The Ringer NFL Show - ‘GM Street’ — Saturday Sit-down Week 10 (Ep. 181)

Episode Date: November 11, 2017

The Ringer’s Michael Lombardi and Tate Frazier discuss the devastating Richard Sherman injury (1:12) and dive into their picks for the weekend: New Orleans Saints at Buffalo Bills (4:27), Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars (5:40), Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams (7:51), Minnesota Vikings at Washington Redskins (9:14), and Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons (11:13). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to GMTree part of the Ringar Podcast Network. I am Tate Frazier, and on the line back in his home state in New Jersey. Mr. Mike Lombardi, Lombardi, how are you doing? I'm good, Tate Frazier. I'm back in New Jersey, yes, I need a security. My son won't even hang out with me back here in New Jersey because he's afraid of all the Doug Peterson people are going to shoot me, and he doesn't want to hurt little Dominic.

You need to get a witness protection. They need to get you a spot. Well, I'm not far from West Cape May. Is anybody you need me to look for? I can go down there. I can take it's so freaking cold, though. know if I could make it. Go check to see if you can find Frank Lucas or someone like that. There's definitely some people down there. Yeah, I could find out where Amari was staying and, you know,

like we could always just like look and see where all these people are. I mean, you know, it's pretty good, not bad, but it's cold. I mean, you know, it's like the first weekend I come back because I have to go to a funeral. It's like 25 degrees. It's like, now I know why I live in L.A. Yeah. I don't think I could do that anymore. I'm going home in two weeks to North Carolina and I'm not ready for it. My mom, she's already been telling me. She's like, you're not ready for this cold weather. I don't even have a jacket. You can come over my house. I've got plenty for you. You can borrow one of those. I lived in enough cold weather cities. So, you know, like, what did we think last night? Were you happy with the Seattle performance? What are your thoughts?

That was tough. So last night, obviously Seattle takes on the Arizona Cardinals. First of all, I like those Cardinals jerseys. But yeah, it was a really tough game. I want to ask you about. So Russell Wilson goes out in the third quarter. He takes a hit to the job. Walt Anderson, the official, he ushers him out of the game. He goes to the tent. He's in the tent for, I mean, what, like six, seven seconds? about as much as much time as the Seattle clock guy would run off when they would make a run play. It's about that much, three or four seconds. Yeah, and he came right back out. He just put himself back out there. Like, it was nothing.

I don't know how he, I think he was pissed off. He got sent to the tent. And then he was just like, look, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm going back out there. Now, they're going to have to answer some questions, but he certainly didn't play. Like, there was, I mean, you know, he called the plays. He acted like there was nothing wrong with him. I mean, all you got to do is to pass.

the test is show that you can communicate and talk. I mean, it's a procedure. I'm not saying it's easy to go through it, but it's hard to block your way through it. So with the whole concussion protocol, basically, if they find that they didn't follow it properly, let's say the NFL, you know, investigates the situation, they say that they did not follow the protocol.

Russell Wilson could be fined, you know, the team could be fine, but they could also... The team will definitely get fined. You could also lose draft picks, right? That's on the table. Sure you could. Oh, yeah, you could lose draft, but I think the first step would be fining.

I mean, you would think that the commissioner, you know, with the power that he yields, you know, he would come down on this thing fairly significantly because he wants to make an example of it. He doesn't want anybody else to not, you know, go to the tent. The thing that was a little concerning for me was that Wilson just looked like he arbitrarily decided he didn't need to go in the tent. Yeah. And whether that's true or not, I don't know. I mean, and then after the game, he said all this stuff, I was like, I think Walt did a great job. You know, I just took a shot to the jaw.

I had nothing to do with, you know, a head injury. I was completely, you know, clear at the time. I knew I wasn't concussed, all this stuff. So I don't know. That was probably the most interesting thing that happened. And then obviously, well, actually not. When Richard Sherman goes down with the Achilles injury, you know, they lose him for the season. He pretty much knew when it happened that his season was over.

He was, you know, telling the teammates, telling the other Seahawks that, you know, he was pretty much done for the season. So that was tough to see, especially for a Thursday night game. For them to lose, you know, Sherman, what do they have moving forward? I mean, that's a big loss, obviously, for the Seahawks. The guy, they get attacked in the slot all the time. So I thought it's fascinating that, you know, he was on the sideline. I mean, every guy I've ever seen having Achilles is always in a boot within a minute after the diagnosis. I mean, it's like they don't want that Achilles to roll up the ankle, not that I'm a doctor.

So that was strange, and he stayed on the sideline, and he watched the game, and he went through it all. And fortunately, we're all good lip breeders, so we found out about the injury, you know, and I felt bad for Heather Cox. I mean, she's down there, and everybody's reading lips. But she's probably going to say, well, what do they need me for? I'm on the sideline reporter, and everybody's reading lips. That's not your fault, Heather. Anyway, so... Let's do some picks this week.

I just want to make a disclaimer here. I eliminated any theories, okay? So I ditched all the theories. No more, hey, I think they played bad this week. They're going to play good. I ditched all that. I just basically watched the tape, and this is what I see from the tape, and here's how we're going to go.

So we'll start. So let's do it. This is Tape Talk with Mike Lombardi. First off, we got the Saints taking on the bills up in Buffalo. This should be a fun game. I mean, these are two teams that have shown signs of being legitimate teams. obviously the Saints are on a win streak right now. It's six straight, right, for the Saints at this point? Six straight for the States. So this is a game. This is like a reunion game. So McBermott was in Carolina for all those years

competing against Sean Payton down there. So he knows him really was. He had 10 days to prepare. There's two Bill. There's two Buffalo Bills team. There's the Bills team on the road offensively, and there's the Bills team at home. And the home team is really much more effective. They're four and O at home this year, and they can run the football. The one Achilles heel to what the Saints have done defensively through their win streak has been their run defense, which is I thought Tampa would be able to exploit a little bit. But on the road this week, I think the rush of the bills, which is a really good team, effectively, I think this is the kind of a game that the bills can win. I think the bills they thought they'll know how to play them. They've had more time to prepare. I think the Saints

are, this doesn't mean if the Saints lose are not a good team because I think the Saints are a good team. But I think this is going to be a hard spot for the Saints to come through. I like the bills in this game. I like it. Good pick there. Next up, we have the Chargers going to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and I will say this. The Chargers, they seem to always beat the Jaguars. I think they're seven and two in the all-time series, and Phil Rivers tends to do well in these games. You know, this is another inter-squad game. So where you've got Gus Bradley, the defensive coordinator, going against his former team, and they play the boom style of defense, and both teams don't play run defense very effectively. What both teams do really effectively is rush the pass or create

turnovers and get after the quarterback. Now, where I think Jacksonville has the edge here is Jacksonville's past defense is better than than Los Angeles' past defense. I think Jacksonville will make this game one-dimensional for Philip Rivers. Getting Darius back, I think they're very in tune to how they're going to stop the run.

And I think the pass rush in this game, both teams, I think this is going to be a really close game. And anytime it's a close game, I'm going to favor Jacksonville because I think Jacksonville likes these kind of games. They're going to eliminate Blakemore. Play faster now. It doesn't play nearly as well. So I think the Chargers will struggle to protect.

I know that Jacksonville might struggle to protect, but I think in close games, ball protection matters. And then I really think the edge here is in the kicking game, and that goes to Jacksonville. The Chargers special teams are not been very good in terms of their coverage. If Travis Benjamin gets going, that's one thing. But I think this is going to be at one of the edge for Jacksonville.

I think this is kind of a statement game for Jackson. I think Jacksonville is the better team here, and I think Jackson will prove it out. Yeah, they need to prove that they really are the class of the AFC South. When Watson went out, everyone pretty much deferred to them as the team that would win that division. Right. I mean, they've outscored their opponents in the last two weeks, 50 to 7. Now, you know, they've played some good football, and Bortles, as much as I make fun of them, has played better.

But, you know, this is going to be four nets coming out. I think he'll run the football against a charge of unit you can run the ball on. And I think this plays perfectly into what Jacksonville wants to do. They want to run the football, and Los Angeles's run defenses and very good. I'd watch out for Bosa. I feel like Bosa could do something to Bortals, maybe a little strip sack or something. That's the only way I see it happening. I think this game's going to come down to.

Before you look at the score, look at the turnover takeaway, and count field goals in that too, because that's going to determine who wins this game. Yep. Next up, we have the Houston Texans taking on the Los Angeles Rams out here in L.A. at the Coliseum. I had tickets to the game, but I'm not going to go anymore, Lombardi. Well, I don't blame you, Tate Fraser.

I don't blame you. I think this is one of those games where the Rams have been so good. I mean, obviously, the number one's team in scoring. Look, this Texan team's bad. what the Rams want to do. Move the ball effectively on a struggle block and Donald inside. I think this is a bad matchup for the Texans. I think the Rams really enjoy running the score up, too.

That's the thing I think about the Rams. They're not going to slow down. They like getting the 50. They like putting 40 on people. And I think this is the perfect situation. They're not going to get a lot of rush from that. If they double Clowney, which they will, we're at the left tackle, he'll be able to handle Clownie at times in there.

They'll help him out. And I think they'll throw the football down the field and make plays. This Texan team has really not been very good with all the injuries, and Watson was the dealer. Remember, they gave up Seattle. Our Seattle team that we were just making fun of scored, you know, 40-some points on them last week on the road. So I like the Rams to win big here. Yep, yep.

Well, good. Good for the Los Angeles Rams. Good for Sean McFay. They'll just keep it rolling. Let's keep it moving, Lombardi. We're going to go to Minnesota. The Vikings taking on the Washington Redskins this weekend in D.C. You know, Vikings coming off a by haven't been very good.

I mean, they have struggled when they've played. The one thing the Redskins don't do well is play two-minute defense, and I don't see Case Keenham executing a two-minute offense against them. I think this is two good defenses. I really like the Redskins teams. I think the Redskins played really well last week. I think they'll be able to stop Minnesota's running game. I think they match up really well against Minnesota.

They'll put pressure on Case Keenom. I think he could make some mistakes. And I like the Redskins' offense to move the ball just enough to win this game. The Redskins are a good home team. I think they can play well here in this spot. You know, they're better on the West Coast. I think they're undefeated on the West Coast so far this year. But, you know, this is a game. If they want to stay relevant, they want to stay in it. They can win this game. Minnesota is a good team. I think Washington's a good defensive team. And I think Washington can prevail in the game because I think once you break it down and you really

study it, come when they played Cleveland over in London, they had a tough, tough time moving the football against the Browns defense. I think they'll have a tough time moving the ball. here. Yeah, if I was Case Keenum, I would watch out for DJ Sweringer and Josh Norman. I think they might tee off on him. Yeah. Yeah, yep. I look, I think the Redskins are, they play really good. I think if they get all their pieces back, especially in their offensive line, they could be better. But for right now, they're kind of battled through. That was a gritty win last week in Seattle. I think it should carry over this week at home. Yeah, and it kind of got them over that mental hurdle of throwing away games late, where, you know, and they almost did with Jimmy Graham getting that, uh, Hell Mary at the end from

Russell Wilson. But, well, you know, look, they're not a good two-minute team. I mean, you know, the defense for whatever it is, for some reason, they don't play well enough in two minutes. But I don't see Minnesota being that. I think Minnesota wants to be more with the Redskin defense. Yep. And the final game of the week, the Dallas Cowboys go into Atlanta to take on the Falcons. We'll see if the Falcons can bounce back. And, you know, we mentioned earlier in the week that this is probably going to be a statement game for that team to be able to see if they really want to turn this season around because right now it seems like they're reeling. In 2012 and 36 starts, Matt Ryan is 16 and 20 at home. I mean, they have not played well. at home and he's been on the road. And I think they've just not playing very good right now.

And I know Dallas doesn't have Zeke Elliott, but Dallas is playing pretty well. I think David Irving makes a huge difference for him inside. When they have Sean Lee, they're a better team. This, to me, is the game. The Clapper has to be able to come in and figure out a way to control the pace. Limit Atlanta's offense. Limit Julio Jones from making big plays. His numbers are down significantly at home this year.

Limit they have to make. I mean, look, they don't have Elliott, so it's going to be hard. They're going to need to run Mars. But I think Dallas is a good team. I think Dallas is defense on seven's good. I think they can rush. I like Dallas to pull mild upset. I know that Atlanta's got, you know, lost it.

They've lost at home to Buffalo. They've lost at home to other teams. But this is the best team Atlanta's going to play in a while, and I think Atlanta's going to struggle to move the ball effectively against them consistently. And Dak Prescott, to me, looks like he still can put the team on his back and lead it. And so we'll see how it goes. And Terrence Williams really stepped up last week for him. I mean, Tony Romo,

I mentioned in the broadcast. He was like, this is a guy that they need him to step up and be a possession receiver. So, Dak has someone he can rely on. And Terrence Williams showed it last week. We'll see if it can carry over. One other thing to watch in that game, I mean, just from a wild card implication, you know, obviously Dallas is playing, you know, they're behind the Eagles in their division. Atlanta, you know, they have the Panthers and the Saints to deal with.

So there's some big wildcard implications. So if Atlanta falls in this game, I mean, it would be a tough road to the playoffs after going to the Super Bowl last year. Yeah, no doubt. And I think, look, I mean, you know, the one thing is, it's us against the world now, Dallas. I mean, they know they've lost Elliott. There's no more appeals left. They've got to find a way to move the football without Elliott in the game.

I know it's going to be difficult. I know it'll be a challenge, but they do have a lot of skill. They do have good players on their team that they can move the football. They're just going to have to modify how they do it. And Atlanta isn't like a defense that you go. They can't do this or they can't do that. I think they'll struggle to handle this front of the offensive line of Dallas, and Dallas can win.

Good lines win on the road. That's why I think Dallas can still. Yeah. it'll be interesting. That whole saga has, I can't believe it's week 10, and we're still talking about Ezekiel Elliott, and you know, his whole... I don't think we're talking about him anymore, Trey Frazier, because I think that's over. You can't do anything.

You can't, he can't do anything there. So, you know, we'll see. We'll see. Well, those were five games to watch this weekend from Mike Lombardi. This has been another Saturday sit-down of GM Street, and we will be back Sunday night. You'll be calling in Sunday night from New Jersey, right? You bet. I will be. I'll be awake, too, Tafrasia.

You don't worry. I stayed awake. I was impressed with myself. My son said I wouldn't do it. I stayed awake for the entire game last night, plus the 76ers meltdown against the Kings. In Sacramento, I watched the end of that game, too. And they melted down at the end. Hey, but the Kings are playing better, though.

Don't get too down to yourself. They really are. The Kings were, I mean, look, you watch the game, and Collie Stein blocked Embed's a shot. I mean, Embed's out of shape. I mean, there's no doubt. He was struggling to breathe at the end of the game. And my man, Jackson from North Carolina played well in the game. Justin Jackson, he's turned in the role.

the game and Fox hit the Fox hit the game winner. I mean, Fox came in, they played off of them to lure him into shooting and he made the play. So it was a good game, it was fun. I mean, a thing of disappointing is the Sixers played against Sacramento who was the worst offense in the NBA, and they gave up 109 points,

108, whatever it was. Brett Brown's got to convince him to start playing defense. I don't know when that's going to happen. Well, I think the real issue is because they, I mean, I think, Mbigh, and Bede was tired at the end of the game. He was huffin and a puffin. Yeah, but Justin Anderson in the game. That's some energy. That's we want. He has a lot of, I don't know why they don't play him more minutes. I really do.

I like that kid. Yeah, they will soon, I hope. Well, that's been GM Street, part of the Ringer podcast network. Thank you, Mr. Michael Embardy. All right, Taye Fraser. I'll see you Monday.