The Ringer NFL Show - Quarterback Trade Rumors, the Steelers Are Super Bowl Contenders, and the Cardinals Are Legit | The Ringer NFL Show

Episode Date: October 27, 2020

Ryan and Cole break down the Los Angeles Rams’ comfortable defeat of the Chicago Bears on ‘Monday Night Football.’ (2:02) Then they speculate about quarterbacks potentially on the trade block who could help the Bears. After that, they cover the Pittsburgh Steelers’ and Arizona Cardinals’ big wins over the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks (8:30), the Tampa Buccaneers’ signing of Antonio Brown, Andy Dalton’s injury, and more (26:40). Hosts: Ryan Shazier and Cole Wright Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, welcome to The Ringer NFL show. Ryan and I, we're going to discuss the unbeaten Steelers, talk about the greatness of Kyler Murray, and breakdown what A-B's signing means for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. But first things first, let's get to that Monday night football matchup between the Rams and the Bears. Today's episode of the Ringer NFL show on the Ringer podcast network is brought to you by State Farm. Getting great car and home insurance from State Farm at a surprisingly great rate. Well, that's like drafting a player that becomes an all pro, the real deal.

State Farm agents provide personalized service so you can. can customize your insurance to fit your needs, like a GM putting together their very own roster. You need a team that supports you, and State Farm's got a great one. In addition to agents, the award-winning mobile app helps manage coverage, pay bills, file claims, and more. With a great price and even greater service, State Farm goes from strength to strength. Choose insurance that always brings its A-game. When you want the real deal, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Well, you've waited all week long, and the time has finally rolled around once again. And welcome to this Tuesday edition of the NFL show.

On The Ringer, he's Ryan Chaser. I'm Cole Wright. And Ryan, you know, what better way to start than with the team from my hometown? The Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, but they didn't represent my hometown very well, man. The Bears going out there looking inept on the offensive side of the football. You saw what happened against the Rams, 24 to 10. And, you know, as you looked late in the game in that one, Nick Foles,

no disrespect to Nick Foles, like we always said. say it around here, but it looked as if that game plan offensively, it looked as if it hadn't to come together in the fourth quarter. And some of those plays that were being called by Matt Nagy in the fourth quarter looked like they could have been plays that were called in the first frame, Ryan, and that's the biggest problem right now with the Chicago bear offense. Cole, I have a friend. He's a huge bearish fan. And he's been waiting so long for me to talk about the bears on this podcast. But not like this, though, not like this. I'm sure he wasn't waiting for this. The bears are who I thought they were, man. These dudes are not.

good, man. They're not good at football. I'm not going to say... The defense is on point. The Bears remind me of the Steelers last year, man, because last year, our defense kept us in every game, you know, giving everything we got.

We know if a team scored with 21 points, man, it's going to start getting fishy. You know, and that's... That reminds me of the Bears right now. You know, their defense understands we have to show up, and we don't show up, it's going to be tough. And Nick Foles and Miss Tribisky

remind me in the quarterback situation last year. Obviously, they have we have been and neither one of them are as good as Ben but like they have the young guy, they have, you know, Trubisky and Foles. Both of them to me are like,

are second string type quarterbacks. They're not guys that really lead the team to success. Placeholders, would you say? Yeah, they're definitely placeholders. You know, so their defense is just going to have to show up the rest of this season for them to be successful. And the offense can't turn the ball over and If a team doesn't score 21 points, so if they're around 17 points,

then the Bears are going to stay at every game. But once teams start racking up points like the Rams did early, it's going to be hard for them to come back. You know, it sounds crazy, but with all this trade talks swirling around, and the National Football League is really a league that you don't see those mid-season trades as much as other professional leagues. But, you know, they're swirling around down there in Atlanta. There's trade talks with the Miami Dolphins and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

and, you know, as crazy as it sounds, I mean, maybe would it be a possibility to see Matt Ryan or Ryan Fitzpatrick in a few weeks be the quarterback for the Chicago Bears? And maybe that would alleviate some of those offensive problems? Who would you rather have? Who would I rather have Matt Ryan or Fitsy? Yeah. I don't know, man. If I had to be a prisoner of the moment, I know Matt Ryan all around is a better quarterback. But I just feel like right now Ryan Fitzpatrick, he just, he's, he's the, he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a prisoner.

the flavor the month. And I know he's been in the league for, you know, 14, 15 seasons, but the way he's played with the Miami Dolphins and the way that he expressed that hurt when he was taken out of the lineup and, you know, supplanted for Tuatago Viloa, I just think that he would be the guy that was ready for that new start and ready to make that Bears engine tick. But I don't know. The Bears, they have more problems than just the quarterback. I mean, Nick Foles, the reason why he isn't looking as good as he needs to look is because that offensive line is not good at football, like you said, right? Like, that's crazy to me.

You say you'll take Ryan Fis Magic. You know, that's crazy to me. But, I know Matt Ryan's a better quarterback, but it's what have you done for me lately. And right now, from what I've seen from Ryan Fitzpatrick, he looks like the better, if you took the name off the back of their jersey and shaved the beard off Ryan Fitzpatrick

and you put both guys in there and didn't know who was who, I think I'd take Fitsy. Are you looking at Matt Ryan's stats? He has pretty good stats. He does. He does. I think it's more than defense when they're not winning because they're rocking up yards.

and points over there. You know, so if I was you, I'll take bad Ryan, but y'all going to take a huge salary if you get them. Patrick, what's crazy to me is everybody calls him old, but him and Aaron Rogers were in the same draft class and nobody calls Aaron Rogers old. You know, that's what's crazy to me. Nah, but to me, like, even I heard some stuff about even Cam

might get traded. To me, like, I feel the reason it's not a lot of trades mid-season in our league compared to other leagues. I feel like with soccer, with basketball, with baseball. It's almost like plug and play a little bit. When you play in court football, it's almost like you have to hold a new scheme

or like understand how things are red. So I feel like that's why you don't really see that many trades like that, especially at a quarterback position. But since those guys kind of won out, I wouldn't be surprised to see if, you know, y'all get Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan will make turn your whole season around

because y'all have weapons on offense. Matt Ryan would turn out of season. You said Cam potentially getting trained? I mean, I know Cam's right now in jeopardy of losing that starting gig, but could you see Cam Newton on the trading block and potentially, if so, going to Chicago? Hey, at the beginning of the season, you said you would have rather had Cam? I would have had Cam at the beginning of the season. I'd rather have Cam yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Would you rather have Cam or Matt Ryan?

I don't know, man. Why are you throwing me all these hard questions right off the top of the show, man? I mean, I wasn't prepared for all this. I'm supposed to be, you know, steering this ship here, and you're asking me all these hard-hitting questions when it comes to the Bears' offense. You know, if I had to go, if I had to look at the guy who's going to, you know, get my team in less offensive trouble, I feel like it would be Matt Ryan. But I feel like that dynamic playmaker in the right offense, it would be a guy like Cam Newton. But I don't feel like the Bears have that dynamic offense right about now. We saw it last night on Monday football.

I feel that right can come in there really turn some stuff around. Obviously, their team is ugly over there in Atlanta. But your defense would keep him in the game. And Ryan, I don't know if you're a big history guy, but I see you with that Pittsburgh Steelers hoodie. I mean, what's new? That seems to be part of your uniform eight days a week. But the last time, I mean, and rightfully so.

I mean, if I were in your shoes, I probably would wear nothing but Pittsburgh Steelers gear. Socks, draws, pants, hoodies, t-shirts, stocking caps, earmuffs, everything, the whole shebang. Oh, you know, hey, when you're on top, hey. Hey, we have room on the bandwagon. You can jump on board. Okay.

I'm going to see as that bandwagon tends to move down the road. But one thing, like I said, I don't know if you're a history guy, but 1978, Ryan, you weren't even born yet. But that's the year that I was born. And that's the last time the Steelers played themselves to a record like this. Seven and O, they ended up going 14 and two. They ended up winning the Super Bowl. So I think it goes without saying, is this the season once again where the Pittsburgh Steelers add another trophy in that already cluttered trophy case, man? Man, you know, the Patriots, you know, they, you know, they tied it up with us.

The 49ers been trying to get close. Dallas, we're not worried about them guys at all. At least not this season, no. At least not this season. And so I think we're on a staircase to seven, man. I really feel like this is our year. You know, our defense, they're really on fire right now, you know, and our offense is really just clicking. You know, we have a bunch of young pieces and then Ben is back.

Ben made some questionable throws, you know, in the last game, but I think it was kind of part of the point of the game when Ben was like, man, I'm feeling it, you know, and that's when he started like making some tight throws and some tight windows at the end of the game. You know, we're kind of up. You know, he knew the defense had his back. But I feel if our defense stayed solid, you know, and just allow, allow, play like they've been playing the last few weeks, man.

Let our offense jump out and make sure we control the game, man. And not allowed people to run the ball. Man, I think this season is going to be vicious. The only team I'm scared of, everybody knows. It's the dude that's all the head and shoulder commercials and all the other commercials, throwing hand sacks and he got the mohawk, you know, my homes, man.

Yeah. I'm scared of my homes, man. But other than that, I think we're solid, man. I think we solid. Ryan, I mean, the Steelers, the way they were able to go into the teeth of the Tennessee Titans on the road, get that win. It was their first road game since week one when they got that W over the New York Giants. And like you said, Ben Rothesberger, he made a few questionable throws. But that's when you know that the team is really rolling.

When you're star quarterback can throw three interceptions and you can still come out with a win against the undefeated team with a running back like Derek Henry. That's when you know you're doing some pretty special things and looking at Juju Smith-Schuster. this was a big game for him. And this is a game that he needed not only for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, but he needed this for his confidence. Nine receptions, 85 yards. Always good to see Juju back in the swing of things. See, like, this is why I really enjoy what's going on with our team

because everybody was like, man, it's the Chase Claypool Show. It's the Chase Claypool Show. It's the Chase Claypool Show. All right, double-cut Chase. All right, Juju, 13 targets, you know. But this is what people felt to realize, Deonté Johnson had two touchdowns in that game, too. You know, like, Deonté, he's a problem in the slot.

If you really don't focus on Ebron, he's a problem at tight end because you see how he, you're a bearish fan. He probably routed you guys up when he was in, when he was in, when he was in Detroit. Yeah, and Indy. And Indy, you know, so he's really a problem. You know, and then if you do one-on-one with Chase, Chase is going to hurt you.

And then James has been having a good season, you know. I think this is like the first, game in the last four or five games that he haven't had 100 yards, you know, so I think this offense is really balanced. And the thing with our defense is, but and TJ are both just killing right now. And then, you know, Vince Williams playing at like an all pro level at the inside linebacker position. You know, Robert Spillane stepped in.

Everybody was like, man, I don't know if Robert Spillane can do it. He steps in second and goal under one. Him versus Henry, smash him in the hole. You know, obviously here we score in the next few plays. But let's let you know, like, man, the still has kind of had the next man up mentality, but everybody understands, like, hey, we feed off each other, and we're having a fun out there, and you really see it when you're watching them. And I feel like everybody's comfortable out there.

Like, you know, Ben isn't stressing. You know, he's like, man, I'm going to give it to the open guy. I'm going to let the offense run. The defense, man, and they just feed off each other. Bud, get a sack. T.J. Dec. T.J. get a set.

Bud decided. Vince get a set. You know, it's like everybody is happy for each other. It's not nobody out there for themselves. And when you have a team

that's out there trying to get it like that that's out there just focus on each other trying to win for each other, man, that's when you start seeing championship type of teams. You know, like,

when you've seen the Chiefs last year, every time somebody makes a play, everybody's decided. Everybody's like, man, let's go. Like, you know, it doesn't matter who gets all the yards. And when you see that, when you see guys are just happy for each other,

playing for each other, those are the teams that win championships. Now the guys, now the teams that's like, man, I need this for me. This is my contract. Like,

it's juju contract year. Yeah. Obviously, in the back of his head, he's probably like, damn, Chase's getting all these balls. But when you get your opportunity,

you ball, and that's what he did this week. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, I think it's just a combination of like, everybody's like, man, let me do my part. Let me,

let me, let me, a pie because it's enough pie out there, you know. Yeah, you know, I like to take a lot of sayings from my pops, and one of my favorites is the biggest room in the house is the room for improvement. So when it comes to those Pittsburgh Steelers, I mean, is there any room for improvement for them or do they need to just keep on clicking along like they've been doing so far? No, I definitely feel there's always room for improvement.

You know, like this week, for example, they jumped out, they jumped out on Titans. and you can tell the defense, like, calm down a little bit, and then the Titans, you know, came right back. You know, they can't really just put off the trigger. You know, they have to stay on it the whole game. They can't allow teams to come back because a team like the Chiefs or a team like the Bucks, with their high-power offense,

they get scored 21, 30 points in the midst of two quarters or less, you know, so you can't really let off the throttle. And then we just have to make sure, Like, guys just got to stay healthy. Like, you know, a few guys are getting banged up a little bit. If we can just keep our team healthy, I think we're going to be solid. But I think it's going to be a force to be wrecking with for the rest of the season. And, you know, they got the Ravens this week, you know,

and they have a list of five-point underdog. Hey, I ain't been betting all season, but, hey, I might this week. I got a few chips. I might lay down a few chips this week. Okay. What's Ravens Week like inside the Steelers facility? Because we know when it comes to the AFC North that these two, they're like oil and water, Ryan.

They plain and simple. They just don't mix. Yeah, man, it's just, you know, coach really let you know what it's about. Like, coach to show all the films or everybody else, and then he pulls up when we play the Ravens and pretty much it's like, man, this game is totally different than any other game.

You know, we are out here, we went to championships. Like, we went championships. We have to go through each other. Every time, either one of us won a championship, especially in the last few years, we have to go through each other. It doesn't, like, we might,

we might go even in the regular season, in the playoffs, we might run into each other, you know? And he just let you know that from the Jump Street. And then he just let you know that you're going into the Lions Dan because we're going to the Ravens. Obviously, it's not going to be a lot of fans there, but there's going to be fans outside the stadium probably, you know, booing.

And I remember I wasn't on the bus. Like, people were throwing stuff at a bus giving me the finger. I'm like, damn, they couldn't even see me. You know, like. You don't even know me like that. man. But at the day, people, people just try to get in your head. And the Ravens, they're going to have a chip on their shoulder because we are the only

undefeated team in the NFL. So they're like, yo, they're going to be like, yo, because if they beat us, now they're the head of our division. So now we're leading our division. And it's a team in our division, you know, that we have to go against that. They feel like they're their top dogs in the league, too. You know, so, like, it's always a defensive battle, and both of them are going to try to smash the ball down each other's throat. Because the Ravens, they got Lamar, Hollywood Brown, but they're running fit.

They're running the ball. And that's what people feel to realize. So if the Steelers jump on them like they did with the Titans, I think it's a done deal. I think we got this one in the back. Hey, I've got to tell you about my new favorite bet concept this season. You know, I've been playing same game parlays on Fandul's sports. book. They're pretty simple. All you have to do is combine multiple bets from one game into a single parlay. This way, the payouts are even bigger when you win. And Fanduel, they'll refund

the first time same game parlay you lose on any NFL or World Series game each week up to $10. And that means you can bet a different parlay risk free. This week, I think I'm going to go with the Oakland Raiders to upend the Cleveland Browns. I'm going to go with the Raiders to win. And I'm to take the under on this one. It's 53 and a half and I see Las Vegas. They're going to win this one outright 24 to 17. And make a note because with your first NFL or World Series SGP of the week, you'll get 10 bucks back if we don't win. Now there is one catch. Fanduel is the only sportsbook app that has the same game parlays. So if you don't already have a Fanduil account, just use promo code Ringer NFL. That's Fandul Sportsbook promo code Ringer NFL. You must be 21 or

older and present in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, or Iowa. Refund issued as a non-withdrawable site credit that expires in seven days. Max refund, $10. Terms apply. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-5-2-4700 in Colorado, 1-800 bets off in Iowa, 1-800-9 with it in Indiana, and 1-800 gambler in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Illinois. Or you can visit www.w.w.w.1-800 gambler.net in West Virginia.

Okay. Well, you talked about a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the season. And you said that the Steelers are a team that you can never turn your back on because they're always in a ball game. But I think we saw that not to go too far back in time, but on Sunday night football. And the usual suspect that would come back and lift his team to victory when the chips were down late in the fourth quarter in overtime. That would be Russell Wilson. However, we're seeing, I don't necessarily want to say a change in the guard. But Kyler Murray, I think he's putting everybody on notice, not just saying, hey, I'm one. of the league's elite at this play caller position, but I'm also an MVP candidate this year. And the way that the Arizona Cardinals are playing right now, Ryan, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of this season as well. That NFC West, that's a briar patch. What did I say at the beginning of the season, Cole?

I think you were singing Kyler Murray's praises. I said, Kyle for MVP, man. You know, at any of that, Kyle, he's still learning. He's still a young guy. He still missed some throws. Like, he threw a bad pick when he missed Andy Isabella through the digs in the middle of the field. But, you know, he's a young guy.

He's going to make mistakes. But it really showed you that he's a force to be reckoned with. He brought his team back. They were down the whole game. Bring him into overtime. Get his team down to scoring position. They missed the field goal. Get the ball back and bring his team down again at scoring position.

He's like, man, I'm a force to be working with. This team is solid. And a lot of people before the season, they weren't on, you know, the Cliff Kingsbury bandwagon because I know I wasn't. I wasn't either, yeah. But he's really showing like, hey, me and Coach Kingsbury, we're figuring things out.

And we're going to be a force to be working with. Like, they really beat Seattle and brought them back down to the pack. So if they go on the street and Seattle are going to street and they go and play each other again, Seattle one loss, they have two losses and they play Seattle again. Boom, now they leading the division, you know? So, you know, I think Arizona is a problem, man. Conlin's at the helm, man. They have pieces around them.

Their defense definitely needs to get better. Like, they stepped up a big time. They started a big time this week. Vance Joseph is doing a good job over there of, like, trying to get them better. And then I'm actually excited about how Isaiah Simmons did. But I think Kyle Murray might be the future of the league, man. Now, Michelle Tafoya, after the game was over, she asked Kyler Murray where his confidence level was at as the game ran its core.

And he said with all the confidence in the world, Ryan, that, you know, I never had a doubt that we were going to win this game. And that's what you'd like to see, not out of just out of a young quarterback, but out of any quarterback. And this guy right here, he's showing experience and that moxie well beyond his years. He had a doubt when Gonzales missed that field going overtime. Yeah, I think all of us doubted just for a split second right now. He had a doubt for a split second. But no, for sure, man, that's what you won out your quarterback. that. Like, think about it. Do you think Nick Foz had a doubt yesterday when they were down

three to 24? Why you got to go back to it? I thought we already moved past this off the top of the show. We moved on. We talked about your Steelers, the only undefeated team in the league. And you got to go back and kick me when I'm down again. No, it's not even I'm trying to kick you when you down. But I'm just saying, like, Nick Foote probably during that game was like, damn, they jumped out on us. I don't know if we can come back. Yeah. Like, Kyle Murray don't care. He's like, man, we're coming back. And then I like his coach's mentality. It was like fourth and two.

They went for it. They didn't get it. Obviously, I think all the play calls they did on that fourth and two were terrible. And the play after Buda Baker got down, the series after Buda Baker got ran down by D.K. But to me, I just feel like their coach is like, man, I trust my guys. And if Collar, if he feels that way, then they have a coach that feels that way. And then he has a great receiving corps.

Like, his receiving core is nasty. And his running backs are good, too. So I feel like Kyla has the pieces around him to be successful, and I'm really excited about his future. Do you feel that Cliff Kingsbury is going to be that guy to lead Kyla Murray into the future? Like we talked about, you know, you said you weren't on that Cliff Kingsbury bandwagon to start the season. Either was I. We sometimes see that when there's that dynamic young quarterback,

and the fit just doesn't necessarily seem to be perfect in that situation. And what we've seen right now, at least in year one, wasn't the perfect fit with Cliff and Kyla Murray. But year two, I mean, these guys, you see that the, I don't know if you want to call it, their ability to gel, the team cohesion, everything around these two right now, they're certainly putting a winning product down there on the football field.

Yeah, I definitely feel like, I'm going to be honest. I feel like Cliff could probably lead Tyler to an MVP, but I don't think he can lead him to a championship. I don't think he can lead him to a championship. I feel like, like, Kyle is definitely a great player. He has all the weapons. So I feel like that helps him be an MVP candidate. And then Cliff Cairnsbury, he's a good quarterbacks coach.

Like, he's going to have quarterbacks playing well. But I just don't think that system is good enough to win a championship. You know, so I don't think Cliff is that guy. I'm glad that they're jelling because they're looking way better this year than last year. And he won, what, officer player the year last year? Right? Offensive rookie the year. Yeah, officer rookie the year last year.

So I'm excited about the future, but when it comes to winning championships, I just don't see, I don't see Cliff Kingsbury being a coach to hold a Lombardi. I'm sorry. Okay. How much tougher does it make it the fact that Kyler Murray does play in the NFC West? And then there's Russell Wilson, there's Jimmy Garapolo, there's Jared Gough. And when you talk about the talent in this division, I mean, if you look around, I mean, I know the AFC North is pretty stout, you know, when you have the Steelers and the Ravens,

but that NFC West from top to bottom, it might be the best in all of football. No, I totally agree. I talked to somebody during the season, I was like, this might be the first time ever four teams from one conference is going to go into the playoffs. Because the NFC East is,

we don't get... Garbage City. Yeah, we don't even need to talk about that over there. Yeah. But I feel this might be the first time ever you have four teams go into the playoffs. Because I remember, like, a while ago where Arizona was super good.

and six and they even make the playoffs. And I was like, damn, but you know how tight it was. But this season, I think it's a possibility that if they all keep playing this level, it's a potential that all four of them can make it into the playoffs. I'm not a big Jimmy fan. So I think the 49ers will get out early. Obviously, they're hurt. I'm not a big golf fan, but they're winning football games because their defense is stepping up.

I feel the best two teams are Arizona and Seattle. I really do. So I think in the playoffs, it's going to get, it's going to, it's going to, it's going to, it's We're going to get fishy. We're just going to see if college could step up when it's that big time moment, especially being in other cities. And you just never know with COVID. By the time, by the time the playoffs come, man, we might have some full stadium, especially how things are going in the community. So that's true. And, you know, when you take a look at that NFC West, you know, they remind me of the NFC South from a few years ago when it was the Saints, it was the Falcons. And it was the Carolina

Panthers all making the postseason. You know, that makes me think because the one team that didn't make the postseason that year. It was Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but this Buc squad, a whole different team. And now things are even more, more different because we know that there's Antonio Brown on the squad. And, you know, Bruce Ariens, he came out and said that, you know, all these guys, what do they want to do? They want to win games. Tom wants to win games. Grunk wants to win games. And if Antonio Brown's not on the same page, then there's going to be a problem down there in Tampa. And you know A, B, better than anybody that I know. So what do you think? Do you think AB does he fit in with Tom? because clearly Tom Brady and Antonio Brown,

they have something going on. My dad said this. The Bucks got them an insurance policy. That's what they got with Antonio Brown. He has a high premium, you know, so. Hey, high risk, how reward. I got a $100,000 deductible for a fender bender? I can't believe this.

Yeah. You know, he just, he's going to have to stick to the game plan. Bruce Arias came out strong and said, And if you ain't about winning, don't come here. You know, and so basically Antonio, he got the message before he even got in the door. You know, so we going to see, you know, it's crazy. Tees really out here trying to go to state it, man. They really are here trying to build a best squad ever.

You know, at the end of the day, man, like you said, I said Tampa Bay, and it still isn't in the championship. And then how crazy would it be Antonio Brown versus in the bucks versus the Steelers in the championship. That would be crazy. But at a day, I just, I just hope Antonio can just, you know, humbling itself and really, like, focus on winning, stick to the game plan.

Because once he started, once he started trying to take over, I don't feel like Mike Evans is the receiver that you're going to look boy and be like, hey, yo, this is my room. No, not to Mike. I think Mike Evans is too much of a ball player and too much of a dude to let somebody else come in there and be like,

a, this mind now. Like, I feel my evidence is the big dog over there. All right. Well, how about we take a look at the NFC East? Because you said that that's, that's a division that's, you know, they're not making any noise. And you're going to have to win the division over there to get into the postseason. And, you know, the Dallas Cowboys, they had an unfortunate chain of events.

We saw their backup, Andy Dalton, who was filling in for Dak Prescott as the starter. You know, he went down, took a big hit. And, you know, you and I talked about it offline. The fact that the guys did not come. come to his assistance. They didn't seem to stick up for him. And we saw on Twitter, John Machata said Mike McCarthy, while addressing a question about the Cowboys players, not going after John Bostic, after his hit on Andy Dalton, said he thinks their responses, quote, kind of a microcosm of where we are as a team. I mean, the Dallas Cowboys,

I mean, it seems that they get punched in the mouth every single week. And now their quarterback goes down, a questionable hit. This team right now, they're not showing like they're the Dallas Cowboys and they want to go out there and win football games, Ryan. Man, that shows you where they are as a team. I have an example. Last year, you know, the Steelers, we weren't that good. You know, we were solid. We were 8 and 8.

Last year, you know, Mason got into it with Miles Garrett. You know, who was there? Our office allowed to pound seat, people ran off the bench. Yeah. And we were about to have a whole bra in the field. Man, obviously this isn't that. But, man, this is your teammate. This guy's practicing with you.

He goes through camp with you. He's trying to lead you. guys to the playoffs. You know, if anybody does that to anybody on your team, you should back them up, you should have their back. In Dallas, they literally left Andy Dalton out there to dry. Nobody went out there to defend

them. Nobody went out there to protect them. You know, they might ask me, hey, how are you doing, bro? Like, but come on, man, I need you to have my back. Like, this dude hit me with a dirty hit, and it seemed like none of them had any fight. It was like, man, man, whatever, man. Like, that's Andy.

Like, he got hit. Like, I don't really know him. that. Even if I don't know you like that, man, like, you're my teammate. I have to really fight for you and let you know, like, no matter what's going on, I got your back. We might even be the best of friends, but I want to let people to know, like, like, this team has fight. I got your back. We're going to get it done. And that shows you who the Cowboys are right now. They don't have any fight. You know, they're calling out their teammates. They're calling out their coaches. You know, they're not fighting for each other. Man, they're not going to win if they keep playing like this, man. Yeah, I wonder how things are right

now in the New England Patriots locker room because they don't look like they have a lot of fight and, you know, cats are throwing stones at Cam Newton and his attire. And I'm talking about Jeff Garcia in particular because Jeff, he had something to get off his chest, right? Take a listen to this one, man. Go into this game, two touchdowns, four interceptions. You throw, what, three more interceptions. You get yanked in the second half. There's nothing good going your way. Why are you dressing like that to bring more attention to yourself? I'd be trying to ask the equipment managers, put me in your jock sock cart, and sneak me in the back door, and I'll

show up on the field and do the best that I can. Wow. Tell him why you mad, son? Yo, tell him why you bad? Why is Jeff Garcia so salty at Cam Newton? You know, I think I have somewhat of an idea because Cam Newton goes out there, and we do see his outfits. They seem to take center stage each and every single week, and this isn't the first time.

And this is, I like Cam Newton. I just don't necessarily like his outfits. I feel like they're doing a little too much. Like I said, if he was, we spoke about this before. And I think Jeff Garcia, he came across as a little angry as the old man in the barbershop. He wasn't trying to see Cam Newton and all his style choices. However, I've heard it before from Hall of Famers, you have to have an outfit for when you win and an outfit for when you lose. And when you're not winning and you're walking into games and everyone say, well, look what Cam's wearing.

and the focus is taken away from what's being done on the football field, and that may be somewhat of a problem. And Jeff Garcia, he clearly thinks there is a problem going on. You know, at any day, what you wear really don't calculate to how you're going to play. But Cam definitely, like, he is out there, so people are always going to talk about what he wears. You know, and people are always have too sick

and try to make excuses for when you win or lose. But Cam doesn't have a good team around him either. Like, his team is not that good. And, you know, Cam's trying his best out there, but Cam's not playing good either. So I don't, oh, man. I don't know how to address this one, man. Cam, Cam, I don't really like his office that much either.

Like, you know, some of his stuff is this, like you said, it's only reason one person wearing it. Yeah. Because it don't look. If Cam's outfits were that fly, then guess what? Everyone will be lining up. They'd be trying to catch out with the Cam Newton line, just like Michael Strayhan's line at J.C. Penny's.

but unfortunately that's not what we see. We don't see all these big box anchor stores trying to get the new Cam Newton barbed wire hat because that's just not popping. Nobody wants to wear a barbed wire hat, Ryan. I mean, when you run the risk of cutting off your finger and losing blood by just adjusting your hat, come on now, man. That's probably why he's doing picks, man.

You know, his hands hurt from taking his hat off. All right, good stuff, Ryan. I'm going to wear a barbed wire hat next week. But until then, that's a wrap on the week seven, Tuesday edition of the Ringer NFL show. with my guy Ryan Shazir. I'm Cole Wright. And as always, we're part of the Ringer podcast networking.

You can follow us on Spotify or wherever you download your podcast. Also follow at Ringer NFL on Twitter. We have new episodes from us every single Tuesday. And coming up next on the Wednesday edition of the Ringer NFL show, Warren Sharp and Chris Vernon, they're going to hit you with some week eight analytics and betting insights. As always, they're hoping to put a few extra dollar dollar bills in your pocket. We'll see you next week.