The Ringer NFL Show - Philadelphia Outlasts Atlanta, and Which Games to Watch | GM Street (Ep. 296)

Episode Date: September 7, 2018

The Ringer's Michael Lombardi and Tate Frazier take a look at the Eagles' defeat of the Falcons in the NFL season opener (02:00), and then give five intriguing matchups to watch for during Week 1 (22:...00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:32 It is September 7th. And after 45 minutes of a weather delay, football was back to 2018 NFL season. It's finally here. Michael Lombardi is on the line. Lombardi, how's it going? Oh, you know, Tate Fraser things are good. I just love watching my man last night. The Atlanta Falcons, nothing changes.
Starting point is 00:01:49 As the Yogi Bearer would say, it's deja vu all over again. It keeps happening. Steve Charkisian is still there, a man that we really enjoyed in the playoffs last year. The Falcons fans probably did not enjoy as much, but we did here on this program. Matt Ryan did not enjoy. himself last night, a 57.4 pass-a-rating, no touchdowns, one interception. Nick Foles didn't do himself any favors, 117 passing yards for him. We had zero total yardage after the first quarter from the defending Super Bowl champion. So we had some booze in the crowd. We had a lot of penalties.
Starting point is 00:02:24 We didn't have many great moments. We did have a moment with Julio Jones and the catch rule coming back. And it feels like NFL football is finally here, Lombardi. What are your first thoughts on seeing these two teams take on Thursday night. Watch Matt Ryan last year played against Philly. He had the second worst yards per attempt in the season. And last night he did the same thing again. Now last year he didn't have a pass play over 25 yards. Last night he did. But it seems to me
Starting point is 00:02:54 Sarkesian had a couple ideas on what he was going to do. Once Jim Schwartz, the defense coordinator of the Eagles, kind of saw the plan, he made his adjustments. And the Falcons really struggled from there on out. I mean, the decision did not kick the field goal early in the game was Basel. People blame the play. and you know it, you can't call that third down play. You've got to make third down something. Quinn says, go for coaching error.
Starting point is 00:03:29 Quinn should have told Sarkeesian, hey, look, you're in four-down territory. We're going for it. Not that it was going to matter because the way in the red zone is beyond baffling. So we got five Falcons red zone trips. That's what we got, and we only get 12 points out of those. For a lot of people that are watching this game, it did feel like once we got to the second half, we got a little bit of legs underneath us. We got Julio Jones who ends up with 169 receiving yards, was obviously the Browellio.
Starting point is 00:03:55 right spot. You got a nice end around early in the game where you could see they were trying to do a little bit of deception. And then we obviously saw the Eagles. They pulled out. They said it was not the Philly Special, obviously, because Burton is now gone. He's in Chicago. So it wasn't quite the Philly Special. They said it was actually an homage to the play that the Patriots tried to run with Tom Brady against them in the Super Bowl. But we got a lot of trick plays coming out of this game. We got a missed PAT. There was just so much to really digested this game. But I think the real star of this game and the real star of this game and the storyline of this game, right, is the fact that Matt Ryan, the $30 million man,
Starting point is 00:04:30 he looked a little lost out there, right? Lombardia, I don't want to take it too far, but it did seem like he was having a rough opening to the season. Yeah, I mean, his arm did not look good. Trending downward last year, he averaged a yard 0.6 less than he did with Kyle Shanhan. Now, people say, well, yards per attempt. I mean, last night he didn't have control the football. He wasn't throwing it. I mean, some of the sacks he took were baffling. Look, The one thing you can't do, a young quarterback knows you can take a sack at your own 20, okay, fine, you're holding a ball.
Starting point is 00:05:08 But when you get down in the red zone and you could be out of field goal range, luckily they made that 52, you take a sack there, you can't do it. You take a sack in two minutes. You know you can't do it. There's parts of the field the quarterback has to know you can't take sacks. And when you look at what Sark was trying to do, first of all, he's got Julio Jones, who they're doubling in the red zone, okay? So if you know you're getting doubled by Julio Jones, why wouldn't you put him in a stack?
Starting point is 00:05:34 Why wouldn't you put him where you clushed and then work one side against somebody who wasn't as good? I mean, Julio gives you the advantage of knowing what the coverage is. And yet Sark just put five receivers out there and gave them no decoys, no misdirections. The score in the red zone, I think what the Eagles did in the red zone was brilliant. Reverse, they run the ball inside. It's misdirection. It causes the defense to have to stop and think and displace. to me, Dan Quinn has to shoulder a lot of the blame
Starting point is 00:06:07 because he's watched Sark for two years now and he came back, watched him for a year and he came back with him this year and nothing's changed. And we should say, going into last season, Sarkisian took over for Shanahan, and he was calling a lot of stock plays, a lot of generic plays that we'd seen on offense. And a lot of people thought that was just, you know,
Starting point is 00:06:24 kind of a holdover. You know, there's like sort of he was a lame duck situation. He was a holdover until he could implement his own type of offense and get this thing rolling with the Falcons. I mean, the best play that they ran was that end around to Julio Jones early in. the game, at least the most inventive play from that perspective. And then from there, it seems what's funny about that, Tate Fraser? I can't even believe he ran it. That's the play he was
Starting point is 00:06:42 going to open up the game with, and they got the five-yard penalty. And they actually ran that play, right? And you could see Julio come around, but they got called because he had the illegal procedure. And so he ran a different play on second, on first down, and then he came back with it again, like, why not even just flip the formation? Like, it just shows you, like the guys, he's calling plays like he's in college, which is really what he is. He's a college coach. He's not been able to adapt to the pro game whatsoever. He runs plays. It's all before miss.
Starting point is 00:07:13 Okay, we'll try this. There's no rhyme or reason. He's not attacking the scheme. Matt Ryan can't be happy. Yeah, and it's one of those weird situations where it isn't like we have a Dick and Buddy Ryan situation where we have a defensive mastermind over here and offensive mastermind over here. Dan Quinn is obviously known for building up the Legion of Boom and handling the defense, the
Starting point is 00:07:47 Atlanta defense. But there is no other guy that is going to take over and handle that offense. seems like right now in that room other than Matt Ryan. So that's why a lot of people were having eyes on him. I do want to talk about it. It took 40 minutes in this game first to get a touchdown. And the guy that does give us that touchdown is JHA, a guy that had two the entire season last year. And it did seem like he got his legs underneath him as this game wore on.
Starting point is 00:08:07 It was able to show some signs of life on that Eagles offense. Because we saw it once again from the preseason translated right into the real season. And we talked about the fact that the preseason is almost the first four weeks of the season anyway. But this Eagles offense, this first team offense, I mean, they struggle. mightily early on in this game. No doubt. I mean, and they have all summer. I mean, look, they don't have the same power. I think they missed LeBlunt's
Starting point is 00:08:30 power. I think a giant blunt were a really good common. I'm going to give him time because he's coming back. They all right. He ran when they put him in the slot. He didn't separate from the defender. There was no real juice in his game. It's got a concern you. I think the Eagles are a work in progress. And look, the Eagles did something that you always want to be able to do at least three or four times
Starting point is 00:08:50 during the season, which is not play well and still win. And they were able to accomplish this is really the easy in when it comes to defense. It's not even close. And that's the difference in the game in it. And you're going to play the Mike Zimmer's. You're going to play the Jim Schwartz's. You're going to play the Wade Phillips. Is there any coach just out there in your head? I mean, you know, we see like a Jim Bob Cooter, right, that's in Detroit and he's basically in charge of the offense and he has Stafford and they have a good thing rolling. But is there a guy out there?
Starting point is 00:09:35 Obviously, Shannon is the best example that led to Matt Ryan's MVP here. But it does seem like there needs to be a guy to kind of take over that Atlanta offense. It sort of set him straight because a lot of times, like you mentioned in the red zone, they were predetermined that they're going to throw it to Julio, and you got Hooper, you got Sunoo, you got these other guys, you got Freeman, you got all these other guys that are weapons down there, but it seems like they take them out of the offense.
Starting point is 00:09:56 And even a couple times, I think it was four plays in the red zone that Julio wasn't even on the field. Right, no doubt. I mean, look, Sark doesn't understand how to attack the adjustments in the coverage. That's very clear. And that's what Josh McDaniels is so good at doing. That's what the really good offensive coaches do. Kyle Shannon,
Starting point is 00:10:12 I think you go back to what Jalen Ramsey said about when he was making fun of Jimmy Garoppolo, and he said it was all just scheme, man. Yeah, well, what he was really saying was they attacked our scheme in a way that made it difficult for us. That's what Josh McDaniels does. Look at the Red So they want to get an indicator. What does that mean?
Starting point is 00:10:32 And whoever goes to Brady knows he's in Matt. If the corner just walks out to him, Brady knows there's some form back in. Now he changes the play to what he wants to run based on his indicator. In the Red Zone and how they want to attack it and attack the adjustments. He's just running plays. He's got the best wide receiver in front. football. There's Calvin Ridley. It has not been very impressive this summer, hasn't separated, and obviously it looks like a Julio Jones. It wasn't there. And it was very interesting too,
Starting point is 00:11:29 right? Before we got into this game, and I guess the hype leading up to this game, we heard so much about, you know, watch out for Julio and Calvin Ridley. You know, that's a one-two combo to look out for. You know, Ridley, obviously, it was a little bit marred in the national title game, but Alabama still won, so, you know, no one really had anything to say. But he goes catchless in week one. He doesn't really show any signs of, you know, of life, really, for this offense. And then Julio, I mean, let's talk about Julio. So Julio has this amazing game, 169 yards.
Starting point is 00:11:55 But it seemed like it was a carbon copy of what exactly happened in the playoffs, which was poor execution in the red zone, not being able to get plays, you know, basically things to fall the right way. And the biggest play in this game was the catch. He had a very Willie Mays like grab along the sideline. And they ended up challenging and ended up losing it because he did not have control. we did have a couple officials that came out and said that they thought that he did pin the ball to his shoulder, which would have given him control, but there were other people that thought the ball moves,
Starting point is 00:12:25 so therefore he did not have it secured before he goes out of bounds. I mean, how much is this just nitpicky at this point, Lombardian? Is this good, bad, or whatever for fans? Because I know a lot of people were upset about this play getting called back. I thought it was a catch. I mean, look, let's just go back to the standard rule we all believe it. You know, the 20 guys in a bar think it's a catch, it's a catch, okay? I think we just should, you know, there should be like,
Starting point is 00:12:48 You were probably too young to remember. Remember that show where they would ask questions and you could ask for a lifeline, you know, or you could call a friend or one of those things? Oh, yeah. Come on. Who wants to be a millionaire? Three lifelines. Right.
Starting point is 00:13:00 I think that's what we should do. The NFL should like have like in every city, they should have a bar. Right? And they should have a bar that they go to. And they should buzz this. Yeah. If that wasn't a catch, I don't know what it is.
Starting point is 00:13:25 It's very confounding. It's almost like we need the Buffalo Wild Wings commercials to be reality where we just phone in and let people know what we should be thinking about these catches. I know Julio was up, yeah, it was very tough. Yeah, I mean, just buzzed Charlie's bar in Somers Point, New Jersey, and just say, okay, is that a catch guys? And there would be 50 guys in there, by the way, aren't you? So, I mean, you know, buzz that bar.
Starting point is 00:13:50 You know, buzz that bar and ask them what they think. I may buzz that bar right now and just see what's going on there. Anything else in this game on Barney? Because I do think I saw a lot of people that were, you know, they were saying that the NFL is back. This is what we expect. A lot of penalties. A lot of, you know, catch questions.
Starting point is 00:14:04 and catch rule debates and a lot of challenges and all the other stuff. But it did seem like a little anti-climactic for these two teams. What do we expect? I mean, the whole summer, we didn't even, nobody played in the summer. You know, what do we expect? Guys can't go out there and play 70 plays. I thought the fascinating thing was Atlanta's out there having more cramps. They practiced in the humidity more than anybody.
Starting point is 00:14:23 I mean, Jason Peters couldn't finish all summer. I mean, he was there, but he didn't play in games. I mean, again, September is the preseason. We just got to get used to it. These are just better preseason games. they're not there yet. And for Matt Ryan, you've got to hope
Starting point is 00:14:38 that his arm comes back because it didn't look... I don't think Atlanta, you know, everybody has to score points and good... And we should say, I mean,
Starting point is 00:14:56 Matt Ryan threw the ball 43 times last night. You know, Devante Freeman was a man that got paid. I know that they've discussed the idea that they want to be a balanced attack
Starting point is 00:15:06 with the run game being involved as much as possible. But of Matt Ryan's arm, you know, I mean, we saw it with, you know, Peyton. Not to say it's at that level,
Starting point is 00:15:14 but once you get there, you know, sometimes you're, the ball just doesn't have the same zip that it used to have. And if we get to that point with Matt Ryan, adjustments will have to be made on that offense and how they want to divvy out how many times he's going to throw the ball in a football game. Yeah, no doubt. I just think to me it was, it was obvious last night. Now, they didn't talk about it on TV, you know, because they're too busy
Starting point is 00:15:32 talking about the Philly Special because that's the only thing that seems to drive the audience. But like to me, that was a real conversation, a real concern. I mean, you've got to sit there and ask, Chris, hey, how come he's not throwing the ball good? Now, I know, whatever, I'm sure pro football focus, Chris owns the site. I'm sure they're going to have to give him a bad grade, but wouldn't have been nice to know, like, why are they not, why is he not throwing the ball so well? You know, what's going on here? And is it
Starting point is 00:15:55 interesting? So if you're, let's say you're Dimitrov and you're the GM of this team and you give Matt Ryan that big deal, I mean, from a GM perspective, does it concern you to have locked up this guy, really invested once again, reinvested in Matt Ryan, obviously again, and to come out
Starting point is 00:16:11 and see this in the first week, or do you take it as what we're saying? It's the preseason extended. So don't fret too much and just move on. Well, you know, the arm's not the preseason. Maybe he just doesn't have enough, but it didn't look good. He didn't the own team. You know, you got a crowd noise. It's hard to play. You can't hear the opponent can't really run the ball. You can steal three or four wins playing. You truly must evaluate your team how you play. And if you can't be Los Angeles and win or go up to see it, you know, there's a lot of good 10. You beat those teams. I'm not calling
Starting point is 00:17:08 for Matt Ryan's contract to be a blown thing. But I'm saying there's huge concerns. and the major concern you have is the same problem that you ignore. We watch the Atlanta season Jones just tells you, when you're throwing out of your scheme, you scheme a guy to get open. This is what the great, this is what Jalen Ramsey was talking about. Yeah, and we should say, I mean, you know,
Starting point is 00:17:48 Julio, as poetic as it was, it ended the exact same way it ended the playoffs, you know, him going up for a ball where he actually makes the catch itself, but obviously does not make the catch and play. It was right there and right on the verge of making something happen, but it just doesn't quite work out for the Falcons. You mentioned the NFC.
Starting point is 00:18:06 When you're in the NFC South and you had three teams that went to the playoffs last year and the Saints and the Panthers. And you've got to get these wins when you can, especially with this Eagles team who was obviously struggling to find their identity early on in this game and the Falcons weren't able to strike. I should say we should pat ourselves in the back that we did not bring up run-pass options, right? Oh, my God. That's so ridiculous.
Starting point is 00:18:25 I mean, he's obsessed with it. Collinsworth is obsessed with it. Like, he's just ridiculous. We stop with it. It's not going to revolutionize, football. I mean, it's ridiculous. It's, you know, it's like enough, okay. You know, the run, I mean, the Eagles couldn't get a game open, but control in the front. I mean, Sproul's what, you have five-carry? Couldn't get anything going in a running game.
Starting point is 00:18:57 An inside zone run, that wasn't a run pass. Look, the Eagles know this. They won a game that they probably, and then I found out that the Patriots were won last year. So, you know, I'll give the Eagles a pass on that one. Yeah, give them a pass. We'll give them a pass. We're going to take a quick break, and then we're going to come back, and we're going to do the usual routine where Lombardi's got five games for you to watch out for this weekend. And we're going to dive into those. So first, we're going to get a word from our sponsor. Quick break to get a word from our sponsor, Direct TV. We want to stream NFL Sunday ticket live every Sunday, even if we can't get DirecTV where we live, because we want
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Starting point is 00:22:09 It is the NFL season. We are very excited about this. And I'm excited, Lombardi, to get back into the world of your mini-picks. In the first game that we have up, we have the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills. This line has, it's jumped, though, all over the place for a little while, but now the Ravens are favored by six and a half. half over Nathan Peterman's Buffalo Bills.
Starting point is 00:22:28 If you really believe in Nathan Peterman, you may want to take that. But Lombardi, what really do we need to watch out for this Ravens game?
Starting point is 00:22:34 Obviously Flacco, and we're going to see where he stands after the preseason and see what Peterman can do with his offense. But just overall, what are we watching out
Starting point is 00:22:40 for the Ravens defense? I think the Ravens defense is good. And they're young, and this is early in the season. They'll play well. Even though they've had those five preseason games, I think this is a kind of game
Starting point is 00:22:49 where the Buffalo's offensive line is not playing very well right now in the summer. And, you know, that's not going to always be a reflection of Peterman. I think Baltimore comes out and plays really well.
Starting point is 00:23:06 Their defense can control the pace of the game, control Shady McCoy, and a scheme. And Buffalo has an opportunity. But I think they're going to be smart enough in the way Black, Flacco's played this summer. Yeah, and we should say that Baltimore with Flacco, they seem like they, for as much as we tend to speculate about how many games, Lamar Jackson will start.
Starting point is 00:23:32 It does seem like Flacco right now is the guy, and it seems like he's locked in for the season. So there go with the Ravens. We'll take the Ravens over the bills there. Let's go to the next game. We've got the Indianapolis Colts led by, of course, former number one pick Andrew Luck. He is back, and they're going to take on the red hot Cincinnati Bengals. I think the Bengals have been a team that slowly over the past couple of weeks,
Starting point is 00:23:51 a lot of people have fallen in love with just because of what they've been able to do in the preseason with going up and rushing the passer. And we saw some big hits against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the preseason when the Bengals took them on with Gino Atkins, obviously. So we're going to see Andrew Luck, or we're going to see if he can really hold up this week because the Bengals are really going to go after him, right? Right, I think the Bengals are good. I think he threw 40.
Starting point is 00:24:17 He averaged over 10 yards per pass attempt, and people say, Alombardi, that's preseason. Well, you know, Carson Went to have the same numbers last year. Pay attention to. Since he's really good on defense, even if he plays, he's going to be well enough. I know T.Y. Hill's his defense. It's a zone game.
Starting point is 00:24:55 It's an easier game for AJ since he's going to be a really good team. Now, Marvin Lewis is on a losing streak in September. I think he changed that this year by the way they played. I think he's adapted to it. He typically before was a good coach. Now he's on a four-game losing streak. I think he's going to turn that around. It wasn't very interesting.
Starting point is 00:25:20 I felt like that Bingles team, based on the wildcard losses and the playoffs, they tried to course correct and tried to play for the long game, play for December, play for the playoffs. And then it kind of bit them because that's not really the identity that they had under Marvin Lewis. And Marvin Lewis has this team, they probably look the most prepared as far as we're ready for real regular season NFL football based on the preseason. And they are actually not favored in this game. The Indianapolis Colts are favored by three.
Starting point is 00:25:46 So the Cincinnati Bengals are a team to definitely watch out for. Let's go to the Washington Redskins are going to go to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are a one-point favorite at home to open the season. This will be interesting to see what Jay Gruden's team will do with Alex Smith and that whole new offense and see what it's like post-Kirk cousins. And obviously to see the Arizona Cardinals under San Bradford and see what's going on there with the new coach Steve Wilkes. Lombardi, what do you expect to see from this game?
Starting point is 00:26:12 Play at home. They're five and three last year. home. I think the weather's going to be a factor in this game. I don't think the Redskins have played enough football. I think they'll start fast in this game, but I think Arizona's a good team to play. They get David Johnson back. Bradford can throw the football, you know, as long as he feels protected and their offensive line can hold up. I like the Redskins depth. Summer last year, they're two and six on the road. There's too many details. They've got a four-game losing streak on the road. You know, they even lost the Giants last year on the road in a week 17 of the season.
Starting point is 00:26:44 So for me, you know, I worry about them on the road. I like Arizona here. I think Arizona Arizona's got a better team. I think Wilkes will be disciplined. You know, he's able, Washington struggled to score. The last time Jay Gruden's team, pro defense was on 1219, 2016, and they lost 26 to 15. So I get the sense they'll play good. I like Arizona because they're playing at home. I know the heat and humidity isn't going to be a factor because they're going to close the dome.
Starting point is 00:27:17 But I think playing 70 plays for this Redskins team is going to be a challenge. And we should say, I mean, this is one of those examples you mentioned earlier when talking about dome teams and they're able to win some games at home. This seems like Arizona is fortunate to have Washington come out to them week one of the season and maybe, you know, get ahead of things and get a nice week one win. We'll keep an eye on that. You mentioned Carolina. Let's talk about Carolina. The Dallas Cowboys will be going to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Starting point is 00:27:40 The Panthers are favored by three in this game. A lot of people are excited to see Dak versus Cam, obviously, a lot of, you know, Danos-Oikos yogurt fans out in the world that are very upset that. I'm just kidding. I'm talking about myself right now at this point, but I was upset that deck took that from Cam. But this will be a fun game. It would be the Yogurt Bowl. the Cowboys and the Panthers, what are you looking for here, Lombardy? You know, this is going to be an interesting game to really figure out.
Starting point is 00:28:01 Do the Cowboys have enough skill on offense to make plays? Carolina's a good defensive team. They're going to have trouble. I think Connor Williams' left guard is going to have trouble blocking short and some of these defense alignment. And are they going to be good enough to hold up? And can Dak find a way to make plays? Elliot's back, the Todd Gurley of this offense.
Starting point is 00:28:21 They don't really have a tight end to control the middle of the field. So I think Carolina, what worries me in this game is Carolina's ability to tackle in the game, a guy they just traded for from the Detroit Lions, Robinson. So it's going to be a challenge for them to protect. But Cam can move around. I think McAfree's played really well in the preseason. I like Carolina here. I think it's going to be a really close game, though. And I will say this. This is one of those games where I think a lot of people,
Starting point is 00:28:50 I mean, we got in it, even though we were talking about the preseason, I think a lot of people were over at one way or the other. If the Cowboys come out and Zeke dominates and they control the clock and they beat the Panthers, a lot of people will be very high. on what they expect to see for the Cowboys, and then vice versa, if the Panthers have a really big game and Cam plays great. People will flip on both sides of that.
Starting point is 00:29:07 So just wait everyone. Wait to week five, and then we'll make those decisions and proclamations. All right, final game of the week. We have the Cleveland Browns. Huey headlines and his boys going to take on Todd Haley's old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And the Steelers, of course,
Starting point is 00:29:21 in this game, are favored just by four points. So that's good news for all of the Hugh fans out there in the world. But Steelers in Cleveland, at Cleveland, and they'll take on the Browns, and we're going to see if the Hard Knocks kids can really knock it out in week one. One of the ones that they can win. First of all, Big Ben doesn't start out playing well. I mean, last year,
Starting point is 00:29:43 you know, in the pre-season in the regular season in September, when you look at Ben, over the course of time, he's four and two in the preseason, that you think he's capable when he plays later in the season. You know, to win the game. And Cleveland having Todd held the game, and he knows how they do things to...
Starting point is 00:30:20 If Cleveland's going to win one, I think Greg Robinson as soon as Greg Williams, excuse me, remember in the summer, every team in September has hope, right? And so they play there and they expect to win in September. They don't think their seasons coming to an end like they do in December. This is one of those games where I think Cleveland can rally the forces that I would be surprised if this wasn't a really close game. And we should say the Browns have not won an opener since 2004, where they beat the Ravens. They've lost 13 straight opening days and 18 out of the last 19 since the Browns returned. I didn't mean to laugh. The first time since they returned in 1999,
Starting point is 00:31:09 and they've lost six straight to the Steelers. So they seem due. And I'm not to, you know, Mike Petten was the coach last time they did beat the Steelers. So if you were a fan of the Browns and you enjoyed watching them on hard knocks as much as Lombardi and I did, maybe you take a chance on them a week one to get the upset. Those are the five games to keep an eye on again. That's Buffalo, Baltimore, Indiesense, Washington, Arizona, Dallas, Carolina, Cleveland, Pittsburgh.
Starting point is 00:31:30 Is there anything else, Lombardi? Just across the NFL, you're going to keep an eye on a week one? You know, it's hard to figure out how that's going to go. So many teams not playing their players. in the preseason, I think this. I think if I was a betting man, I would be very careful. I would give it a couple weeks to see where these teams, because you just
Starting point is 00:31:52 don't know in the summer. You know, one thing that happens in the opening day, fake punts, fake field goals, they do something unique. And I think you could just see last night, people are going to take the same approach that the Eagles had, which go forward on fourth down when Dan Quinn went for that on fourth and won at his own one yard line on the first drive of the game. So the
Starting point is 00:32:11 unpredictability of everybody at this other team off guard, knowledge of the opponent's team in just seven games last year. It averaged over 30 and all his starts. Remarkable. Can they do that, can he do that again this year? We'll see. And what a reaction we'll get if Deshaun Watson lights up to Patriots, because then it'll be known that Deshaun Watson has taken down Nick Saban and then taken down Bill Belichick, and I can only wait for how people will respond to that. One game I wanted people to keep an eye on is the Seattle Seahawks. They're going to Denver.
Starting point is 00:32:53 Denver's favored two and a half at home. Russell Wilson going up against Bradley Chub. I really like in Von Miller, of course. I want to see what that O-line looks like for the Seahawks, and I want to see what that defense looks like for the Broncos. So that's one game I'm going to keep an eye on as well. Me too, Tate Prezer. I don't know what to make of Seattle. I thought they were much better this summer. I'm not sure they're great on defense, but I like Seattle.
Starting point is 00:33:13 I think they're much better. I've seen this summer. Are they good enough on defense? I don't know. Do they have enough corners to cover? I don't know. That remains to be seen. Yeah, and we'll see if Russell Wilson is back in, you know,
Starting point is 00:33:27 top-tier form this year, and most people expect them to be. That's what's coming out of camp. So we'll keep an eye on that. Also, the Kansas City Chiefs and the L.A. Chargers, the team that Philip Rivers has had a tough time with the past couple of seasons. No Marcus Peters there anymore, so it'll be interesting to see if the Chargers will live up to the hype. They're favored by three and a half at home. We will keep an eye on all this stuff and we are very excited for the first week of the NFL season.
Starting point is 00:33:47 We are going to be talking about all things week one on Tuesday, of course, and we'll knock all this stuff out and get you all caught up on all the news and storylines and headlines and all the above in the NFL world. Lombardi, anything else before we get out of here? No, I'm looking forward to it, Tate. great weekend. Yes, sir. You too. Good luck with the TED Talk. Hey man, appreciate it. Thanks again to Sonos. Meet Sonos Beam. The smart compact soundbar for your TV. Beam lets you play everything you love from music and radio to movies, TV, podcasts, and more. All with that rich sound that fills the room. It's super simple to set up, but if you don't even want to bother, Sonos will send someone to do it for you. That's right. If you live in any major metropolitan area,
Starting point is 00:34:41 up and running, will have a Sonos expert deliver and set up your system. Absolutely. free. Just order from sonos.com and select up and running at checkout if you qualify. Again, that is sonos.com. Select up and running at checkout if you qualify. Thanks again for listening to GM Street. We'll see you on Tuesday.

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