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[Assistant] I think it's worth it. Yeah, okay. I understand that logic because McVeigh is, he's special. He's worth a first round pick in himself. I mean, he is. He is that. I'll say this much.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You rattled off the top 10 picks. Where I would start right away is I have no problem with any of the top 7 guys.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hey, you could sit here and we could go back and redraft it and go, well, any of those three, Bosa, Elliott, Ramsey, we could justify the Rams taking him at number one here, you know, uh, with all this, you know, in the past.


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[Assistant] Yeaah, I think so. The injuries are the issue. I think that also maybe, uh, a hair lack of athleticism at the position that they would like maybe to be able to protect against the really good Ed's Pads rushers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, maybe that's a little less than adequate, but I do think at the end of the day, it is the injuries. When you have, you miss a year because of ACL.


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[Assistant] Last year he missed what? Was it 8, 9 games? Yeaah, he had a concussion. He had a knee injury and a concussion. So I think those things added to the fact that the play has been just a little less than


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, Dak Prescott I think realistically should have been a top 15 pick if we were to sit here and just re-evaluate again.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's all about, I didn't go back and look at, oh, what was their needs back in 2016. But I think at a very base level, what we're talking about with Dak Prescott, a guy that's been to the playoffs twice, right? Won one playoff game one year, they were, uh, you know, 13 and three and lost to Green Bay as the number two seed in the playoffs.


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[Assistant] Is he perfect? Does he have everything? Does he have an Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes arm? No, okay. But he's big, he's strong, he's very athletic, he has a good arm, he's a great leader, he says all the right things on and off the field, and to me, yes, he's franchise quarterback.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I would like to see him improve on his passing a little bit. I'd also like to see that offense improve around him to make things a little easier at times too, if I were to defend Dak Prescott. So, hey, Dak Prescott I would imagine is going to get paid pretty big money here soon. Somewhere between 25 and 30 million dollars a year.


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[Assistant] I don't think he deserves to be Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, but I think somewhere between 25 and 30. I look at Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo and certainly go Dak Prescott deserves to be paid more than them and they're around 27 to 28 million.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly right. I mean, the grass isn't always greener. You got a franchise quarterback, he can't sit there and be going, well, we might be able to do better. Well, yea, you might be able to do better, but you might also draft a Paxton Lynch and be worse off. You don't know. So, you know, sometimes you just gotta go with what you have and be happy about the positives that the guy at that position brings to you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The draft really, I mean you kind of hit it a little, gets really interesting from like 10 to 31. I mean there is so many guys in that, in that little pocket of 10 to 31 in the 2016 draft that did not belong, do not belong there.


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[Assistant] Yes, Corey Coleman who's on his fourth team. You know, Shaq Lawson is one of those guys that picked 19 who the fifth year option's not gonna be picked, packed, picked up. Doesn't look like Darren Lee of the New York Jets.


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[Assistant] He's another guy, fifth year option, don't think it's gonna be picked up. Not with the fact that they have an Avery Williamson and a CJ Mosley already playing that position, would be shocked there. Then you talk about wide receivers in the first round, right?


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[Assistant] Will Fuller, who's been good, but can't stay healthy, and then Josh Jackson, Laquan Treadwell, have certainly proved that they were not first round picks. No, no doubt.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Michael Thomas, second round pick at receiver. Sterling Shepard, a second round pick at receiver. Tyler Boyd from the Cincinnati Bengals, a second round pick. All those guys we just mentioned are better than the three first round picks. So yea, you go right away and I go, okay, those guys deserve to be in the first round discussion.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I got another group of guys where I could go, okay, these guys deserve to be in the top 15 hands down. And what's amazing here is a lot of these guys are second round picks, which is what I love. And hey, the success rates.


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[Assistant] Damn, okay, Miles Jack, right? Yep. Miles Jack is one of the best middle linebackers in football for the Jacksonville Jaguars. There was knee concerns at the time. Yep. He also played a lot of running back in college.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Either way, if you had a redraft now, you'd go, oh, he's a top 10 pick. I mean, he's every bit as good as a Devon White was coming out of LSU this year who was a number 5 pick. So that one jumps out to me.


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[Assistant] I'll tell you a guy that at the end of the first round that really jumps out to me, William Jackson from the Cincinnati Bengals.


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[Assistant] Liam, Liam, I'm telling you, this guy is going to break the bank here in the next year or two as one of the top paid corners in football. He's one of the best man-to-man guys in the sport. Nobody knows about him because Cincinnati hasn't been very good the last few years, but he is truly awesome. To where I think if we looked at that guy, I'd go, oh, there's a guy that deserves to be in the top 15. Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, we were there in Kansas City this year. We saw what he did in the playoff game. He was disruptive, pushing the pocket, batting balls.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Chris Jones, other than Aaron Donald, is the best interior pass rushing Dean Liman in the sport. You know, he's up there in the conversation for best defensive tackles in the sport, up there with the Fletcher Cox of the world and Aaron Donald, like I said. So you look at that and go, damn, he should have been picked in the top 15.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, if he doesn't get hurt that year, he is going to be a top five pick. He is one, it was one of the best linebacker films I have watched since I've been in devaluating. It was truly amazing. Maybe even get the most out of him back then. No, they did not. They did not. But yea, I gotta give Dallas Cowboys a lot of credit for


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And why we're on teams in general, you want to talk about a team that killed the 2016 draft? The Dallas Cowboys are in that. You know, Zeke at number four. Yeah. Jalen Smith to start the second round. Malik Collins, who's a starting defensive tackle for them, out of Nebraska in the third round. You get Dak Prescott in the fourth, and they got their nickel corner Anthony Brown in the sixth round that year, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jerry Jones, the Jones family, they killed that draft. Uh, so that dirt has definitely jumped up, jumped out about, uh, or jumped out to me.


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[Assistant] Other names that were in the second round that deserve to be first round material, top 15, top 20 picks. Xavier Howard, corner for the Miami Dolphins, just like William Jackson I just told you.


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[Assistant] Right now, off my head, I'd go Ramsey, AJ, Bouye.


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[Assistant] Stefan Gilmour, I would go Patrick Peterson, and then it would be probably a William Jackson, Xavier Howard type conversation there. That's to me where they are. You know, they're not being paid big money yet because they're still, uh, you know, on the 2016 contracts and all that, but I think that is coming. So they jumped out to me.


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[Assistant] Deon Jones, the Atlanta Falcons, talk about, he's a second round pick, he deserves to be a first rounder, uh, in, in, in my opinion. Okay, so, yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's between three guys, and it's actually the three guys towards the top of the draft anyways. It's between Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, and Jaylen Ramsey. I would probably go Joey Bosa. I think that would be, that would be the guy.


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[Assistant] You know, Zeke, I love Zeke Oli, I love them then, I love them now. Jalen Ramsey is one of my favorite players in football. I mean, if I could come back and be anybody in the NFL, it might be Jalen Ramsey just to be able to run and talk the way he does, such a specimen. But, you know, those are the three guys I think I look at more than anybody to go.


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[Assistant] But yea, both's a special. I mean, there's no, there's no doubt. Great pass rusher, great against the run.


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[Assistant] I mean, really can do everything. So I guess I would go with him number one. I'd probably go him or Ramsey number one.


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[Assistant] You know, because running back position, I'd have a hard time picking one no matter what. And hey, another interesting wrinkle about that draft is the running back position. There is the number one rushers in football in 2016. One and two were both picked in this draft.


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[Assistant] One was, uh, Ezekiali at pick number four. And then you had Jordan Howard pick 150. That's right. Was second in the NFL in rushing that year. So that to me was where you get in the conversation where some people don't believe in


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[Assistant] Why would I take a cornerback or a running back to the top five when you have guys like Jordan Howard who are picked in round five or late four or whatever that number is and he still is successful.


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[Assistant] You do. You take a step from being just this raw athlete to a guy that's awesome and


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[Assistant] You know, all areas of the game understands offense and defensive schemes. You know, I would really say for corners, when you get to year three, four, five, that's really the prime of their career because they're still able to, you know, maximize their top end speed because they're in their mid twenties and all those type of things.


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[Assistant] Now you're in year 3, 4, 5 where you've been in the NFL, you're comfortable, your knowledge is at a different level.


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[Assistant] I go Sean Davis, a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'd say you could throw him in that conversation. And even Kevin Byard, the safety for the Tennessee Titans. He would be another guy I'd look at and go, wow, yeah.


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[Assistant] Yannick and Gokwe in the third round. You wanna talk about why pass rushers are at a premium in the draft? Well,


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[Assistant] Because here's the 2016 draft and there was only two good pass rushers in the whole damn draft. It was Bosa and Janek and Gokwe. I looked at every pick of the whole 2016 draft and didn't find one of the guys where I said,


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[Assistant] Oh yeaah, he's legit coming off the edge. There were some guys that are starters or play or whatever else, but not in that type of, uh, not in that type of class. So that is always interesting to me. Uhm, but you look back, the Jaguars, we talked about them, the Cowboys killed it in the draft. The Atlanta Falcons got Kian O'Neal.


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[Assistant] He was in the first round pick and certainly worthy of where he got picked. Robby really should have been higher. Yeaah, he's at 17. Right. Daniel, I mean we talked about Jones, Deon Jones in the second round. They got Austin Hooper at tight end, uh, later on in the draft.


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[Assistant] Well, what you really start to correlate is you look at teams and go, oh, the teams that have kind of been good the last few years have had pretty good drafts for the most part. But then the question is if it's that good then why aren't they winning?


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[Assistant] You know I'm not physically putting my thumbs to my iPhone to actually send out the tweet. God forbid that you would do that. No, I need a buffer. It's a better way this way when Matt Casey controls it because I don't trust myself. You know I can be a little emotional at times. I do have a temper. I'm famous for that in my own family. So I'm better off to have a buffer.


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[Assistant] Okay, that's a really good question. Uhm, okay, this is the first thing I would say.


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[Assistant] The really interesting thing about Kyler Murray at one this year, there was a lot of teams, I know, that did not have him as the number one quarterback.


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[Assistant] So it was a little bit of beauty in the eye of the ball holder. Now I would bet you the Oakland Raiders, like you said with John Gruden, definitely did. But I think there was boards that were a little bit all over the place. And certainly his size scared some teams and some people. Would Arizona, listen, would Arizona have taken?


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[Assistant] But just from everything I saw, I got to see Justin Herbert in a few games. One because, of course, you and I cover Notre Dame.


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[Assistant] And they played Stanford, who we got to see play against Oregon. I remember watching them on film then. And I caught a few games on TV through the year where, hey, the guy's a big guy. He's a very special athlete. He has a big time arm. To me, Liam, that is the guy that I would say is the number one pick. I know there was teams that were very disappointed.


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[Assistant] This year, that he did not come out. The Giants, for one, from everything I know, the Giants were hot on Justin Herbert, had somebody at almost every one of his games this past year, he was one of the guys they had their real eye on.


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[Assistant] It could have been the guy that they could have gotten number six or maybe make a move, whatever it may be. But he is the guy for me that jumps out above the rest. Lawrence? Lawrence?


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[Assistant] I would like to see another year. Morenz is on pace to be the first pick of the, what, 2021 draft?


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[Assistant] Certainly is. Looks like he's got it all. I mean, great athlete, awesome demeanor, effortless thrower, can make any throw you want. I mean, come on, the guy went in on Clemson and it was like,


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[Assistant] Am I watching a freshman here? Or are we watching a guy that's been around for four years and seems unfazed by no matter who he plays? And that's the impressive part about Lawrence. So yea, Lawrence as far as stacked up against this class, it's so hard because he's still young and not a finished product.


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[Assistant] I think his ceiling though is, is pretty great. I do. It might be higher than guys like Dwayne Haskins and, and uh, you know, Drew Locke.


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[Assistant] Absolutely not. To me, that one, yes, is way off. I don't look at Jake Fromm and even go, he's a first round talent at this point. And you know, again, we were on the field when they played Georgia, and I know he was a freshman that year, so I'm not going to judge too critically. But I've watched Georgia a lot on college, you know, college football Saturdays the past few years, because they've been an awesome football team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, Jake Fromm's been very good. At no point did I ever look at him and go, hm, I wonder if this guy's a first round talent. No way. So there to me is just


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[Assistant] Uh, a little thing that we might have to start is where I call unqualified people making qualified statements. And just because a team's winning doesn't mean it's all about the quarterback. That's where that shit gets started too that drives me crazy too. Again, for the second time this week, Patrick Mahomes is 5-7 his last year at Texas Tech.


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[Assistant] He's now arguably the best quarterback in football. So it has nothing to do, it's not all about the quarterback every time. John Elway was 3-8 his last year at Stanford.


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[Assistant] Damn it, he's one of the best winning quarterbacks in the history of the sport. You gotta have a team and coaching around you, and just because you do have a team and coaching around you in your winning games, doesn't mean you're the first pick of the draft, okay?


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[Assistant] That being said, are you as in love with Tua as a number one overall pick? No, I'm not.


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[Assistant] Franchise quarterback in the NFL as other people are? No, I'm not. I'm not as in love with it as everybody else is. I'll, I'll, I'll be totally transparent with you here where I went in to the draft process going, man, I don't even know if 2 was a first round quarterback. I really did, just from things I saw on TV.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I will say after watching a lot of SEC film, because it seems like every guy in the SEC is NFL draft eligible, you see a lot of Alabama game film, and Tua was better.


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[Assistant] Then I gave him credit for TV scouting. He's a little bit bigger of a man than I gave him credit for. He's a little bit better athlete than I gave him credit for. And his arm has a little bit more pop than I gave him credit for. So, I will say that yes, he is definitely a first round talent for next year.


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[Assistant] He and Herbert are on another level to me than Jake Frung. And I really think Herbert, as a prospect, is really a notch above Tua Tagovaiola. Tua Tagovaiola. Tua. I'm just gonna say Tua, I can't get it out right. Can you keep saying the whole name? Tua Tagovaiola.


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[Assistant] It's just not happening. I mean, you kind of said it. You know, when you talk about first round picks, you know, teams want that to be really two positions for the most part. They want it to be quarterback and defensive end. Or pass rusher that way. Something along those lines.


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[Assistant] You know, de-tackle at times they can live with. Left tackle, they can live with. But you better be this extraordinary talent at de-tackle or left tackle to be drafted at number one. You better be, you know, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace. If you're not that guy, everyone's gonna go, what though?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You took a left tackle at number one pick. So yeaah, that's where I look at that. The rest of these guys, listen, I can't speak to some of the rest of these guys on this list, uh, at least intelligently.


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[Assistant] I know the Chase Young guy out of Ohio State. Don't speak intelligently. Well yeaah, so you know me. I don't really ever speak intelligently. But he did pop to me on film to where I went, ooh, that's a guy that I think I'm going to be watching next year. And I really had no idea of who he was or the history around him. So, uh, but I do think it comes down to quarterback and defense end, like you're saying.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, okay, uh, if the wheels fall off with the Oakland Raiders.


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[Assistant] Right, there's one team I look at and go, I think that if they go 4-12 again,


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[Assistant] There's no way Jon Gruden's gonna stand pat with Derek Carr again. And especially a move into Vegas, it just makes too much sense to get a quarterback, get the Vegas fan base started, start selling that on there. Uhm, okay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How about the Cincinnati Bengals? I think, you know, they could be in that conversation. I know they drafted Ryan Finley in the fourth round this year, but hey, this is a make it or prove it year for Andy Dalton. Even Mike Brown has come out and said that this is a pretty important year for him. Dalton, offensive minded coach. Right, exactly. He might want his new guy in there. Uh, so that certainly makes sense from that aspect.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Miami Dolphins. Hey, they got the one year trial period with Josh Rosen. You know, I don't think any of us are going to sit here and go, oh, we think the Dolphins are going to be really good. They are in a rebuilding phase of their organization. I totally get that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. No, it won't be, at least he should have a good system to be a part of. Brian Flores, the head coach, he understands it's more than just about the quarterback. He understands you gotta have support around him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Smart game planning, them being from New England. Chad O'Shea, the x-wide receiver coach in New England, who is now the OC there in Miami. He understands that as well. So they'll do their best. I do think he fits their scheme and system.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're just a team, yes, if it all falls flat on their face that I go, they could possibly be in that conversation. The Tampa Bay Bucks? Yeaah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have to be, right? Have to be. I mean, the Bucks and the Tennessee Titans, I think we both can just put them, lump them together. Sure. Yeah, they went one and two with Mario and Winston. We get that. But here we are five years later, and they haven't been worth that up to this point.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, there's been flashes where we go, Oh, there's the guy we were all rooting for. But again, I think if these teams don't make the playoffs, they're going to be back in the quarterback market and maybe tanking for Tua or, you know, doing something for Herbert. I don't have a cool saying for that yet. Am I missing anybody else there?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I get it. I get it. There's really not as big a risk to do that anymore, too, especially with, you know, again,


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[Assistant] There's a rookie salary cap. You know, back in the old days, you couldn't have done this because you're going to draft a guy number six. It's a six year, $75 million contract and you're screwed. He's your guy for the next four years. There's no way out of it. Now, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hey, Josh Rosen's got like 10 million dollars left on his full contract. It's just, you can swallow that. So if you make a mistake at quarterback in the top 10, and then all of a sudden you're bad, and you're back to the number one pick, and let's just say Justin Herbert is, he won the Heisman.


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[Assistant] And the Giants have a grade on them higher than any quarterback they've had come out in the last 20 years.


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[Assistant] Okay, we messed up. We did. We messed up. I'm not going to be mad at them, just like I wasn't mad at Arizona for making that decision, because you just don't want to pass up what you think might be a generational talent from time to time. I don't expect the Giants to have that type of DNA or do that type of decision. They're not that type of organization, but we're just saying what ifs and that's it.


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[Assistant] Hey, when I watched Lindstrom, uh, the guard that got drafted by Atlanta in the first round, I saw this kid, I know nothing about him, but I know he looked like a freaking nature on film. He really did. His body is rocked up, he looked apart. I wish I could tell you more about him as an evaluation and everything like that, but yea, he looks like he's got a chance to be a special running guy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, the picture is legs and arms and shoulders. You don't really need to know anything else in between. And it's a phenomenal, I mean, first of all, the guy's got his shorts rolled up. That's when you know you have like legs and shoulders.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're right. They're like, I can't go over those quads. They're too thunderous. So we gotta go up. But he's got not only thick quads and legs, but defined like shredded and ripped and then a pair of


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To take the beating that you, that you want to get. And you see that out of the top running backs. That more times than not are built like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, one of the best receivers out there doesn't really say a whole lot, not trying to get attention to himself a whole lot. I'm glad he's coming on the podcast. Is these the type of guys I like? I want to get the no AJ green AJ green. Damn there he went, but there he's back again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No problem, uh, you truly, uh, are kind of under the radar as an athlete and I kind of look forward to kind of getting guys like you out there in, in the, you know, media world so people can get to know you. Do you ever get frustrated with the fact that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, and you, you come off that way. Okay, so the first thing too, before we get into some of my questions, I want to, I want you to talk about what you're, what you're doing here today. Shamrock Farms, Rockin' Protein Shake. I'm down to try it. I really will now that I know you're pushing it. Cause I do drink, I do drink my protein shakes. You see that right there? Don't be scared.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are you like a chocolate guy? A vanilla guy? What's your-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, that's good to hear. I'm going to try this out for real. I always do. I'm like, I'm still drinking protein shakes. Like I got something to prepare for. Like I, I, I wash my breakfast down in the morning with a protein shake. So I might substitute this. Are you a protein shake drinker throughout the day or are you just one like post workout kind of guy?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I hear that. Are you, are you the kind of guy that's gotta kinda like watch how much calories you get into your body? Will you lose weight if you go too long without eating and things like that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, and we like ketchup or mustard on there? What are we doing? Anything on top of it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, okay, I like that. Okay, what's your favorite color? I'd like to know that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Blue. Blue? Okay. Who's your favorite, who's your favorite rapper? What kind of music do you listen to and then who is your favorite?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, okay, I, I, I had a feeling you might go, go that route. Okay. After that, favorite candy. I mean, you might've mentioned it. Are you a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup guy?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Damn, I'm, I'm with you. I'm with you there. I like to get on the, the, the back, uh, porch as I podcast listeners know and I smoke a few daddy cigars every now and then. And when I find the peanut butter cups, damn, they're delicious.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, okay, 18. I've always wondered this. Where the hell did 18 come from? Why do you wear this number?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, alright, I'll buy that, I'll buy that answer, that makes a lot of sense. Alright, next thing I want to know, I always, you said Randy Moss, I always like to ask players this, I want to know, one, who are the two or three receivers you look at at football and just go, wow, I respect his game, or that guy's in my class, and two,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I always wanna know, give me the DBs that you've played against where you go, damn that guy's a pain in the butt and I know I gotta bring my lunch pail on that day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, well that, that's a good group of names. Really, I mean, I think that's the class of guys you're in. You're one of the three, four, five best receivers in football. Nobody knows about. Okay, you know, DBs, did you deliberately avoid my DB conversation? You just don't like talking about? Who is the DB that, you know, has jumped out to you throughout your whole career that would just, your, your toughest matchup?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, you're missing one guy, okay, and I'm glad you're missing this guy because this is the next thing I want to ask you about. Because you're so calm and you don't ever look for attention. But there was just this one day where AJ Green was running on the field and he chokeslammed some DB out in the middle of the field.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I'll let that, I'll let that one slide right now because I like you a whole lot. Okay, uh, other thing I just want to ask you about. Last year you had a deal with a toe injury. I think when a lot of people hear toe injuries, especially the common fan, they're like, what the hell? How is this guy hurt? I know it's a brutal injury. Talk about the injury and just how you feel right now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, I know you're back in the swing of things and it must be, is it not weird for the first time in your career not having Marvin Lewis at the head of the room and the podium addressing the football team?


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[Assistant] Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. I mean, one, it pays to have a young coach who can, you know, deal with the loud music. So that always helps. But two, that's the other aspect I wanted to ask you about. Just, yeah, can you tell a different demeanor within the building because it is an offensive head coach? Does there seem to be more focus on that side of the ball?


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[Assistant] Alright, here's one other thing, and I don't mean to bring up anything bad, I brought up all the bad, but I do think this is a topic worth talking about.


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[Assistant] You know, your, your last year in college, okay, and I saw you your last year in college. My brother was the quarterback for the University of Tennessee and you caught a touchdown pass and I said, oh gosh, this kid's the real deal. But you were suspended for the first four games of that year.


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[Assistant] What is your, where do you lie? And tell people about maybe college athletes and the fact that you don't have as much money and maybe the struggles you gotta go through and just where your whole mind kinda lays on that whole subject altogether.


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[Assistant] Yeah, no, I hear ya. Okay, so but you say that, that's the way it is, but like, you know, and this will be my last question, cause I know you got other things to do today than talk to me.


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[Assistant] Do you, the rules are, and I respect you because you are a rule follower and you do respect the rules, but at the same time, when you were in college,


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[Assistant] Did you need a little extra money in your pocket? Did you find yourself maybe hungry at times? Like, tell maybe part of the struggle of being a student athlete when you come from nothing or don't come from a house that has a ton of money in the bank or anything like that.


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[Assistant] Alright man, I know you got a lot of people to talk to. Uh, remember, I'm gonna try this out. Shamrock Farms Rockin' Protein Shake. Gonna do it for sure. I hope to meet you and talk to you in person one day. I've gotten to see you, but I've never really got to talk to you and say hi to you. I've been to some practices on a Friday in Cincinnati when I was announcing a few games.


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[Assistant] Crab? Crab? I mean, I should have really pushed that more. I was so like astounded by the answer that I should have said something, but yeah, I mean...


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[Assistant] I don't know, I'm a plain hot dog guy. Like maybe mustard and a little ketchup on it, that's about all I want. Or I might just do a thin line of barbecue sauce and call it a day.


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[Assistant] Barbecue sauce just alone? Yeaah. Really? That's right. Really. Barbecue sauce is great with everything. I almost dip anything in barbecue sauce. Like, almost anything. You put American cheese on it?


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[Assistant] No, no, not even gonna bat an eye. Is barbecue on the, barbecue sauce on a, on a thing that gets barbecued that crazy? I don't think it's crazy. Right. Okay.


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[Assistant] But they, so they decided to put all these so-called delinquents in the same area now, and they think that's gonna make things better? Hey, all the drunken people that jump off the van, we're gonna put you in the same area.


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[Assistant] That is, that is. I enjoy a good viral video from, you know, the Buffalo fans tailgating almost on a weekly basis, really it seems like. Uhm, I mean.


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[Assistant] Have you really ever got to tailgate? That's like one area of life I've only got to do a few times in my life for like a football game.


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[Assistant] College, when I was, would come back home, you know, you have your winter break, the bowl game's over, a few years the Giants were in the playoffs.


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[Assistant] And I would come home and go to a few tailgates. And man, I had a blast.


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[Assistant] They love their football. It's the number one thing in town. Yeah, they're going to get live and get that stadium rowdy. I understand that. And that's what they should do. I mean, as a player.


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[Assistant] As a player, when you were going on buses through rowdy tailgates, you knew...


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[Assistant] The Texas bu- they're OU fans and the Texas bus comes by and they close the bible and they're giving you like-


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[Assistant] The middle finger and yelling four letter words at you like no end. I always found that to be amazing. Uh, just the reactions we'd get there. Man, Kansas City.


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[Assistant] Kansas City, I always wanted to just get off the bus and go, damn, just let me eat a half rack of ribs before we go into the locker room here and I'll be good to go. And the Oakland Raiders, that's another one that always jumped out to me. Oakland? Come on. You're gonna have some fun there, for sure.


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[Assistant] And you don't know who you're talking to if it's a gangster or a doctor that's dressed like a gangster or a gangster that's dressed like a doctor. It's crazy in Oakland.


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[Assistant] Cool, calm, Tom Brady, but like a very cool guy in general. I really like Tom a lot. Now he probably doesn't like me because I do think he took the era of the footballs with Deflategate so that becomes an issue. Well that's going to be awkward. It is going to be awkward. But everybody else, I mean come on, Jeremy Garoppolo went on a date with a porn star. Okay. Amandola.


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[Assistant] Uh, Edelman, they all like to have fun. The packer group is a good group of guys, but I don't think it's fun in a way.


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[Assistant] And try to gain, you know. Cross him right off the list. I know, it's a shame too because he's cool and fun, but I do look differently about him.


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[Assistant] Now, because of that incident. And you know, when they ask you, you know, what happened with the PED test and your answer is I don't know, that's a pretty big, you might as well just say,


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[Assistant] If you get a rowdy group of O-linemen, it's great. The problem with O-linemen is a full scope.


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[Assistant] As you can also get a group that is, you know, very intellectual. That's true, yeaah. And gonna be like kind of reserved and we don't act like this and whoa, that's too much money.


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[Assistant] Uh, and uh, that's it. Oh, you know another thing? A sporting event? I just want to give a little love to Canelo Alvarez fights Daniel Jacobs. Yep, Daniel Jacobs, sure. Dan Jacobs is my buddy. Okay. I love Daniel Jacobs. I love him too. He's a New York guy. We all know his story. I worked with him a little bit when we did boxing coverage. Yeah, now I love him.


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[Assistant] Great guy, overcame spinal cancer, okay? And now he's one of the best middleweights in the world. He's fighting Canelo Averez Saturday night. I'm rooting for him in a big way. I'm on his side, I'm on your side 100%. And Canelo Averez, he tested dirty for his last fight. Go Danny Jacobs.


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[Assistant] You know it. Here I go. Mr. Sports Anchor, Chris Sims. Thanks for everybody listening today. If you watched, hey, we appreciate it. If you want to watch youtube.com slash NBC Sports, you know where to get at me. Liam, you the man. I always appreciate you coming on.


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[Assistant] Yo yo, what's up? Come on man, subscribe on YouTube to Chris Simms Unbuttoned Podcast. I need you, please hit the subscribe button, please!


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[Assistant] Well, you know, first of all, they're both outstanding players and they're a tremendous young people. So that, that is a commonality.


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[Assistant] Uhm, you know, whoever addressed both of them, I think, you know, they're gonna be really happy. But, uh, you know, Noah's got a very unique skill set.


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[Assistant] He can run very, uh, extremely well. I don't know that we've ever had a Titan that can run like him. Uh, not many people have. He just has a real, uh,


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[Assistant] Natural gait, really smooth and quick.


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[Assistant] You know, make the kind of plays I think that really make an impact in a game.


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[Assistant] Man oh man, they were good, and uh, TJ made two plays in the fourth quarter, one in particular where he...


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[Assistant] Caught a two yard pass, made about, broke about five tackles.


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[Assistant] Tremendous young man also. So they're, you know, they're both just high caliber guys.


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[Assistant] I used the term specialist, and I didn't mean that in a derogatory sense at all.


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[Assistant] And, uh, I think if, you know, if I was going to say one thing about Noah, that that's still in there, I think he can continue to grow on and.


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[Assistant] You know, he's just, uh, I think he's got a real, real rarability.


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[Assistant] Uh, the one thing you can't teach is that speed, and he certainly has that.


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[Assistant] But really you're, you're drafting a guy who's going to be a much better player two years from now.


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[Assistant] Uh, I would say it about all players. I just, you know, I guess, uh, I don't know if you want to use the term old school, but I...


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[Assistant] And I think most NFL people would agree, most players, not, maybe not all, maybe running backs are an exception or here and there, but, um, you know, maybe the quarterback from Clemson.


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[Assistant] Physically, in the first couple, three years of their, their NFL careers too, uh, if they're working at it and doing the right thing, so.


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[Assistant] Notoriety and attention they've garnered so far I think is deserved.


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[Assistant] Fortunately, I never got to see him live in college, uh, but we'd seen him on film and we're glad he, you know, we knew enough that we were glad he didn't play that day. Uh, so, you know, but what a career he's had.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but he, you know, he plays with an energy that, uh, you know, you see on TV when you see Gronk or...


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[Assistant] We had Dallas Clark had that rare, rare energy that, uh, you know, just everything about football, he loves it.


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[Assistant] You know, I think, I think it's funny, uh, in some ways, if you look at Noah, it's probably not fair to compare some things that TJ does, uh, to the way Noah does them. And then conversely, I think it's the same.


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[Assistant] You know, if you compare TJ's speed to Noah's, well yea, it's not as good. Well nobody's is, so.


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[Assistant] Yeaah, I think TJ is just a really versatile all around tight end that's, uhm, you know, really doesn't have any flaws in his game.


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[Assistant] Uhm, I think proximity to home, uh, maybe we were a compromised candidate, but.


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[Assistant] Uh, and then, you know, TJ's a little different story. He's more of a small town Iowa kid that, uh, really was not, not recruited outside of our state. And, uh, but you know, we, we,


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[Assistant] Getting kids to camp and, you know, maybe ask them to do some things they weren't doing.


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[Assistant] Didn't know if he'd be an outside linebacker or a tight end, but we thought he was something.


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[Assistant] He played well for us, but he just, you know, he's, he's really grown into an outstanding NFL player.


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[Assistant] You know, he's done such a great job professionally. Love, love hearing you on the air, Paul.


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[Assistant] Uh, that's the neat thing about this program is just the connections are so deep and so...


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[Assistant] You know, over, basically over four, four plus generations now, or four, four plus decades, I should say, not generations.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I don't know, just looking cool. Just trying to match you. Black shirt, nice haircut. How do you get the haircut way short? Cause I'm gone for like five weeks. Yeah, so you gotta play.


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[Assistant] I think it's very important that you pointed out that your second point that's very important for all these quarterbacks, whether it's a guy ranked first or 40th, that after number one, can he do what he's supposed to do? You get to number two when it's not working, when it's not there, can he create something on his own?


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[Assistant] To me, that draws a real line of the sands. All the people who are upset about, let's say, a Drew Brees at 10 or a Tom Brady at 9, they're terrific in their system. First ballot Hall of Famers, but for someone who holds a lot of value, replaces a lot of value on, what can you do when that breaks down?


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[Assistant] You can understand why those people in your mind aren't in the top 3 or 4. The people who are can do what they're supposed to, but they can also, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, 3 and 4, they can make something happen when nothing else is working.


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[Assistant] Exactly right. And it's really important that you point that out, because maybe people don't have to agree with you, but they can understand, okay, through his eyes, what he holds is most important. Yes. I get it.


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[Assistant] You mentioned the two guys. Anybody that's been following along, it's no surprise it's gonna be Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes in some form or fashion. Before we get into the actual ranking, how difficult was it for you to pick one over the other?


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[Assistant] I no longer have time to change my clothes and pet my dog. I'm done here. I refuse to allow at Pro Football Talk to spoil the top two. We'll stare at your timeline until released. He didn't even watch you and Mike go.


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[Assistant] Perfectly. And like any quarterback, he pointed out he's not perfect, he makes his mistakes, and when he misses somebody that's open, we all go back and look and want to ask why, and you can find so many things with his lower half, his balance, and his footwork that's off.


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[Assistant] But then he'll make six throws in a row that are incredible. And his balance was off and they were offensive. I know, I know. It's almost like you throw out the way you would critique a normal quarterback. Right. And go back and say, oh, he didn't do that.


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[Assistant] It's like it's not even worth doing with him because on so many of his good throws, the mechanics weren't great anyway.


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[Assistant] Think about the fit, what a wonderful fit it is with Andy Reid calling the plays. He was awesome with Donovan McNabb. Right. Really, really good with Alex Smith. I know he liked Alex a lot. He did, sure. There were a lot of people that couldn't wait for Alex Smith to move on for some reason. Andy Reid wasn't one of those people. No he was not. I thought it was a real early compliment.


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[Assistant] With Andy Reid, he is probably making Patrick Holmes even a little bit better than he is. Definitely. Because of how good he is at Colin Play. I wonder if that came into it at all with your thinking.


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[Assistant] Explosive throws and raw talent. I think it gets overlooked that he has a grasp in year two, or had a grasp in year two.


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[Assistant] of Andy Reid's system, which is wonderful to run, but also I think super difficult for quarterbacks. So this is a guy that must be incredibly intelligent as well as being incredibly gifted.


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[Assistant] I think it's easy to say, easy to point that finger when a guy is super talented and with that talent.


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[Assistant] I think it's an interesting thing that you point out about Josh McDaniels versus John Grew.


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[Assistant] Rogers is number one. So if the Packers have the best quarterback in football and their offense from system to personnel. Oh. Gonna be better. Yeaah. Are you talking about the best team in the NFC North?


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[Assistant] So we are doing this on Thursday afternoon here on the East Coast. Thursday morning, you and Mike Florio talked about the list and got to two and one. So a lot of people were paying attention to that. So we do have a little bit of reaction.


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[Assistant] He's showing signs of wear and tear and age. That's why you have Breeze and Brady 9 and 10.


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[Assistant] Which one do you think, and that would have Tyrod Taylor moving up for, which one on this list, 21 through 40, do you think is going to have the biggest jump this year?


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[Assistant] You had two other rookies in there, Drew Locke and Dwayne Haskins, we'll see. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see what the rookie season holds for those guys as well. We will. Let's move up the list. Top 20. Take another peek at who Chris had in the top 20. We saw one today, Aaron Rodgers, two Patrick Mahomes.


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[Assistant] There's your list. Who is one guy on this list that, you know, people gave you a hard time about and you really had a hard time putting them that low on a list that you're like, you know what, I would be happy to be wrong about this quarterback and see him move up quite a few in the right direction.


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[Assistant] In there makes you feel bad for having a quarterback you like as a player. So personally, not as high up on the list as he would like to be or his fans would like him to be. And I recognize that throughout. I think there's an admiration because it wasn't that long ago that you did it yourself for what these guys do. So whether you had him ranked 40th or 1, I thought that shined through the entire time.


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[Assistant] Finally, 61 miles per hour, he threw a ball that fast?


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[Assistant] And he's a guy who's found a way to make, not major changes to his motion, but he has tweaked it. He's got more body into it, he's made his release more compact.


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[Assistant] Pete's talking to me, Pete's trying to tell me something as I'm chatting away with you.


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[Assistant] We have Chris and Mike sing. Oh gosh. Damn it. Yeah. This is what happens. Mike's singing too? Yes.


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[Assistant] What the hell is that? I don't know, do you want me to Google it right now? This is the saying, it's always been one cross shot.


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[Assistant] Can I just remind everyone this is supposed to be a joint edition of Chris Simms Unbuttoned and PFTPM. I have a feeling that this is like Chris Simms Unbuttoned. Woah.


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[Assistant] You could make good money off of selling the naming rights. I would think so here in Chicago. And everybody else has given in to it. Right. It's just kind of silly to me that you don't, cause who cares at this point? Who cares? If it's Verizon, Soldier Field, or whatever the case may be, who cares? You're making big money for nothing at all.


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[Assistant] What's still a work in progress? It's clearly a work in progress. I was impressed by that moment when in the second quarter, coming out of a TV timeout,


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[Assistant] They called a timeout, which was like, oh god, this is a crap show. And then I'm thinking, this is great. Keep the camera on Aaron. Let's see his facial expressions. He didn't go over to the sidelines of the timeout. And then that play where, you know, you've always complained about.


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[Assistant] The Mike McCarthy offense, there's not enough motion, there's not enough creativity. They did the quick little half play action, not the full ball sticking up. Just a little token fake. And then the reverse, and Marquez Valdez scantling wide open down the field. It wasn't a great throw, but he was so open it didn't have to be. No doubt. Four play, 74 yard drive, it's seven to three, and that was the moment


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[Assistant] Where, cause I was like thinking, eh, it's a good night, we had a good show, I picked the Bears, Bears again, and then, all of a sudden...


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[Assistant] We saw the catch though from Valdez Gantling, which was encouraging. And the Jimmy Graham. Look, we've all written Jimmy Graham off. And we saw the quotes during PFT Live of Aaron Rodgers saying that Graham was maligned last year. Well, it was deserved. It's not like


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[Assistant] We're being unfair in our criticism. The guy went from being one of the best tight ends in football to a guy who's just kind of there and doesn't do anything and he made a nice little play, the little box out move and Aaron Rodgers trusted him on the 50-50 ball and that ended up being the difference in the game.


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[Assistant] Well, and this idea that maybe if they would establish the run and run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, and do the Trubisky stuff off of a running game, that's fine, but don't you need to have a real identity as a running game? Don't you need a, don't you need a guy


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[Assistant] And even if you design your offensive game plan based upon the opponent you're facing, there's still


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[Assistant] If you ever played somebody who's really, really good at tennis, and like me, I was never all that good, and they just say, okay, now you're gonna run over here, now you're gonna run over here, now you're gonna run over here, alright, now I'll just be done with you. And that's the, that's what I think every team should aspire to have offensively, and that's the level that Matt Nagy is supposed to be taking these Bears to, and so far, not even close to being there.


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[Assistant] I, I think that this is a game they win at home though. They, they, I'm intrigued by the new offensive philosophy.


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[Assistant] With Gary Kubiak's influence running the football. Dalvin Cook if he can stay healthy. And he doesn't have to stay healthy for the long haul to win on Sunday. He just has to stay healthy for one day. Right. I think for one day this can work.


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[Assistant] Whether it works in a big spot like at Chicago in a few weeks at Green Bay next week, which all of a sudden is a much bigger game for the Vikings based on how the Packers looked last night. That's a different story, but you know, I know the Falcons aren't that far removed from being up 23 in the Super Bowl and there's still a team that is regarded as one of the better teams in the NFL.


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[Assistant] But I think this is a game at home. It just lines up for the Vikings to be able to impose their, whatever their, their offensive philosophy is going to be. They have a chance to impose it. Their defense is good enough.


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[Assistant] So slow down the Falcons and there's this weird thing still hovering around with Julio Jones that unless they announce a deal for him before Sunday, it's, it's gonna be a...


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[Assistant] And Griffin had those issues last year. Well, he's back. He's a team captain this year. They've got guys rallying around him. And I got actually my score that I picked yesterday when we posted these at PFT 24 21. So we're so you're yeah. Okay. We spent too much time together.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, the, the, the Ravens, I think, even though we don't know what their offense is going to be, the Dolphins are sliding into Tank, Fertua, or...


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[Assistant] We haven't seen the offense, but there's much more of a...


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[Assistant] Not so much. So I, I think whatever it's going to be, it's going to work, especially against the Dolphins team. It has to be feeling a little bit like what the hell are we doing here? Yeah. Larry Mittonso is gone. Kenny Stills is gone. Are we really trying to win this year? Are we trying to, to lay the foundation for 2020?


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[Assistant] And a lot of these games may go under. We talked yesterday on PFTOT about the second half overs in week one because that's when defenses start to wear down. But last night the over under was 46 and there were 13, wait, 13 total points. Yeah, 10 to 3.


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[Assistant] I like the Jets in this one just because big picture. I like the Jets. I like the Jets to make it to the playoffs. I always say about week one.


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[Assistant] Forget about the results unless you lose it home to a division rival. Yeaah. And they can't afford to lose it home to the Bills to start the season.


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[Assistant] I think Le'Veon Bell is still gonna be Le'Veon Bell. We both think Sam Darnold is special. I think that defense with the influence of Greg Williams is gonna be sneaky great. I like the Jets in this one. And I saw the line yesterday at three. It's down to two and a half. I tell ya, Jets.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, I have to go with the Chiefs. They're on their way back to the top of the AFC West, top of the AFC. They could very easily make it to the Super Bowl. The only reason I don't have them going to the Super Bowl is I see them stubbing their toes against a team like Jacksonville in the division around because they'll be thinking ahead to their rematch against the Patriots. But, uh, I think, I think,


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[Assistant] From that one drive that I saw in the preseason with Patrick Mahomes.


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[Assistant] Unforeseen, I don't want to jinx anyone, but I mean, it would have to take, I'm a home's injury to, to keep me, uh, from, and remembering that game against the Colts, he kind of messed up his knee, right? It was kind of like, there was that 30 seconds of something going on. So yeaah.


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[Assistant] There could be an intriguing little LSU LSU reunion too when he breaks through the second level and Tyron Matthew is back there. Take him low, Tyron. Don't take him high.


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[Assistant] And it's down from two and a half, so they're, they're, uh, it moves that way. So money are better than panthers, right.


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[Assistant] I like the Panthers in this one. I'm a firm believer in the Panthers as long as Cam Newton is healthy. We talked earlier this week about how woefully underpaid he is, and he doesn't talk about it, but...


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[Assistant] I could see him being extra motivated to come out and show people that he's still the guy who won the MVP award.


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[Assistant] Exactly, exactly. So yeaah, you know what, here's this guy, yeaah, what has he done other than, you know, nothing in the Super Bowl, at least the Panthers were competitive.


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[Assistant] A storyline, right? I want to see how the Browns deal with adversity. So let's give him some adversity right out of the gates. Let's have him lose to the Titans. But I go back to last year. I think Mike Vrabel has the potential to be a special coach. He's got a shit roster in Tennessee for the most part compared to other teams, right? And he got the most out of it last year. And I think I just, you know,


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[Assistant] We got a little of it from Delaney Walker this week. I'm surprised anybody cracked that wall and said anything. I think internally, they're just, and I bet he's wearing them out. All we're hearing about is the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Browns, everybody.


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[Assistant] And, uh, I just think that he's gonna have something cooked up for them. And, and, uh,


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[Assistant] The biggest flaw in that team is Marcus Moriarty can't be trusted to stay healthy. Well, he's healthy week one. I don't care about week 10. I care about today. And it will not surprise me. And again, I know I'm giving in to my desire to see how the Browns deal with adversity. But right out of the gates, this is a team that can beat them. And I think the Titans will.


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[Assistant] See that tells me, I mean if someone's listening to your advice on this one, just stay away from that game.


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[Assistant] This would be my suicide pool pick of the week if, if we were doing that. Yeaah, right. Cause I'd take the Eagles. So wow, either this one or the Seahawks over the Bengals. But I think this is gonna be a blowout. Yeaah. I just think Washington


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[Assistant] Has no business being on the same field with the Eagles right now, given the way those two, uh, rosters are constructed. I think the defense is clearly better for Philadelphia. The offense is clearly better.


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[Assistant] Uh, my score is, I think it was something like 34-17.


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[Assistant] So, I, I, I would probably, if I was gonna bet this game, I would bet the Eagles. I think they cover the 10.


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[Assistant] Or Washington, not Dwayne Haskins. Right. Because we're probably not going to see him unless Case Kingdom gets injured. But Montez Swett.


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[Assistant] The guy that they traded back into round one to get. Guy who fell down into the twenties because of that heart issue. Something that some teams are, hey no big deal, other teams take him off the board. I, I, to the extent that we're worried about Carson Wentz getting hit.


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[Assistant] That clean legal hit to Carson Wentz that could be the one that puts him out of the game.


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[Assistant] Parts. It's right, do you have it? I have it. Here it is. Uh, page two. I gotta go to page two. Here's the read. Uh.


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[Assistant] Sign up to be an O Rewards member today and earn one point for every dollar spent. Receive your rewards twice as fast and on the go when you provide your email address. Rewards members get $5 back.


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[Assistant] For every $150 that they spend, it's fast, it's easy, and it's free. Only at O'Reilly Auto Parts, C-Store or ORewards.com.


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[Assistant] What if somebody, what if there's something important? Like, what if, you know, my son, what if your kid's not living in your house? What if your kid needs you? What do you know, I, so, I, I do with that, you know. I, okay, okay. There's certain ones. You like what if. Who are allowed to get through. You like what if. Certain sources. Alright, let's get to the four o'clock games, okay, Mr.


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[Assistant] Right now, they're a dominant team. They're getting better every year. They have Jadevi and Clowney. And here comes Andy Dalton without AJ Green. Yes.


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[Assistant] And their best hope is to, I think, slow the game down, shorten the game, Joe Mixon, take the full 40 seconds, Joe Mixon, take the full 40 seconds, maybe try, you know, they got John Ross, this would be a great time for John Ross to finally do something, he's going back to where he went to college, right?


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[Assistant] Disappointment that he's been, I just think this is going to be a disaster for the Bengals. This could be something that is so ugly for them, it takes them a month to recover from it.


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[Assistant] Here's the thing, when we pick games, we try to stay, and I think this is human nature, you try to stay within the buoys of like rational, and you don't want to give somebody, oh god, can you believe Sims thinks the Bengals are going to lose 27-6?


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[Assistant] Yeaah, sometimes they do. Yeaah. Sometimes it happens. Right. And this is one where I feel like, yeaah, Bengals, prove me wrong. Prove me wrong. If I'm wrong, I'll say I'm wrong. Just like the Packers yesterday. Hey Packers, you wanna prove me wrong? Prove me wrong. Alright, good for you. You proved me wrong. Now we move on to the next week. And that's what the Bengals have to do. They gotta prove me wrong.


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[Assistant] Under pressure! Ding ding ding ding ding ding.


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[Assistant] That was good. Yeah, you like that? Maybe you should try it a little higher range.


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[Assistant] I don't have Russell Okung, I don't have Derwin James, I don't have Melvin Gordon. Right. Do I feel bad? I don't. So, you know, the Chargers, I think, even though I don't see them going to the playoffs, I see them taking care of business, even with Russell, or with Andrew Luck, excuse me, the Colts started 1-5 last year.


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[Assistant] So, I think this is a game that's set up for the Chargers to win, even though they don't have a home field advantage. I like the Chargers in this one. I'm scrolling up to find it in our picks. The Chargers, the Chargers, did I do the Chargers? 24-20, close game.


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[Assistant] You know, I, again, I really want the Cardinals to be something. I want Kyler Murray to be the next great thing in the NFL. I, I, that's why we said they had to take him. Right. Because you don't want someone else to get that guy. But at the end of the day, I, I'm not going to believe it until I see it.


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[Assistant] Uh, given his rings, even though he's not done much as a head coach, he's dealing with a difficult culture. 60 years of a poisonous culture in Detroit. I mean, between Matt Patricia and Cliff Kingsbury, I say Matt Patricia's the better coach. And I think Matt Patricia's gonna be ready for whatever comes his way. And I think he's gonna get it done. So I, I, and I've noticed that


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[Assistant] The over-under that we had earlier when we, when, when, uh, we had the lines in our show, and it could be just variations in, in line providers, but I think the over-under's moved down. And that's a surprise because I saw 50 and I thought that's too much to expect in this game.


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[Assistant] Franchise than they've been. Lot of criticism. I don't like the lingering Eli Manning situation. I just say go with Daniel Jones from week one.


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[Assistant] I don't know why I can't pick it. To Jason Garrett, don't give into the temptation to use Ezekiel. To overuse him. To overuse him. Yes. Uhm, it's gonna be a long season and even though I...


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[Assistant] I firmly believe Jerry Jones wasn't referring to how much they use him early in the season when he said, we just want to have him ready to go for the playoffs. I think that was when they thought there's a chance he would sit out the first six games or so and then be back. So they're trying to kind of declare victory preemptively like, hey, we know he's going to be back.


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[Assistant] Take your time with him. Don't overdo it. Use him as much as you need to.


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[Assistant] Don't overdo it. Don't get caught up in it. Don't, you know, if you're ahead.


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[Assistant] In the, you know, late third quarter, early fourth quarter, go with Tony Paul. Yeah, right. Seven ten points. Don't get Zeke hurt. Give him some time to get that callus, that Jim Harbaugh callus that we talk about. It's real. It is real. You gotta get used to getting hit. You gotta get used to getting, you know, your connective tissues. You can feel it. You can, you know, your body gets stronger when you go through that kind of a pounding and he needs to do it.


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[Assistant] Yeah, look, I think with Bruce Ariens as the head coach and Jameis Winston in his prove it last year of his five year rookie contract, it, I feel like it's boom or bust for the Bucs.


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[Assistant] And I wanna, I wanna see, you know, this is one of those where I'm given into, I wanna see Bruce Arians and Winston, I wanna make it work. I want, you know, Mike Evans, I wanna see him pop. I wanna, I wanna see the Buccaneers score a lot of points.


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[Assistant] We saw it last year with a different quarterback and a different coach, but I want to see that out of the box. And I think it will be a potentially high scoring game if the 49ers can keep up with them.


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[Assistant] Pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo with the swamp ass football.


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[Assistant] Right? I mean, on top of everything else, he's going to have to be dealing with the nasty Weston Richburg swamp-ass football. And, uh, uhm, so that's another, maybe he'll make that excuse afterwards. Just like you said in the preseason, in the preseason, I try to throw interceptions in week one. Sorry, I had a swamp-ass football.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I agree with you. I mean, I hope it's a high-scoring game. I hope it's an exciting game. You know, the only thing, I, I like having fewer games at one o'clock.


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[Assistant] That's a little high. That's a little high. That is a little high. And uh, I want to refresh my memory here on the score that I picked. Yeah, I...


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[Assistant] I feel like the Patriots are very hard to beat on a night like that, but they were beaten two years ago by the Chiefs. But you know what?


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[Assistant] Those experiences stay with Bill Belichick. He probably remembers every snap of that game, every decision of that game, and he probably regrets, well, he regrets every loss, but I think they're going to be determined not to let that happen again. I know that there are some real questions about how are they going to run their offense? What are they going to do? And Keel Harry's on


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[Assistant] If I pick the Patriots and I'm wrong, then if I pick the Steelers and I'm wrong. So sometimes you just have to take, that has to be your basis. I'll regret it more if I say,


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[Assistant] Colbert said we didn't do enough in the aftermath of the injury to address the absence of Shazer. Now they have.


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[Assistant] If you tell me that I look tired on Tuesday morning, I'm gonna send stats in to kick you in the nuts.


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[Assistant] You know, even though I have real concerns about the Saints this year and their ability to recover after the way their heart was ripped out and stomped on in two straight playoff appearances, they're getting a good draw. They've started slowly.


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[Assistant] Last year, the bucket years came before that, yeaah. And I think that Sean Payton, part of his determination this year is going to be to avoid that. And I just feel like, I feel like, you know, they say the fish rots from the head down.


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[Assistant] I feel like the head of the Texans is rotten, and it's gonna, it's gonna work its way down. Down the body, yeaah. And, and I think that if you're in the locker room, I mean I know Larry Metunsel's there, but you gotta be thinking,


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[Assistant] What's really going on? What did we really get for him? And you know, we gave up like anybody who's going to be with that team over a period of years or hopes to be like our first round picks are gone for the next year in the year after. Yeah, it's crazy. And I just feel like that.


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[Assistant] You know, to the extent that we're all saying what the hell are they doing inside the locker room, they're saying what the hell are.


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[Assistant] Alright. But I don't, I don't put out a whole lot of, you know, I don't put a whole lot of faith in that.


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[Assistant] Do you have faith in Carlos Hyde? I think he was going to be cut by the chief.


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[Assistant] It's a good, a couple playoff teams, right? I mean, I think it's a good way to start the season. Because last year it was Jets-Lyons in that early spot. And to the point where they put the B announcing team in the early game and moved the A to Rams-Raiders in the second spot.


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[Assistant] I was in the process of making the final edit of the column when I saw that Antonio Brown had been suspended, so my draft right up for the game was simply tick, tick.


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[Assistant] Tick, tick, tick, right? Then he gets suspended, so I kept it, and I put, I put boomin'. Boomin'. You gotta go boomin'. I like that.


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[Assistant] I think the Broncos are going to be one of those teams after two weeks that people are going to be like, oh, the Broncos are 2-0. Hey, the Broncos are for real. They won't sustain it, I don't believe, but I think they're going to get off to a good start. And really, getting off to a good start.


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[Assistant] It, if you can sustain, I mean, it is the great foundation. You build confidence and you get guys to buy in with the Jaguars two years ago. Guys were pissed off about the Doug Marrone.


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[Assistant] Let's do this, because this could be moot at any point, but as of right now sitting here, what do you think happens with Antonio Brown and the Raiders?


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[Assistant] We suspend you, then cut you, then you don't get a dime from us ever because your guarantees have been voided by your misbehavior. Or, we keep you, you agree that your guarantees go away, you get paid week by week, we have the ability to cut you anytime we want, right? Now, here's the problem. If he's on the active roster week one,


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[Assistant] At what point, we talked about this during PFT Live today, at what point does Mayock say to John Gruden, hey man, I did not sign up for this shit. I had a great spot, I could have stayed at NFL Network until the day they hauled my dead ass out of the door on a gurney, right? I had it all, I had it made. I was the draft guy.


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[Assistant] And I, and I came to do this, and you're gonna undermine me? This guy, you know, this guy was threatening to punch me in the face and-


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[Assistant] Like, uh, I don't know if you've ever watched The Office, but there's a point where Dwight tells Michael, Jim or me, one of us goes, one of us has to go. And I could see Mike Mayock saying that. And I think that, frankly, it's funny, because if that happens, it could be the second time in less than a year.


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[Assistant] That that has transpired because I still think at some level, Ben Roethlisberger said to the Steelers after the incident, prior to week 17, it's him or me. So it could be two him or me's in just a matter of months.


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[Assistant] Wait, I have to do this again? I don't know if you do or not. I'm not sure. I'll do it any time.


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[Assistant] Damn, okay, yeaah. I mean, you know how that goes, right? I mean, at least that's like I was saying, that's like you used to say in the locker room when someone surprised you, like, damn, okay, he can play a little bit. I like that. Works well. I don't know what that t-shirt is, I like it. Thank you. And more importantly, I like your sneakers.


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[Assistant] Okay, maybe not, but we'll, I'll wear some Nike sneakers with you, but we'll draw the line there, okay? Uh, either way, we've got a good podcast coming today. Real games. It's, yea, real games, film review, podcast, gonna do a deep dive on a number of games coming up, okay? First off, please rate and review the podcast, and if you review the podcast, put a question in there.


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[Assistant] More than likely we will get to it sometime here in the next few weeks and answer these questions for you guys. Okay, but here's the games we got coming today. Falcons-Vikings, full game film. Eagles-Redskins, full game film.


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[Assistant] Cowboys, offense only versus Giants defense. Patriots versus Steelers, full game film. Bills, Bills and Jets.


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[Assistant] Also, if anybody's wondering, why aren't we doing the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans? Why aren't we doing the Chiefs and Jacksonville? I did the Film Deep Dive on Monday. You can go check that out on YouTube slash NBC Sports if you want to check that out, but I've already broken that down. That's going to be kind of the routine going forward.


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[Assistant] Monday, I'll try to break down one or two games. The biggest games, probably gonna put it out to Twitter, like we did this past week. You tell me the games you wanna know about first, and hopefully I answer some questions there.


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[Assistant] Now, let's get to the podcast. More importantly, I wanted to ask you this, very important. Alright, I got my man, John-Old-McDonald, behind today. He's looking really cool. He's wandering from camera to camera. Don't you like that? His name's John-McDonald. I think John-Old-McDonald sounds better, right? Perfect. Do you pee standing up or sitting down when you're at home?


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[Assistant] Damn. You serious? I'm dead serious. This isn't like a set up. No, no, no. I know it sounds like a set up. John, John, do you pee sitting down at all when you're at home?


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[Assistant] He knows he's good. That's what I wanted to have a start at. Guys don't sit down and pee. Yeah, well, they do here. It's clean. There's no splash effect. You know, there's nothing on this seat. I like that aspect of it. It's germ-free.


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[Assistant] Yeah, and guys are gross and they're spreading it everywhere. I can blame it on those two. Yeah, that's right. That's them, honey. I'm experienced. I know where to aim. Feel free to comment on that as you listen to the podcast. Anybody out there, okay?


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[Assistant] They didn't need a major makeover. They just needed a few wrinkles. And this has been an issue with me with Zimmer a little bit. You know, he's got that double A gap, right? We stand two people up right next to the center. You don't know who's going to blitz, who's going to come out. They both might come out, but predominantly Zimmer has always been


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[Assistant] Kind of like a cover three, you know, they press their outside corners, but they're really playing cover three with an occasional man to man defense. And that's really all they do.


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[Assistant] for the most part. This game though, they varied some things up for the first time, or at least more than I can remember any time here in the recent past.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it wasn't necessarily like greatest disguises in the world, but it was just variety to wear.


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[Assistant] Of course, Atlanta had a whole off season, a game plan for a game. And I think they got into a few third downs and second long situations where I'm sure they got up and go, Oh, we got the plate called up because we got 100 snaps of them doing this one defense last year in these situations.


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[Assistant] And Zimmer changed it up, whether it was playing quarters or quarter quarter half or doing things like that. Not that they needed a big change, but I do think they were a hair predictable and that was encouraging to see from the Vikings defense without a doubt.


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[Assistant] I think it affected the offensive line a little bit because they got caught off guard I think by a few just


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[Assistant] Little different blitzes that Minnesota doesn't usually do. I think that caught them, like, little stunts and, oh, a nickel guy off the edge that they might not do. And then, I really just think it threw them off for their game planning, like,


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[Assistant] Oh, okay, on third and eight plus, we have all these plays we like to, because this is the coverage they normally play, and then they came out and didn't play those coverages, so now you go, damn.


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[Assistant] All these third Nate plus plays that I had for my game plan. A lot of them scratch it off. It's not good. Scratch it off. It's not good.


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[Assistant] So that's where the beauty of changing thingups in week one, and I hope that continues because that has been an issue along with Minnesota defense for me the last few years. A little predictable and a little bit thin on the defensive side of the ball because they're top heavy. They got a lot of stars and that was really my big issue with them. So that was good to see for sure as a positive by the Minnesota Vikings.


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[Assistant] Unfortunately. It did. Almost from the get-go. From the first play of the game. I mean, it was like jailbreak right in the face of Matt Ryan. Oh gosh, here we go. It's the same thing we saw in the Jets preseason game, the Redskins preseason game. Unable to protect him and a big issue for this team going forward. It's scary. And then they lost their first round guard in Lindstrom. He's gonna be out for the year with a broken foot.


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[Assistant] And so that really scares me in general because it's reared its ugly head way too many times. And uhm, that along with, I'll tell you another thing that bothers me, you know, is their run game. Their run game I think has some possibilities. I'm not sure they have a runner that can really capitalize. Which was the surprise.


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[Assistant] Burst is not there. Now again, it's early and I know he's coming back from a year where he was banged up a lot and maybe that changes, but I just thought there was a few runs where I went, ooh.


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[Assistant] The old Devontae Freeman I would have known would have broke through that arm tackle or would have just split that seam with his pure speed and explosiveness and would have got a 10 yard gain and said he got a 3 yard gain. I just thought there was a number of runs like that and then you know they have Edo Smith who comes in after that and speed is not his forte either. He's a little more of a shifty guy. Good player.


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[Assistant] I don't know if either one of those guys is going to be able to maximize what they want to do, uhm, you know, as far as the run game is concerned. Right.


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[Assistant] Toss cracks, toss sweeps, right? You got a bunch on the right, all the bunch blocks down, a guard pulls out, now the defense end, every time he sees that formation going forward, he goes, damn, that guy crushed me the last time, I gotta worry about that so he doesn't just fly off the ball.


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[Assistant] wide receiver screens. I mean, just like you see New England do anytime they play a great pass rusher. Oh yeah, fly upfield and come get me. I'm Tom Brady. Zoom. There's Julian Edelman and they got 10 yards. Little things like that.


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[Assistant] Run game, I mean, play action screens to the running back. Those are other ways I look at it, because you play action, okay, now that, oh, here we come, we're gonna come get Matt Ryan. Oh, boop, there's, you know, there's Devonte Freeman, or there's the tight end.


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[Assistant] Those are things that are going to slow down the vero, the verocity, the verociousness. Velocity? Yes, verocity. Is that a word? I don't even know. It sounded good coming out of my mouth. But those are things that you can do to slow down just a defensive line like the Vikings who are just upfield, upfield, aggressive as hell.


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[Assistant] It was, we blocked a punt on after the Falcons first drive that gave us the ball at the 20 yard line. Then we ran, ran a ball in and scored a touchdown.


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[Assistant] Then on the next drive, uh, Matt Ryan threw an interception down the middle to- in double coverage basically, but he had pressure on his face, and this is what pressure does. He doesn't know what to do, he's trying to get the ball out of hands, oh there's Julio Jones, he's usually my get out of jail free card, oh well shit, they know that too, so they were all over him.


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[Assistant] He can fly. He's back. I'm just watch out for Dalvin Cook. The way he looked in that game, first off,


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[Assistant] The O line for the Vikings gives them a chance this year, along with Gary Kubiak and their focus on their run game and all that stuff. But when there was nothing there and the play was designed to go for a run up the middle,


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[Assistant] Man, Dalvin Cook's ability to kinda jump cut shuffle, right? He stays square to the line of scrimmage, and then okay, there was no hole there, I'm at the tackle, let me just bounce it outside and go now? I mean, he's 0-60 in .006 seconds.


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[Assistant] No doubt. And that's, I started on that side of the ball. Well, I started with Falcons over as Vikings D because then then you go back to the other side and you turn the game on, you go, damn, that running back looks like he's in fast forward.


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[Assistant] And yes, that's the difference between a really elite running backwards. I think Dalvin Cook is going to be on the verge of being that kind of guy this year. Uh, now do I have questions about


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[Assistant] The Falcons pass game still, certainly I do, but like you said, they never really had to get in it. Talk about the Vikings. I mean the Vikings pass game, sorry, yes. They never really had to show their pass game. They were able to keep it simple and kind of play close to the vest because they have a good defense and a good running game.


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[Assistant] So, I still have questions about that, but either way, it was a good win for them.


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[Assistant] The Atlanta Falcons need to, like I talked about with the Vikings, and this is anybody that's listened to my podcast the last few years, gotta be more change-ups in that defense. You know, you just can't play the Seattle scheme, cover three, press bail, play after play after play after play. You know, because what really, I'll tell you where it hurt them in this game more than anything.


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[Assistant] The Falcons, uh, you know, it's an eight-man box all the time.


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[Assistant] And what the Vikings did a number of times was why try to run it up the middle where they basically have like seven guys between the tackles. They would, you know, do a little bit of what I was just saying.


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[Assistant] Let's see if they can catch him once he goes through the hole. And that's basically what they did. Oh, you want to play that defense and kind of stack the line of scrimmage?


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[Assistant] Uh, very, very encouraging from them overall. But, uh, I, I, I say this on the last thing going out.


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[Assistant] You could tell the Vikings are not going to give up on the run game this year. It is a point of emphasis. It was first down run, second down run, you know, get the first down, first down run, second down run. Uh, they're going to play a little different style of football than they did last year where it was, oh, Kirk Cousins and he's got to throw. And of course, Dalvin Cook wasn't a hundred percent.


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[Assistant] First off, the Deshaun Jackson factor changes things for that team. You know, they did not have that guy last year.


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[Assistant] You know, Mack, Mack Hollins, uh, he was hurt. Torrey Smith wasn't on the team. They had no deep threat.


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[Assistant] And that's why Carson, Carson Wentz last year threw for like 70%, but it was all 5, 4, 6, 5, you know, 10 yards over the middle to Ertz. That's why Ertz had 197,000 catches last year. Because they're a masters at the short and intermediate pass game. So they need this to open the rest of their offense up.


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[Assistant] And that was encouraging. I mean, Deshaun Jackson can still fly with the best of them. And Carson Wentz is phenomenal deep ball thrower. Gosh, right? Right? I mean, it's phenomenal. And then Carson Wentz on third downs. I mean, you know, this is what, again, I'll still say it. The best Eagles team I ever saw was the Eagles team with Carson Wentz the year they were, he was about to be the MVP.


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[Assistant] Not only because the team is good around him, but when the team fails, there was a few third downs in the game, he breaks the pocket and buys time.


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[Assistant] And then breaks the pocket and sets up and makes a big throw for 15 or 20 yards, third and 18. He had a conversion of 19 yards one time.


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[Assistant] And that's a great quarterback for you. Oh, oh, we're in a bad spot? Okay, I'm the franchise. I got us here. Oh, you didn't block that great? Don't worry. I'll make up for it. Nobody's open? Cool. I'll buy a little time. I'll throw a piss missile down the middle and we'll get the first down. And that's what's cool about Carson Wentz.


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[Assistant] He doesn't have to throw it right on the money, right? Oh, now I have this whole little five by five area where if I just drop it in there and I throw enough air, the receiver, he's a phenomenal athlete. He'll adjust and catch the ball accordingly and have his body in a good position to continue to run.


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[Assistant] Okay, the second thing it does when you throw a high deep ball, right, is


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[Assistant] The defensive backs choke their ass off. There's a reason they're defensive backs.


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[Assistant] Oh gosh, here it comes, huh, huh. And they're panicking, you know, I mean, and that's another thing that happens that you lose sight of, uh, in those, but he throws a beautiful deep ball and he turns it over. He turns it over really well. He does.


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[Assistant] It was fun to watch. Uh, their old line looked good. The Eagles. I want to talk about that. Hey, this, this Redskins defense, they're, they're, they're pretty solid group. I mean, their front four is good. They don't have corners that can play man to man, but Greg Manuski is always going to give some defenses some troubles because he's a master at dropping people into zone coverages


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[Assistant] Where he breaks you down and he finds tendencies and he, you know, oh we got three receivers to the right and we like to run this concept, you drop back to pass and just somehow all his guys are underneath where you're trying to throw it.


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[Assistant] That tells me he's always been great at that. So it took them a little while to figure out what they wanted to do on the offensive side of the ball.


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[Assistant] Uhm, as far as the Eagles are concerned. But man, the O-line, very impressive. Run downhill, Philadelphia. Run downhill. They're big, they're overpowering, they can maul people. All their big runs come from when they run downhill. They do get stuck in this little sideways run game sometimes, and it drives me crazy because


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[Assistant] It just, it lets the defenses off the hook at times, and I wish they would get Carson once under the center a little bit more too. Why? Because he's a great deep ball thrower, and play action pass is the best way to throw deep. And that, and then, and plus when you have guys like,


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[Assistant] Wentz on third down, jeez, cause I mean it was unbelievable. I will say this, Landon Collins, for the, uh, from Alabama, looked like the guy from Alabama, and that would be the last thing. He looked like totally healthy, flying around the field, more explosive than the guy I remembered for sure.


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[Assistant] Yeaah, bad tackling to start the game. You know, spider two buck guy, Vernon Davis catches the ball in the flat. They, four guys are around him and decide to two hand touch play and he runs down the, the, for a touchdown. So that, there's nothing there more than just bad tackling. I do think they gave the Redskins past game zero respect early on in the game.


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[Assistant] It was up in the, up in your face, bump and run. The safeties were like at eight and nine yards. And oh, guess what happened? The guy Terry McCorran, who ran like 4-3 at the combine, he ran by, you know, Rasul Douglas in some of those corners. And that's what really happened there. But I think once they, their bluff got called on the two deep throws, they realized, okay,


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[Assistant] Let's back off a little bit. Let's, let's see if their offense can execute down the field and make plays that happen. And that's when the game really kind of changed, changed its tune and the Eagles started to dominate the game.


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[Assistant] He can be like a meathead for lack of a better phrase. I'm gonna stop the run, I'm gonna kill the quarterback. And he just doesn't need to do it. He's got great creative coverages on the back end, and he's got a front four that can win a lot of battles by themselves. They don't need extra help.


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[Assistant] Fletcher Cox is two humans in one. Right. And he, I mean, Brandon Graham is one of the strongest status defense ends in football. I mean, the Barrett kids is good. And now they lost Malik Jackson, that stinks. But, uh, yeaah, those were things. I mean, you know, hey, here's an example. It's 10-0 skins. It's second and nine on the 31-yard line.


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[Assistant] Yeaah. No. It was a good one. It was a good one. Both of those offensive lines are good. It's hard to get pressure on those two when they, when they, when they're pass protecting. Cause that, that Redskins a line.


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[Assistant] You know, I don't even care, even though Trent Williams is not there, it's still a pretty good unit. You know, Brandon Scherf, Morgan Moses, some of those guys, they can play. And Eric Flowers ain't bad either. Alright, we got my dad. I heard that. He's here. What's up, big guy? You doing good?


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[Assistant] Okay, so off of that, and I know this is something you wanted to talk about because we talked about it for a second last night and we didn't get into it because I always say save it for the podcast so we don't have a podcast before. The identity. And you brought up the Pittsburgh Steelers a little bit last night on the phone.


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[Assistant] You know, I do. I watch that film. I worry about the Pittsburgh Steelers offense more than I think I thought I was going to worry about them when I, when I got done watching the film. Because, you know, you sit there and you go, okay, it's Juju Smith Schuster. But what else? What else is going to scare a defense? And I know you have some thoughts on that. Yeah.


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[Assistant] I don't know if they did one time. If they did, maybe it was once.


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[Assistant] They're a very talented defense. They're the perfectly built modern day defense, okay? Uh, just as far as their defense align.


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[Assistant] It's, they got guys that can kind of do everything. They got a guy like Trent Murphy who's a good pass rusher, but he's also great against the run. You know, they got Ed Oliver in the middle who's a good pass rusher for a defensive tackle, but also good against the run.


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[Assistant] You know, then the other side, it's Jerry Hughes. He's the same way. And then you got two linebackers in Milano and Edmonds who are a phenomenal fly around the field. Awesome in the run game. In the pass game, they're every bit as damn good as well because they're so athletic.