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Didn't think I'd be having this conversation, but here we are in 2023 and Daniel Jones is looking to become a $40 million quarterback.
Reportedly, the Giants offered Daniel Jones between 35,000,039 million per year, but Danny Dimes declined. Vanilla Vick is looking to be paid over $40 million on his next contract on a per year basis. Kyle, when you hear this report, when you hear the contract offers and the demands, what is your reaction? So Daniel Jones turned down 35 to $39 million offered by the Giants for what I assume is multiple years. Is that correct? Yes. LOL L.O.L. Daniel Jones. Let's not go crazy here buddy. One good season. Talk about ego. I mean, look, this is the difference here. Daniel Jones I was very public about this during the season. I did not watch the New York Giants football game in the regular season. I decided that if I'm going to have a healthy relationship with football, New York Giants is the thing I'm cutting out of my life until the playoffs, when I was like, Oh dang, Daniel Jones actually looks kind of good. Oh, this offense is actually kind of like able to move the ball. I know it was against a bad Vikings team. I was like, Oh, Daniel Jones looks different than I remember him. I saw him in spurts and touchdowns and Saquon Barkley being healthy changed a lot of that and I was like, Oh, this team's not bad. And then I looked at the numbers. I was like, They are an above average offense this year. And I looked at Daniel Jones, his numbers. I was like, Daniel Jones had a very good season, which as you said, means he now has one very good season and three bad seasons. I hate paying top dollar for one very good season and three bad seasons. I'm just not taking that risk. Playing devil's advocate, though, a lot of people would say that one good season was the one season that you had an NFL head coach that people felt confident and good about. Does that at all change one more year? Brian Dabol Maybe Daniel Jones could continue to grow and develop in this offense. You're not making Ryan the coordinator position, right? As far as I'm aware, no. Mike Kafka is coming back next year for them. So should be the same offense. And to your point, Brian De Ball did not take that job to commit long term to Daniel Jones. And if Brian De Ball took that job to commit long term to Daniel Jones. Brian Day Ball, you should have held out for a better job like you are the talk of the town after you fixed Josh Allen if you wanted this job because you committed long term to Daniel Jones, buddy, you should have taken a better job. Don't you think that might have been part of the job interview process though? Because reportedly the Maras do like Daniel Jones a lot. The Maras told Brian de Paul that Daniel Jones is going to be the quarterback next season. And after that, you know, you kind of have some flexibility and that's why we're talking about 35 to 39 to even $40 million for Daniel Jones is the Maras are the only team that's going to pay him that. Like if Daniel Jones hits the open market, who's the team that's going to pay Daniel Jones $35 million for multiple seasons? Who's going to pay him over $100 million? Guaranteed three years at $35 million. Who's the team? There's not a team that comes to mind. But for me and I guess I view this through my mind, I think there's only like five guys. I really would offer over $40 million a year to play quarterback for me. And Daniel Jones is not one of those guys. I look at $40 million per year as an elite level quarterback. Daniel Jones He's good. He's better than a lot of us wanted to give him credit for. But when I look at these total numbers from last year, 15 touchdowns, five interceptions, from a throw in perspective, we're going to use this criticism for guys like Justin Fields. We're going to use this criticism of guys like Lamar Jackson. He's a much better runner than he is a passer. Daniel Jones at this point is a much better running back than he is a quarterback. And you're not going to be paying Saquon Barkley $40 Million a year, so don't pay Daniel Jones $40 Million a year. In fairness to the five or six guys making 40 million, $40 million is the new $30 million. So I will say that it's not that unreasonable to pay the 10th best quarterback in the NFL $40 million. That's basically what the Rams are doing with Matthew Stafford. And they won a Super Bowl that way. On the flip side. Joe Jones, even the 10th best quarterback. Not in my mind at least. He won't be two years from now. So I wouldn't like this. I don't want Daniel Jones as my long term quarterback. I want Daniel Jones as the way that you treat like Jimmy Garoppolo, where it's like year to year, baby, Let's see if we could find something better. And as soon as he plays poorly. Let's do that. Like Daniel Jones or Derek Carr in a back. Well, though at this stage I would go Daniel Jones. But a year ago I would have said Derek Carr. Well, Daniel Jones, Jimmy Garoppolo You threw out the comp. At Price's. So if they're making the same amount of money. Daniel Jones If I'm getting Jimmy Garoppolo at what Jimmy Garoppolo is going for than Garoppolo, Yeah. Because I assume Jimmy Garoppolo probably this offseason I'm going to project $20 million 18 to 20 somewhere in that range versus if Daniel Jones baseline minimum is game $30 million equating. That value. I think Jimi personally, but. Yeah, think so. Think about it this way. So last year, Daniel Jones on the fifth year option was making $90 million, right? And Jimmy Garoppolo, after they guaranteed about 7 million, his contract was about $18 million and the Giants had the opportunity to get Garoppolo when he was going through the shoulder injury and they said, no, we'll just run it back one year with Daniel Jones. He's under contract and then we'll evaluate after the fact. I thought their wins and losses were going to be all about Will Levis, and that clearly is no longer the case for the Giants. I thought they were going to be drafting a quarterback in this year's class with a top ten pick, and ultimately the Giants aren't in a position to do that. They have an offense that's pretty good. I just I hate doing this because I'm a pro-labor guy and I'm a union man. But like, this is what the franchise tag was invented for is for people like Daniel Jones. Give it one year, see if he can do it, and then maybe tag him again next year. And then after that, it would be two years and 80 something million guaranteed. And maybe you play yourself and you have to spend an extra $40 million, but you also kind of save yourself in the not knowing and the possible we can't get out of them. Well, you only play yourself if Daniel Jones next year is coming out and performing at Lamar Jackson like levels. If this 15 to 5 touchdown interception ratio turns it to 30 and five next year, then yeah, you absolutely played yourself because Daniel Jones at that point is going to be hands down a $40 million a year contract, if not more. I agree with you. This is the perfect situation for a tag candidate if you've ever seen one. You do wonder in many ways, is Daniel Jones at risk of overplaying his hand a little bit? Well, not if the Maras love him so much that they're willing to pay it and they view him as their long term franchise quarterback because remember, this is the same group that essentially listened to the fans and fired Ben McAdoo because they tried to get rid of Eli Manning two years too early and they could have drafted Josh Allen in that 2018 draft class if they had listened to Ben McAdoo being right about Eli Manning being watched and instead they ran it back two more years with Eli Manning and went to Daniel Jones. So I don't know what the deal is. The Giants run their team differently than anyone else. They fell ass backwards into a playoff win this year, which I think in large part is Brian Daboll gives the people the flexibility to do what they want. Because I bet you if you gave that new general manager and Brian Day ball, I think his name is like Joe Sean or something. If you give the general manager and de ball the opportunity, I don't think they took that job to commit long term to Daniel Jones. And even the evidence they're seeing right now of one very good season out of one year with them, I wouldn't commit long term to Daniel Jones. What we talked about in the scenario, if you do commit it all to Daniel Jones, you can always offer him one of those fake contracts, the Derek Carr contract, Right. That he got this past season where you could cut bait after a year. The Jimmy Garoppolo contract where there's no guaranteed money after like year two, there's always the possibility that you could offer one of those. Now, if you're Daniel Jones agent, of course you're going to try and advocate to not have that unless you're okay with just getting a short term $45 million just for one year type thing. But that's the only situation in which you sign air quotes here. Daniel Jones three four year contract. That's yeah, to me is the only situation where you do it. Yeah. It's going to be one of the weirdest contracts in the world because it's going to be like an opt out after one. But then two years are guaranteed after the fact and maybe. You give them one of those sweeteners like we can't franchise tag you after next year or something of that nature. Just don't do what the Raiders exactly did and have a no trade clause in there because that guy to fuck them over. Yeah, but Daniel Jones needs his leverage. If he wants to go for $40 million, he needs another team willing to pay him $40 million. And I just like again, who's the team? No one else would give Daniel Jones more than that. Yeah, go back to him as a draft prospect. Who was the team that was willing to jump up there besides the Giants and no one. I mean. Yeah, nobody. He was a second round prospect and he's played like a second round prospect, which is he started for four seasons and once he becomes too expensive he becomes a fringe starter. Except now because he played a very good season this year he's upgraded from Jameis Winston fringe starter to Jimmy Garoppolo quarterback Purgatory, where they don't know what to do with him. And so is there another team Is it is it Carolina like who's the team that actually wants Daniel Jones. If you want to make a pro Daniel Jones case, you would also say that, okay, his passing numbers do look a little bit weak, but how many other quarterbacks had the wide receiving group that Daniel Jones had last year? Because the Giants did have one of, if not the weakest wide receiving group in the NFL, Richie James Junior was like their top guy. Well, then they got the guy from Buffalo, whose name I'm forgetting, the practice squad guy who had 100 yards in that playoff game. Yeah, their rider C record is not great. They got rid of Kadarius Toney because he was a bust and then became a Super Bowl hero for Kansas. The city because that's how that one works. And the Giants, we should be talking about Daniel Jones and his running ability. More like the vanilla Vick joke is actually a pretty good cop because everyone was like, Oh, Daniel Jones, you know, you want him to run the ball, but you don't want him to always run the ball. And the Giants were like, No, just run the ball Like our offense is run based and you're going to be doing read options and you're super fast. Don't you think that part of that was because they knew that they weren't committed to him long term, that they were willing to use the tread on his tires a little bit more, knowing that after this year nothing was guaranteed. And the same way we talk about running backs and burning them until the wheels fall off, right? Le'Veon Bell Right. I would it's it's kind of mean. But I would also say there's a reason why Jason Garrett doesn't have a job right now is because of those two years he spent with Daniel Jones in New York, which I guess is basically the bulk of Daniel Jones's prime at this point. The other part of it is having Saquon Barkley really, really helps in your running game because if you're worried about that guy, makes it easier for Daniel Jones to get on the outside and be a super freak. Running back is why I thought they should go get Greg Grossman somewhere. Even as a running game coordinator, whatever the title is, just get him into the coaching staff and let him design some plays. That would be a great idea going into this year, but the offense for them was, I don't want to make it seem like this is something you can't get rid of. Like the Falcons got Marcus Mariota replicated similar numbers in the Giants like the to the Giants offense like it's not like this is a transformative offense that's changing the game like they had a very good season and if you don't think you can do better than that, then I guess recommit to Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley at $50 million a year combined. All right, guys. Well, what do you think the Giants should do with Daniel Jones? Do you think that 35 million is a more than fair contract for him coming into this year? Would you like to hear your thoughts in the comments section? Like in the video, Subscribe to the channel. Focus on our social media from Juju and Kyle. Stay safe, happy and healthy. We will see you next time.
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So a report dropped this week.
NFL reporter Mike Fisher says that the Cowboys have interest in C.J. Stroud. Now, for anyone looking at this report, they have to think, don't the Cowboys already have a quarterback? Don't they already have a highly paid quarterback on the roster, Dak Prescott, one that has lost his last two playoff games through the 40 Niners? This is an interesting development because the Cowboys, they've seemingly been pretty loyal to Dak Prescott over his time there. Now there was a small contingent of fans that were shouting Cooper Rush last year, but nonetheless Dak Prescott came back definitive starter and there's no looking back on it, despite him leading the league in interceptions last year. What do you think when you start hearing the report that the Cowboys are interested in looking into possible quarterback replacements for their highly paid quarterback. Means that Dak Prescott may be headed into a make it or break it season in Dallas? And I said after the playoff run last year where everyone was kind of dumping on Dak because he led the league in interceptions despite the fact he only played 12 games. I want to say after Cooper Rush's injury situation. Yes, first time in our history that someone who has missed five games has also led the league in interceptions. So when that happened and look, he played alright in the playoffs, of course, the Tampa Bay game, they worked up on a team that didn't belong in the playoffs and Dak's numbers were solid at the very least going into that game. And after that I said there is no scenario where Dak Prescott is going to be gone because they just can't afford it. They just can't afford to move off of Dak Prescott after this season. He's got $49 million guaranteed coming. This next season. He is going to be the Cowboys quarterback through the end of 2023. And when the Cowboys signed that extension, they knew he was their quarterback through 2023 and there was very little way to get out of that After 2023, most of the guaranteed money has been paid out. So there is a scenario where the Dallas Cowboys can move off of Dak Prescott. They might have to take a dive one season in 2024 because they would have a $40 million dead cap hit. But similar to Aaron Rodgers, there are ways they can spread it out over like two or three years where the 40 million won't hit in one season. It'll be like 2010 and ten over three seasons. But they can get out of the Dak Prescott contract and save like $25 million if they so choose coming out of next season. And so if you're potentially looking at the next quarterback of the future and maybe don't want to extend Dak Prescott until he's 35 or 36, which I think you could go both ways on that one. Giving Dak a four year extension, not giving Dak a four year extension. If they don't want to do that, then maybe looking at replacements is the right way to go. And C.J. Stroud was the quarterback listed in this report. Now we talked a little bit about it off camera, the possibility of gain C.J. Stroud would be a costly endeavor for them. At the very least, I predict C.J. Stroud is going to be in the top ten, just given the amount of quarterback needy teams out there. And I equate this more to the Trey Lance deal that you probably need three first round picks to get up into that top ten to draft Stroud. So I'm going to discount it happening. Notable that they're looking at Stroud and it's notable that this is the quarterback that's piquing their interest. But I'm actually looking at this quarterback class and it's not half bad as far as like depth in the class. Dak was a fourth round pick, right? As I look at this year's draft class, besides like the top three quarterback, the definitive top three where we talk about Stroud Young and Will Levis, there are guys like a Hendon hooker that you could get later coming off an ACL injury. There is a guy like a max Dugan, you could get late in the draft. I think a lot of teams, their perception of drafting quarterback has changed a little bit because of one Brock Purdy, Mr. Rubin seventh round vet. Even if you're the Cowboys, aside from a rock party, you literally drafted Dak again in the fourth round so you can find value at the quarterback position. Now it's not something that happens very often. We do see a lot of the better quarterbacks in the league are first round picks. However, you can get a guy that you can always win a championship or capitalize on a championship window with. And I think the Cowboys have come to the realization it's probably unlikely that they're going to win a Super Bowl with Dak Prescott. You talk about it being a make or break year. I feel as though the only make for Dallas, especially when you have an aging owner like Jerry Jones, is to win a championship. And I think this will be a hard choice because for Jerry because honestly, Jerry is a pretty loyal guy when you really think about like all the guys he's given contracts to, all the guys he keeps giving sack and opportunities to third opportunities, fourth opportunities. Jason Garrett was there for years. Mike McCarthy's seemingly got a longer leash as he does Dak like Jerry giving him opportunities. I feel like he'll continue to give him opportunities. However, they should always be kind of like looking to upgrade that position because I think there's a ceiling. I think we've hit that ceiling with Dak Prescott. So let's go back to when Dak Prescott was picked in the fourth round back in. 2016, because the reason there are a couple of reasons why the Cowboys were able to get him in the fourth round in the first place. One of them, Dak, was coming off of a DUI in college, and so that ended up hurting his draft stock. But the second reason, the infatuation with Paxton Lynch, which was everyone saying, I can turn this six foot eight gigantic quarterback with a big arm into something. Oh, Paxton Lynch, great stat, first quarterback to ever be benched in the CFL, NFL, USFL and XFL. Paxton Lynch, Broncos legend. Even just just. Saying that makes me tickle. Like so. Dak was still the fifth quarterback taken in the class. And look, the Raiders probably hate that they took Connor Cook over Dak Prescott, but Prescott was basically the fourth quarterback in his class. It's just he slid into the fourth round because there just weren't a ton of Mid-round QB You. Mentioned that there was no DUI. Then we're probably talking about Dak Prescott at minimum. Probably like a sack around quarterback, like a Jimmy Garoppolo type. Yeah, he would have been the third quarterback in his class if not for this weird Paxton Lynch infatuation, which by the way, is this is the same thing the Cowboys are banking on this year. I don't think it was a weird Paxton Lynch infatuation. I'll say this because you look at a guy like Josh Allen, right? You draft a guy that has tools, you have got a big arm tall. You know, you think it could work out. But obviously we know how that story was written. But yeah. It's perfect that you said that because guess who's now a top five taking the NFL draft? Anthony Richardson. You know why? Because one team looks at Anthony Richardson and says, I can fix that. I can make him my Josh Allen or I can make him my Paxton Lynch And Anthony Richardson is going to get picked in the top five by some teams. So if the Cowboys are banking on is one someone takes Will Levis over C.J. Stroud which would just be ridiculous. And two, someone's going to take Anthony Richardson in the top five, which means C.J. Stroud becomes the fourth quarterback taken in his draft class and the Cowboys can pick him up. The Cowboys are trying that same strategy all over again with Stroud. Now, there's no rule that says you can't evaluate quarterbacks in the draft. Even if you have a quarterback on the roster or a guy under contract on the roster, I think is the important thing to know. If you're a smart front office, you're always looking at upgrades at every position. I don't care if Patrick Mahomes is on your roster. If you think some quarterback out there exists that's better than Patrick Mahomes, then you've got to be continually evaluating the position. You look at a case like the Philadelphia Eagles, you know, they had Carson Wentz on the roster that didn't stop them from drafting. Jalen hurts in the second round. You have to constantly be thinking about like, well, how is this going to age? How is this specific contract going to age? Do we need a backup quarterback is very valuable in the NFL too. It's something we're learning about. How many quarterbacks suited up last year, like 60, 70 quarterbacks, I think was the number that was listed. Even if you're not drafting a guy to eventually be your starter, you need a capable backup. Just in case I mentioned Mahomes, Mahomes got hurt, you know, thank God you had Chad Handy who knew the system and was able to come in and do what he needed to do. A lot of teams could benefit from just even at base minimum. Having a Chad Heaney on the roster are Gardner Minshew on the roster, Brock Purdy, Jimmy Garoppolo one of these kinds of quarterbacks that just could come in and win you a couple games. You talk about a guy like Anthony Richardson, like, well, he has the tools to like maybe give you like a couple of good games in his rookie season. You hope it doesn't end up like a Malik Willis situation where they come in and they're just completely inept at the NFL level. But the Cowboys would be smart that if they're not drafting a serious round and they don't have to draft the C.J. Stroud second, third round, fourth round, fifth round, take a guy. There's like I said, this is a very deep quarterback class that even if you're not drafting, who's going to be an NFL starter? There's a lot of guys who are going to be very good NFL backups. I think the Cowboys would be smart to capitalize on that, even if they're not looking for Jack Prescott's direct replacement this offseason. And we guys let us know in the comment section below. What do you think of this report? Do you think it's noteworthy that the Cowboys are even looking at the quarterback position, looking to upgrade at the quarterback position potentially? We'd like to hear your thoughts like on video. I'm sure you guys stay safe, happy and healthy. We will see you on the next one. Speaker 1: [00:00:00] Jonathan Gannon signed with Arizona Cardinals. And Shane Steichen is going to be the head coach of Indianapolis. The Eagles are going to have a lot of change going into this next season. Like Jason Kelsey, there's rumors he might retire that's going to heavily impact their offensive line. They're just not going to be able to afford to pay people in the same way. And Jalen hurts. He's earned himself a contract. You know, Jalen Hurts has earned himself a top five NFL contract for sure. So if you're the Eagles and you want to continue this run of success, how likely do you think that is? [00:00:30][30.9]
Speaker 2: [00:00:31] About as likely as it was five years ago. Right. Because we just went through this with the Eagles where they had the quarterback that was coming up on a giant contract. They had the offensive line that was aging, like Jason Peters turning 39 and Jason Kelsey with retirement rumors. They had Zach Ertz, the older tight end who they replaced with Dallas cutter Chris Long retired. They ended up this year replacing them with Jason Raddix. It feels like we were kind of just here not too long ago with the Eagles. And it's super interesting because they are in that same position again. They're going to extend the quarterback. There's no fifth year option on Jalen Hurts, so he's got to get it this offseason or else his contract is up at the end of next year and they've said we're going to pay him close to $50 million. You don't usually hear that from the president and the owner at this stage of the game. They're like, Yeah, we're going to pay him whatever he wants, so they're going to pay. Jalen hurts, and like you said, that means a couple pieces aren't going to be there in a couple of years. The Eagles kind of just went through this five years ago and they really messed up badly five years ago. Like they miraculously pulled themselves out of it, but like, they had to go to some pretty low lows in terms of building themselves out of that lull. They came in after winning the Super Bowl in 2017. [00:01:45][74.1] Speaker 1: [00:01:46] So looking at it, the unrestricted free agents for the Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry defensive tackle Fletcher Cox tackle Andre Dillard linebacker T.J. Edwards. Safety Marcus Epps Safety C.J Gardner-johnson Defensive end Brandon Graham. Defensive tackle Javon Hargraves. Defensive tackle Lynn Paul Joseph Center. Jason Kelsey Punter Brett Curb Gardner Minshew is out Zach Pascal at wide receiver defensive end Robert Quinn, who they just acquired this past season. Myles Sanders Boston Scott Isaac Small number two Ginsu and Kizer White That's a lot of names. In particular the. [00:02:28][42.2] Speaker 2: [00:02:29] Fliers. [00:02:29][0.0] Speaker 1: [00:02:30] Yeah, in particular, the positions that are most heavily affected too of their running back rotation. The Miles Sanders and Boston Scott both gone. And then you look at the impact on the defensive line I get it Brandon Graham Fletcher Cox These guys are probably in their sunset years, but at the same time they're still really good. They're why the Eagles were really good. If they was either of those guys, I think they'll come to some sort of contract with these two because I think for a guy like Fletcher Cox, he's like the heartbeat of your Philadelphia Eagles defense. He's been there the longest. Brandon Graham, too, has been there for a long time. They're okay with letting a guy like Nam can sue walk because she was again just a midseason acquisition. Javon Hargraves might be on the way out, but losing all that talent, these guys are all talented and you're just not going to be able to pay them all. That's going to hurt. Like, I don't know how much it hurts. I think that when I look at the composition of the NFC East, okay, so the Giants, they were a nice little surprise this year. Will the Giants be better next year? The Cowboys, I think they'll still be good. The commanders still kind of like in limbo right now. But they did beat this Eagles team last year in a regular season game. So if this Eagles team starts becoming less talented because that's was their main advantage over the NFC entirely this year as top to bottom, they had the most talented roster. If this roster is no longer the most talented roster, then what is this Eagles thing? [00:03:57][87.3] Speaker 2: [00:03:58] This is why it's so hard to remain sustainable in the NFL. And the good news for the Eagles. Like I know it sounds doom and gloom when we list 19 players, nine of them who started in the Super Bowl, if you count T.J. Edwards as the 12th guy in that linebacking corps and gardner-johnson as a slot corner, like nine people who started in the Super Bowl. While it does sound doom and gloom, they have so much draft capital stored in their back pocket to be able to work with not just having the Saints pick this past year, but like the two best players in college football in 2021 are on the Eagles and didn't play at all in the Super Bowl. We're talking about Jordan Davis and Kobe Dean. They are betting on those dudes being high caliber NFL players. And so that's the thing that could help them remain sustainable. It's just it's a daunting task that like even the 40 Niners messed up they were bad for a couple of years in there and then they got back to you know, we win ten games to end the regular season and go to the NFC championship and lose. But they were bad for a couple of years in there. So like it's just really hard to remain sustainable, especially when I mean Brandon. Graham and Fletcher Cox were talking about pre-game of the Super Bowl. Like, we fully anticipate this could be our last game in Philadelphia after being there for a decade. [00:05:06][68.8] Speaker 1: [00:05:07] So if you're the Eagles going into this draft, you have three picks within the top 62. You have the number ten overall pick you mentioned from the Saints. And then you have your own pick. You have your 30th pick. They don't have any picks in rounds four, five or six, but they do have two seven. So that's currently what the Eagles have draft wise. Given that you do have to reload at so many different positions with that number ten overall pick. Do you stay at that pick or do you consider trying to trade down and get more assets to fill in the holes in your roster that you're going to have after this offseason? [00:05:42][35.1] Speaker 2: [00:05:43] They've done it twice now. They just keep it back. They traded back from 6 to 12 to get Devonte Smith and the Dolphins could get Jaylen Waddle. They took that first round pick and they trim back again with the New Orleans Saints last year. So they have this pick because they've traded back each of the last two drafts. And if the right offers on the table, sure, trade back. People spend way too much money on their top draft picks because like in the Saints case, they gave up two first round picks for Chris Galloway. Love Chris Galloway. Don't think he's worth giving up two first round picks for even on the rookie contract. So whatever the situation is, I'm sure Howie Roseman has earned the benefit of the doubt in that circumstance. And the thing that happens when you subtract those players and you get younger is more of the burden falls on the stars. And in this case, the stars is one particular star, which is Jalen Hurts. And I mean, as great as we think Jalen hurts is we we recognize that that that growth that Jalen hurts saw this past year was a byproduct of a lot of talent being around him the right offensive system to his skill set and putting him in positions to succeed so that he could put up one of the great Super Bowl performances of all time, which I point out. Nick Foles in his Super Bowl had 373 yards, four touchdowns, one turnover. Jalen hurts in this Super Bowl 374 yards, one more yard than Nick Foles, four touchdowns, one turnover They basically played exactly. [00:07:07][84.3] Speaker 1: [00:07:08] Okay let's ease up on the Nick Foles Jalen hurts comparisons beyond that they are not the same player. [00:07:14][6.7] Speaker 2: [00:07:15] No, not at all. [00:07:16][0.8] Speaker 1: [00:07:16] So yeah, Nick Foles great season. Jalen hurts. I expect him to have future great seasons, especially because I think the thing with Jalen hurts that we obviously all talked about was coming into the year he struggled to complete basic passes that was not as much of a problem this year. The fact that he was a high 60, 70% completion guy was a revelation to his ability to be a franchise quarterback like the Eagles are prepared to make him. We're starting to see that a lot more. Obviously, Josh Allen was another guy that struggled to complete basic passes and the Bills made him into a super star quarterback. Jalen Hurts When you look at the current composition of the NFC, he is the best quarterback. I mean, I don't look at any other quarterback currently in the NFC. What like an injured Matthew Stafford Dak Prescott the definition of mid we'll see what happens. Kirk Cousins actually Kirk cousins probably like he has his whole photo next to mid in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. [00:08:20][64.3] Speaker 2: [00:08:22] You know Kirk cousins Kirk cousins definition of purgatory and that's a that's a purgatory quarterback. [00:08:27][5.1] Speaker 1: [00:08:28] Guys that we used to think that were of a higher tier like Kyler Murray who the hell knows at this point. Yeah like Jalen hurts stands above everyone else growing in the NFC and that could change fast. But for the most part, I think even if he does fall off a little bit, I think he'll still remain as a top three two top five quarterback in that conference. [00:08:47][19.2] Speaker 2: [00:08:48] You mentioned the perfect comparison for where the Eagles actually are, because I want to at off the top bring up like five years ago they were in this exact same situation where they had to extend the rookie quarterback and it meant that they lost some pieces and they went to the bottom and built it back up. The perfect comparison for where the Philadelphia Eagles are right now is the Buffalo Bills after that first AFC championship where Kansas City just blew them out, the building was like 31 to 7 in the fourth quarter. That is the perfect comparison for where the Eagles are right now because you've got two years with the current core of this team. After two years, you got to rethink everything because Jalen Hurts is going to be making $50 million against the cap. AJ Brown is going to be making $25 million against the cap. Those two players combined making $75 million versus what they are right now, which I believe is roughly about 20 million between the two. So you have to rethink everything after that point, when Buffalo lost in 2020, Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs were making a combined $15 million per year against the cap this last year. Two years later, they were only making $27 million against the cap in 20. 23. They'll be making a combined as it stands right now, $51 million against the cap. The margins fall apart. At some point you have to find value within the margins. And the reason the Buffalo Bills have lost in the second round of the playoffs other than scheduling breakdowns where they had to play Kansas City in the second round instead of the AFC championship the year before is Buffalo has not drafted a Pro Bowler in four seasons. The Eagles are in a position where they have the excess of draft capital and they're going to have to start planning for what two years down the road is going to look like while also trying to go all in on winning championships because, you know, you have a championship caliber roster right now and threading that line is something that I mean, at the end of the day, we can kind of say Buffalo didn't succeed at they had two year run with rookie Josh Allen and after they made that AFC championship, they lost to Kansas City and then lost to Cincinnati at home in the playoffs. Those feel like disappointments given the level of talent they had. So the Eagles right now are in the position of Buffalo two years ago and I think following that trend is going to be interesting to watch as the Eagles replace coordinators to make roster decisions and try and draft young players to complement Jalen Hurts. [00:11:10][142.4] Speaker 1: [00:11:11] And I guess I should not underrate the coordinators lost Steichen had to have a huge hand in whatever development Jalen hurts had this past offseason and the fact that they're going to move on. We'll see Sirianni Obviously he's a guy who cut his teeth offensively, although he was not calling plays. I'd like to think that he had some involvement as the head coach into the offensive playcalling, so hopefully Sirianni could just kind of pick up the pieces where they left off. Didn't really work too well for his mentor though, right? Compare this to the 2017 Eagles. Whenever Doug Peterson lost Frank Reich, it became harder for him, even his offensive minded head coach. So we'll see if Sirianni in losing. Steichen will have that same issue that Doug Peterson, his predecessor, had. Anyway, guys, going to leave it up to you in the comments section, How do you think this year's Philadelphia Eagles would do coming off an offseason that they're bound to lose some talent? Like to hear your thoughts. Leave it like on the video. Subscribe to the channel files on all our social media scrum Juju and Kyle. Stay safe, happy and healthy and we will see you next time. [00:11:11][0.0] [661.3] Speaker 1: [00:00:12] The Niners injuries, they just kind of go hand in hand. It's that rocky meme of them just kind of like shaking hands. Injuries. Kyle Shanahan, just right here. I'm sorry, the predator. I'm mixing up my 1980s action movies. The Predator, Not Rocky. Don't Kill Me. [00:00:29][17.1]
Speaker 2: [00:00:29] From 1976, dude, you 19. [00:00:32][2.6] Speaker 1: [00:00:33] Whatever. And anything that, you know, has that kind of odd tint of movie is like a eighties movie to me. And anything that's black and white is basically a fifties movie. That's how it works for me in my mind that. Anyway, guys, you know the main story. What's up? Bury the lead here. Niners fan here. Got the helmet on my desk. Trey Lance is done for the year and Kyle and I kind of had different thought processes through this whole process of how to develop. Lance are the niners developing? Lance Well, I was shocked that Jimmy G came back. I was shocked that Jimmy G came back. I was less shocked in a way. But, you know, I knew it was a possibility. I just kind of was waiting to see how the situation played out. And sure enough, it worked out six and a half million dollar incentive. Wait until now. That's going to get pumped up to $17 million because he's going to play Trey Lance is done for the year. Jimmy Garoppolo the starter the rest of the year as long as he can stay upright and on the field so Kyle like how he feel and he got a couple of days to digest this one. [00:01:28][55.1] Speaker 2: [00:01:29] So if you check out the Take It Easy podcast, which I record every day, there's a 40 minute talk about this and I waited like 72 hours to kind of process all of it so I won't get to everything I want to say. Just want to direct people there just in case. Going back to stuff we talked about in the past, I thought it was insane that they would bring Garoppolo back because I mean, I guess in hindsight later we figured out because everyone filled their backup jobs, but like paying $10 million for a third round pick where Garoppolo would only be used as a kind of like distraction for Trey Lance, because they should have given I believe they should have given Trey Lance the team as soon as they drafted him in 2021. And like, you know, optics be damned about Garoppolo or whatever else. And if you're spending that much on a quarterback that high, you go for it. Where I didn't process the situation is the odds were so small that the 40 Niners would be the team that had the catastrophic injury. Like even when they brought back Jimmy G for training camp, they were waiting for someone to have a catastrophic injury who would then trade for Garoppolo. The odds were so slim that the 40 Niners would be the team that had the catastrophic injury that in my mind I didn't even contemplate that that would be a possibility in the Garoppolo calculation. So that's where I will apologize for that. It's really good that they have Garoppolo on the roster because the I mean, if there's 32 teams, the 3% chance that Trey Lance would be the quarterback who had the catastrophic injury that would leave him out for the season. The fact that it happened to San Francisco, everything worked out great because that small percentage chance ended up coming true for San Francisco. [00:03:04][95.3] Speaker 1: [00:03:04] Two things that I want to touch on that you mentioned the idea of not going all in. They didn't go all in on Trey Lance, but they went all in on last season. They made it all the way to the NFC championship game. So they they went on in. They thought, we're going to roll out our best players, the players that we think give us the best chance to win. And that was Garoppolo. And I think that still carries into the 2022 season. When you ask around the team, you look at the Mike Silver reports, you listen to that locker room. There's a lot of people in that locker room that think that Jimmy Garoppolo should have been the week one starter and you should maybe play the situation reversed. And too, I want to talk about the odds of the Niners being the one to face the catastrophic injury. Obviously, I mentioned as a joke the kind of team odds, the random poor luck that has befallen the Niners franchise in terms of injuries, but not a chance, unfortunately, have to come to an uncomfortable conversation about Trey Lance in terms of his health and his injury status. He's a guy that's been injured in college. He's a guy that was injured last year and minimal playing time and he's injured this year and added to the fact that the coach doesn't trust him enough to throw the ball. So he's running him through the middle. He's running them between the tackles and putting him further injury risk. And that that's kind of where things are with the Niners fan base in terms of the injuries and the idea of going all in. I think that right now today they are a better team. With Jimmy Garoppolo as the starting quarterback, I think that they have the best odds to win a Super Bowl. I think what went wrong is that they just gave Trey Lance the job without any competition in training camp. I think that was the mistake. [00:04:33][88.9] Speaker 2: [00:04:34] So this is interesting because if last year going all in on Jimmy Garoppolo are going all in on the team meant Jimmy Garoppolo playing and this year going all in meant having competition between Lance and Garoppolo. This brings up the thing I've been arguing between the two points, which is there's a conversation of Lance versus Garoppolo and then there's a conversation of why did you pick Trey Lance in the first place? Why did you trade up for 3/1 round pick? Because you believe he's the. [00:05:01][26.7] Speaker 1: [00:05:01] Shooter, Kyle, because you believe he's the future. And we just because he hasn't played the first two years doesn't mean that that's. Still not the case. That's not still on the table. I know this isn't the 1990s anymore, but Steve Young thought to wait six years for Joe Montana to leave town to get into the game. And when he did, he was fantastic. He was the future of San Francisco at that point. I don't think just because we live in 2022, it just resets the entire game. We played this game for a long time. [00:05:26][25.0] Speaker 2: [00:05:27] But Shanahan and John Lynch have said publicly for months on end the point of drafting Trey Lance was so they could get value at the quarterback position in order to pay all these other players their giant contracts. The whole point of getting him was to have the rookie contract quarterback. So this is Shanahan and Lynch saying that. So what is the point now that all three of the first round picks you could have had? So the 2021 first, the 2022 first and the 2023 first, they will all be spent before Trey Lance plays more than four starts as the 40 Niners quarterback. And of course, they couldn't have predicted the injury this year if you had started him from last year, week one, and he had gotten hurt this year, perhaps they don't go as far in the playoffs, perhaps they go further in the playoffs. You would have had the same sample size as like the Dolphins have right now on tour. And I hear a lot of people making conclusions about what two is or isn't after 20 starts. If you give Trey Lance 20 starts, at least you have a better idea of what he is right now. You still have just as much information as you had when you drafted him in 2021. [00:06:30][63.0] Speaker 1: [00:06:31] Well, you know, maybe I'm obviously I'm playing the results here. I know what happened. We looked into that crystal ball and we know that the result was NFC championship game appearance. But what I would say is that there's been multiple ways to carve out development of a quarterback, and it's a very new idea, the idea of just throwing a quarterback or rookie out there in week one and just kind of fend for yourselves. And everyone said it on draft day, the Trey Lance was going to be a project quarterback. Everyone knew he was going to be project quarterback. Everyone knew that if you wanted the guy that was going be ready day one. Yes, you draft Mac Jones as unexciting, as unsexy, as epic would have been. You draft Mac Jones on day one. If you want a guy that's ready to go in there and maybe rookie year Mac Jones with the Niners offense and all that, you could make an argument, who knows? Maybe he's in the playoffs. Maybe they want a playoff game with him. I doubt it. I don't think he would have survived the frozen tundra in Green Bay and the same way that Jimmy Garoppolo was able to navigate as a veteran. But you can make that case if we're saying that Mac Jones is just a tick below what Jimmy Garoppolo is in terms of ability with Trey Lance, you're still hoping one day down the line maybe he takes coming off this injury he comes back better third year training camp. He has that Josh Allen and yes, we can talk about value we can talk about the value of the contract that you waste the rookie deal. Who cares if, let's say Jimmy Garoppolo gets you back to where you were this past season? Let's say they get back in the NFC championship game. Is it really not worth it? You know, you made it to two NFC championship game appearances and you're still a Super Bowl contender. And if Trey Lance does have that third year breakout, that fourth year breakout, you look at this 3 to 4 years of Niners football and you still think of it as a success. You know, you think go in. Yes. Rather than going 7 to 10. Correct. With Trey Lance just trying to figure it out, meander his rookie year, maybe he gets a little bit better. Let's talk about a two of development gets you to nine and eight. But you missed the playoffs this year, right? Is that what you trade that or a couple of NFC championship game appearances maybe the possibility of Lombardi because that's still on the table, you know, in terms of also contract wise, salary cap wise, let's say they got Jimmy Garoppolo at a fucking bargain, you know? Yeah, end of the day, like 17 million for a guy that at least has Jimmy's resume, because we could again, we can nitpicked Jimmy to death. We could debate where his contract should lie in terms of what he's done, the results compared to what his contract is. A $17 million quarterback, you got him at a bargain. One of the best bargains in the NFL. You look at some of the other quarterbacks in the league, they're getting paid 20, 30 million that are less accomplished. Jimmy Garoppolo has been there, done that, and hopefully can continue to do that so long as again, and this is factored into it. He stays upright. You know, big part of the reason Trey Lance is even in the locker room is Jimmy Garoppolo has injury history himself. So, you know, that's baked in. That's all things are a part of this cake of Niners football. [00:09:22][170.7] Speaker 2: [00:09:23] And this is an interesting point because you're right, it would be a success if the 40 Niners make three NFC champs or even make three deep playoff runs like they can lose in the second round this year. And it would be successful given all the injuries they already have. Like if they make that run, it would be successful and at the same time the process to get there would be incredibly fucking stupid because they should have just spent those 3/1 round picks instead of trading it for Trey Lance. Which brings me to the thing that I brought up on my podcast, which is the 40 Niners are basically just people who's turned all their paychecks into crypto in 2021, like they basically just spent 3/1 round picks on something that only has value because everyone agrees it has value. [00:10:04][41.2] Speaker 1: [00:10:04] So I'm going to tell you this. As someone who has heard the crypto discussion for the last couple of years by the dip, the dip is Trey Lance, his injury by that dip and next year it. [00:10:14][9.8] Speaker 2: [00:10:14] Doesn't matter anymore. [00:10:15][0.8] Speaker 1: [00:10:16] To the fantasy football league. Buy that dip that is Trey Lance, I am telling you right now give you some free fantasy advice on this very serious Niners football discussion. [00:10:24][8.5] Speaker 2: [00:10:25] This very serious discussion of crypto. But crypto in December of 2020, the value of crypto was one Bitcoin was worth $60,000. Today it's worth $19,050. So it's already lost 70% of its value. Even if you buy the dip, it's already lost 70% of what you would have put in back in, you know, 20, 21 when they traded for Trey Lance. So you've already lost 70% of the value. You just threw it away. And yes, it might work out in the end because you still have a really talented team and you drafted well for four years and got, you know, the greatest offensive tackle in football for a third round pick. Like it might work out. It was just a stupid way to get there because you should have drafted Devonta Smith, you should have drafted, I don't know, whoever they could have gotten late in the draft last year. You could have drafted someone this year like you could have done something else if you were going to play Garoppolo anyways. Because it seems. [00:11:19][53.5] Speaker 1: [00:11:19] Like we only nitpicked the Patriots now after Tom Brady's left and look back at all these horrible draft decisions that Bill Belichick has made. But we forgive him. Patriots fans forgive him because they have, what, seven championships or six championships with Bill Belichick in town. So I think that what it comes down to end of the day, one way or the other, eventually Niners fans are going to start holding Kyle Shanahan accountable to winning championships because he has been kind of coasting on, you know, obviously being in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Trey Lance Bottoms some time I guess that's also part of the thing, too, was like how much like could Kyle Shanahan afford to just kind of work and try to develop because we don't really have much resume of him being a developmental guy. You know, we don't have much of a resumé of him building up a quarterback. Who's the quarterback that Kyle Shanahan's built up to this point? [00:12:12][52.8] Speaker 2: [00:12:13] Kyle Shanahan has built up and zero quarterbacks. It's just that. [00:12:17][4.3] Speaker 1: [00:12:18] Right guys who have already a guy who was in an NFC championship games. Sure. You want to. [00:12:22][4.1] Speaker 2: [00:12:23] Elevate. [00:12:23][0.0] Speaker 1: [00:12:23] People. He's elevated people. Jimmy Garoppolo, we say he's elevated him, but too, this is another thing that's part of the discussion is. [00:12:30][7.3] Speaker 2: [00:12:31] His his project before Ryan was up, his project before Matt Ryan was Brandon Weeden. That was basically his project. And by the way, I just went back. You could have had Micah Parsons at pick 11. You could have had Rashawn Slater at 11. [00:12:45][14.5] Speaker 1: [00:12:46] Yes, that is fair. That is understandable. But if in year four, let's because we okay, we actually don't know this I how if I told you Jimmy Garoppolo takes him to a Super Bowl this year, then how hard is that discussion going to be next year? Like, are you just going to say still are that's on scholarship. That's something that's going to be part of the chaos. But again. [00:13:07][21.1] Speaker 2: [00:13:08] What was the point of getting Trey Lance in the first place? It's basically like spending. [00:13:11][3.7] Speaker 1: [00:13:12] Your money to have him. You want to have him in, you're on your team in your locker room. You want to figure it out. You want to see if you can build him up. It's not like this is conclusive evidence that he's done. This is over. Trey, Lance's future with the Niners is over. This is this is a setback. Everyone acknowledges this is a setback. This is a huge speedbump. But hopefully this is something that on the other side and hopefully on the other side results in some jewelry in your pocket. But on the other side that you have a franchise quarterback coming to your team. Sometimes you just want to get guys in the building like, okay, sometimes you draft a seventh round quarterback and you don't play him right away and you're fine with that because you drafted in the seventh round, right? Keep them on your team a couple of years and a couple of years down the road, he becomes a stud. We just got to have to shift that expectation. Yes, you had to pay a premium to go grab him, but you got to keep him on your roster. Yeah, keep him in your locker room, develop him, bring him around your guys, build him up, and maybe eventually you might have to pay him more. I don't know how much you would have to pay him unless he's putting up Josh Allen numbers next year. And even then you still might be okay with that, you know? [00:14:18][66.3] Speaker 2: [00:14:19] Yeah, but it was just so stupid in the first place because if you were going to play Jimmy two seasons anyways, this year is the year to get the quarterback or if you have three, if you're willing to spend 3/1 round picks anyway. [00:14:30][11.7] Speaker 1: [00:14:31] So that's what. [00:14:32][0.7] Speaker 2: [00:14:32] Russell Wilson was. [00:14:33][0.7] Speaker 1: [00:14:33] I think is stupid is they should have done it in reverse. If you did it in reverse. I don't think you get killed as much as you do today if as much as you do this week. If you had Trey Lance have to come in with Jimmy Garoppolo, battle it out and cap and you just said Trey Lance is the better quarterback. Let's start him. You don't get killed as much. But since you did this situation where you put Jimmy Garoppolo on the bench as the backup, now the guys in the locker room also have to question the coach. Why weren't you starting the better quarterback from the start? Because it was clear that in those two games you did not trust the playbook to be fully opened up under Trey Lance because tonight. Is throwing the ball around exponentially more than they were when Trey Lance was on the field versus when he exited. I think that that's something to also kind of note. And, you know, the conversation on Bay Area Twitter is constantly is Kyle Shanahan not as much of a genius as we think? I guess we'll find out. Because, you know, another thing that's following him around is nine or ten is besides when Jimmy Garoppolo has been in the lineup, there has been a lot of wins. And that's kind of spurned a lot of fans and a lot of fans the wrong way. So we'll see how that develops. And I think I've said my piece with it. I would encourage everyone to check out, you know, you have 40 minutes, like you said, El Rey recorded. Hey, we got those links in the bio. Check him out, guys. Drop in on the discussion. I know everyone has their opinion on this. Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kyle Shanahan, 40 niners mess that is. And I want to know what everyone else is feeling about it. A label like on the video helps a channel. Subscribe to the channel, helps it even more. Follow us on social media. Kyle Ledbetter Juju Talk Sports. Instagram handles right there. Stay safe, happy and healthy. We'll see you next one. She? [00:14:33][0.0] [845.6] Julian Martinez: [00:00:12] So the most exciting game away to hands down was that Dolphins Ravens game. Oh, my God. If you are part of tuned on, this is where you break out the tinfoil hat. You are right. You're praising down. You're bowing down. You are not worthy to the greatness that is Tua Tagovailoa. I mean, God bless. Six touchdowns I was not expecting. That is his marquee game. Hands down. There is nothing that he's done in the NFL to this point that tops that game. That's his signature in this very young. Because it is a very young still three year NFL career for to that game against the Ravens. How impressed were you in that obviously. Hey, bragging rights. Bragging rights here. You know, your boy picked them against the Ravens. You know, I got to get that one in this. [00:01:01][48.6]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:01:02] This was the perfect outcome because I walk away from that game saying Baltimore Ravens have the third best offense in the NFL. Hands down Baltimore Ravens behind Buffalo and behind Kansas City. Third best offense in the NFL Buffalo. Baltimore Ravens are incredible. Not only did they score 38 points, they got stopped on the one yard line that would have gave them 45 against the really good Dolphins defense. Baltimore is excellent. They have three very good receivers. They don't have a true number one, but they have DuVernay, who is excellent Rashod Bateman who is excellent, and Mark Andrews in the middle of the field. Rashod Bateman and Devin DuVernay coming into this year were viewed as like, Ooh, the Ravens have one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL. No longer. Those two are excellent. So I walk away from that saying Baltimore at my AFC North pick. Excellent. And we got the most fun game of the season because everything like the most perfect two and on completion of that game came true, which is the Dolphins had like a 2% chance to win that game. And not only did everything have to break right, with four Ravens corners being out and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle having more receiving yards between the two of them than any tandem in the NFL since Julio Jones had 300 yards back in 2017. It is incredible how great they were in that game and the Miami Dolphins end up winning even though they probably shouldn't have won that game. They ended up winning that game behind the incredible performance. So to that, I say game of the year, everyone wins. We know Baltimore is amazing and Miami got to have a super fun performance. [00:02:43][101.4] Julian Martinez: [00:02:44] And they go into this one. So we we talk about the expectations for Miami in the offseason. Right. We made that video and we're saying, what can the Dolphins do to establish that they're here to be a playoff team this year? And we looked at week two and we said, that is a big game. That could be a signature game. And obviously it started off ugly for them. Then they make their comeback and we see that the greatness, the untapped potential is there. The defense saw it going against a tough quarterback to play in Lamar nonetheless. But they button down, they burn it down when it mattered most. And then you talk about the offense. What could Mike McDaniel bring to the Dolphins offense? Well, he can scheme guys open. He got guys that were wide as open. You talk about the corners being out. Sure. You talk about Tyreek Hill's electric speed. Sure. But I think it really is telling that Mike McDaniels could scheme guys where there are guys not even within ten yards of them. Right. So you all two needs to do at that point is display, right. Tyreek Hill said in the offseason he's one of the most accurate quarterbacks or he's the most accurate quarterback I've ever played with. And he hit Tyreek that second deep ball. Okay, we talked about it a little bit in the weekend to the first deep ball. Not as good, but the second deep ball. That was fantastic. But he's going against this week a guy that throws the best deep ball in the National Football League and that is Josh Allen. Josh Allen. So the bills are coming off a short week. That is something the kind of plays in this game. But is it really a short week when you beat the brakes of the Tennessee Titans like they did on Monday night? Not even a this in two games. The Buffalo Bills really haven't had a contest. And that's saying, okay, I know you don't like the Titans. We'll talk about the Titans, another video. But I think the Titans, you know, they're still a playoff team last year. I don't think they've got that much worse. And then you go back to week one, they beat the Rams, the defending Super Bowl champions. They made it look easy. Actually, they didn't make it look easy. They made it look hard in the first half because they decided to turn the ball over three times. And if they hadn't turned the ball over three times, what would that game score have been? [00:04:49][124.3] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:04:50] Know it would have been it would have been 45 to 10 and Buffalo would have. I mean, they did dominate, but Buffalo, they gave up zero points to other than turnovers. They gave up zero points off turnovers in that game. They gave up seven to the Titans. And they're putting up 40 a game. The Buffalo Bills are in the same space as the Kansas City Chiefs have been for the last three years, which is the entire purpose of the regular season, is to get healthy for the playoffs and possibly learn to run the football. But if you don't learn to run the football, it's not the end of the world. Because once you come to the playoffs, you can let Josh Allen be your RB one and let him just be larger than most linebackers. [00:05:30][40.3] Julian Martinez: [00:05:31] Let me ask you this, because the line is currently six points in the Bills favor. Do you think Vegas is looking at this and just saying the bills have just been so damn good or are they looking at the Dolphins still and with a little hesitancy to buy in? [00:05:45][13.9] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:05:45] Well, let's remember that before the fourth quarter. Well, I guess third quarter before the second half of this game, the Miami Dolphins had scored 27 points in six quarters. And I know the Patriots game was a little wonky because once they took the lead, they just kind of like screamed the ball into oblivion to end the game and they just kind of like neutered the offense and played ground control. But they didn't really do much in the first six games of the season. Their running game has been awful to start the season so far. As I said, it would be going back to the start of the year. They just have not been able to move the ball on the ground. [00:06:17][31.8] Julian Martinez: [00:06:17] But what they have started do and I think the Ravens are going to be a good run defense throughout the course of the year. And I think obviously the Patriots are a team that focuses on taking away what your strength is as a team, which I think is going to be the running game. They start to get the ball more Terry he mostert we saw where he most are make appearance he led the dolphins that carries 11 carries I think if they didn't use him give him ten carries a game that's going to be a successful Miami Dolphins offense. You want to keep them upright. But I think that that's what they're going for. They're hoping for from them. [00:06:47][29.8] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:48] Yes, I think that they should. I mean, I don't I don't know what you do. I just don't think their running game is going to do great, because I don't think Edmonds or Mostert is a game changing, running back and even the McDaniel scheme. Although we'll talk about their offensive lineman a little bit later. But I do want to talk about Buffalo real quick about your question with the line. I do think that this is about Buffalo can put up 30 points with their eyes closed and they can do it without Gabriel Davis either. So like Buffalo is just walking backwards. [00:07:13][25.2] Julian Martinez: [00:07:14] Yeah, that's kind of what they're looking like this season. [00:07:16][2.7] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:07:18] Yeah, Buffalo is totally overwhelming and we expect that they'll win every game. They won't win every game this year, but they'll be favored in every game that they play. And I think that's just a byproduct of Vegas is always putting the line where they can make money. So it's not about what they think or don't think. Obviously it's early in the week, so the line will move. But this is about making money. And so a seven point favorite is about where they feel like they can make money. Either way, Buffalo is that much of a favorite against Miami because I know everyone's high on Miami right now. By the end of the season, Miami is going to be either like sitting pretty with the sixth wild card or they're going to be battling it out for the last playoff spot by one game difference. There's like a one game difference between being comfortably in the 65 or fighting for the SEC. [00:08:04][46.9] Julian Martinez: [00:08:05] You needed one game. You're happy that you got the one game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens, which are going to be another team that's going to be competing in that space. So the Dolphins are doing it right now. The big question about this game, as you're facing your main competitor in the AFC East now going into the season, we could be wrong. Who knows? I mean, Buffalo, again, they're walking out of this world this year. They're going into the season. We thought Buffalo was miles better than the Miami Dolphins. I think the gap is closed. So the gap is closed because Miami is showing that they have the right pieces to compete. If you go into this game and I'm not saying they win, but you go into this game and you make it a close game, you make it a game the buffalo has to think about. Then that also kind of continues to build on what you're building in Miami. And I think that that would be a good take away. So if they could get this within the Vegas line of being under six points, within six points of the Buffalo Bills, I think that's that's where they want to be. I think the hell you know what, betting wise, I am taking the dolphins plus six. I will take the dolphins plus six and I will pay the bills to win. But I will think the bills to win this game. You know. [00:09:14][69.2] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:09:15] I do as much as this is talk about too and McDaniel and the changes that the dolphins made this I feel like it can be as simple for my mom to get my let's acknowledge the 2% chance Miami is to know Miami should be one in one. No. Even if they get three touchdowns or four touchdowns in the second half of that game, they should be one and one. Let's point that out. But at the same time, isn't it super easy to look at the Dolphins year to year and say, oh, I guess just adding a top five wide receiver and a top five right tackle because I will point out through two games, Tyrann Armstead has the fourth highest pro football focus. Great of any offensive tackle in the NFL. Isn't it interesting how bringing in a top five offensive tackle and a top five wide receiver totally changes how your offense looks. [00:10:01][46.7] Julian Martinez: [00:10:02] Another point to that, I saw this floating around Twitter that the Dolphins. And make the smarter wide receiver trade than the Las Vegas Raiders with Davante Adams. Because while Davonte may need the ball like 10 to 14 times to truly make an impact in the game, Tyreek Hill only needs 1 to 2 times touching that ball to change the entire course of how you look at a game. [00:10:25][23.2] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:26] Yeah, so the Davante Adams thing I think is too small of a sample size one. There's no reason he should have only had two catches for 12 yards in that Cardinals game, which I will point out lowest catches and yards total for Davante Adams since September of 2017. But the first game, Davante Adams played well and Derek Carr played shit like a late game. Touchdown is going to make Derek Carr stats look better, but Derek Carr had like a 34 quarterback rating in that Chargers game. Like he played awful and that's not going to usually happen. We don't think of Derek Carr being awful, so too small of a sample size for both guys, Tyreke and Forte. [00:11:02][36.1] Julian Martinez: [00:11:02] But the point itself, their playstyle I think is the grander thing. You notice that Tyreke has the ability to change the game and if you're two two, you have to feel good about this man, right? You had a whole ass. You had a whole three years of people questioning your ability. Were you worth that, the fifth overall pick? Why was this guy taken ahead of Justin Herbert this that the other you know what you go out there and have a game like this. It cements your place in the NFL. It's to you know, we talk about what can to be in the long run of things is he going to be a ten year starter backup on another team down the road or is he going to be truly a difference maker quarterback too early? He talked about small sample size, too early for me saying for sure. But if you're Tua you did it in your mind, right? You did it on the fill. So you have you. [00:11:56][54.2] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:11:56] Did it one time. Yes. [00:11:57][1.0] Julian Martinez: [00:11:58] So in your mind you're like, you know what, I could beat a team like Baltimore. Why can't I beat a team like the Bills? You know, moving up the confidence because I feel like Tua his confidence had to be at an all time low as a player, you know, when you're getting benched, pulled back and forth with Ryan Fitzpatrick your first year and then last year, you know, you have all the Brady rumors and you have Bryant flaws, not fully trusting you and the GM even make some comments that are questionable about your future American. [00:12:26][27.8] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:12:27] Ribs in the first game of the season. [00:12:28][1.7] Julian Martinez: [00:12:29] People question how tough you are, you know, and he's making spin moves making sack in third reason this game you feel good about that and I think that that's important I think that's why McDaniels is was the right hire because this is what people say back to his time with San Francisco, that he empowers players, that he makes people believe in themselves. And it sounds hokey. It sounds like a thing on a Christmas card, you know, or something like that, a Hallmark movie. But I like that's important for a guy that, like I said, has had his confidence beaten into the ground, like to or has over the last three years. [00:13:04][35.4] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:13:05] Mike McDaniel makes people believe in themselves, even though the Dolphins didn't believe in Tua and the Dolphins also didn't believe it. Mike McDaniel Because I will remind people they wanted Sean Payton, then they wanted Brian Daboll, then they got Mike McDaniel, they used their Plan C head coach. [00:13:20][14.9] Julian Martinez: [00:13:21] The Rams didn't know what they had when they hired the youngest head coach in the NFL in 2017. Sometimes, you know, you walk into it, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good at hiring people. [00:13:30][9.5] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:13:31] I think the Rams were good at the hiring process and they ended up with a generational coach. All this to say, yeah, Buffalo's going to win, Buffalo is going to defeat the Miami Dolphins in this game. And I'm not going to bet against Buffalo the entire season because I will win more often than I will not. But think about this week. We've gone from to being the guy who is the like the most polarizing person in the NFL. The Dolphins spent two years trying to replace him with three different quarterbacks. And now the Miami Dolphins might give him the Jared Goff extension. [00:14:03][31.4] Julian Martinez: [00:14:04] Yeah, and time will tell how that goes. But you know what? Last year we questioned whether or not the Cincinnati Bengals were a good team or not. After the game against the Green Bay Packers in week two or three, you know, maybe this is the Ravens game was their turning point moment. Who knows? I'm going to buy in on the Dolphins. But guys, are you buying in on the Dolphins? Are you buying in on the Buffalo Bills? Where are you going for this Sunday? Who do you think's going to get the win in Miami? Drop below in the comment section we were like in the video, subscribe to the channel post and social media from Juju and Kyle. Stay safe, happy and healthy and we will see you next time. I don't know what that was. See you next. [00:14:04][0.0] [815.8] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:00:12] There is a fun Panther style. I think it was 2020, the Bridgewater season where it's like when the Panthers defense allowed less than 22 points. They were five and oh, and when they allowed more than 22, they were only 11. So that's basically you can bet on the Panthers to bet on 20 points from the Panthers. It's like the old Lawndale white joke where if you need or the Jaylen Brown joke, if you need 27 points, they'll give you a 20. If you need 13, they'll give you 20. That's what the Panthers are good for, 20 points with shitty quarterbacks. [00:00:40][27.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:00:41] 20 points, but they got a one and a half point line. James, this is a revenge game. Baker Mayfield. Are you worried he's waking up feeling dangerous? [00:00:49][8.3] James Puopolo: [00:00:50] I'm very much so worried. I mean, I'm happy for him. So like a fan of Baker. But there is no reason this dude is always done better through college, I'm sure. Through high school. I don't really know that far back then. And any football setting he does better being the underdog, it just better being the comeback story. So if you don't think that this dude for at least one game is going to come out and burn the world down against his old team that chose a. Alleged sex offender over him. I can't see any way that he doesn't come out and just torture us. [00:01:26][35.7] Julian Martinez: [00:01:27] Well, he did have that one moment his rookie year when Hue Jackson changed sides mid-season and he made it a point to just stunt a little. And he was face I kind of wonder if he's got a little bit of that dog in him this coming weekend. And I have been back and forth on this this entire off season of how good the Panthers are. I remember seeing a lot of statistics that would suggest that they were a top ten defense at the very least last year. And I look at their opponent matchup this week. We joked about it in another segment, but Jacoby Brissett doesn't really inspire confidence of any offense or any kind of offensive output. And that's that's true in the Vegas line because you have it as 41 and a half point over under. Even Vegas is looking at this game, looking at Baker Mayfield, looking at Jacoby Brissett, and not saying that they see a lot of points going up on the scoreboard. [00:02:15][47.6] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:02:16] The Panthers are interesting defensively. Just because Carolina has a base level of talent that makes them pretty good. Jeremy Chen's a very good player. Brian Burns is a Pro Bowler. Obviously the Browns are going to be heavy run scheming because even though they have decent wide receivers now, it's not as pathetic as, say, it was last year or the end of 2020. Like Cleveland is at least looking okay there. I assume it's going to be heavy. Nick Chubb either in the running game or the passing game based on how they scheme their offense. And I think that it's going to be one of those games where turnovers will make the difference more so than anything else. Like weird plays that lead to seven point swings or 14 point swings will be the difference because like the line says, it's going to be a low scoring game and a game where they're favored to be in one place. You might get the Browns as a point favorite and another place, the Panthers as a point favorite. So seems like it's going to be close. Seems like it's going to be low scoring, which means look for those like plays or punts or drives that swing the score 7 to 10 points on one play or two plays. [00:03:21][64.9] Julian Martinez: [00:03:22] James, if the Browns are going to win, this is probably going to be on the backs of their defense. What do you think of that matchup against the Carolina offense? [00:03:29][6.7] James Puopolo: [00:03:30] I don't know. We are linebacking corps is pretty terrible. We have joke and that's kind of it. Walker is nice. He's good for tackles, but he really only came through at the end of last year. I just can't see any way if Christian McCaffrey is playing at 100%, we can limit him and then I wouldn't be as worried through the hair. I really just think it comes down to limiting what Christian McCaffrey can do. I think he's just going to hurt us and he's going to hurt us bad. And then, you know, not beyond the passing threat of Christian McCaffrey, but that's more what I was focusing on. Our defensive tackles are a huge question mark. We have solid edge rushers and then they do the mid a lot, a lot of mid through the middle. So I think he's going to have a field day. Honestly, I think Christian McCaffrey is going to have one of those days that looks like classic 2000 yard season. [00:04:19][48.3] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:04:19] Christian McCaffrey I am going to predict, I don't have the helmets this week. They'll come back in week two, though, but I will predict the Carolina Panthers to win week one and start the season off one and L because all of my favorite stats in the world is that the Carolina Panthers have started the last three seasons, two and oh three and one and three. Oh, no. And then post October 15th, the Carolina Panthers have a combined win loss record of five and 31 over the last three seasons. So they start off hot and they are they are literally the worst team in the NFL post October 15. So Carolina is going to win this game and it's going to be a feel good Baker Mayfield moment, and then they will go on to win six or seven games. [00:05:05][46.3] Julian Martinez: [00:05:07] James, what about you? [00:05:08][0.7] James Puopolo: [00:05:08] I mean, Jacoby can hand the ball off real nice, but I think it's I think it's a I think it's a Panthers win. I'm not going to try to put a score on this either, because so many ways the Panthers win this one strong, though. [00:05:20][12.1] Julian Martinez: [00:05:21] And it's going to be a clean sweep for me as I am picking the Panthers as well. You mentioned Christian McCaffrey is out there. It is week one. He is healthy. This is the healthiest that this Panthers squad potentially will be all season. That alone, I think, is going to be what separates them in this game. If you told me this was a game in which Christian McCaffrey was coming in a little gimpy, maybe I might swing in towards the Browns. Of course, the quarterback situation is just a question mark. Jacoby Brissett hasn't been a relevant starter for, what, four or five years since Andrew Luck retired or however long it's been. I just can't put any faith in him to carry the Browns through to victory in this game, especially since it's on the road. So that's my thoughts. Panthers across the board. All right, guys, you probably noticed the segment's a little different. Not just Kyle and I, but we also joined by guest James James from Bota. James, we need you to drop all the obligatory plugs. That way, people know where to find you. [00:06:18][56.8] James Puopolo: [00:06:18] Hey. Well, thank you for having me. You can find us everywhere at bota sports bota, a Instagram tik tok is the biggest ones. There's also a Twitter, but it's really not worth them to be 500% honest about it. Yeah, you can find all of our stuff everywhere just by searching boat sports. [00:06:33][15.3] Julian Martinez: [00:06:34] Okay, guys, find that below in the bio we've a like on this video subscribe to the channel from juju talk sports and Kyle Ledbetter. Stay safe, happy and healthy. We'll see you on the next one. [00:06:34][0.0] [370.4] Julian Martinez: [00:00:12] James, you're coming to us from Boston. So what's the read around the town on this current iteration of the New England Patriots? [00:00:19][7.3]
James Puopolo: [00:00:20] Matt It is so polarizing around here. You have the people who still think they can do no wrong. There are people who have tried to tell me in Boston that Bill Belichick was intentionally putting out like a poor product on the field because he wanted to like hide stuff from the people he was cutting or like hide stuff from the team. So no one knew what was really doing on offense. Okay. Did you see that Mac Jones passwords through right to a linebacker that was out of Bill Belichick, like in his ear like type of thing. And then there's other fans who were like, oh, my God, we're in panic mode. That dude we drafted, Tyquan Thorne was supposed to be the hot shot receiver out for. But I'm going to say the year he's supposed to be only out eight weeks. Realistically, he'll be eliminated for most of the year. Running backs. Nobody knows what's going to happen with Damien Harris. Apparently, that's their strong suit. But receivers Devante Parker and Kendrick. [00:01:17][56.1] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:01:17] Aguilar are still there. Aguilar is still sticking around. [00:01:19][2.4] James Puopolo: [00:01:21] Their offensive line is average. Everything else in the team is in. Their cornerbacks are a rote like I was going to go and get one, but just atrocious. It's a bad situation in Boston. [00:01:33][11.8] Julian Martinez: [00:01:35] Who they decide on call plays. Kyle was a matt Patricia or Joe Judge. [00:01:38][3.0] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:01:41] It's so great. It's so great. It's Matt. Patricia, it's Matt. Patricia. And I was laughing at Ben McAdoo, calling plays for the Carolina Panthers as the funniest thing that could ever happen. No. Matt Patricia, who again, was the defensive coordinator for seven years in New England, will be calling offensive plays or. [00:02:00][19.7] James Puopolo: [00:02:01] For. [00:02:01][0.0] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:02:02] The Patriots this year of everything of every fiber of my being says they're going to finish third in that division and be as good as the Carolina Panthers. And at the same time, it's an ultimate testament to Bill Belichick that they have the last three years, that last Brady year, in the two years since they have an above 500 record, they have made two playoff appearances and won an AFC East with an offense that has never been ranked higher than 21st in the league like their offenses have been piss poor terrible for three years now and they've been able to make the playoffs twice and win the AFC East one of those years like the Patriots. You got to put a lot of faith in Bill Belichick being the smartest defensive coach ever and the fact that although you lose Jesse Jackson, although you lose Chase whenever they cut that safety, who was drafted a few years ago and the fact that they brought in Malcolm Butler from retirement to replace Jesse Jackson and now Malcolm Butler's on injured reserve. Like you got to be putting a lot of faith in Bill Belichick's abilities as a defensive coach to believe that the Patriots will be able to replicate the success of last year. Because I am I'm definitely not on any kind of Mac Jones hype train. I am still you know, we agreed. Blake Jude, who's our draft guy in me, agreed. He was an early third round grade in that draft when he was picked and happen to get picked in the first round. So obviously he had a pretty good year last year. But man, the Patriots are just such a confusing team this year to follow, especially because like James is talking about, there are some people who believe that this is all part of Belichick's master plan and they believe in the Illuminati and Belichick can do no wrong. This is one where you got to put a lot of faith in his ability to build a defense, to look at the Patriots and say they're going to win a large amount of games this year. [00:03:51][108.7] Julian Martinez: [00:03:51] Strange coordinators decisions and strange draft picks that's defined the Patriots offseason going into this game. Mike McDaniel actually put it out there pretty well that there's not a greater coaching disparity in terms of experience than him going against Bill Belichick. Certainly McDaniel has the better team, or at least based off the offseason. I think he has a better team. I don't know what duo will become. We've talked about that one can to ever live up to his draft stock. Probably not. He's probably as good as the left handed Jimmy Garoppolo. But with Tyreek Hill, Terron Armstead, the improvements to the running game, their defense already being on the top half of the league. There's a lot to like there. Going back to last season when they had that little stretch where they start to pull it together, you start to see the flashes and now I think with a more creative offensive mind and Mike McDaniel, I think that this team should be able to scheme up some stuff that will keep the Patriots guessing and keep them on their toes and speed kills. And I just don't think that the Patriots have enough speed to keep up with this fully healthy Dolphins team. Jaylen Waddle just got cleared to go back in in practice, so now they have their full complement of wide receivers. I just like this Dolphins team and we talked about them is about a 8 to 9 win team, at least 8 to 9 wins guaranteed off of their schedule last week. And I'm just sticking true to that. I think that this is going to be a win against the Patriots in week one. Vegas currently has this is a three and a half point line in favor of the Dolphins. Patriots also have to travel. They're playing in favorable conditions for Mac Jones, for what it's worth, in terms of him not having to play in the cold, which I know later in the season was a problem for him, he might throw more than three pass attempts during the game. And yeah, in terms of Mac Jones second year development, I just don't know what a second gear looks like for Mac Jones. I don't know what that next level, that upgrade is for him. People, when he was drafted, it was like, Oh, is he going to be the many Brady? I just don't see him having that same career path. Obviously, a career path that includes seven world championships and multiple MVP is that's just something based off his rookie year. I just don't see likely especially with again a defensive coordinator calling offensive plays and not even the most talented defensive coordinator, mind you, to the fact that Mac Patricia is still in the league kind of baffles me. I know everyone claimed during the job hiring process that he was genius, but Watson's defense is ever really that good. [00:06:18][146.6] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:19] Just the one Super Bowl one that was about it. But he was in the job long enough that all the Belichick assistants got hired. You also brought. [00:06:25][5.9] Julian Martinez: [00:06:25] Up even Point Patriots, but he was the one they set up by Nick Foles, right? [00:06:28][3.0] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:29] I think he got it. Yeah. He got hired after the Nick Foles year, but he got hired based off of the year before when they beat. The Falcons in the Super Bowl. But yeah, he had already been named the Lions head coach before he got lit up by Nick Foles in the Super Bowl, which was a little messed up on his part. By the way, you brought up a great point. Patriots don't have a defensive coordinator, just no defensive coordinator this year is just not going to name the position at all. It's just that's how they roll in this year. [00:06:55][25.9] Julian Martinez: [00:06:56] James, does Boucek have anything in his bag of tricks to get the Miami Dolphins this week? [00:06:59][3.6] James Puopolo: [00:07:02] I mean, no, he's always had a hard time, but this just continues on my like me being in Boston where there's like the two sides, right? Then there's like Elmo, me Elmo, I mean, with like the fires. And then above that just says Bailey's AP season. I want that towards AP. So that's the secret weapon. That's what he's keeping. That's his tactical nuke in the pocket. Bailey's AP waiting in the wing to take over for Mac Jones and ride off into the Sunset Guy. [00:07:25][23.0] Julian Martinez: [00:07:25] What's your game prediction? [00:07:25][0.5] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:07:26] Well, I'm going to tentatively take the Dolphins, and I will also acknowledge the fact that the forecast for this game is supposed to be 91 degrees in Miami with 74% humidity, which is for those who don't know, really, really humid and the possibility of scattered thunderstorms for this game. So weather doesn't know exactly what it's doing for this football game. And that is Mac Jones's backyard, apparently because he's from Jacksonville, Florida. So that is what Mac Jones is used to, apparently. But weather is going to be chaotic. That Dolphin Stadium does not do well for heat on the field. It usually feels like 100 degrees for some of those games. So reserve the fact that it could be one of those chaotic games based on weather. But I will I will tentatively take the Dolphins to get to one another on the season because they are three point favorites against the Patriots. And I trust that Vegas is following all the weather patterns and weird coaching hires by both sides. [00:08:22][55.7] Julian Martinez: [00:08:23] All right, guys, you probably notice the segment's a little different. Not just Kyle and I, but we also joined by guest James James from Bota. James, we need you to drop all the obligatory plugs. That way, people know where to find you. [00:08:34][11.3] James Puopolo: [00:08:35] Hey. Well, thank you for having me. You can find us everywhere at Bota sports. Bota, Instagram, Tik Tok is the biggest one. There's also a Twitter, but it's really not worth them. 500% honest about it. Yeah, you can find all of our stuff everywhere just by searching about esports. [00:08:50][15.3] Julian Martinez: [00:08:51] Okay, guys, find that below in the bio we a like on this video subscribe to the channel from juju talk sports and Kyle Ledbetter. Stay safe, happy and healthy. We'll see you on the next one. [00:08:51][0.0] [499.8] Julian Martinez: [00:00:12] James Kyle. For the first time since 2007, there will not be a rookie starting quarterback in week one, as Kenny Pickett has officially lost a starting job to Mitch Biscay. And we covered this a couple of weeks ago and I said that I think the Steelers can get by with Mitch Trubisky. I mean, I still think it's an improvement over Ben Roethlisberger, what he was to that team last year. But can you pick it? Didn't really lose the job in preseason. He performed well each of the games that the Steelers ran him out there. James, were you surprised by the result, the pick? It didn't end up with the starting job. [00:00:46][33.8]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:00:47] Not even slightly because I don't think any of the guys really like Off the Gun were made to be starting quarterbacks day one. I think there were some talent. I think they were all developmental and they would have been like Quarterback five and any other draft class, but especially Kenny Pickett. He had so many things to work on. He had one really good year. Did he show the improvement that he was like throwing the ball quick, whatever. But overall, you got to go with the guy who gives you the best chance to win and that burn saying that that's Mitch Trubisky. That's weird to say and I don't like that Kyle. [00:01:14][27.9] Julian Martinez: [00:01:15] Does Mitch Trubisky give them the best chance to win? [00:01:17][2.0] James Puopolo: [00:01:19] I don't know enough about Kenny Pickett. I'm usually in the camp of you should always start the rookie if you draft them in the first round because you're delaying an inevitable growing process that if you drafted a guy in the first round anyways, what is for weeks really going to save you in terms of waiting to play him? I think that it doesn't make a difference either way. I also said that Mike Tomlin knows better than I when it comes to deciding who the starting quarterback is going to be. I just use the general rule of start, the first round rookie quarterback. We talk about Pickett's development and I find that interesting because he's only like five months younger than Lamar Jackson, which is weird that he's basically a fully not a fully formed quarterback, but pretty close to whatever a fully formed Kenny Pickett is going to look like. So I don't know exactly what the move for the Steelers is. I did find interesting that that Pickett was listed as the third string quarterback on the depth chart. I thought that was an interesting little note from the Steelers announcing Trubisky as the starters that Mason Rudolph is the second stringer though. But Tomlin will make the move that I guess he thinks is suited best. And Mike Tomlin's right more often than he's wrong. So I guess he's one of those like seven coaches that I actually have faith in. We'll get it right in the long run, even if that means by week six we're seeing Pickett play. Basically, all three quarterbacks are going to play some amount of downs for the Pittsburgh Steelers this year. Whether it's Trubisky, Rudolph and Pickett, all three will play at some point during the season. [00:02:44][85.2] Julian Martinez: [00:02:45] That's really interesting. I didn't even know that that Pickett was listed third on the depth chart behind Mason Rudolph. At first, when I posed this question to you guys, I was wondering how much leash does Mitch have in order for Pickett to get in there? But now I'm looking at the Steelers can't realistically run out Mason Rudolph and they. [00:03:01][16.3] James Puopolo: [00:03:02] They were trying to trade him during the lead up to the roster cuts and just nobody wanted him so I don't think they're necessarily in love with Mason Rudolph themselves, but they also weren't in a position to cut him. I don't think he's going to play significant minutes. And at the same time, I suspect that we'll see Mason Rudolph playing snaps for the Pittsburgh Steelers at some point during the season. It might only be like ten, 15, 20. He might only play in one or two games, but I think we're going to see Mason Rudolph at some point. And then somewhere along the line they're going to make the turnover and say It's Pickett's team through and through. He's starting and we're just going to go through the growing pains, which suggests to me that the Steelers are kind of anticipating a seven win season this year a little bit. [00:03:43][41.4] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:03:44] Kyle, what you're telling me is they're going to run Mason Rudolph like Taysom Hill. Not the way I. [00:03:51][7.0] James Puopolo: [00:03:51] Like to think of it more like Brett Rypien, where. [00:03:53][2.2] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:03:54] It's like I said, it's Thursday Night Football, which. [00:03:57][3.7] James Puopolo: [00:03:58] Is like questionable to play and they just are like, Yeah, we don't care about this game. We're playing the Indianapolis Colts or something. Let's just throw Mason out there to get Mitch healthy, even though it doesn't matter because Mitch is not going to be the starter beyond week eight. [00:04:11][13.6] Julian Martinez: [00:04:12] From my understanding. I heard this report a couple of weeks ago too. In the Steelers situation, Kenny Pickett doesn't really come across great in practice, for whatever that's worth. In practice, it means a lot more to guys in the NFL building than it means to guys like us talking on our podcast platform right now. So I'm curious what he would have to do to beat out Mason on the depth chart from a practice point of view without game action, because it's felt like to me, at least outside of perspective, that where Pickett was really separating was in the preseason. We're seeing him put up these gaudy numbers in the preseason. We're like, Dan, is Mitch really going to lose this job right now? And it made sense when you were really just comparing the raw numbers. So it's here that he's by. Mason tells me that Tomlin is putting a lot of stock in that and kind of changes this around a little bit in my mind. I'm looking through the Steelers schedule and I'm thinking like, okay, they face the Bengals week one. Let's assume the Bengals are as good as they were last. Sure. Okay. So that's probably a loss, probably a winnable game. The next weekend's Patriots Browns get a week with the Browns where they don't have Deshaun under center for them. So they could probably win that. They could in theory, start two and one. And then you're don't really have questions about benching Mitch. Then you have the Jets, you know, when that you go three and one and Mitch still has that leash going bills put you back down to three two, buccaneers push you back down to Earth, three and three get the Dolphins. That's going to be a make or break game for the playoffs, potentially three and four. If you go on a three game losing streak right there, then that is that. Like where you ready to press the eject button? What do you guys think? [00:05:42][90.3] James Puopolo: [00:05:43] I think that there is a very minimal chance that Mitchell Trubisky will not at the very least be questionable to play by the time we get to that week seven game. Like he ain't going to make it fully healthy through week seven because Mitchell Trubisky has never had a fully healthy season in his NFL career up to this point. And like you said, the leash is already kind of short. I doubt that Mitchell Trubisky is going to have maybe he has a game that like wows us with four touchdowns, but there's also going to be a game where he has one touchdown, three interceptions and they're already calling for the rookie. That's almost a guarantee to happen at some point because it happens to every quarterback. What it tells me and how the schedule breaks down for the Steelers is that they they view Kenny Pickett more as like a high second round guy who they happen to take late in the first round because he wasn't going to fall to them in the second round. And therefore they're looking at him as like a low end starter for the future because otherwise they would be kind of like clamoring to put him in. I would suggest the fact that they're treating him the way like the Rams treated Jared Goff in 2016 is not the greatest sign in terms of confidence for Pickett. And like you said, we're guys on a podcast who don't have the same access to information, perhaps, that reporters and Mike Tomlin may have. [00:06:53][70.7] Julian Martinez: [00:06:54] James, do you think we get 17 games of Mitch Biscay then? [00:06:56][2.5] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:57] I mean, as a browser, that's bad. I hope so. I really do know. I don't think there's any way you get 17 full games of Mr. Biscay. There is the injury standpoint. That's like Kyle said, nailed that one does talent wise. Where where did this come from that we're pretending that Mitch Trubisky is this almighty being out of nowhere just because he ended up in Pittsburgh the second he signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason, everyone was talking about him being this like, oh, you know what? We should give you the was it that bad? He was bad. He had one good year and then a lot of bad. I think what it is they're going to just cut in. [00:07:32][35.4] Julian Martinez: [00:07:33] I think what it is, is just people just look at the situation he went to out the gate. He went to the Bears who have never had a franchise quarterback in their existence. Maybe he was supposed to be a first round pick, but just ended up in a bad spot. [00:07:46][13.1] James Puopolo: [00:07:47] But also he was kicked out. He was picked before Mahomes and Watson, which was always the thing that was carrying him and then ran away for a year and we forgot about him. [00:07:55][7.9] Julian Martinez: [00:07:55] Sometimes the best thing to do in those situations, I guess, is disappear because you come back stronger after a year. Hey, maybe ask pays off for someone like a Jimmy Garoppolo paid off or Trubisky paid off or Mariota. Jameis Winston got to hide away for a year and it paid off for him. So maybe that's just the new strategy for guys who fire Favre in the first round. If I have to call my shot, I will say week ten, we get some Kenny Pickett because I think they're just going to start to well with Mitch based off that early season schedule. Sorry, James to Mitch Obaseki is Mitch Trubisky, but Jacoby Brissett is Jacoby Brissett. So I'm going to pick them. They win that week three game. [00:08:30][35.4] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:08:31] If you're not telling me that you're looking forward to the high powered shoot out of Brissett versus Trubisky. [00:08:36][4.9] Julian Martinez: [00:08:38] I bet we seen Trubisky attempt a deep pass. I don't remember the last time I saw Brissett do it. [00:08:43][5.5] James Puopolo: [00:08:45] Yeah, that one's rough. That ones are up. [00:08:48][2.3] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:08:48] That's painfully fair. [00:08:49][0.8] James Puopolo: [00:08:49] And I will also note Steelers by week is week nine. So they play eight games, then they have the bye week. That will be the time where we know whether Mitch Trubisky will be playing the rest of the season or Mason Rudolph. But more likely Mitch Trubisky will be playing the rest of the season as Steelers quarterback. [00:09:06][17.1] Julian Martinez: [00:09:07] All right, guys, you probably notice the segment's a little different. Not just Kyle and I, but we also joined by guest James James from Bota. James, we need you to drop all the obligatory plugs. That way, people know where to find you. [00:09:18][11.3] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:09:19] Hey. Well, thank you for having me. You can find us everywhere at Bota sports. Bota, Instagram, Tik Tok is the biggest one. There's also a Twitter, but it's really not worth them. 500% honest about it. Yeah, you can find all of our stuff everywhere just by searching about esports. [00:09:34][15.3] Julian Martinez: [00:09:35] Okay, guys, find that below in the bio we a like on this video subscribe to the channel from juju talk sports and Kyle Ledbetter. Stay safe, happy and healthy. We'll see you on the next one. [00:09:35][0.0] [545.4] Julian Martinez: [00:00:12] What are you kind of like envisioning the 2022 Miami Dolphins going. [00:00:16][3.6]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:00:16] Oh, I have no idea what the Miami Dolphins are going to look like this year. I assume based on what people are saying about the roster, based on the construction of their offense, I assume that Miami will be battling it out for the last couple playoff spots just because we know Buffalo's going to win that the AFC East, we know Miami's going to lose like six games on their schedule this year against teams that are clearly better than them that are Super Bowl caliber. Good. So they'll be battling it out for those wildcard spots with, say, the Chargers and maybe the Titans and the Patriots and Broncos country. Let's ride and the Steelers and that'll probably be that the territory that they're in which is like playoff teams shall we say in air quotes like the teams fighting for a playoff spot. I have no idea what Tyreek Hill is going to look like in their offense. I did get him in the third round in my fantasy draft, but I don't know how that's going to be implemented into their offense. And for Tua I'll say the same thing that that I've said about to offset going back to last season, which is we don't know what to a tagovailoa is but we know what he is not. We know Tua Tagovailoa is not going to be a quarterback that makes plays with his feet, rolls to his left or is right and throws passes 40 yards down the field to like three inch windows like, say, Kyler Murray or Justin Herbert. [00:01:38][81.5] Julian Martinez: [00:01:38] I think that was part of the miss evaluation and why people have been so critical of to actually in his very early career is because we were sold the left handed Russell Wilson and we quickly learned that just wasn't really going to be the case of what deal was going to become. [00:01:52][13.5] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:01:52] Yeah, absolutely. And we don't know exactly what he is yet because he hasn't been given an opportunity to succeed the last two years of basically been the equivalent of a rookie season for two. Now, obviously, the offense was not tailored to him his rookie year. He's had three different offensive coordinators in two years. Last year, the Dolphins had the worst offensive line in the NFL like he has been in that cycle that, say, Zach Wilson is it right now or Sam Darnold was in with with the Jets or what Justin Fields is experiencing. So think of the last two years as his rookie year and go from there and say this is the year that Tua has at least a solid team. It's not a great offense, it's a good offense and that's an improvement from where it was over the past few years, is that they now have a good offense instead of a terrible offense. [00:02:39][47.0] Julian Martinez: [00:02:40] See, I think I like their offense a little bit more than you do, and that's probably just because being a little bit closer to the situation of seeing Mike McDaniel work for the Niners last year, I like some of the philosophies that he's going to be infusing into the Dolphins offense. And then I like some of the personnel moves that they made around to made around this offense, because if two turns into at worst, instead the left handed Russell Wilson, he used the left handed Jimmy Garoppolo. I think that that's a winning situation for the Dolphins coming into this year. I know Dolphins fans because he was a top five draft pick, would obviously hope that he turns into much more than that, that he turns into a quarterback that's wearing a gold jacket one day. But through the first two seasons, we haven't seen him show that he's capable of that. So I think you should just change the expectations. Just hoping that he can maybe be in the hall. Very good one day if he turns out to be somewhat of a matt Ryan or Philip Rivers type for his career, because that wouldn't be shameful in any ways. In fact, if you put the right team around him, maybe that's a team that could win a Super Bowl. [00:03:50][69.1] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:03:50] Let's just say a ten year NFL starter. A ten year starter on two different teams would be ideal because what we're looking at is the possibility of him not getting to start in the NFL ever again if this season goes poorly. [00:04:01][10.6] Julian Martinez: [00:04:02] See, and that's why I mentioned earlier the make or break portion of it. And I think that you talk about what rare and what do you talk about McDaniel did with loading up this team with guys like Tyreek Hill, Terron Armstead fixing up the offensive line a little bit, bringing in guys like Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds is they want to put the pressure on to to use those guys to perform to even though, again, not live up to his draft stock, but live up to just being a top 15 top half of the league quarterback. That would be the hope this year. And if they don't see that, if he performs outside of that, if he has something like a Baker Mayfield season last year, then that's where. Okay, we've seen the teams are very quick to move off a young quarterback nowadays so they don't waste time and I respect it. Do you want to double down on mistakes? If you made a mistake, sometimes you just the best case scenario is just a cut bait. The worst thing to has done is just not be as good as Justin Herbert. [00:05:01][59.4] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:05:02] Well, I wouldn't say that. I mean Tua was a bad quarterback during his rookie. A year and last year he was an okay quarterback. [00:05:09][6.8] Julian Martinez: [00:05:10] And his one day and his rookie year, the worst thing he did was not be as good as Ryan Fitzpatrick. [00:05:14][3.7] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:05:15] Yeah. Yeah. That was also partly Brian Flores wanting to play Ryan Fitzpatrick. But your point still stands like Tua was not good as rookie year, but he got a pass because he only played in eight games. In terms of it being a make or break year, that one's tricky because that's contingent on not just two but the alternatives. Like you're only as good as the options that you have. People make that line all the time and it's very true. The Dolphins are only as good as the options that they have to replace to with. So if Tua is a quarterback who gets replaced at some point during the season by Jacoby. No, it's not Jacoby Brissett. It's Bridgewater, right? Bridgewater. [00:05:54][38.7] Julian Martinez: [00:05:54] Teddy Bridgewater. [00:05:55][0.2] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:05:55] Yeah. If Bridgewater replaces him, well then you can find Bridgewater every offseason. In fact, Teddy Bridgewater is available every offseason. You can find one of those. But if he's if he's 70% completion percentage, 22 touchdowns, eight interceptions, you know, there might be a better option for you. How much do you like Carson Wentz? How much do you like Jared Goff? How much do you like the possibility of giving up a pick for Derek Carr like maybe. [00:06:23][27.8] Julian Martinez: [00:06:23] You instead of having the left handed Jimmy Garoppolo, you just get the right handed version of Mike McConnell next year. [00:06:29][6.2] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:30] Does Tom Brady still want to come? Is a 46 year old Tom Brady for two years better than to I'd like those are all things that whether it's a make or break year is all based on your yeah. Based on your. [00:06:42][11.7] Julian Martinez: [00:06:42] Options and not even though we start off the segment talk about two or none not to get too much into those conspiracy theories based around Tom Brady, but based off last year's version of Tom Brady that led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns. Is the drop off over the course of two years going to be that dramatic for the veteran quarterback? I say no because at this point I just don't know what's really going to stop him. But at the same time, you we know that sometimes it just happens quick. Sometimes it just like one day you're Tom Brady, one day you're Peyton Manning, and the next day you can't even beat out Brock Osweiler for a spot. [00:07:15][32.5] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:07:15] So, I mean, we say this. Yeah. And then the last time the Patriots, when Tom Brady was a free agent two years ago, like a bunch of teams were asking themselves, would you rather have three years of Tom Brady or would you rather have seven years of Ryan Tannehill? And like 75% of teams said we'd rather go with Ryan Tannehill for seven years than we would with Tom Brady for two or three years. [00:07:36][21.1] Julian Martinez: [00:07:37] I think we literally just talked about it with the Derek Carr situation right here. You're sticking with that? In theory, yeah. [00:07:43][6.5] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:07:43] But the Niners did it with Garoppolo. Yes. [00:07:46][2.1] Julian Martinez: [00:07:46] And I you know, again, not doubling down on my mistakes as from an analyst perspective, but I would say that I was wrong in that assessment. That team, the Niners should have kept Jimmy Garoppolo over Tom Brady, especially with how that quarterback situation played out when going back to Tua because obviously that's what this video is about. Again, Finn Span, this video is for you the expectations going into the year. So I think you go in this year even with the first year coach, third year, four year starting quarterback, you go in with the expectation and try and be a wildcard team because we know that the bills are probably going to win this division. Right? [00:08:21][34.9] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:08:22] And they will. Yeah. [00:08:23][1.4] Julian Martinez: [00:08:24] And then it gets tough because okay, we're looking at this AFC West picture and they very well are likely to send three teams. So really you're just fighting over that last spot with the AFC North and the AFC North is going to be having some good teams in their division as well. The Bengals obviously were last in last year's Super Bowl and Super Bowl hangover is is a thing. So we'll monitor that situation. I expect the Ravens to win the division. The Browns with the 11 game suspension for Deshaun Watson might be a non-factor, but I still don't completely count out the Steelers. So are you essentially if you're the Dolphins, you're in a fight with the Bengals and Steelers? I don't really count the AFC East or the AFC South for that next wild card. I mean, I could be surprised by the Colts or, you know, the Titans depending football, those to two. But I think it's realistic for the Dolphins this year. They have good defense, good defenders and the additions they made on the offense to expect to get that seventh wildcard spot or how am I b the sixth flip up the order. I don't think it really matters that much, but I think that they should be in that conversation looking at their early season schedule, just kind of like weigh it out as far as kind of like going game by game here a little bit. So you start off week one against the Patriots here today. I think they're a better team than the Patriots and we'll maybe do a game preview on it, too. But I think they're a better team than the Patriots. So okay, you start one, two. No, then you go into Baltimore, then you go against Buffalo. So you might start off the season one or two just because of the early season scheduling here. And I mentioned who you're fighting for for that wildcard spot. They played the Bengals week that week four game, I think is going to tell us a lot against the Bengals. [00:10:06][102.6] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:07] If you will. It might matter at the end of the season, too, just because those go one and three fighting. [00:10:11][4.2] Julian Martinez: [00:10:12] Yeah. If you go one and three, Bengals have type. Breaker. That's not really a situation that you find yourself in because you could get right with the Jets, the Steelers. Again, that's going to be another tough one for you. But again, that's a winnable game. If you're them, then you should be able to beat the Lions. You should be able to beat the bears. So the dolphins actually have a favorable middle of the season stretch. They get face the Browns while Deshaun is still suspended. Get a face the Texans. Who knows what they're going to be by the end of the year. Dolphins will see how the trey lance jimmy garoppolo situation. Our 40 niners. See how the trey lance jimmy garoppolo situation shakes out. This is going to be the measuring stick game for tua. This is going to be the one the two A has to circle. Faces the Chargers December 11th in Los Angeles. So luckily it's not a home game for Miami fans to see what Justin Herbert could do to them. Bills You know, you have to face them again. Packers This is where things get a little tough. So hopefully if you're the Dolphins, you pad your midseason schedule, you win those winnable games because you got bills. Packers, Patriots and the Jets are two winnable games to close out the year. I look at that, I'm thinking eight wins, nine wins, at least in there that I can see. [00:11:21][69.5] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:11:23] That's it. [00:11:24][0.7] Julian Martinez: [00:11:24] Once you get into the playoffs, though. [00:11:26][1.9] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:11:27] There is one interesting point around this, and that is because there's so many teams in the middle of the AFC this year, someone's going to go six and 11 in the AFC. Now it'll probably be because of injuries. If you were to bet a team that was going to go six and 11 between the Steelers, Patriots, Dolphins and Bengals, if we're going based on history, which of those teams do you think is most likely to go six and 11 just based on history of like which teams are usually hyped up that end up having something go catastrophically wrong? It's probably the Dolphins. Now, that's not to say the Dolphins will they? They should be an 8 to 9 win team on paper, like you said. But someone's going to have to lose those games. It might be the Titans, someone's going to have to lose 11 games there to lose. There's always that possibility. But injuries permitting, the Dolphins will at least be in the thick of things. And you were talking about earlier, the teams, they're competing with you. You kind of like penciled in three teams from the AFC West. And I think if the Dolphins are to make the playoffs, they might have to boot one of those AFC West teams out. [00:12:29][62.4] Julian Martinez: [00:12:30] That'll be the ideal situation. But we look at the AFC West and we look at how talented each of those rosters are, particularly at the quarterback position. And it's hard to bet against it. I mean. There. There is a lot of things in the AFC West to kind of note with each team, right? So I think the Chiefs are the surest thing to me out of those four teams that Broncos new coach, the Raiders new coach, the Chargers probably a bad head coach. [00:12:57][27.8] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:13:00] That's that's not fair. But I understand your point. [00:13:03][3.3] Julian Martinez: [00:13:04] So okay, so if we're playing its more liberally for them then you would say that. Okay, best case scenario, only two teams out of the AFC West come and that's a great situation. If you're the Dolphins, that's a situation you want that only two of those teams come out of the AFC West because then that opens up two spots for you to slide into. But that also is solved by for the one. [00:13:29][25.6] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:13:30] That assumes that either the Ravens or Bengals won't make the playoffs, which is hard to assess. It's totally possible. It's just really hard for me to picture a scenario where the Dolphins and Raiders make the playoffs and the Bengals or the Ravens don't. [00:13:42][12.2] Julian Martinez: [00:13:43] But we know what the NFL's history is, right? There's always this one team, this one outlier team that happens to at least make it, if not do what the Bengals did and make a little bit of noise in the playoffs. Now, I'm not saying that that's the Dolphins, but I'm saying that they, at least to me, strike me as a playoff team this year. As I sit here today, as I break down that early season schedule. Like I said, I think the week four game against the Bengals is the big one for them because I expect to use the Dolphins. I expected to lose the Ravens. If you surprise me, though, if you beat Baltimore, then I'm looking at you completely different. Then that really kind of like shifts. My whole complexion is above the dolphins, so really they should mark obviously they can't lose that week one game, but really they should look at week two and say, okay, if we start to snow and then we go to Buffalo, then we're starting fill ourselves a little bit and Buffalo has to come to our house too and. [00:14:35][52.0] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:14:35] It would be fun. [00:14:36][0.4] Julian Martinez: [00:14:36] Yeah, the buffalo has to go to Miami for that week, three games. So if you want to get an early lead, if you want to build yourself some equity, win equity at the start of the year, the Dolphins have an opportunity to do it. They don't have games that I consider out of reach and with their additions on offense, I think that they very much are our team to beat this year, but I do think it is a make or break. Just go back to that point real quick, because I know we got to start wrapping up this video. I do think it is a make or break for two. And I do think the playoffs is the expectation if they're a fringe playoff team because they've been a fringe playoff team the last two years, I almost don't think that that's good enough and I don't think that means that to is not going to be on the roster next year. But I think that it's very likely that he finds himself in a situation where he's competing for snaps against insert veteran quarterback or insert second round pick. [00:15:25][48.3] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:15:26] Yeah, I think that would be not ideal for the Dolphins if too is competing with Bridgewater for snaps come next year. [00:15:32][5.8] Julian Martinez: [00:15:33] Yeah, but not making it to the playoffs through three years is also not ideal for them either. [00:15:37][4.1] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:15:38] Well, so this is the interesting point about this because one would argue the Dolphins have gone all in. Remember, the Dolphins got all of the Texans draft picks for three years when they got the did the Tunsil trade and they they tapped. [00:15:48][10.9] Julian Martinez: [00:15:49] The Niners picks, too. So here's the thing, though. The Dolphins could pivot quick, too, because they do always have one more of the Niners draft picks next year to where they actually flip that flipped their own pick and. [00:16:00][11.7] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:16:01] No, not their picks gone tampering charges. Their first rounder is gone this year. [00:16:05][4.0] Julian Martinez: [00:16:06] They said, forget about that. Thank you. Yeah. [00:16:08][2.2] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:16:08] You know, there's no there there 40 niners pick basically serves as their first rounder. But the point I was going to say is like the dolphins have gone as close to all in as as a lot of teams would. You would say like one of the eight teams in the NFL that's gone all in. If you don't make the playoffs this year, it's not a sign to blow it all up. Now, actually, if Tyreek Hill plays terrible next year, that might be a sign to blow it all up. But if you play well and just barely missed the playoffs, that's not a reason to blow it all up. It's okay to not say. [00:16:37][29.4] Julian Martinez: [00:16:38] Blow it up. But I'm I'm not I'm not saying like I said, I think to a could be on this roster but and I'm not even saying Teddy Bridgewater again I'm talking there's veteran quarterbacks out there I mean if Ryan Tannehill you could end up in Ryan Tannehill situation. [00:16:50][12.1] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:16:50] No the Dolphins. No no nothing happens to. [00:16:52][2.0] Julian Martinez: [00:16:53] Contain Ryan Tannehill and that's it. But I'm saying you could end up in a current Ryan Tannehill and Tennessee situation. Dolphins fans have. [00:17:00][7.1] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:17:00] Suffered enough. [00:17:00][0.5] Julian Martinez: [00:17:01] Where you're where you're obviously you're drafting Willis, you know, to be behind him. [00:17:06][5.1] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:17:06] Yeah but two but two is coming up on that that fifth year option, too. And I think that declining the fifth year option would be a signifier that he's not going to be on the team long term. You can look at all of the players who had their fifth year options declined on down from Jameis Winston or not Jameis Winston for Marcus Mariota to Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold got picked up by the Panthers, but the Jets got rid of them before that one happened. [00:17:30][24.1] Julian Martinez: [00:17:31] The worst case you could probably franchise tag him if you do decide to cosign and to actually decides to bowl out his last remaining year, which is always a possibility. And I know. That it gets ugly sometimes when you get into the franchise tag game. But that is an option for you if you do decide to decline the fifth year option. And I think there's been a lot of situations in which other NFL owners would say, yeah, we wish we declined the fifth year option on Baker Mayfield. Yeah, we wish we declined the fifth year option on Sam Darnold. So also, look around the league. You don't need to be making the same mistakes, even though I think the two of the better than Baker. They're about the same quarterback to me at this point. [00:18:07][35.8] Kyle Ledbetter: [00:18:07] I will reiterate that we don't know what to it is to Baker feels fully formed but we don't know what to is yet. We know what he is not, but we don't know what to it is. So he could absolutely come out this year and be the equivalent of the rotting corpse of Matt Ryan on the Colts. And if he does that, that's a top 12 QB R quarterback in football. That's pretty good, especially if some other teams get hurt or some teams have bad injury luck and the Dolphins can maybe slide into the playoffs because insert team that was going to make the AFC playoffs has a cataclysmic amount of injuries like Baltimore did last year. [00:18:43][35.2] Julian Martinez: [00:18:43] I'd like him to cut down on turnovers. I'd like him to up his touchdown numbers. Just look into the raw stats here. He's a 67% completion percentage like that. That's good. That's fine. Even though I know a lot of that is short yardage check downs some some of the things that he's been ripped on when he played the Giants last year. Sure. But 16 touchdowns to ten interceptions, you like to increase that touchdown interception ratio a little bit in a positive direction, the yards per attempt. You like to boost that a little bit more and maybe that's obviously hey, you got a deep wide receiver in Tyreek Hill use him and that's going to increase that number a little bit. I think McDaniels is going to be good. I think the running backs stable that they got is actually going to help and I think Tyreek Hill is going to help up Terron Armstead. That's going to be all great things. I think too is going to trend in the right direction. I think this Dolphins team is trending in the right direction. We just got to kind of have to see it. And I know Dolphin fans really want to see it. So I'm going to leave it to Dolphins fans. I'm going to leave it to two. Anon, what is your expectation for the 2022 Miami Dolphins? Reasonable, unreasonable or not? Just dropped below. I want to read it all. We were like on this video from JuJu Talk sports Kyle Ledbetter. Subscribe, stay safe, happy and healthy and we will see you next time. She? [00:18:43][0.0] [1079.1] Julian Martinez: [00:00:14] One thing I appreciate about the san francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan administration is they don't double down on mistakes. And one thing is very clear, Trey Sermon was a mistake, a third round pick last year, they traded up for him. In fact, when the Niners trade up four guys, I think I got to start being a little bit nervous because so far that really hasn't worked for them, especially trading up in the third round and particularly at the running back position. Listen to this. So this is a tweet from Ari Miro. Kyle Shanahan, running backs guys that underperformed Trey sermon trade up in the third round cut after one year. Joe Williams, Utah running back trade up in the fourth round cut after one year. Jerick McKinnon giving him a $30 million contract. Tevin Coleman Giving him a $10 million contract. But you know what? We've had some successes. Raheem Mostert undrafted guy bounce around the league I think were a 16. Matt Breida undrafted. Jeff Wilson Junior, an undrafted guy. And then Elijah Mitchell, who's currently our RB one, is a sixth round pick. Add in the fact that, you know, we had Mason, the kid worked really steadily in the preseason as well as even successes but JaMychal Hasty from time to time. Trey Sermon Are you disappointed? That didn't really work out last year. He was like one of my fantasy football darlings and I feel silly about that now. [00:01:31][76.7]
Jose Corral: [00:01:31] Oh yeah, I'm very disappointed it didn't work out. You just remember this season he had the year before at Ohio State. It was just trucking. All these Big Ten defense is just probably has some of the better defenses in all of college football. But the fact that he wasn't able and this type of offense where they prioritize the running game so much you would think a guy like Trey sermon would be able to have some success or at least be able to keep himself on the roster. But that just didn't happen. I'm not too sure what went wrong. It could have been just a thing where he just wasn't able to really maximize his abilities there in this type of run game or I don't know, maybe he just the lack of lack of effort and just kind of got to him or something. But it is kind of disappointing because I did have high hopes for him. But if you're a running back going into the NFL draft, you're kind of around that second projected, second or third round. You're just kind of praying that the Niners don't trade up to get you because that just kind of puts an end to your early NFL career. [00:02:27][55.3] Julian Martinez: [00:02:28] I find it so weird, though, like, what are they not seeing in those guys that they're drafting? Are they just going up and selecting those guys because they think talent was going to win out? Because and one thing that was very apparent very early on with Trey Sermon is he just wasn't right for the offense. He wasn't a good scheme fit for the offense because he likes dance and he likes to bounce around in the backfield, kind of like a little Le'Veon Bell West instead of just hitting the hole, which is the big point for the zone blocking scheme that the Niners run. And I think that that should have probably showed a little bit more on tape for the Niners. Hindsight being 2020, I guess they just thought, okay, we can get this guy in a running back room, teach him to run like this. And since he is a great athlete, clearly Oklahoma recruited him, Ohio State recruited him. The talent will went out. But it just was the case. And again, I mentioned their fourth round pick from a few years ago to Williams, another guy that they put a lot of capital in to trade up and grab him. But they've done this at other positions too. I think one thing as we kind of analyze John Williams, you calculate Hannan with the draft. They're they're so hit and miss. Luckily their hits have been George Kittle, Fred Warner. I don't give them much credit for Nick Bosa, but Nick Bosa, obviously. Deebo, Samuel they they've been able to get those big time All-Pro tight players out of the draft. But when they miss Man it's, it's Trey Sermon, it's trading up for C.J. It's Mike McGlinchey who's still an enigma. It's Solomon Thomas, it's Reuben Foster. They have some historic hits, historic misses on this team. I'm just again, thankfully, they've hit so well on the ones that they've got. Right. But Trey not even making it a year. He just got claimed by Philadelphia today. I hope that he can get his career right and I think he ended up in a good situation in Philly. Myles Sanders hasn't really ever taken control of that backfield. I think Boston Scott still hanging around there. Kenneth Gainwell So there's an opportunity for him to play in Philly and it was just always going be hard for him as the fifth running back because he fell behind Tyrion Davis Price Jordan Mason again, the undrafted rookie Jeff Wilson Junior, the vulture at the goal line was always going to have a role on this team. And then Elijah Mitchell, after what he did last year, is clearly our running back one that I think that's more sad and that's more of an indictment too, considering Elijah was a sixth round pick in the same draft. [00:05:01][152.8] Jose Corral: [00:05:01] Oh, yeah. I mean, the fact that Elijah was able to have some success in there just kind of tells you. There was a trade thing more than a good saying that trade in and working out because yeah you look at Eliza he'd had a great year at Louisiana people were starting to give him some looks at that late, you know, fifth or sixth round. Let me ask options here. [00:05:20][18.8] Julian Martinez: [00:05:20] Who do you think fell in love with him? Do you think it was Adam Peters? You think it was Kyle or do you think it was John? It was one. [00:05:25][4.6] Jose Corral: [00:05:25] It was 100% Kyle. You could just tell by the type of runner he was and Louisiana that he would fit. [00:05:30][5.1] Julian Martinez: [00:05:31] Perfect. I'm talking Trey. [00:05:32][0.9] Jose Corral: [00:05:32] Oh, with Trey. Oh, yeah. It was definitely, probably, probably still Kyle. I think Kyle just saw some of that tape and some of the way he was, but he was running to cover him it. [00:05:43][10.5] Julian Martinez: [00:05:43] Why say, is it weird for Kyle just because you look at the Shanahan family historically and how they don't make an effort to go and get high round draft picks at running back and have had success with the undrafted guys and the late round guys. And it kind of makes me think that someone in the front office was mostly vouching for Surman. And that's that's speculation. Make assumptions. You only get a chance to make an ass out of me, yada, yada. All that bullshit, you know, like, based off his history for Shanahan, let's see. Really saw Trey sermon as a dude and it never seemed like he was going to willingly just make him the dude in the offense. He was always going to have to work for his role. It's kind of weird to see him being a guy that's like, Yeah, trade up for him unless this is a spike pick because he wanted Mac Jones and not Trey Lance. He was like, You know what, trade up for Trey sermon do, right? [00:06:35][51.4] Jose Corral: [00:06:35] And then at the time the running back were still just basically what he mostert Jefferson Junior yeah about it they did have three point there running back as well. So I think he was trying to just add a little bit more maybe counter of what they had already because if you look at most Mostert, he's more of that. What we were talking about with Elijah Mitchell that they just kind of explode three blocks and they kind of just get to where they need to go where I think Trey sermon was obviously the opposite. I think he was looking to kind of have that type of ball runner. They're having that type of runner with the ball. I mean, I think that's probably he was trying to do and it just didn't end up working out. And now, I mean, and it's also going to be different because Mike McDaniel isn't there anymore. So, you know, he was a pretty big piece there as to what they were doing in the run game for the past few years. So I mean, it'll be interesting to see how the running game in general develops for the Niners now that Anthony Lynn is kind of in charge. [00:07:29][53.9] Julian Martinez: [00:07:30] Anyway, it sucks that Trey sermon didn't work out for the Niners. It was a draft pick that was really hoping would have panned out for us. Certainly building depth in that running back room. But they come and go and that's just kind of running back in the NFL, especially running back in the Kyle Shanahan system. So hopefully next time and they don't draft a running back with a third round pick because that's just going to send red flags in my mind. We'll see what becomes of the guys that you have on the roster. I'm really excited to see what Mason does. I'm really excited to see what Tyrone Davis Price does. Elijah Mitchell, of course, what he does in year two and Jeff Wilson, you know, has kind of hung around, been a stud so you keep doing you Jeff Wilson Jr but all right guys from Georgia Tech sports Jose Corral 49 reasons listen go ahead and check out the channel we're glad to be back. Like some content comment on some content. Subscribe, yada, yada, yada, yada. We will see you next time. [00:07:30][0.0] [429.8] |
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