With the regular season coming to a close and
the playoffs on the horizon, I decided to start
a new series called Stack or Shed. Now in this
series, we're going to be discussing all the
teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs
so far, and we're simply going to answer these
simple questions. What went wrong in their season?
What do they need? Stack or Shed, which essentially
means do they continue to build with what they
have right now, or do they just scrap everything
and start all over again? Their draft picks.
One move I would do in their cap space as well
as their free agents, okay? Now, the first two
episodes would be fairly lengthy because there's
a lot of teams. But after that, we're going to
transition into just doing one team per episode.
So in this episode, we're going to do the AFC.
And then the next episode, we're going to do
the NFC. So let's start with the Titans, okay?
What went wrong in their season? And I would
venture to say it was the lack of playmakers
and inexperienced coaching. Now, at first I was
going to say bad coaching, but I don't think
Brian Callahan is a bad coach. I just think he
bit more than what he can chew. And the reason
why I say that is because a lot of times these
first time head coaches, when they go into these
situations like the Titans or the Giants or the
Jaguars or the Cardinals, you know, teams that
are going through hard rebuilds, it's a lot to
take on. And a lot of times you're not going
to be the answer on why that team changes and
becomes better. A lot of times you're going to
be the sacrificial lamb. And that's exactly what
happened. Not to mention, we can all agree that
under Brian Callahan's tenure, the Titans did
not improve. And in some ways you could say they
were stagnant. So we can't say that he's either...
a bad coach or a good coach, but instead we can
just say that he's a coach that walked into a
situation that he couldn't overcome. And that's
okay. Now, the other problem that derailed the
Titans this season was the lack of playmakers.
Now, granted, Tony Pollard and Tajay Spears and
Elick Umanor were doing their thing, but... This
was more of a group effort. This wasn't just
one person being dominant. Here's the stats of
all their playmakers this season. Tony Pollard,
228 rushing attempts for 1 ,034 rushing yards,
4 .5 rushing yards per carry, 5 rushing touchdowns,
and had 30 receptions for 189 receiving yards.
Tajay Spears, 69 attempts for 265 rushing yards,
3 .8 rushing yards per carry, 2 rushing touchdowns,
and had 38 receptions for 255 receiving yards.
Aquanu. 74 targets for 54 receptions, 558 receiving
yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Elick Ayumanor,
79 targets for 38 receptions, 465 receiving yards,
and four receiving touchdowns. Chamiri Dyke,
70 targets for 45 receptions, 396 receiving yards,
and four receiving touchdowns, as well as 18
rushing yards, just to put that out there. Gunnar
Helm, 55 targets for 44 receptions, 357 receiving
yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Van Jefferson,
52 targets for 29 receptions, 350 receiving yards,
and one receiving touchdown. touchdown. Calvin
Ridley, 36 targets for 17 receptions and 303
receiving arms. Now, granted, if it wasn't for
Cam Ward being the distributor that he is, I
think these stats would have been a lot worse.
But Tony Pollard and Tajay Spears were doing
their thing in certain games. Elika Uminor was
showing a lot of promise. So I think there is
some promise, but at the same time, you need
more playmakers. Now, am I saying that you can
go out and you can get a dominant wide receiver?
No. Because most likely, they're not going to
want to go to the Titans because the Titans are
going to be winning a lot of games anytime soon.
But instead, I think it would be better if you
just draft one. Now, with that being said, let's
talk about what do they need. And that is new
coaching staff and more playmakers. Now, here
are just some of the head coaching candidates
that may be available this offseason. Van Joseph.
Chris Shula, Jeff Halfley, Matt Nagy, Joe Brady,
Robert Sala, Jesse Minter, Clint Kubiak, Arthur
Smith, Kevin Stefanski, maybe even Mike McDaniels.
Now out of those candidates, realistically speaking,
who would you really want? Because me personally,
I would say maybe Clint Kubiak or maybe Kevin
Stefanski, maybe Arthur Smith, because right
now you need an offensive head coach for Cam
Ward's development. I understand that Van Joseph
has done well this year, Chris Shula, Jeff Halfley,
Joe Brady, Robert Sala, Jesse Mentzer. I understand
they've all done well, but I want Clint Kubiak.
If you put Clint Kubiak with Cam Ward, I guarantee
you this offense will look a whole lot better
next season than what they have been the last
two or three years. And if you don't believe
me, look at the Bears. This time last year, the
Bears offense was either the worst or close to
being the worst offense. Now look at them. You
could consider them to be a top five, maybe a
top three offense in the entire league right
now. And that's from just making one move. If
you're the Titans, that's all you need to do.
You get Clint Kubiak, I guarantee you things
are going to be a whole lot better. You're going
to see production out of people that you wouldn't
have expected. Now, with that being said, the
question we all need to ask ourselves is stack
or shed? Now, me personally, I said stack. And
the reason why I say that is because you have
some pieces. All you have to do is continue to
build off of it. And you can continue to build
off of it by making the most important decision
that you need to make, which is hiring the right
head coach. If you do that, I guarantee you everything
else will fall into place. Now, with that being
said, you have nine picks in next year's draft.
You have your first, your second, your third,
your fourth. You have two fifth round picks,
two sixth round picks, and a seventh round pick.
Now, the one move I would do is draft a wide
receiver. Now, I know there's a lot of people
that are already turned off, but just hear me
out for a second. I understand that most people
will say, oh, the Titans need to draft Arville
Reese or Sonny Stiles or this high -end pass
rusher. No, you need to surround Cam Ward with
weapons. productive weapons to be specific. You
can get someone like a Makai Lemon or Carnell
Tate, a Denzel Boston, just to name a few. I
think if you add one of those wide receivers,
this offense goes from being a mediocre offense
to a really good average to slightly above average
offense. And I think that's good. Now, when we
look at their cap situation for next year, they're
going to have 114 .9 million. which is fairly
good. I feel like they could probably have a
little bit more if they make a few different
moves, maybe get rid of Calvin Ridley, maybe
restructure a few deals and whatnot, maybe some
extensions, who knows? But when we look at their
free agents, you have Kevin Zeitler, Arden Key,
Sebastian Joseph, Van Jefferson, Brandon Allen,
Johnny Hecker, Morgan Cox, Jihab Ward, Joey Sal,
James Lynch, just to name a few. So honestly
speaking, could you bring back some of these
free agents? Sure. Are you in a rush to bring
them back? Not really. I mean, Kevin Zeitler,
I don't know if he still wants to play. If he
does, you can bring him back for a cheap deal.
Same thing with Arden Keyes. Same thing with
Sebastian Joseph. Van Jefferson, you can just
let him walk. Brandon Allen, you can let him
walk. Johnny Hacker, you can let him walk. Honestly
speaking, there's certain parts in this team
where you can get cheaper. and then there's other
parts where you may have to invest a little bit
more money now am i saying you gotta just you
know spend a boatload of money in the first round
of free agency no but at the same time if there's
somebody that you really prioritize that you
want to make sure that they don't hit free agency
just lock them up right now now on to the colts
the two things that i believe that went wrong
in their season were injuries and losing too
many games Because there was a point in time
where I believed that they were the best team
in the entire league. Because they were just
killing teams left and right. Defensively, they
were dominant. Offensively, they were putting
up crazy numbers. Jonathan Taylor at one point
looked like an MVP or Offensive Player of the
Year candidate. And there were even points where
I believe that Daniel Jones probably could have
been an MVP as well. Now, I know I could have
been, you know, drinking from the cup a little
bit, but that's how dominant they were playing.
And then to just see them just fall off a cliff
like how they have been the last few weeks is
just crazy to me. But at the same time, this
is what happens year after year with a lot of
these teams. They come out guns blazing. And
then once we get to the key points of the season,
they just fall off. It happens all the time.
Now, with that being said, when we talk about
injuries, however, I know injuries is a part
of football, but it's key injuries that I believe
that caused the team not to win as many games.
Specifically, Daniel Jones. Once Daniel Jones
went down, their season was essentially over
in my book. Because I believe no matter who they
bring in, they're not going to be able to replicate
that same momentum that they had with Daniel
Jones. They couldn't use Anthony Richardson because
he was still in IR. Riley Leonard is not proven.
Who else could they go to? Ah, I know. They're
going to call Phillip Rivers. The same Phillip
Rivers that hasn't played football in over five
years. Because they believe that by getting Phillip
Rivers, he's going to bring stability back into
this team. Which I don't blame them for because
at that time, they still had a chokehold within
their division. They were one of the best teams
in the AFC. He's familiar with Shane Stuyton's
system. He's familiar with some of the players
on this team. So it's a no -brainer. However,
this move was done at a time where they were
going to start facing a lot of their tougher
opponents on the schedule. They were going to
start facing teams like the Seahawks and company,
who you know have really dominant defenses. So
I don't hate the Colts for making the move. It's
just, it sucks to see that they made all of these
moves this offseason and they were off to a really
good start just for them not to make it in the
playoffs. But at the same time, this isn't a
race. This is a marathon. With that being said,
I believe the Colts should continue to stack.
And the reason why I say that is because right
now you have a lot of good pieces on your team.
There's no need for you to get rid of them. You've
already made a significant investment at corner
by giving up two first round picks to get sauce.
So there's no need for you to just get rid of
people. All you have to do is just address the
few holes that are on this team. And I guarantee
you, you're right back into being playoff contenders
next year. Guaranteed. Because let's be honest
here. If Daniel Jones doesn't get hurt, I guarantee
you they would have at least fought to the end
to possibly make it into the playoffs. With that
being said, I believe the Colts should continue
to stack. And the reason why I say that is because
you have to continue to let this thing play out.
Because for all intents and purposes, next year
could be the year where they make that crazy
playoff run. Or better yet, win the Super Bowl.
They're not in a bad spot. All they have to do
is just address the few holes that are on this
team. And they're right back to being playoff
contenders. Now, with that being said, they have
five to seven draft picks, depending on, you
know, comp picks and whatnot. So, of course,
they don't have their first. They have their
second, their third, their fourth, fifth, sixth,
and seventh. Now, with the draft not being an
offensive heavy draft class, I think the Colts
could possibly trade up into the first round.
Because I believe, and this is just my personal
opinion, and I know I have to talk about it,
and I probably will either do a full episode.
or at least half an episode talking about the
draft and my views about the draft. But I truly
believe that a lot of teams are going to trade
out of the first round because 26 is the draft
class that people need to be worried about. It's
27. Because in 27, you could possibly have Archie
Manning, Lenora Sellers, Jeremiah Smith, Ryan
Williams. I could continue to go down the list.
You could potentially have five to maybe seven
quarterbacks that may be drafted within the first
three rounds. Now, I understand that the draft
is a coin flip, and I understand that there's
a chance that a player might do great or bad.
But at the same time, I heard a lot of people
going into this season say the 26 draft class
is going to be really good because Drew Howler
is going to be there. Lenora Sellers might be
there. Archie might be there. The list goes on
and on. But in actuality, it hasn't panned out
well. A lot of people have either hit the transfer
portal or just gone back to school. And a lot
of people haven't played well. So when you factor
all those things in, 26 is not the draft class
you need to be worried about. It's the 27 draft
class. Look at what the Rams, Cowboys, and Jets
are going to do. Keep your eye on that because
we're going to be talking about that moving forward.
Now, one move I would do if I was the GM for
the Colts, I would draft a right tackle. Now,
I know there's a lot of people that are probably
saying, why are you so obsessed with the offensive
line? Offensive line this, offensive line that.
Offensive, offensive, offensive line. Hear me
out, okay? Braden Smith is going to be your free
agent. Are you really going to bring back Braden
Smith when his market value, according to Spoltrak,
is $13 .8 million? When you know you're going
to have to give a big deal to Daniel Jones, and
you know you're going to have to pay Michael
Pittman Jr., and you know you're going to have
to pay Jonathan Taylor a lot of money, no, you're
not going to do that. You're going to go cheap
at right tackle. Not to mention, there's a few
good prospects at right tackle. Spencer Fonu,
there's a right tackle from Miami. You could
have some potential really good right tackles
that come out of next year's draft class. I would
make that move compared to just paying Braden
Smith a boatload of money. And this is no shot
at Braden Smith at all, but sacrifices are going
to have to be made. Now, with that being said,
when we look at their cap for next season, they're
going to have $54 .2 million. Now, can they create
a little bit more? Yes, of course. Anybody can
do that. They can do some restructures, cut a
few people, move some money around, you know,
same old, same old. Okay, so I'm not really worried
about that. Now, when we talk about their free
agents, like I just said, you're going to have
Braden Smith, Daniel Jones, Samson Abukam, Quidi
Pei, Mo 'Ali Cox, Danny Pinter, Alec Pierce,
Jermaine Pratt, Neville Gilmore, Nick Cross,
Jacob Phillips, just to name a few. Now, out
of all of those names, realistically speaking,
who do you think they're going to bring back?
You know they're going to bring back Daniel Jones.
Alec Pierce is most likely going to come back.
Nick Cross, maybe Quiddipay, maybe Mo Ali Cox
for tight end def. They don't have a lot of top
end people that they have to pay a lot of money
to. But at the same time. There's a chance that
Jonathan Taylor may want more money. There's
a chance that maybe this person may hold out
or that person may hold out. So only time will
tell. But I do believe that the Colts are in
a really good spot. And I do believe that they'll
be back to being playoff contenders next season.
Now let's talk about the Raiders. So what went
wrong in their season? Bad coaching, lack of
talent, and bad roster construction. So let's
start with bad coaching. I understand that Pete
Carroll is a player's coach and I understand
there's a lot of players that love him, but I
never believed that the Raiders players bought
into what Pete Carroll was trying to sell them.
Now, if this was a few years ago, oh, this Raiders
team would be all in on what Pete Carroll is
trying to sell them. But nowadays, I feel like
Pete Carroll's message has gone stale. I believe
that just the very aura that Pete Carroll used
to have. has withered away, and that's okay.
But what you can't do is bring in Chip Kelly
and make him your offensive coordinator and think
this is going to work. It wasn't going to work.
It was not going to work, folks, okay? Let's
really be honest here. Did you really think that
Chip Kelly was going to be this innovating mastermind
for this offense? No. Let me just read to you
some stats just to back this up, okay? They had
the 32nd ranked offense, and they averaged 14
.2 points per game, 247 .8 yards per game, 4
.5 yards per play, and 25 touchdowns. Now, if
you break that down by passing offense and rushing
offense, they were 27th in passing offense, and
they averaged 172 .8 passing yards per game,
5 passing yards per play, and 20 passing touchdowns.
They were dead last in rushing offense, and they
averaged 74 .9 rushing yards per game, 3 .6 rushing
yards per play, and 5 rushing touchdowns. Five
rushing touchdowns. They just drafted Ashton
Gentry, and all you could do was get five rushing
touchdowns. Put a bookmark on that for a moment,
okay? When we go a little bit deeper with some
advanced stats, okay? Their offensive explosive
pass rate was 12 .7%. Their offensive explosive
run rate was 8 .6%. They have 108 red zone plays
for 18 red zone touchdowns. Now, when we look
at their defense, okay, they allowed a 14 .6
% defensive explosive pass rate. They allowed
a 9 .8 % defensive explosive run rate. They allowed
214 red zone plays and also allowed 37 red zone
touchdowns. Could you blame this on the players?
Yes. Could you blame this on the coaching staff?
Yes. But I feel like a lot of the attention needs
to go towards the front office because what you
have built is not sustainable. And what you have
currently needs to just be shredded. Now, I understand
Raiders fans probably don't want to hear that
because you're tired of going through rebuild
after rebuild after rebuild after rebuild, but
you really need to just scrap with what you have
because what you have right now is not sustainable.
Now, I understand that's probably not the best
move, but it's the most necessary move. Now,
the good news is you're going to have a lot of
picks. You could potentially have eight to 10
picks depending on the comp pick system, all
right? So, of course, you're going to have your
first, your second, your third. You're going
to have two fourth round picks, a fifth, a sixth,
and a seventh. Okay, which is good. Now, the
one move I would do, and I know Raiders fans,
you probably have all said this as well. I'm
moving off of Max Crosby. I understand that the
fan base loves him and he loves the fan base,
but this relationship isn't working. They haven't
gone anywhere since he's been with the team.
Now, sure, they've had a few different spurts
where the team is playing really good ball and,
you know, they're making some noise and whatnot,
but they don't have that consistency. They'll
have a team that's good for maybe two or three
seasons, and then guess what? They're going through
the same cycle all over again, which is what?
Being in the top five or top 10 range for every
single draft. Now, according to Spoltrak, if
a team trades for Max Crosby, he only has guaranteed
money in 26, and that's only 30 million. However,
his money in 27 becomes fully guaranteed on March
13th. Now the Raiders would take on a dead cap
this upcoming season of 5 .1 million, which they
would save 30 .7 million. So either way, this
is a win -win situation for both sides. Now the
question is this, what's Max Crosby's value right
now? Because I believe that his value has diminished
a little bit. He's still worth a first round
pick. It's just, you could have gotten two first
round picks for him. if you would have done this
in the offseason. Now, the question is this.
Who would be willing to trade for Max Crosby?
Would it be the Ravens? Would it be the Eagles?
Would it be the Cowboys? Because he has a market.
Make no mistake about that. He has a market.
The question is, will the Raiders be willing
to entertain teams? And if so, how long would
it take for them to make this move? Now, of course,
they're going to have a lot of cap space because
they essentially have nobody on their books.
They're going to have 121 .2 million, which,
I mean, that's not bad at all, right? But when
we look at their free agents, you're going to
have Kenny Pickett, Eric Stokes, Landon Roberts,
Lonnie Johnson, Raheem Mostert, Dylan Parham,
Jamal Adams, Tyler Lockett, Devin White, Zamir
White. These aren't really big contracts that
you would have to give them, honestly. A lot
of these people are either going to retire or
just go on to another team, honestly. Would you
want to bring back maybe Kenny Pickett? Maybe.
Do you want to bring back Jamal Adams or Devin
White? Maybe. But I don't think this isn't something
where, oh, we have to do something now or we're
going to lose him. Like, no, trust me. Now, the
question is this. If you're a head coach candidate,
would you take this job? Now, I know a lot of
people will say, hell yeah, I'll take this job.
This isn't Madden, okay? This isn't something
where you can just pick this person and pick
that person. You can just add them to your team
and everything's going to be a -okay and whatnot.
No, this is life, okay? But really ask yourself
this. Do you believe that if you was to bring
in your coaching staff, that you guys would be
able to turn this thing around? And then ask
yourself this. How quickly can you turn this
team around and how quickly can you start winning
again? Now, I'm not saying you have one really
good season where you're probably like 10 -4
or you make it to the second round in the playoffs
or whatever. No, I'm talking about consistently
winning year after year after year. Okay, now
let's talk about the Jets. So what went wrong
in their season? Inconsistent quarterback play,
a stagnant offense, and an inconsistent defense.
Now, when we look at the stats, okay? They had
the 28th ranked offense and they averaged 18
.3 points per game, 272 .4 yards per game, 4
.5 yards per play, and 25 touchdowns. Now, if
you break that down, they were dead last in passing
offense and they averaged 145 .8 passing yards
per game, 4 .4 passing yards per play, and 14
passing touchdowns. They were seventh in rushing
offense and they averaged 126 .7 rushing yards
per game. 4 .7 rushing yards per play, and 11
rushing touchdowns. Now when we look over to
their defense, however, they were 23rd in the
league and they allowed 29 .3 points per game,
348 .4 yards per game, 5 .5 yards per play, and
51 touchdowns. They were 16th in pass defense
and they allowed 213 .4 passing yards per game,
6 .7 passing yards per play, and 32 passing touchdowns.
They were 27th in run defense and they allowed
135 rushing yards per game, 19 rushing touchdowns,
and 4 .4 rushing yards per play. Now this is
how the Jets matched up statistically against
the league, okay? So they were 29th in success
rate at 40 .5%. They were 29th in pass EPA at
negative 0 .182. They were 25th in rush EPA at
negative 0 .61. They were dead last in red zone
touchdown rate at 38 .5%. They were dead last
in explosive pass play rate at 10 .4%. They were
seventh in explosive run play rate at 12 .2%.
They were 28th in third down conversions at 34
.6%. And they were fourth in pressure rate faced
at 44 .9%. Now defensively, they were 30th in
pressure rate at 32 .8%. They were 28th in explosive
pass play rate allowed at 18 .1%. They were 22nd
in explosive run play rate allowed at 11 .9%.
They were 14th in success rate at 43 .5%. They
were 16th in passing yards allowed per game at
211 .1%. They were 27th in rushing yards allowed
per game at 127 .1%. And 30th in points allowed
per game at 27 .5%. Now, with that being said,
after reading all of those stats, we can all
agree that on both sides of the ball, the Jets
were just bad. Now, offensively, Justin Fields
was just very inconsistent. Outside of that first
week, it was just a never -ending rollercoaster
with him. Now, if you pair that with Gary Wilson
being inconsistent and the run game being the
only bright spot on this offense, I don't know
what else to tell you. Justin Fields is just
not a good quarterback right now. Now, can you
blame that on the Bears? Yes. Can you blame that
on Pittsburgh? Somewhat. That's a deeper conversation
for another day. But the fact of the matter is
he's hurt his reputation more. And at this point,
if I'm Justin Fields, I'm looking for a backup
role. And I just want to learn. I want to refine
myself. I want to become a better passer. And
I just want to become a better quarterback overall.
Now, defensively, I'm not really surprised because
they've been inconsistent this entire season.
There was never a point where the defense was
just a little bit consistent for maybe like two
to four weeks. It was one game they're playing
really good. And then the next two or three games,
they're just downright atrocious. And it just
kept on happening week after week after week.
And it also doesn't help that you trade away
Quinton Williams and Sauce Gardner. Now, do I
think this team is in a really bad spot and all
is lost and you just have to get rid of everything?
No. You just have to continue to stack this team.
The offensive line is good. The run game is good
as long as Brees Hall stays, which I don't think
he's going to stay. I think he's probably going
to leave. But I think you can bring in another
running back and I think everything will be fine.
But that's another story for another day, right?
I think you have pieces on this team. I just
think you have to find a way for everything to
fit. And I think once they find everything to
fit, I think they're going to be in a really
good spot. It's just going to take some time.
You have to replace Quentin Williams' spot. You
have to replace Sauce Gardner's spot. You have
to find a better bridge quarterback than Justin
Fields. Now, all of this can be done, but it's
just going to take some time. Now, when we look
at their draft picks, you're going to have a
lot of them, all right? We all know you're going
to have two first round picks. We all know you're
going to have your second, your fourth, your
fifth, your sixth, and your seventh. Now, you're
going to have a little bit more depending on
the comp picks, all right? Now, one move I would
do if I was the GM for the Jets is find a bridge
quarterback. And when I mean find one, I mean
find a bridge quarterback. Don't just go after
somebody because you like the oohs and ahhs.
Go after somebody that you know that can win
you a few games. You can get someone like a Jacoby
Brissett. Shoot, you could just give Tyrod Taylor
an extension. Or you get Mack Jones or maybe
Kirk Cousins if he wants to join the team and
whatnot. You have options, okay? but you have
to find a competent bridge quarterback. Do not
try to trade up to try to get Fernando Mendoza.
You're gonna lose that battle. Instead, address
other positions of need on this team, and then
in 27, you go out and you get your franchise
quarterback. And when we look at their cap space,
they're gonna have 99 .2 million, which isn't
bad at all. So you could be playmakers in free
agency, but it's gonna be very limited, okay?
Now, when we look at their free agents, Andre
Sisco, Tyrod Taylor, John Simpson, Quincy Williams,
Elijah Vera Tucker, Tony Adams, Josh Reynolds,
Isaiah Oliver, Brees Hall, John Meche, Chris
Boyd, Stone Smart, Jelani Woods, just to name
a few. Now, you don't have any big ticket free
agents, but I feel like you have enough free
agents to where you don't have to sign them,
but if you value them a lot, then you can just
bring them back for the love. Just being honest
here, okay? Now let's talk about the Browns.
So what went wrong in their season? Inconsistent
offensive play calling and execution, lack of
offensive weapons, and not winning enough games.
Pretty straightforward, right? So when we look
at their stats, they had the 30th ranked offense
and they averaged 16 .2 points per game, 266
yards per game. 4 .4 yards per play, and 26 touchdowns.
They were 29th in passing offense, and they averaged
170 .3 passing yards per game, 4 .7 yards per
play, and 16 passing touchdowns. They were 27th
in rushing offense, and they averaged 95 .7 rushing
yards per game, 3 .9 rushing yards per play,
and 10 rushing touchdowns. Now, from a play calling
perspective, Kevin Stefanski has nobody to blame
but himself. Because there were points in games
where you could have easily won the game, but
you decided you wanted to make a boneheaded move.
And a lot of times, it costed you that game.
There was a point, and I forgot what game it
was, where they kept on running the same play
over and over again with Quenshawn Junkins as
quarterback. Why? I don't know. So it's those
type of things that are going to cost you games.
And I wouldn't be surprised if the Browns fired
him this offseason because let's be honest here.
He hasn't done a good job this year. Now, I understand
everyone can, you know, have the conspiracy theory
that, oh, he doesn't like Shador and all these
crazy. Shoot, there was even something where
someone trying to make a connection where his
wife is apparently. The daughter of the reporter
who Deion Sanders threw water on like back in
the day or whatever. Something crazy, right?
It didn't make any sense. But the fact of the
matter is the play calling was very inconsistent.
And that's probably one of the reasons why they
didn't win as many games. Now, from the execution
standpoint, you could put some blame on the quarterbacks.
But at the same time, they're rookies. My expectations
for them are fairly low, but at the same time,
they could have executed a few plays a little
bit better. But we all know that after one offseason,
they're going to be a whole lot better. Now,
from the lack of weapons perspective, you have
to blame that on the front office, okay? Harold
Fannin Jr. has been probably one of your most
productive offensive weapons outside of Jerry
Judy. The offensive line has essentially aged
out. Your running back room is fairly young.
That's not a lot to really hang your hat on.
And they have a lot of things that they're going
to have to address in this offseason. You're
going to have to rebuild the offensive line.
You're going to have to bring in more weapons.
You're going to have to do different things just
so you can make this team a little bit better
because... The defense isn't a problem. It's
just the offense. If you can find some stability
with the offense, I guarantee you this team will
be in a better place next season. Now, if you
want to compare Shador's stats to all the other
quarterbacks in the league, here they are. He
is 15th out of 40 quarterbacks specifically in
passing yards. He is 35th in completion percentage.
He is tied for dead last in passing touchdowns.
He is tied for the fourth most interceptions.
He is tied. for 25th in yards per attempt, and
he's 35th in EPA per play. Now, can you blame
that on the lack of weapons that he has? Sure.
Can you blame that on the late calling? Sure.
Could you blame that on a plethora of different
things? Yes. But some of the things that Shador
did, he didn't need to do. The stuff where he's
trying to roll out of the pocket multiple times,
he don't need to do that. But at the same time,
I know that after one offseason, he's probably
not going to do that anymore. A lot of times
after that first offseason, players tend to drop
bad habits. Now, if they continue on with those
bad habits, hey, that's just you and the coaching
staff that you deal with, okay? Now, the not
winning enough games part, that's pretty self
-explanatory. You just have to win more games.
That's it. And honestly, that's more directed
towards the offense to the defense because the
defense has been holding their own this entire
season. It's just the offense that are hit or
miss sometimes. That's all. Now, what do they
need at this point? Of course, more offensive
weapons, a better O -line, and better play calling
and execution. Now, do they stack or shed? I
would venture to say stack. And the reason why
I say that is because you have a foundation.
And I think it's a foundation that you can build
off of for the next few years or until you feel
like you may want to take a quarterback in 27.
Because I feel like that's what they're probably
going to do. Now with the draft picks, all right,
you have eight to nine draft picks. We all know
you have two first round picks. You have a second,
a third, a fourth. You have three fifth round
picks. You have a sixth and two seventh round
picks. You have a pretty good amount of draft
picks that you can use to really build this team
out. So you could address the offensive line
with two or three picks. You can get a few weapons.
You can do a plethora of different things. Now
one move I would do, now this may be controversial,
but just walk with me, all right. The one move
I would do. It surrounds Shador with a competent
offense. Now, I know that's very controversial.
You probably stopped listening to this. Thank
you for listening, okay? But just walk with me
for a moment, honestly. I think Shador Sanders
has shown enough that you have to ride with him.
I understand Dylan Gabriel showed you a little
bit of promise, but there's something in Shador
that you just have to give him a chance. Because
let's be honest here, the only reason why he
fell was because of his mouth. If him and Deion
Sanders didn't say anything, he would have been
drafted in the first round guaranteed. Because
there were teams that had him on their board.
But because they said, oh, we're not going to
go to this team or, oh, we're only taking interviews
if you're drafted at this point and whatnot,
everybody was turned off. And they wanted to
prove that, listen, you are not bigger than the
Shield. The Shield will always be bigger than
any other player, whoever you are, whatever your
accolades are, whatever your last name is. Now,
with that being said, yes, you still want to
keep Dylan Gabriel, of course. But if you believe
that Shador Sanders is going to take this team
to the next level, roll with it. But if you don't
believe it, in 27, whatever you need to do, you
trade up or you tank or whatever it is, and you
get your quarterback, whether that be Archie
or Lenore Sellers or whomever. Now, when we look
at their cap space, 5 .4 million. Yes, I know
that's not a lot, but they can do some restructures,
move some money around, cut some people, trade
some people, and they'll probably have some cap
space. Because they've been doing this for, I
don't know how many years now, with Deshaun Watson's
contract. And when we look at their free agents,
Joel Betonio, Wyatt Teller, David Njoku, Cam
Robinson, Ethan Pokich, Shelby Harris, Devin
Bush, Tevin Jenkins, Jerome Ford, DeAndre Carter,
Jerome Bakerson, Rashawn Jenkins, Martin Emerson,
Cam Thomas, Kendrick Green. Now, out of all those
people I just listed, I'm only bringing back
a handful. Tevin Jenkins comes to mind, Devin
Bush, Shelby Harris, maybe Jerome Ford, maybe
David Njoku. But outside of them, everybody else
can just go. Test your market. If you go to another
team, okay, cool. If you come back, okay, cool.
That's it. Because let's be honest here. With
multiple players on the defense making a lot
of money, you want the offense to be cheap. And
the reason why I say that is because take a page
out of the Eagles playbook, right? They've invested
a lot of money into the offense, but what do
they do with the defense? They kept it cheap.
They haven't invested a lot of money into it.
Now, I understand that they have to pay Jordan
Davis soon and Jalen Carter and this person,
that person, but out of all those people that
they're going to pay, are they really going to
pay the market value? Most likely not. Some of
them, they're probably going to get traded. Some
of them, they're probably just going to let them
walk. So I would do that exact same thing if
I'm the Browns. Surround Shador Sanders or whoever
the quarterback is going to be with young, cheap
talent and just let them grow. Because the defense
is going to be the reason why you're going to
continue to win games and possibly go on a playoff
run. The offense is just there to maintain whatever
lead that you have. Now, I know I could be wrong,
but... That's just how I view things. Now let's
go to the Bengals. So what went wrong in their
season? Bad roster construction, the lack of
defensive playmakers and execution, and inconsistent
offensive play. Now when we look at their stats,
okay, they had the worst defense in the entire
league, and they allowed 29 .5 points per game,
392 .2 yards per game, 6 .3 yards per play, and
51 touchdowns. They were 27th in pass defense
and they allowed 243 .3 passing yards per game,
7 .2 passing yards per play, and 33 passing touchdowns.
They were dead last in run defense and they allowed
148 .9 rushing yards per game, 5 .2 rushing yards
per play, and 18 rushing touchdowns. Now, are
we surprised at these stats? No. Because they
don't have Sam Hubbard, they don't have Trey
Hendrickson, and they don't have a lot of playmakers
on that side of the ball. DJ Turner is probably
the only bright spot on that defense. Outside
of him, who else can you say is a playmaker?
Miles Murphy? Jamar Stewart? You know, the person
that held out the entire offseason for a contract
and then finally gave in? No. Demetrius Knight?
No. Who else? But this is what happens when you
allocate the money the wrong way. I understand
that your three best players are on the offense,
but at the same time, you still have the defense.
You still got to put some money there. And you
didn't do enough on the defensive side. And clearly
it shows statistically. Better yet, let's go
a little bit deeper, okay? They allowed the most
total yards per game at 392 .2. They allowed
the most passing yards per game at 254. They
allowed the most rushing yards per game at 148
.9. They allowed the worst explosive pass play
rate at 20 .1%. And they allowed the worst run
play rate at 13%. I'm sorry here, folks. The
stats say it all. That defense is historically
bad. And I understand they had some spurts when
they were playing some really good ball and they
were doing their thing. I know the Steelers game,
we're not going to talk about that, right? But
the fact of the matter is this. If you're the
Bengals, you have to start making some investments
into the defense. Because if you don't, guess
what's going to happen? Joel Burrow is basically
going to throw his arm out every single season
just so you guys can win five or six games. Now,
that doesn't mean you have to invest a lot of
money into that side. You can keep it cheap by
just start hitting on your defensive draft picks.
That's it. Now, here's the crazy thing. The Bengals
defense actually did better without Trey Henderson
this year. You don't believe me? Here are the
stats. They were four and five without Trey Henderson,
and they allowed 27 .8 points per game. 378 .7
total yards per game, 245 .2 passing yards per
game, 146 rushing yards per game. They had two
sacks and a 59 .7 defensive success rate. Now
with Trey Hendrickson, they were two and five
and they allowed 31 .7 points per game, 409 .6
total yards per game, 265 .3 passing yards per
game, 152 .6 rushing yards per game. They averaged
one and a half sacks a game, 12 .1 pressure.
per game and a 55 .1 defensive success rate,
which is promising, but there's still room for
growth. Now let's shift things over to the offense,
okay? Here are some stats that show the Bengals
offense with Joe Burrow and without Joe Burrow.
Now with Joe Burrow, they were 5 -2 and they
averaged 28 points per game, 335 yards per game,
87 rushing yards per game, a 44 .7 % success
rate, a 58 .6 pass play percentage, and a 26
.6 red zone touchdown percentage. which isn't
bad. But here's the stats for the Bengals offense
under Joe Flacco. So the record was four and
five, and they averaged 29 .1 points per game,
356 .9 yards per game, 267 .2 passing yards per
game, 102 .2 rushing yards per game, a 47 .7
success rate, and a 62 .5 % pass play percentage,
as well as a 26 .7 % red zone touchdown percentage.
Now, I know a lot of Bengals fans are a little
butthurt right now with all the stats I just
read. But the fact of the matter is this. You
can make a strong point to keep Joe Flacco just
in case Joe Burrow gets hurt again. Because I
would venture to say, if you keep Joe Flacco,
this team will stay afloat. We saw what he did
with the Browns. We saw what he did with the
Bengals when he first got there those first maybe
three or four weeks. Hell, we saw what he did
against the Steelers on Thursday night. You don't
think that's promising? You don't want that as
your backup? If it was me personally, I would
give Joe Flacco 10 million just to sit on the
bench. And I know that's a little bit excessive,
but he has something that can't be taught. And
that's experience. And I think with his experience,
I think it'll make someone like a Joe Burrow
a whole lot better. Not saying that Joe Burrow
is bad. Bengals fans, don't come in my DMs. Don't
come in the comments and say, oh, you don't know
anything about football. No, just listen to me,
okay? When you look at that generation of quarterbacks,
right? The pace of the game for them is completely
different. The way that they're able to manipulate
defenses is completely different. The knowledge
that they have against different defensive coverages
and different defensive coordinators and whatnot.
I would pay a boatload of money just to have
someone like that on my team because that can
help you with the preparation for a lot of games.
Now, with that being said, we have to talk about
the run game because this is just my personal
opinion. I could be completely wrong, but ever
since Joe Mixon left the Bengals, their run game
really hasn't been the same. Like when Joe Mixon
was with the Bengals, that was another person
that you had to worry about, not only in the
rushing game, but in the receiving game as well.
And since his departure, I mean, sure, you have
Chase Brown. He's done a good job. Sure, you've
had Samaj P. Ryan. Sure, you've had Taj Brooks.
You know, you've had different people, but they
don't replace what Joe Mixon did. So I decided
to compare the stats of Joe Mixon's last year
with Chase Brown, Samaj P. Ryan, and Taj Brooks.
So Chase Brown this year. 219 rushing attempts
for 947 rushing yards, 4 .3 rushing yards per
carry, and 6 rushing touchdowns. Tomaje Piran,
76 rushing attempts for 340 rushing yards, 4
.5 rushing yards per carry, and 3 rushing touchdowns.
Taj Brooks, 16 rushing attempts for 45 rushing
yards and 2 .8 rushing yards per carry. Joe Mixon's
last year. 257 rushing attempts for 1 ,034 rushing
yards, nine rushing touchdowns, and had 4 .1
rushing yards per carry. The proof is in the
pudding here, folks. They missed Joe Mixon. Now,
I understand that Joe Mixon is a different running
back than those three running backs, but what
I'm trying to get at is that the Bengals need
to get back to having a really good run game.
And the reason why I say that is because that
eliminates Joe Burrow having to drop back 35,
45, maybe even 50 times a game just to put up
25 or 26 or 32 points. I think if the run game
is good, you can control the pace of the game,
control the time of possession game, and you're
able to wear down on defenses. But if you continue
to just throw darts at Jamar Chase and Mike Gusecki
and Tee Higgins, the defense ain't going to get
tired. You're going to get tired because every
single time that you score, your defense isn't
going to do anything and you have to go right
back on the field. You don't believe me? Look
up the stats. Now, what do they need to do? For
starters, you have to start drafting better.
And I'm talking about on offense and defense.
And the reason why I say that is because as long
as you're paying Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, and
Tee Higgins all that money, You have to make
everything else cheap. And I think as long as
you do that, you're going to see the fruits of
your labor compared to just keeping those three
and just saying, oh, as long as we got those
three, everything's going to be fine. They're
going to be the reason why we go to the Super
Bowl. They're going to be the reason why we're
going to have this dominant team for the next
five to 10 years. No, you're not. You're not
going to go anywhere. The next thing the Bengals
need to do is find a new head coach. Granted,
I understand they went to the Super Bowl with
Zach Taylor. They went to multiple AFC championships
with Zach Taylor, but... Right now, it would
be best for both parties to just go their separate
ways. Because what they have right now is not
successful. And honestly, you're going to be
the scapegoat, bro. So just go somewhere where
you can maximize your potential instead of staying
with this crappy team and this crappy organization
and this crappy ownership group. I'm just being
honest here. I understand that Zack Taylor gets
a lot of flack. But we also need to direct a
lot of that smoke to the ownership and to the
front office of the Bengals. Because year after
year after year, they continue to neglect the
needs of this team and they continue to take
the cheap way out. At some point, this isn't
going to work. And at some point, people are
going to want to leave. You can already start
to feel that Joe Burrow maybe wants a new change
of scenery. Now, am I saying he's going to just
flat out request a trade this offseason? No.
But I wouldn't be surprised if he's thought about
it. Because think about it. I'm on a team that's
not going to go anywhere. Trey Henderson is going
to leave. The one time that I was actually outspoken
about the organization, they gave me what I want,
but at the same time, it came at the cost of
me not showing up, me being hurt again, and us
missing the playoffs again. So at some point,
you just need to just admit it. This whole experiment
is a failure. It was nice in those first two
or three years where they actually had a defense
and, you know, the league didn't have an answer
for Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins and Joe Burrow.
It was nice. But guess what? Everybody has caught
up to them. Everybody knows how to beat them.
Let's just be honest, all right? Now, the question
is this. Do they stack or do they shed? And I
would venture to say stack. Now, I know it's
probably not the best option, but at this point,
you just have to stack with what you have. Granted,
you have your quarterback, which is great. You
have weapons. All you need to do is just finish
what you started. Invest into the interior offensive
line. maybe get you another running back if you
want to do that. And the rest of those draft
picks, flood it with the defense. Whatever hole
that you have on the defense, use all those picks
for them. Now, granted, you have six draft picks,
all right? You have your first, your second,
your third, your fourth. You don't have a fifth.
You have a sixth and a seventh. Now, you can
do something with that. Now, the question is
this. What is going to be your priority? Is it
going to be the defense because there's a lot
of good prospects on that side of the ball? Or
are you going to do something with the offense?
Or are you going to trade down? They have options.
The question is, are they going to make the right
decision? Because it is the Bengals, folks. Now,
one move I would do if I was the Bengals GM is
draft a defensive player, specifically an edge
rusher. And the reason why I say that is because
Trey Henderson isn't coming back. Sam Hubbard
has retired. You need somebody to pair with Shamar
Stewart. Now, you can get David Bailey. You can
get Arvel Reese. You can get Mason Thomas. You
get Peter Woods if you wanted to. You have options.
And I would rather for this organization to invest
into another pass rusher than to go after a corner
or safety or inside linebacker because guess
what? That pass rusher would be the reason why
that quarterback thinks twice before they hike
the ball. That pass rusher could be the reason
why they sealed the game. So for all the people
that are saying, oh, go. after caleb downs or
go after this corner go after this inside linebacker
stop it get your pass rusher shut up and with
that being said they're going to have 77 .8 million
in cash space which is really good now they could
probably have more if they restructure some people's
deals move some money around cut a few people
whatnot you already know but when we look at
their free agents Of course, Trey Hendrickson,
Joseph Asai, Ted Karras, Geno Stone, Joe Flacco,
Noah Fant, Cam Taylor Britt, Dalton Reisner,
Tanner Hudson, Cameron Sample, Isaiah Foskey,
just to name a few, right? Now, out of all those
people, who do you think the Bengals are going
to bring back? It's not going to be Trey Hendrickson.
It may not be Joseph Asai. Maybe Cam Taylor Britt,
but I think he'll probably test free agency.
Joe Flacco? Maybe Noah Fant? I don't know, but
only time will tell. So let's talk about the
Chiefs. Yes. The Chiefs. I know everybody wants
to talk about the Chiefs. Oh, is the era over?
And I understand I was one of those people that
said, yeah, the era is over for the Chiefs. They're
not going to win any more Super Bowls. But I
had to take a step back just to rethink what
I said. And we're going to talk about that. All
right. So what went wrong in their season? Lack
of creativity, inconsistent offense and defense,
and a lack of talent. Now when we look at their
season so far, they had the 17th ranked offense
and they averaged 21 .9 points per game, 330
.2 yards per game, 5 .3 yards per play, and 38
touchdowns. They were 13th in passing offense
and they averaged 222 .2 passing yards per game,
6 passing yards per play, and 23 passing touchdowns.
They were 23rd in rushing offense and they averaged
108 rushing yards per game, 4 .2 rushing yards
per play, and 15 rushing touchdowns. Now, defensively,
they had the 10th ranked defense and they allowed.
19 .6 points per game 307 .6 yards per game 5
.3 yards per play and 32 touchdowns they were
13th in passing defense and they allowed 202
.7 passing yards per game 6 .3 passing yards
per play and 18 passing touchdowns they were
10th in rushing defense and they allowed 104
.9 rushing yards per game 4 rushing yards per
play and 14 rushing touchdowns so with that being
said let's be honest here over the last few years
we have started to see a decline in the Chiefs,
specifically from a talent standpoint. And the
reason why I say that is because once they traded
away Tyreek Hill, nobody else has really stepped
up. Sure, Travis Kelsey is their most reliable
weapon, but outside of him, who else is taking
that next step? Is it Rasheed Rice? Is it Xavier
Worthy? Is it Juju Smith -Schuster? Is it Isaiah
Pacheco? And the answer is nobody. Let's be honest
here, okay? Even if they don't have the receivers,
the one thing that the Chiefs offense can always
rely on is the run game. And this year, that
run game was non -existent. Now sure, we can
point fingers at Andy Reid or Matt Nagy or Patrick
Mahomes or this person or that person or the
janitor that only cleans the third floor on the
left side, but the fact of the matter is this.
In order for the Chiefs to go back to being dominant,
they have to start hitting on their draft picks.
It's time out for going after these shifty small
wide receivers. You need to start bringing in
some big body receivers that are good with contested
catches. I understand that the whole move with
Tyreek Hill and McCole Hardman and Sammy Watkins
and this person, that person was cool, but guess
what? That time has passed. You need to start
bringing in some big dudes. You need to start
going after someone like a George Pickens, someone
like a DK Metcalf. Those are going to be the
type of receivers that are going to hold up the
entire season instead of going after that small,
shifty receiver that can run a 4 -2. You drafted
one in the first round with Xavier Worthy. What
has he done? Has he taken that next step that
you can feel comfortable in saying that he's
the number one wide receiver? I don't think so.
I would venture to say he's probably wide receiver
too in my book. Can you rely on Juju at this
point? No, you can't. So at some point, they
have to do something if they want to remain competitive.
Now, am I saying they're going to have to go
through this multi -year rebuild and get rid
of this person, that person, even though I said
it on the podcast and I'm sorry for that? No,
they don't. Instead, you need to invest young
and cheap talent into this team, especially on
the defense. There's a chance that the Chiefs
may lose Trent McDuffie in free agency. What
is your contingency plan if that happens? Are
you comfortable with Chris Jones right now? Are
you comfortable with George Karloftis right now?
Because let's be honest here. If somebody called
for Chris Jones and they're willing to give up
a first round pick for him, you're not going
to take that call? If somebody calls for George
Kaloftis and they're saying we're willing to
give up a second and maybe a really good player
for him, you're not going to take that call?
Because I would. Because at this point, you need
to surround the star with young and cheap talent.
That's the only way this thing is going to work.
Now, granted, next year's draft class is very
promising with Patch Rusher. So technically speaking,
you could go and get your replacement next year.
Now, am I saying he's going to have the same
impact? of Chris Jones? No. But what I am saying
is this. If you want to move off of him, next
year is the year to do it. Now, with that being
said, I think we can all agree that the Chiefs
are going to stack. And the reason why I say
that is because the foundation is still intact.
It's just you have to continue to build off of
it. And sure, that may take some time, but that's
okay. I think if you're down for like two or
three years, but then you're back up for another
five or six years, who's really complaining?
Hell, the Patriots did it. There was a point
in time where the Patriots were not going to
the AFC Championship, let alone Super Bowls,
for a period of time. It happens. It's a natural
cycle. But the question is this. What are you
going to do in that moment? Are you really going
to start hitting on your draft picks? Are you
going to refine yourself? Are you going to find
that edge? Because at this point, and this is
no shot at Andy Reid, but I think his offense
has lost that edge, that juice, that creativity
that we love seeing year after year after year.
Now, am I saying that Andy Reid is washed? No.
But whatever he needs to do, do it. Find that
edge. Find that creativity that gave you an advantage
over every single defense that you went up against.
Because that's the only way that you're going
to go back to being on the mountaintop. Now,
with that being said, you're going to have six
draft picks. You're going to have your first,
your second, your third, your fourth, and two
fifth round picks. Not bad. Sure, you can have
a little bit more, but it is what it is. Now,
the one move I would do, and Steelers fans, this
is very controversial, and Chiefs fans, this
is very controversial. So hear me out. I'm trading
for Pat Fryer move. I'm just going to let that
breathe for a moment. Good? Everybody's done
saying oohs and ahs? All right, cool. Good. And
the reason why I say that is because The Steelers
are not utilizing Pat Friermuth. I'm going to
go to a quarterback that's going to utilize me.
Look at George Pickens. George Pickens with Dak
Prescott looks like one of the best wide receivers
in the league right now. I want that. I have
the skill to do that. So if I'm Pat Friermuth,
hey, I love you guys. I love Pittsburgh. I love
my time being here. But to hell with y 'all.
I'm going to Mahomes. And even when you look
at his contract, his contract is easy to take
on. His base salary this upcoming season, $7
.6 million. His cap hit, $11 .2 million. In 27,
$8 .5 million for base salary, a cap hit of $12
.1 million. In 28, $6 .8 million with a cap hit
of $10 .4. That is the perfect replacement for
Travis Kelsey. I'm sorry, I'll give up a second
round pick for Pat Frymuth. I may even have to
give him a first round pick for Pat Frymuth.
Now, I know that's a little bit excessive, but
the reason why I'm saying go after Pat Frymuth
is because he's a veteran, he's proven, and if
you get Pat Frymuth, it's going to unlock something
in this offense. With that being said, when we
look at their cap space, they're going to have
negative 40 .5 million. Now, I understand everyone's
freaking out. Oh, my God, what are they going
to do? They don't have no cap space. What are
they going to do? Look at the Saints. The Saints,
every single year going into the offseason, don't
have no cap space. And then they nickel and dime.
They pinch here. They pinch there. They restructure
this. They cut this person. They'll sign them
again. They'll cut this person. They'll trade
this person away. And the next thing you know,
they're going to have cap space. It's the same
thing with the Chiefs. All they have to do is
restructure Patrick Mahomes' contract, move some
money around for Chris Jones, move some money
around for George Kaloftis, and you're fine.
And when we look at their free agents, of course,
Travis Kelsey, Hollywood Brown, Jerry Tillery,
Kareem Hunt, Brian Cook, Juju Smith -Schuster,
Derek Nardi, Leo Chanel, Deion Bush, Mike Edwards,
Carter Minshew, Taequann Thornton, just to name
a few. Out of all those people, who are you going
to bring back? Because honestly speaking, you
can upgrade from having Hollywood Brown. You
can upgrade from having Brian Cook and Juju Smith
-Schuster and Derek Nardi and Leo Chanel. If
you're the Chiefs, you can still sign some people,
but at the same time, like I've said in the earlier
part of this segment, fill this team up with
young and cheap talent. Cheap. Talent, if you
do that, I guarantee you, you'll be right back
to where you once were a couple years ago. Now
let's talk about the final team, and that is
the Dolphins. So what went wrong in their season?
And that is inconsistent quarterback play. bad
roster construction, and just inconsistent offensive
and defensive play. Now, when we look at their
stats so far, they have the 21st ranked defense
and they've allowed 24 .1 points per game, 342
yards per game, 5 .7 yards per play, and 42 touchdowns.
They were 18th in pass defense and they allowed
216 .5 passing yards per game, 6 .5 yards per
play, and 28 passing touchdowns. They were 24th
in run defense and they allowed 125 .5 rushing
yards per game. 4 .6 rushing yards per play and
14 rushing touchdowns. They had the 25th ranked
offense and they averaged 21 .1 points per game,
308 .3 yards per game, 5 .5 yards per play and
36 touchdowns. They were 25th in passing offense
and they averaged 184 .4 passing yards per game,
6 passing yards per play and 22 passing touchdowns.
They were 19th in rushing offense and they averaged
123 .8 rushing yards per game, 4 .9 rushing yards
per play, and 14 rushing touchdowns. Let's start
with the offense. Sure, we know the offense has
been inconsistent this entire season, but there
is some promise. And the reason why I say that
is because when they started to rely on the run
game, that's when you start to see this offense
be really productive. But when they started to
rely on the pass game, that's when you know bad
things are going to happen. Now, can we put blame
on Tua? Yes. But we also need to put blame on
the coaching staff as well as the personnel.
Because everybody has a hand to play on why this
offense wasn't good. Sure, we can say Tyreek
Hill should be on the field. And sure, Jalen
Waddell needs to step up and do this and do that.
But that little stretch where they were winning
games and they beat the Bills and they beat the
Commanders and this team and that team, it was
nice. But guess what? They weren't going to make
it in the playoffs. They weren't going to go
to the Super Bowl. They wasn't going to go anywhere
this year. Now, when we talk about the defense,
however, sure, they were okay in spurts. But
consistently, they were not that good. And that
was expected because they didn't have a lot of
playmakers on that side of the ball. Sure, Mickey
Fitzpatrick was having a good season. Sure, Bradley
Chubb was doing his thing. Zach Seeler was doing
his thing every once in a while. But outside
of them, and maybe Jordan Brooks, who else could
you say really stepped up? Who else could you
say took that next step in the right direction?
Doc Robinson? Jack Jones? Kenneth Grant? Zach
Seeler? Eh, they were okay. But they didn't take
that next step to say, oh man, I can't wait to
see what's going to happen next season. They're
showing a lot of promise. I'm okay with this.
You didn't get that reception from this side
of the ball. Instead, they were okay. Now, if
you have low standards, sure, you're okay with
that. But if you have high standards, you're
not satisfied with that. Now, can we blame this
on the coaching? Sure. Can we blame this on Chris
Greer? Sure. But this team was not going to go
anywhere this year. Now, with that being said,
what do they need? For starters, they need a
veteran head coach. They need a good GM. And
they need productive players. So with a veteran
head coach, you need a culture builder. You need
somebody that has a high standard of excellence.
Because what you have right now is not sustainable.
Granted, Mike McDaniel stepped up. He put his
balls on the table and he said, you know what?
I'm not going to do this no more. We're going
to do things my way or the highway. But it was
too late. You should have had this attitude the
moment that you stepped foot in the Dolphins
organization. But you didn't do it. You want
to try to get along with everybody and be supportive.
That's okay at spurts. But at the end of the
day, sometimes you need to get in somebody's
ass. You need to tell them, hey, listen, you
ain't been playing well. Either you play well
or somebody else is going to take your spot.
Simple as that. Now, some people can handle that
and other people can't. And that's okay. Now,
sure, you could probably try, and I don't know
if this is going to work or not, but you could
try to get a Mike Tomlin. You could try to get
a John Harbaugh if they're available. But realistically
speaking, maybe Vance Joseph, maybe. I understand
he's a defensive -minded head coach, but eh,
maybe. Mike McCarthy comes to mind, maybe, if
he wants to take that job. I just feel like,
personally, if you're a veteran head coach, you
have to think twice before you take this job
because most likely Devon A. Chan will be gone.
Jalen Waddell may be on the move. Minkah Fitzpatrick
may be on the move. You may have to deal with
Tua for maybe a year. Are you willing to do that?
Because that's a lot to take on. And on top of
that, you're not going to have a lot of cap space.
So when you factor all these things in, do you
really want to take this on? Because this may
hurt your credibility. And this isn't going to
be an overnight fix. This is going to be a three
to five, maybe three to six year process. And
that's if you're hitting on your draft picks
and developing your players well and not making
boneheaded moves. That's a lot to take on. Now
with the GM part, you need somebody that can
build a team. Don't just get the really cool,
flashy GM that everybody is talking about. Get
the GM that you know has a track record of building
some really good teams. Not a good team that's
just good for two or three years. You want a
dominant team. You want somebody that's good
at drafting, that's frugal when it comes to spending,
and understands and values the right positions
on a team. Now when it comes to the productive
player part, you're going to have to get that
in the draft. Free agency is not gonna be your
best friend for a long time because nobody wants
to come to a crappy team that's not winning.
Now, sure, you could throw a boatload of money
at people, but at some point, they're not gonna
wanna stay there. Some people are gonna value
championships and winning more than just having
a fat paycheck. Now, when it comes to stack or
shed, you're gonna have to shed this thing. And
the reason why I say that is because the current
structure that you have right now is not sustainable
for long -term success. You need to clean your
books, which is gonna take some time. And you
need to get more draft picks. And the only way
that you can do that is start trading away assets.
I would trade away Jalen Waddell. I would trade
away anybody else that has value. And then from
that point on, you make this team as cheap as
possible. One move I would do is go after Mike
Tomlin. And the reason why I say that is because
we have seen him within the last few years have
competitive rosters without a franchise quarterback.
That's a major feat in itself. That is something
that not a lot of coaches have been able to do.
Now, granted, we can all get on about the playoff
success and all that other stuff, blah, blah,
blah, yada, yada, yada. But how is it that somebody
without a franchise quarterback has been able
to beat the Ravens nine times out of 10? Really
think about that for a second. Since Ben Roethlisberger,
he's had Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky. Mason
Rudolph, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and now
Aaron Rodgers. And he still finds a way to stay
in the thick of things when it comes to the playoffs.
Now the question is this. What would it take
to get someone like a Mike Tomlin? A first? A
second and a player? A third and a player? I
would pay it. Look at Mike Vrabel and the Patriots.
First year. First year. They looked really good.
You wouldn't want that on your team? Meek Mill
said it best. Scare money don't make no money.
So if you're really serious about winning, you
will make this move. I don't care if you've got
to call Omar Khan every single day just to entertain
this idea. Do it. Because I guarantee you guys
are going to start winning. And let's look at
their free agents. So they have Afitu Melefanu,
Larry Borum, Liam Eichenberg, Darren Waller,
Elijah Campbell, Rasul Douglas, Artie Burns,
KJ Britt, Willie Gay Jr., Alex Madison, Dwayne
Eskridge, just to name a few. Now, honestly speaking,
Who are you bringing back? Because I wouldn't
bring back anybody. And if you do, it's only
for competition in the summer. Outside of that,
I'm just wiping the slate clean. I'm getting
some young, cheap talent. And I'm just going
to be on the trash roller coaster. It may take
me a while, but hey. Hopefully on the other side,
you're going to start winning. But I'm going
to end this episode here. If you guys like what
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I appreciate you guys so much. Thank you guys
so much for listening to the first episode of
the Stack and Shed series. There's more to come.
Just give me some time. NFC is next, so stay
tuned for that. As always, this is your GM, Kale,
signing out. Peace and love. Later, guys.