Fraud. Why? That's right, folks. We got some
frauds on the field. The teams that we should
be talking about in a positive manner, we now
have questions on if they're going to make it
to the Super Bowl. But before we get there, we
got some things we got to talk about, all right?
Brian Dable gets fired. Joe Witt loses his defensive
play calling abilities. Raiders and Broncos recap.
Falcons and Colts recap. Steelers and Chargers
recap. Packers and Eagles recap. And Bills and
Dolphins recap. Okay, all of this and more. on
the 98th episode of the Football Junkies podcast,
okay? I am your host with the most, all right?
I am your hopium, hopium, hopium, hopium, hopium
dealer. 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 I'm
your chief bag roll dumber. That's right, chief,
head of the table, anything and everything related
to the bag, rumors to the bag, and more. I am
your GM who currently is looking at all the top
prospects for the 26th draft class. Just you
wait. to give you my opinions in the next few
weeks, all right? But all of this doesn't matter
because why? I am your host, Kale. You already
know how these things are about to go. This is
going to be a loaded episode. Steelers fans,
you're not going to like what I have to say,
but guess what? I'm going to say the things that
need to be said at this point. So guess what?
On three, one, two, three, let's lock in. Lifeboats
doesn't get into the meat and potatoes of everything
that is going on in the league right now. So
before we get into the games, let's talk about
Brian Dable because there's a lot to unpack with
that situation. So this was the statement that
was put out by both John Merritt and Steve Tisch,
owners of the New York Giants. And I quote, We
spoke this morning about the direction of our
franchise on the field, and we have decided that
at this time it is in our best interest to make
a change at the head coaching position. The past
few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing.
We have not met our expectations for this franchise.
We understand the frustrations of our fans, and
we will work to deliver a significantly improved
product. We appreciate Coach Dable for his contributions
to our organization. We wish the Dable family
all the best in the future, end quote. With that
being said, John Mayer and Steve Tisch have already
said that Joe Shane will remain in his position
as general manager and will lead the search for
a new head coach. But this is what they had to
say about Joe Shane moving forward, and I quote.
we feel like joe has assembled a good young nucleus
of talent and we look forward to its development
unfortunately the results over the past three
years have not been what any of us want we take
full responsibility for those results and look
forward to the kind of success our fans expect
in quote but they go on to say this though and
i quote these are difficult decisions and john
and i do not take them lightly but we feel like
this is the right thing to do at this time and
will allow us to move forward, end quote. Brian
Dable's overall record is 20 -40 -1. Now, if
you break that down year by year, here's what
it is. In 2022, 9 -7 -1, they made it to the
playoffs that year. In 2023, 6 -11. In 2024,
3 -14. In 2025, 2 -8, even though the season
is still going. If we want to be honest here,
Brian Dable was on borrowed time. Technically
speaking, last year he should have been fired.
But they decided to give him and Joe Shane another
year, thinking that they're going to turn things
around. And so far, they really haven't been
able to. Now, some of that is because of Brian
Dable, and some of that is because of Joe Shane.
But I think the part that's really grabbing a
lot of people's attention is how Brian Dable
conducted himself with both players and coaches.
So according to Jordan Renan of ESPN, Brian Dable
flipped a tablet at Daniel Jones. He was on the
sideline going back and forth with Wink Martindale
that led into the locker room during a 2023 loss
against the Cowboys. He was caught on camera
giving his special teams coordinator a death
stare during a preseason game. He was fined by
the league for illegally going into the blue
tent while Jackson Dart was being assessed for
a concussion. And Joe Shane had to listen in
on communication between him and his coaches
just to make sure that everything was right.
But here's the cherry on top. Apparently, a player
told ESPN. that Brian Dable had exploded and
threatened to take away the play calling from
Mike Kafka after tight end Theo Johnson dropped
a crucial third down pass against the Eagles.
Now, I understand that, you know, as a coach,
you have to deal with a lot of responsibilities
and sometimes your frustrations can leak over
into the sidelines. I get that. But there is
a level of professionalism that you must abide
by. You cannot do these type of reckless things
and not think that no one's going to say anything
about it. I understand that when you lose a lot,
a lot of the dirty laundry comes out, but you
just have to find a way to just eliminate the
outside noise and try to be focused on the task
at hand. Not go at your coaches and players and
giving people death stares and whatnot. You have
to be able to control the things that you can
control. Now, I'll be honest here. Some of these
things are out of Brian Dable's hands. The way
the roster is built, that's out of his hands.
You have to take that up with Joe Shane, but
we're gonna save him for a moment because we
have to talk about how the Giants have been unsuccessful
in hiring head coaches. And this goes back for
a while now. 2017, when they had Spaggs, his
head coaching record, one and three, and then
they let him go. Pat Shermer from 2018 to 2019,
nine and 23. Joe Judge, 2020 to 2021, 10 and
23. Brian Dable, 20 and 40. There is a track
record that shows that the Giants have not been
successful in hiring a good head coach. Now,
the question is, can you blame John Mayer for
this? Can you blame the GM? Who do you blame
with these hires? Because all of these hires
have been bad. Now, granted, I mean, Spaggs has,
you know, had a resurgence in his coaching career
as a defensive coordinator with the Chiefs. But
outside of him, who else can you say is still
coaching in the league right now? None of them.
Now, while I was preparing for this episode,
I was like, you know what? What is the angle
that I want to take with this Brian Dable incident?
And so, you know what? I decided to look at all
the offensive rankings during his tenure with
the Giants. So his first year with the Giants
in 2022, they had the 19th best offense in the
league. And they averaged 21 .5 points per game,
333 .6 yards per game. 5 .2 yards per play, and
38 touchdowns. They were 26th in passing offense
and they averaged 185 .7 passing yards per game,
5 .5 passing yards per play, and 17 passing touchdowns.
They were 4th in rushing offense and they averaged
148 .2 rushing yards per game. 4 .8 rushing yards
per play, 21 rushing touchdowns, and 74 rushes
of 10 plus yards or more. In 2023, they were
29th in the league, and they averaged 15 .6 points
per game, 280 .5 yards per game, 4 .5 yards per
play, and 25 touchdowns. They were 31st in passing
offense, and they averaged 169 .8 passing yards
per game. 4 .8 passing yards per play, and 15
passing touchdowns. They were 16th in rushing
offense and they averaged 110 .2 rushing yards
per game, 4 .1 rushing yards per play, 10 rushing
touchdowns, and 49 rushes of 10 plus yards or
more. In 2024, they were 30th in the league and
they averaged 16 .1 points per game, 294 .8 yards
per game. 4 .7 yards per play and 28 touchdowns.
They were 28th in passing offense and they averaged
189 .9 passing yards per game, 5 .1 passing yards
per play and 15 passing touchdowns. They were
23rd in the league in rushing offense and they
averaged 104 .9 rushing yards per game. 4 .2
rushing yards per play, 13 rushing touchdowns,
and 46 rushes of 10 plus yards or more in 2025.
They were 14th in the league and they averaged
21 .7 points per game, 332 .9 yards per game,
5 .2 yards per play, and 26 touchdowns. They
were 17th in passing offense and they averaged
209 .9 passing yards per game, 5 .9 passing yards
per play, and 13 passing touchdowns. They were
11th in rushing offense and they average 123
rushing yards per game, 4 .3 rushing yards per
play, five rushing touchdowns, and 32 rushes
of 10 plus yards or more. So outside of his first
year, the Giants offensively have regressed significantly.
Now, can we blame that on Daniel Jones? Can we
blame that on Saquon walking from the Giants?
Can we blame that on people getting hurt? Most
likely you can. But the proof is in the pudding
here, folks. The offense has not been good enough.
And I'll be honest here, and I don't want to
seem like I'm just grinding my axe against Joe
Shane, but I believe the number one thing that
hurt the Giants the most was Saquon leaving.
Because Saquon wasn't just a running back. He
was the offense as a whole. He could be the receiving
option. He could be the bell cow. He could be
whatever you want him to be in the offense. And
Joe Shane didn't want to pay him. And Joe Shane
laughed in front of John Mayer and said, who
is going to pay a running back X amount of dollars?
And you know what the Eagles said? We'll do it.
And you know what happened? They won a Super
Bowl off it. And I think another thing that really
hurt the Giants was just letting Daniel Jones
just walk. I understand that at that point he
had been hurt and he had just, you know, regressed
significantly and he just wasn't himself. I get
all of that. but you just don't let somebody
like a Daniel Jones just walk. Because now look,
he is now looking like a potential MVP candidate
this year. He could be the sole reason why the
Colts make a deep playoff run this year. So I
understand that everybody has their opinions
about Brian Dable, but the person we need to
be talking about is Joe Shane. Because it's just
weird to me how Brian Daybo leaves, but Joe Shane
is staying, and he now has a voice in who the
next head coach is going to be. I'm sorry here,
folks. I'll just be honest here. Joe Shane, to
me, this is just my personal opinion, cannot
be a GM. Anytime you have somebody that is focused
on the defense way too much and is willing to
move heaven and earth for Brian Burns, even though
right now it's looking like it's paying off very
well. But you're not willing to pay your homegrown
talent in Saquon Barkley? That is a problem.
When we look at Joe Shane's draft classes since
being with the Giants, in 22, he had Kayvon Thibodeau,
Evan Neal, Wondell Robinson, Cordell Flott, Daniel
Bellinger, Dane Belton, just to name a few. In
23, you had Deontay Banks, John Michael Schmitz,
Jalen Hyatt, Eric Gray, Trey Hawkins, Jordan
Riley. 24, Malik Neighbors, Tyler Newman, Andrew
Phillips, Theo Johnson, Tyrone Tracy. 25, Abdul
Carter, Jackson Dart, Darius Alexander, Cam Scadabo,
Marcus Membo, Corey Black, just to name a few.
Ask yourself this. Under Joe Shane, do you believe
that the Giants are much closer to being competitive?
Or do you believe that they're in the same spot?
Let me know in the comments on our YouTube Football
Junkies pod. Let me know. Because I already have
the answer for you. And it's a flat out no. Now,
with that being said, I know there's a lot of
people who are giving their two cents on who
they believe should be the next head coach for
the Giants. But I'll be honest here. The number
one thing that they need to shoot for is somebody
that has head coaching experience. Not the hottest
name, not the hottest offensive coordinator,
defensive coordinator. They need to go after
somebody who has been a head coach, a successful.
head coach specifically. And another requirement
for the next head coach is they need to have
a track record of developing rookie quarterbacks.
And I think the number one name that comes to
mind is Mike McCarthy. For starters, he's familiar
with the division. He has a track record of really
good offenses and most quarterbacks under Mike
McCarthy play really well. So I think that checks
all the boxes moving forward. Now the question
is, does Mike McCarthy want to be the head coach
for the Giants? Only time will tell. But let's
talk about Joe Witt losing his defensive play
calling responsibility. So this is what Dan Quinn
had to say about this, and I quote, When something's
not working, we shift from the question of why
isn't it working to what do we need to do to
get it right. Right now, that'll call for some
change. I'll take over the role as a defensive
coordinator and all that it entails. Joe's been
my right -hand man for years and took the news
like the pro that he is. As a defensive staff,
including Joe, We're all consumed by getting
it right, and that's exactly what we intend to
do, end quote. But Dan Quinn goes on to say this,
end I quote, I think now just after watching
and reviewing the tape, we felt off. I thought
this is the time to add into that and lean in.
Joe and I have got a great vibe together. We've
worked together through our time in Dallas, and
we'll lean back into that space where he'll help
me along the way and all that leads up into the
game and calling it end quote. Now, here are
the defensive rankings under Joe Witt. So last
year, they were 13th in the league, and they
allowed 23 points per game, 326 .9 yards per
game, 5 .4 yards per play, and 43 touchdowns.
They were third in passing offense, and they
allowed 189 .5 passing yards per game, 6 passing
yards per play, and 25 passing touchdowns. They
were 30th in run defense, and they allowed 18
rushing touchdowns, 137 .5 rushing yards per
game, 4 .8 rushing yards per play, and 64 rushes
of 10 plus yards or more. Currently, they are
30th in the league, and they have allowed 28
points per game, 394 .6 yards per game, 6 .4
yards per play, and 31 touchdowns. They are 31st
in passing defense and they have allowed 260
.2 passing yards per game, 7 .9 passing yards
per play, and 22 passing touchdowns. They are
23rd in run defense and they have allowed 9 rushing
touchdowns, 134 .4 rushing yards per game, 4
.6 rushing yards per play, and 35 rushes of 10
plus yards or more. I'll be honest with you guys.
I knew at some point something was going to happen
because the commanders defensively have been
giving up way too many points over a period of
time. And so some move was going to be made.
Either a coordinator was going to get fired,
a position coach was going to get fired, someone
was going to have to turn over their play calling
abilities. But can we blame Joe Witt for this?
Yes and no. And the reason why I say that is
because during the offseason, they didn't do
enough to add in younger talent. You can't just
give the big money that you gave to Javon Kinlaw,
sign old -ass Von Miller, sign old -ass Preston
Smith, and think, oh, okay, this is going to
work. No, it hasn't worked. You can't stop the
run. You can't stop the pass. What are you good
at at this point? And it also doesn't help that
the commander's defense is one of the oldest
defenses in the league. The average age on the
commander's defense is 28 and a half years old.
They're right behind the Vikings. So if you expect
the same thing that you saw last year from them,
you're sadly mistaken. It doesn't help that your
pass rush isn't able to create pressure on quarterbacks.
It doesn't help that your interior defensive
line can't do anything. It doesn't help that
Marshawn Lattimore is out for the year. Trey
Amos is out for the year. You didn't do enough
during the trade deadline to at least bring in
some younger talent. My hope next year is that
they address the defense hard. The pass rush
class is supposed to be really good next year.
There's a few good corners that are catching
my eye. Caleb Downs is there. Arvell Reese. The
list goes on. So you have to bring in younger
talent because right now what you have is not
going to be successful. It's the same thing with
the offense as well. If you expect to do the
same thing that you did last year, you're sadly
mistaken because why? Everybody now has tape
on what you like to do. They know your tendencies.
They know how you like to use your corners, your
defensive linemen, your pass rushers. While I
was recording this episode, I was watching the
Commanders game. I just wanted to see, hey, is
this going to be the game where they lock in
and they actually try to get a win? No. When
the game went into overtime, The Dolphins ran
the ball down the commander's throat and the
commanders didn't have an answer for it. So what
in the world do you guys expect? Did you guys
really expect for this defense to do the same
thing that they did last year? No, because why?
You don't have the horses to do it. The only
person in your pass rush that actually has upside
is who? Jacob Martin. Outside of him, Frankie
Lou Vu is a hit or miss. Von Miller is a hit
or miss. Preston Smith is a hit or miss. Deron
Payne is a hit or miss. In a league right now
where the defensive line is one of the most important
things for a team, where you have to create constant
pressure on these elite quarterbacks, you would
think, hey, maybe we should just at least make,
you know, one good move. Or maybe we should do
something a little bit more creative just so
we can have a little bit of an edge over our
opponent. No. I literally saw this Commander's
team, when they faced the Lions last week, get
demolished in the run game. They had no answer
for it. But again, you cannot put all the blame
on Joe Witt. You have to put that on Adam Peters.
But don't worry. We're going to talk about that
during the offseason, during gut check time.
We're going to talk about this. But let's talk
about these games, all right? Let's talk about
the Broncos and Raiders first. So, Geno Smith,
26 attempts for 16 completions. 143 passing yards,
one pick, 5 .5 yards per attempt, and a 61 .5
completion percentage. Ashton Genting, 19 attempts
for 60 rushing yards, 3 .2 rushing yards per
carry, one touchdown, and one rush of 10 plus
yards or more. Tyler Lockett, six targets for
five receptions, 44 receiving yards, 8 .8 receiving
yards per reception. Bo Nix, 28 attempts for
16 completions. 150 passing yards, one touchdown,
two picks, 5 .4 yards per attempt, and a 57 .1
completion percentage. J .K. Dobbins, 18 attempts
for 77 rushing yards, 4 .3 rushing yards per
carry, and one rush of 10 plus yards or more.
Pat Bryant, two targets for one reception, 43
receiving yards, and 43 receiving yards per reception.
Crazy, right? I know. So a couple takeaways from
this, all right? For starters, the play calling
in this game for both teams was very questionable.
There was a point in time where the Raiders were
doing the tush push and they wasn't even close
to the line of scrimmage. So I'm trying to figure
out why you're doing this now. I understand Thursday
night games are bad. I understand that it's one
of those games where you just leave it on for
background noise if you're cleaning up your room
or you're cooking or you're doing some work or
whatever. But this right here was atrocious on
both sides. The Broncos did not look like the
dominant team that I thought they were going
to be. Right now, they're looking like some frauds.
Outside of that defense, that offense is looking
a little bit shaky. So I don't know what they
need to do, but they need to lock in. Because
right now, the Broncos are staring at a chance
to make a deep playoff run. The only teams that
you have to worry about is the Chargers, the
Colts, and the Patriots, and possibly the Ravens
if you want to sprinkle them in there. Outside
of those teams, you can beat anybody. else. You
can beat the Chiefs. You can beat the Bills.
But that offense has to be clicking. Now, it
doesn't help that they've lost J .K. Dobbins
for a period of time. So now the question is,
what are they going to do now moving forward?
Because the run game was successful on Thursday
night. And you know you're going to need your
run game as the season begins to dwindle down
and we start to get closer and closer to playoff
seeding and then the actual playoffs. But keep
a bookmark on that. for future episodes, okay?
Let's talk about the Raiders. This by far has
to be Geno Smith's worst game of his career.
I understand that Raheem Mostert didn't block
for him and, you know, he got in his face and
then later on on the sideline, he's trying to
dab him. Hey, man, come on, man. You know, I
was just angry with you, man. Raheem Mostert
looked at him and said, man, if you don't get
out my face, if you don't get out my face, like,
this is the Raiders that we're talking about.
The same old Raiders that we've been seeing for
the past five years just continue to drop egg
after egg after egg. But the question I have
for the Raiders is, what are you going to do
next year to at least try to make things better?
Are you going to make a change on offense and
defensive coordinator? Are you going to possibly
let go of Geno Smith? What are you going to do
to at least give fans a little bit of hope? Because
right now, there is no hope for the Raiders.
But on to the Falcons, okay? So Michael Penix,
28 attempts for 12 completions, 177 passing yards,
one touchdown, 6 .3 yards per attempt, and a
42 .9 completion percentage. Bijan Robinson,
17 attempts for 84 rushing yards, 4 .9 rushing
yards per carry, and three rushes of 10 plus
yards or more. Drake London, eight targets for
six receptions. 104 receiving yards, 1 touchdown,
and 17 .3 receiving yards per reception. Daniel
Jones, 26 attempts for 19 completions, 255 passing
yards, 1 touchdown, 1 pick, 9 .8 yards per attempt,
a 73 .1 completion percentage, and took on 7
sacks. Keep that in mind, because we're going
to talk about that in a little bit. Jonathan
Taylor. 32 attempts for 244 rushing yards, 7
.6 rushing yards per carry, 3 touchdowns, 7 .1
rushing yards after contact, and 5 rushes of
10 plus yards or more. Tyler Warren, 10 targets
for 8 receptions, 99 receiving yards, and 12
.4 receiving yards per reception. So here's a
few junkie nuggets. Jonathan Taylor gained 228
of his 244 rushing yards after contact. The most
by any running back over the past 9 seasons.
In 17 matchups against Sauce Gardner, Drake London
caught two of four targets for 26 yards and a
two -point conversion. Daniel Jones was blitzed
over 40 % of his dropbacks at 46 .2 % for the
first time since week two. He was sacked seven
of his 16 pressure dropbacks, and in the past
two weeks, Daniel Jones has committed over five
turnovers when under pressure. The Falcons' defense
generated 16 pressures and 39 dropbacks while
having a 41 % pressure rate. They converted seven
of those 16 pressures into sacks, their highest
pressure -to -sack ratio this season. Nine different
Falcon defenders had at least one pressure. James
Pierce had five. Caden Ellis and Jalen Walker
had four pressures apiece. So with that being
said... I'll be honest here, because I know I
think I was a little bit too hard on the Falcons
last episode with gut check time. The Falcons
are playing better than what their record shows.
Believe it or not, this is actually a really
good roster. But it's going to rely on the progression
of Michael Penix. If he can continue to grow,
the Falcons will be a problem within the next
two years. Because you're already seeing promise
with both Jalen Walker and James Pierce. You
know B. John Robinson is a dog. You know Drake
London is productive. And you know the offensive
line is still intact. So there really isn't a
lot of holes on this team. All they need to do
is just get better. And that takes time. But
the fact that the Falcons defense was able to
create constant pressure on Daniel Jones is very
promising. And I think that's something that
you can hang your hat on moving forward. Because
for the longest time, What was one of the knocks
against the Falcons? They weren't able to create
pressure. Now you have two guys that are able
to do it, and they're doing it at a very high
clip. When you look at the Colts, however, I'll
be honest here, Jonathan Taylor is either the
MVP or the Offensive Player of the Year. I'll
just be honest with you. Right now you have Jonathan
Taylor, you have Daniel Jones, you have Sam Darnold,
possibly Baker Mayfield, and maybe two or three
other players that you could say, hey, those
are potential MVP candidates this year. But it's
just crazy that you have two players on the same
team that are balling out this year. Which, I
mean, is a little bit crazy because, you know,
the Giants had Daniel Jones, but they decided
to just let him walk. And you know what? We're
not talking about the Giants. We're talking about
the Colts, okay? We're focused on the Colts.
A troubling trend we're starting to see with
the Colts' offense is they're allowing a lot
of pressure. And you have to give credit to the
Steelers for giving the blueprint for all the
other teams to see, hey, this is how you can
disrupt Daniel Jones. Because there was a point
in time in this game where it looked like the
Colts almost lost this game. And if it wasn't
for Jonathan Taylor being the bell cow and dog
that he is, they would have lost this game. Because
Jalen Walker and James Pierce and Caden Ellis
alone were creating constant pressure on Daniel
Jones. And he was looking like a deer in headlights
sometimes. I know there was like one part of
the game they were showing Daniel Jones. His
mouth was all bloody. You would have thought
this man was in a street fight or something.
Because Jalen Walker and James Pierce was just
going at Daniel Jones. You might as well want
to call them Team 3D at this point because that's
what they were doing. They were 3D -ing Daniel
Jones through a table. If you know, you know
for all my wrestlers fans out there, okay? That's
a wrestler pun right there. You know what? Forget
about that. But on a serious note, I think this
was a really good game for both teams. And even
though the Falcons lost, you still won because
you're starting to see promise in your younger
players, which is a good thing. And it's starting
to give you a little bit of confidence into next
year. I'll be honest here. I sort of take back
a lot of things that I've said about the Falcons
this year. Because I feel like I was a little
bit too hard on them. And after seeing that game,
even though it was just one game, there's promise
with this team. If they hit on at least two more
drafts, that will be the team that people are
going to have to worry about moving forward.
They're in a good spot. You just have to build
off of it. Now let's talk about the Steelers.
Let's talk about the Steelers, folks. Aaron Rodgers,
31 attempts for 16 completions, 161 passing yards,
one touchdown, two picks, 5 .2 yards per attempt,
and a 51 .6 completion percentage. Jalen Warren,
14 attempts for 70 rushing yards, five rushing
yards per carry, and two rushes of 10 plus yards
or more. DK Metcalf, 7 targets for 3 receptions,
35 receiving yards, and 11 .7 receiving yards
per reception. Justin Herbert, 33 attempts for
20 completions, 220 passing yards, 1 touchdown,
6 .7 yards per attempt, and a 60 .6 completion
percentage. Kamani Vidal, 25 attempts for 95
rushing yards, 3 .8 rushing yards per carry,
1 touchdown, and 4 rushes of 10 plus yards or
more. Ladd McConkie, 6 targets or 4 receptions.
107 receiving yards, 1 touchdown, and 26 .8 receiving
yards per reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets
with this game. When running to the left side
of the formation, Kamani Vidal was 25 carries
for 95 yards and 1 touchdown. Aaron Rodgers didn't
complete a pass under pressure, finishing 0 of
5, taking 3 sacks in safety. On pass attempts
under 2 .5 seconds, Justin Herbert was 15 of
21, which is 71 .4%. for 145 yards and one touchdown.
But on throws longer than 2 .5 seconds, Justin
Herbert was 5 of 12, 41 .7%, for 75 yards. The
Steelers ranked 26th in third down conversion
percentage at 36 % this season so far. They were
21 .21 % in the last three games and 18 .18 %
in the last game, according to TeamRankings .com.
Shout out to them. The Chargers' time of possession
this game, 37 minutes and 35 seconds, while the
Steelers' time of possession was 22 minutes and
25 seconds, according to ESPN. The Steelers'
third down efficiency was 2 for 11, while the
Chargers' was 6 for 17. Kudos to the Chargers
for playing a really good game against the Steelers,
especially defensively. They did their job. They
made sure to take away Rodgers' first read. And
they made him pay for it every single time. And
mind you, the Chargers wasn't playing a flashy
game at all. All they were doing was just the
routine things. Making the tackle, getting after
the quarterback, creating constant pressure,
and most importantly, control the game. And sometimes
just doing that, you can win more than lose.
But major props to the offense for playing the
way that they did without their starting tackles.
If you would have told me that going into this
game that the Chargers wouldn't have neither
one of their starting tackles, but still found
a way to win, I would have called you a liar.
Because play after play, drive after drive, they
were grinding the Steelers down. And you saw
how it was affecting them, especially in the
fourth quarter. Because at that point, the Steelers'
defense was gassed. Because why? They were on
the field for way too long. But I think what
the Chargers have right now is sustainable, and
I think they could definitely make some noise
in the playoffs. The question is, how far can
they go? Because right now, in their division
alone, the Broncos is the only team that they
have to worry about. You already know the Raiders
aren't going to do anything, and the Chiefs at
this point are on the outside looking in. They
know right now that most likely, in order for
them to make it to the Super Bowl, they're going
to have to be on the road. At least two or three
times. I don't think they want that. And I don't
think the Chiefs want to have to face the Chargers
or the Broncos in the playoffs. But we'll save
that for a couple weeks, all right? Let's talk
about the Steelers. Arthur Smith needs to start
using Jalen Warren more. I don't know what it
is, but Arthur Smith needs to get his head out
of his ass. Because why is it that you continue
to not use Jalen Warren when you know every single
time that he's on the field, he's making plays.
Every single time he gets the rock, it's almost
a first down. Every time that he's pass blocking,
that's buying Aaron Rodgers more time. He is
the offense. It's not DK Metcalf. It's not Pat
Friermuth. It's Jalen Warren. And the fact that
you don't want to use him for your own personal
reasons is a little bit crazy to me. Because
this is the same thing that we saw last year.
We were told that Jalen Warren works better in
Arthur Smith's system than Najee Harris. So then
Najee walks and now Jalen Warren is the primary
back. And now guess what? You're not using Jalen
Warren. You're instead using Kenneth Gainwell.
And this is no shot at Kenneth Gainwell. Love
his game. Love everything that he's done this
season. But you have to start using your most
pivotal player. Otherwise, this offense isn't
going to go anywhere. And Arthur Smith has to
start scheming up better plays. And I understand
that Aaron Rodgers a lot of times is probably
checking out of plays. But you have to do something
different. Because right now, the defense can't
do it all. You have to be able to find a way
to control the time of possession game. Otherwise,
guess what? You're going to hurt this defense
more than help it. The defense is going to be
on the field for 20, 25, close to 30 plus minutes
a game. And by the fourth quarter, they won't
be able to make a splash play because why? They're
gassed. So it's up to the offense to say, you
know what? We're going to slow things down. We're
going to grind this game out. And we're going
to disrupt the rhythm of the opponent's offense.
Understand something here, folks. The reason
why the time of possession game is so important
is because not only are you giving your defense
time to catch their breath, you're chewing the
clock while at the same time disrupting whatever
rhythm that the opponent's offense had. So if
you're the Steelers, for instance, a team that
doesn't have a lot of talent on their team, and
has an older defense, you want to play the time
of possession game so you can give your defense
time to regain their juice. Because if you don't
do that, the opponent's offense is going to slow
down the game and they're going to grind out
your defense. And you don't want that. But another
takeaway from this game that we need to talk
about is Aaron Rodgers doesn't trust Broderick
Jones. There was a play where Deshaun Hand just
flat out manhandled Broderick Jones. And it forced
Aaron Rodgers to just chuck the ball out so he
doesn't get a fumble. And he was livid at Broderick
Jones. And Broderick Jones was like, hey, what
did I do? What did I do? And that's a problem.
Everybody realizes that if you want to attack
Aaron Rodgers, go at the left tackle. Because
the right side of the offensive line is good.
And you sending Darnell Washington or whatever
tight end you want to send over there trying
to help out is not going to solve anything. At
this point. Broderick Jones has shown that he
is not an adequate left tackle in the National
Football League, and that is a problem. When
we look at older quarterbacks, specifically Matthew
Stafford, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning, what
is the one thing that they all have in common?
They had a really good offensive line when they
went to their second team. The first thing that
the Buccaneers addressed for Tom Brady was getting
a tackle. And what did they do? They got Tristan
Wirfs. Because they realize that by giving Tom
Brady an adequate offensive line, he is able
to sit in the pocket and pick apart defenses.
It's the same thing with Matthew Stafford. It's
the same thing with Peyton Manning. And so far,
we've seen that Aaron Rodgers in the last few
years has not had a good offensive line. Even
his tenure with the Jets, he didn't have a good
offensive line. He had an old Tyron Smith. And
then you had Olof Vashonu, who technically wasn't
a right tackle. He was a left tackle, but we
all know that he's not beating Tyron Smith. And
then you go from that to now you have this offensive
line that has Broderick Jones, who looks like
a bust, Ida Siamalu, who at this point is probably
going to retire after this season, Zach Frazier,
who looks like a promising center, Mason McCormick,
who looks like a promising right guard, and Troy
Vatanu, who looks like a beast. So I say all
that to say this. Whenever you have an older
quarterback, you have to emphasize protecting
them because they don't want to get hit. Aaron
Rodgers doesn't like to get hit, and it showed
in this game. There were a lot of times where
he was trying to find a way to scramble, even
though he realized that, listen, I can't scramble
like how I used to. So a lot of times he just
has to be a sitting duck. And who wants to do
that? But something that really caught my eye
was what TJ Watt and Cam Hayward said. TJ Watts
said this, and I quote, we can't continue to
live and die by the turnovers as a defense. We
need to get off the field and stop the run. Critical
third downs, we need to do a better job. No excuse
for it. We have to play better, end quote. Now
he goes on to say this, and I quote, we're an
advantageous group. We feel like we have the
opportunity to get a turnover on every play.
We're punching at the ball. We're doing everything
we possibly can, but we weren't just able to
get the ball out. On those days you're not able
to get the ball, you need to bow up on those
big time third down situations and get off the
field and we weren't able to do that, end quote.
Now this is what Cam Hayward had to say, end
I quote. I'm not looking for an excuse. I'm looking
to just play better. We talk about it, but do
we really know what we're doing? Play in and
play out? Do we trust the guy next to us? Defense,
offense, do we trust each other to be in the
right spots to make plays, end quote. I'm going
to be really honest with what I'm getting ready
to say. And I know that's probably going to blow
up on social media and everything. If you're
the Steelers and you truly believe that what
you have right now is successful and all you
need is just a competent quarterback, I think
you need to pivot on trying to get a quarterback
in the 26 draft class. And I think you need to
make a trade for a veteran quarterback. Because
right now, from everything that I've heard from
Todd McShay, and I talked about this in the previous
episode, the 26 draft class for quarterbacks
has essentially dried up. And there are some
scouts that have question marks about Fernando
Mendoza. So instead of you doing what you did
with Kenny Pickett, I would rather for you to
get an established quarterback that's already
in the league than to try to whiff on a quarterback
again. Now, there are a few quarterbacks that
I'm thinking about. Tua, Trevor Lawrence, Kyler
Murray, Geno Smith, possibly. Baker Mayfield,
if him and the Buccaneers can't come to an agreement
on an extension. Kirk Cousins, possibly. Brock
Purdy. You know what? Let's go and break down
each and every one of these players. So if you
traded for Tua, right now his base salary this
year is $25 million, according to Spotrat. His
cap hit is $39 .1 million. His dead cap this
year is 137 .8 million. Now next year, his base
salary is 39 million, his cap hit is 56 .4 million,
and his dead cap is 99 .2 million. Now he has
a potential out in 27. So with Tua, you know
his strengths and his weaknesses at this point,
but the question is, if you was to bring Tua
on this team, would he be an upgrade over what
you have? Or would he be an upgrade over any
quarterback that you would draft in 26? Now,
granted, I understand that they're trying to
get a quarterback. I understand that they probably
had high hopes about the 26 draft class, as a
lot of people did. But the fact of the matter
is, the people that they probably wanted to get,
they're going back to school or they're hurt.
So everyone that's left is a question mark. Nico
Imalava. I could just continue to name names.
But the fact of the matter is, they haven't been
playing well. So you could talk yourself out
of drafting them. We all saw what they did with
Kenny Pickett. And we all knew that it was a
whiff of a pick. If none of the top teams, and
I mean teams within the first five picks, Didn't
want to get Kenny Pickett? Clearly there's a
problem. And this has been a trend with the Steelers
for the past few years. They want to rush and
draft a need instead of just waiting for the
next year. They did it with Kenny Pickett. And
then the following year, you had C .J. Stroud
and company. They did it with Broderick Jones.
The next year, you had a really good tackle class.
You had Calvin Banks. You had Talois Fiwaga.
You had Troy Furtano, just to name a few. So
I say all that to say this. Would you go after
Tua? Would he be an upgrade? Would you be willing
to give up some of your draft capital to acquire
him? And that means all you have to do is just
bring in another wide receiver, get another left
tackle, and you're good. Now with Trevor Lawrence,
his base salary this year is only $2 million.
His team million. His dead cap is $133 .5 million.
Next year, his base salary is $2 million, his
cap hit is $24 million, his dead cap is $116
.5 million. So just looking at his contract,
it's essentially back -loaded. So this year and
next year, he has very high dead cap hits, but
his base salary is fairly low. Now I do know
during the offseason... There was some rumors
swirling that the Steelers called the Jaguars
about the availability of Trevor Lawrence. Now
the question is this. Would the Jaguars be open
to trading Trevor Lawrence? Because if I'm not
mistaken, all of these quarterbacks have no trade
clauses. So if they wanted to be traded, they
get to dictate the destination that they want
to go to. Now with Trevor Lawrence, he's a bigger
body quarterback. Who's able to sit in the pocket,
make the big time throws, while at the same time
still being athletic. I think there's promise
with Trevor Lawrence if he's put into the right
situation. The question is, is it with the Steelers?
Would the Steelers be willing to take on his
contract? Because it is a significant contract.
And it really hasn't kicked in. And the way that
the Jaguars structured the contract, they essentially
backloaded it to the last two years. So his base
salary is moving forward is $2 million this year,
$2 million next year, $6 million in 27, and then
$11 million in 28. I think that's somewhat manageable.
But the question is, if you acquire him, would
he be an upgrade? Let's keep this thing going.
Kyler Murray. Now with him... He has two years
left of his contract, not counting this year.
But this year, his base salary is $18 million.
His cap hit is $43 .3 million. Now, here's the
thing with Kyle Murray. There have been questions
about his commitment to the game and his preparation
to the game. So would you be willing to take
on someone like a Kyle Murray? Personally, I
wouldn't, and here's why. For starters, in the
AFC North, you need a bigger body quarterback.
You can't just get a... a 5 '2 or a 5 '11 type
of quarterback. You need somebody that's at least
6 '3 or more because they need to be able to
sit in the pocket when the pocket is collapsing
and make that last minute throw. Now I understand
you probably don't want to go after a quarterback
like Ben because Ben is one of one, but you want
to get a bigger body quarterback because they're
able to last a little bit longer than to go after
these smaller quarterbacks. It shows. Tua and
Kyler Murray are smaller quarterbacks and they
get hurt more compared to a Justin Herbert and
Josh Allen. I'm just being honest here, folks.
We have to have these honest conversations about
the Steelers right now. Because at this point,
if you're Cam Hayward, if you're TJ Watt, what
is the selling point that the Steelers can give
you that's going to keep you committed to playing
for the Steelers? By the time they have a legitimate
chance to go after a quarterback, you may either
pass your prime or close to being past your prime.
Because for all intents and purposes, the 27
class looks very promising. You're going to have
Ryan Williams, Jeremiah Smith, and all of those
quarterbacks. But the question is, how can you
convince your defensive players to buy into this?
Now with Daniel Jones, I just put him up here
just to have a conversation. Do I think the Steelers
will be able to get him? Probably no. I would
not be surprised if the Colts and Daniel Jones
are possibly talking about an extension right
now. But if they don't come to an extension,
his market value right now is four years, 183
.6 million, which is 45 .9 million a year. Now
hear me out. Daniel Jones was doing his thing
against y 'all. So the question is, would you
be willing to get someone like a Daniel Jones?
I'm just saying. Now, granted, you can credit
Daniel Jones' success to having Jonathan Taylor
and a really good offensive line and weapons
around him. But would you be willing to take
that risk? Baker Mayfield, let's be honest here.
I don't think that's going to happen either.
I think the Buccaneers are going to keep him
for the rest of his career. Kirk Cousins at this
point, I don't necessarily see him as an upgrade.
I don't even really see him as somebody that
is pulled over for the 27 class. Anytime that
the Falcons put Kirk Cousins in, he doesn't look
promising at all. And Brock Purdy, this is probably
the most controversial one. Hear me out, right?
If you're the 49ers, would you be willing to
move off of Brock Purdy? if it means that it
keeps your chances of possibly being competitive
and going to the Super Bowl. Because granted,
the 49ers gave Brock Purdy a big contract. And
if I'm being honest here, Matt Jones has been
playing well. And he's been doing this without
a Brandon Iyuk. And I think with Matt Jones,
you would be able to get him cheaper than keeping
Brock Purdy. And Brock Purdy has been getting
injured a lot within the last two or three years.
And mind you, he hasn't even really tapped into
his contract yet. His base salary this year is
only $1 .1 million. His cap hit is $9 .1 million
with a dead cap hit of $100 million. 26. His
base salary is $8 .2 million. Cap hit $24 .7
million. Dead cap $90 .9 million. 27. $11 .3
million in base salary with a cap hit of $30
.8 million and a dead cap of $66 .1 million.
28. $34 .1 million in base salary with a cap
hit of $57 .6 million with a dead cap of $38
.6 million. $29. His base salary is $49 million
with a cap hit of $72 .5 million and a dead cap
of $23 .1 million. $20 .30. $49 million with
a cap hit of $64 .5 million and a dead cap of
$7 .5 million. So technically speaking, his contract
is backloaded to the max. So I think if you're
the Steelers, you may want to go after someone
like a Brock Purdy. I'm just saying. I understand
it's a little bit controversial. I understand
people may not like it. But I think if you're
the 49ers, if you make this move, you can create
more cap space while at the same time bringing
in more talent so that you can at least try to
go on at least one more run. Because I think
their window is just about closed. But I think
they can squeeze out one more crazy run. But
the only way that you can do it is if you move
off of Brock Purdy. Now let's talk about the
Eagles, okay? But before we do that, we got to
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back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks.
Let's talk about the Eagles, all right? So Jalen
Hurts, 26 attempts for 15 completions, 183 passing
yards, one touchdown, seven yards per attempt,
and a 57 .7 completion percentage. Saquon Barkley,
22 attempts for 60 rushing yards, 2 .7 rushing
yards per carry, and one rush of 10 -plus yards
more. Devontae Smith, 7 targets for 4 receptions,
69 receiving yards, 1 touchdown, 17 .3 receiving
yards per reception. Jordan Love, 36 attempts
for 20 completions, 176 passing yards, 4 .9 yards
per attempt, and a 55 .6 completion percentage.
Josh Jacobs, 21 attempts for 74 rushing yards,
3 .5 rushing yards per carry, 1 touchdown, and
2 rushes of 10 plus yards or more. Christian
Watson. Four targets for two receptions, 45 receiving
yards, and 22 .5 receiving yards per reception.
So here's a few junkie nuggets. Jordan Love was
pressured on 17 of 42 dropbacks at 40 .5%, the
second highest pressure rate he's faced this
season. When pressured, Jordan Love completed
three of 12 pass attempts for 21 yards and sacked
three times as well as fumbled. On 36 pass rushes,
Jalen Phillips generated seven pressures, 19
.4%, which is the most pressure in a game that
he's made since week 18 of the 2022 season. This
by far has to be one of the sloppiest games for
the Packers offense. I understand that you guys
made the move for Micah Parsons, but right now
you guys are not living up to the expectations
that everyone had set for you. And mind you,
I wouldn't be talking about the Packers if they
didn't trade for Micah Parsons. But because you
traded for Micah Parsons, you have now opened
the door to any and all criticism, whether it
be negatively or positively. The defense is doing
their job. The offense continues to flop week
after week after week. When they lost to the
Browns, 10 -13. When they lost to the Eagles,
7 -10. The defense is holding these teams to
less than 20 points. And you mean to tell me
that the offense can't just come up with a couple
of plays to put some points on the board just
so they can win the game. This was a very winnable
game for the Packers. And the fact that you lost
the way that you lost is very troublesome. Is
it Jordan Love? Is it Matt LaFleur? Is it a little
bit of both? Who is it at this point? Because
right now, you guys have the golden opportunity
to make it to the Super Bowl. The league is wide
open. This is the most wide open that the league
has been in a long time. The Chiefs are weak.
The Bills are weak. The Eagles are weak. You
have an opportunity of a lifetime to make that
crazy run. But you have to take care of business
during the regular season. If you're not able
to do that, then somebody needs to come in and
handle it. Because right now, it just seems like
the defense is just being the workhorse for this
entire team. And it doesn't work like that. You
have just as much talent on offense as you do
on defense. Jordan Love, you get paid all this
big money and you're not showing up in the games
that you're supposed to win. That's a problem.
Because there is a good chance that you might
have to face the Eagles in the NFC Championship.
And right now, I would venture to say that the
Eagles are going to win that game. Because they
did what they needed to do in pivotal moments.
Whereas the Packers, on the other hand, could
not respond. That right there is an automatic
problem. Now, I understand in the NFL, anything
can happen at any time and whatnot. You lose
to the Browns, okay, fine, chalk it up, all right?
You lose to the Panthers, okay, I'm looking at
you from a side eye. But you lose to the Eagles,
the Eagles, that's a problem. That is a major
problem. We continue to see inconsistencies week
after week with this offense, and it's very troublesome.
When we look at the wins for the Packers, The
only one that you can say was a good one was
the Lions. Outside of that, the Commanders are
trash. The Bengals are trash. The Cardinals are
trash. And the Steelers are frauds. Just like
how this offense is. A bunch of frauds. And I
understand that they don't have the big name
of a wide receiver. But you have Josh Jacobs.
You have Matthew Golden. You have Christian Watson.
Savion Williams. Romeo Dobbs. I can continue
to go down the list. And I understand that you
lost Tucker Craft, but you know what? Everybody
has at least lost one player for the rest of
the year. Everybody has hurt at this point. But
the question is this, what are you going to do
to get the W? Because right now, all I see on
this offense is a bunch of frauds, except for
Josh Jacobs. Outside of him, everybody else in
my mind is frauds. So whatever you need to do,
you need to lock the hell in. Because if you
don't, you are going to miss this window of opportunity.
And then guess what? Three years down the road,
everyone's complaining, man, we had a golden
opportunity. We messed it up for ourselves. Well,
you guess what? You got to blame that on your
coach. You got to blame that on your quarterback.
You got to blame that on your offense. Because
they had a chance. But you choked it. Now on
to the Eagles. You got the win, but at what cost?
Because right now, A .J. Brown has said something
that I think you can't hate him for it because
it's the truth. This is what he said, and I quote,
It's not just solely about my situation. I want
to win too. I think if we're really focused on
winning and doing our job, we can't just keep
slapping a band -aid over the defense doing their
job and getting us out of trouble. At what point
are we going to pick up our slack as an offense?
That's what I'm getting at. It's not about, I
don't care about winning. All I care about is
stats. No, it's been week after week. Sometimes
we're not doing our job on offense. You can't
keep slapping a bandaid over that and expect
to win late in the year and think you're going
to go to that at the end of the year. It's not
going to fucking happen. End quote. This is what
he said. It's not what I said. This is what AJ
Brown said. Okay. Now I did a little bit of digging.
And when you compare the Eagles offense last
year to this year, I can see why A .J. Brown
feels the way that he feels, okay? So this time
last year, they had the sixth best offense in
the league, and they had a pass play percentage
of 42 .9%, and they averaged 26 points per game,
434 yards per game, 6 .2 yards per play, and
four offensive touchdowns. They were 19th in
passing offense, and they averaged 206 passing
yards per game, 6 .9 passing yards per play.
Which isn't bad, but at the same time really
isn't that good either. But they were first in
rushing offense. And they had a run play percentage
of 57 .1 % and averaged 228 rushing yards per
game, 5 .7 rushing yards per play, 3 rushing
touchdowns, and 4 rushes of 10 plus yards or
more. Compared to this year, right? They are
18th in the league with a pass play percentage
of 43 .3%. 10 points per game, 294 yards per
game, 4 .9 yards per play, and 1 offensive touchdown.
Now, they're 16th in passing offense this year,
and they average 183 passing yards per game,
7 passing yards per play, and 1 passing touchdown.
1 passing touchdown. Unacceptable. Now, they're
19th in rushing offense with a 56 .7 % run play
percentage. and averaged 3 .3 rushing yards per
play in two rushes of 10 plus yards or more.
So he is right. Statistically speaking, this
offense has actually regressed compared to last
year. Now, is that because of the offensive coordinator?
Is that because of Jordan Love? You could probably
say it's probably a mixture of both, but the
proof is in the pudding. When you turn on the
tape and you look at the Eagles, you can see
that offensively they have regressed significantly.
And it's not like A .J. Brown is out for the
year or Devontae Smith is out for the year or
this person is hurt or that person is hurt. No,
everybody is fairly healthy. So then what's the
problem? Do I think it's probably because of
the offensive coordinator? I would venture to
say yes. And the reason why I say that is because
for the past few years, the Eagles offensive
coordinators have just been a nonstop roller
coaster. One minute you have a really good offensive
coordinator, then you have a bad offensive coordinator.
You have a good offensive coordinator, you have
a bad offensive coordinator. And right now, Kevin
Petula is not a good offensive coordinator. I'm
sorry, you have Saquon Barkley, Devontae Smith,
and A .J. Brown. You mean to tell me that you
guys aren't dominating teams left and right?
And granted, I understand that at this point,
everybody has enough tape on all of these players
and they know how to at least slow them down
a little bit. But this offense has regressed
tremendously. Now, I'm not calling for anybody
to get fired, but you may have to make another
move at offensive coordinator. But this is what
I said a couple episodes ago. The offensive coordinator
woes will be the reason why A .J. Brown and Devontae
Smith will want to leave this team. And I will
continue to stand on it. And one more thing about
this game. Can we please start officiating the
tush push correctly? Because every time they
show the replay of the Eagles doing the tush
push, you can clearly see that they have a two
to three second head start over the defense.
And they're not getting called for it. Even though
they're the inventors of it. But if this is any
other team, oh, flag, flag, flag, flag, flag,
flag. You get a flag. You get a flag. You get
a flag. You get a flag. No. I don't know what's
going to happen with the Packers facing the Giants
because I'm watching the game right now. But
I hope and pray that the Packers find a way to
win this game. Because if they don't, the noise
is just going to continue to grow. And there's
going to start being people that are going to
call for Matt LaFleur to lose his job. Just saying.
Now on to the final game, all right? The Bills
and the Dolphins. So Josh Allen, 40 attempts
for 28 completions, 306 passing yards, two touchdowns,
one pick, 7 .7 yards per attempt, and a 70 %
completion percentage. James Cook. 13 attempts
for 53 rushing yards, 4 .1 rushing yards per
carry, and 1 rush of 10 plus yards or more. Khalir
Shakir, 9 targets for 7 receptions, 58 receiving
yards, and 8 .3 receiving yards per reception.
Tua, 21 attempts for 15 completions, 173 passing
yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 picks, 8 .2 yards per
attempt, and a 71 .4 completion percentage. Devon
Achain. 22 attempts for 174 rushing yards, 7
.9 rushing yards per carry, and 5 rushes of 10
plus yards or more. Jalen Waddell, 7 targets
for 5 receptions, 84 receiving yards, 1 touchdown,
and 16 .8 receiving yards per reception. So here's
a few junkie nuggets. The Dolphins have used
21 personnel on 41 .5 % on design runs this season,
the highest rate in the NFL. When running 21
personnel, Devon A. Chan leads the league with
250 rushing yards and seven explosive runs. Josh
Allen averaged a time to throw of 3 .5 seconds,
the longest time to throw in the game since week
15 of the 2018 season. I'll be honest with you.
Dolphins, I was unfamiliar with your game. Mike
McDaniel, I was unfamiliar with your game. Because
man, oh man, did you guys fight during this entire
game. And you literally saw the energy being
sapped from the Bills. Remember this, my fellow
junkies. The team that doesn't have anything
to lose will fight the hardest. And that's exactly
what happened with the Dolphins. They have nothing
to lose. They know that their season is over.
They know that most likely a lot of the people
that are on this team right now will not be on
this team next year. And you know what? Kudos
to Mike McDaniel. Because in the face of adversity,
he has not given up once. And it looks like to
me that this team hasn't given up on Mike McDaniel.
And I think that's promising if you're ownership.
Now am I saying that he's due for another extension?
No. But I will say this. I think you have to
keep him. And I think you have to keep Tua. There's
something there. But you just can't give up on
Mike McDaniel. Because the players haven't done
so. And that defense? A defense that doesn't
have a lot of talent, you would have thought
they had all the talent in the world. They were
fighting that hard. The energy, the support,
it was just oozing everywhere on the field. It
was oozing on the sideline. You could feel the
energy in the stadium. They were ready to win
that game. Now, if you're the Bills, you have
to be concerned because this was a very winnable
game that, quite frankly, you should have won.
Because right now you need to scratch and claw
with the Patriots, even though if we're being
real here, the Patriots most likely are going
to win this division, which even then that's
going to open up to another conversation, which
I think we'll talk about that probably now. It's
crazy to me how the Patriots can go through their
rebuild. They can go through their woes of, you
know, Bill Belichick moving on and Gerard Mayo
being in and then they move on from him and then,
you know, they're bringing in new coordinators
and whatnot. Now they're back to being what they
used to be. Meanwhile, the Bills have regressed
every single year. I will continue to say this
until I can never say it again. The Bills' last
true opportunity to make it to the Super Bowl
was when they lost to the Chiefs in overtime.
I truly believe that was the best team that they
had. You had Emmanuel Sanders, Stephon Diggs,
Gabe Davis on the offense. Trey White was still
Trey White. And the defense was crazy. Outside
of that year, they have never been the same.
But back to the game, all right? The Bills' defense
didn't have an answer to the Dolphins' run game.
Devon Achan ran wherever he wanted to. If he
wanted to run up the middle, he could do it.
If he wanted to run outside to the left, he could
do it. If he wanted to do a halfback toss, if
he wanted to do a jet sweep, if he wanted to
do a wildcat, he could do whatever he want because
why? The Bills defense didn't have an answer
for it. And a lot of the mistakes that the Bills
made were self -inflicted wounds. So at some
point, we're going to have to ask the question,
is Sean McDermott the guy for the job? Because
year after year after year, he continues to flop.
So at some point, you can't just blame a player.
You can't blame a coordinator. You can't blame
a coach. At some point, you got to take that
blame on the chin and just say, you know what?
It's me. I got to fix me. Because at this point,
your opportunity, as I've said before in previous
episodes, has officially closed. You haven't
been hitting on your draft picks. You're benching
Keon Coleman for whatever reason. I don't know
why. He's inactive today, even though you probably
need him today. And right now, you're going to
have to accept the fact that most likely, you're
going to be on the road for the playoffs. I don't
think you want that. But... We're going to have
to talk about that when we get there, all right?
But I'm going to end this episode here. If you
guys like what you are listening, please, please,
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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 best football podcast
that you can listen to on a week to week, day
to day basis. All right. I love you guys. We're
almost at 100 episodes, guys. And I have to thank
you for it. So as always, peace and love. Later,
guys. And watch some football. Watch some football,
too. Oh, I forgot one more thing. I forgot to
mention this in the in the earlier part of the
episode. The Commanders were one game short of
setting the all -time record for consecutive
losses by 20 or more points. The 86 Buccaneers
lost five straight games by 20 or more points,
according to Mike Florio via Pro Football Talk.
Keep that in mind. We may talk about it in future
episodes. So later, guys. I'm going to watch
some football.