The Ringer NFL Show - Ep. 61: Injured QBs And The Playoff Picture

Episode Date: December 29, 2016

The Ringer's Robert Mays and Danny Kelly discuss Derek Carr’s broken leg and its impact on Oakland (1:32), Marcus Mariota’s injury (10:06), Cleveland's win (19:41), the Chiefs’ sleeper offense (21:54), and their "Starting Five Ringer NFL Show All-Stars" (31:53). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's show is brought to you by Miller Light. Miller Light changed the game by brewing a light beer with more taste and half the carbs back in 1975. And they've stuck to that playbook ever since. Miller Light. Spell different because it's brewed different. Welcome to The Ringer NFL show. My name is Robert Mays. I'm a writer at The Ringer.

Joining me on the other line on a Wednesday, weirdly. It's Danny Kelly. Danny, how are you? I'm doing great, man. We're into the final week. It's kind of crazy. We are. Kind of thrown off this week. We didn't have an early show because, I don't know, people are with the,

families a day after Christmas, I guess. I don't have any family or anybody that loves me. So I was available, but now we wanted to get you guys a show. We're going to be doing a little bit of a playoff preview sort of look video-wise later in the week. That'll come out. We'll have some more details about it as it comes. But we wanted to do a midweek show just to touch on some of the things that happened over the weekend because too much big stuff went down for us to simply miss this week and just get right into the playoff picture. So Danny, let's start where I have actually am right now and what was probably the biggest story of the weekend. Derek Carr breaking his leg. He's out indefinitely. He will miss the remainder of the playoffs, obviously.

Just a crushing blow for the Raiders. A team that has made their first postseason in 14 years, one of the best stories of the year, one of the teams that's been the most fun to watch, just one of the more enjoyable parts this entire season, and now it kind of all comes crashing down when it was supposed to start battering most. I know. I mean, that's just so crazy. sad and frustrating and I mean even for non- Oakland fans like it's just fun to have it's just they were exciting for you know potential upsets in the playoffs and everything like that you know like it just changes everything in the AFC so huge huge bummer and obviously for him and for the Raiders in general like they're just not going to be as good so you know I just can't see them kind of surviving this

it really speaks to how much of a Razors edge you're playing on in the NFL this time of year because it's not as if the Raiders were the Seahawks and Derek Carr was getting his brains beat in every week and it's like oh wow it's only a matter of time for Derek Carr gets hurt that was the only hit he took the entire game I know that there's something so cool about that I know and it's it wasn't even that like crazy of a play like it just didn't even look like it was that bad at first

but obviously then you can kind of see him mouthing it's broken or whatever and you're like oh shit like this is like season changing for not just the Raiders but for like a lot of teams so definitely crazy uh you know series of events on whatever what was it Saturday Sunday I can't remember it was Saturday it was Christmas Eve I mean it was one of the many games that was going on there in the noon slot so let's just talk about this from the Raiders perspective initially this is a team that their offense was really what was going to drive them you know their fourth and offensive DVOA I believe they really had gone up against any other offense in the

league in terms of firepower, how much they were scoring. And now you have to recalibrate that a bit. With McLean, it changes. You know, you still have some of the weapons. Crabtree and Cooper have been excellent all season. It's a very good duo of guys that can go get balls and just make plays independent who the quarterback is. And then you have to really lean on the running game in a way they have it.

So do you think that with what they still have there, the Raiders have a chance of, say, winning at least one playoff game? Yeah, I do. I think that they could still win, you know, with the way that the AFC is kind of shaped up to especially, like, I mean, they're potentially going to be playing one of,

you know, like the Texans, dolphins, chiefs potentially Steelers. I think that, you know, they're still set up to, to compete and,

you know, make things interesting. But I just think, you know, it takes them from being a potential Super Bowl team to a team that, I don't know, like they could figure out a way to be one team or something, but I just can't see them,

you know, winning two, three playoff. games in a row. It's going to be tough. And I think I agree they can win one. They would probably play Houston if they didn't get the buy. So if they did get the buy, obviously they're in the divisional round no matter what. If they don't, they're looking at the five seed playing the Texans. And you figure that they can win an ugly game with Houston. Yeah. And absolutely. This, what really differentiates this team to me from the team they were last year is both

Cars Evolution, which again makes it even sadder. And two, bringing in Oscemi and just kind of having a having a new element and a new degree of running game. So the fact that they get his line up and beat teams up, we saw them do that to Denver on that Sunday night is the best example. I see them bringing in Vidal Alexander as the sixth offensive linemen a lot and just saying, okay, this is who we are now. We're going to try to beat you up and push you around, and it's just a matter of how far that can bring them.

You made a good point in your article about that, you know, after the game, about how now they don't have to use the, pistol and shotgun stuff because because you know cars pinky was requiring them to kind of do that and now they have their full complement of runs you know at their disposal so that's one silver lining of this whole thing is they can line up to be clear if you could trade the shotgun for derrick car you make that trade i mean i'm not yeah that's not i'm not saying obviously it's like yeah i i wanted to make that clear when i was i was making that point i was like let's just

don't worry i know that derrick car is more important than being else to run the ball under center. So continue. I just wanted to make that clear. Yeah, no, no doubt. But I mean, like, it does open up their run game a little bit. And they still have some talented guys in the backfield, you know, explosive guys. They have three, pretty much, they have three players that can really run the ball. And so, you know, maybe they'll spread the ball around a little bit like that. You know, obviously they still have two guys that can, you know, beat one-on-one coverage and Mari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. You know, I don't know, they have a chance. It's not like, you know, they're not in a terrible, terrible situation where there's no hope or anything like that.

I think they have enough talent. And they have a great pass rushing duo in Mac and Irvin. And, you know, Mac is the kind of guy that can honestly take over a game. If you get one or two, if you get a strip sack, you know, that's potentially, you know, game-altering play. So, I mean, there's still hope. And I don't think, you know, it's not like this all of a sudden makes them a terrible team. I just think, you know, like you said, it kind of just makes them one of the Super Bowl favorites to sort of another, just another team. the IFC. I would like to see, you mentioned all three of those guys in Latavius Murray, DeAndre Washington, and Jalen Richard. I want to see all of them in these games. How many games that the Raiders play, I want to see those guys all touch the ball a decent amount.

The one thing that would make me just bang my head against the wall is if we see 25 carriers from Latavius Murray and that running game not go anywhere. Because that can happen. I mean, he is not as, he is not nearly as explosive as other two guys. He's not going to give you as much in terms of big plays. And they need something. They're rubbing two sticks together offensively now. And if they want to find a spark, it's definitely with one of those two in my mind. Oh, 100%.

Yeah, I totally agree. You know, like Murray is more of like just a, you know, he's a volume back. Yep. I think. You know, he's a guy that can grind it and like get a lot of carries and, you know, get positive yardage. But like you said, on DeAndre Washington, Jalen Rashard, those guys can, you know, they can hit like 60-yard touchdowns.

So yeah, I definitely agree with that. My question is, you know, as the defense improved enough to get them, you know, get them, like, further than we, you know, obviously they were being kind of carried by their offense all year. And so, you know, can the defense pick up some of the slack? I don't know. They've been playing better, but I don't know if they're at that level to kind of compete with some of the other teams in the NFC right now in terms of defenses. Well, the problem is that say they get the buy, say somehow beat Denver who's given up and they don't have to play. play it so the second round of the playoffs, there's a good chance at that point they would get

Pittsburgh, because Pittsburgh would likely beat Miami, and then they would have to play against the Steelers. And that's the problem is that I think the biggest winners here are the Steelers and the Patriots, excuse me, because they both now have the offenses that can score and no one else really does. Kansas City

is right there. I mean, I think that you can make an argument, the KC could score with them, but I still don't think it's quite to the same level. So that's the issue is that their defense probably isn't improved enough to be able to go toe to toe to with a team like the Steelers of the Patriots. Yeah. Isn't it funny that the Patriots are the big winners and all of this?

It's ridiculous. I mean, because, I mean, the Steelers, the way they kind of, we'll talk about this, but the way they came back and really lit up the Ravens in the second half of that game, especially those last couple drives, reminded you, oh, yeah, look at the players they have. But they haven't been that offense all season. So when you're New England right now, the only thing that can really take you down is another team that could light up the scoreboard like you can. And now there's only one of them.

And it's just kind of crazy. Yeah. I mean, that's just what I've been thinking about since it happened is like the Patriots path to Houston in the Super Bowl got so much easier. Because, you know, obviously there's still a huge question. Is the Patriots defense good enough to, you know, face off against one of the NFL's top quarterbacks? Because like I wrote about last week, we haven't really seen if they have that capability.

they've had the easiest schedule of opposing offenses all season. They haven't really faced a top tier quarterback. I think Russell Wilson is probably the top quarterback they faced. And, I mean, even his season's been up and down. So, I mean, I was just looking forward to seeing what Carr could do that defense, what, you know, Steel or even Tannihill. I mean, not like he would put him in the top tier, but any, like, they just haven't faced any really great quarterbacks this year.

So, I don't know, their path to the Super Bowl just got a lot easier. And that's the thing is that it's not just car. Look at everybody else that's gotten hurt. Obviously, the other big injury of the weekend was Marcus Marietta. And that's distrusting just because you don't like to see a guy break his leg. But the Texans were, excuse me, the Titans were going to lose that game anyway. They were getting beat up by Jacksonville, which this team, all year we've talked about it, they are so enticing in so many moments.

And then when we really count on them to do something, it's just not there. And we saw that with both them and. and Tampa Bay last weekend. And I just feel like maybe it's because we want these top-tier quarterbacks, the guys drafted, you know, one, two, a couple, you know, last year. We want them to be a part of the conversation when it starts to matter. But it just felt like with both of those rosters, they weren't ready yet. Yeah, maybe they're a year away.

Maybe, you know, I think that the Titans have a very promising future, I think. I totally agree. Same with the Buccaneers. But, you know, you said it. We talked about it like week after week. like we just never knew what Titans team was going to show up. They'd, you know, crap the bed against the Colts or whoever. And, you know, that happened again even before Marietta got hurt.

So the Texans, credit to the Texans, I mean, they earned that, you know, they didn't like squeak in because Marietta got hurt. Like, they were going to win. Like, it looked pretty much like, you know, the Texans were going to secure it. So I don't know. But, yeah, I definitely agree. It's like, how excited are we still to see Tom Savage, you know, in the playoffs? It's not just Tom Savage anymore.

It's Tom Savage, Matt Moore, Matt McLean. I mean, that's... And Alex Smith is the third best quarterback in the AFC right now. Yeah. I mean, that is nuts. It's crazy. We'll get into all that playoff stuff later on this weekend when we do some video together. But let's get to some of the other news that isn't necessarily looking forward.

It's more just where do these teams go now that aren't going to be in the playoffs. Rex Ryan is no longer the coach with Buffalo Bills. And I feel like that's not. shocked to anybody, but, you know, this is a team that I feel like a lot of people thought had some talent the last couple seasons. He inherited a defense that was a top tier unit by DVOA, by Points and Loud, whatever, under Jim Schwartz, and they were never that. You know, some of the guys got hurt, they lost some of that talent, but this is a team that was just never the group we thought they were going to be when Rex got there. Yeah, I mean, and that's what I

wrote about this week is my, you know, just my impression of it was, like, what's the, what's the point of leaving him or keeping him around when, you know, you brought him in because he's a defensive-minded coach, he's supposed to be the defense, you know, expert. And he took a really, really great defense, and now it's middling to downright bad in a lot of areas. You know, they gave up 200 plus yards to J.J.I.E. again. And it's just, I mean, it makes sense to me that you'd look to Anthony Lynn or whoever else they're going to bring in now after the season, but, like, the offense is what's carried them. And so it, it makes sense. It's, kind of comes down to like, why is he, you know, even here at this point? Because he kind of,

you know, I don't know if ruined is the right word. That's the word I used in my article. But he kind of did ruin their defense, you know? I'm torn about this because the more I've looked at it and the more I've really thought about it over the years, I feel like your performance on the side of the ball that your head coach is an expert in isn't necessarily an indication of where you are as a roster. You know, I feel like Dan Quinn is a good example now. You know, Atlanta's not beaten anybody up defensively. But the hires they've made on the offensive staff and just what he's done with that roster as a whole seems to be working. I mean, they're historically good offense. It's not anything that Dan Quinn is doing from a schematic defensive perspective.

So I think that there are ways to kind of bring your roster forward in a direction that matters everything else. I think that you should probably have some impact on the side of the ball that you actually have some knowledge about. But it just seemed like that entire team was going in the wrong direction. And that's indicative of the way they reacted to stuff last year with Mario Williams, what Marcel Dario said this week right after Rex Ryan got fired, essentially that it just wasn't working. So, I mean, that's the problem is that it just seemed like no one had really bought into

what was going on there. Yeah. And to me, the difference is, like, Rex Ryan inherited a really, really talented. That's a good point. That's a good point. And kind of took it in the wrong direction. And part of it, I think, was a big part of it was the buy-in from the players. Like what Marcel Darius said this week was it was too complicated.

There was too many checks. There's too many changes based on what the offense does. Guys weren't getting into the spots they needed to get into. And when they lost a few key veteran guys that could kind of like direct everybody, it all kind of went to shit. And so, I mean, that's on the coaching staff to put your players in positions where they can succeed. You know, obviously there's responsibility with the players clearly. but I mean I think it came down to the players kind of thought or based on what people are saying clearly you know like the players didn't really think he was putting him in a good position to succeed so I don't know

that's the you know obviously I agree with you because sometimes it's not always cut and dry like if you're a defensive coach your defense should be great but in this case I think he took what was really a talented defense lots of you know lots of stars and lots of good role players and just couldn't get the job done with that group I'll be really curious to see what happens with Anthony Lynn going forward He's a guy we've both enjoyed his work this year You've written about it just the way their run game looks And I don't know if he's going to get hired there But I would like to see him in a place where he'd get the most of a running back

The idea of him either being the head coach Or the offensive coordinator in Los Angeles Is very attractive to me Oh yeah, definitely Because I love the idea of him trying to work with Todd and trying to milk the most out of an offensive line that may not have a ton of talent, but still could benefit from a guy who executes a running game the way he can. Absolutely.

Give them some identity, you know, which is what I think Anthony Lynn did in Buffalo, he made that run game their identity. And it carried them far. You know, like we said a couple of times, I didn't check this week. But like, as of last week, they were actually number one in run defil away over Dallas. Yeah. So, I mean, that's, like, just saying, just saying that alone, like, number one in run defense above, or sorry, in run offense above Dallas, which is just, like, crazy talk. So, yeah, I mean, I really like that. And it'll be really, you know, I wonder what will happen there because, you know, Doug Whaley's still going to be the GM.

You know, he's the guy that made, you know, some of these decisions that kind of took the team in the wrong direction. So we'll see what happens. but yeah, I definitely earned some respect for Lynn and kind of like I really enjoyed sort of what he, you know, brought to that offense. And the other part, the other news that's come out about them this week, this should have some implications moving forward. Tyra Taylor is not going to play. They have said that E.J. Manuel is going to start this week at quarterback.

Anthony Lynn referred to it today as a business decision. He was not bullshitting. No, and that's exactly what it is. It is a business decision because they're worried about him getting hurt. And I feel like this is a sign. and that Tyrod Taylor will probably not be the quarterback there next season. Yeah, I agree. I think that's really interesting because, again, he becomes an opportunity for someone on the free agent market for a price that you could probably live with.

And with how many quarterback and needy teams there are out there, I feel like somebody's going to take a chance on him again. I don't have any doubt that he'll be a starting quarterback somewhere next season. Absolutely. You could do a lot worse than Tyra Taylor. It's kind of, I don't know what the word is. It's surprising, I guess, is the best I can come up with, that they're not that pleased with them. Because I thought, you know, what he adds to the run game as a runner is huge. You know, it's a big part of that identity that they have now.

You know, he's basically been playing without Sammy Watkins all year. And so it's not like they have a shitload of talent at the receiver position. You know, it's not like they're beating guys one-on-one. He's kind of just, you know, working with some guys. And I don't know. Like, I don't know what they're expecting. Like, who are they going to replace him with, number one? That's the question.

And then two, like, what do they really expect from him more, I guess? You know, that they want him to be just like a top-tier passer? I just don't really get it, I guess. I'll be curious to see where he lands. You know, I'm thinking about just schematically some of the teams that may need a quarterback. Denver doesn't seem like it makes a lot of sense. and they're so under center and that's not, I can't see him running that offense. Houston also just price-wise, and I can't, it'd be hard to see him in that offense,

but I do think that there is probably a team out there that he would fit with. I'm just, I can't put my finger out right now. What do you think of Chicago? I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't be upset about it, but I wouldn't want Tyrod Taylor to be the long-term answer at quarterback. Okay. If they signed him to like a two-year deal and because they weren't impressed with the

quarterback options in this draft. I could live with that. I would be okay with that. I mean, yeah, at worst, he's a bridge quarterback at worst. Yeah, and there are teams that could certainly use a bridge quarterback right now. Yeah, it'll definitely be really interesting to see where he ends up, but I mean, we're assuming now that he's done there. You know, and who knows that maybe they could figure something out and keep him, but yeah, that's going to be one of the kind of big offseason, I think, storylines. All right, let's stick with teams not making the playoffs because this was newsworthy in my mind. The Cleveland Browns won a football game. And it was great.

I mean, if you're the Browns, last weekend really couldn't have gone any better. You win against a team that's a real NFL team, one that has like 29 players on IR, but is still a real NFL team. And now you have one win, which is a huge deal. Not going 0 and 16 matters. I mean, as much as they may say that this season wasn't about wins and losses, Going 0 and 16, becoming the second team ever to do that, that sticks with you. They don't have to worry about that anymore. And those Niners winning means the Browns still have the first pick in the draft.

It went perfectly. Yeah. And how perfect is it also that they beat the Chargers to be the only team that they beat this season? It's like the Chargers are the saddest. I know. The fate of the Chargers, it really is hard to watch. But yeah, I mean, like I agree. You don't want to, there's bad and then there's historically bad or, you know, like,

infamously bad. And, you know, there's a lot of teams that have won one game in a season and people kind of forget about it. So if you lose all 16, that's, like you said, it sticks with you. And, you know, I think it, like, it's one of those, it's not a huge deal, but it matters. So, yeah, congrats to the Browns for that, you know. It does seem like they're moving in the right direction, even though this season has been really, really tough for them. I guess there's nowhere to go about up at this point, but there does seem to be some young,

exciting players and, you know, good, like, exciting coach. And so, I don't know, things are going well for them,

I think overall in the long term. I totally agree. And if they're the team that was least, like, least surprising to miss the playoffs, the team that most surprising to miss the playoffs is definitely Denver. And they're out of it. You know,

I was in Oakland today. They were doing a conference call with the, Braccos with Chris Harris. And somebody asked him, it's like, this is the first time you haven't played in a game that matters in a while. I mean, it's true. I mean, this is a team that's been around the playoffs, been around the Super Bowl pretty much every year since Peyton Manning got there. And now they're going to be watching from home. And it's just kind of shocking.

Watching that game, did it give you a different idea of who Kansas City was as we start the playoffs? Yeah, it did, actually, because they feel a lot more explosive. I think you wrote about this, too. They feel like a lot more explosive of a team than maybe we think they are. You know, they got a big explosive play from Tyree Kill. They got a 70-yard touchdown, I think, from Travis Kelsey. They don't push the ball down the field really very much, but they mix inside, outside stuff. You know, Andy Reid does a lot of, you know, he does a good job of kind of making, like,

the opposing defense, defend the whole field. And they have these players that can make these explosive play. So to me, their offense is a little more explosive than I think in my mind I've had them as kind of, you know what I mean? So I think that matters in the playoffs a lot because sometimes it comes down to two or three big plays. I agree. And it just seems like Travis Kelsey's taking his game to a new level too. Yeah. I mean, he was an absolute monster on Sunday, both as a blocker and a receiver.

So if you can have those two or three plays from him, Tyree Kill. I mean, we haven't even mentioned Jeremy Macklin's name in like six weeks. It just feels like he doesn't even a part of the offense anymore. The fact that he's just lingering somewhere, I know he's not a huge part of what they do at this moment, but he still has plenty of talent. It just feels like, you know, you said that Coleo Mac can make a game-changing play here or there on offense, or excuse me on defense. It seems like the chiefs have those kind of players on offense. You know, it's not this constant barrage, but once or twice a game, they can do enough for them to win. Yeah, and that's huge because that's something that they really haven't had.

and because they don't have an explosive downfield passing offense, like teams can kind of like, you know, stack the box and bully the receivers at the line and things like that. But now you kind of have to back up and say maybe we should have an extra safety back here for, you know, defending the sweeps or maybe we should have an extra safety here against some of these, you know, screen passes. It's things that kind of get into the defense's head that, you know, kind of can open up everything else for the whole offense. So it was funny because I was looking at the Kansas City offense, and I totally kind of had forgotten about Macklin almost. You know, is he like, if he could kind of come in and be like a chains mover at the very least, like that's huge for them too.

So, and it's funny because we have also, you know, they've just played this whole year without Jamal Charles. It's like you kind of forget that he is part of that team for a long time. It just feels like a different Kansas City offense right now. You know, obviously their defense is really strong. So they look like despite having kind of like an underwhelming quarterback in Alex Smith, you know, he's still, it's still an effective, efficient offense that now can make explosive plays, which is huge in the playoffs. And their 11th and weighted offensive DVOA, early in the season, they were down in the 20s.

They weren't. Right. We talked in previous years about how they were quietly this efficient team, but they weren't even quietly efficient this year. They just weren't to that level. And now they are. Now they're getting back to that place. We're just like, okay, we're really going to move the ball.

And we're really going to be able to have this offense that even if we don't beat you over the top, we can still carve you up underneath. And they are that. And it makes them dangerous because there aren't many balanced teams just in this tournament at all. You know, especially in the NFC, it feels like there's teams are very unbalanced. In the AFC, New England's defense is probably better than we've given it credit for. The Steelers we've talked about have some playmakers on that side of the ball, but Casey is slowly turned into that team again that when we start the playoffs,

have both of those teams go. Excuse me. Has both of those things going for them. Yeah. And they have some good special teams. So, I mean, yeah, the chiefs look pretty dangerous right now, I think. And, you know, I think I've been saying at the whole season, we're kind of overlooking the chiefs or overlooking the chiefs.

And, you know, people might give us crap for calling them kind of a boring team. I don't think they're that boring. I mean, they're really not that boring now, especially with, you know, Tyree. like he'll kind of coming on as like a star and we've talked about him on on previous episodes um but yeah i mean he he's given them kind of this different dimension to their offense that makes them a lot more you know just dangerous down the field so uh yeah the the chiefs it so who how does that have to play out they i know that we're going to talk about the playoff scenarios later but they basically if they win and oakland loses there the number two seed and they get a first round right

yep right so god they could be you know that could be a dangerous team in the playoffs But no matter how that shakes out, the number five seed will play against Houston. And if you can't beat the Texans in that wild card round, you probably don't deserve to be considered a Super Bowl contender. So I think that that's a huge thing. Even if you don't get the buy, it's a game against a team without much going for it. But the other game on Sunday that we should probably talk about would happen with Baltimore and Pittsburgh. I mean, the end of that game, Bravo. I mean, that's the type of stuff that I have been really wanting to see.

And it just seems like with these two teams, that kind of stuff is inevitable. You know, with a season on the line, we were definitely going to get a show. How freaking great. I mean, I don't know how much people have talked about it. It's been weird because we've been sort of off the grid the last week or so with the holidays and everything. But how great was that play by Antonio Brown? I mean, oh my God. There were three guys there.

And it wasn't even just that play. He made one earlier in the drive that was crazy. Just like shaking guys all. and getting out of bounds. The amount of talent on the field for that display Pittsburgh put on was nuts. And you know what I was really impressed by as well? Their offensive line is playing well. They're playing.

They've really come together. They passed off a blitz on that drive. It was actually on that Antonio Brown catch, where it was just so seamless in a pivotal moment. And it wasn't as if the Ravens' defense had been out there for 10 minutes. This is a third or fourth play of that drive. And I just think that if Rathusberger can, play well. If his knee can hold up, this is just a team that has too much firepower to be ignored.

Yeah, yeah, they're definitely kind of getting hot at the right time. And I kind of doubted them a little bit earlier on in the year. They just seemed real dysfunctional and real inconsistent and everything. But like, and now, like, I mean, even now, Rathsburger hasn't played amazing. Like, that last drive was vintage, you know, Rathesberger late in the game and everything like that. but I mean he threw a couple back-breaking potentially back-breaking picks in this game you know he's had a couple of stinkers of games the last couple weeks and so I mean if he rounds out and even plays just like efficiently without turning the ball over like that team looks scary good like they look real dangerous so yeah I mean the Steelers to me look like the biggest threat like we just got done talking about the Chiefs I think the Chiefs are a big threat to the Patriots but I think the Steelers have to be the scariest team in the AFC to kind of challenge the Patriots right now.

You would, as a Patriots fan, you would have loved if the Ravens had won that game. You'd absolutely loved it. If you had got to go into a playoff scenario where the quarterbacks you had to play against were Joe Flacco, Matt Moore, Tom Savage, Alex Smith, and Matt McGloin, that's pretty good. And we were one stealers drive away from that happening. Oh my God. That is insane. That, like, just seriously, that is hilarious.

I'm really glad that didn't have me kind of. Sorry, Baltimore. I honestly, I feel the same way. I was thinking about that as it was happening. I was like, we're really going to do this. We're going to give the Patriots the playoffs again and also not have the Steelers offense in the playoffs. How is that possible? And thank God for Antonio Brown.

I mean, in more ways than one. But in this moment, he really saved us all. God, yeah. And again, that play was just, I mean, that was one of the coolest plays, probably this whole season, honestly, because if he doesn't get his hand over and break the plane, I don't think they have time to get up to the line and run another play. I think the game is over.

It's probably over. I mean, that is the worst part, or the best part. I mean, him reaching over is just such a haddy play knowing that if I don't get into the end zone here, it's done. We do not have time to get another step off. All right, Danny, before we get to the rest of the show, let's hear from a couple of our sponsors.

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Miller Light is brewed to be light beer with more tastes, less calories than half the carbs. So on any given Sunday, you don't have to settle for any given light beer. Great tasting, 96 calories Miller Light. Spell different because it's brewed different. All right, Danny, like we said earlier, on Friday's video, we're going to break down. a lot of the playoff scenarios. So to cap off this show, I wanted to dig into something that a little quieter, you know, just something we enjoyed about the NFL season that we haven't talked about a lot. And I'm calling this our starting five of just ringer NFL show All-Stars.

Dudes, you enjoyed watching that aren't necessarily pro bowlers, that aren't necessarily superstars, but people that made your NFL season something that was more enjoyable. So why don't you start off? Who's your first guy? Well, I mean, this guy is not like a, no-name guy and I think he's gotten a little bit of pub this year but over the season I've watched him a couple times pretty closely and Jalen Ramsey of the Jaguars cornerback is going to be a superstar in this league I think um you know I didn't actually don't to see if he made the pro bowl or not but regardless the guy has been playing so so well this year and it's he's he's one of the superstars on kind of a bad team but um I saw pff Mike renner I believe um

tweeted this out the other day. In the last six games, he's had, he's allowed 12 catches on 35 targets, 145 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, eight pass breakups, and an opposing quarterback rating of 24.1. I mean, he's just been bawling out. And, I mean, the game that I watched closely was him against DeAndre Hopkins a couple weeks ago. And those two had a really good battle.

Obviously, Hopkins had a couple of big plays, but, I mean, they were going toe to toe and Ramsey was like he wasn't giving him an inch. So this guy's a lot of fun to watch. I think if he's not already on your radar, he's going to be, he's going to be, you know, one of the top like Patrick Peterson-esque like in, you know, not necessarily this year, but definitely like next year and the year after I think he's going to be kind of one of those superstar cornerbacks and, you know, there's not a lot of them right now. So. Gus Bradley getting fired and that team being disappointing, that's not on the defense. They made strides this year as a group. I feel.

like there's enough talent on that side of the ball where a guy that comes in there and if they can turn the offense around, this team isn't that far away from being relevant. I'm not saying they're going to compete for Super Bowl next season, but it's pieces like Jalen Ramsey that make them intriguing. So my first guy is somebody I've talked about in this show before, somebody that just came out of absolutely nowhere to be a playmaker on a team that probably isn't going to make the playoffs, but it was certainly close. And that's Kerry Hider on the Lions. When you're a defense end who's number 61, you know you weren't close to making the team. I mean, that's all you need to know about the expectations they had for him.

He's a guy that got cut by the Jets last year, and he lost some weight and really started making some plays. I mean, the first six or seven weeks of the season, he was just showing up all the time. And he's the type of guy that just is a pleasant surprise when you really dig into the season, somebody you'd never heard of, never expect anything of, and he's just jumping off the screen once a game. Yeah. I mean, especially with Zechiel Anza didn't really have the year that he was wanting to have. I don't think he has any sacks. And so he's, that guy, yeah, he definitely stepped up for the Lions defense and they don't have a ton of pass rush. But yeah, he was another

one of those guys. He keep hearing his name and, you know, he kind of wonder where he came from. I didn't, I hadn't barely heard his name before this year at all. So definitely, I think that was a good one. I don't know. None of mine are kind of that low key. That's fine. The rest of mine aren't either, so you're totally good. All right, all right. So I'm going to jump around here. One guy that I really enjoyed watching this year was pretty much the lone bright spot on his team, and that's Carlos Hyde for the 49ers. Yep.

He finished the year, well, I guess, I don't think he's out next week. So he finished the year with a minor. Right. 98 yards, six touchdowns, and that's, you know, nothing to write home about, but 4.6 yards per carry. And then according to pro football focus, he was third in the NF. NFL in yards after contact per carry behind only J. Jai and Chris Thompson of the Redskins. So, I mean, that guy was, he was basically creating offense for himself. He's just a fun guy to watch run the ball.

He's got some wiggle. He's big so he can run guys over. You know, I think he's just a, he's a pretty complete back, but you forget about him because he's on a terrible, terrible offense. So I wanted to give him some credit because he was a fun player to watch. If the Packers were a team that made really splashy move, you know, not very subtle, conscious, you know, this is, we're a very cautious organization type of moves. I would have called San Francisco and seen what it would have taken to get Carlos side.

Oh, God, that would be, yeah, that would be a great, like, matchup, or, you know, they would fit well together. I assume they would ask for a lot to have them pry him away. If Chip's going to be the head coach there, there's no way he wanted him anywhere else but San Francisco. But it just seems like a thing where I would love to see him saved, and that's the scenario that I would have liked to see the most. That would be a great sort of need and like you said, like save him from a bad team kind of thing. I would have loved that.

My second guy is not that far off from the same idea, taken from an awful situation into a very good one. The resurgence season that Alex Mack has had in Atlanta is really fun. He was a guy that I loved watching. A couple years ago, people don't remember this because it went south pretty much after he got hurt. The Browns were like a top five team in offensive DVOA for the first six or seven weeks

with Kyle Shanahan as their offensive coordinator. They were running the ball so well. It was Petonio's rookie year. So they had a line that was Thomas, Betonio, Alex Mack, Mitchell Schwartz, and it was a really good group. John Greco was the right guard. They were just mowing people down.

And he is such a good run blocking center when he's right. And he wasn't quite to that level. the year after he came back from the broken leg, he gets a really big deal from Atlanta, and he has lived up to every single bit of that. He's been the centerpiece of that run game. Both of those backs are great, but he's the most important part of what they've done on the ground.

And watching him do his thing again, it is offensive line nerdery to its best. So, I mean, it is really fun to see a guy who was a star, regain that form, and really help transform an offense. You know, you can, Taylor Gabriel's helped them, Mohammed Sunu's been a nice piece but the addition that's really put them over

the top is Alex Mack and that is the one that will not be talked about as the Falcons barrel on toward having a historically great offense. Yeah and I mean you know all about sort of like the importance of offensive line play in a in a wide zone scheme

like Atlanta runs you know they run a lot of just inside outside zone that's kind of their identity from the front of you know from the offensive line it's so important to have a guy who can reach a playside tackle. You know, it's one of those things that it's like, it's just kind of simple. Like, you got to block this guy.

But if you're not good at that, like, it ruins the rest of the offensive line in terms of run blocking because those guys can just knife through. And it's a cascading effect. It just makes everything so much worse. So, yeah, I love that. I love that signing. I think he's been, like you said, it's not hyperbole to say that he's been one of the biggest reasons that they've kind of just exploded on offense.

So that's one of those under the radar. are really, really, really solid signings this year. And so I totally agree with that one. My third guy is Joey Bosa. And again, he's kind of like Ramsey. Like he's becoming more of a household name. But because he's on the Chargers, because they're not going to make the playoffs,

he's a guy that might not talk about over the next month and a half. But, I mean, he came on so strong immediately. I think he started in week five. And he already has nine and a half sacks on the Air Force Fumble. Per PFF, he has 54, total QB pressures, which is a really, really good number, you know, especially for a rookie.

And so I don't know, this is another guy who's like a future superstar. Like he looks like one of the best defensive ends in the NFL already. And he's, you know, he's just starting out in his career. And he's fantastic. I mean, he's already one of my favorite pass rushers to watch in the league. And he's a rookie. It's amazing how quickly he's just gotten everything down. My third guy is kind of a weird one.

Somebody who's been around forever and just not somebody ever think about. it's Pierre Garsohn. I like that. I just loved watching Pierre Garsohn play wide receiver this year. I think he gets so overlooked in that offense because we're always talking about, is Kurt Cousins good or not, and look at Jordan Reed, and isn't to Sean Jackson fast. Pierre Garsohn is just a fantastic football player, and I just think that he's had such a quietly great career in a couple different offenses.

And I don't know, just every time I looked up this year, he seemed to be doing something that was like, wow, that guy can just play. Yeah. He's kind of, he's very, the way that I would describe his playing style is like ferocious. He's just, he approaches the game with ferocity, which you love. He's kind of like that, a little bit of the Steve Smith in him. Like he's just chip on his shoulder, plays mad, very physical. You know, he's just a dependable guy.

So I like that one a lot. My fourth guy is sort of in the same. Vane but not really, and it's Kenny Britt from the Rams. Again, it was kind of one of these guys that is on a terrible, terrible offense, so it's kind of hard to pick anyone out that was, quote, fun to watch or whatever. But it was kind of cool to see him sort of ascend to being a, you know, a number one receiver for them. And a couple of the plays that he made this year were actually really ridiculously good.

Like, he had a couple touchdowns where he ping ponged off guys after making a catch and just through like sheer force of will made it into the end zone and these were big plays for the Rams course you know their offense was terrible and they had quarterback issues all year and they couldn't run the ball but Kenny Britt had a thousand yards receiving or he has over a thousand yards receiving now so you know kind of a cool comeback story for him and he was he was the lone you know I guess the exciting part of that offense all year

I hope that they can get something out of golf next year and Britt can turn into a little bit more than he even was this season. Just some stability at quarterback and really give him a chance to unlock whatever's left in his career. He's only 28. He'll be 29 at the start of next season, or just early on next season. So you can imagine him having one or two more years where he could easily play at this level. And it'd be nice to see him actually play with a quarterback. My fourth guy is somebody I talked about for years, and he's still on this list for me. Colaccio Semouet is one of my favorite parts of watching football.

You just don't see guys move people like he can. As a guard, he plays with the Raiders, by the way. I just assume everyone probably knows who that is. They signed him to a massive deal. He's the highest paid guard in the league now. And the way he can just toss people around, it's a point in television for me. There's just no one like him in the league

in terms of pure physical dominance. You know, Marshall Yonda is a great run-blocker, but it just isn't quite on the level of spectacle the way Osama can still do it. he's kind of yeah he's he's he's sort of like a the perfect balance of technician and mauler yep and i would love to see i don't i would love to see i don't think this is a stat anyone really publishes but the amount of pancake blocks that he's had this year it wasn't madden like 10 years ago that was a big deal even if you didn't have good offensive lineman if your offense was really good

they'd have the most in the league i don't know why i remember that it's like madden 2005 Yeah, it seems like every game there's like someone posting a vine of a semolay, just pancaking the hell out of a guy. He has turned offensive line play into a highlight real economy, which there isn't anyone else in the league that can possibly do that. Absolutely. My fifth and final guy is I wanted to give a little bit of credit to the Saints defense for kind of coming on strong and then the end of the season. Cam Jordan. Yep, there you go. Jordan Cameron, actually.

Oh, excuse me. Cameron Jordan. No, it's Cameron Jordan. It's Cameron Jordan. Cameron, you're right, you're right. I wrote down Jordan Cameron. That's clearly wrong. Anyway.

He's been so under radar that you don't even know what his name is. Exactly. He's just, I don't know, he's a very, very disruptive player. He has seven and a half sack, six past offenses, a force fumble. And he and along with a couple other guys kind of helped transform the Saints defense from literally probably the worst defense of all time last year into a pretty respectable group. Not a top group, clearly, but they're a team that's still kind of,

I mean, obviously this week they're playing the Falcons, and that's a big game for the Falcons based on seating, and what happens with that and the Seahawks and everything. But he's a guy that, you know, he's just explosive. He's an explosive athlete. He's one of the, I think probably one of the better athletes in the NFL, honestly, and no one really knows about it. So I just wanted to give some credit to him because he's a fun player to watch on the defensive line

for a team that doesn't really get much love for their defense. Yeah, I totally agree. He's only 27. He's a guy that's been in league for a while in that 2011 draft class with all the monsters we talk about all the time. And he came along a little bit slower than those guys. This was the best season of his career. But it feels like we're going to see a lot more of that in the next couple years. Yeah.

So my fourth guy, excuse me, my fifth guy, I mean, I have to have a Bears player because this was the entire point of the Bears season was finding dudes who were just quietly enjoyable to watch. A Keem Hicks had a great season. Nice. A guy they signed for pretty much nothing, you know, that interior line spot that's nebulous between being a tackle and an end sometimes. I just love the plays that he made. As a pass rusher, he showed up. He was great against the run. You know, that defense was not a walkover group.

And it was signings like that that were the reason. You know, Vic Fangio and some shrewd mooms in the front seven are what kept them afloat despite a ton of injuries in the secondary. And I really liked watching him. You know, they'll have him on a pretty cheap contract for next season as well. And I have some hope for that area of the Bears roster. And it's because of guys like that. Yeah, when they signed him, I just remember thinking at the time,

like that's a great Fangio signing. Like, it just seems like a fit. for what they're trying to build. And I remember watching the Seahawks play the 49ers under Fan Geo. They always had big, tough guys on the inside. You know, Justin Smith, obviously, all pro kind of guy. And I'm not comparing Hicks to him. But, you know, it's just like tough physical, huge guys that they can move around on the inside.

And it just, it's hard to deal with them. And I think you said it, like, they weren't an easy out this, you know, the last like four or five weeks. like maybe they didn't win very many of them but like they were giving teams fits and in games that everyone was kind of like oh this is going to be a walkover so I mean there's there's some optimism I think to go forward with for the for the bears we've talked about their front seven all year you know there's there's definitely some talent on there on that side and if they can figure out the quarterback situation I think that they'll be in good shape I almost put Jordan Howard as one of my guys just you know watching him run

this year has been a lot of fun. You know, again, it's kind of one of the bright spots of a bad team. But, you know, he's very physical, bounces off tackles and all that. And I know I'm kind of adding a sixth year, just bonus. But yeah, overall, the Bears, I think the Bears have a good foundation. Howard is that guy that reminds me of some of the other non-burner running backs that somehow just churn out yards left and right. He's not as smooth as Aryan Foster, but it's that same kind of idea.

just somebody that really understands the position and can make things happen despite not be able to run away from you. I'm excited to watch him. I think he's going to be a part of what they do moving forward. If we're thrown on a six guy, I'm doing Chris Jones from the Chiefs. Oh, that's a good one. That's a good one. I love those long interior guys that really make plays with their hands

and just swing them around. He reminds me a little bit of like what Callais Campbell can do in there when Muhammad Wilkerson was at his best. I love that style player. He's become a guy that has made an impact as a pass rusher on the inside very quickly, and that's a spot where it's hard to do. Usually it requires some time and some nuance, and he has made his presence felt right away.

I think I saw, and people in the comments can correct me if I'm wrong, I think I saw a stat the other day that said behind Aaron Donald in the last, I think, six or eight weeks or something like that. It was like halfway through the season or something like that since that they did this stat. But he's been the second most disruptive defensive tackle. or interior defender other than Aaron Donald. So there we go. He's been making plays, you know, that position doesn't get a ton of love, you know,

nationwide just because, you know, they're kind of like the interior guys just don't. But, but yeah. I don't like your tone, Danny. Well, I mean, we're doing, you're spreading the gospel, so we're doing our part. All right, that's right. All right, that's what I like to hear. All right, bud, that's, I think that's all we got. You know, we're going to be back later this week, quickly.

said, we'll do all the playoff minutia and breakdowns you want at that point, all the looking forward, all of the predictions. But thank you guys for bearing with us and waiting a couple days for this week's show. And we will be back later in the week. And then as we move on toward the playoffs, thanks for doing this, but this was fun. Absolutely.