.

So my list is a little bit frantic, has some research behind it. But this first pick, I'm going to go a little bit hometown bias here. We're going to go to Matt Judon. Amazing season out of him, especially last year. And I just think going into this year, he is going to be one of the top pass rushers in the NFL. 15 and a half sacks last season by itself. Speaks for itself.

Just an absolute monster on the defensive end. Well, more of an outside linebacker, but definitely his job is just speed rush, speed rush, speed rush. You put him into pass coverage, you are probably smoking that good stuff. There you go. It's not a bad pick. You know, I respect it. I do.

I do. There's going to be no Matt Judon Slander over here, but for me, my number five from the philadelphia eagles hassan reddick oh man his first season in philly was a smashing success this man in fact i believe it was their coach sirianni who said he probably could have broken the sack record if he quit dropping reddick coverage. But even still, Redick has really only had 35 solo tackles, 49 combined. That's not great, but he made the most of it. 16 sacks, six of them. I mean, 16 of them. Sorry. Oh, sorry. My brain doesn't want to work.

And five, not one, not two two but five forced fumbles i'm just saying his sacks of forced fumbles speak for themselves he's he's not a big tackle machine but he is a really really good playmaker all right guys well my number five is actually Brian Burns. And I like Brian Burns because he is, so he's been mentioned in our fan box, so that's a preview to that, for the most underrated pass rushers in all of football. I don't only think that he's underrated, I also happen to believe that he's going to be,

he's top five heading into this season. He's a guy who has consistently, since he's going to be he's top five heading into this season he's a guy who has consistently since he's entered the league been a been a 10 plus sack guy um he didn't always do it but he he's always had the potential to do that and i think he's just due for a monster season especially since the panthers are getting better on both sides of the ball that opens things up and it takes away the double coverages so that he can actually have a clear lane to get to the quarterback this season. Also, he's playing in the NFC South, which kind of does help, especially since it is the weakest it's been arguably in its history. So yeah, put me down for Brian Burns at five. help, especially since it is the weakest it's been, arguably, in its history. So, yeah.

Put me down for Brian Burns at five. I don't know about that one, Chief. At five? I don't know about that one. You want him earlier? I want him higher. Okay. Okay. I was thinking about it. He's just

underrated. And, you know, I just think there are other guys who are better than him. This is going into next season. Who's by the tee right now? Oh, that's me. Sorry. It's right behind his house. Oh, of course. Like literally right behind it.

I didn't believe him, but then I was at his house, and I was like, holy crap. Yeah, Adam broke in. I didn't allow it, but he was good company nonetheless. I got him a birthday cake. Oh, you did not. I paid for his dinner at Cello's. He did.

I didn't ask him to, but he's just a good friend. Thank you, Adam, again. I got you. Which he is. He's a little weird, but you know. All give me your give me your number four number four um i kind of went a little bit off the beaten path here for two reasons number one this guy isn't really considered an edge rusher but he's still throughout his career i believe he has he's yeah some points he's been an end

some points he's been a tackle and I get it he's had a bad season last year really bad season but for one reason and one reason alone for his name I'm still putting him in the top five I'm still putting him in the top five I do not care

in my mind Aaron Donald has always been an edge rusher it's not really he's been both but I still always been an edge rusher. It's not really, he's been both, but I still consider him an edge rusher. And yes, five sacks last year, 11 games that season. In my opinion, he should have just hung them up after last year because the Rams are going to do absolutely nothing this year. They're in a completely stacked division. They're not going to be making the playoffs. They're not even going to be in contention for a wild card spot. It's looking really bad. So I'm just in the boat of retire, but I'm still going to give him the respect he deserves and put him at four.

What's worse? Yeah, I'm sorry. Keep going. You guys can completely disagree with that. The fans can disagree with that. And I'm completely fine with that. Just off of name and off of him being the second that five-year time when it is up, he's in the Hall of Fame. I'm still giving it to him. I don't doubt that he might still have it. Might. But the problem is, number one, he is getting up there in age.

That's the obvious part. He's, what, 34 now? Yeah. Number two, that team around him is falling apart. So he's not even going to. Oh, I'm sorry, he is getting up there in age. That's the obvious part. He's, what, 34 now? Yeah. Number two, that team around him is falling apart. So he's not even going to. Oh, I'm sorry, he's only 32. It's falling apart. So he's not even going to get the looks to get open

because he's going to get double teamed all the time. Yeah. The defense is falling apart. The offense is looking worse by the day. So that's going to make him exhausted. The defense is going to be on the field all the time yeah so it's it's not looking good for him so just for the that for that reason aaron donald is outside my top five if he was in a better situation um then he would

certainly i he would have my respect yeah but and i don't i don't blame you at all for keeping him outside top five i do not blame Yeah, I'm in the same boat. But that's fair enough. My number four, all the way from Cleveland, it's Miles Garrett. Now, this man. What else is there to say? 60 tackles last season, and he tied his career high with 16 sacks and on top of that four passes knocked down at the line i'm sorry this guy this guy is a monster he's darn near unstoppable and the only

reason he's not higher is that he's got only 37 solo tackles despite being an edge rusher and decent run stuffer however what i will give him credit for is 26 quarterback hits and 18 a career high 18 tackles for loss last season and for me i don't care like what team you're like i don't care if you're a fellow afc north fan he's not here but talker but you got you got to put Myles Garrett in your top five. I agree. Terrible. Ryan, yeah, I completely agree. I think him in the top five is you can't not have him there.

But my number four, another guy who you cannot have outside your top five, Micah Parsons. This is a guy who can literally do it all. Play in pass coverage, he can be off ball, and he can be a defensive end. And if you can have a guy who can do it all and you have the option to have him rush the passer, you do that. That is one of the most important statistics

in all of defensive football is racking up the sacks. Because once one of the most important statistics in all of defensive football is racking up the sacks. Because once you get the sacks, then you can strip them and force fumbles. If you're even getting to them and they get the ball off right before, then there's the risk of an interception or just a bad throw. Being a good edge rusher is important. And Micah Parsons is an expert at that. He's been doing it ever since he's gotten into the league in these past two seasons. And he's still young.

So the sky is the limit for this guy. And another good thing that I really like about him on this Cowboys team this year is that it's a very well-rounded force this year. They're still a very good defense. They were top three in sacks this year, this past season. And on top of that, you have a very good offense behind that as well. So that defense is going to stay fresh. He's not going to be double teamed because that whole front seven is very good. So put me down for Micah Parsons. He is going to have a very good year. I hear you.

I'm not going to complain about that. I have some things to say, but I will refrain. Why? You think he should be earlier too? No, I think Brian Burns should be earlier too and no i think brian burn should be above michael parsons but you know speaking of that is my number three guy for all the right reasons that you said before and the fact that he is only 25 years old i am predicting that he's going to have a 15 plus sack season next year and here's the thing he's doing it on a defensive line that we're not calling stacked

by any means if anyone says that the carolina panthers defensive line is good once again they're in denver on that good stuff you know so he he's still going to be able to put up 15 sacks we're still getting double team most of the time because there's no other real threats around him and he's still gonna make it look completely effortless and only he's gonna be 26 next year he's still got five more years at this prime and i think he's just gonna dominate from here on then yeah you know spoiler alert i do not have brian burns in my top five shame me if you will i i need to know who your top three is because putting putting okay okay that four sacrilegious hold on hold on here we go no pun is that was that religious was that pun intended no oh well that's unfortunate anyway just lied and say it was that

was beautiful so for me my number three is uh actually michael parsons because he you know 65 combined tackles 13 and a half sacks three forced fumbles and three and he recovered all three got a defensive touchdown last year but 26 qb hits that man he and you it's scary he's going to get even better because Mike McCarthy, their coach, said he's going to be putting on a wee bit of weight and then going up front and switching to edge rusher full time. But even still, he could do it all. He could drop back into coverage and knock down passes with the best of them.

And he's a hard hitter. And I'm just saying the fact that he can do everything to me at least is just that i mean that that's really what you want and no disrespect to miles garrett but the fact that parsons can be a coverage threat i think puts him a little bit higher all right yeah i mean i like micah parsons i had him i had him a just one notch lower but that's only because the other guys on this list are just the most badass pass rushers in all of football going into next year and mine is tj watt at three this guy, he had an injury riddled 2022 season. There's no two ways about it, but are we just going to now forget the fact that the past two years before then,

he was the league leader in sacks and this guy just continued to get better and better and better from his rookie year. We're talking about the guy who had 22 and a half sacks. That's tied for the most in NFL history in a single season and we're just gonna forget about him because he got he got injured a little bit this past year this guy is going to have a great year and the the steelers as a team are improving which i'm i'm very very am into the trickle down effect this guy is, with the offense, young and getting better. The defense will be well-rested. On the other side, you have Alex Highsmith,

who has just emerged as another superstar who will draw away a lot of that double coverage, which will open things up for him. I think he's going to have a great year this year. He's going to return to the brilliance that we all know that he's capable of. Alright, let me

bring you guys in real close right now. Alright, can you hear me? Can you hear me well? I would like to formally formally apologize for leaving TJ Watt off my list. Jesus Christ. Oh, but Brian Burns gets a spot. Let's just keep that between the two of us

or the three of us thank you very much are you kidding me you just said it on an episode my whole audience is gonna hear that i will not take further questions at this time thank you all right bill clinton jesus christ i can't get i can't give me just give me your note just give me your we're at we're at number two, right? Here's, all right. I was going to say this off air, but this is an idea that Costa gave me. We name our top two, and then we dramatically pick our number one between those two.

Name your top two in no order. We'll go around the table so that we we can kind of because once you'd have the two then the one is almost spoiled because you can kind of you know yeah you guys want to do that not particularly but i'll go along with it sure we'll just experiment with it if it doesn't work well next year we'll next year's episodes we'll do it Or next week, we'll just not do it. I just thought we'd try it. You guys want to do that? Yeah.

All right. All right, so for my top two, we're going with Nick Bosa and Miles Garrett. All right. And then for my top two, I am going to do TJ Watt and Nick Bosa. Well, I thought we were just going to explain those, those two players, but you didn't, you didn't say that.

Yeah. You should have just got something new in the middle of the episode. All right. All right. All right. All right. So you have T. So who do you have again?

Mine is Nick Bosa and miles Garrett. Nick. I have Nick Bosa and TJ Watt. I've got Nick Bosa and Miles Garrett. Nick Bosa and Miles Garrett. I have Nick Bosa and TJ Watt. I've got Nick Bosa and Miles Garrett. All right. And for my number one between these two is Miles Garrett. And Miles Garrett is a guy who has consistently been one of the best pass rushers in all of football. And then you add Daniil Hunter on the other side.

You upgrade from last year with Jadeveon Clowney. That's going to open things up a lot more. And then you have the Cleveland Browns teams team their offense that looks a lot better than it did last year with that with deshaun watson in jacoby uh jacoby uh jesus um wait i'm sorry adam um uh did you say hunters on the browns excuse me yeah i meant uh jesus who's the i misspoke um wait you said you said no he's on the he's on the vikings there's a different there the the other guy who they had oh zadarius smith zadarius smith completely botched that one uh at least played for the vikings for a little bit so yeah so that's what I just...

Mixed up your names. You're good. I mixed up the names. But yeah, you have him on the other side who is drawing away the double coverage, which is going to be more effective than when Jadivian Clowney was here because Clowney was getting on the older side.

He was still kind of putting up numbers, but not nearly as good as Zedaria Smith right now. So you have those two guys. You have an offense that looks improved from last year that should have a very good bounce back year. It's all going to add up, and Myles Garrett is my number one. The only reason I don't have nick bosa at uh number one is just because um i think miles garrett's just gonna have a better year so yeah no two two reasons two reasons that you're wrong

all right i get it we're we're we're splitting hairs here between numbers one and two but if you're not putting the reigning defending defensive player of the year and sack leader as your number one best edge rusher i don't know what you're doing amen that's that's all i gotta say yeah well miles garrett's due and i think that he hasn't been in nearly as favorable a situation as uh as nick bosa has been yeah of course on a great team with good with better coaching and that defensive culture started with nick bosa and a better offense they've always had good defenses i'm not saying that i'm not no no no no we're not just we're not just going to fly past that without fact-checking it.

Please continue. I'll be back in two minutes with the fact-check on that. I'm not saying that Nick Bosa isn't – we're literally splitting hairs, as you said. But the 49ers just have always had a better situation around Nick Bosa. And that's not to knock Nick Bosa. He's in a good situation, and he's made the most of it. But Miles Garrett has been putting up numbers too on a Browns team that has been very clearly dysfunctional.

And they're now in a situation where they're going to look better. So the situation around him improves and Miles Garrett gets a lot better. I mean, he's due for a breakout year. As if he hasn't already. I was going to say, he's going to be, I think he's due for a breakout year as if he has it already year i was gonna say he's he's he's gonna be i think he's going to be even better 16 sacks and back-to-back seasons 12 and a half the year before uh-huh and that was and that was in an unfavorable situation now that he now that the offense is going to better he's going to be more well rested he has a better he has a better defensive end on the other side of him to draw, to draw more coverage. I mean, it's all a recipe for success for the best season that he will ever

have. I see. Yes. Now for me, my number one is Nick Bosa. My number two is TJ Watt. And one, I don't think you can put last season against him because even more so I mean I mentioned this with Michael Parsons but TJ Watt also has that coverage factor even though he only played 10 games he still knocked away five passes and he still had two picks and a forced fumble well in coverage so you know I'm just saying that that definitely works in his favor but my number one is also Nick Bosa you know like, like Robert said, reigning defensive player of the year, 18 and a half sacks last season, 19 tackles for loss, and are you ready? 48 quarterback hits. This guy is just a monster. He makes even the most elite of left tackles look silly. And for me, I just don't think it's that much of a contest. I mean, I get Garrett.

I do, but I just think technique wise and, and even situation wise, I would, I think both is just better. May I, if you don't mind. Yes.

Yeah. Um, to go back on Adams, completely BS take, um, that they were always, that they were always a great defensive team, 2015 point differential of minus 149.

2016, point differential of minus 171. 2017, point differential of minus 52. 2018, the last year before he was drafted, minus 93. 2019, plus 169 defensive ranks for points was eighth yards allowed was second. My we're going to skip the 2020 crappy COVID year. And also he wasn't, he hurt in 2020. So that doesn't count anyway, because, because your argument is that he literally started that, uh, that culture.

Yep. 2021 60 plus 62 points differential ninth in points allowed third in yards allowed and 2020 um and in 2022 uh let me second 173 points differential first in points allowed first in yards allowed that happened because of joeyosa. Thank you very much. He will be the number one on this list unanimously. You said Joey Bosa. Yeah. Same dude. Same dude.

Listen, first of all, those stats are a little misleading because you're looking at point differential, where you had a bunch of knuckleheads at quarterback. This was before Jimmy Garoppolo. They had Jimmy Garoppolo,uckleheads at quarterback. This was before Jimmy Garoppolo. They had Jimmy Garoppolo, who was literally carried by the 49ers run game. Yes. You're acting as if Jimmy Garoppolo didn't hop on the back and hold on for dear life as he's being taken away. I still think Jimmy Garoppolo is a much better quarterback than Nick Mullins or CJ Beathard.

Yeah, but I mean, I hear you. They were actually a rebuilding team with nothing at the quarterback position and nothing at the pass catcher position. Hold on. So they're not going to be able to put up the points to have good points. Hold on. 2015, their defensive rank, right? 2015, their defensive rank, 18 points allowed, 29th in yards.

2016, just the defense, 32nd in points allowed and 32nd in yards allowed. And in 2017, 25th in points allowed and 24th in yards allowed. Yeah. I mean, well, they had a few bad years, but when you say culture that implies that they that the team historically has not been very good they've always been competitive just because there was that small little window when was the last time the niners themselves were actually competitive like well 2013 2013 that was like the capper team and nick bosa was drafted in 2018 so that's five years right okay okay for context in their entire existence shut up five years they were they

were irrelevant shut up for five years they were irrelevant for five years they were irrelevant after out of their entire existence where they they are among the league among the league leaders all time in Super Bowls. Okay, but is that not just comparing apples and oranges? You're the one that was talking about Robert's stats, and yet you're referencing something that happened in the 80s and 90s. Yeah, let me just add this for context. What? Adam was on my show recently with the beautiful man himself, Brian Kostin,

and he said, I am paraphrasing a little bit, but he said that 2018 was too long ago for the red sox to have won a world series that we are hungry for another that was five years ago yes you did brian said that no you said that i didn't i cannot confirm or deny i was not there folks you were not there no i i did not say that but it was brian who said oh it's been a long time. We haven't had a World Series parade since 2018. I said, dude, that's only

four years ago. Because it was 2019 when they were celebrating for the Patriots. That's what I was saying. You're completely messing up the viewpoints. No, that was you who said that. I can guarantee it. I guarantee I did not because I do not believe in that mindset

where it's like, oh, it's been so long since a World Series or a Super Bowl or a championship. Dude, it's only been four years since we last had a parade. Yes. Like, relax. Getting back on topic, right? You haven't given your number one, by the way. I told you it was Nick Bosa. Yes. Okay. Like relax. Getting back on topic. Right. The last day. You haven't given your number one, by the way.

I told you it was Nick Bosa. Yeah, he did. And I told you you were wrong because you don't go against the reigning defensive player of the year and sack leader. You just don't. You go against that because we're going into 2023, not 22. We don't live in the past no and then we got started on this whole thing because you said that the niners always had a good defense and i told you that for five years before boso was or for four years my apologies before boso was drafted their defense was either among the worst or the worst in the league. And then you tried to argue, oh, it's the quarterback.

Oh, Nick Mullins. Nick Mullins was the problem. Yeah, no, the defense was trash too. Okay. Yeah. They were a rebuilding team for five years. Yes. They were irrelevant.

But to say that they don't have it, they have a culture. Nick Bosa, and it changed immediately. It literally did. Nick Bosa was the second overall pick for a reason. To say they have a culture of bad defenses is just stupid. I never said they had a culture of bad defenses. Just because they had a five-year window where they weren't very good.

The Patriots haven't been very good the past few years. I said that Nick Bosa started a new culture of defense. He brought the defense back to there, the defense that they had been missing for years. He brought it back almost single-handedly. It wasn't him alone. You have Fred Warner. It was pretty much him alone.

Aziz Al-Shazir. You have some good players. Was Al-Shazir even on the team in 2018? Well, I'm talking about in this time frame where things have turned around. They've had some good pieces. I'm not saying Nick Bosa isn't the best player

on that team. 100%. He literally did, yeah. Sure. Alright, moving on. Brought him back to relevance, but he didn't change the culture. They've always had a winning culture for the

49ers. They just went off track for five years. Also, are we just going to ignore what happened before the Alex Smith thing? They were not very good in the mid-2000s. Let's not pretend they were. Mid-2000s? 2005 until 2013, they were a pretty solid team i mean they weren't they weren't among the best no they were nowhere near what they were adam adam 2005 4 and 12 2006 7 and 9 2007 5 and 11 2008 7 and 9 2009 8 and 8 2010 6 and 10 and then they finally got on the right track from 2011 to 2013

14 all right i'm just saying you can't say always because you're referencing like the 80s and 90s and yet in the 2000s they've been laughable in the 2000s they've been a below average team i'm just mentioning their existence in general that's all all right and, and in that case, you can also bring up the Cowboys, but whatever. And we're not doing that. Yeah, but the Cowboys have done a jack squat. And neither the Miners. I mean, they've been to two Super Bowls and lost both.

Yes. Salute Jimmy Garoppolo, though. That's better than the Cowboys. Salute Jimmy Garoppolo. That's my boy. Ah, fine. Thank you. I'll pass.'ll pass former patriot i have the respect all right that's the end of our top that's the end of our top five pass rushers uh up next we

have the afc west preview we're going to tell you exactly how the afc west is going to pan out where each team fits in this division that's's next. This is the Fumble. Hamilton comes down with a football. They're saying it's a catch. It's caught. It's a catch. Side-eyed. Touchdown. Unbelievable.

Slings it way down the field to Watkins. Sammy Watkins for the touchdown. Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast. Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, Robert Shelley with you tonight. So we are on to the AFC West in our division previews. And this is going to be certainly an interesting division. Because I just, I just can't tell who exactly is going to win this division. I can.

So for me, I would definitely, I have the Raiders going last, unless they, they surprise everyone. I just, that's, last. Unless they surprise everyone. That looks like the weakest team. And they got even weaker this year.

Then I think the Chargers are a middling team. That'll be towards the middle of the pack because their coaching just hasn't been figured out. Talent-wise, they have everything they need. But they just don't have i mean well i guess they're i guess their run game their run defense could be a little better um the way i see it uh kansas city i think they're a safe bet to at least be competitive i think patrick mahomes has earned has earned that respect to at least be a contending team competitive competitive wise not not championship contention the wild card here is the denver broncos it's weird because they finished last

they were 5 and 12 and they looked awful but they improved in the areas that they needed to fix so they so they worked on their offensive line, which was injury riddled and also shorthanded. Uh, they replaced their head coach, which is huge. They actually cleaned house completely. Uh, they, they, they had a absolute turnover, um, in the coaching, uh, Russell Wilson before this past year has been a perennial Pro Bowl caliber quarterback. So there's no reason to believe that he can't bounce back from what he just did. But there's still a wild card because how do you get that bad?

You have a roster like you did. You have Russell Wilson leading the charge. Top like seven defense. Exactly. And you had, listen, say what you want about nathan nathaniel hackett he had a lot of hype going into this season because of what he did as an offensive coordinator with aaron rogers three straight 13 and three seasons so bringing in sean payton was huge and i want to believe that they're going to be competitive. And I have a hard time picking the Chiefs being division champions.

But I also have a hard time picking the Broncos. So this is the little dilemma we're in here. I think I might lean slightly, and this is going to become a hot take. I'm going to take the Denver Broncos and win this division. They have the talent, and it looks like they fixed the coaching, and they fixed the offensive line. So the Broncos, I'm taking them, and the Chiefs will be the runner-up. Chargers, three, and put Vegas in last.

That's the only slam dunk here. But, yeah. May I, CJ? Yeah, no, go right ahead. Okay, there's only one thing that you and I agree on right there, Adam, and it's that the Raiders will finish last. I'm expecting four to five wins and a Devontae Adams trade halfway through the season.

That is my official prediction for them a thing with the broncos the only way they're even coming close to winning that division oh that's my bad i'm sorry if don't don't give me that look the only way they're winning that division is if jared stidham takes the reins and somehow leads his team to victory. Russell Wilson is done. He's washed. He's gone. I'm sorry. There's you,

you can, you can tell me all you want about him being under single back under center versus him in shotgun. And he's better in shotgun and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And all this BS, I don't care. Quarterbacks, the guy who mainly has the ball, he's, he's not going to give you that away. I'm really hoping that – forgive me if I'm saying his name right. Is it Javante Williams?

Javante Williams. I'm really hoping he can come back from his torn ACL and he can come kick ass with this team. But in terms of just having Russell Wilson in 2023, 2024 24 24 as your starting quarterback they're getting a maximum of eight wins the two teams that are making the playoffs is the chargers where they will go to the wild card and they will lose as always and um the kansas city chiefs who will make another super bowl run this year and win this division easily. I don't think easily with that. Easily.

Not easily. Easily. Also, CJ, you're muted. I just don't think easily because this team has – it's one thing if you're able to do with less. I give Patrick Mahomes lots of credit for that. That was an incredible division victory and also, you know, Super Bowl victory, MVP, the whole nine yards there.

But, like, this is bottom of the barrel. Like, yeah, I believe they're going to make the playoffs, but I just – I'm hesitant to pick them as the division champions. I understand if you believe it, but if they do, they'll barely eke it out because I think the Chargers are going to be competitive this year. They, they will, despite their coaching issues, they're still going to be competitive. And the Broncos just listen. It's when you say washed,

it implies that he no longer has the physical abilities. This really looks like it's all fundamental issues with him. And it really comes down to the coaching. Listen, in the three games where after Nathaniel Hackett was fired, Russell Wilson had nine total touchdowns to i believe two interceptions he looked like his old self in those last three games and they actually i believe they were facing some pretty good competition i don't i don't have it um in front of me right now but he actually looked like his old self in those three games i know he had nine total touchdowns but i'm not buying it he looked

like his own self and i honestly think the the coaching is is the biggest difference maker if there's anything like this is this is kind of a general take if there's anything that i that i learned about this past season it's how much coaching matters especially with the seahawks the patriots bringing in a defensive guy calling offensive plays and then you have and then you have the broncos here yeah it's it just shows how much coaching matters in in the nout by the Rams on Christmas, a 27 to 24 loss against the chiefs, and then a 31 to 28 victory over the chargers who already had their playoff

spot locked. Okay. So then it was the last two games. It was a, it was a long time ago where I saw that, but well, yes, but yeah,

yeah, please. I just wanted to prove Adam wrong because he is usually wrong. You know, I'm not weighing in. He looks like his old self in the games when Nathaniel Hackett was fired. Let the man speak.

Thank you, Robert. So here's the thing. And all three of us are at least in lockstep on the fact that the Raiders will finish last because you went from Derek Carr to basically a more handsome but less good Derek Carr. Salute Jimmy Garoppolo for being mid. Yeah, congratulations. Maybe you'll get carried again this year.

Adam! I'm not saluting. All right, but that's all the only good. Salute Jimmy Garoppolo for being mid okay oh everyone let's let's calm down here's the thing the chargers now they're an interesting team i just i'm not entirely sold on that defense justin herbert's good but as you all know if you've listened to the show i'm not a huge herbert fan i i'm not i mean until i see more i will continue to view him as the next matt stafford and also when you combine that with

the fact that brandon staley should have been out of a job two years ago well that's a bit of an issue yeah the chiefs as long as they haveomes, they can never be counted out. But they're a very fragile team. And I've said this off camera, and I've said this umpteen times to everyone I know. If Travis Kelsey goes down, they're screwed. I mean, Mahomes will always find a way, the the cupboards looking pretty bare unless somebody like cadarious tony can just pull a tyreek hill level season at it as you know where and i agree with adam that the broncos are the wild card though i'm not saying they're gonna win i'm just saying they're the wild card however i do agree with robert that russ was one of the big problems last year i as you know i'm not nathaniel hackett fan but russell wilson did not try last season he and many people believed

and i believe as well he he got fat and happy he he was complacent like the fire was gone now that he got his big contract but i think with sean payton and the season they had last year and he knows that you can't just roll over and win kind of like you used to do in the nfc west when you were good i i think there's going to be a little bit of a fire so i'm hoping that i'm hoping for russ's sake it was just an attitude thing i wouldn't exactly call him washed just yet although i will say if he has another poor season this year denver's cooked yeah so that being said i definitely think it's broncos or kansas city i lean kansas city but as you know there's a lot of things that could play out but if russell wilson can turn back the clock with sean payton then i then it should be them. But KC, like I said, they're just a little too fragile for me.

It's up in the air, but I lean KC. All right. So I have the game logs for Russell Wilson in the last two games, the two games that Nathaniel Hackett was fired. So six touchdowns to two interceptions, six total touchdowns to two interceptions, nearly 600 total yards. A passer rating of in the 90s.

And, oh, by the way, they managed to dance with two playoff teams in those two games. They barely lost to Kansas City. Who already had their playoff spot locked. They did, yes. Yeah, but they still didn't have the number one seed locked yet. Then the Chargers. Who already had their spot locked. Yeah, they beat the Chargers.

Actually, they could have had a higher spot too. They had a spot locked too. They had, they had a spot locked. I'm just saying. Also, Robert, I'm not saying I disagree, but wasn't one of the issues with the chargers that they did have a

playoff spot locked, but they tried to actually play hard and ended up losing Mike Williams. Yes. That was one of the things. I guess I'm not saying I disagree, but I'm just saying I want to add like a wee bit of clarity. Yes. No, you're right. I guess I'm not saying I disagree, but I'm just saying I want to add like a wee bit of clarity. Yes. No, you're right.

But to say that they weren't trying, I think, is slightly incorrect. But they were. Then you could switch it to them to saying that they're shorthanded. You're just looking for excuses to not be wrong. So, Kismai, you know what, CJ? All right. Whoa. Hey, whoa. You can say ass on this

show oh we can oh well i wish i knew that i'll say it twice all right it's kind of like the pelvic thrust rule that we talked about beforehand you know sure yeah but russell wilson looked like his old self in those two games it is a small sample size but i'm just saying you you take you take nathaniel hackett out you put an interim head coach for two games and he actually looks like that and then you bring in sean payton and you also fix that offensive line and things are going to look a lot better and i think i yeah i think i have denver winning this division it might be it'll probably be close and i can understand if you pick kansas city but they're just you there's it's one thing if you can do more with less.

But if it's bottom of the barrel, like you don't have anything, then I have a hard time having you win that division. You'll still be competitive. They're not going to be a cellar-dwelling team. But Denver just has the talent. They fixed what they needed to fix and i have them winning this division yeah just just so we're clear this this city will throw a parade if they even make the playoffs okay because at the end of last year at about week 15 16 somewhere around there there used to be a giant poster hanging off of Empower that was a picture of Justin Simmons and Russell Wilson

that said Broncos country, let's ride. And they took it down at about week 50. Nice. Yeah. All right. Well, we're going to move on. So we talked about top five pass rushers going into 2023. Now we asked you guys,

who are the most underrated pass rushers going into next season? That's next. This is the Fumbaruski podcast. No sign yet. Hamilton comes down with a football. They're saying it's a catch. It's a pass. Takes. Sideline. Touchdown.

Unbelievable. Slings it way down the field to Watkins. Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, Robert Shelley with you tonight. We welcome you to the fan box portion of our show where we post a question filter on our Instagram every Monday and you can respond with hot takes questions and more. We will,

we will, uh, and, and we will discuss it and give you a shout out on our podcast. Respond to next week's fan box question to be featured on our show. So the question of the week was who is the most underrated pass rusher heading into 2023. So to kick things off,

Ian Mulhern said, Aziz,olari. Ojolari. Aziz Ojolari. Yep. So the pass rusher for the Giants, he's solid, I guess. He's fine. He needs a breakout year, yes.

Yeah, he's in need of a breakout year, but I wouldn't. Yeah, I guess underrated is the way you could you could go i wouldn't say that he's a very good like i'm not thinking about aziz ojalary and thinking this guy is you know awesome why don't people mention him he's good he's all right um cola dj said josh sweat so here is here's a good pick uh this guy had 11 sacks last year and he was an afterthought in that uh in that awesome eagles secondary uh jesus secondary front seven front seven there you. We've been going secondary the past few weeks. Oh, it's – Yeah. But for an Eagles team that put up 70 sacks this past season,

league leading by far, the next man up was the Chiefs at 55. I mean, yeah. There was plenty of wealth to go around on that eagles defense um too bad they lost a lot of those players but they gained some of them back so they did some good things especially in the draft free agency they did a few things too um grayson mortimer said bud dupree used to be elite had, had a bit of a down year last year. I expect a rebound. He's had a down year ever since he's been with the Titans.

That's what I'm thinking. He hasn't been the same since he left the Steelers. That's correct, yeah. I just think his age is getting to him. And the ACL tear that he had a couple years back, that has certainly had an impact, and he hasn't really put up the sack numbers. I'm pretty sure he had, what, two last year, three the year before that?

Something like that, yeah. I mean, I want to believe that he can get back to where he was, but he hasn't been the same in quite a while. William Mantle said Carl Lawson and Bryce Huff. Clearly a Jets fan. And CJ actually confirms it. He knows him personally. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, like, the Jets are a pretty good pass rushing team. And these guys individually haven't guys individually aren't great. So Lawson has seven, and I believe Huff had about, what, five and a half, four and a half, somewhere around there. So, like, they're not great individually, but you can see how the Jets as a team, as a collective unit, can get to the quarterback.

It's not always the same guy getting there. You don't have the Nick Boses and TJ Watts of the world where it's always them. You've got to game plan. Opposing offenses have to game plan for that one guy. The Jets have a bunch of guys. But they're not exactly the Eagles, but they're seventh in all of football in Team Saks.

So, I mean. That says something. Steven Parker says DJ Reader. The problem is he's not a pass rusher. CJ and I were talking off camera about the show. This is before you got here,

Robert. Maybe we should have made maybe we should have made another week where we do where we inside guys five inside linebackers the fat uh inside linebackers um nose tackles nose tackles the three texts the five texts of the world fat guys we we called them something else earlier that we can't say online no we did you did yes we all did okay we all saluted them i just kind of said you just said fat guys i wasn't paying attention but it's all right big guys guys who can snap you in half like a twig will also eat an entire pizza by themselves. I wish I could do that, but it's not great for your health.

Two full pizzas by themselves. Good for if you want to play offensive lineman or interior D lineman, but I'm neither of those, so I'm just trying to watch what I eat. Owen Vanslack said Jalen Phillips, who I would say is pretty underrated. Seven sacks this past year, eight and a half his rookie year. This is a guy who's a good pick. It's a good pick. And he's young too, so he could only get better from here. For all we know, he could be one of the elites in the next couple of

years. And maybe we still won't know his name, but the Dolphins just need to make themselves relevant again um patrick williver said people forget about demarcus lawrence and i would say yeah he like we've forgotten about him in the sense that he's one of he once was one of the best uh he was one of the best edge rushers in football. But now he's still good. Yeah, we're forgetting about him, but that's only because he's not really... Micah Parsons is the guy in that defense now.

He's the guy who's getting to the quarterback. It's no longer Demarcus Lawrence. He's a good player. He's helping them, but he's a good player he's helping them but he's not yeah he's he's not the guy like he's not a nick bosa or tj watt anymore he just isn't or a miles garrett who's the number one going into next year um and then owen vanslack had another response saying sam Hubbard. I can agree with that.

Yeah, absolutely. Underrated, not the number one guy on the defensive line over there. It's kind of the same with – it's the same trend with that entire Bengals defense. Everyone's underrated. Yes. Like look at their whole secondary. So this is a little off top. Look at their secondary, just to prove the point.

Chidobe Awuze, Mike Hilton, the other guy, Cam Taylor Britt, and then Dax Hill in your safeties, and then Nick Scott. That's a pretty good secondary. Those are your starters. Jesse Bates, Or did he leave? No, Jesse Bates went to the Falcons. I forgot about that. Yes, you're right. He's a Falcon. That defense does look good

for the Falcons, though. The Falcons got some respect this offseason. They spent money to make money, I'll say that. Then you got Trey Hendrickson on one side, Sam Hubbard on another. Hubbard is underrated because Hendrickson is the guy there. He's probably the closest thing to a superstar that the Bengals have on that defensive side of the ball. Because they don't have any sexy names, if you will,

but they have some very good players who, who as a collective unit, make this Bengals team actually as on the defensive side, actually pretty good. It's a Superbowl winning defense. It's a, it's a defense that will help win a Superbowl. Yes. Yeah.

So there, there you go on the, and they have DJ, DJ reader too, is a very good Russ stuffer. Logan Wilson. I can name, I can name Bengals all

seasons. There's a reason they made the Super Bowl just a few years ago. And why they might be Super Bowl champions this year. Might be. Floodster SportsZone said and I'm sorry for the pronunciation in advance.

Falorunzo Faticassi. Now, here's another one who's an interior defensive lineman. And he might be a very good interior D lineman, but he doesn't get to the quarterback in the same way

DJ Reader doesn't. They're both good at their positions, but they're not really edge rushers. They're just good defensive linemen, right? So they're good players you're naming, but it's just, I mean, we figured that people would probably have issues with the pass rushers category because some players, players like it's just a confusing position because some you can you can rush the passer as a safety i mean you got

blitz boy over there in seattle um all right josh hool said brian burns isn't mentioned enough i agree that hasn't been a. I agree. I agree. And if he wasn't on the Panthers, I think this guy would be pretty good. Well, he still is good. I mean, he would be mentioned more. And he was in my top five. So there you go.

Daniel Blaziak said the entire Jets D-line. So as we said, as a collective unit, this team is effective. They just don't have that one guy who is the double-digit sack guy. Everyone has to game plan for him, besides kind of Quinn and Williams. They have a really good defense around them, and that defense is going to be elite next year. Brian Mucker said, Daniil Hunter.

Yeah. And I would agree. He's, he's hurt a lot, but he's good. He's hurt a lot, but when he's healthy and that guy, that guy can play.

And apparently Adam thinks he's on the Browns now. Yeah. I miss, I messed it up. I know. I meant to Darius Smith. I know. I know.

Stop because they're both bad- badass defensive players on the Vikings. Yep. Well, one not enough. One more. Yeah, one left. But Nate Murowitz, this was a really good one. I liked this one. Nate Murowitz said, Alex Highsmith, another very overlooked 3-4 outside linebacker

who produced well even without Watt. Alex Highsmith, 14.5 sacks this past season in the absence of TJ Watt. This guy is good. He's been in the league a few years with the Steelers, but it took Watt's absence for him to really break out, which could be looked at as a red flag, but we're not going to do that. We won't do that. You know why?

Because sometimes it takes some reps in the NFL to kind of figure things out. You got to figure it out. And he did. And now you have Watt and Highsmith on opposite sides, which is going to make for a really good Steelers defense. For our last response, Eli Turner said Baron Browning. And he's technically in, here's where the pass rusher position gets complicated. Because he's technically considered an off-ball linebacker. But he got to the quarterback five times.

He sacked him five times, and he got to the quarterback five times. He sacked him five times and he had 12 tackles for loss. So he's doing something right in the pass rushing category. He's been used off-ball. He happens to get a lot of sacks. He gets to the quarterback. He's a good defensive player. One could even say that he's a hybrid, right? He can do a lot of good things, which is a good thing. It's a good thing. There's a hybrid, right? He can do a lot of good things, which is a good thing. It's a good thing. It's not the only – there's a lot of good things you can do on the defensive side of the ball that isn't getting to the quarterback. And he happens to do that.

So we could call him a jack of all trades, if you will. Yeah. Right, one of those guys. All right. Well, that is all for our responses and all for our content, but do you guys have any other thoughts before we end the show tonight? If you don't mind extending the episode about three more minutes,

I have one more piece of content. We could, Jesus, we're already just under an hour. This is the longest episode we have had in four months. Minute. So it'll, it'll be quick all right so we are going to see how fraudulent of nfl fans you two are oh jesus it's kind of but we're going to go

back to the year 2016 think about it for a second think it over think it over. You're going to name me as a collective unit the top 10 highest jersey sales of 2018. In what way does this talk about if we're frauds? I don't know the top 10 highest selling jerseys now because it doesn't matter. We're going to see how many y'all know. Alright, alright. I'll play your game.

You'll get two hits. Doesn't it also vary? There's some players who aren't even actually that talented. They're just top in jersey sales. All of these top 10 guys were talented at the time. Yeah, wait, hold on. So this is the 2016 season, correct? 2016 season.

Year of Super Bowl 51, if I'm not mistaken. Yes. We have just eclipsed an hour on our show. Yes. Yes, I can tell, Adam. who's gonna say who's gonna say no no adam if you don't want to i'll go i'll i'll go to well as a collective unit he said so the two of us we we need all right all right let's bet tuck would be good at this too oh yeah tuck would know all right all right man uh were they good so were these players good during 2016 yeah um nine out of the ten oh the other one you'll be able to get if you're okay um i'm thinking tom brady of course tom brady is number three uh oh wait

matt ryan was up there i I assume. Matt Ryan is not. Oh, okay. Then Julio. Julio Jones was like number 15. Wait, what? Okay, what about Zeke? That was Zeke's rookie year. He took the league by storm.

Ezekiel Elliott is number one. How'd you even come up with this? Like you agreed to come onto our show like 10 minutes ago. I came up with this like five minutes ago. Okay, wait. Was Dak there too? He was like offense rookie of the year. All right so cj is hard carrying right now dac is number two uh rogers would he be up there because he oh dang i'm trying to think let's see who else i should have given you guys a three strike limit

but oh well oh oh antonio brown because you know stealers and killer antonio brown is number seven okay okay what year was juju smith schuster no he wasn't in the league yet he wasn't in the league yet okay uh monster that was the year after where he was drafted um usually there's some cocky corner every year who gets jersey sales. I'm trying to think. In terms of corners on this list? Corners? There are zero corners on this list. Let me know when you want to use a hint.

I'm shocked Matt Ryan wasn't on there. Was Russ on there at all? Russell Wilson is number 10. Oh, 2016. Yes, 2016. Russell Wilson is number 10 ah okay oh 2016 yes 2016 we've been Dez Bryant that is a good guess Dez Bryant is number 11

no oh easy there wait Gronk for some reason maybe DJ is still carrying Gronk is number 6 you better thank this man after this show. He's making you not look bad, Adam. No, no, no. It's cool.

It's cool. Wait, hold up. Wait, it was still Steelers, Le'Veon Bell. Oh, I was about to say Le'Veon Bell. Incorrect. Le'Veon Bell was 21. Okay. I'm trying to think of all the...

We're going back like seven years, right? What about Vic Beasley? 21. Okay. I'm trying to think of all the... Listen, you have... We're going back like seven years right now. What about Vic Beasley? Because he was the defensive player of the year. No. Oh, my. You have one defensive player, a linebacker. You have two quarterbacks and a wideout.

What major play happened in 2016 for a wideout to make them famous? Or this might not have been in 2016 but around that time what why she became famous because of one play julian edelman incorrect good guess tyreek hill no wait hold on was kelsey on there stefan diggs oh no no that was a couple years later mike michael thomas actually the following year stefan diggs sad jesus yeah i hear that all right was it oh hopkins no wait was that uh the catch that every kid tried to impersonate oh odell beckham odell is number four yes oh i forgot he existed yeah we have we have two uh we have two quarterbacks one was a borderline mvp for like the first five weeks oh derrick car thank you derrick car wait

khalil mac was he there too because he was khalil mac no oh i forgot derrick car another great linebacker oh um uh who's a giant massive deal in the past couple years oh last couple years uh no the last year vaughn miller vaughn miller's number nine okay the last guy is the one guy the last guy is a guy who um sucked but was a mvp candidate in 2017, 18, 19. But if you think about him now, you don't want him anywhere close to your team, and he's not old. Carson Wentz?

Number five. Wentz wasn't drafted yet. Carson Wentz was number five. That was his rookie year, I believe, 2016. Yeah. Yes, it was, because he was the same year as Dak. Yeah, he was the same year as the goofball. Who is this again?

Carson Wentz. I said it. So Wentz was in 16. Yeah. Yeah, because he was in the league already. Yeah, because he was drafted in 16. It was his rookie year. He was up there in sales?

Yep. Some honorable mentions just to round it out. 11 through 15 were Dez, Jason Witten, Aaron Rodgers, Khalil Mack, and Julio Jones. Okay. I carried, though. We want to point that out. That's an understatement. Okay.

Thank you, Bob. That's an understatement. You got 9 out of 10. Adam was just hopping on the back for the ride, you know? All right. understatement okay thank you that's all understated you got nine out of ten adam was was just hopping on the back for the ride you know all right all right all right there we go all right he got that out of his system we're done with that that was good content start with me yeah all right not as good as top five but each skill position and division right come on but you know and fan box that we created

ourselves you did not that started with my show that was ari's idea put some respect on his name nope nope nope nope i don't have a horse in this race that'll do it for us tonight thank you for listening to us we have new episodes out on tuesdays and fridays at 7 30 p.m eastern standard time be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more. Also be sure to follow our Instagram, FumbleRooski underscore podcast to keep up with our podcast and latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, we'll see you next week. Over and out.