Hopium, hopium, get your hopium, hopium, hopium.
Yes, I'm selling hopium, folks. Although I am
Bagrodamus, although I am your GM who currently
is not on a team right now, although I am your
GM who knows any and all things related to the
bag, rumors to the bag, and more, I am now your
hopium. All the hopium that you need to make
it through the rest of the season, I am the person
to go to because there are some fan bases right
now that are going to need some hopium. Dolphins
fans. But we're not going to talk about them
right now because we have a mega bag alert, mega
bag alert, mega bag alert, mega bag alert, folks.
That's right. Colton Mickiewicz, Jamison Williams,
Armani Hooker, Christian Watson, and Zion McCollum
get paid. Cam Hayward and the Steelers find resolution.
The Eagles trade for Tank Bigsby. Steelers...
All of this and more. On the 93rd episode of
the Football Junkies Podcast, okay, I am your
host with the most, all right? I am your GM who
currently is not on the team right now, but don't
you worry about it, all right? Don't you worry
about it because I'm your chief, Batgirl Thomas.
That's right, chief, head of the table, anything
and everything related to the bag, rumors to
the bag, and more. But guess what? I'm all these
things and more. But most importantly, the most
important thing that you must remember is I am
your host, Kale. This is going to be a loaded
episode, so buckle up, Ravens fans. Buckle up,
Steelers fans. fans, buckle up Dolphins fans,
because man, oh man, we have a lot to talk about
with your fan bases. 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,
before we get into the game recaps, let's talk
about these bag alerts and get that out the way,
all right? So, Colton Mikovic's right tackle
for the 49ers inks a three -year, $45 million
deal, $27 million guaranteed, and he'll be making
$15 million a year. When we look at his stats
from this past season, according to PFF, six
penalties and allowed two sacks. A good deal
for an above -average right tackle. For someone
who was drafted in the fifth round, he's doing
something right. So it was only right for the
49ers to take care of him, not to mention he's
not making a whole lot of money. And it's a short
-term deal, meaning that if Colton Mikovits outplays
this contract, he can be due for a bigger payday
either by the 49ers or somebody in free agency.
But if he underperforms with this contract, the
49ers can get rid of him and not take on large
dead cap hits, which is fairly good. Now, you're
paying a boatload of money to Trent Williams,
so he wasn't going to be making a whole bunch
of money anyway. But all in all, really good
deal for both sides. Now, let's talk about Jamison
Williams, all right? Wide receiver for the Lions
in a three -year $83 million deal, $67 million
guaranteed, and he'll be making $27 .6 million
a year. When we look at his steps from this past
season, 92 targets for 58 receptions, 1 ,001
receiving yards, 7 touchdowns, and 17 .3 receiving
yards per reception. Now, according to Reception
Perception, Jamison Williams' success rate when
facing man coverage is 65 .7%. When facing zone
coverage, his success rate is 79 .5%. When facing
press coverage, 61 .9%. When being double covered,
his success rate is 50%. Folks, this is a really
good deal for an underrated wide receiver too.
Not to mention he's only 24 years old. So by
the time this deal is over with, he's still going
to be in his prime. Meaning if he tested free
agency, he can be due for a bigger contract than
what he's making right now. Even though right
now he's making pretty good money for a wide
receiver too. Although he is a wide receiver
too, that doesn't mean that he isn't productive.
When Amon Ross St. Brown is being locked up,
Jamison Williams is still available. He's still
making plays. He's still doing everything that
the Lions need him to do and more. That's what
you need sometimes. Ross A. Brown is the one.
Jameson Williams is the two. Slash 1B if you
want to have that conversation. But it's a really
good deal. This is what I've been saying for
the last few years. Sign shorter term contracts.
Because by signing shorter term contracts, not
only are you getting a lot of your money up front,
you're also... allowing yourself to increase
your market so that when you hit free agency,
guess what? You can be due for a bigger payday
than what you originally got. But what do I know?
I'm not a GM, all right? So let's talk about
Amani Hooker, safety for the Titans, who inks
a three -year $48 .6 million deal, $29 million
guaranteed, and he'll be making $16 .2 million
a year. When we look at his stats from this past
season, 70 tackles, five picks, a good team -friendly
deal for productive safety. Now, he isn't in
that same realm as a Derwin James or Kyle Hamilton
or Antoine Winfield Jr. or Amiga Fitzpatrick,
but he is a productive safety. He has made some
big plays in the last few years, so it was only
right for the Titans to take care of him. Now,
let's talk about Christian Watson, wide receiver
for the Packers, who inks a one -year $13 .2
million deal. When we look at his stats from
this past season, 53 targets, For 29 receptions,
620 receiving yards, two touchdowns, and 21 .4
receiving yards per reception. Now, I know a
lot of people are asking the same question. Why
give Christian Watson an extension when he's
still recovering from a torn ACL? A lot of that
had to do because they still believe in him.
and that he was going to hit free agency next
year. So it was only right that you keep Christian
Watson because most likely you're going to lose
Romeo Dobbs or Dontavion Wicks in free agency.
So you have to keep at least one veteran, and
why not keep Christian Watson? When he is on
the field, he is a baller, but clearly the Packers
value him and they value what he brings to the
table. So by giving him a one -year extension,
you're not tying him for the long run. You're
just allowing him to get healthy again so that
he can go out. increase his value, like I've
been saying for these past few contracts, and
prepare himself for a bigger payday. Now on to
Zion McCollum, quarterback for the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. He inks a three -year $48 million
deal, $35 .4 million guaranteed, and he'll be
making $16 million a year. When we look at his
stats from this past season, 82 tackles, two
picks. A good deal for a productive player. This
is what you're supposed to do if you're a really
good GM and you're good at drafting. You take
care of your players. Because by doing so, it
eliminates you having to go in either free agency
or in the draft to fill that position. Folks,
we see a lot of times, especially in that first
wave of free agency, where teams will be overpaying
just to fill that void. And a lot of times when
they do this, it backfires and actually helps
them. Because now you're in a situation where
you're trying to get out of this contract. Nobody
else wants to pick up the contract. So if you
release them, you have to take on all this dead
cap money. But if you take all this dead cap
money, it's going to affect the cap space for
the next two years. So it's like, damn if you
do, damn if you don't, essentially. But this
is what separates the great teams from the bad
teams. The great teams aren't always aggressive
in free agency because why? a lot of the positions
of need are already being taken care of internally.
And those players are getting second and maybe
third contracts. Whereas a bad team, they're
having to waste a high draft pick or they're
having to waste 20 or 30 plus million for one
player that he probably only had one good year.
But let's keep this thing going. So Cam Hayward
and the Steelers finally find some resolution.
So the Steelers are adding $3 million in incentives.
to which he can earn up to $18 million this season,
but they are based off the playoffs. So according
to Steelers Now, Mike Florio broke down how these
incentives work. So Hayward can earn $1 .6 million
if he records at least eight sacks and the Steelers
make the playoffs, but he can earn another $1
.6 million if he records 11 .5 sacks and the
Steelers win the playoff game. While I understand
that both sides found some resolution, it still
didn't get the job done because these are incentives.
They're not guarantees. We're fighting for guarantees
this entire time. So then what was the point
in you doing all this elaborate stuff, posting
stuff on your story, talking about how you don't
feel valued. And every time people ask you questions,
you come off as nonchalant and angry and how
you talk about you've had serious conversations
with your family and whatnot. How do you go from
all of this? To now finding some resolution where
it's not even guaranteed. That's what you were
fighting for this entire time was guarantees.
It defeated the purpose of you doing all of this.
And I mean, the entire little media run, whatever
you want to call it, that he was on was all for
nothing. And I said this to somebody on TikTok.
Shout out to OAD Loom. He's a really good Steelers
content creator on TikTok. Me and him went back
and forth about this because my stance is this.
If you're going to do all of this stuff, if you're
going to talk about how you don't feel valued
and you go to places where you are valued and
you're talking about that you've had serious
conversations with your family and whatnot, that
lets me know that you're serious. That lets me
know that you are not stepping on the field until
some legitimate resolution is found. Not just
some patchwork and just saying, hey, we're just
going to give you $3 million in incentives. Not
really guaranteed, but it's just incentives.
No, you are shooting for guarantees. That's what
every player shoots for is guaranteed money.
Because guess what? If they cut you, if you get
hurt, if anything crazy happens, that guaranteed
money is yours. Whereas with incentives, they're
not. Because if you don't hit that mark, you
don't get the money. So again. What was the point
in you guys doing all of this? This could have
been easily resolved prior to the draft, prior
to free agency. Could have easily been resolved.
So why in the world did it take from the combine
all the way to the middle point of training camp
to finally find out that this was happening and
then go on this media run and saying, I'm not
happy. You're supposed to go to places where
you're valued. Let me tell you something. I've
said this before in the previous episode. Now
I'm going to say it again. If the Steelers didn't
value you, they would have gotten rid of you,
no questions asked. They did it to Troy. They
did it to Heinz Ward. They did it to Ben Roethlisberger.
You name me, any of the great Steelers, they
have all done the same thing, and that is force
them into retirement. They're not doing that
to you. They're giving you the benefit of the
doubt that they never gave to Ben Roethlisberger
or Troy, and they won multiple Super Bowls. But
you know, Chris Hallett from DK Pittsburgh Sports
said this. For all intents and purposes, Cam
Hayward should have just signed a one -year deal.
So that way, he could come back to the table
and get more money instead of just signing the
deal that he signed last year. Because it defeated
the purpose. Because it really wasn't an extension.
Because when you really look at the structure
of the contract, you don't have a whole lot of
guarantees. Your guarantees is essentially a
million -some dollars and some change. All your
money was given into roster bonuses. And even
then, Roster bonuses aren't really guaranteed.
They can get rid of you before the roster bonus
kicks in. We've seen multiple teams do it. So
why are you complaining and saying all these
different things? You should be worried about
trying to win a playoff game or better yet, trying
to win a Super Bowl. Not trying to get three
extra million dollars in incentives. or a couple
extra dollars just so you can be in this range
of defensive linemen that's getting paid a lot
of money. Who cares about that? Because guess
what? Out of all of those defensive linemen,
the top 10 highest paid defensive linemen, I
can assure you that there's less than six defensive
linemen that have either won one Super Bowl or
at least made it to their conference championship.
Chris Jones, Super Bowls and playoffs. Milton
Williams, he just won a Super Bowl. Nnamdi Metabuke
hasn't won a Super Bowl. Aleem McNeil hasn't
won a Super Bowl. Derrick Brown hasn't won a
Super Bowl. Quentin Williams, Jeffrey Simmons,
DeForest Buckner, none of them have won Super
Bowls. DeForest Buckner has made it to the Super
Bowl, but never won it. Derron Payne hasn't won
a Super Bowl. So out of the top 10 highest paid
defensive linemen right now, there's only two
that have won a Super Bowl. Think about that
for a second here, folks. But you got somebody.
The quote unquote leader of the team that's complaining
about he's not valued. Man, please. But let's
talk about this trade. So the Eagles traded for
former Jaguars running back Tank Bixby. So the
Jaguars receive a 2026 fifth and 2026 sixth round
pick while the Eagles receive Tank Bixby. So
this trade was made because the Eagles needed
another kick returner as Will Shipley is dealing
with a rib injury. Nothing too complex. Nothing
to really talk about. Just a routine trade to
address a position of need. All right. So let's
talk about these games. All right. So Steelers
versus Jets recap. Let's start with them. All
right. Because I'm seeing a whole bunch of grown
men glaze over Aaron Rodgers. One game. I see
people say, well, I guess missing OTAs really
wasn't bad at all. Oh, I think Aaron Rodgers
is just doing such a great job. Stop it. Just
stop it. It is week one, and we already seen
people just eat up Aaron Rodgers for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. All right, so let's just start.
Aaron Rodgers, 30 attempts for 22 completions,
244 passing yards, four touchdowns, 8 .1 yards
per attempt, and a 73 .3 completion percentage,
but also took four sacks. Jalen Warren, 11 attempts
for 37 rushing yards, 3 .4 rushing yards per
carry. DK Metcalf, seven targets for four receptions,
83 receiving yards, 20 .8. receiving yards per
receptions, and 73 yards after the catch. Justin
Fields, 22 attempts for 16 completions, 218 passing
yards, one touchdown, 9 .9 yards per attempt,
and a 72 .7 completion percentage and only took
one sack. Brees Hall, 19 attempts for 107 rushing
yards, 5 .6 rushing yards per carry, and four
rushes of 10 plus yards or more. Garrett Wilson.
nine targets for seven receptions, 95 receiving
yards, one touchdown, and 13 .6 receiving yards
per reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets.
So according to NFL Pro, Aaron Rodgers completed
eight of 10 play action passes for 71 yards and
three touchdowns. This was tied for the most
touchdowns on play action passes in the game
since 2016. So my takeaway from this game is
the Steelers won, but at what cost? Because the
same problems that plagued them late last year
emerged in this game. which was what? Stopping
the run. They essentially dedicated an entire
draft into making sure that they bolster up the
run game. They drafted Derek Harmon, then they
get Y .A. Black, and Jack Sawyer. Because why?
They wanted to be better in stopping the run.
And they didn't do that this game. From poor
blocking, poor block shedding, and just trying
to contain Justin Fields, this Steelers defense
failed. And that falls on Mike Tomlin and Terrell
Austin because they didn't do enough to adjust
to the game. And mind you, Brees Hall as well
as Braylon Allen were eating. You're talking
about large gaps and they were hitting them.
And they were getting a first down and more almost
every single time they were getting the rock.
So that falls on the coaches as well as the players.
That's not good enough. Because you're going
to be going up against teams that have really
good run games. You're going to go up against
the Seahawks on Sunday. They have Zach Charbonnet
and Kenneth Walker. So the same problems that
we saw late last year were not truly fixed. Instead,
they were just patched over. That's not good,
folks. And that's just the defense. I haven't
even gotten to the offense yet. Which... Speaking
of which, let's get to the offense. Now, I know
everybody has been beating up on Broderick Jones,
but I'm not going to be the person to do that.
I'm going to be the bigger person. Let's be real
here. Could Broderick played a better game? Yes.
Could the Steelers have done a better job in
trying to help Broderick Jones? Yes. All those
things can be true. But we also have to mention
that this is Broderick's first year at left tackle.
So there's going to be highs and lows. So this
is going to be the only way to find out if Broderick
Jones is the truth or not. So they're going to
let this play out. But if this continues on,
if this becomes a repeated pattern for the next,
I don't know, three weeks, then the Steelers
are going to have to make a move. Now, are they
going to put Andres Pita left tackle? That's
a possibility. Are they going to trade for a
left tackle? That's a possibility. But let's
be real here, folks. Between Broderick Jones
and Troy Fitanu, one of them wasn't going to
pan out. And it's starting to look like Roger
Jones isn't panning out. But one can ask one
question, who failed who? Was it the organization?
Was it Roger Jones? Was it coaching? Who deserves
blame? Me personally, I would say everybody deserves
some level of blame because why? You knew that
drafting Roger Jones, he was a project. And you
knew that by drafting a project, There is more
risk than reward, especially if you don't have
proper coaching in place. Now, am I saying Pat
Meyer is an offensive line guru? No. But what
I am saying is this. It looks a little bit weird
if Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, and Troy Fatano
look actually pretty good, but Broderick Jones
is the only one that hasn't really shown anything.
That's a problem. But again, and that's what
happens when you draft potential over experience.
I'm always going to value somebody that has experience
over potential because potential isn't always
going to get your foot in the door. But experience
can aid you a little bit better in that transition
process than somebody that's just, oh, I'm super
athletic or I'm just super raw. No, because a
lot of times what we see is a lot of teams nowadays
are not developing players. They're just looking
at him and just say, hey, we're going to throw
you into the fire. If nothing comes out in two
or three years, we're just going to find somebody
else. And we see it every single year. We see
it with offensive linemen. We see it with receivers,
quarterbacks, running backs, you name it. We
see it every single year. So I'm not surprised.
Going back to this game, the Steelers run game
was just inefficient. It was inconsistent. I
know a lot of people like myself was, you know,
asking the same question, which is why was Kenneth
Gainwell getting more reps than Jalen Warren?
A little bit of a head scratcher, but I guess
we'll have to wait until Arthur Smith says something.
DK Metcalf looked good. I wasn't really worried
about DK Metcalf, but I was just more worried
about, you know, how Calvin Austin and Ben Skoranek
and everybody else was going to look. But, you
know. For all intents and purposes, the Steelers'
offense did look good, okay, minus the offensive
line problems. They did look good. Aaron Rodgers
looked good as well. And so, yes, I'm happy for
him that he got his revenge against the Jets,
but I'm not going to be the person that's going
to be waving pom -poms and saying, Aaron Rodgers,
Aaron Rodgers, he's our man, he's our man. I'm
not going to do that, all right? And I understand
there's a lot of people that said, well, Aaron
Rodgers isn't the same. He hasn't thrown anybody
under the bus. Where is this version of Aaron
Rodgers is just super toxic and conniving and
whatnot. People can change. All right, relax.
Let's please relax because I'm seeing a narrative
that I'm not liking on social media with a lot
of beat writers and journalists that follow the
Steelers who are secret Aaron Rodgers fans. And
if you're a secret Aaron Rodgers fan, that's
perfectly fine. But do not allow your fandom
for a player cloud your judgment and analysis
on his play on the field. And I'll just leave
it there because if I don't, I'm going to name
drop and I don't want to do that yet. Let's talk
about the Jets. So the Jets actually played a
really good game. Pass rush was just on fire
from the first snap to the last. All right. Justin
Fields, I would venture to say probably at his
best game by far. If you're a Jets fan, you probably
have a little bit of hope this year because if
Justin Fields played exactly how he played on
Sunday. For the rest of the season, I guarantee
you they'll make it to the playoffs. I guarantee
you they'll even win at least one playoff game
because he did everything you needed to do. He
wasn't super aggressive. He wasn't always trying
to run the ball. He executed the plays. When
he needed to pass, he passed. When he needed
a handoff, he needed a handoff. When he needed
to extend the play, he extended the play. There
were a lot of times where the pocket was collapsing
and he found just enough wiggle room. And he
got through and he extended the play two, three,
maybe four extra yards. Now, if you're the Steelers,
you could have had that. But you decided that
you wanted to go with the veteran in Russell
Wilson. And in doing so, you got the end result.
In some ways, Justin Fields, I feel like, sort
of took a pot shot at the Steelers, and rightfully
so. So this is what he said in my quote. I'm
just calling it what it is. They acquired all
these guys in the offseason, future Hall of Famers
on that side of the ball, and we put up 32, end
quote. That is somebody that has had pent -up
emotions for an entire season. You're talking
about somebody that started off at first and
then was just benched for no reason. and never
had a legitimate chance to reach the field again.
You're talking about somebody that despite how
anybody may feel about Justin Fields' play when
he was with the Steelers, he took it on the chin
and he was a professional about it. Whereas somebody
else was leaking out information to the media.
Talking about, oh, yeah, I have problems with
Arthur Smith. Yeah, I didn't really like his
offense. And we really was actually butting heads
a lot because I want to do this and he wanted
to do that. You didn't see that with Justin Fields.
But my hat's off to Eric Glenn for a really good
game plan. He played a lot of man coverage. Limited
DK Metcalf's effect on the game, while at the
same time creating a lot of pressure on Aaron
Rodgers. There was a lot of times where Aaron
Rodgers had to use the quick game just so he
can avoid getting sacked. Will McDonald was doing
his thing against Broderick Jones, as well as
Michael Clemens. Michael Clemens was creating
a lot of pressure on Broderick. And shout out
to Tanner Engstrand for a really good offensive
plan to combat against the Steelers defensive
line. I mean, it literally looked like Elijah
Vera Tucker was on the field. If you would have
told me Elijah Vera Tucker didn't play that game,
I would have called you a liar because they were
running the ball so well and the Steelers didn't
have an answer for it. Not to mention, Alufashanu
and Armin Membu was actually holding their own
against Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt. Overall,
although the Jets did lose, there's a lot of
promise with this team. There's a lot of promise
with both of their tackles. There's a lot of
promise with that defense. I think it's only
up for here if you're a Jets fan. And let's go
to the Dolphins and Colts because I think they
need a lot of hopium right now because, man,
oh, man, Dolphins fans, oh, they are going through
it, man. It is horrible for them. But we're going
to get through it. So Tua Tugavailoa, 23 attempts
for 14 completions, 114 receiving yards, one
touchdown, two picks, five yards per attempt,
and a 60 .9 completion percentage, as well as
taking on three sacks. Devon Achain, seven targets
for 55 rushing yards, 7 .9 rushing yards per
carry, and two rushes of 10 plus yards or more.
Tyreek Hill. Six targets for four receptions,
40 receiving yards, 10 receiving yards per reception.
Daniel Jones, 29 attempts for 22 completions,
272 passing yards, one touchdown, 9 .4 yards
per attempt, and a 75 .9 completion percentage.
Jonathan Taylor, 18 attempts for 71 rushing yards,
3 .9 rushing yards per carry, and two rushes
of 10 plus yards more. Michael Pittman. eight
targets for six receptions, 80 receiving yards,
one touchdown, and 13 .3 receiving yards per
reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets. So
according to NFL Pro, when under pressure, Tua
failed to complete any of his three passing attempts
but threw two picks from a clean pocket. Tyler
Warren played 33 snaps at tight end, nine in
the slot, six in wideout, and two snaps in the
backfield. When throwing outside the numbers,
Daniel Jones completed 10 of his 13 attempts
for 160 yards and a touchdown. So my takeaway
from this game is the Dolphins have to do something
to save their season. Because right now, the
fans are just done with them already. And this
is only the first game, folks. It would be different
if this was the fifth or sixth game. No, this
is the first game of the season and everybody
is just done with it. From the offense looking
sloppy. to Tua just making costly turnovers and
fumbling the ball, to just everybody just not
being on the same page. I don't know what was
going on, but this team just was completely dysfunctional.
Tyreek Hill was having tantrums on the sideline.
Tua looked like a deer in headlights. Nobody
was on the same page. And it seemed like as the
game progressed, the Colts realized that, listen,
Oh, we got them in the bag. We can just do a
few different things. And that's exactly what
they did. Lou Amarumo was discussing different
coverages. So I know there was like a few plays
where he made it seem like it was a zero blitz,
but in actuality, it wasn't zero blitz. The Dolphins
just didn't have an answer. And at this point,
if you're the Dolphins, well, specifically Steven
Ross, how long is it going to take for you to
make this decision? Because right now, Mike McDaniel
cannot coach this team. At this point, I think
it's just best that you just blow up this team.
Because this team hasn't gone anywhere. Outside
of that one year where they put up those crazy
numbers against the Broncos, and they were super
fast, and couldn't nobody really stop them, they
haven't really done anything. They made it to
the playoffs. They faced the Chiefs. Oh, we can't
take the cold. It's too cold outside. What are
we going to do? It's too cold outside. We can't
handle physicality. This is a team, and Omar
Kelly has said this. Shout out to Omar Kelly.
He has said this multiple times on the Dolphins
Collective, which if you're a Dolphins fan, you
should listen to that, and on the Miami Herald.
This team cannot take physicality. This team
strays away from physicality. I don't know what
it is. But if you're Chris Greer, I don't even
know how you still have a job. Because this roster
is not a competitive roster. This offensive line
is not good enough to protect Tua. You know that
Tua has a concussion problem. So why wouldn't
you try to make at least two or three significant
investments into the offensive line? Because
if you don't, guess what's going to happen? Tua's
going to get another concussion, and now you're
trying to figure out what you're going to do
moving forward. Granted. You traded for Minka
Fitzpatrick. Okay, cool. But he's just one person.
Your corners are bad. Your pass rush didn't do
anything, even though you acquired Matthew Judon.
What exactly, what is the bright spot on this
team that you can say, that's something that
we can build off of? Because right now, there
is nothing positive to say about the Dolphins.
They have not done enough to say, hey, we are
a legitimate team. I would make a strong guess
if I was a betting man. that this team wins less
than five games this year. Now, if I'm someone
like a Minka Fitzpatrick, I want out. If I'm
someone like a Jalen Phillips, I don't even want
to touch this team. If I'm anybody that is due
for a contract, I want out. Now, speaking of
which, there has been some rubblings, according
to Mike Florio, that he's talked to people and
that Tyreek Hill could be on the move soon and
that the Chiefs or the Steelers are, you know,
two of the teams that everyone is thinking about
that he's probably going to go to. Let me be
honest here, folks, and this is directly at Steelers
fans. If all of you guys are saying that, oh,
this is the year we can win the Super Bowl, then
go and get Tyreek Hill in. Go and get Tyreek
Hill. Because all I keep on seeing is a whole
bunch of people saying, well, he has a whole
bunch of off -field problems. Didn't nobody say
anything about Cam Sutton. Everybody was quiet
when Cam Sutton signed with the team. Didn't
nobody say anything. Everybody was lips shut
when Cam Sutton signed with his team. And we
all know what he did. And those were allegations.
Those were documented. Documented. Whereas with
Tyreek Hill, he's just going through a messy
divorce that when you go through a messy divorce,
a lot of things that were either kept hush -hush
or potential allegations are all going to come
out. That's all that it is. I get it. He's a
lot to deal with. But guess what? Sometimes when
you get people like a Tyreek Hill, if you put
them in the right situation, you won't hear a
peep out of them. But that's what happens when
there's no structure in the locker room. That's
what happens when there's nobody that's going
to hold him accountable. We are now starting
to see that there really is a legitimate rift
between him and Tua. Honestly speaking, he brought
this on himself because why? You cannot go on
a live stream or just better yet, public platform
and just throw your quarterback under the bus
every single chance that you get. If that's how
you feel about Tua, Keep it behind closed doors.
Let it be something that you talk about while
you're on the way to the barter shop or while
you're on the way to Disney World or something.
Don't go on somebody's live stream and say, oh,
yeah, man, I could play for maybe about two or
three other quarterbacks than my quarterback.
You can't do stuff like that, bro. Because guess
what? Now that this regular season is starting,
you don't have no real connection with Tua. Tua
ain't really rocking with you. But let's talk
about the Colts. So Daniel Jones actually had
a really good game. And let's be real here. If
Anthony Richardson did exactly what Daniel Jones
did on Sunday, he would be the starting quarterback
for the foreseeable future. That's all he had
to do. You don't have to be Superman. You don't
have to play like Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady
or every great quarterback. All you have to do
is just execute. If you execute, you will always
have a seat at the table. And that's exactly
what Daniel Jones did. Ran the ball a little
bit, passed the ball. Clearly, he has a really
good connection with Tyler Warren because Tyler
Warren came out guns blazing. I mean, from playing
as a fullback to a slot to a tight end, he was
just doing it all. And that was great to see.
This offense was very productive. And I think
this is what Chris Ballard and Shane Steigman
have been looking for. I think there's a lot
of promise to this offense. I think there's a
lot of promise to this team as a whole. As long
as Daniel Jones maintained this type of play,
they will have a legitimate chance to make it
to the playoffs this year. Now, as far as the
defense, that secondary was cooking. Cam Bynum,
Charverius Ward, Xavier Howard, cooking. That
pass rush, Latu Latu, Quidi Pei, DeForest Bunker,
cooking. Every aspect of this Colts team was
cooking. And what great way to celebrate the
life of Jim Irsay. than with a dub. Now let's
talk about this Giants and Commanders game. So
Jaden Daniels, 30 attempts for 19 completions,
233 passing yards, one touchdown, 7 .8 yards
per attempt, and a 63 .3 completion percentage,
as well as taking on three sacks. Ja 'Cory Chrisky
Merritt, 10 attempts for 82 rushing yards, 8
.2 rushing yards per carry, one touchdown, and
three rushes of 10 plus yards or more. Deebo
Samuel, 10 targets for seven receptions, 77 receiving
yards, 11 receiving yards per reception, and
42 receiving yards after catch. Excuse me. Russell
Wilson, 37 attempts for 17 completions, 168 passing
yards, 4 .5 yards per attempt, a 45 .9 completion
percentage, and took two sacks. Russell Wilson.
8 attempts for 44 rushing yards, 5 .5 rushing
yards per carry, and 1 rush of 10 plus yards
or more. Malik Nabors, 12 targets for 5 receptions,
71 receiving yards, and 14 .2 receiving yards
per reception. So here's a junkie nugget. So
according to NFL Pro, Abdul Carter played 65
% of defensive snaps in the first half, and then
41 .4 snaps in the second half. In 25 pass rushes,
Abdul Carter generated 3 pressures and half a
sack. When facing four or less pass rushers in
drop back, Jaden Daniels completed 16 of 21 passes
for 204 yards and a touchdown. Now Jaden Daniels
completed three of nine passes for 29 yards when
facing the Blitz. Deebo Samuel caught seven of
10 targets for 77 yards. Six of those catches
for 73 yards were between the seams. So a few
takeaways from this game. For starters, the Giants'
pass rush has a lot of upside and is going to
be a problem in the future. The Giants' offense
is very stagnant with Russell Wilson. The Commander's
O -line needs time to mesh. Commander's offense
as a whole is going through some growing pains,
and rightfully so. The Commander's right tackle
really couldn't stop the bull rush. Debo's route
running, explosiveness, and yak ability has definitely
returned. And is it too early to possibly bench
Russell Wilson? Granted, I understand Brian Dable
has already said that he will start in Week 2,
but... At some point, Brian Dable is going to
have to make a change because this offense was
very stagnant. He didn't have a connection with
Malik neighbors. They couldn't run the ball well.
And you can see that his play is starting to
decline a little bit. Because remember, in Russell
Wilson's heyday, he relied a lot on his athleticism
because it was his athleticism that allowed him
to extend the plays. So now that that's gone.
All you have is the moon ball. And even then,
you can't really use the moon ball every single
time. You just can't do it. So at some point,
Brian Dable is going to have to do something
with this offense because this offense was just
downright atrocious. And Malik Nabors was trying
so hard not to crash out. But you can see in
his face, it's like, bro, what are we doing?
Nobody is really getting the ball. Nobody is
making any big plays. We're not putting points
on the board. What are we doing? And rightfully
so. If you're Brian Dable, you're going to have
to make a decision to save your job. I understand
Russell Wilson is the quote -unquote veteran,
but you may have to put Jackson Dart in. And
I guarantee you if you do put Jackson Dart in,
this offense will look a whole lot better. Now,
I understand that Andrew Thomas didn't play this
game, but... And that offensive line, a little
bit shaky, just a little bit of a problem. Now,
I will say this. For any Commanders fan that
may be complaining about how the offense was
just stagnant and they wasn't as explosive as
how they were last year, give it some time. Remember,
they brought in Loremi Tunsil, Debo Samuel. They're
trying to rework Terry McLaurin in. So all of
this is going to take some time. Now, I will
say this. If you're the commanders, you have
to find a way to negate these elite defensive
lines. Because Brian Burns and Kevon Thibodeau
and even Abdul Carter at times, they was creating
a lot of pressure and they were getting after
Jaden Daniels. So you have to find a way to do
something. Whether that means you have to start
playing in 12 or 13 personnel, or you have to
add in a tight end to possibly chip block, you
have to do something to slow down these elite
pass rushers. Because if you don't, Jaden Daniels
is going to get squashed. But I will say this,
the commander's defense, it's going to take some
time for them to really start cranking, but I
think they showed a little bit of some promise.
As far as the pass rush, I think there's something
there, but I think it's going to take a while
for them to really hit their peak. Same thing
with the secondary as well, but if you're the
commander's defense, is there another addition
that you need to make to really solidify this
defense? Because granted, you have Von Miller,
you have Frankie Louvu, you have Deron Payne,
you have Johnny Nunez, you have Marshawn Lattimore,
who's now healthy, you have Trey Amos. You have
a lot on this team. But is there something else
you need to do to really solidify this defense?
But only time will tell. Now let's talk about
the last game, and that is the Ravens and the
Bills. So Lamar Jackson, 19 attempts for 14 completions,
209 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 11 yards per
attempt, and a 73 .7 completion percentage. Derrick
Henry. 18 attempts for 169 rushing yards, 9 .4
rushing yards per carry, 2 touchdowns, and 5
rushes of 10 -plus yards or more. Zay Flowers,
19 targets for 7 receptions, 143 receiving yards,
1 touchdown, and 20 .4 receiving yards per reception.
Josh Allen, 46 attempts for 33 completions, 394
passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 8 .6 yards per attempt,
a 71 .7 completion percentage. James Cook, 13
attempts for 44 rushing yards, 3 .4 rushing yards
per carry, 1 touchdown, and 1 rush of 10 plus
yards or more. Keon Coleman, 11 targets for 8
receptions, 112 receiving yards, 1 touchdown,
and 14 receiving yards per reception. Pardon
the interruption, but this is your GM, your bag
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Now back to the good stuff. So a couple takeaways
from this game. So for starters, the Ravens'
pass rushers couldn't get home. The Bills are
starting to use more pre -snap motions. The Ravens
need more lightning than thunder in the run game.
The Bills were stacking the box while playing
man coverage. The Ravens missed Patrick Hard's
blocking. The Bills were disguising a lot of
their coverage packages. The Bills secondary
is still a question mark unless they bring in
someone. The Bills were continuing to keep Joey
Bosa on the left side instead of switching him
with Gregory Russo, especially when you saw Lamar
continuing to go on that side. We all know that
Joey Bosa isn't fast enough to go after Lamar
Jackson. So why wouldn't you at least switch
him? The Ravens need to rotate their interior
defensive line. Give Aeneas Peebles a chance.
The Ravens need to be more aggressive. More five
-man instead of four -man fronts, please. Please.
This was a very winnable game for the Ravens,
and you choked. You flat -out choked. It wasn't
because of the refs. It wasn't because of a fumble.
It wasn't because nobody catch the ball. You
choked. You had the game in your pocket and you
choked it away. And this continues to be a problem
for the Ravens. So according to Josh DuBois of
the Associated Press, there's only three coaches
to lose twice in the regular season when leading
by 15 plus points at the start of the fourth
quarter. John Harbaugh, Webb Eubank, and Marion
Campbell. John Harbaugh leads them all in 55
opportunities. I'm sorry, that's unacceptable.
At some point, you have to win the big games
because you know that you're either going to
have to face the Chiefs or the Bills to make
it to the Super Bowl. And the fact that you had
this game and all you had to do was just secure
the lead, but you choked it away, lets me know
that you are not the coach that is going to take
the Ravens to the Super Bowl. I think at this
point, we need to have an honest conversation
about the Ravens and John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh's
time has ran out. I understand that he's a good
coach. I understand that he does a lot for the
Ravens. But at this point, brother, you can't
float. You continue to choke away opportunity
after opportunity after opportunity. From having
the number one seed and the Chiefs coming to
Baltimore. You could have won that game. You
didn't do it. You could have won last year. You
didn't do it. You could win this year and you
probably won't. At some point, you cannot point
the finger at everybody else. You have to point
the finger at yourself. This lackadaisical reserved
play calling in the most important times of the
game is going to cause you to lose more than
win. And we see it every single year. We talk
about the Ravens every single year saying, oh
yeah, they're a Super Bowl team. This could be
the year that they win the Super Bowl. And every
single year, they choke on a Popeye's biscuit.
So at some point, someone's going to have to
say it. John Harbaugh may not be the guy. And
that's perfectly fine. The Eagles went through
with Andy Reid. All those years, the Eagles were
super competitive. But when the lights were too
bright, they choked. So at some point, they had
to make a move. So they let go of Andy Reid.
Andy Reid went to the Chiefs. They started the
Chiefs dynasty. The Eagles, they won a Super
Bowl and then went back and they won another
Super Bowl. So at some point, you have to be
honest and you have to say, you know what? I
think it's just time for us to go our separate
ways. If I'm a player, I'm calling for a players
only meeting. No phones, no tablets, no nothing.
Because nobody needs to know about this. And
they just need to have a heart to heart with
every single person in that room. Because everything
is there. You have the team. You have the weapons
on both sides of the ball. And you mean to tell
me this team hasn't at least made it to one Super
Bowl? One? It cannot be just the Chiefs and the
Eagles just winning the Super Bowl every single
year. At some point, somebody from the AFC is
going to have to do something. Because it's always
been Patrick Mahomes. So who's it going to be?
Who is going to be the person that's going to
hold John Harbaugh accountable? Somebody needs
to do it. Because clearly, he is not doing enough.
You know that Daniel Felele is a problem. I purposely
looked at the All -22 version of that game. Daniel
Folele is not a good guard. I'm sorry. He is
going to lose you more games than win them. Because
I guarantee you, if you go up against the Chiefs,
Chris Jones is going to be his dance partner.
And he's shown that he can't do it. And you knew
that Daniel Folele can't do it. And instead of
you trying to get somebody in free agency, you
just say, you know what? We're okay with what
we have. No. You cannot do that. And that's exactly
why you guys continue to choke year after year
after year after year because you know why? You
are complacent. You want to try to give people
a chance. You cannot do that. You are in a Super
Bowl window. If you are not performing, you got
to go. I love you. You'll be a part of the Ravens
documentary. You'll be part of that whole ceremony
when they celebrate the team and whatnot. But
as far as all that extra rigmarole, hey, man,
you got to go. We got to bring in somebody else.
Simple as that. The pass rush needs more juice
and you need to stop running it with Derrick
Henry. There is no reason why Keaton Mitchell
should have been on that field because everybody
knows how to counter Derrick Henry. Stack up
the box and just make sure you try to tackle
him and slow him down. That's it. That's all
you got to do with Derrick Henry. Whereas with
a Keaton Mitchell, he got speed. He has receiving
ability. There's more that you can do with him
than a Derrick Henry. But you have your head
so far up your ass that you don't realize that.
So until the players want to actually have a
heart -to -heart conversation with John Harbaugh,
they will never experience winning a Super Bowl.
They will never experience the feeling of being
a winner. Because your coach likes to sit on
his hands and just say, you know what, I'm okay
with where we are. We don't need to be aggressive.
I understand it's the two -minute warning. We
don't need to be aggressive. Y 'all literally
just justify why Josh Allen won the MVP. Think
about that for a second. Here you have a defense.
Really good defense, right? Really good defense
of prospects. Mike Green, the Green Machine,
Adafio Way, KVN. You know that KVN is going to
take a while before he starts cranking. So why
don't you put Mike Green in? Why don't you put
in these peels in? You need to throw offenses
off guard because if you don't, guess what's
going to happen? You're going to get smoked like
how Josh Allen just smoked you. So when you go
up against the Chiefs and you choke and you lose
again and everybody's looking at you with the
side eye, don't be pointing fingers at anybody
else. There's no excuse this year. And remember
what I've been saying for the past two years.
The two things that would stop the Ravens from
winning it all. is injuries and self -inflicted
wounds. And Sunday proved exactly what I said.
Self -inflicted wounds will prevent the Ravens
from winning a Super Bowl. There is no reason
under the sun that this team should be losing
like this. Now, if the game was super close,
okay, fine. I'm not going to complain about it
because these are two really good teams. But
the fact that you allowed the Bills to make a
comeback in such a small amount of time lets
me know that you, sir, are not the head coach
for the Ravens. Instead, all you are is just
a cheerleader. With the clipboard. But I'm going
to end this episode here. If you guys like what
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-E As always, I hope I gave you guys the fix
that you guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate
you guys so much. Thank you guys so much for
listening to another episode of the Football
Junkies Podcast, the best football podcast that
you can listen to on a week -to -week, day -to
-day basis, okay? And while you're at it, shout
out to Corey from the Not That Serious Podcast.
Make sure you guys listen to his new sport podcast,
Get It Done With Four. Get It Done With Four.
It's on Spotify. It might also be on Apple Podcasts
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as well. Shout out to OAD Loon. Shout out to
him and his crew. They have a podcast as well.
All you have to do is go on his TikTok page and
it'll be available there. So as always, I love
you guys. I appreciate you guys so much. I will
be watching tonight's game and we will be talking
about tonight's game tomorrow as well as previewing
a few games that are going to be catching my
eye for Sunday. So as always, this is your GM
Kale signing out. Peace and love. Later, guys.
And another thing, the Steelers need to move
Keanu Ben from nose tackle. He is not a nose
tackle. You need to move him at end, put Y .A.
Black at nose tackle, and I think you'll see
a better result. Also, also, hot take, truth
bomb, okay? I think the Steelers should draft
the number one tackle in next year's draft and
possibly trade for quarterback. I'm going to
save that for the next episode. Peace and love.
Later, guys.