The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Richard Sherman Podcast - NFL Week 8 Reaction

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

Richard Sherman reacts to Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season, including Brock Purdy leading the San Francisco 49ers come-from-behind victory over Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks taking a frustrating loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, Jayden Daniels connecting on an UNREAL Hail Mary to steal a win for the Washington Commanders against Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, Jameis Winston taking over for Deshaun Watson and helping the Cleveland Browns beat Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in a shocking upset, Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions lighting up the Tennessee Titans, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs moving to 7-0 with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets getting upset by the New England Patriots, and Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals continuing their disappointing year with a loss to Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. #volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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That should always be the expectation. All right, man, that you go on here. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast. and Mitchell, a 49ers win over the Dallas Cowboys. It seems like a annual occurrence nowadays. The Dallas Cowboys started off really fast, physical. They seemed like the week off helped them. They got healthier.

But at the same time, it all wore off. Mitchell. It was like makeup. It was Pretendo. All the energy they brought in the first half, the intensity. They were running the ball well, San Francisco. hadn't been stopping a run well. The Dallas Cowboys hadn't been running it well all season.

But Ezekiel Elliott had his best half. They were physical. They were talking mess. They were getting stops on the defensive side. It looked like a team that was determined to get a win. And then in the second half, it was like the San Francisco 49ers woke up, both offensively and defensively. They kept getting penalties and shooting themselves in the foot throughout the game.

Debo Samuel touchdown got called. back because of a holding call. Another big run got called back that Garindo had, George Kittle Holden call. But for the most part, in the second half, the defense made play Diomador and Lenore's interception against C.D. Lamb was fantastic play. Obviously, friend of the program. He's been having a tremendous career. His payday is only increasing.

I thought the San Francisco 49ers would have been better off just paying him this year, this offseason, trying to get him for one of like a short, cheap deal. but now as he continues to make plays, second game in a row. His last game was against the Kansas City Chiefs picked off Mahomes. Now you pick off Dak, the two all-pro quarterbacks from last season. Oh, I guess Lamar was all pro. But, I mean, you talk about you picking off anytime you pick off Pat Mahomes is going to be a big deal, but you pick off Dak, his second or third multi-interception game.

The second half was just filled with big plays, but there were a few hiccups. that I could have a few head scratchers. They were in man-to-man coverage. Jair Brown, who had a fantastic game and a fantastic interception early in the game, was running with the motion, running with the receiver, or running with Ferguson, and then comes downhill trying to cover Ferguson man-to-man is trying to get closer to him at the snap of the ball, and he runs into Renardo Green and picks him off and leaves C.D. Lamb wide open.

Now, we know that any time there's a situation where the guy's in motion, you give the corner to right away. He got the harder job. Your guy's probably running a flat, something low, something slow. You know what I mean? This is a tight end. It's not that hard of a cover. It's not that athletic of a guy. You got a corner who's guarding their best player and you pick them off.

You know, corner always has the right away in that situation. I'm sure that Nick is going to coach that up and they're going to get that corrected. but I thought it was a fantastic game from Diomador. Nicholas John Bolsa made numerous plays throughout the game, put pressure on him. He caused the first interception, putting pressure on Dak Prescott. The rest of the defensive line made life hell for Dak Prescott throughout this game. And offensively, Garindo looked really good.

There were times that he was gashing the Dallas Cowboys. They were finding the lanes. And he's that speed back that Kyle Shanahan usually has. You talk about when he had Matt. Brita or Rahim Mostert. He always had a guy that could get the edge. And if he got the edge, it's usually big games, 20, 30 yards. And Garindo looked like one of those in that mold.

Special teams. Special teams look decent today. You know, no big crazy plays. Field goals got made. PATs were made. Kickoff returns were tackled. There was the one kickoff out of bounds. But that's just, you know, that's a kicker.

You can't blame teams for that. Kicker just got to keep it in bounds. But I thought overall this is a really good bounceback game for San Francisco 49ers. They're getting a lot of good news. You hear that Christian McCaffrey potentially coming back after the bye week to play against Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That will be an incredible boost for this team, both, I mean, in terms of just the morale of the team and then all, everything that Christian brings to this offense in terms of his third down prowess. Just, I mean, he's one of the best players in national football league. It's huge.

I mean, but this is a huge loss for Dallas as well. I mean, this team, you could tell. They came out of the gates. They were, they looked scrappy. They looked like the better team early, Rich, I'll tell you that much. And I think it goes back to their home stomping against the Detroit Lions. They needed this game badly and to come out with an L. And I know it was a tough opponent.

The 49ers have had their way against the Dallas Cowboys for the last several years. But, I mean, if you're Jerry Jones right now, Richard, what are you thinking in Dallas? I got to imagine that hot seat is starting to heat up a little bit with Mike McCarthy there as the head coach. Richard, where's your head at with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys being three and four now? Well, I think all those crazy rumors about Dion in the offseason if McCarthy stumbles are going to get hotter and hotter come off season. I don't think anybody's going to take Jerry's word. Whatever he says at the end of the season, he'll say, hey, we're going to start all over and start anew. or whatever he's going to say this offseason isn't going to have a lot of weight because what what you didn't do this season, this off season is going to rain loudly throughout this season because you did not do enough.

You drafted a tackle. Doesn't seem like the answer. Offensive line is the worst it's been in years. Aging superstars on offensive line, CD Lamb and Dak just don't look like they have the same rapport, same connection. They did this game. 13 catches for 149 yards for CD. But it's just throughout this season, it hasn't looked the same as it did last season. CD was dominating.

I mean, he and Dak just looked like they had an incredible connection. Every time they needed a third down, you knew where he was going, and CD land was getting open, making huge plays, huge gains. And it just hasn't been that way. Dak has turned the ball over. He's amongst the league leaders and interceptions this year. I mean, right next to Patrick Mahones and Jordan Love. I mean, it doesn't sound like a bad list to be a part of, but they're leading the league in interception.

So, you know, those teams are still winning. But on top of that, the NFC East is turned into a much different race than they thought it would be, than I thought it would be. I mean, it's led right now by the Washington commanders who the Dallas Cowboys have in a few weeks. And then the Philadelphia Eagles. So they have a few division games coming up. And then they got to play the Atlanta Falcons who actually match up pretty well against the Dallas Cowboys. And so they have a slate, a really tough slate coming up that may put them out of playoff contention.

Because, again, that seventh wildcar spot is going to be difficult to come by this year. A lot of teams playing a lot of good football, especially in that NFC North, as you very well know, your Detroit Lions. The Green Bay Packers are playing good. And Minnesota Vikings have been playing good, albeit they lost the last few games. I don't know, but congratulations to George Kettle on National Tidy End Day, 128 yards and a TV. I thought they would call P.I. on that. They called it.

They talked about it. They waved the flag off saying the defender's hand was on. You know, as a defender, any time it's offensive PI, you know, even if it's against the team, you know, something in my heart says that was the right deal. And, you know, this is the one time I'm just going to let that one slide because I wanted George to get his touchdown on National Tide-Ns-day. Brock Purdy had another really good game, a bounce-back game.

He was 18 to 26, 260 yards, one T-D, no interceptions. After his three-interception performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, he also ran the ball eight times for 56 yards in the QB sneak touchdown. As they continue to get healthy, and they're going to get healthier and feel better and more continuity. There was a cool play.

Ricky Purcell got a reverse, got 39 yards on it. The crowd went wild just to see his story and what he's had to overcome. Obviously, the gunshot wound and that scary situation was something that I think really shocked the team and took everybody by surprise and everybody's grateful and thankful that he's out there. But it was cool to see him get his hands on the football, catch a few passes, run a few passes, I mean, run a few balls, and really just be involved in the game. I think this team is ready to bounce back. and the NFC West is just, it's tied.

I mean, I think everybody's four and four except the Rams, and that's because the Rams haven't played eight games yet. They're three and four, but everybody's tied at the top of the NFC West. It's going to come down the stretch, and that's what the NFL loves. There's a lot of division games down the stretch. They make sure it's that way. I'm sure San Francisco and Seattle is going to end the season in Seattle. I mean, in San Francisco, they've already played in Seattle.

The Arizona Cardinals got a big win today against the Miami Dolphins. Marvin Harrison had a really good game. They just battled to a tangle by lower return. He was pushing the ball down the field. Tarik Hill looked good. The offense looked solid, but they just couldn't overcome Kyler Murray and that defense. And I'm excited to see how this happens.

I mean, this NFC West has been this crazy and this chaotic and this tied up this late in the season in a while. It is going to be a tight conference or division. There's no question about that. Richard, you're going to have to switch your hats here. talk about something that you probably don't like just as much as your 49ers victory, and that's the Seattle Seahawks loss. The roller coaster of an NFL season is moving right along,

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21 plus age varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. See sportsbook.draftkings.com slash football. Terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources. Another week, Mitchell, another set of really unpredictable games. The Baltimore Ravens lose to the one in six Browns.

James Winston at the helm. What's going on there? the Seattle Seahawks are blown out at home. I just, the one win, New England Patriots beat the Jets. Oh my God, the culture that Woody Johnson was trying to set by firing Robert Sala. It just did exactly what you expected it to do, Metro. It was terrible. It was a terrible decision then.

It's a terrible decision now. It looks even worse right now. You called it, man. I mean, you called it. Let's start. I mean, let's start in Seattle, though. Richard, because I know this one is close to home for you, and this is a game that Seattle needed.

I mean, frankly, I mean, they were four and three heading into this game. This was a true home test for them against an AFC Super Bowl contender in the Buffalo Bills, and they get it taken to them on their home turf in front of the 12s. Richard, did you see this coming? Are you surprised by this outcome at all? I'm really surprised by it, Mitchell. I couldn't have saw this coming, especially after an Atlanta game. It looked like they got some things figuring out,

figured out stopping the run game, some turnovers, some sacks from the D line offensively. They were moving the ball down the field. Gino Smith looked really good. At times, the offensive line was protecting him a little better. So you thought, hey, they're starting to turn the corner, but of course you lose D.K. Medcalf in that game. And going into this game,

you see the different things that happen when you don't have him in the lineup. you don't you don't the defense isn't it's willing to play man-to-man coverage a lot of the game they put a lot of pressure on gino but when they did have success when the seahawks did move the ball down the field just too many mistakes that they moved the ball down the field and connor william snaps the ball over uh gino smith's head and that play i just totally didn't understand it's the pros this isn't pop warner this isn't uh college football where you're like hey you know, this is your job.

And for it to be such a terrible snap in that situation, I mean, it just doomed that drive. Kenneth Walker picks it up, tries to get a few yards, tries to get, you know, whatever he could. But he could have took points off the board. There's three points there. Then they get a huge interception. It was the first interception for Josh Allen this season.

You think, oh, my God, here come the Seattle Seahawks. Here comes that defense. Making plays. They, you know, Mike McDonald, whatever he's bringing, these guys, Josh Joby makes a huge play, the first interception of his career. And the Seahawks are in striking range and gets stopped at the goal line, a fourth down stop. Gino Smith takes the snap. Again, Connor Williams steps on his foot.

He goes down. Just bonehead plays that you just can't have in that situation. And it devastates your momentum and everything. Buffalo turns around, drives the ball down the field, scores a touchdown, scores. a touchdown right before the half. A terrible penalty by Derek Hall, who's been having a really good season on what would have ended up being a third and long situation.

He hits Josh Allen maybe two seconds after he throws the ball, a second and a half, just unnecessary than him and Jaron Reed get into it on the sideline. And I've been in heated situations on the sideline, Mitchell, but we were a much better team, and it was a much different situation. You get heated like that. Things like that can happen. But when you're the guy who had the penalty, obviously, Derek Hall is embarrassed.

Jaron Reed is one of the leaders on that team. He's trying to say, hey, bro, come on. That's an unnecessary play. But when you're triggered in that moment, you know, both people are really charged up. They're hot and heavy and cooler hits. It's have to prevail in that situation. They didn't. But it was just a microcosm of the dysfunction that was shown in that.

shown in that game, and it was really unfortunate because they played such a great game in Atlanta, on the road, early game. They showed all the things they could be, you know, Gino, how good he could be, that defense, how disruptive they could be, you know, D.K. Medcalf, obviously, Kenneth Walker the third, he had nine carries for 12 yards, Mitchell. I don't think I've ever seen him put out such an anemic performance on the ground. That's just it. I was going to say that. It's, is it just me or does this Seattle Seahawk team go as Kenneth Walker goes?

It seems like when he's in a game like today, there's no run game. This team's borderline unwatchable. I mean, Buffalo walked it up and down on them all day today. Josh Allen, you know, these bills, I mean, this team looks like a team that can truly compete in the AFC. I know their kryptonite is Patty Mahomes and the chiefs. But when you go on the road against Seattle, who is leading the NFC West, in a very tight division race right now, Richard. This division is wide open.

It's for the picking. And next week, they're going to have to go and play the Rams who are now getting healthy. I mean, that's not a win guaranteed for them. This team, Richard, they need to get back on track quick. And they need to lean on the run game. I know without D.K. Metcalf, it's tough. But they just looked like a shell of themselves out there today, Rich.

I was ultimately surprised by this because I thought Seattle would give this Bill's team a true challenge today and I thought frankly they were going to come away with the win but clearly I was wrong but go ahead. Yeah, I mean, I thought they would come away with a win or at least be a lot more competitive than this. You know, maybe lose at the end

last second, you know, make it a really competitive game. It's just disappointing but that Buffalo defense showed up in a big way. Like I said, putting pressure on Gino all day. And of course, they're this week's they held the Seattle Seahawks offense to

10 points at home. It honestly wasn't as close as the score. You know, it's 31 to 10, but it looked worse than that watching the game. And that's why they're this week's Uber Eats, almost, almost perfect defense. The segment brought to you by Uber Eats, where we highlight the NFL defense that put on the most week's most dominating performance. And they really dominated this game. Even every time you thought the Seattle Seahawks had a chance in this game to score points,

That defense stood tall, they stood strong, four downs. The Seattle Seahawks had the ball at the 10-yard line, trying to get it in, trying to get it in. Buffalo Bills found away. Whenever they got a little bit of momentum, they intercepted a screen pass that Gino was trying to set up for Kenneth Walker to third. It was just, again, even the special teams, a muffed punt at the end of the game where it was just like insult to injury,

give that defense a ton of credit, the special teams, and even the offense, because they ran the ball really well. It was James Cook might have been one of his best game, 17 carries for 111 yards. That's a great game for a running back. And we thought they had got the run game issues on defense, solidified and fixed last week in the second half of the Atlanta Falcons game. Clearly, the Seattle Seahawks haven't gotten it fixed.

And that's why the Buffalo Bills are this week's almost, almost perfect defense. And remember, you can order almost, almost anything on Uber Eats, the official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. Well, Richard, if Uber Eats wants to sponsor the almost, almost perfect team of the week, I think that would go to my Detroit line. Let's go to Detroit because, Richard, this Vegas did not expect a close game. I think the closing line finished at the Detroit, you know, minus 12 and a half points.

No one expected this to be a game, but it was in the beginning in the first quarter, 14 to 14. You saw Mason Rudolph slinging the ball all over. Calvin Ridley had over 100 yards in the first quarter of this game. And I'm like, okay, maybe this is a trap game for Detroit. And no, not so much. The Detroit rattles off 38 consecutive points in this win. They were getting everyone involved.

and Ben Johnson was creative. We saw a throw from David Montgomery on a half-back toss. He pulls up and heaves the ball to Sam La Porter on National Tight End Day. Richard, what's going to stop this Detroit Lion team? I know I'm biased, but objectively speaking, when I look at this team, I see Kansas City. They've got the X-Factor in Patrick Mahomes. I mean, it doesn't matter how much you prepare for that team.

They have Patrick Mahomes. but this Detroit Lions team top to bottom looks like the best team in the NFL to me right now, at least offensively. Am I off base there? What are your thoughts about this team? What's it going to take the break them?

Well, it's just that defense. You know, and that defense has been playing well, but there have been games where they have been shootouts because that defense gives up some points. It gets leaky. You're talking about losing Aidan Hutchinson and everything that he brought, the sacks, the pressures,

the attention, the double-teachers, the double teams and things like that. That's where we're going to have to figure it out, especially when they play more competitive teams. Obviously, the Tennessee Titans are 1 and 6. But they're still an NFL team, and 1 in 6 teams can still win ball games. As New England Patriots and Cleveland Brown showed us this week.

But give Jared Gough a ton of credit, give Ben Johnson a ton of credit, and obviously Dan Campbell for the culture he's created. We talk about it a lot, but Jamir Gibbs, is starting to develop as a home run hitter consistently game after game, another 100-yard game. For him with a touchdown, you know, you look at Sam LaPorter getting involved on National Tide End Day. You talked about the touchdown.

Jared golf threw for 85 yards, but he's still efficient, 12, 15, 3 touchdown passes. And they just did not need a lot from him today. They made plays on defense. They had multiple interceptions. Kirby Joseph had an interception. And when they play like this, it's going to be really tough. They're going to be a tough team to beat. But they've had five straight wins.

They play another tough divisional game. And if we know anything about the NFL, divisional games are totally different than anything else. People don't understand it. But then you've got to watch games like the Patriots versus the Jets today. Divisional games are different. You look at the Cleveland Browns versus the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore looked like world beaters.

Five and two just running shopover. everybody. They lost to James Winston and the Cleveland Browns, and Cleveland Browns looked really good. Their defense looked good. James pushing the ball down the field. They trade away Amari Cooper and somehow look better than they did with Amari Cooper. They lose their $50 million quarterback and somehow start to be more productive on offense. And so that's how unpredictable the NFL is this year. But the Detroit Lions have been consistent as any team. And like you said, they look really. good on both sides of the ball. Well, Coach, they got the, they, they got great players in a place you need great players, good receiver, good run game, solid defense on the verge of being a really good defense. So we'll, we'll see. This Green Bay game will be a good litmus test, but they passed the test against Minnesota. So we'll see.

This is going to be a huge game on the road in Lambo, but the game today was a very unique one in the sense, you know, my brother's flying home from L.A. 10-year anniversary, him and his wife are out there. He texts me that he's not watching the game. He's like, what in the world is going on with Detroit? I'm watching them on Gamecast, and I got no explanation for how they're scoring so many points. In the third quarter, Richard, Jared Gough had 28 passing yards. Total throughout the entire game in the third quarter. The Detroit lines have 42 points on the board.

I don't know how in the world that's happened, but, I mean, Detroit was starting in Tennessee's 25, 30-yard line. every time. They hit over 200 return yards. This was a special team game. Caliph Raymond going off. But Jared Goff, I mean, this guy is firmly in the MVP conversation. He has the highest completion percentage in passing rating in a five game span in NFL history, Richard. I mean, the Detroit Lions, I know it was the Titans, but look out. I love this team right now. The momentum is great. Lambo is going to be a great test for him. where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the kids. the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get to flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Real talent is defined by what people can do, not where they learn to do it. So by stopping at the education section of a resume, you might throw away the perfect hire.

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She says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict. Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk at my mom. Yeah. On the Ceno Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations

about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail, talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic, and without this trouble, I'm going to die.

Open your free IHAR radio app. Search the Cito Show. And listen now. We saw a thriller in Washington. And this is Jaden Daniels confirming who exactly he is. I think he's the leader in the clubhouse when it comes for that rookie of the year. Reward. And he beat out the number one pick, Caleb Williams.

Richard, a hail mayor, Mary. I know you saw one in Seattle with the blind ref. gave Golden Tate that Hail Mary touchdown. But you don't see it very often. What was going through your head when you saw Jaden Daniels hit Noah Brown as time expired in that thriller against the Bears? Mitchell, it's chaos. It's chaos.

But sometimes it's just your time. The Bears played well defensively, but offensively, they were stagnant. DeAndre Swift had a great game. They ran the ball well, so give them credit there. but Caleb Williams dropped back 24 times, completed 10 passes for 131 yards. He ran the ball for 41 yards, but they did not look great when they dropped back to pass. He lost a fumble in the game. But Jaden Daniels looked really good throughout this game.

I mean, coming off the injury, it's just sometimes your time, Mitchell. When you're feeling good things, the ball bounces your way. Hell marries go your way. And that's what happens today. They were leading this entire game. They were winning from almost start to finish until the absolute last second. Chicago takes the lead and you think, oh, my God, what a comeback. What a last second.

They're going to sneak out of here with the win. They're going to steal this game from the Washington commanders. When the Washington commanders were about to make an entrance into my power ranking, just as I was about to give them the respect that they are. desiring, they were going to lose this game. Then the fates, the football gods, whatever you want to believe, were with them today and allowed them to come out of this game when there were only, let me check the clock, Mitchell, because I think there were teenage seconds left in this ball game when they got it.

They had 25 seconds to go, Mitchell. They four play 76 yards and 25 seconds. That game seemed like it was over. for most teams, that would have been over. But clearly it wasn't for Jaden Daniel and this Washington commanders. And this is only going to further validate what they've been doing this season. That Chicago Bears defense is legitimate. Halev Williams had been playing better over the last few games.

They had been finding a rhythm. They went for two. They looked good on that touchdown scoring drive. But again, this team believed. And as Dan Quinn and the. this staff, Kenny Norton over there on the defensive side of the ball, coaching the backers. You got leaders like Zach Ertz and our guy, friend of the program, friend of mine, you know, one of my better, one of them my best friends.

Bobby Wagner holding this defense down, holding the Chicago Bears to 15 points, sometimes you've got to lean on your defense, and they were able to get this win. They're definitely making an entrance into my power rankings. They're six and two, got a favorable. schedule down the stretch. I cannot wait for that Thursday night football game against the Philadelphia Eagles because I want to, I want them to establish themselves in their division because they can do all this damage everywhere else, but you've got to beat the guys in your division to really catapult yourself into that contender conversation. And so when they play the Dallas Cowboys,

the Philadelphia Eagles, they play the New York Giants, they beat the New York Giants, which is obviously very realistic, they're seven and two. you're telling me you had them seven and two to start the season, Mitchell, I cannot lie to you and say I did. Well, we did highlight them a little bit in our season preview. If you don't recall, we said if Jaden Daniels was going to be this year's rookie of the year, Washington could be a dark horse. But you're right. I did not see this. When I said they could be a dark, Mitch.

No. They're bright. Very bright. And they deserve all the hype surrounding this team. You know who looks like a genius right now, Richard? A flat-out genius is the friend of the program. Like you said, one of your best friends, Bobby Wagner. Because, and you know who would really love to have Bobby Wagner on their team?

I'm guessing the Seattle Seahawks in the 12th because you take a veteran leader future, you know, Hall of Famer and Bobby Wagner and put him on this team. Richard, I don't want to put the cart before this dark horse, right? but they're going to win next week. They're going to be seven and two. And they're going to keep climbing your power ranks. I love the Washington commanders right now. This team proved to me today that they can truly compete in this division and in this

conference. I think they might be a Super Bowl challenger. I don't want to call them a contender just yet, but they are entering that conversation piece. On the other side of the football, Chicago fans, I know you took the out today. it's tough loss. But this team, they're going to be tough for years. They got a lot of weapons on that team.

I am thankful that they lost because this NFC North is way too tight right now. The Lions need a little freedom here when you're playing is good of football as they are. But Richard, let's take it. And Mitchell, but you talk about the NFC North. The NFC West is crazy too because you sit there and say, Seattle, you got a chance to pull away a little bit. And of course they lose. and now they're at 500. Then the Arizona Cardinals beat the Miami Dolphins

and Tuatunga Viloa's return. And now they're 500. The Rams are sitting at 3 and 4. They were about to trade away the farm. And now they're 3 and 4 with a chance to be tied for the division lead if they can win next week. And that's chaotic. I mean, the San Francisco 49ers got the game against the Dallas Cowboys

to take them for 500 for a share of the lead as well. So this NFC West race is getting pretty crazy. but like you said, the Seattle Seahawks, look like they need leadership on defense. Look like they need, look like they need a veteran presence to stabilize this defense.

Maybe a pro bowler, maybe an all pro linebacker who's just playing a lot of football, just somebody that's been there, that knows the team, that knows the city, that knows that don't get me started on the idiocracy

that it is to watch Bobby Wagner walk away for the second time, not the first time. Second time, Mitchell. And that is one of the more frustrating things at the offseason because then you trade for a linebacker. You trade for Ernest Jones. Wait, you trade away the linebacker. You paid the money.

But they were better than Bobby, I thought. But no, they're not. They're not. They were never because there are things you cannot measure. There are things that he brings that you cannot, that you don't see day in and day out. There's a standard set, but people are so quick to move on. They're quick to say, oh, the new thing's the better thing. it's not and that's why people need to appreciate what they have instead of always looking for the future

always looking towards oh the grass may be greener over there how about you water your grass how about you appreciate what's on your lawn you know what I mean the grass that's been growing from a seed you're watching one of the all-time greats and you say oh well we we need to do something different you got a new head coach coming in new system about to be installed you want everything new but but you could have somebody that help bring this this thing in smoother. But no, you don't. So you know who wanted one of them? Dan Quinn.

Dan Quinn said, oh, I'm going to be a new head coach. Adam Peters, who came from the San Francisco 49ers, got hired. And he said, you know who's a really quality player? Bobby Wagner. And he's on the market. Kenny Norton said, y'all know who y'all better call Bobby Wagner. And they called him. And he's helping to elevate this Washington command.

Manders team and help bring this new regime in and establish a culture over there instead of in Seattle where he would have loved to do that. Love to be doing the same thing he's doing in Washington in Seattle, but they did not want him. And that's a whole story for a different day, but that's my rant and my pit dog for today, Mitchell. I love it. I mean, you're spot on. And I could go down a rabbit hole with you here, Richard.

I don't know how far we want to take this. But I just feel like John Schneider botched the snap with this transition from the Legion of Boom and your core defense. And obviously you guys all moving on, people retiring. And the last guy of that defense was Bobby Wagner. I think you keep him around as long as humanly possible to help this team in this transition, especially with the new coach. And they just did not do that. So we shall see the season is still, they are still firmly. in the mix of this division.

Seattle's just got to get better. Speaking of a team that is kind of confusing me at the moment. Vexing of sorts. That needs to get a little bit better as well. This is Baltimore Ravens team. Because entering this week, this is a win. They're playing the Cleveland Browns,

one and six. The Sean Watson's out for the season. They're going against famous James Winston. What is it with? Baltimore, Rich, because this team looks so darn dominant, yet they have two losses to the Raiders and now the Browns. I don't know what I'm watching. Did they just not show up? Did they not practice well? Did they not get up for these lousy games? Because you can put them against the Niners. You could put against the Lions last year. You put them against all these top teams and they dominate.

But when it comes to these lousy teams, they just can't seem to get it done. What's the deal? with Baltimore. I don't know, Mitchell. I don't know. What I do know is that they don't play well always against the AFC. The NFC, for some reason, Lamar Jackson dominates. I think he's only lost twice or something against NFC teams. It's an insane record. But against AFC teams, he's pretty normal. And specifically in his division against the Cleveland Browns, he has a hard time. Regardless of who's that quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, regardless of what they're doing offensive, relatively. Lamar Jackson has a much harder time versus them than any other team just about. I mean, I've just seen him struggle a lot against the Cleveland Browns.

And Derek Henry has been so dominant, but he did not look as dominant as he has. The lanes didn't look as big as they had been. And that's, again, divisional game. When you're in your division, throw the records away. Throw all that away. I don't know why. Maybe it's the familiarity between the players, the schemes, et cetera, et cetera. But when you're in a divisional game, it's tough.

It's going to be a dogfight. Now, Baltimore still had chances to win. Bateman drops a wide open pass, and it appeared he lost the ball in the sun. He's pointing up to the sky late in this game that really could have gave Baltimore a chance to win this game and walk away with a nice win, you know, in a struggle. struggling environment. They're in Cleveland. But Lamar Jackson played pretty good. You know, he looked good. He 23 or 389. He ran the ball eight times.

You know, he still had 46 yards. Derek Henry did what he did. Zay Flowers had seven catches for 115. Kyle Hamilton had a sack and should have had an interception that probably would have sealed this game for him. He had his hands on it. James threw it right to him. he overthrew his receiver and threw it right to Cal Hamilton, and he dropped it maybe two or three times. He caught it, he caught it, dropped it, caught it, and then finally just dropped it to the ground. That would have changed the game.

That would have been the game. Baltimore Ravens win. That's how much of a game of inches this game is. He could have sealed that game right then and there, but he didn't. And sometimes, again, it's your Jake. James Winston had a day, and he was moving the ball, 334. yards, three touchdowns. Deshaun Watson hadn't thrown for a 300-yard game. I don't think he

threw for a 300-yard game in any of his starts. I know Joe Flacco threw a couple times last year and last season, and this offense looked similar to what it did today when Joe Flacco was at the helm, and this is without Amarie Cooper, who they just traded to the Buffalo Bills. The offense looked good. Nick Chubb was back, obviously still getting his legs under him, but that was a big boost. But I'm sure Cedric Tillman, who had seven catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns, felt really good about what James is doing. And sometimes when your own scout team, are you working with the tools? You work with the fourth and fifth and six receivers.

Mitchell, you're not always working with the one, two, and three receivers. So you get a chance like this where you lose Amari Cooper and guys go down with injuries and you're throwing to the guys that you're used to throwing to. And this is what happened in this game. James was going to the guy he knew, and that was Cedric Tillman. David and Jokul had five catches for 61 yards, another touchdown. But it was great for James. Great to see him.

He's a good human being, a good spirit. And again, we talked about the quality of quarterbacks. James is a starting caliber quarterback in the National Football League. You cannot say there's 20 quarterbacks better than James Winston right now. You know, you can argue there's, you know, you can argue there's 10, maybe 12, But, like, at the end of the day, when he's playing at a high level and a good system that he can, that, you know, plays to his talents, he can play at a high level. He just beat Lamar Jackson, the reigning MVP, and he played well doing it. Wasn't just like a low-scoring game.

They scored almost 30 points. And this is without a true number one receiver. No, there's, there's not a receiver on this Cleveland roster that you would say would be a undisputed number one on another 32. teams or other 31 teams. So you have to give them a lot of credit. And you got to give James a lot of credit. And that's why he's our brightling player in prime time, player at a game this week. Obviously, obviously, we heard his speech last week when Deshaun Watson got hurt.

You hear about all these quotes and funny videos from James, whether you're not sure if he's serious or not. But one thing he was doing today, he was seriously dishing. and pushing the ball down the field when they needed to have it. They had to have a touchdown late in that game. He pushed the ball down the field through a dime for the game ceiling touchdown.

Give James Winston a round of applause, Mitchell, because he is our Brightling, player in prime time, player at a game. It's brought to you by our friends and partners over at Brightling. Got us shine in this year. We appreciate you.

And I just, I love it. And I love it. You know what else? I love, well, Richard, I love James Winston. He's probably one of the most unique athletes, I would say, over the last 10 years in terms of, you know, you never know what the guy's saying. You never know if he's being serious. He's over there

eating Ws. But, I mean, like you said, he's a very capable starter in this league. The only knock on him is he'll just throw the ball into triple coverage randomly. And it's just like, but if he's, frankly, and I hate to see it with the Sean Watson, but frankly, I think he's an upgrade at quarterback for this Brown's team, and we saw it today. But with this Baltimore Ravens team, and their three losses, they've only given the ball to Derek Henry 14 times on average. And their five wins, they're handed to him over 20 times a game on average. How he only gets 11 carries today is beyond me in a tight game against Cleveland, but maybe that's why they lost.

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Learn why at tear the paperceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. I said, hi, dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen and she says, I have some cookies and milk. This is this badass convict. Right.

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The entire season two is now available to binge featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. and without this trouble, I'm going to die. Open your free IHAR radio app. Search the Cito Show and listen now. Richard, another close game down in Jacksonville. I did not like the outcome of this game

because I was hoping the Green Bay Packers would lose, but they came back late. Jordan Love goes down, gets injured, and Malik Willis comes in and delivers a great ball to Jaden Reed and brings the Packers, back to a win. I don't get what it is. I mean, who knows what's going on with Jordan Love with this injury, but the fact that

Malik Willis now has kept Green Bay afloat for several games for the season and was a huge contributor in this game, it's just wild to see. Richard, where's your stance? Where's your head at with this Green Bay Packers team as they go on the road? I know you don't like the Jags. I know you're not partial to Trevor Lawrence, but a win on the road in the NFL is never easy. Where's your head at with this Packers team? Well, again, like you said, when you lose your quarterback midgame like they did to Jordan Love, Jordan Love was having a pretty productive game.

14 to 22, 196 yards with the interception. You usually lose that game. And they were winning. They had a lead when he went out. Josh Jacobs had his probably his best game as Green Bay Packer, 25 carries for 127 yards and two touchdown. But they started, the Jacksonville Jaguars are very capable team. They have good players. They're starting to lean on Tank Bigsby, you know, with Travis E.TN, you know, spelling him at times. Trevor Lawrence 21 and 32, 308, two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble that he lost. This was a solid game from him, but the interception, devastating play in the lost fumble, again, devastating for a team. They win this game if he He doesn't throw that interception if he doesn't fumble that ball.

And again, his 65 turnovers since 2021 are the most in the NFL. And everybody, you know, I see fans on our comments on Instagram, talking about, oh, we're wrong about Trevor Lawrence. It's his team's fault. They're dropping passes. It's not him. It's somebody else. It's the coach.

It's this. It's that. I hear you. But if any other player, any other quarterback was 2 and 13 over their last, last 15 games, I don't know if they'd get the same pass. If it was James Winston, and I told you he laid the NFL and turnovers, since he was drafted, you'd say, why is he starting an NFL? If I told you, he had two turnovers in this game, but he threw two touchdowns.

But those turnovers were so detrimental to the win. I mean, his team winning the ball game, and that they just cannot, they have not won with him. And his defense isn't, even when his defense does cause a turnover, They caused a turnover this game. They picked off Jordan Love. They're still not able to win those games. But I think you give a lot of credit to LaFleur and the staff of the Green Bay Packers.

Obviously, they got my guy Robert Sala over there. So they got a friend. They already had my guy, Jeff Hathley, calling the defense over there. They continue to do well. That defense caused two turnovers from, it took the ball away from Trevor Lawrence twice in this game. Critical. They continue to lead the league. Turnovers.

They're very opportunistic, and that's what you've got to worry about, Mitchell, when facing this Green Bay Packers team and your Detroit Lions play them next week in Lambo. That's what they've been doing at a really high level this year, is turning the ball over, just like the Dallas Cowboys had the last couple of years. They're forcing turnovers. They're opportunistic. Our guy Xavier McKinney gets him another one already leading a league in interceptions, gets his sixth interception of the season and takes it from Trevor Lawrence.

But this Green Bay Packers team looks good, Mitchell. They look really solid. They look really complete. Obviously, there are some weaknesses. We saw, you know, exposed versus the Minnesota Vikings. We've seen them. But when your backup quarterback comes in and plays as well as Malik Willis did, that goes to coaching.

That goes to development. and they're doing a great job developing these players. And even their receiving corps, you really never know who's going to show up and have a great game because they're doing a great job spread, no love, you know, whether it's Jaden Reed, whether it's Romeo Dobbs, whether it's Christian Watson. It's going to be somebody and they're going to go off

and nobody's going to be upset. Nobody's going to be frustrated. Obviously Romeo Dobbs had that moment where I think he missed practice. There was some frustration growing. He turns around and has a two touchdown game. As soon as he gets back, everybody hugs him. And you can see the culture that they built over there that really embraces one another. There's love and there's respect and there's trust and belief in one another and belief in what they're doing.

So they deserve a lot of credit and they're going to be a tough team down a stretch. They're going to be a playoff team this season for sure. No question. And they look like an egoless football team. I mean, they've so many options offensively. You never really even know who the number one receiver is and who the number one offensive weapon is. They just have so many guys. Tucker Kraft has elevated himself in his second year this year.

He's looking like he's going to be a great pro going forward as a tight end. But Richard, I want to talk to you a little bit about the Jets. You touched on it briefly earlier. They go out, they fire Robert Sala. They think that's going to be the solve. Now they're 0 and 3 without them. You know, then they say, hey, all right, you know, we're still losing. We got to go get Aaron Rogers guy because he can't hit Mike Quillard.

Williams over the middle. So we're going to trade for Devante Adams. That doesn't work either. Now they're two and six. They lose to the Patriots. What's the latest excuse with this team? This just doesn't look like it's going to end well with the Jets this season. No, it's not going to end well. You know what? It's not going to end well because you took out their leader five games into the season. It doesn't always start how you wanted to. And then we talked about all the teams that don't start well. you know, the Cincinnati bangles have not started well historically. I mean, it's almost like what you expect from. You all expect to run midseason from them.

The San Francisco 49ers have had seasons where they started off three and four and two and four and then going on to the NFC championship games and lost or won or made it to Super Bowls, et cetera, et cetera. But Woody Johnson made a knee-jerk decision. which injected chaos into a team. And again, I cannot stress and I cannot emphasize enough how dysfunctional it is in an environment becomes when you take the head coach out of the equation. You all of a sudden change the roles,

change the responsibilities of so many people in the building without enough time for them to fully digest and fully embrace or brace themselves for those positions. Brick is a good DC. His defense has been really good, but that's what he was prepared to do this year. He's prepared to call the defense. He had a routine, a regiment. He knows when he's getting his film, he's breaking it down.

He knows the things he has to worry about, the things he's responsible for, the things he doesn't need to think about and worry about on game day. Then five games into the season, you turn his world upside down. Now you put more on his plate. You put more decisions, more things to think about,

more conversations. and it's tough. It's tough on anybody. And he didn't deserve to be put in such a tough position where a team and a defense is already kind of reeling and you're almost kicking them while they're down. You're almost poisoning your own drink. You're poisoning your own well water.

You're poisoning your own citizens in a way. Metro, when you start to do things like Woody Johnson did, If he would have left Robert Salah, maybe they still lose three games. But they would have a better chance to win. They would have more stability. They would have more consistency. Like you make it harder for a defensive coordinator to prepare each week when he has head coaching duties. But I put this on Woody Johnson.

Obviously, Aaron hasn't played as well as he would want to play. The defense has been playing a lot worse over the last few games. you expect them to win this game against the New England Patriots, but there's no guarantees in this league. And again, this is the divisional game that it's always going to be a dog fight. They just couldn't get it done defensively. And offensively, they just can't find themselves. They can't find their identity.

Arod can't find his rhythm. And there are rumors out there that he's going to be done after this season. Maybe he will because it's not. looking like there's so many uncharacteristic things happen in these games where you've watched him play for such a long time that he's never done. He's still on multiple interceptions and multiple games missing wide open guys. You know, you see flashes of the things that you're used to seeing, which is very, very quick arm, great release, you know, pinpoint passes, but then you're seeing it off. He's not moving like he used to. This offensive line isn't playing as well as they

have in the past. And we have them next week on Thursday night football. against the Houston Texans who are playing as good as anybody. And I'm just not sure. Maybe they can pull that one off. Maybe they find magic and they can capture lightning in a bottle. They have the playmakers on offense to be able to strike quick and really get on, get up to speak quickly. But it just seems like maybe the decision Woody Johnson made was the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of this culture. And it's toxic.

It certainly looks that way. But like you said, we'll see on Thursday night football. That's a huge game for them. They need to write this ship quick. Another loss. It's going to be very tough to turn this season around. Richard, let's go to the Bengals. Cincinnati, the Bengals,

three and four entering this week, an opportunity to get back to 500. You have the Eagles coming into town. The Eagles are finally getting healthy. Vegas liked the Bengals in this game. They were favored going in. And early on, it looked like the Bengals had a really good opportunity to win this game. And then the Eagles just take over and never look back. What's the deal with the Cincinnati Bengals?

At three and five, are they done? I don't know if they're done because they're always in this position. And every time you ride them off, they win some games. And they find a way. But they don't look good. They don't look good defensively. Obviously, Jamar Chase and Justin, I mean, and T. Higgins and Joe Burrow are going to look good. They're good players. They're high-level players, but it's just not enough right now.

And it's not enough in a really competitive division where they're, Pittsburgh Steelers right now have only lost two games, and they looked really good. They're at the top of the division now, especially with Baltimore losing this week. They're now five and three. I just don't see a world where they're going to be able to come back. And if the Browns look as good as they did today with James Winston at the helm, they might still a few wins and give the Cincinnati Bengals a much tougher game later in the season. I don't know. I don't know.

The Eagles looked good today, but it's such an unpredictable league. I don't count the Bengals out just because of their history and what they've been able to do down the stretch, but it's not looking great for them. The Eagles look pretty good. Sequin has been a godsend for this organization and really steadied the ship a lot of these games. I think he's going to, you know, make an all-pro team this year, a Pro Bowl team, especially with Christian McCaffrey down and him shining the way he has for the Eagles.

But I don't know. I don't know if I have the Eagles beating the commanders in this division quite yet. I need more consistency from them. But like you said, they're getting healthier. And that's good for them. I'm with you as well. I like the commanders in this division. But the Eagles, you know, with only two losses on the season and getting healthy right now,

anything could happen. The Chiefs go to 7 and 0. they beat the Raiders. No one's surprised by that. But Holmes finally throws his first two TDs in October. Kareem Hunt, his fourth touchdown since being back with the team. I mean, the Chiefs are 7 and 0. I know we talked about it last week. The likelihood of them running the table and going undefeated is slim.

And you said you probably want a loss on the record so that you don't have to go in to the playoffs undefeated. But what is it really going to take to knock this? Chief's team off track because it just doesn't seem like it matters who they play. They always rise to the occasion. How are you approaching this Chief's team, Richard? You're going to have to find a way to score points on this defense. Their offense has struggled at times. They've been able to take the ball away from Patrick Mahones at times.

But Kareem Hunt looks really good. That run game is really strong. The interior of their offensive line is as good as there is in National Football League. So you're going to have to be able to match that. You're going to have to be able to put some D. Lyman down there who can really compete with them, the interior offensive line. You're going to have to be able to cover their receivers. They just got D'Andre Hopkins and still working him into the fold. Travis Kelsey looked a lot better in this game.

Ten catches for 90 yards and the touchdown. That should be alarming for a lot of people because if he gets in rhythm and they get hot again with him, especially with all the injuries they've had and the guys out, they're going to be hard to beat again. And as long as he's in there and Patrick Mahones is in there, they're going to be a tough out. But defensively, again, they're a defensive team now with the great quarterback, an all-time quarterback. But Spags is called an unbelievable games, giving a lot of people a lot of tough out. You saw how they played against the San Francisco 49ers, forced three turnovers, three interceptions from Brock Purdy.

and they just continue to impact these games in a huge way. Chris Jones and that defensive line, George Carl Loftus, Bolton and those boys on the second level continue to impact them. But you're going to have to score points. They're going to have to score points in bunches, and you're going to have to turn the ball over, and you're going to have to stop the run in order to beat this team, and nobody has done that.

That's why they're 7-0. They're going to be a tough out. And then finally, we look at the Texans. They take out the Colts. This game was a lot closer than a lot of folks thought it would be. You talked about Sequin Barclay and how important he was to the Eagles. I think an argument can be made that Joe Mixon is having that the same effect with the Houston Texans team. I mean, he's having an amazing year.

It's 100 plus yards and four of the last five games for him. But I think the story of this game is Anthony Richardson. You were talking about it. We were texting during the game and you said he's a flat-out liability. at what point are the Colts going to make the change that quarterback and go with our guy Joe Flacco? Because it certainly looks like if they want to win, they got to put Flacco in. Your thoughts on that, Rich? Well, first off, I want to give Joe Mixing a lot of love because obviously it's been in the program again.

But I don't think we're talking enough about how much the Bengals miss him and what he's been, what he's brought to the Texans. When he was hurt, their run game looked totally different. He comes back 100 yards in four of the last five games, and he's getting tough yards. He's punishing. He's running behind his shoulder pads. He looks really good in the past game as well. And he really just stabilizes this offense, gives C.J. Stroud a safety blanket, comfort.

And even when he's struggling a little bit or he's off a little bit, he can just turn around, hand it off to Joe Mixing 25 plus times. There are very few backs in the National Football League that can still consistently carry the ball. 25 times, 20 plus times over any amount of games. And so you got to give Joe Mixson a tip of the cap because he's been able to do that. But Anthony Richardson just not has not been good. And you can really, you can really see the difference if you just side by side compare he and Joe Flacko, who's obviously a veteran, has played at a high level in this game. But they're not going to give up on Anthony Richardson.

They're going to let him work his way through that. he made some good passes in this game, but I know if they had Joe Flacco in there, the Houston Texans would feel a lot more unsure and uncertain about their ability to beat the Indianapolis Colts. But this is the league we're in. They're not going to play the best guy. They're not going to play a guy that can win them games just because they're going to play him.

You know, they're working for the future. And they think Anthony Richardson is the future. And just because he's not playing well now, it doesn't mean he won't play well later. But if you're looking to win now, Joe Flacco showed you that. He can be really effective with these same guys. He can throw for 300 plus yards, really be productive with this offense, with the same exact guys. And then you watch Anthony Richardson complete 35% of his passes over the last two games since returning from injury. It's just not good enough to win games.

And the Colts are still in a lot of these games. There's still one-score games. Are they won? They beat the Miami Dolphins with him not playing really good on offense. And they had a chance to beat the Houston Texans with him struggling as much as he did. I think it was 5 of 19 at one point in this game. So you would think, hey, if you just made a little bit of a change, but these are some of the decisions they make.

I remember watching Ryan Fitzpatrick play really good football with the Miami Dolphins. Maybe this was Flores' second year. This was Tua Tunga Vaila's first year. And then all of a sudden they made a change at quarterback. And Tua was not ready. He was clear that either he wasn't ready or this offense just didn't fit his skill set. And then they let him struggle all game for under 100 yards, throwing under 100 yards, and then bring fits in like the last two drives of the game and say try to win this game.

And it's just like at some point or another, like somebody has to look at these GMs and decision makers and say, hey, maybe they need to switch these guys out. Maybe we need to put some other people in these positions because it really does. just doesn't make sense. You know, I understand you're trying to say, hey, we're going to develop him and you can only develop through live reps. But if you're a player in that locker room, you have to be looking like, man, we just saw what Joe Flacco could do. You saw Josh Downs with Joe Flacco and how incredibly effective he was. You know, you saw Pittman with Joe Flacko and how effective he was. You just saw the offense putting up points. Just the scheme works. Everything works. And then

then you put Anthony Richardson in there and you still in games. but it's just because you got a really good team. You got a defense that makes plays, that puts enough pressure that a special team that's disciplined, doesn't give up big plays. But you're not getting enough offensively. You're not getting as much offensively as you could with Joe Flacco. And that has to be frustrating for the players that have watched,

been there for both quarterback. There's no question. And unlike Tua Tua Tua Tua Tewatunga Vailoa, you know, Anthony Richardson, I think a lot of folks, and I've no NFL scout, Richard, but he had completion percentage issues at Florida. The volume was just not there. I mean, this 10 and 32, that that was something that I think Florida Gator fans were used to seeing when he was at Florida. So I think a lot of folks were surprised to see him go as high as he did in the draft in the first place.

So maybe this isn't his fault, Rich. Maybe this is folks that are, you know, over analyzing his game because he's an incredible athlete. You can throw the ball 80 yards. But he's not accurate. He's not like Tua. Tuva was a gunslinger in Alabama, led the team to national championships. So, like, yeah, I know you were upset back then, but I would put Joe Flacko in, give this Colts team an opportunity to win week in, week out, and develop Anthony Richardson

a little bit more behind a proven veteran. But we'll see. That's part of development. Like, watch how Joe Flacco does it. Watch how he prepares. Watch how he throws it. I ask some questions. See how he's getting through games, how he talks, how he watches film on the sideline during

game. But you're wasting away a really solid, really talented team for no reason. And it's not Anthony Richardson's fault. But it is the people who keep putting them out there when there is a better option on your team. No question. Well, Richard, this concludes our Sunday night recap of week eight. I will let you sign us off. Well, thank you guys so much for joining us.

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