Make a bag alert. Make a bag alert. Make a bag
alert. Make a bag alert. Make a bag alert, folks.
That's right. We got a loaded episode. And yes,
we're talking about college football. Balance
has been restored, my fellow football junkies.
That's right. We got college football in the
NFL tomorrow. Yes. Yes. Finally, the best time
of the year is finally here, folks. No more speculations,
no more simulations, no more stats from the past
two or three years. Everything has been resetted
and prepared for the new season, okay? So, Deron
Bland, Jalen Warren, Luke Godecki. Hunter Lupke
and Davis Mills all get paid. Texas and Ohio
State recap. We got to talk about that because
I see a lot of people, they're freaking out.
They're burning their Manning jerseys and everything,
all right? LSU versus Clemson recap. Has Alabama
lost their edge? Cowboys versus Eagles preview
and Chargers versus Chiefs preview, okay? All
of this and more on the 91st episode of the Football
Junkies podcast, all right? I am your host with
the most. I am your chief, Bagro Damas. That's
right, chief. head of the table, anything and
everything related to the bag, rumors to the
bag, and more, okay? I am your GM who currently
is not on a team right now, but don't you worry
about it, all right? Don't you worry about it
because guess what? I am all these things and
more, but most importantly, the most important
thing that you must remember is I am your host,
Kale, and you are listening to one of the best
football podcasts that you can listen to on a
week -to -week, day -to -day basis. So guess
what? On three, one, two, three, let's lock in.
All right, folks, let's get into the meat and
potatoes of everything that is going on in the
league right now. So this is going to be a fairly
short episode. And that's mainly because I want
to do another episode previewing all the week
one matchups for Sunday. So any person is thinking
this is going to be long and drawn out. No, I
got a whole bunch of episodes that are an hour
and two hour plus that you can listen to. OK,
so let's get into these back alerts. All right.
So Deron Bland corner for the Cowboys. It's a
four -year $90 million deal, $36 .3 million guaranteed
at signing, $49 .3 million in total guarantees.
He gets a $22 million signing bonus and will
be making $22 .5 million a year. When we look
at his stats from this past season, 41 tackles
and he was targeted 46 times and allowed 31 receptions
for 334 yards and four touchdowns. While I understand
Deron Bland is a productive corner, He is not
a true number one corner. He is not a true lockdown
corner, to be specific. When you compare him
to a PS2, a Derek Stingley, a Jalen Ramsey, for
instance, all of those are true lockdown corners.
Deron Bland is more of a risk -taking corner.
He's going to give up a lot of yards, but he's
also going to get a lot of picks. And the stats
back that up. When we look at his stats from
2023, to be specific. He allowed 672 yards, but
had nine picks, but he gave up six touchdowns.
Now, when you compare him, for instance, to PS2,
for instance, right? PS2 was targeted 56 times,
allowed 35 receptions for 306 yards, two touchdowns,
and had four picks this past season. When you
look at his stats from 2023, he allowed 790 yards,
four touchdowns, and had one pick. When you look
at 2022, He allowed 427 yards, three touchdowns,
but had two picks. Now, when you compare him,
for instance, to Jalen Ramsey, for instance,
Jalen Ramsey gave up 513 yards this past season,
three touchdowns, but had two picks. The year
before that, he allowed 269 yards and allowed
two touchdowns, but had three picks. Let's keep
this thing going. We look at, for instance, Derek
Stanley. He allowed 444 yards. five touchdowns,
and had five picks. The year before that, he
allowed 320 yards and allowed two touchdowns,
but had five picks. You see what I'm getting
here? A lot of the higher paid corners are true
lockdown corners. Now, are they going to give
up some yards? Yes. They're going to get beat
a few times. That happens. Everybody loses at
least once. But to pay Deron Bland like he's
a true number one lockdown corner, that you can
just put him on an island, No safety over top
help. That's a little bit of a reach to me personally.
But at the same time, the 22 and a half could
probably be inflated because there's probably
a lot of incentives that are probably added into
the contract that make the number as big as it
is. And that's perfectly fine. But I just wouldn't
pay Deron Bland 22 and a half. I think at best,
you could probably pay him between, I would say
maybe 18 to maybe 20 million a year. I feel like
20 is my limit. I'm not going over 20 for Deron
Blaine. But let's keep this thing going. So Jalen
Warren, running back for the Steelers, inks a
two -year $17 .2 million deal. He gets a $5 .9
million signing bonus, $12 million guaranteed,
and he'll be making $8 .6 million a year. When
we look at his stats from this past season, 120
attempts for 511 rushing yards, 4 .3 rushing
yards per carry, one rushing touchdown, and 14
rushes of 10 -plus yards or more. Now, early
into the offseason, I know Jalen Warren was tendered.
So in my mind, I'm thinking, okay, maybe this
is a placeholder and then they'll get a deal
done fairly quickly. Well, then that didn't happen.
And so the offseason went the way that it went.
And so in my mind, I'm thinking, okay, they're
just going to tender him this year and then just
let him be a free agent next year since they
drafted Caleb Johnson in this past draft. But
for them to give him this type of extension,
that lets me know that one, they still value
him on this team. and they realize that he plays
a very pivotal role in the run game becoming
more consistent and better. Let's be real here,
folks. There were periods in time last season
where Jalen Warren was more productive than Najee
Harris. Now, a lot of that had to do with scheme
fit, and a lot of that had to do with the style
of play. Najee Harris is a downhill type of runner
compared to Jalen Warren, who he's sort of a
do -it -all type of running back, and it showed.
Now that this is out of the way, will the Steelers
find a way to resolve Cam Hayward and Chris Boswell's
situation? Because Cam Hayward continues to say
that he's willing to miss games and Chris Boswell
hasn't said anything. So will something be done
within the next 24 to 48 hours? Because pretty
soon they're going to have to get on a plane
and they're going to have to go to New York.
So Steelers, either resolve this or just put
this on the back burner. Because we all know
when the regular season starts, what do the Steelers
don't do? They don't negotiate during the regular
season. So hopefully something gets resolved
there. But let's keep this thing going. So Luke
Gadecki, right tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Inks a four -year $90 million deal, $50 million
guaranteed. He'll be making $22 .5 million a
year. When we look at his stats from this past
season, according to PFF, he allowed three sacks
and 17 total pressures. A really good productive
right tackle for a market that, I mean, if we're
being real here, has definitely blown up in this
offseason alone. Like, really think about this
for a second here, folks. Both left tackle and
right tackle markets have blown up in one offseason.
That is very rare. But it continues to show why
teams value their right tackles, especially productive
right tackles. Because it's one thing if you
have a right tackle that's just inconsistent,
you can't rely on. He's a weak spot on the offensive
line and defenses realize it. But it's another
thing when you have a really good productive
right tackle that's consistent. He doesn't give
up a whole lot of penalties. He holds his own
against a lot of the top tier pass rushers. That
is what you want. But a trend that not a lot
of people are talking about that's really starting
to get my attention is. teams are starting to
value both left tackle and right tackle. And
let me explain why. We saw the Jets go back -to
-back drafts in drafting tackles. They drafted
Alufa Shanu in 24, and then this year they drafted
Armu Membu. And then with the Buccaneers, they
drafted Tristan Wurst a couple years ago, and
then they also drafted Luka Deki. We're starting
to see a trend where teams are going to say,
hey, we value tackles very high. So most likely
we're going to have to draft them as a pair,
which is fairly unique, but it makes a lot of
sense. Because again, like I've said before in
previous episodes, college football is producing
at least three to seven elite pass rushers every
single year. How many offensive linemen, really
good, consistent, elite offensive linemen is
college producing every single year? Not a lot.
there's not a lot of Tristan Wurst and Trent
Williams and Lane Johnsons and Ronnie Stanleys
of the world that are coming out every single
year. There may be some prospects, you know,
they may have the upside of some of those players,
but when they come into the league, are they
on that same level? Probably not. So that's why
you see a lot of teams are just saying, hey,
I'd rather pay you and figure out how I'm going
to be able to afford you for the next three to
five years. than to take a risk and try to get
somebody either in the draft or overpay for somebody
in free agency. And even then, like I said before,
the offensive linemen that are available in a
free agency, they're probably not that good.
For Dan Moore to get the money that he got, that's
a little bit of an outlier. And even then, we
all know that Dan Moore isn't that consistent,
but he is a productive, slightly above average
left tackle. And some teams will be willing to
throw money to that. Not every team, though.
But let's keep going. So Davis Mills inks a one
-year $7 million deal. He'll be making $7 million
a year. We will look at his stats from this past
season. 36 attempts for 20 completions, 212 passing
yards, 5 .9 yards per attempt, and a 55 .6 completion
percentage. Folks, this is just routine business
here. Just making sure that C .J. Stroud has
a quality backup quarterback. Now, prior to C
.J. Stroud getting drafted... Davis Mills was
doing his thing. I'm not going to lie. If you
look at the stats and if you look at the play,
Davis Mills was cutting it up a little bit. Now,
am I saying he's on the same level as C .J. Stroud?
No. But just knowing that you have a good quality
backup quarterback, it is a blessing in disguise
because how many backup quarterbacks in the league
right now can you say are really productive and
they can at least get you maybe two to three
wins and buy you some time for your quarterback
to get healthy? Not a lot. But with that being
said, we have to talk about the most important
bag alert, okay, the biggest bag alert of all
bag alerts, and it goes to a fullback. That's
right, Hunter Lukey, fullback for the Cowboys.
It's a two -year, $7 .5 million deal, $5 million
guaranteed to make you $3 .7 million a year.
Now, when we look at his stats from this past
season, 12 attempts for 38 rushing yards, 3 .2
yards per carry, and one rush of 10 -plus yards
or more. Now, his receiving stats, however, are
a little bit more productive. 16 targets for
12 receptions, 111 receiving yards, and 9 .3
yards per reception. Folks, you're talking about
a fullback that is underrated but very productive.
Now, I'll be honest. I didn't know the Cowboys
had a fullback. I was always under the impression
that it was always the 49ers, the Ravens, and
I think the Vikings were the only teams that
had fullbacks. But... This is a surprise to me.
But I will say this, though. With Brian Schoenheimer
being the head coach, is there a chance that
Hunter Lukey's role could be expanded just a
little bit? Now, I'm not saying that they're
going to use Hunter Lukey like how the 49ers
used Kyle Huszczak or how the Ravens used Patrick
Hart. But I do think if they use him in an expanded
role, I think it'll stretch the offense a little
bit more. while at the same time keeping defenses
on their toes and providing another reliable
option for Dak Prescott, just in case CeeDee
Lamb and George Pickens isn't available. But
let's talk about college football. So Texas and
Ohio State happened this past weekend, and I'll
be honest, the game was overhyped. All I kept
on seeing leading up to that game was, oh, this
is going to be the game of the year for college
football. This is going to be one of the games
that we're all going to be talking about the
next 10 to 15 years from now. Oh, this is going
to be a memorable game. Not really. It was actually
very forgettable, to be honest. But let's just
get into it. So Archie Manning, 30 attempts for
17 completions, 170 passing yards, an average
5 .7 yards, one touchdown, one pick. Contravian
Wesner, 16 carries for 80 rushing yards and averaged
5 yards per carry. Parker Livingstone, 2 receptions
for 47 receiving yards and averaged 23 .5 receiving
yards per reception, 1 touchdown. Julian Sane,
20 attempts for 13 completions, 126 passing yards.
He averaged 6 .3 yards and had 1 touchdown. CJ
Donaldson, 19 carries for 67 rushing yards. He
averaged 3 .5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown. Carnell
Tate, two receptions for 49 receiving yards.
He averaged 24 .5 receiving yards per carry and
one touchdown. Now here are some of the notes
that I took down while I was watching the game.
So in the first quarter, both teams, offense
and defensive line, they were just doing their
thing. I see a lot of potential with both of
their lines. And I know coming into this game,
both of them were touted as having some of the
better offensive. and defensive lines. Now, early
into the game, Jeremiah Smith really wasn't doing
his thing. He was dropping a lot of passes. I
know there was one time he could have easily
had a touchdown, but Julian Sane wasn't looking
at him, and so he was a little bit irritated
about that, but Texas was doing their thing against
Jeremiah Smith. Malik Muhammad, keep your eye
on him. That's all I'm going to say. Early into
the first quarter, Archie was, you know, trying
to get a feel for the pace of the game, you know,
trying to get his feet wet. Just try to become
comfortable because, again, this is going to
be his first full season as the starting quarterback
for Texas. And both teams were feeling each other
out at first in the first quarter, which is perfectly
fine. But as the game continued on, Ohio State
picked up that, listen, Archie isn't comfortable,
so we're just going to attack. Every single chance
we get and prevent them from scoring. And that's
essentially what they did. Matt Patricia put
on a master class when it comes to calling defense.
He made that Ohio State defense become relentless
against Archie. They never gave him a chance
to become comfortable within the game. They never
gave Texas a chance to find a little bit of rhythm
within the game. They made sure that they shut
them down the entire way. Now, going into the
second quarter, Texas secondary was definitely
focusing on Jeremiah Smith, and rightfully so,
because, I mean, he's titled as the number one
receiver in all of college football. Now, the
run game for Ohio State, I definitely believe
it has a lot of potential. I do believe that
maybe given about three to four weeks, we're
going to be talking about them a whole lot, but
only time will tell. But there was a point in
time where, you know, Archie was showing a lot
of his mobility. He was definitely, I would say,
mobile enough to where a team could say, hey,
we can roll with that. Now, the only thing I
will say about Archie, you gotta be careful when
you run out of bounds because every time he was
running out of bounds, Ohio State made him pay
for it. Now, granted, he's a big enough quarterback
where he can absorb those hits and he'd sprout
up every single time, but that's just something
you have to be cautious about. But moving forward,
Matt Patricia, just continued on with just creating
relentless pressure against Archie. And Archie
couldn't do anything. Now, before I go any further,
let me just say this. For any person that says,
Archie isn't going to be a good quarterback,
just get rid of Archie. There's no need of keeping
him with Texas. Relax, okay? I need you to take
a deep breath with me. I need you to R -E -L
-A -X. Relax. This is literally his first season.
I saw a whole bunch of people on social media
trashing Archie Manning in this offense. When
in actuality, this is the first time that Archie
has had a legitimate chance to play. So it's
not going to look pretty at first. He's going
to have some bumps and bruises. He's going to
have some really good games. He's going to have
some really bad games. But guess what? As long
as he shows something against the big games,
who's really caring? No one. That's what happens
when you're going up against Ohio State in Ohio
who just finished winning the national championship.
Did you not think this wasn't going to be hostile
territory? Did you not think that Texas was just
going to walk in and just beat Ohio State? No.
Ohio State had everything in their favor. This
was Lee Corso's last time doing the college football
game day. There was a whole bunch of storylines
leading up to this game. So Ohio State had the
momentum the entire way. Texas never had a chance.
And it showed. Matt Patricia showed why a lot
of colleges will probably start getting veteran
defensive coordinators from the NFL and making
them the defensive coordinators in college football
because In college football, there's a little
bit more creativity because a lot of those quarterbacks
don't know certain coverages. They don't know
certain disguises. They don't know what to look
for in this coverage and that coverage. Whereas
a veteran quarterback in the National Football
League, oh, they can pick it apart like it's
nothing. And that's exactly what happened. But
let's continue. So going into the third and fourth
quarter, Texas was starting to switch their tempo
and they were doing more short and quick passes.
QB runs, motions. They were just trying to just
develop some level of rhythm against this Ohio
State defense. That defensive line for Ohio State,
those pass rushers, you're looking at potential
first, second, and maybe third round prospects
on that line alone. I'm not even talking about
Caleb Downs. I'm not talking about the corners.
I'm not talking about the linebackers. I'm just
talking about that line. Because they were relentless
in going after Archie. And rightfully so. But
towards the end of the game, around 327, maybe
around 328 is when Texas finally scored. And
now everyone's thinking, oh, okay, Texas has
a chance. What's the defense going to do? Can
the defense make a big play to give it to Archie
so that he can make a bigger play and ultimately
either tie the game up or just win the game?
No. That's not what happened. And the rest is
history. But I will say this. I'm not a quarterback
guru. I've never developed a quarterback. But
you can tell that Archie's mechanics is just
off. His footwork isn't the best. His throwing
mechanics is inconsistent. Just the foundational
things is just off with Archie. And that's fine.
Because he's in the best situation that any quarterback
could possibly be in. Because your head coach.
is one of the better offensive minds in all of
college football. So best believe, by the time
that Archie is ready to declare for the draft,
he will be a much more refined prospect than
what he is right now. But it's going to take
some time. As I've said before a couple minutes
ago, there's going to be highs and lows this
season for Archie. The highs are going to be
great and the lows are going to be terrible.
But this is the process that he needs to go through
in order to be a better prospect in two years.
Now, when we look at things from a broader perspective
for just Texas as a whole, the defense is definitely
going to be the strong suit for this team. The
offense, I don't really trust as much. Granted,
I understand it's just the first week of college
football, so a lot can happen from now until
the end of college football. But I just need
Sark to step up to the big games. I know that
he can do it. I know from an X's and O's standpoint,
he can go toe -to -toe with some of the best
in college football. But bro, you got to do better.
That run game, if all else fails, needs to be
your fail safe. It needs to be the red button
that you got to break the glass and smash. Because
man, the run game wasn't doing anything this
game. The passing game wasn't doing anything.
Nothing was happening with this offense. And
I understand everyone was saying, well, Texas
is the number one team in all of college football.
No, no, not even close. For any person that believes
any of those rankings, don't believe those rankings
because you just saw the number one team in all
of college football get crushed by Ohio State.
But let's keep this thing going. All right. So
LSU versus Clemson. Gary Nussmeyer, 38 attempts
for 28 completions, 232 passing yards. averaged
6 .1 yards and had one touchdown. Caden Durham,
17 carries for rushing yards. He averaged 4 .4
yards per carry and had one touchdown. Arian
Anderson, six receptions for 99 receiving yards
and averaged 16 .5 receiving yards per reception.
Cade Klubnick, 38 attempts for 19 completions,
230 passing yards, averaged 6 .1 yards and had
one pick. Adam Randall, five carries for 16 rushing
yards. averaged 3 .2 yards per carry and had
one touchdown. Brian Wesco, four receptions for
66 receiving yards and averaged 16 .5 receiving
yards per reception. So a couple things. Clemson's
defensive line is going to be talking about a
whole lot more than Kay Klubnick. That defensive
line, I can make a strong case, has probably
three to five first rounders on that line alone.
I'm not even talking about A .J. Terrell's brother.
That's on Clemson. I'm not talking about any
other position. Just that defensive line. Peter
Woods, TJ Parker, just to name a few. They are
going to be top 10, top 15 picks. I guarantee
it. But between Garrett Nussmeyer and Kay Klupnick,
I feel like Nussmeyer showed a lot more than
what Kay Klupnick. I feel like personally, Garrett
Nussmeyer. was in control the entire game. He
didn't flinch not once. And I think that's something
that a lot of teams are gonna be more interested
moving forward into the college football season.
Now, am I saying K Club Nick is now gonna be
a second rounder because he had one bad game?
No, I still believe he's gonna be a first rounder.
It's just one bad game. It's not the end of the
world, folks. Plus, you're going up against a
really good LSU team. I mean, Harold Perkins
was doing his thing. The pass rushers on LSU's
team, I forgot their names at the moment, but
they were doing their thing. Everybody was making
plays on LSU. This was a really good back and
forth game. And so, am I saying that Clemson
is back? No. But I do believe this team has the
potential to be one of the better Clemson teams
that we've seen in the last few years. Because
the last time Clemson was really dominant was
when Trevor Lawrence was in college. Since then,
they've fallen off a cliff, respectfully, disrespectfully.
But let's talk about good old Alabama. The Tide.
Because we don't give a piss about what? The
Tide. Because it's all about the Tide. And I
think that Tide has finally rescinded. But on
a serious note, Alabama is starting to see what
Nick Saban saw prior to this point. And let me
explain. The reason why Nick Saban left college
football wasn't because he was tired of it. It's
because he realized that, listen, I can no longer
go in somebody's house and say, I want you to
come and play for Alabama just because it's me.
No, players are now talking about NILs. How much
my NIL is going to be worth? Well, I need my
NIL to be about two or three million. Well, I
need this incentive and that incentives with
my NIL. There's not a lot of players are just
saying, hey, I'm just going here because this
is the best opportunity for me. And so when you
factor that in play, of course, Alabama is going
to be at a disadvantage. Texas every single year
signs a blank check for recruitment. Georgia
does the same thing as well as LSU. Alabama is
the only one that doesn't have legitimate donors
that they can lean on and say, hey, we need you
to help us. Case in point, that's why Nick Saban
went on that rant and took a shot at Dion because
he realizes that, hey, my pitch no longer works.
Everything that I used to do in recruitment no
longer works. And now what you're starting to
see is the empire that was Alabama starting to
crumble right in front of our eyes. For one,
the quarterback play was just bad. I have never
seen an Alabama quarterback play as bad as what
Simpson did against Florida State. And I'm not
discrediting Florida State at all, but I mean,
bro, he was just atrocious, especially towards
the end of the game. And granted, I understand
that we're all used to seeing a Tua or Bryce
Young or Jalen Hurts -tier type of quarterback
that's leading an Alabama offense, but... I don't
know about this guy. I'm going to keep my eye
on Alabama. But another thing that needs to be
talked about is we have been spoiled by greatness
for over 10 plus years. We knew that whoever
Alabama was facing, guess what? They were going
to put up a fight. They were going to be physical.
They were going to be in your face. They were
going to be dominant every single drive. And
Nick Saban expected that out of all of his players.
From being detailed in coverages and route running
and blocking schemes to just an overall different
coaching presence. Nick Saban held the SEC with
an iron fist for over 10 plus years. And now
that he's exit stage left, this is all they got
to show. And no longer are we talking about Alabama
as the team that everyone needs to be fearing.
Instead, we need to be talking about Alabama
as... A team that may need to get a new head
coach fairly soon. But we have some breaking
news, unfortunate breaking news, to be honest,
and that is Elijah Veritaker, guard for the Jets,
will now miss the entire season with a tricep
injury. Damn, that's not good. That's not good
at all, folks. Well, this probably could have
came at a worse time because everybody's preparing
for Sunday. So if you're the Jets, do you have
to make a quick move and possibly sign a veteran
guard? Or do you trust your backups just to get
you through one game and then you can make a
further evaluation of what you want to do moving
forward? Damn. Damn. You hate to see stuff like
this because you want to see an even matchup
between the Jets and the Steelers. You don't
want to see anybody getting hurt or anything,
but damn, that hurts. And this is the second
tricep injury that Elijah Veritaka has had. Damn,
that's not good. Prayers to you, bro. Prayers
to you. But before we go any further, we do have
to pay some bills. Pardon the interruption, but
this is your GM, your bag road dominance, here
to talk about rss .com, all right? So if you
guys already don't know, I am a rss .com affiliate.
And so I just want to tell you for just a quick
moment about why you should choose rss .com.
So me personally, on my journey of podcasting,
I was looking at different platforms. just to
find the right place and i looked here i looked
there i looked everywhere but i checked out rss
.com and it was the best decision i ever made
from low prices to interactive analytics to as
well as helping you with your distribution rss
.com does it all not to mention they just started
a slack channel where you can network and interact
with other podcasters and even get some insightful
tips on how you can increase your podcast even
more. Also, RSS .com just launched their paid
ads program. So now you can get paid for posting
your content. Not to mention, all you have to
do is just have 10 downloads and you're qualified
for it. Who would want to get paid for doing
something that they're passionate about doing?
So head on over to rss .com. I will be attaching
my RSS affiliate link within the description.
When you click on that link, I will be able to
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new subscriptions for more analytical information
that we can use for future podcasts, all of that
and more. Thank you for your support, and thank
you, RSS .com, for making me an affiliate. Now
back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks,
and we have football to talk about, all right?
Cowboys versus Eagles. These are four points
that I'm going to be keeping my eye on during
this game. Can the Cowboys offense keep the game
close? We all know that the Eagles are one of
the better offenses in the league, and we know
that they have multiple ways of scoring. So can
the Cowboys find a way to keep it close with
them? How will the Eagles secondary handle the
Pickens -Lamb duo? Because we all know Quinion
Mitchell is going to go up against CeeDee Lamb.
So who's going to face George Pickens? Because
I know there was one point in the offseason where
a lot of people were saying the Eagles were going
to move Cooper DeGene back to safety, but would
it be better to just use him in more of a hybrid
role? Maybe? Just saying? Because I mean... I
think they still have Adoree Jackson. And I'm
going to be honest with you, that's a barbecue
chicken alert right there. No disrespect to Adoree
Jackson, but I believe right now George Pickens
is going to be a problem. Whoever has to face
him. But can the Eagles avoid a Super Bowl hangover?
Now, I know everybody's been saying we're not
focused on the past, we're focused on the present.
But guess what? Actions speak louder than words.
So I want to see it so that I can believe it.
And how effective will the Cowboys D -line look
against the Eagles? I understand they have Kenny
Clark, but Kenny Clark is just one person. How
is everybody else going to look going up against
the Eagles? Because this is going to be a team
effort. It can't just be just one person doing
everything. Everybody is going to have to step
up in order for this defensive line to actually
be productive this year. But here's a few junkie
nuggets. So during the 2024 season, George Pickens
had the 7th highest deep route rate in the NFL
at 23 .8%. When targeted on these routes, George
Pickens had 15 receptions for 515 yards and 1
touchdown. In 2024, the Cowboys generated a 37
.1 pressure rate, which was the 4th highest rate
in the league. The Eagles allowed opposing offenses
to generate explosive plays on 10 .7 % of their
plays, which was the lowest rate in the league.
Now, explosive plays are defined by a 10 -plus
yard run or a 15 -plus yard pass, according to
NFL Pro. Between the tackles, Saquon Barkley
totaled 170 carries for 848 yards, seven touchdowns,
and averaged five yards per carry, which was
the fifth most in the NFL. If I could make a
prediction for this game, I would venture to
say Dak Prescott throws for two touchdowns, one
pick, and 300 yards, I would say. Don't hold
it against me. Please don't make a bet with what
I just said, please. Please don't do that. I
would feel so bad if that doesn't happen, okay?
But on a serious note, I do think the defense
is going to make some plays. I think Trevon Diggs
is going to show why he's still one of the better
corners in the league. I think Deron Blaine is
going to do his thing as well. But the question
is, will this run defense be a lot better than
what it has been the last three years? Now for
the Eagles, however, I think Saquon is going
to score two touchdowns. I think Jalen Hurts
is going to throw one touchdown. And I think
that defense is going to create a lot of pressure
on Dak Prescott. But let's talk about the Chargers
and Chiefs. So four points I'm keeping my eye
on for this game. How will Josh Simmons hold
up against Khalil Mack? How will the Chargers
receiving room go up against the Chiefs? How
will Joe Ault look at left tackle? And how different
will the Chiefs offense look this year? I've
been very critical of the Chiefs offense this
offseason because I feel like it's reached a
point where it's starting to become stagnant.
I understand Travis Kelsey is the most reliable
weapon for Patrick Mahomes right now. Somebody
is going to have to say, hey, I got you. Because
this offense cannot afford to go down the same
road that it did last season. And we all know
that a majority of that season, it was the defense
that was carrying the team, not the offense.
So everybody's going to have to step up. This
is going to have to be a group effort. Now, when
we shift things over to the Chargers, however,
I'm focused on Joe All. I want to see how he
looks at left tackle. With them losing Rashawn
Slater, Justin Herbert isn't going to be comfortable.
And there's actually a stat that shows that Justin
Herbert actually plays better with Rashawn Slater
on the field than off the field. So according
to NFL Pro, since 2022, when Rashawn Slater was
on the field with Justin Herbert, he averaged
1 .4 more air yards per attempt with Rashawn
Slater, which is 8 .2 air yards per attempt,
than without him. which is 6 .8 air yards per
attempt. The stats don't lie, folks. But moving
forward, though, I want to see how this Chargers
receiving room is going to do against this Chiefs
secondary. Granted, I understand they brought
in Keenan Allen. I know they still have Ladd
McConkie. I know they have Trey Harris. But is
that enough to go toe -to -toe against this Chiefs
secondary? Because we all know Spags is going
to have them ready. I think Ladd McConkie is
going to have a good game. I think Trey Harris
is going to have a good game. But I want to see
how the Chargers going to use Keenan Allen. Are
they going to use him as a primary X? Are they
going to move him around? How are things going
to work with him? But here's a few junkie nuggets.
So Joe Alt had a 6 .9 pressure rate last season,
which was the ninth lowest among right tackles
and the sixth lowest by a rookie since 2018.
Khalil Mack led the Chargers in pressures at
54. and had 13 quick pressures. The Chiefs' outside
corners used press coverage on 51 .5 % on defensive
snaps, which was the second highest by any defense
since 2018. The Chiefs had the second highest
12 personnel rate last season at 34%, averaging
5 .6 yards per play. So expect the Chiefs to
be in 12 and 13 personnel a lot during this game.
I think they're definitely going to run the ball
with Isaiah Pachenko and Kareem Hutt a lot. The
Chiefs were one of six teams that have three
players log 100 or more snaps at left tackle
last season. We all know that left tackle has
been a problem for them for the last few years.
They've tried to address it in free agency. They've
tried to address it via trade. They've tried
to address it via the draft. And hopefully Josh
Simmons is the answer to their left tackle woes.
When the line at edge, Chris Jones generated
23 pressures, which was the most among defensive
tackles. I think Patrick Mahomes is going to
have a pretty good game. I think he's probably
going to throw maybe two touchdowns, probably
300 yards. Travis Kelsey does his thing. Isaiah
Pacheco does his thing. Chris Jones becomes the
game record that we all know and love and fear.
But I think this Chargers team, I think they're
going to put up a fight. I think that Chargers
defense. is going to give Patrick Mahomes a run
for his money. I don't know how they're going
to do it, but I believe that they're going to
do it. But I'm going to end this episode here.
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Football Junkies Pod, all right, Football Junkies
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for blowing up my last clip about left tackles.
I appreciate you guys so much for it. Stay tuned.
I still got more clips. I still got clips from,
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that I haven't even finished on, but they will
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Twitter, GM kale. All right. GM kale, K -A -I
-L -E. It's the same thing with blue sky as well.
GM kale, G -M -K -A -I -L -E. As always, I hope
I gave you guys the things that you guys need.
I love you guys. I appreciate you guys so much.
Thank you guys so much for being with me on this
journey. And stay tuned. There will be another
episode coming out fairly soon. So as always,
this is your GM, Kale, signing out. Peace and
love. Later.