Bag alert, bag alert, bag alert, bag alert, bag
alert, bag alert, bag alert, folks. That's right.
It's a surprise bag alert, to be honest with
you, because nobody was expecting a bag alert
just a few weeks before Christmas. All right.
But let's talk about it. All right. Mark Andrews
gets paid. Lane Kiffin heads to LSU. Chiefs and
Cowboys recap. Bengals and Ravens recap. Bears
and Eagles recap. Bills and Steelers recap, okay?
This is going to be a therapy session for Steelers
fans because man, oh man, are they going through
it, okay? All of this and more. On the 99th episode
of Football Junkies Podcast. That's right, 99
episodes. 99 episodes, folks. We have been cranking
them out since last year. And we're going to
keep on going, all right? I am your host with
the most, all right? 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 dominance. That's
right, chief. Head of the table. Anything and
everything related to the bag. Rumors to the
bag and more, all right? I am your hopium hope.
Opium, opium, opium, opium dealer. That's right.
All the opium that you need to make it through
the rest of the season. I'm your guy. All right.
I'm all these things and more. But most importantly,
the most important thing that you must remember
is I am your host, Kale. Buckle up. It's going
to get crazy. 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 drama with LSU and Ole
Miss, let's talk about this bag alert, all right?
So Mark Andrews tied in for the Ravens, inks
a three -year $39 .3 million deal, $26 million
guaranteed. He'll be making $13 .1 million a
year, okay? When we look at his stats from this
season so far... 37 receptions for 332 receiving
yards, five touchdowns, and he's averaging nine
receiving yards per reception. I'll be honest
with you guys, this was a little bit of a head
scratcher. I was not expecting Mark Andrews to
get an extension at this point in the season,
but I'm not surprised because he's the most reliable
weapon for Lamar Jackson. Now, with that being
said, it made me wonder, did the Ravens offer
this same deal to Isaiah Lightley? Because all
three of their tight ends are gonna be free agents
next year. So I'm thinking, OK, out of those
three, realistically speaking, who are they going
to bring back? Now, we all know most likely they
were going to bring back Mark Andrews, but at
a lesser deal, because most likely they were
going to pay more money to Isaiah, likely just
because he has more upside right now. But clearly
something has happened. Now, I'm not going to
be a person that says, oh, I have a source here
or there. I don't have any sources, okay? So
this is all speculations. I'm just trying to
put two and two together. My guess is the Ravens
have been trying to negotiate an extension with
both Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely right now
because if they do it now, they can save a little
bit more money compared to if they do it in the
offseason. And so they've been trying to probably
get Isaiah Likely first because they know he's
going to demand more money than Mark Andrews.
And my guess is Isaiah Likely's team is telling
them, hey, we're looking to make about X amount
of dollars. And the Ravens are probably telling
them no. And so they're probably going back and
forth. And the Ravens say, you know what? We're
going to give you this one last offer. if you
take it cool if you don't take it cool and isaiah
likely and his team probably said no and so the
raven said okay fine we're going to go in a different
direction and they probably offered the same
contract to mark andrews and mark andrews eventually
signed it now when we look at spot rat's market
value for mark andrews it's a three -year 21
.2 million dollar deal which he would be making
7 .1 million a year My only question is this,
how much money would it take to get back Isaiah
Likely? And if they can't get back Isaiah Likely,
how high of a priority would tight end be for
this team? Now, I'm not saying, you know, the
Ravens would take a tight end in the first round,
but what I am alluding to is the Ravens offensively
have been better when they have two really good
pass catching tight ends. Now, Charlie Kohler,
I'm not really worried about because I believe
he'll be back with the team. That's not a big
deal, honestly. You could get him for maybe about
five to eight million a year. No one's really
going to lose an inch of sleep off of that. But
you need another athletic tight end. And we've
only seen Charlie Kohler in spurts, whereas we've
seen a longer track record with both Mark Andrews
and Isaiah Lockley. Only time will tell. I know
the Ravens are going to take care of this because
they're the Ravens, okay? Now that we got that
out the way, let's talk about some college football.
Blaine Kiffin is now the next head coach for
LSU. So he inks a seven -year, $91 million deal
with them. He's making $13 million a year before
incentives. So according to Austin Nevison of
CBS Sports, he has an escalator in his contract
that would make him the highest paid coach in
the country if he wins a national championship.
He can also earn up to a million dollars if Ole
Miss wins a national championship. Kiffin's buyout
includes 80 % of his contract guaranteed if he's
fired from LSU without cause. The money would
be paid in installments for the duration of the
contract. Now here's the statement that Lane
Kiffin put out, and I quote, After a lot of prayer
and time spent with family, I made the difficult
decision to accept a head coaching position at
LSU. I was hoping to complete a historic six
-season run with this year's team by leading
Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on
this team's incredible success and their commitment
to finish strong and investing everything into
a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect
the program in any areas of concern. My request
to do so was denied by Keith Carter, despite
the team also asking him to allow me to keep
coaching them so that they could better maintain
their high level of performance. Unfortunately,
that means Friday's Egg Bowl was my last game
coaching the Rebels. While I am looking forward
to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU,
I will forever cherish the incredible six years
I spent at Ole Miss and will be rooting hard
for the team to complete their mission and bring
a championship to Oxford. Lane Kiffin, end quote.
So a couple things with this situation. For starters,
we have to talk about the why. Before we get
into personal opinions and whatnot, all right?
So according to Todd McShay, one of the reasons
why Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss was because of
high school recruiting. Now, you're probably
thinking, why high school recruiting? Let me
explain. According to Daniel Miller from Live
Now Fox, Louisiana is the sixth state that produces
the most NFL players in the country at 102. I
want to say that one more time. Louisiana. is
the sixth state that produces the most NFL players
in the country at 102. And if we want to go a
little bit deeper in this issue, there is no
other college that can rival LSU. Think about
it. At Georgia, you have Georgia, of course,
Georgia Tech. In Texas, you have Texas, Texas
A &M, you have TCU, you have Baylor, the list
goes on. But according to Yahoo Sports, Lane
Kiffin gave an ultimatum to his Ole Miss staff
and he said in that quote, if they're not on
a plane to Baton Rouge today, they won't have
a spot on the staff, end quote. So he was 100
% serious about this move. But if we can be honest
here, I don't hate Lane Kiffin for making this
move because he realized that being at Ole Miss,
though it is a great opportunity, though he's
had a lot of success there, he's reached his
ceiling. And by going to LSU, you have now opened
the floodgates for more opportunities and a better
chance to bring in better prospects. Think about
it like this. You're 17 or 18 years old. You're
a five -star prospect. You got multiple offers
from different schools. Michigan, Ohio State,
USC, Oregon, the list goes on and on. But LSU
has been really trying to get you to come there.
You're going to go to LSU because for one, they
have such a rich history in producing some of
the best football players that we've seen in
our lifetime. We know that their alumni goes
from A to Z. From OBJ to Jarvis Landry, Justin
Jefferson, Jamara Chase, Patrick Queen, I could
continue to go on and on. You're going to go
to LSU because you know that by going to LSU,
that's going to be the best opportunity for you
to be playing on Sundays. You're not going to
take a job at Ole Miss, and this is no disrespect
to Ole Miss at all, but Ole Miss's reach is very
limited. The LSU's isn't. Here's just some of
the high school recruits that have already committed
to LSU so far. Lamar Brown. the number one defensive
tackle prospect in the country, LSU. Deuce Gerald,
the number two defensive tackle prospect in the
country, LSU. Trent Henderson, the number nine
defensive end prospect, LSU. Richard Anderson,
the number six defensive tackle prospect, LSU.
The proof is in the pudding here, folks. Lane
Kiffin realized that by going to LSU, I have
a better opportunity of winning a national championship
than Ole Miss. Now, granted, Ole Miss is having
a really good year this year, but this is just
one good year. How many times have LSU produced
great teams within the last, let's say, five
years? Now, compare that to Ole Miss. The rest
is history. Now, with that being said, we have
to be honest about Lane Kiffin. Although he is
a really good coach, all of his departures have
been very messy. Let's just go down the list
of the notable departures with Lane Kiffin. In
2008, he was fired by the Raiders after a 5 -15
record in the first 20 games as the offensive
coordinator for them. God rest his soul, Al Davis
said this about Lane Kiffin, and I quote, I think
he conned me like how he conned all you people,
end quote. Now, Al Davis doesn't have no cut
cards. So for him to say this, yeah, you definitely
need to go. 2009, he left the University of Tennessee
to become the head coach for USC. Apparently,
there were protests that erupted on campus that
resulted in burning mattresses. 2013, he was
fired after a 10 -7 loss to Washington State
and then a 62 -41 road loss against Arizona State.
Legend has it that he was fired on the tarmac.
Now, I mean... Depending on who you ask, they
may give you the real story or not. I don't know.
I wasn't there. I was in school, okay? 2017,
he was demoted from offensive coordinator for
Alabama after accepting the Florida Atlantic
head coach job. Nick Saban made this announcement
days before the national championship matchup
and literally said in that quote, We made the
decision because it was in the best interest
of our players, our program, and for Lane for
him to assume his duties at Florida Atlantic."
So granted, I'm happy for Lane Kiffin, but at
the same time, I don't like the way that he handled
his departure from Ole Miss. There are just certain
things that you should have just left out. Now,
if they leak out from different insiders, okay,
fine, whatever. But for you to just throw Keith
Carter under the bus and make the situation seem
like you're the victim and Ole Miss didn't want
to give you a chance, if I was the athletic director,
I wouldn't want you to come back either. You've
made your bed, now you must lay in it. What does
it look like for you to come back after already
accepting a job with LSU and say, oh, hey guys,
let's just finish the season strong? No, you
need to be on a plane to Louisiana. But the crazy
thing about this is five assistants joined Lane
Kiffin to LSU, including offensive coordinator
Charlie Weiss Jr. and co -offensive coordinator
slash tight end coach Joe Cox. Now, out of all
those people, according to Adam Rittenberg from
ESPN, Charlie Weiss Jr. is the only staff member
that will be allowed to return to Ole Miss as
offensive coordinator for the college football
playoffs. I'll be honest, I wouldn't have allowed
Charlie Weeks to come back. Because all you're
going to do is hurt the players more than help
them. Now granted, once Ole Miss season is over
with, there's a good chance that some of those
players are going to transfer to LSU. But at
the same time, the damage is already done. The
messy departure has already happened. Let it
go. There's no need for you guys to come back.
And if I'm the athletic director, I would have
emphasized that the moment that any word had
gotten out that Lane Kiffin was going to accept
a job somewhere else, I would have told the entire
coaching staff, any person that takes a job with
Lane Kiffin, you are not coming back. I don't
care if you beg. I don't care if you cry. I don't
care if the players want it. You're not coming
back. You made your decision. Live with it. Now,
with that being said, and this will probably
be the final thing that I'll say about this situation,
then we'll talk about the games. I do believe
Lane Kiffin is going to win a national championship.
I do believe that by bringing in Lane Kiffin,
I think that's going to help out Garrett Nussmeyer.
For starters, it's going to rebuild his confidence
while at the same time rebuild his draft stock.
Because right now, if he was to declare for the
26 draft class, he isn't a first rounder, let
alone a second rounder. At best, he will probably
be a high third, maybe fourth round pick at this
point. But the one thing I do have a problem
with this entire process, and not just specifically
Lane Kiffin's, is with all the head coaching
moves that has happened so far. Why are these
things happening now towards the end of the college
football season going into the playoffs? Why
can't you guys just wait till the entire college
football season is over with like how the NFL
does? Because all you're doing is creating distractions
for these players. Because everyone's going to
be asking them questions. Oh, do you have any
information about this situation? Do you have
any information about this head coach? How do
you feel about this person? How do you feel about
that person? Nobody wants to hear all that. Everybody
is trying to focus on winning their bowl game.
But instead, they're having to ask questions
about grown folk stuff. Stuff that has nothing
to do with them at all. So if you're college
football, you need to bring in some structure.
Because right now, this is just ridiculous. All
I continue to see on my feed is this coach getting
fired, this coach getting hired, this coach getting
hired, this coach getting fired, this coach going
to this school or that school. It's a whole bunch
of distractions. Save that stuff after the college
football playoffs is over with. But let's get
into these games. So Patrick Mahomes, 34 attempts
for 23 completions, 261 passing yards, four touchdowns,
7 .7 yards per attempt, and a 67 .6 completion
percentage. Kareem Hunt, 14 attempts for 58 rush
yards, 4 .1 rush yards per carry, and 1 rush
of 10 plus yards or more. Rasheed Rice, 12 targets
for 8 receptions, 92 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns,
and 11 .5 receiving yards per reception. Dak
Prescott, 39 attempts for 27 completions. 320
passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 pick, 8 .2 yards
per attempt, and a 69 .2 completion percentage.
Javante Williams, 17 attempts for 59 rushing
yards, 3 .5 rushing yards per carry, and 1 rush
of 10 plus yards or more. CeeDee Lamb, 9 targets
for 7 receptions, 112 receiving yards, 1 touchdown,
and 16 receiving yards per reception. So here's
a few junkie nuggets. Patrick Mahomes threw all
4 touchdowns to receivers in the slot. the most
by any quarterback in the game since week four
of the 2020 season. Dak Prescott was blissed
on 48 .7 % of dropbacks, the highest split rate
he's faced this season, and completed 15 of 19
attempts for 190 yards and one pick. 84 of 92
Rasheed Rice's receiving yards was against zone
coverage, including a touchdown. When facing
man coverage, Rasheed Rice was targeted four
times and caught two passes for eight yards and
one touchdown. When facing Jalen Watson, George
Pickens caught five of seven targets for 85 yards,
the most receiving yards allowed by a Chiefs
defender since 2018. So my main two takeaways
from this game is the Chiefs have to do better
at retooling their team, and the Cowboys may
try to sneak into the playoffs. So let's just
talk about the Cowboys first, then we'll get
to the Chiefs, all right? While I don't believe
the Cowboys will make it to the NFC Championship,
let alone a Super Bowl this year, I do believe
they have a chance to sneak into the playoffs.
For starters, the NFC is just as weak as the
AFC. And if we can be honest here, their own
division is a topsy -turvy in itself. Because
if I'm not mistaken, they haven't had a consistent
divisional winner in a very long time. So for
all intents and purposes, the Cowboys could win
the division this year. We've seen crazier things
happen. So offensively, I love what they have
so far. Javante Williams looks really promising.
George Pickens looks very promising. They have
a lot of pieces for the future. But the question
is, will they be able to keep them going into
next season? But we're going to save that for
when the offseason comes around. Now, defensively,
I definitely love what they have. And you're
definitely starting to see the fruits of their
labor when they made the move to acquire Quentin
Williams. You have a really good tandem in him
and Kenny Clark. Donovan Ezeraku is in the slouch,
which, I mean, if we can be honest here, I was
sort of a little high on personally, but we're
not going to talk about that, all right? I think
the only weak spot defensively for the Cowboys
is their secondary. Now, granted, I understand
they're getting back some of their players, but
they've just been a little bit of an eyesore
to me personally. And if Quentin Williams or
Kenny Clark or anybody on the defensive line
doesn't get after the quarterback, those corners
and safeties are toast. So I don't know what
they need to do, but just try to fix it, please.
Now, this is not me trying to root for the Cowboys
because I would never root for the Cowboys, but
to see them be a little bit more competitive
than what they have been the last few years,
hey, I can rock with that. Now, when we talk
about the Chiefs, I think, honestly, they're
in the same boat that a lot of teams who have
alien quarterbacks are in, and that is they don't
have a lot of talent around that quarterback.
I mean, outside of Rasheed Rice, who else can
you really rely on? Outside of Travis Kelsey,
who else can you really rely on? Your run game
is inconsistent. Your offensive line is a hit
or miss sometimes. And if it wasn't for Patrick
Mahomes still having a little bit of speed, you
would have more fourth downs than first downs.
This is my opinion. I could be completely wrong.
But this is what happens when you allocate all
of your money to just three people. the Chiefs
should have tried to at least evenly distribute
the money to both sides of the ball. Because
now what you're going to have to do is to hit
on your draft picks within the next few drafts.
Chris Jones is starting to show his age. Travis
Kelsey, after this season, is probably going
to ride off into the sunset. So you're going
to have to figure out something moving forward.
Now I would have thought that some of the tight
ends on the team would have tried to take the
mantle from Travis Kelsey, but clearly that's
not the case. Now, defensively, I understand
that Spag's thing is blitzing, but they were
blitzing a little bit too much for me because
every single time that they tried to send everybody
after Dak Prescott, Dak Prescott made them pay
for it. Do I think the Chiefs are going to make
it anywhere in the playoffs? No. I think this
is going to be the one year where they don't
make it, and this will be the year that will
force them to make significant changes on their
coaching staff and on their roster. But again,
we're going to save that for the offseason. Now
let's talk about the Bengals and Ravens. So Joe
Burrow, 46 attempts for 24 completions, 261 passing
yards, two touchdowns, 5 .7 yards per attempt,
and a 52 .2 completion percentage. Chase Brown,
15 attempts for 78 rushing yards, 5 .2 rushing
yards per carry, and three rushes of 10 plus
yards or more. Jamar Chase, 14 targets for seven
receptions. 110 receiving yards, and 15 .7 receiving
yards per reception. Lamar Jackson, 32 attempts
for 17 completions, 246 passing yards, one pick,
7 .7 yards per attempt, and a 53 .1 completion
percentage. Derrick Henry, 10 attempts for 60
rushing yards, six rushing yards per carry, one
touchdown, and one rush of 10 plus yards or more.
Isaiah Likely. six targets for five receptions,
95 receiving yards, and 19 receiving yards per
reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets. When
facing zone coverage, Lamar Jackson was 14 of
21 for 177 yards and took two sacks. When blitz,
Lamar was three of 11, which is 27 .3%, for 69
yards, one pick, and a sack. When facing pressure,
Joe Burrow was seven for 12, 83 yards, and one
touchdown. When taking 2 .5 seconds or more to
throw the ball, Joe Burrow completed 16 of 27
for 203 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals'
defense generated 39 .5 % pressure rate on Lamar
Jackson, the second highest pressure rate in
a game this season. Joseph Asai led the team
for six pressures and two sacks, which is the
second most pressures in the game this season,
and the Bengals held the Ravens to a 38 .6 success
rate and a negative 23 .9 EPA rate. Kyle Hamilton
was lined up on 43 .8 % of snaps in the slot
and was targeted twice, allowing two receptions
for 17 yards and a touchdown. If you would have
told me that the Bengals defense without their
star pass rusher will put on the performance
that they did, I would have called you a liar.
They showed effort every single time they were
on the field. Jordan Battle forced a fumble at
the last second. And it was plays like those
that continued to give the Bengals energy as
the game continued. And now when Joe Burrow was
on the field, I mean, hey, the rest is history,
okay? Him and Jamar Chase, you already know,
that's peanut butter and jelly. Now, granted,
Chidovia Woozie was holding his own against Jamar
Chase. I'll be honest with you. I was unfamiliar
with your game. But for you to put on the performance
that you did, Chidovia Woozie, hey. My hat's
off to you, brother. Now, Kyle Hamilton is Kyle
Hamilton. It was a little bit of a head -scratcher
to see him in the slot, I'll be honest with you,
but he was somewhat productive. And I feel like
Kyle Hamilton is that type of player where he's
positionless. But that's another story for another
day. Ravens fans, do not come at me, please.
I'm just trying to be honest here, all right?
Now, offensively for the Ravens, we have to have
an honest conversation. For one, your offensive
line has not been playing well this year. Lamar
is seriously hurt. I don't know what it is, but
it has to be a significant injury because when
he was trying to run out of bounds for one play,
he looked so sluggish. He was struggling, and
that offense was struggling. Now granted, I know
at this part of the year, everybody is dealing
with injuries, some more severe than others,
but if you're the Ravens, it's time for you to
lock in. Granted, you done weathered the hardest
part of the storm in the early part of the season,
but you still have some formidable opponents.
You still have the Steelers twice. You still
have the Packers. So whatever you need to do,
lock in. Now if you're the Bengals, survive.
Do exactly what you did last year. Now am I saying
you're going to get a different result? No. But
you at least want to show a little bit of fight.
Now on to the Bears and Eagles. So Caleb Williams,
36 attempts for 17 completions, 154 passing yards,
1 touchdown, 1 pick, 4 .3 yards per attempt,
and a 47 .2 completion percentage. Kyle Menungai,
22 attempts for 130 rushing yards, 5 .9 rushing
yards per carry, 1 touchdown, and 2 rushes of
10 plus yards or more. Cole Komet. Three targets
for three receptions, 36 receiving yards, one
touchdown, and 12 receiving yards per reception.
Jalen Hurts, 34 attempts for 19 completions,
230 passing yards, two touchdowns, one pick,
6 .8 yards per attempt, and a 55 .9 completion
percentage. Saquon Barkley, 13 attempts for 56
rushing yards, 4 .3 rushing yards per carry,
and one rush of 10 plus yards or more. A .J.
Brown, 12 targets for 10 receptions. 132 receiving
yards, two touchdowns, and 13 .2 receiving yards
per reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets.
The Bears' offense rushed for 268 yards on design
runs. On those 42 design carries, the Bears recorded
91 yards before contact and 177 yards after contact.
Jalen Hurts targeted vertical routes five times,
completed four of those attempts for 97 yards.
The Bears blitzed Hurts on 47 .1 % of his dropbacks,
in which he completed six of 16 passes, which
is 37 .5%, for 60 yards and one pick. My eyes
have been opened with the dilemma with the Eagles
offense. Because for the longest time, I've been
blaming Kevin Petula and not giving some criticism
to Jalen Hurts, and I have three instances to
prove it. Example number one, on third and eight
in the second quarter, Dallas Goddard was wide
open. He ran a simple go route right in your
face, and you didn't throw him the ball. You
decided to throw it at Devontae Smith. Okay,
you don't believe me? I got another one. Third
and nine in the third quarter. A .J. Brown was
in the slot. He ran an in route, and he was wide
open, and you didn't throw him the ball. Nobody
was covering him, not a linebacker or corner,
and you didn't throw him the ball. Okay, you
still don't believe me? First and 10 in the fourth
quarter. Saquon ran a wheel -like route and was
wide open. So I don't know what's going on with
Jalen Hurts, but brother, you need to open your
eyes. Because anybody could have executed those
three passes. But instead, you want to throw
the ball in tight windows and put the ball in
the spot where it could easily be intercepted.
And that's exactly what happened in this game.
This was a very winnable game for the Eagles,
and you just let the Bears just take it away.
This is exactly why nobody's going to take the
Eagles serious moving forward, because of these
simple things. One minute Jalen Hurts wants to
look elite, and then next thing you know, Jalen
Hurts looks like a deer in headlights. We need
to see some consistency, but this has been a
problem with the Eagles for a very long time.
Now, defensively for the Eagles, I don't know
what to say about them. Now, granted, there were
some players that were making some plays, but
overall, I don't see that same dominance that
we saw last year. Granted, I know they lost Milton
Williams, and I understand that he played a very
pivotal role in that defensive line, but what
are we doing here? You still have Nolan Smith,
Brandon Graham, Zach Bond. You just got Jalen
Phillips not too long ago. I can continue to
go down the list. So what's the problem? I need
to see some dominance. This is the part of the
season where it's time for you to separate yourself
from everybody else. And I don't see that. I
see a team that is probably going to limp into
the playoffs. I see a team that most likely is
going to get knocked out in either the first
or second round of the playoffs if you want to
take things a little bit further. But this is
a cycle that we've been continuing to see with
the Eagles every single time that they win a
championship. They'll have one year where they'll
have a really bad offensive coordinator, and
then it just affects the entire team. And then
the next year, they get a better offensive coordinator.
Next thing you know, they're back in the Super
Bowl winning another Lombardi. Now with the Bears,
however, they continue to surprise me week after
week. Ben Johnson continues to prove that he
was the best hire for the Bears because that
run game is just downright atrocious. And I mean
atrocious in a good way. Kyle Menungai, beast.
DeAndre Swift, beast. Cole Komet, beast. But
this is the difference between an offensive head
coach and a defensive head coach. Offensive coaches
are going to address whatever needs that they
need to address right then and there. Defensive
coaches, they're going to just sit and wait for
the problem to get bigger and bigger and bigger.
Now, with that being said, I don't know what's
going on with the Bears wide receivers, but...
You guys are just a little bit too wonky for
me. DJ Moore, I know you don't want to be there,
but come on, bro. You got to show a little bit
of effort. I'm not saying you got to be, you
know, smiling and just beard up from head to
toe, but come on, man. Do something. Your routes
don't look as crispy as they used to. Your body
language says you don't want to be there. I mean,
come on, bro. You're in a really good spot. You
guys have the number one seat. You guys could
potentially make a deep playoff run this year.
Now, I'm not saying you guys are going to make
it to the Super Bowl, okay? So, Bears fans, let's
pump the brakes, right? You still have to worry
about the Rams and the 49ers and everybody else,
okay? You guys are doing well this year, but
let's bring it down a little bit because Caleb
Williams has been very inconsistent for the last
few weeks. Now, I understand that he's still
a very young quarterback and he still has to
get his footing, but I mean, come on, bro. I
need to see a little bit more consistency because
everybody has already labeled you as a franchise
quarterback. I haven't. I still need to see more
before I can give you that label, but that's
just my personal opinion. Now, defensively, I'm
actually surprised that they've been this productive
without an elite pass rusher. Granted, they have
Montez Sweat, but Montez Sweat isn't a TJ Watt
or a Max Crosby or a Miles Garrett, okay? I'm
just being honest here. But the one thing they
do have is their turnover game. Now, do I think
the turnover game is sufficient when they make
it into the playoffs? No. Because you still need
to show consistency against these elite quarterbacks.
Because they're not concerned about corners or
safeties. They're concerned about pass rushers.
If you have a defense that's not creating pressure,
consistent pressure on a quarterback, they're
going to pick you apart all game long. We see
it all the time. That's why you see a lot of
teams make the investments that they make in
getting first round pass rushers. Because they're
going to be the people that are going to keep
these quarterbacks in check. But that's another
story for another day. And one more thing about
this game. The Bears have the second best rushing
attack in the entire league. If you don't believe
me, look up the stats, okay? But let's talk about
the Bills and Steelers. But before we do that,
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Now back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks.
So Josh Allen, 23 attempts for 15 completions,
123 passing yards, one touchdown, one pick, 5
.3 yards per attempt, and a 65 .2 completion
percentage. James Cook, 32 attempts for 144 rushing
yards, 4 .5 rushing yards per carry, and three
rushes of 10 plus yards or more. James Cook again,
three targets for three receptions. 33 receiving
yards, and 11 receiving yards per reception.
Aaron Rodgers, 21 attempts for 10 completions,
117 passing yards, 5 .6 yards per attempt, and
a 47 .6 completion percentage. Jalen Warren,
10 attempts for 35 rushing yards, 3 .5 rushing
yards per carry, and two rushes of 10 plus yards
or more. Darnell Washington, four targets for
two receptions. 45 receiving yards, and 22 .5
receiving yards per reception. So here's a few
junkie nuggets. The Bills called a run play on
63 .5 % of their plays, which is the fourth highest
rate in the game since drafting Josh Allen in
2018. James Cook rushed for 144 yards on 32 carries.
This is his seventh game this season with at
least 100 yards on the ground. Now, according
to Alex Cazorra, the Bills ran the same inside
zone, inside duo play 26 times against the Steelers.
So a couple takeaways from this game, because
I know there's a lot to unpack with this and
the whole Mike Tomlin chance and whatnot. So
let's just talk about the Bills first, then we'll
get into the Steelers, okay? So offensively in
the first half, the Bills were struggling. Josh
Allen was making some knucklehead plays. He literally
threw a pick directly at Brandon Echols, and
they were just struggling. And I don't know what
happened, but when the second half came, they
were on it. Defensively, they were on it. Offensively,
you couldn't stop James Cook. Now I wonder, what
was the turning point in the game? Was it the
low hit that Patrick Queen delivered on Josh
Allen? Was it Cam Hayward and Josh Allen getting
into it? Somebody let me know in the comments
on our YouTube, which is Football Junkies Pod,
all right? Please, because I really want to know,
because I tried looking at the All -22. I didn't
see Josh Allen kneeing Cam Hayward in the stomach.
But one person we need to give some recognition
to is Joey Bosa, because he's been playing his
best ball this season with the Bills. Now, I'll
be honest, when he announced that he was going
to sign with the Bills, I was very skeptical
of this move. I thought he was going to go with
the 49ers and reunite with his brother, but clearly
he wanted to prove everybody wrong that he's
still that guy, and he's showing it. Granted,
he's not having a season like a Miles Garrett
or Daniil Hunter or Will Anderson, but he has
been productive. He made one of the most pivotal
plays in the entire game. He forced the fumble.
And with that fumble, they were able to further
stretch their lead against the Steelers. This
wasn't just one side carrying the entire team.
This was a group effort. And sometimes you need
to do that. Now, Josh Allen and James Cook did
their thing in the second half. They essentially
spammed the same running play over and over and
over again. Now you would have thought after
maybe the third time that the Steelers would
have tried to do something to stop it. But they
couldn't. And I think a lot of that had to do
with Derek Harmon not being on the field. So
here's the rush defense when Derek Harmon is
on the field according to Sumer Sports. 115 rushing
attempts, allowing 457 rushing yards, and allowing
3 .9 rushing yards per carry. Now this is the
rush defense when Derek Harmon isn't on the field.
216 rushing attempts, allowing 955 rushing yards,
and allowing 4 .4 rushing yards per carry. The
proof is in the pudding, folks. When Derek Harmon
is on the field, the Steelers' rush defense is
a lot better than when he isn't on the field.
Now, you would have thought the Steelers would
have learned their lesson after facing the Chargers,
who are in somewhat of a similar situation as
the Bills. But let's talk about the Steelers,
because there's a lot to unpack with them. Offensively,
I'm not surprised. We all know that they've been
having a lot of problems this season and they've
had a lot of inconsistencies. One minute, they're
playing really good ball. Aaron Rodgers looks
great. And then the next two or three games,
they're struggling. The run game isn't going
anywhere. The passing game is non -existent.
They're not attacking the middle of the field.
And that's exactly what happened in this game.
So if we can be honest here. Because we need
to have an honest conversation about the Steelers.
No, I'm not going to be one of those people like
Kevin Adams in the Steel Hero podcast. You're
going to say, fuck Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin has
to... I'm not going to be that person. Instead,
I'm going to try to at least explain to you guys
what exactly is wrong with the Steelers. But
before I do that, I want to ask you a simple
question. What move in the offseason that the
Steelers made... that made you believe that this
year was going to be different than the previous
years? I'm going to ask that again. What move
in the offseason made you think that there was
going to be a different outcome with the Steelers
this year than what it has been the last few
years? The answer is none. Now, I'll be honest
here. I'll be very transparent. Mook, you know
exactly what I'm getting ready to say. The one
move that I was really excited about was when
they traded for Jalen Ramsey. But that was before
the details had came out that they were trading
away Minka Fitzpatrick. Once I found that out,
I was completely done with the team. But let's
be honest here. None of the moves that they made
this offseason scream that they're all in for
the Super Bowl this year. I don't care what Omar
Khan says. I don't care what your favorite Steeler
podcaster says. They were not going to the Super
Bowl this year. There were too many flaws on
both sides of the ball that still were not properly
addressed. And it shows. The run game is still
a problem. You still have people playing in positions
that they're not comfortable playing. And that
goes directly towards Mike Tomlin and this coaching
staff. We know that Keanu Benton will probably
be a lot more productive if you play him as a
defensive end. Instead, you continue to play
him at nose tackle. And this is why you continue
to see the inconsistencies in his play. So with
that being said, we need to go a little bit deeper
into this problem. The Steelers are trying to
thread a needle that not a lot of teams have
done in the past. And that is retooling the team
while remaining competitive. Now, am I saying
it's impossible? No. But the two factors that
need to be in play is that you need to be drafting
well and developing your players well. If you're
not doing those two things, it's going to make
the process a lot harder. And that's been a problem
with the Steelers for a very long time. How many
first -round picks have they whiffed on? How
many draft classes are still on this team? How
many people are still contributing at a very
high level on this team? TJ Watt, the last first
rounder to get a second contract with this team.
Kenny Pickett didn't get it. Devin Bush didn't
get it. Broderick Jones may not get it. I can
continue to go down the list. So with that being
said, while I understand that emotions are high
right now in Pittsburgh, we need to take a step
back. Because what I'm seeing is a lot of people
with personal access to grind against Mike Tomlin
have the biggest platform out of everybody. Instead
of people who are conscious of what's going on
in Pittsburgh and trying to find a solution.
Now, granted, I'll be honest here. Have we reached
a point where maybe there needs to be some added
pressure on Mike Tomlin? Yes. And that's for
any coach when they're not showing production
because the team only goes as far as the head
coach takes them. And granted, Mike Tomlin has
gone through a lot of things within the last
few years. His teams remain competitive all the
way to the end of the regular season. Now, does
everybody like that? No. Some people like the
team to still be playing in January and February.
I would too. But the fact of the matter is they
are not in the position to compete with Kansas
City. or Buffalo, or Baltimore, or Philly, or
San Francisco, or Seattle. I can continue to
go down the list. Because why? You're not drafting
and developing your players well. You continue
to try to fit players into this system when you
know they can't fit into the system. We saw it
a lot of times with a lot of their offensive
players. Kevin Dotson is a perfect example. Kevin
Dotson specifically said, I can only play one
position. And they moved him to a position that
he wasn't comfortable in. And they made it seem
like Kevin Dotson was just a waste. They trained
him to LA and now he's one of the best guards
in the league. Kenny Pickett is another example.
Now, I'll be honest here. I was very critical
of the Kenny Pickett pick because I thought that
he was just an average. to a slightly above average
quarterback. But let's be honest here, folks.
The Steelers did not do any justice with his
development. You gave him a crappy offensive
coordinator and you kept him for far too long.
So of course his production was going to be limited.
But again, nobody pressed Mike Tomlin about this.
So when you don't do those simple things, this
is what happens. Najee Harris is another example.
Arthur Smith let it be known that he doesn't
fit his system, even though he should have tried
to make Najee Harris fit his system, but you
weren't willing to do it. And now you're in this
situation where Jalen Warren is now the new Najee
Harris. So when we look at all of these things
that have happened in the last few years, of
course the Steelers are not going to be competitive.
Of course they're not going to be Super Bowl
contenders. And any person that believed that
they were going to be Super Bowl contenders,
we're lying to yourself. Now, I'll be honest
here. I am not opposed to anybody chanting fire
Mike Tomlin in the stands because the product
on the field is inconsistent. And at times it's
very demoralizing. The philosophy of the Steelers
is play physical football and stop the run. And
so far, they haven't been able to do that. So
when you have these things in place, of course,
you're not going to be successful. You have an
offensive coordinator who his reputation is he
can work with less and make more out of it. I
know I'm probably saying that wrong, but just
you know what I mean. You know what I mean, okay?
And here you have this offensive coordinator.
who's not properly utilizing what he has on the
team. Why am I seeing Spencer Anderson lined
up as a wide receiver? Why is John U. Smith going
up against Gregory Russo one -on -one? It's those
type of things that make you just want to rip
your hair out. So I say all that to say this.
Do I think Mike Tomlin needs to go? No. But I
do believe that he needs to modernize his approach
to the game. Because I feel like his approach
right now is outdated and it's very inconsistent.
This is the same head coach that said in the
summer that what we have on this defense, there
is a possibility that this could be a historic
defense. You can't say those type of things and
not back it up. This is the same person that
took a picture with Darius Slay and DK Metcalf.
Out of all the free agents that they acquired
this offseason, the only two that he took a picture
with was the two of them. And he was smiling
from ear to ear like he was his two favorite
sons. Meanwhile, Darius Slay is gone. He's talking
about retirement. And DK Metcalf, he's struggling.
And you can't blame him for it because he's in
a bad situation. You have a 42 -year -old quarterback
who, at this point, he doesn't want to get hit.
The scheme as a whole is not supporting you and
your supporting cast is not really good. So of
course your stats are not going to look good.
But if I was to make a list of the few things
that I want Mike Tomlin to do, I think the first
thing is to scrap the entire coaching staff.
It's time for you to bring in some fresh blood.
It's time for you to bring in some people who
have a different approach than what you do. People
that are going to challenge you. Not people that
are just going to say, okay, sure, we'll do whatever
you want to do. It doesn't work like that. Because
your approach has not been working the last few
years. And this approach of having a defense
that relies on splash is not going to get you
to the Super Bowl. You know what gets you to
the Super Bowl? Consistency. Yes, the Bears have
the best turnover defense in the entire league,
but on a consistent basis, are they a good defense?
No. So why do you continue to believe in this
hope that as long as TJ Watt makes the big sack,
makes the force fumble, Cam Hayward tips the
pass that leads into an interception and whatnot,
that you're going to be able to win games? No,
you're not. It can only go so far. If Broderick
Jones can't beat out Dan Moore, the same Dan
Moore that everybody complained about, that everybody
said is too inconsistent and is just a bad left
tackle, who is now with the Titans and got a
big old bag. What makes you think he's a better
left tackle than Dan Moore? Now, granted, I understand
he's a quote -unquote project, which in translation
means he's not that good. But what in his skill
set screams franchise left tackle? Nothing. So
if all the other players are catching on to what
Pat Meyer is saying, but Broderick Jones isn't,
that's a direct reflection at Broderick Jones.
Now, do you still need to bring in another O
-line coach just so you can try to maximize what
you have with Roger Jones to justify the move
that you did to get him? Yes, because you're
approaching his fifth year option. And you know
that fifth year option is pretty expensive because
he traded up to get him. So with that being said,
you could bring in, I don't know, Mike McCarthy.
You could bring in Byron Leftwich, Pep Hamilton,
people that have experience working with quarterbacks.
Because you know most likely you're going to
have to take a quarterback within the next two
years. So you want to have an offensive coordinator
that has experience developing quarterbacks.
Now, Byron Lefkowitz is a really good name just
because he's familiar with Mike Tomlin. He knows
the expectations that Mike Tomlin has. And you
know that you have to do something with DK Metcalf.
impact fire move please now with that being said
i think mike tomlin needs to have some of his
power taken away from him because clearly the
people that he wants don't work with him now
granted i understand that mike tomlin prefers
veteran players over young players because the
learning curve is a lot smaller than younger
players but you want to know the one thing that
a younger player has that an older player doesn't
youth athleticism speed drive And you guys are
going to have to figure out what you're going
to do with T .J. Watt. I was one of the people
that said the Steelers just need to trade away
T .J. Watt because right now they're not in the
spot to win. And it'll be better off that you
just trade him away, you get those draft picks,
and you use those draft picks to really build
out this team. Because all you're doing is just
wasting the prime years of T .J. Watt. You need
to challenge T .J. Watt. How is it that last
year you used him in different roles and you
saw success with it, but this year you just totally
scrapped it? Now, some of that needs to be put
on TJ Watt as well, because when you look at
all the other pass rushers, they all move. Myles
Garrett moves, Micah Parsons moves, Will Anderson,
Daniil Hunter. I can continue to go down the
list. All of them move. And by moving everywhere
on the offensive line, You're going to create
a matchup nightmare for whoever you go up against.
But you can't do that if you're continuing to
line up on the same side. Now, granted, that's
probably because of TJ Watt's pride. I get that.
But we are in a business of production and winning.
And you just got this big contract. So you have
to start justifying the move of giving you that
contract and making you the highest paid pass
rusher at that time before Micah Parsons got
his deal. These are the simple things that the
Steelers need to do in order to really say that
you're serious about winning, that you're serious
about taking the next step forward into the right
direction. Otherwise, everybody just needs to
go. Now, I'll be honest, a lot of the narratives
that I see around Mike Tomlin, I'm just not liking.
I've heard Big Ben say that Mike Tomlin needs
to be the next head coach for Penn State. That's
not going to happen. But I will say this. If
Mike Tomlin is let go, because he's not going
to get fired, they're not going to say that,
they're just going to say a mutual parting, wherever
he goes next, he's going to be successful. Because
Mike Tomlin is a successful coach. He's just
in a really crappy situation. Does Mike Tomlin
deserve a lot of blame for it? Yes. But you cannot
just blame all of his mistakes and not talk about
Kevin Colbert. And not talk about Art Rooney
II. And not talk about the front office and how
they mismanaged a lot of things. Everybody has
mud on their hands in this situation. From the
past till now, everyone must be held accountable
for this. A lot of those draft classes that Kevin
Colbert had within the last five years of his
tenure with the Steelers were bad. They were
atrocious. A lot of the moves that he made were
atrocious. So we can't just put all the blame
on Mike Tomlin and say, you got to get out of
here, but you're just going to absolve Kevin
Colbert because all the great teams that he built
and all the great players that he brought in,
it doesn't work like that. If we're going to
be critical of somebody, we need to be critical
of the entire situation. But let's just wait
and see how the rest of the season goes. Do I
think the Steelers are going to make it to the
playoffs? No. I would venture to say the Dolphins
have a better chance of making it to the playoffs
than the Steelers do. But I will say this, and
it'll be the last thing I say, and I'm going
to end the episode. I'm not worried about Sunday's
game. I'm worried about that Monday night game
against the Dolphins. Because if the Steelers
put on the same performance that they did against
the Bills facing the Dolphins, at that point,
something significant has to happen. Because
on that night, Big Ben, Marquise Pouncey, and
Joey Porter are all going to be inducted into
the Ring of Honor. And what better way to tarnish
that moment than for the Steelers defense to
give up more rushing yards than what they did
on Sunday against the Bills. But we're going
to wait for all of this to transpire. OK, but
I'm going to end this episode. If you guys like
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all right? As always, I hope I gave you guys
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-day basis, all right? As always, this is your
GM Kale signing out. Peace and love. Later, guys.
Go watch some football this weekend. And another
thing. The Steelers need to bring in veteran
coaches to fill in that role that Brian Flores
had. We saw when they added Brian Flores to the
coaching staff, the defense was very productive,
it was creative, and everybody was playing at
a high level. So you could bring in someone like
a Gerard Mayo or Antonio Pierce. You could do
the same thing with the offense as well. If you're
Art Rooney and Mike Tomlin, You have to expand
this coaching staff. I understand that Mike Tomlin
likes a small coaching staff, but brother, it's
not working. It's time for you to expand this
coaching staff a little bit more. I'm not saying
you got to have the world's biggest coaching
staff in the entire league, but you have to do
something because what you have right now isn't
sufficient. Now, I will say this, and shout out
to OAD Loon on TikTok for saying this. If you're
a coordinator with aspirations of being a head
coach, why would you want to go to Pittsburgh?
Why would you want to go to a place where you
know you cannot implement your own scheme into
whatever side of the ball that you coach? When
you know that a lot of the things that you want
to do, you can't do because of Mike Tomlin and
his scheme and the Pittsburgh Steelers philosophy.
So at some point, if you really want to show
change, if you really want to open yourself to
new ideas and new possibilities, you're going
to have to throw away the old and bring in the
new. That's the only way that you can attract
some of those great coaches from the McVay and
Shanahan tree. If the Steelers were to move off
of Mike Tomlin, this will be the worst offseason
to do it because there's not as many notable
candidates that are available. Last year should
have been the move because Ben Johnson would
have been a perfect fit. Mike Vrabel would have
been a perfect fit, especially Mike Vrabel because
he's had a lot of success recently. Both of his
offensive coordinators became head coaches. You
see what he's doing with the Patriots. You wouldn't
want that for the Steelers? Ben Johnson, look
what he's doing with Caleb Williams. You mean
to tell me you wouldn't want that? So if you're
R. Rooney moving forward, you have a lot of tough
decisions that you have to make. And at some
point, you have to put your balls on the table
and you need to be honest with Mike Tomlin and
you just need to tell him flat out, it's not
working. Your idea is not working. We trust you,
but our trust is starting to fade because we
continue to have the same outcome year after
year after year. And this year, you should be
more critical of him because why? The division
in the early part of the season was essentially
the Steelers. Lamar was hurt. Joe Burrow was
hurt. You had the lead and you blew it away.
And so now you're in a position where most likely
if you lose on Sunday, you're going to have to
win out. And you still have to face the Lions,
the Dolphins, which, I mean, let's be honest
here, they're not a slouch. You still have to
face the Ravens twice. You have some very tough
teams that you have to go up against. But we're
going to save all of this once Sunday passes
and everything happens and whatnot. So Steelers
fans, relax, take a deep breath, touch some grass,
drink some hot chocolate, get your favorite meal,
do something, okay? Calm down. But this time
I'm serious. Peace and love, guys. Definitely
going to watch Alabama and Georgia and whatever
big games are going to be coming on today. So
later, guys.