Double bag alert, double bag alert, double bag
alert, folks. That's right. We got a loaded episode
because this isn't just an ordinary episode.
These aren't just ordinary bag alerts, okay?
This is the 100th episode of the Football Junkies
podcast, all right? 100 different opinions, 100
different hot takes, truth bombs, and more. And
man, oh man, does it feel good. Travis Jones
and Josh Myers get paid. Old Man Rivers heads
to Indy. Joe Burrow voices his frustrations.
Cowboys and Lions recap. Steelers and Ravens
recap. Titans and Browns recap. And Texans and
Chiefs recap. Okay, all of this and more on the
100th episode of the Football Junkies Podcast,
all right? I am your host with the most, all
right? I'm your chief, Bagro Adamas. That's right,
chief, head of the table. Anything and everything
related to the bag, rumors to the bag, and more.
I am your hopium, hopium, hopium, hopium, hopium
dealer. All the hopium that you need to get through
the rest of the season because we only have a
few more weeks for the regular season. the season's
over and then we get into the playoffs, all right?
But I am your Bagro Damas. That's right. Everything
related to the bag, I am that guy, all right?
Because you are listening to the greatest football
podcast that you can listen to on a week -to
-week, day -to -day basis. I am your GM who currently
is not on a team right now, but don't you worry
about it, all right? Don't you worry about it
because guess what? I am all these things and
more. But most importantly, the most important
thing that you must remember is I am your host,
Kale. Buckle up. It's going to get crazy. So
guess what? On three. One, two, three. Let's
lock in. Alright, 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 games, let's talk about these bag alerts
and everything else, alright? So... Travis Jones'
defensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens inks
a three -year $40 .5 million deal, $25 million
guaranteed he'll be making $13 .5 million a year.
When we look at his stats so far this year, 34
tackles, one and a half sacks, 18 quarterback
pressures. Now, SpotRak's market value for Travis
Jones is three years, $40 .6 million, which is
$13 .6 million a year. So technically speaking,
the Ravens were right on point with this deal.
Now with this deal being done, we have to wonder
if Nnamdi Medabuke will be able to play again.
And the only reason why I bring him up is because
if he was able to play, Travis Jones wouldn't
be getting this deal right now. Because every
time a reporter asks John Harbaugh for an update
on Nnamdi Medabuke, he just gives him the same
answers, which is he can't give out any information
and that right now they don't know what's going
on. So that has to make you wonder, is this a
severe injury that could possibly end his career?
Another angle we need to talk about with this
deal is that it may limit the Ravens' ability
to extend some of their free agents. Tyler Lindenbaum
is going to be free agent, Isaiah Likely, Eloy
Gilman, Kyle Van Noy, Daniel Falele, even though
he's not going to come back to the Ravens, if
you know, you know, and Patrick Ricard. So according
to SpotRack, Tyler Linderbaum's market value
is four years, 69 .7 million, which is 17 .4
million a year. Isaiah Likely's market value
is four years, 41 .7 million, which is 10 .4
million a year. Aloy Gilman's market value is
two years, 9 .3 million, which is 4 .7 million
a year. Kyle Van Noy's market value, one year,
5 .1 million. So I say all that to say this,
can some of these deals be hashed out now? Yes.
But the difficulty with trying to hash out these
deals is that some of them are probably looking
for top dollar value, which I can understand
because this is your first major contract. But
at the same time, that's going to limit your
ability to be players in free agency. But we'll
talk about this more when we talk about the Steelers
and Ravens game because there's a lot to unpack
with that game, all right? Now let's talk about
Josh Myers. Center for the Jets inks a two -year
$11 million deal, $6 million guaranteed if we
make $5 .5 million a year. A good team -friendly
deal that's not going to break the bank while
at the same time locking up a very important
position. Now so far, four out of the five offensive
linemen for the Jets are currently under contract.
The only two that are pending free agents is
John Simpson and Elijah Barrett Tucker, which
you can upgrade in neither the draft or in free
agency. Now let's talk about Phillip Rivers going
to the Colts. So with Daniel Jones being out
for the year, the Colts were trying to find a
replacement just so they can get by. Now they
probably looked here, there, everywhere. But
Shane Stockton said, you know what? I know somebody.
I'm going to call up an old friend. And who did
he call up? Phillip Rivers. That's right, the
Phillip Rivers that hasn't played in over five
years. Now you're probably wondering, of all
the people that they could have brought in, why
Phillip Rivers? Well, here's why. According to
Kevin Patra of the NFL, while Phillip Rivers
was with the Chargers, Shane Stuyton was the
quarterback coach from 2016 to 2019, and then
the interim offensive coordinator in 2019. So
since that time, they've had an established relationship
with each other, and they actually talk to one
another pretty frequently. So I guess that was
probably the best move for the Colts, but it's
a little bit of a head -scratcher because you're
getting somebody that hasn't played in five years.
Now, it's different from Aaron Rodgers because
Aaron Rodgers just played last year. So he's
still in the field of football. Phillip Rivers
is not in the field for football. But here's
the crazy thing about it. When Phillip Rivers
was with the Colts in 2020, Jonathan Taylor and
Michael Pittman Jr. were rookies. It was the
second year for Quentin Nelson. Justin Houston
was still on the team. Shaq Leonard was on the
team. Xavier Rhodes was on the team. That's how
long it's been since Phillip Rivers was playing
football. But you want to know what's really
crazy? Nick Sirianni was the offensive coordinator.
Matt Eberflus was the defensive coordinator.
Kevin Petullo was the pass game specialist. And
Jonathan Gannon was the cornerback coach. While
Frank Wright was the head coach. Now during that
time, they had the 11th ranked offense. and they
averaged 28 .2 points per game, 378 .9 yards
per game, 5 .9 yards per play, and 44 touchdowns.
They were 11th in passing offense, and they averaged
253 .3 passing yards per game, 7 .1 passing yards
per play, and 24 passing touchdowns. They were
11th in rushing offense, and they averaged 124
.8 rushing yards per game, 4 .3 rushing yards
per play, and 20 rushing touchdowns. So they
had a really good offense back then. Now, do
I think they can do the same thing again? Possibly.
Because Michael Pittman is a more established
receiver now. Jonathan Taylor looks like the
offensive player of the year. Tyler Warren is
a beast. The offensive line is protecting really
well. I think they can do something. Now, am
I saying that they're going to go to the Super
Bowl or the AFC Championship because of Phillip
Rivers? No. So any person that has high expectations
for Phillip Rivers, knock it off. Because you
don't know what condition Phillip Rivers is in.
Granted, he still has the arm, but the stamina
and the ability to take hits. He hasn't taken
a hit in over five years. And if we want to take
things another level, his first opponent is the
Seahawks. Of all the times you could have came
back, now is the time that you want to come back.
And then after the Seahawks, you have to face
the 49ers, the Jaguars, and then end the regular
season with the Texans. That's right, the Texans
defense that's been crushing quarterbacks left
and right. That offensive line better be perfect.
From the first snap to the last snap. But let's
talk about Joe Burrow because he said some things
that got people questioning if he wants to stay
with the Bengals or not. So this all started
when a reporter asked him, does coming back from
a serious injury change your competitive fire
at all? And how does the toe injury maybe change
the way you view the game? And so this is what
Joe Burrow had to say in that quote. It certainly
does not change my desire to win. If I want to
keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it.
I've been through a lot. And if it's not fun,
then what am I doing it for? That's the mindset
I'm trying to bring to the table. I think I've
been through more than most. And it's certainly
not easy on the brain or the body. So I'm just
trying to have fun doing it again. End quote.
But he goes on to say this, and I quote, it's
something you have to think about. That's life
as a professional athlete. It's no different
in basketball, MMA, or baseball. It's what we
chose. We make a lot of sacrifices and your body
is often one of them, end quote. Now somebody
asked him, are those frustrations football related
or personal? And he simply said, and I quote,
all the above, end quote. Now here's the thing,
because we have to pick this apart like a surgeon.
So I have my scalpel. I have my other utensils
ready because we got to pick this apart, okay?
For those who have been listening to this podcast
since last year, what has been the number one
thing that I've emphasized episode after episode?
Your offensive line. The offensive line is not
the sexiest position, but it is the most reliable
position on the team. Because without the offensive
line, your quarterback is going to get crushed
every single time. And we have seen organizations
neglect the offensive line year after year after
year. And you know what happens? That quarterback
doesn't want to take any more hits. And he either
forces a departure or just flat out retires.
We saw with Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck did not
have a competent offensive line for a majority
of his career. And by the time that they started
to invest into the offensive line, it was too
late. He was shot. So you have to make those
investments. Now, I'm not saying that you need
to have an offensive line full of first rounders,
but you need to make key investments into your
offensive line. Because what did I say a couple
episodes ago? Pass rushers are coming out of
college like hotcakes. They are bigger, they
are stronger, and they're faster. And the only
way that you can negate their effectiveness is
by having a crazy offensive line. When you don't
have it, you're not going to go anywhere. Granted,
I understand that the Bengals made a crazy playoff
run with the worst offensive line in the league,
but it took a toll on Joe Burrow. I was able
to find some stats just to see how similar Andrew
Luck and Joe Burrow are. Joe Burrow has taken
on more sacks than Andrew Luck. You don't believe
me? I'll read the stats. In 2020, Joe Burrow's
first year, 32 sacks. That next year, 51 sacks.
The year after that, 41 sacks. The year after
that, 24 sacks. The year after that, 48 sacks.
This year, 7 sacks. That totals up to 203 sacks
by Joe Burrow. Andrew Lux, 41 sacks in his first
year. 32 sacks in his second year. 27 sacks in
his third year. 15 sacks in his fourth year.
41 sacks in his fifth year. Now, he didn't play
in 2017 because of his shoulder. But his last
year, 18 sacks. 174 sacks. I don't care how big
you are. I don't care how strong you are. I don't
care what your workout regimen is. I don't care
what your recovery regimen is. You cannot handle
174 sacks. At some point, you're not going to
want to be hit anymore. And if you're Joe Burrow,
You should have told the team, listen, I'll take
less money just so you can build me a great offensive
line. Now, granted, they drafted Amarius Mims
in the first round and they paid some money to
Orlando Brown. But what have you done with the
interior offensive line? But let's go a little
bit deeper. According to SpotRack, Joe Burrow
alone accounts for 16 .4 % of the cap. 16 .4%.
Tee Higgins, 8 .6%. Jamar Chase, 8 .4%. You gave
three big contracts to your three best players,
but you didn't think about maybe doing something
with the interior offensive line. Now the Bengals
are probably starting to have regret on choosing
Jamar Chase instead of Penesuel. Now I'll be
honest. Panay Sewell probably wouldn't have been
the sexy pick. But you know what? It would have
been a pick that would have kept Joe Burrow up.
Because Joe Burrow has been hurt a lot. And outside
of that Super Bowl year, what have they done
since then? At some point, somebody's going to
have to say it. We have to protect Joe. Because
if you don't protect Joe, Joe is going to go.
Because that's what it sounds like to me. Now,
if you're Joe Burrow, the number one team you
probably want to go to is the Vikings. Because
you know why? The Vikings have a good offensive
line. They have a good run game. They're in a
dome. So at best, you're only going to have to
play outdoors only twice. And out of those two
times, one of them is probably going to be the
early part of the season. And the other one is
going to be at the latter part of the season.
You can work with that. But what you can't work
with is being in a division where two of the
best pass rushers in the league are facing you
and putting you on the ground year after year.
But I'm going to get off my soapbox. Not going
to say anything yet. But just know, if Joe Burrow
continues on with this rhetoric, there might
be a change of the guard. But let's talk about
these games. So Dak Prescott, 47 attempts for
31 completions, 376 passing yards, one touchdown,
two picks, eight yards per attempt, and a 66
completion percentage. Javante Williams, 17 attempts
for 67 rushing yards, 3 .9 rushing yards per
carry, one touchdown, and two rushes of 10 plus
yards or more. CeeDee Lamb, eight targets for
six receptions, 121 receiving yards, and 20 .2
receiving yards per reception. Jared Goff, 34
attempts for 25 completions, 309 pass yards,
1 touchdown, 9 .1 yards per attempt, and a 73
.5 completion percentage. David Montgomery, 6
attempts for 60 rushing yards, 10 rushing yards
per carry, 1 touchdown, and 1 rush of 10 plus
yards or more. Jamison Williams, 9 targets for
7 receptions, 96 receiving yards, and 13 .7 receiving
yards per reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets.
When under pressure, Dak Prescott completed 9
of 13 attempts for 166 passing yards in one touchdown,
his fourth most passing yards under pressure
in the game since 2018. Jared Goff completed
17 of 21 quick pass attempts for 167 passing
yards in one touchdown. Jared Goff's quick pass
rate is the highest mark in a game since joining
the Lions at 61 .8%. On 12 carries against the
Cowboys, Jameer Gibbs recorded 43 rushing yards
and three touchdowns. All three touchdowns came
out of jumbo formations. When covering CeeDee
Lamb, DJ Reed allowed 105 yards, the most yards
Reed has allowed to a single receiver in a game
in his career. From the start of the game to
the end of the game, the Lions were in control.
There was never a point in time where the Cowboys
posed a threat to the Lions. Now, the Cowboys
could have tried to win if they would have been
efficient in the red zone and stopped making
costly mistakes. But instead, you were bad in
the run game, you were bad in the red zone, you
were bad when it comes to penalties, so of course
you're going to lose. You couldn't stop Jameer
Gibbs, you couldn't stop David Montgomery, nor
Jamison Williams, nor Amon Ross St. Brown. And
that's just the offense. On the defense, however,
the Lions imposed their will on Dak Prescott.
There was never a point in time where Dak felt
comfortable in this game. Dak was sacked five
times and had a quarterback pressure rate of
37%, while Jared Goff only took on one sack and
had a quarterback pressure rate of 25 .7%. And
every time the Cowboys made a mistake, the Lions
made them pay for it. So when you have those
factors in place on top of the Lions starting
to use that sixth offensive lineman formation
by adding in Dan Skipper, of course the Cowboys
weren't going to win. And for the people that
were talking about George Pickens and talking
about how his body language showed that he didn't
want to be there anymore and whatnot, stop it.
Because you would do the exact same thing if
your team was getting crushed every single time
you were on the field. You would show a little
bit of emotion. I have never seen a whole bunch
of people, especially people in Pittsburgh, that
just have a personal ax to grind against George
Pickens. He's out of Pittsburgh. Leave him alone.
But all I continue to see is a bunch of grown
men continue to try to justify their views about
George Pickens. Not everybody is going to be
an angel. Not everybody is going to be a team
player. Some people are just going to show emotions
more than others. That's football. That's what
makes football so special. Because not everybody
is going to be like a Larry Fitzgerald and just
keep things bottled up. There are some people
that are going to throw their helmet. There's
going to be some people that may cuss somebody
on the sideline. There may be somebody that may
try to get into it with their quarterback. We
see it all the time. But to justify your personal
opinions and to justify your axe grinding against
a player is just downright childish and unnecessary.
But let's talk about the Steelers and Ravens.
So Aaron Rodgers, 34 attempts for 23 completions,
284 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 8 .4 yards per
attempt, and a 67 .6 completion percentage. Kenneth
Gainwell, 4 attempts for 15 rushing yards, 3
.8 rushing yards per carry, and 1 touchdown.
DK Metcalf, 12 targets for 7 receptions, 21 .1
receiving yards per reception. Lamar Jackson,
35 attempts for 19 completions, one touchdown,
one pick, 6 .3 yards per attempt, and a 54 .3
completion percentage. Derrick Henry, 25 attempts
for 94 rushing yards, 3 .8 rushing yards per
carry, and one rush of 10 plus yards or more.
Zay Flowers, 11 targets for eight receptions,
124 receiving yards, and 15 .5 receiving yards
per reception. So here's a few junkie nuggets.
When Zay Flowers was in motion, Flowers caught
two of his four targets for 38 yards. When not
in motion, Zay Flowers caught six of seven targets
for 86 yards. Chidobe Awuzie has allowed the
lowest completion percentage at 50%, which is
the lowest among Ravens defensive backs, and
tied for the ninth lowest among quarterbacks
league -wide. Aaron Rodgers completed all three
deep passes, which is 20 -plus air yards, for
121 yards against the Ravens. All deep targets
went to DK Metcalf. So a couple things with this
game, because I know we have to talk about the
one play that everybody is talking about, because
I myself do not know what a catch is. Now before
we talk about this game, I must first let you
guys know that I am wearing a tinfoil suit from
head to toe, alright? My shoes are covered in
tinfoil. My jacket is in tinfoil. I have a tinfoil
hat on right now because we have to talk about
the conspiracy theory that is a catch. Because
clearly, we don't know what a catch is. Now prior
to this game, Adam Schefter put out an article
stating... that the Steelers and Mike Tomlin
have a significant decision that they have to
make prior to next season. According to Schefter,
Tomlin's contract will have two years remaining,
26 in the team option in 27. But according to
league sources, the Steelers must decide whether
to pick up the option on Tomlin's contract by
March 1st. There will be organizational meetings
and decisions that occur, but not until after
the season with a full body of work for all appropriate
parties to review, according to sources. Now,
I understand after the Bills lost, there was
a lot of hype about Mike Tomlin and everybody
was giving their two cents on if Tomlin should
stay or go or get traded or retire or whatever
people were thinking, right? But when Schefter
put out this story prior to the Steelers and
Ravens matchup, it had me wondering, why would
you put out this story prior to the game? And
who decided to put out this story? Was it somebody
from the Steelers? Was it somebody from Thomas
Camp? Because Schefter isn't going to put out
a story like this if there is something brewing
behind closed doors. Now, for all intents and
purposes, This could possibly mean Tomlin wants
to go or the Steelers want to get another head
coach. We don't know. There's still a few games
left, so we can't come to that conclusion. But
with that being said, let's actually talk about
the game because there's a lot to unpack from
this. For starters, there was little to no energy
in this game. Usually, whenever there's a Steelers
and Ravens game, there's a lot of energy, there's
a lot of hype, trash talking, all of that and
more between both fan bases. Clearly it wasn't,
because both fan bases are in similar situations,
and that is they are tired of their respective
head coaches. But we're going to save that once
we've talked about everything else. The first
thing that needs to be brought up is Daniel Felele.
I am so tired of seeing him on the field, and
I don't understand why John Harbaugh continues
to give him chance after chance after chance.
At some point, you're going to need to make a
switch. Put Emory Jones in. Put somebody in other
than Daniel Folele because he is more of a liability
than an asset. Anytime Brandon Echols can beat
you to get a sack, that's a problem. You're almost
400 -something pounds, 6 '5", maybe 6 '6", and
you mean to tell me you can't even defend a slot
corner? A slot corner that's not even that big.
Are you serious? I could probably defend Brandon
Echols a little bit better than what Daniel Felele
is doing. At some point, if you're a head coach,
you have to be honest with who you have on the
field. And if you feel like somebody is more
of a liability than an asset, get them off the
field. I don't care how long they've been playing.
I don't care what pedigree they have. I don't
care what school they came from. I don't care
about their backstory. I don't care about any
of that. If you are not playing well, you gotta
go. And the fact that you didn't do anything
at the trade deadline to address this position,
but now all of a sudden you decide that you want
to address guard. It took you a majority of the
season to finally wake up and see the problem
right in front of you that you've been seeing
for over 12 weeks now, and now you want to make
a move. It's too late. It's too late. The damage
is already done. Even if you put Lakin Thomason
in, and even if he plays better than Daniel Folele,
it's too late. Your playoff chances are slim
to none. If you lose against the Bengals, you're
done. But I'm going to save that for when we
talk about the coaches. Now, defensively for
the Ravens, they were inconsistent. There were
high points as well as low points. And I think
this is the theme that we've been seeing with
the Ravens as a whole this entire season. There'll
be stretches where they're playing really good
ball and they look like the Baltimore Ravens.
And then there's other stretches where it's like,
is this the Ravens? Or is this the high school
team of the Ravens? There were even points where
the pass rush specifically was ineffective. So
I say all that to say this. If you're the Ravens
moving forward, You need to emphasize rebuilding
this defensive line because what you have right
now is not sufficient. Relying on Kyle Van Noy
to do what he did two years ago is not going
to help. Mike Green is a rookie, so he's still
trying to figure everything out. And you don't
have anybody with the interior defensive line
that's doing anything as well. Travis Jones can
only do so much. Now, offensively for the Steelers,
they were explosive. Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf
was cooking the entire game and the Ravens didn't
have an answer for it. Which I think is really
promising and I feel like that's a change of
pace compared to what we've seen the last few
weeks with the Steelers. Now can that be contributed
to having Adam Thielen and MVS on the field?
Or Andres P at left tackle since he's better
in pass protection? We don't know. But as a collective...
The Steelers' offense was a lot better in this
game than what it has been in the last few games.
But something that we need to talk about with
this game is the referees. I understand it was
that gentleman's first season, and I understand
that he needs the experience, but why would you
put him on this game when this is the most intense
rivalry in all of football and, you know, most
games in in a controversial way, which is exactly
what happened with this game. Why would you put
him in that situation? Why didn't you at least
put somebody that's a little bit more seasoned
specifically with these games instead of somebody
who clearly does not understand the magnitude
of this rivalry? There were a lot of plays and
a lot of flags that just didn't need to be called.
The Travis Jones one didn't need to be called.
And the fact that you as the league decided to
call John Harbaugh after the game to say, you
know what, our bad. Our bad? Our bad. It's too
late for that. The game is already over. The
record has already changed. It's the dumbest
thing in the world for you to say, oh yeah, what
we did in the game, yeah, we're sorry about that.
That's not going to change the record. That's
not going to change the outcome of the season.
What are we doing? And another thing that we
need to talk about is Patrick Queen holding on
to Mark Andrews. If you look at the footage again,
Patrick Queen was clearly holding on to Mark
Andrews. And the fact that it was not called
is baffling to me. So you mean to tell me that
nobody decided to review that play at least a
few different times in a few different angles?
You're just going to say, oh, it's an incomplete
pass. No, it wasn't. He was holding on to his
shirt the entire time. Now, the question is this.
Was that pass intended for Mark Andrews or Dehop?
Because if you look at that play again, Dehop
was wide open. But let's go a little bit deeper.
The catch. The catches of all catches. The play
that everybody has been talking about and questioning
about for the past few days. Was Isaiah Likely's
play a catch? And I would venture to say yes.
He did everything that every other receiver has
done. He had two feet in the end zone. He had
possession of the ball. So why wasn't it ruled
a catch? Or better yet, why didn't you guys just
replay the down? I think if you would have done
that, you probably would have gotten a better
reception from the fans than to just say, oh,
it's an incomplete pass. He didn't have control
of the ball. Yes, he did. He had control of the
ball. So what are we doing? Now, after the game,
a reporter named Jeff Zerbeck, who covers the
Ravens, decided to ask NFL vice president of
instant replay Mark Butterworth and referee Alex
Moore on that play. So he asked. What went into
the decision to reverse the touchdown that was
initially ruled on the field for Isaiah Likely
in the fourth quarter? Mark Butterworth said
this and I quote, The ruling on the field was
a touchdown. We quickly looked at the play. The
receiver controlled the ball in the air, had
his right foot down, then his left foot down.
The control is the first aspect of the catch.
The second aspect is two feet or a body part
inbounds, which he did have. Then the third step
is an act common to the game. And before he could
get the third foot down, the ball was ripped
out. Therefore, it was an incomplete pass. So
Jeff Zerbeck asked another question. So an act
common to the game, what would that constitute
in the end zone? It was two and a half steps
before the third step went down. What would constitute
an act common to the game? And Butterworth answered,
and I quote, for this play, it would be him completing
the third step. So Zerbeck asks us another question.
So he needed a third step in the end zone in
this situation, and Butterworth simply answered
by saying, and I quote, yes, sir. It was a catch.
It was a catch. By the time that Joey Porter
Jr. was trying to get the ball out of Isaiah
Likely's grasp, It should have already been ruled
as a touchdown. So I don't understand why you
guys ruled it as an incomplete pass. He did every
single thing. I didn't realize that you had to
have a third step because a whole bunch of receivers
do that play every single Sunday, Monday, and
Thursday the exact same way, and you guys rule
it as a touchdown. So moving forward, whenever
a receiver or tight end do the exact same thing
that Isaiah Likely did, I want the same response,
the same description, and the same energy. Now
let's have a brief conversation on where both
teams are at right now. So with the Steelers
winning this game, all they have to do is beat
the Dolphins and beat the Browns. If you do those
two things, That last Ravens game essentially
means nothing because you've already won the
division. But if you lose against the Dolphins,
that's going to make things harder for you. So
if you're the Steelers, you have to find a way
to win. Now, apparently TJ Watt isn't going to
be playing on Monday, which I'm so glad that
he's okay. Prayers to him and his family and
everybody connected to him because having a punctured
lung is not fun at all. But with that being said,
if you're the Steelers, if you truly believe
that you can make a playoff run, if you truly
believe that you can win at least one playoff
game, it's time for you to dig deep and lock
in. You know the Dolphins ain't a slouch. You
know the Lions are going to give you problems.
You know you're going back to Cleveland. So you
need to take care of business. And please, Continue
to adjust. Continue to do new things on both
sides of the ball. Now, do I believe that this
is going to be Mike Tomlin's last year for the
Steelers? No. I said it in the previous episode.
I don't believe that the Steelers are going to
get rid of Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin has to make
that decision. The Steelers won't do it for him
because the Steelers still believe in Mike Tomlin
and the players still believe in Mike Tomlin.
So if those two factors still believe in the
head coach, nothing is going to happen. Now,
can there be added pressure on Mike Tomlin? Yes.
But to say that Mike Tomlin needs to go into
college football or getting to broadcasting or
do these. just unnecessary things? No. If he
feels like it's time for him to go, let him go.
But I will say this, if you let him go, who is
going to be the replacement? I said this in the
previous episode. If you let go of Mike Tomlin,
who is going to be the replacement? Because this
upcoming cycle for head coaches is not that good
compared to last year where you have Ben Johnson,
Liam Cohen, Mike Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh, Raheem
Morris. I can continue to go down the list. So
while everybody has a personal axe to grind against
Mike Tomlin, just know, anybody that comes in,
you are going to be holding them to the standard
that Mike Tomlin set for over 20 plus years.
Now with John Harbaugh, it's straightforward.
He has to go. Because right now, he has not shown
that he can take this team to the Super Bowl.
Instead, he has shown that he is an average to
below average head coach. Anytime you continue
to lose against your division rival in the Steelers,
even though you have a better roster than them,
that's a problem. Anytime you don't address problems
on your team, even though you have options on
your team already, that's a problem. Anytime
you are not willing to do something different,
that's a problem. These are the things that John
Harbaugh continues to do season after season.
He doesn't want to change on offense. He doesn't
want to change on defense. He doesn't want to
give his younger players a chance. So at this
point, you have to go. You've had opportunity
after opportunity to make it to the Super Bowl,
and you continue to fail. You had prime position
to make it to the Super Bowl. All you had to
do was beat the Chiefs, who were in your house.
You literally told the reporter, I want to run
the ball like you're an offensive coordinator.
When you're a head coach, you can tell Todd Munkin,
Todd, run the ball. But you didn't want to do
that. You've had opportunity after opportunity
against some weak opponents, and you continue
to not capitalize off of it. So no, you gotta
go. Now let's talk about the Titans and Browns.
But before we do that. We got to pay some bills.
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Now back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks.
So Cam Ward, 28 attempts for 14 completions,
two touchdowns, one pick, 4 .2 yards per attempt,
and a 50 % completion percentage. Tony Pollard,
25 attempts for 161 rushing yards, 6 .4 rushing
yards per carry, two touchdowns, and two rushes
of 10 -plus yards or more. Tajay Spears. Four
targets for two receptions, 28 receiving yards,
and 14 receiving yards per reception. Shador
Sanders. 42 attempts for 23 completions, 364
passing yards, three touchdowns, one pick, 8
.7 yards per attempt, and a 54 .8 completion
percentage. Jador Sanders, three attempts for
29 rushing yards, 9 .7 rushing yards per carry,
one touchdown, and one rush of 10 plus yards
or more. Harold Fanning Jr., 11 targets for eight
receptions, 114 receiving yards, one touchdown,
and 14 .3 receiving yards per reception. So here's
a few junkie nuggets. Tony Pollard totaled 90
of his 160. 61 rushing yards before contact,
the most he's recorded in his career. Shador
Sanders had the second longest time to throw
by any quarterback this season at 3 .5 seconds.
I think the main takeaway from this game is that
both quarterbacks had a good game. Now, when
you look at their individual stats, it'll probably
say something different, but when you turn on
the tape, you can clearly see that both of these
two are showing a lot of potential. And I think
if you're both organizations, that's something
that you can hang your hat on. And if we're being
honest here, both teams need the same thing.
Weapons. Because if it wasn't for Tony Pollard
being the workhorse in this game and that defense
stepping up in critical moments, the Titans would
have lost. And I would venture to say this is
probably their best performance this entire season.
Now, defensively for the Titans, they were creating
a lot of pressure on Shador Sanders. Every single
time he had the ball in his hands, either Jeffrey
Simmons was in his face or somebody else. Which,
I mean, that's promising. And I think that's
something that you can hang your hat on going
into next year. But if you're the Titans, what
position are you going to prioritize in the draft?
Is it going to be pass rusher or is it going
to be receiver? Now, you need both. But I would
venture to say wide receiver is a bigger need
than pass rusher. And let me explain. Right now
on this team, the only receiver that you can
say has promise is a human order, which you just
drafted in this year's draft. Outside of him,
who else can you say is going to be here for
the long term? You know Calvin Ridley is most
likely going to be gone. You know Van Jefferson
is most likely going to be gone. So if you're
the Titans, you can get someone like a Jordan
Tyson. You can get someone like a Denzel Boston.
You can get yourself like a Carnell Tate because
you're going to need to give Cam Ward some reliable
weapons. Which, speaking of which, we are going
to have to talk about the draft. I need to talk
about the strengths and weaknesses in next year's
draft class, some potential prospects that I
have my eye on, all those different things. Stay
tuned for that. You know it's going to come out
soon, all right? I just have to do some more
digging, okay? Now let's go to the Browns. Offensively,
as a collective, they were okay. I think Quenshawn
Junkins continues to show that he is the focal
point of this offense. And I think that connection
between Harold Fannin Jr. and Shador Sanders
is very promising. And to see Shador Sanders
play the way that he's played without a proper
offensive line, without a lot of weapons, I think
there's some promise with that. And I think if
you're the Browns, you have to roll with Shador
Sanders moving forward. Now, granted, I understand
that you have some high picks in next year's
draft, and I understand that you may want to
try to get Fernando Mendoza, but just hear me
out for a moment. If you're the Browns, It'll
be better for you to rebuild the offensive line
and to surround Shador Sanders with weapons than
to just get another quarterback. I just think
personally, Shador Sanders has been the best
quarterback of this entire year. And I think
if you're the Browns, you have to give him a
legitimate chance. You give him one full offseason
and one full season just to see what you have
with Shador Sanders. And then if you still don't
believe in him, then the 27, you go up and you
get Archie Manning or whoever else that may be
available. If Shador Sanders finds a way to beat
the Steelers, we might need to have a different
conversation about Shador. I'm just saying, I
don't want to be that person, but you have to
root for the kid because the way that he's been
able to play without an offensive line, with
limited weapons. That is something that you want
to see in your quarterback. That is something
that lets you know that there's something in
there that you just got to tap into. Now, defensively
for the Browns, they were struggling in the first
half, but in the second half, they calmed down,
they made some adjustments, and they were able
to limit Tony Pollard's explosiveness. Pardon
the interruption, but we have some breaking news,
breaking news, breaking news. So according to
P -Famil, Lenore Sellers is returning back to
school. So that's another quarterback that you
have to take off next year's draft class. And
if you're a quarterback -needy team, that most
likely means that Fernando Mendoza may be the
only quarterback taken in the first round. So
if you're a team like the Jets, like the Steelers,
like the Raiders who need a quarterback, what
are you going to do? Are you going to get a bridge
quarterback? Are you still going to draft a quarterback?
Because right now, your options are very limited.
If Ty Simpson and Dante Moore don't declare,
You're really screwed. Man, I know there's some
people that's upset right now. Now back to the
Titans and Browns game because we have to talk
about the three mistakes that I feel like costed
them this game. So mistake number one in the
first quarter, first and goal, Quenshawn Junkins
is in wildcat formation. Why? Please explain
to me why you would want to roll out the wildcat
formation now. It'll be different if the quarterback
was still there or you're just doing this as
a pre -snap formation and then you're going to
change it over to something different. But you
actually ran with this. Why? You're making it
seem like nobody has ever seen the Wildcat formation
before. Everyone's seen it. So why would you
do it? Mistake number two in the fourth quarter.
427 left. You failed to do the two -point conversion
because of a botch snap. Now that I can't really
be critical of because, I mean, it was just a
bad snap. There's only so much that you can do
with that, right? But mistake number three, you
do the wildcat formation again and Quenshawn
Jenkins fails to pitch it. Why didn't you have
Shador Sanders in the game? Or better yet, why
couldn't you just kick the field goal? The defense
was playing well at that point. So if you would
have kicked at least two field goals, you could
have at least narrowed down the deficit and created
pressure on the Titans. But no, you want to do
something different, and that was the reason
why you lost this game. But let's talk about
the Texans and Chiefs, all right? So C .J. Stroud,
31 attempts for 15 completions, 203 passing yards,
one touchdown, 6 .5 yards per attempt, and a
48 .4 completion percentage. Woody Marks, 26
attempts for 68 rushing yards, 2 .6 rushing yards
per carry. Nico Collins, 8 targets for 4 receptions,
121 receiving yards, and 30 .3 receiving yards
per reception. Patrick Mahomes, 33 attempts for
14 completions, 160 passing yards, 3 picks, 4
.8 yards per attempt, and a 42 .4 completion
percentage. Patrick Mahomes again, 7 attempts
for 59 rushing yards, 8 .4 rushing yards per
carry, and 1 rush of 10 plus yards or more. Xavier
Worthy, 4 targets for 3 receptions, 55 receiving
yards, and 18 .3 receiving yards per reception.
So here's a few junkie nuggets. Aziz Alshayer
was targeted 3 times on 42 coverage snaps, allowing
1 reception for 7 yards. He also was matched
up against Travis Kelsey on 9 routes and held
him to 1 target and recording a pick. Chris Jones
generated a season -high 7 pressures on 28 pass
rushes against the Texans, including 6 quick
pressures, which are pressures under 2 .5 seconds.
He generated his pressures at an average of 2
.2 seconds, Chris Jones' fastest time to pressure
since Week 2 of this year. Travis Kelsey has
been held under 50 receiving yards in the last
two games. his first time being held under 50
yards in back -to -back games since week three
and week four of the 25 season. Kelsey is averaging
59 .9 receiving yards per game this season, but
the Texans' pass defense has allowed 39 .4 receiving
yards per game to tight end, which is fifth in
the NFL. When under pressure, C .J. Stroud was
6 of 16 for 114 yards and one touchdown while
getting sacked three times. Stroud was pressured
19 times with a 54 .3 pressure rate, which is
the second highest of his career. Offensively
for the Texans, they continue to struggle. CJ
Stroud is still trying to get back into the swing
of things because he's been out for a period
of time with a concussion. And I'm not really
surprised. Offensively for the Texans this entire
season, they've just been inconsistent. One moment,
they're playing really well. The run game is
great. C .J. Stroud is letting it rip. And then
there's two or three games where C .J. Stroud
isn't playing his best ball. The run game is
inconsistent. And the pass game is the only thing
that's keeping them alive. Now, am I expecting
C .J. Stroud to throw for 400 yards and five
touchdowns every single game? No. But I mean,
your completion percentage in this game was bad.
And if we can be honest here, if it wasn't for
the defense doing the heavy lifting in this game,
the Texans would have easily lost. Let's really
be honest here. Although they are a good team,
they are not the same team that we saw last year
and the year before that. Now, defensively for
the Texans, what is there to say that hasn't
already been said? From creating consistent pressure
as well as playing a physical brand of football
that the Chiefs weren't able to handle, the Texans
continued to show why they're the best or second
best defense in the entire league. And the Chiefs
didn't have an answer for it because they don't
have the personnel to match the intensity that
the Texans were bringing every single drive.
So I say all that to say this. Because we need
to talk about the Chiefs. Who are the chain movers
of this offense? Is it Rasheed Rice? Is it Hollywood
Brown? Is it Isaiah Pacheco? Is it Noah Gray?
Let me know. Because right now, the Chiefs need
them to take that next step. Because right now,
they are on the cusp of missing the playoffs
this year. And if they do, that's going to be
a tragic way for Travis Kelsey to end his career
because most people of his statue would love
to just end his career riding off into the sunset
as a champion. But clearly that's not going to
happen this year. But at the same time, this
opens up an opportunity for the Chiefs to look
at themselves in the mirror and say, what can
we do different next year? Because right now
what you're starting to see, and this is a trend
with other quarterbacks, is that paying these
alien quarterbacks a boatload of money is going
to come at a significant cost. And that cost
is you won't be able to successfully build around
them. When we look at all the alien quarterbacks,
some of them have more similarities than differences.
For starters, the Chiefs, Bengals, Ravens, and
Chargers have bad and inconsistent offensive
lines. But out of those teams, the Chiefs are
the only team that consistently invests into
the offensive line. They've done it through trades.
They've done it through free agency. They've
done it through the draft. And they still can't
get the offensive line right. Now, with the Chargers,
on the other hand, they've lost their starting
tackles for the rest of the year. And with the
Ravens, you're starting to see that that offensive
line is declining. You're starting to see that
Ronnie Stanley is not the same Ronnie Stanley
from a couple years ago. So with that being said,
those teams need to start investing into the
offensive line, and they haven't been able to
do so. Now, the Bills, they're in a unique situation
because they have the offensive line. It's just
people are hurt, but they don't have weapons.
right? Keon Coleman is starting to look like
a bust at this point. I wouldn't be surprised
if they moved off of him in the offseason. Khalil
Shakir can only do so much. Gabe Davis hasn't
really played as much, and he doesn't look like
the Gabe Davis of old. So we have to have honest
conversations when it comes to paying these alien
quarterbacks. It's great to have them, but the
drawback is this. You have to consistently hit
on your offensive draft picks. Otherwise, it's
going to be harder to build around them. Really
think about this for a second. When was the last
time the Chiefs hit on an offensive draft pick?
Really think about it. When was the last time
the Chiefs hit on an offensive draft pick? It's
been a while. And they needed to hit on those
offensive draft picks in order to supplement
the fact that they're paying a lot of money to
both Mahomes and Kelsey. But so far, they've
been unsuccessful in doing it. Xavier Worthy
has not taken that next step. Rasheed Rice cannot
stay out of trouble. Hollywood Brown is very
limited. So somebody has to take the mantle.
And it's not like they can get a top -end receiver
in free agency or at the trade deadline because
they're always pressed against the cap. But this
is what happens when you allocate your money
the wrong way. How many people have they either
traded away or cut or just let them walk in free
agency? They're about to let Trent McDuffie walk
because they can't even afford him. Another thing
that we need to talk about is how Mahomes doesn't
handle well when he faces elite defensive lines.
It's similar to what Tom Brady used to go through.
Whenever they faced elite defensive lines, they
couldn't handle it. Every single time the Chiefs
have lost in the Super Bowl, it's always against
an elite defensive line. When Mahomes faced the
Buccaneers, what did they have? An elite defensive
line. When he faced the Eagles, they had an elite
defensive line. It's the same thing with Brady.
He faced the Giants twice, they had an elite
defensive line. When he faced the Eagles, they
had an elite defensive line. That is the recipe
in beating those type of quarterbacks. You have
to have an elite defensive line. Otherwise, guess
what's going to happen? They're going to pick
you apart every single quarter. They're not concerned
about corners. They're not concerned about safeties.
They're concerned about those edge rushers. But
that's going to be a different conversation that
we're going to have in the offseason for certain
teams, Ravens. But on a serious note, and this
is the last thing that I'll say, and then I'll
just end the episode. The Chiefs defensively
were a little bit too aggressive for me in the
first half of the game. I understand that Spag's
thing is the blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz.
But you got to cut back on the blitzing. Because
people can see it. And every time that you guys
blitzed, the Texans made you pay for it. Now,
was there spurts where Chris Jones stepped up
and he created a lot of pressure on C .J. Stroud?
Yes. But to say that this Chiefs defense was
playing like it has been for the past few years
is a lie. And what you're also starting to see
is that from a talent perspective, they are very
limited on the defense. If Chris Jones doesn't
create pressure, if George Kaloftis doesn't create
pressure, if Trent McDuffie doesn't get the pick,
that defense is cooked. But again, this is what
happens when you allocate top dollar money to
just three people on the team. Now, I'm not saying
that the Chiefs model is broken, it's wrong,
and it hasn't been successful. It has, but it
was only successful for just for a moment. Now
you're starting to see that as they get up in
age, you're going to have to rely on other people
to step up. And you can't do that when you don't
have the talent to do it. Trent McDuffie most
likely is going to walk. What are you going to
do about that? What other corner can you say
on this team could be cornerback one or cornerback
two? What are you going to do with the safeties?
What are you going to do with the linebackers?
They have a lot of questions that they are going
to have to ask themselves this offseason. And
most likely, they're going to have to hit on
a majority of their draft picks. Because defensively,
they don't have the horses no more to compete
with a lot of these offenses. So if you're the
Chiefs, you have a lot of soul searching that
you have to do. You have a lot of uncomfortable
questions that you're going to have to ask and
answer. And you have a lot of uncomfortable assessments
that you're going to have to make in this offseason,
okay? But I'm going to end this episode here.
If you guys like what you are listening, please,
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right? As always, I hope I give you guys the
fix that you guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate
you guys so much. Thank you guys so much for
being with me. me on this journey. First and
foremost, I have to thank my Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ for being with me on this journey.
If it wasn't for God, I wouldn't have done this
podcast. This podcast started from an idea of
just wanting to know more about football. It
started from having two and three and four hour
conversations with friends about different football
topics and just debating on our views and opinions
on what should this team do and that team do.
And should this player go to our team or should
this player be traded? All those crazy conversations
that you have with different fan bases. And I
just want to thank everyone that supported me
along this way. I want to thank my parents. I
want to thank my friends, Moog, Shane, Nay. Leslie,
Brandon, everybody that supported me along the
way. I just want to thank you guys for all the
support that you guys give me. Without your support
and strength, I wouldn't be doing this, honestly.
If you would have told me that I would have been
a podcaster and I would be 100 episodes in within
the first full year, I would have called you
a liar. But we did this. So for any person that
wants to pursue their goals and their dreams,
you can do it. You can do it. But the number
one thing you have to do is put your faith in
it. You gotta have faith because the Bible says
faith without works is dead. So before you execute,
pray about it. Seek God about it. Because he's
gonna give you everything that you need to know.
He's gonna give you the name. He's gonna give
you resources. He's gonna align you with people
that are going to bless you. He's gonna do some
crazy things on your journey, but you gotta trust
him and you gotta be consistent because there's
gonna be points where the support is not gonna
be there. There's gonna be points where you're
gonna be doubting yourself. There's gonna be
points where you don't feel like you're making
the progress that other people are making. But
guess what? Never judge your progress with somebody
else's. Keep your head down. Keep grinding. Be
creative and love the process. Embrace the process.
Don't hate it. Embrace it. I spend at least about
a day or two just doing all the necessary research
that I need to do for these episodes. You guys
would be amazed on the recording process that
I have to do just for this podcast as a whole.
There's been episodes where I've had to just
delete it just because I feel like it's not the
quality that I want. And I'm never going to put
out anything that I myself feel like I wouldn't
even want to listen to. So I say all that to
say this. I love you guys. I appreciate you guys
on this journey. This is a celebration, not just
for me, but for you as well. And for everybody
that's been with me on this journey. So as always,
this is your GM Kale signing out. Peace and love.
Later, guys.