2025 NFL Week 3 AFC Preview

20:17He can still do it. It's just that for a guy who doesn't want to get hit, like he sure is getting hit a lot. Their offensive line's been bad. It's a bad combination of he's getting hit. He's taking a lot of sacks. His time to throw is very low and he's not throwing it deep. So it's like this safe offense where you're still having all these bad things happen. I actually don't think that's all on him, but I don't know if he's going to be the guy to fix it. And he's getting rid of the ball fast. The targets are close to the line of scrimmage, as Jordan pointed out. But when there is a little bit of glimpses of Rodgers extending plays, things have gone the wrong way.

20:53And I think that could be attributed to like a lack of cohesion and opportunity for these guys to play together. like in the play where Calvin Austin gets in the way of a ball that I believe was intended for Pat Friermuth and ultimately gets picked off after like both of them had a chance. Like they're both in the same place. Like they're in the scramble drill and they run to the same spot. I think things could ultimately get better, but it is a little bit of a positive to say that Rogers is moving around and extending plays a little bit. Not that he's doing it a whole bunch. And it won't. I don't think the defenders are just going to be in the way like, you know, for the Patriots that they were for the Seahawks.

21:27Sorry. I'm a little down right now on just watching these linebackers.

21:31Jourdan Rodrigue:Stop saying we. These linebackers. You have to earn that we. Did you notice that? I'm testing out a theory. I only said that once, and it was by mistake. Robert Spillane is a guy they gave a lot of money to. I mean, he looks like he's in slow motion. And then they're playing Christian Ellis, who was a special teamer, who was our friend Bo Wolfe's maybe favorite Philadelphia Eagle of all time. He literally just couldn't make the Eagles 53. like he wasn't good enough to, and he's starting and playing every snap. And they look like they're playing in the 1990s, and the rest of the game is happening around him.

22:08I feel like that a little bit at their safety. They have a rookie, Craig Woodson, too, who hasn't been bad, but it gives me a theory about Vrabel. And the theory is that Vrabel leans on players that remind him of Patriots teammates. Now, I can't give the one-to-one comparison, but these guys just seem like they should have been on the early 2000s Patriots. You know what I mean? Like Robert Spillane would be like the new Ted Johnson or something like that. But football is different now. And it's like it's passing them by. Yeah.

22:39Jourdan Rodrigue:And so are quarterbacks, you know? Maybe the Patriot way was having good, cohesive teammates the whole time and not being surly in interviews for no reason. By the way, I've successfully not gotten too excited about Drake May's like near perfect game last week. I don't know. I know it wasn't flashy, but it was near perfect. I feel like you bringing it up just now reveals how excited you actually about it. And I can see on Patrick's face that he agrees. Last thing on this game, we should move on, is I did think it was a good sign. They ran a completely different game plan from game two to game one.

23:13Maybe it's learning the personnel. Maybe it's Josh McDaniels kind of doing what he does and having a versatile offensive scheme. And Drake May had a rushing touchdown. He was back scrambling again, which he did so good last season. didn't really do it in the first week of the season. To our next game, to Cleveland, where the Browns play host to Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers, who are favored by eight and a half points. The over-under is 42 and a half. Carol, I mean, excuse me, Kevin Kugler and Moose Johnson. Johnston on the call, Greg. Is this the end and the final starting game for Joe Flacco in 2025?

23:47No, I'm surprised this has been such a question. I think they're going to have more patience. And I also think at Joe Flacco's age, if you get one really good performance followed by one really bad performance all season, that's like, that's under par. Like that's good. That's better than you could possibly expect. And that's what's happened the first two weeks. So I wouldn't be surprised if he comes out and he looks as good as you could expect against a Packers defense that has so far made, you know, some young quarterbacks look terrible this season.

24:19Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, I love this Packers defense. Jeff Halfley is all the way in his bag. The way that he used Micah Parsons in prime time just to completely change responsibilities for blocking and change the math and moving him all over the place. He only played 44 of 65 defensive snaps. I expect that number to keep increasing as he gets his feet under him. We forget when we watch him on the field with how great he looks that he actually missed the entirety of training camp and did not have the same ramp up period as everyone else. He is absolutely itching to get on the field floor. He's been very clear about that.

24:55On that, like, do you ever wonder if like training camp is just very overrated the way everyone talks about it? Because Quinchon Jenkins, for instance, like literally is a rookie that's never practiced with his team. And he signs with them and practices for the first time. I guess he was there in OTAs on Thursday. and then he plays like a full game on Sunday. And you know what I mean? Like they somehow managed to like get up to speed pretty quick.

25:16Jourdan Rodrigue:I don't think training camp is overrated. No, I think that I'm on record is. Yeah, I think it's certain positions in certain situations. As long as you use properly. Yeah, it's a little over because they make it sound like it's so big, but then you miss the whole thing. And when they show up from these holdouts, then Jamar Chase is playing like five days later. And, you know, he looks great. But this is a guy who's supposed to take them to the Super Bowl playing off of like off like being completely cold off of laying on a training table. Right. Yeah. I want him to ramp up a little bit when you cannot physically contact people in regular season practices.

25:48Jourdan Rodrigue:But yes, to the point, I do think that and I know that I am definitely going to hear from people on this because my error, I forgot to include the Packers as one of the top five defenses, I believe, are going to sustain in our last episode. And I don't know which order that these will publish, but I will say Packers are very much one of those teams for me one and two with the Chargers right there this is such a fun group to watch Jeff Halfley is already getting the the whisper treatment oh how how long are we gonna keep him from from the local reporters out there this is such a fun defense not just because of the talent on the roster but the way that he is finding ways to maximize every player on this roster even when there are questions about cornerback this is just really a fun group to watch and some guys have maximated maximize their opportunity like keshawn nixon who was such a big part of that what are they going to do five targets at keshawn nixon on thursday night football five passes broken up like the guys that were there have raised the level of their game and i'm wondering because i said it as soon as miles garrett requested a trade the packers should put together an offer and it is my conspiracy theory not really it's the same But it's my headcanon that they take that offer that would have gone to the Cleveland Browns for Miles Garrett and send it.

27:06It was in their draft. Yeah, to the Dallas Cowboys. Hey, Jerry, I hear you're frustrated with this guy. And now Miles has to look across the field. I love that. And all of this, this could be your life, but you elected to stay with him. I love that. It's true because we mentioned Fred Warner might be the defensive player the year earlier. I would vote Miles Garrett through two weeks. It's silly to just point out that Miles Garrett is great. but like he's been so unstoppable these two weeks he's you know he's got four sacks and they were like they're flashy sacks too but his run stuffs are like leading the league as well he is just always in the backfield and he will be playing against most likely a rookie right tackle and Anthony Belton who struggled a little bit in his first start if they don't get Zach Tom back and you're right he he has to be a little sick thinking about it because I don't think it would have even would it have cost as much?

27:57It was before the draft. The contract wouldn't have been as big. I think, yeah, it would have been pretty similar. And instead, Michael Parsons, like Brett Favre once did, is just getting people jobs. He got Dan Quinn a job, and now he'll get Jeff Halfley a job. Because none of this, it's all true what you're saying, but also none of it would happen if you didn't add the second or best player in the league. I would say these are the two best.

28:19Jourdan Rodrigue:But I would say this defense was already going to be good coming into it. And I think he just, what I love about the way that Micah Parsons fits with this group is he, because of the attention he commands and because of the way he can move around. And like I said, Jeff Halfway's looking at this like a giant math equation as well of skill sets and where people can win and what blocking is going to happen. They're using Micah Parsons, the way they're moving around the field. It's the way that offensive coaches use motion players to get defenses to declare whether they're in man or zone. He's doing the exact same thing.

28:52Jourdan Rodrigue:The way that he moves Micah Parsons around the field gets the offense to declare what their blocking strategy is. It is freaking cool to watch. And what it does is it lifts everybody else. It gives everybody else more opportunities to win because they know the answer before the test even starts. And that is really cool because this was already going to be a great, really good defense. Now it can be a transcendent defense because they also have the answers before the quarterback does. Right. I think he's just like a he's a one on one. and that he could be so successful in all of those spots. So I don't think we're going to learn that much about them, unfortunately, though, this week, because the offensive line for the Browns is sneaky bad.

29:31That was one of the things that you really liked about the Browns during the Stefanski era, and the tackle position is no longer nearly as strong. Joel Batonio is out of practice, so it's such a mismatch. I actually think on the other side, there is some interesting football to be seen because the Browns defense has played pretty well. They're especially good against the run. Josh Jacobs is trying to get going. This will be a tough team to do it against. I mentioned Myles Garrett, and then just the advanced nature of Jordan Love this season. I was listening to a podcast with Logan Paulson, the former commander player, called Take Command.

30:06Jourdan Rodrigue:As we all know, I decided to really go ahead and start to take command. And yes, that's just an excuse to get that in there. I listened to him point out, he was talking about how in the first drive of that game last week, Jordan Love had three check with me's on the first drive of the game built into the game plan on a short week, and he was just saying, that's not normal. You need to have, that just wouldn't happen in most situations. You need to have an offensive group that has been together a while and a veteran quarterback, which it's weird to think Jordan Love has a veteran quarterback, but he has been in that system his entire career, and all the players around him have been in that system their entire career.

30:49And so they're just like operating at like a week 14, 15 level where most teams are just, you know, gearing up in like late preseason and stuff. So when they're on offense, it'll at least be a little interesting. All right, let's take a quick break and we will be back to wrap up our exciting journey through the AFC.

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35:56Visit plus.nfl.com for turn. Oh, I hear Patrick reading these promos on NFL Network all the time. Fantasy Live, Game Day View. I'm like, I want that on NFL Daily. There it is, Greg. Give it to me, especially one that's near and dear to my heart. I will be in Dublin next week. Jealous. I mentioned it a couple shows ago. Most of the shows, including this one, will be taped here. and then I'm going to be flying over for the game, doing a live show, by the way, with the Irish NFL show. I think there's some tickets available on Friday night, so check that out. I think I'll be part of the talk sport coverage of the actual game if you want to listen on the radio, part of Sky Sports, and obviously doing work, doing all these shows, and we'll be still doing NFL Daily.

36:40We're not going anywhere. I might just be in a little box, and you guys will wave to me, which will be a lot of fun.

36:45Jourdan Rodrigue:That won't be the gesture I will be making. Oh, how dare you? It is really exciting this time of year when the international games start going. Yes, especially our friends in Ireland, exceedingly jealous. Take care of them, Greg, as I am sure that they will take care. The expectations are high for this one. I feel like the first Ireland game is going to be a banger. We got a banger here in the AFC West, the Denver Broncos at the Los Angeles Chargers, who are 2-0. they are favored by two and a half points the over under is 45 and a half you know it's a great game because the greatest of all time Kevin Harlan is on the call with Trent Green and Melanie Collins Jordan do the Chargers get to 3-0 the biggest matchup and the coolest matchup possibly of the week for me actually is in this game it's the combination of Sean Payton and Bo Nix and that Broncos offense and Jesse Minter, Dion Henley, Derwin James, and that amazing Los Angeles Chargers defense that has been absolutely lights out through the open to this season.

37:57Jourdan Rodrigue:And this game, especially how they move and counter move against each other from quarterback versus linebacker to offensive coordinator versus defensive coordinator on opposite sides. This is going to be so much fun. For me, this is going to be for me personally to watch. And I'm hopefully, well, I guess I won't have this game, but I wish I did. And I really feel like this is a test for Bo Nix because he has been up and down over the course of the first two weeks. He's had a little too much dip on his chip and won, I think, tried to make things happen that weren't really there. And he's going to be playing against sort of this like very cloudy match quarters, cover two zone, this shell defense that the Chargers really deploy with great effect.

38:44Jourdan Rodrigue:Bo Nix against the zone is 38 for 54, 340 yards, two touchdowns, but three interceptions. And here's where it really starts to get interesting. He takes 2.84 seconds time to throw on average against the zone. So he's holding the ball a little bit, trying to figure out what he sees. It's not that he doesn't have outlets. When he takes the underneath outlets and the options that are there for him, it's 5.8 air yards per attempt. And that's what has led to this 70.4 % completion percentage. So it means it's the options are there and he takes them. But when he doesn't trust when he's seeing, that's when the turnovers happen.

39:17Jourdan Rodrigue:And he is he will guess wrong sometimes when he doesn't know what he's seeing from these zone coverages. So it's all about what options do you have? Will he see them? Will he take them or will he try to press and do too much? I when I watched the Bo Nix game against the Colts, I expected a better overall performance than I saw. I think Sean Payton got a lot open and Broncos fans are very sensitive and they're asking for a pause. Everyone that was critical of Bo Nix week one, how are you saying sorry? Week two. And then he throws a game-killing interception. And I thought overall, he was uneven in that game.

39:49And so sometimes I like to just check. And I actually do find in terms of grading the quarterback position, I don't mind PFF. It is one part of the equation. And I was shocked to see this, but it backed up what I thought that it wasn't like a great performance. It was actually their lowest Bo Nix, you know, graded passing game, except for week one since last September, which kind of matched my eyes that it felt like a September of last year, Bo Nix type of game. So I don't think he's out of the woods yet. And this is such a great test. You, you really said it all of just testing his patience. This is a defense that'll test his patience.

40:26It will test his patience. I think that they were the beneficiary of a weird performance by the Las Vegas Raiders because there's a with Khalil Mack on the field for this team. And yeah, like the players like Henley is having a great season. He had a great season last year.

40:41Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, he did. It still is one of the more the more dominating around the line of scrimmage to tacklers and adjusters in the league right now. But I think this is the moment where if you're a Broncos team, you have to take advantage of Khalil Mack being out for these four weeks. He's on injured reserve. Yeah, we haven't mentioned that on this show that he's expected to return this season. and better news than they thought yeah consider it like looking at him in the sling and especially watching unfortunately looking at the replay i thought that was going to be it for kalimak for the season so that's good uh that he'll be back but it's good news for the broncos that they don't have to contend with him and maybe we see bo nicks get back to where he excels uh in using his legs a little bit more because that fell off and it hasn't been back this season i'm gonna see bo nicks run a little bit i i'm leaning broncos here just because i have a hard time like imagining a world where everything's going so well with the Chargers with no until yeah I don't know right it's always an until it would be it would be 3-0 with a two-game lead over the Broncos and the Chiefs after three weeks and all the wins in the division that would be incredible Khalil Mack you know being out hurts because that's the thing but the thing the Chargers thing is Khalil Mack I was worried about their pass rush overall but it was good against the Raiders Tuli Tuli Polo too was fantastic in that game.

42:00My biggest question in this game, other than the one you pointed out with Bo Nix is which Patrick Sertan do we get? Because he had an ankle injury last week and he played through it. He only missed, I think one snap. It did not look good and he didn't play well. He didn't look like Patrick Sertan after that. I think he gave up four or five catches and some of them were down the field. One was to Pittman, one was to Warren and you just, you don't see that ever. Like you didn't see it once last season. So he just needs to be healthy, I think because I think that the defense is built in some ways around Patrick Sertan being a special player and there's every reason to believe he he will be as long as he's healthy it's more of a

42:34Jourdan Rodrigue:question of is he 100 and you know who is playing really well Quentin Johnston you know so that'll be a challenge and I also expect the Chargers to start getting a couple of these other players that the younger players you know going Trey Harris and and you know Ladd McConkie has been showing up a little bit you know light lightning lad as I don't know if they have room for Trey Harris and Keandre Lambert Smith, like maybe a little bit, but they got like Keenan Allen's I'm shocked by it. I know that's how I was just, that's what I was just going to bring up. It'll be a tough decision to make between these, these corners in Denver because Keenan Allen is playing like a much younger version of Keenan Allen and he's playing like their one, like their number one receiver.

43:12Jourdan Rodrigue:So this is going to be super interesting, um, you know, for the Denver Broncos defense who is getting a lot of pressure, but you know, we'll kind of just have to see because this Chargers offensive line, despite all the shuffling that it's had, has looked pretty dang good itself. Yeah, the benefit for Herbert and the Chargers offense is when he's able to extend the play, which healthy Justin Herbert's always going to do, Keenan Allen knows where to go. Yeah. And, you know, as much as we think of Lambert Smith and Trey Harris and all that they have to contribute, like Keenan Allen will forget more football today than those guys may learn ever.

43:44And so, like, that veteran presence. And, yeah, he still looks good. Like, his ability to run the routes is good. and for Quentin Johnston, like he's always been able to finish plays. But the great thing for me was to watch him track that ball over the shoulder and then finish the play, like in that particular order and not try to do one before the other. And it's just, it's so good. And like you said, Greg, everything's going great for the Chargers. They compliment each other, right? Like this is a group that compliments each other. I watched our friend Matt Money Smith does like an Instagram video after Chargers.

44:18Where do you see him?

44:19Jourdan Rodrigue:at the game oh right and so he's watching it i like wave he's watching it and he says watching those two guys lad and keenan next to each other because usually they're lining up on the same side depends on you know on the play who's inside like watching the precision of their route running next to each other is just incredible because they're two of the best at that specific skill set in the entire league and that that i think that has a little bit of a multiplying effect and certainly certainly is going to calm down. I think Justin Herbert. So shout out to money who, by the way, had a, had a flex on this IG video that he had gotten back from the game around one 30.

44:58He was taping the video around eight and he had already gone surfing that morning. And it's like, hair is wet. He's looking all looking all buff. You know, it's just, everything's coming up. Matt. It's just dedicated to doing what he wants to do. If he were in position to be backstage at an Oasis concert, I think Matt Smith would have ultimately been there. To Jacksonville, Florida, we go where the Jags coming off a rough one in a loss that they donated to Cincinnati, playing host to the 0-2 Houston Texans at all the promise with two close losses. Jags favored by one and a half, Greg. The over-under is 43 and a half.

45:33Spiro Ditas, Adam Archuleta, and Aditi Kikawala on the call. Do the Jags bounce back after making a donation? Tough game to pick. I think the Jags have definitely played better overall this season. I think they're well coached. I think they're a little unlucky to be 2-0. I also think their offense has room to grow, and it's already been good, and that this is like a really fascinating matchup. And yet, there is something about, I don't know how my brain works, that looks like beyond the X's and O's, and just thinks this is a big spot for D 'Amico Ryans and CJ Stroud and this organization. They were 0-2 last year, actually, very similar type of spot.

46:16with a bad start on their offense. They played the Jags in that spot, a worse Jags team. They beat them, and that helped to turn their season around. I just think it's a really important game in the AFC South. Like, this is a really big game, especially for the Houston Texans. But you could look at it the same way for the Jags, too, because they could put some distance and a real, I think, questions and hurt on where the Houston Texans are as a team if they can win this game.

46:42Jourdan Rodrigue:I think you make a statement, more so maybe if you're the Jags on this because they've dropped 12 of the last 14 to the Texans, right? And obviously that's different regimes, right? So if you're the new regime and you want to make it very clear that things will be different now, you've got to go out and beat this Houston Texans team. The Texans, man, I watch their defense and I think that's real freaking football right there. Like that is real tough. that is deep February, excuse me, deep January, early February caliber physicality. That is real football. And then I watched the offense and they, the same problems that there were before.

47:23Jourdan Rodrigue:And I'm really shocked because I, I fully expect, and I know this, that, that Nick Kaley wants to build in outlets and wants to run quick passes and quick throws. And I know that the receivers are hurt, but I know he wants to bring some of this patriots. He kind of, you know, help for the quarterback and get the rhythm going and stay ahead in the down and mitigate pressure and do all of these things, help the offensive line, which just still looks totally embattled. And I'm sure Seth Payne is like popping a vein in his forehead every time he watches this group. Yet again, I know that they want to do all these things, screen development that helps with your zone runs.

47:58Jourdan Rodrigue:You can call that an extension of your zone runs and still take pressure off the quarterback. And I know not having Joe Mixon hurts. And I know having the receivers hurt. that they're working with, that they wanted to be working with, hurts them. But they have to find answers, and they have to do it quick, because this is, again, like you mentioned it, Greg, another 0-2 start where the same problems, not with the quarterback, but with the system around the quarterback and with the cast around the quarterback, are hurting the quarterback. And maybe the quarterback is having to do a little bit too much, which he wanted at the beginning of this season.

48:32Jourdan Rodrigue:But you've got to protect that guy from himself a little bit. I'm willing to look past it and place the blame on the schedule. I think Rams defense, Bucs defense is a very difficult way to start the season versus the Jacksonville Jaguars who have started against a team that's trying to change some things as well as a Bengals team that loses their starting quarterback in the game. That's why I lean Houston in this one. And I know that folks want teams in situations late in games with leads to be aggressive. and we saw Monday night where that can go wrong, where you end up having to have somebody chase a quarterback after chasing somebody else looking the other way and then doing the same thing with Bucky Irving.

49:15Whereas this Jags team, there was so much Brian Thomas Jr. conversation this week and breakdown. Should we listen to what Coach Cohen had to say? A conversation about conversations with BTJ because I have some data. Just like anybody on this team, nobody was pleased with the outcome, right?

49:37Jourdan Rodrigue:And we had some good conversations, really good conversations. And everybody was frustrated. But at the end of the day, he's got a great opportunity to bounce back, as does the rest of our team, and feel really confident about that. Okay, what I have here for the viewers on YouTube, as well as the folks watching, is a look at some Brian Thomas Jr. routes from the successful weeks for Brian Thomas Jr. from last season. Do you guys notice anything about the direction that these routes are going? Yeah, they're all breaking in. Yeah, he's breaking in, but he's doing a lot of deep stuff and a lot of breaking out.

50:15So that was this season, as Jordan notes, the end breakers. Let's look to last season, and this is not Matt Jones propaganda. This is where Brian Thomas Jr. was running. In a lot of these places where he's trying to make catches in traffic, that's not where Brian Thomas Jr. was successful. Yeah, I'd like to see Brian Thomas Jr. in space on the outside making plays, not necessarily utilizing him like a tight end. Hopefully they do that. But I'm still picking the Texans because I do think they're the better. Yeah, I think there are two extremely talented wide receivers are not playing with a ton of confidence.

50:45The postgame interview with Brian Thomas Jr. was sad. Actually, the two saddest press conferences I've seen this year, I think, are CJ Stroud and Brian Thomas Jr. Because CJ just wears his emotion on his sleeve and he's frustrated and he's bummed about what is happening right now. and Brian Thomas Jr. was asked about his confidence, and he just answered it very softly. And he has struggled, and we've talked about this during the preseason since like day one of training camp. For whatever reason, him and Trevor have not been on the same page. He's been dropping a lot of passes, like from training camp into preseason, into the regular season.

51:18And then with Travis Hunter, it does seem like the game is coming at him a little fast where they're having to manufacture touches. And to me, he looked a lot more comfortable at cornerback. It did not take them long to kind of change the plan that we heard was going to be the plan. Because last week he played 45 snaps on defense. I thought he looked good. I went back and watched because I'm just a sicko. His coverage snaps and he looked more fluid and natural. I thought playing cornerback, whereas right now he almost feels like a little bit of a gadget player on offense, which is not what I expected.

51:47Jourdan Rodrigue:I have a theory. This is not reported, but it is a theory that I have. and it comes from Liam Cohen's background and who he came up with under that, like early versions of that Sean McVay offense where you had Hooper Cup and Robert Woods and what are they doing but running a route chart, a heat map that looks a lot like the first one that you showed of what Brian Thomas Jr. is being asked to do this year. If that's not his game, that's fine. Multiple things are true. It is fine to want and need a receiver like that in your offense the way that you want to run it. If you eventually want to make somebody, your Chris Godwin, your Robert Woods, even your Cooper Cup, to run as sort of that F player who can be the mismatch and really kind of sell out the way that we see a lot of the receivers and those coaching trees do in the middle of the field.

52:34Jourdan Rodrigue:That's, it's fine. He has a blocker. He is not that guy. But it's fine to want that. Well, it's also true that Brian Thomas Jr. is, that's not where his gifts are. And he is so gifted in other areas. Now, this is a theory and I'm not wanting to speak out of turn because I'm not in the game planning rooms. but like it's maximizing. If you have a player who is not good at that and not good at anything else, then that stinks. But Brian Thomas Jr. is so gifted at other stuff that that's where I'm failing to see the logic here. And I would like to see players maximize to where they're most talented.

53:07Jourdan Rodrigue:And I also know that this offense, when those players have those responsibilities that are complimentary, that's the highest functionality, right? And so I can understand trying to make it work or trying to see if it works, but you're also not going to run Travis Hunter across the middle like that. It's not about your system. It's about, you know, getting the best out of your players because you know what role Brian Thomas Jr. was great in? What's that? The Brian Thomas Jr. role. Yeah. Like he was like a top 10 receiver as a rookie, kind of in a bigger, better Jamison Williams, like year four, but he's year one role.

53:39That's his role is freakazoid.

53:42Jourdan Rodrigue:And I think that's where you're seeing where this Jaguars team is because again, the ideas are there. You know that the scheme is there. But if it's a square peg round hole situation with a receiver who, like I said, is very gifted in other areas and can build confidence back in other areas, it is a sign that shows this team still has some building to do. They still need to build out their receiving core. They still need to build out the layers in the passing game that Liam Cohen does want to have. And like I said, all of this is just a theory, but I feel like it's them trying to place players into things that they know work.

54:14Jourdan Rodrigue:It's just you don't quite have the full a couple seasons of drafting, even two seasons of drafting to be able to make that happen. And weirdly, throws to all the other receivers are incredibly effective. Parker Washington's killing it. De 'Ami Brown's killing it, except for dropping a touchdown that would have probably won the game. And Brendan Strange is killing it. So the running game seems very cohesive. I think it gives them a chance. I'm leaning Texans as well. Yeah. So which ultimately means in our other show, Cynthia will beat us on a random last second Travis Etienne touchdown. Let's go to our final game.

54:44in the AFC where the Tennessee Titans and the number one overall pick Cam Warder playing host to the 2-0. Indianapolis Colts were favored by four and a half points. The over-under is 43 and a half. Tom McCarthy, Ross Tucker, and Amanda Balionis, our dear friend, is on the call. Yes, the friend of the show. Greg, does Dimes do it again? I think so.

55:06Jourdan Rodrigue:I think this is the right matchup for him. He's coming for quarterback island, Greg. That would be crazy. But if he plays like this for a couple more weeks, yeah. I mean, he's helping to define the position so far with big-time throws. Now, he has one of the highest rates of throwing to his first read in the league, which is not shocking if you're watching these games. They are scheming up good plays. But what I think has gotten lost is so many of his great plays have been under pressure. Is that sustainable? I don't know, but he's dropped some dimes. If you watch the very first play of last week's game, it was one of the best throws.

55:40I think Daniel Jones has made. Under pressure, moving to his left, like find Josh Downs down the field while Zach Allen is like digging into his chest. And that's like a soft layered throw. That's one aspect of what Daniel Jones is doing well. On his very last throw of the game, third and six, gotta have it. Under pressure, again, he hits Tyler Warren in stride to get the first down. For some reason, Shane Steichen decided to stop playing football at that point. It should have cost them the game. It was the worst coaching move of the week. I'm sick of results deciding how we look at it. It was an insane turtling up of Shane Steichen at that moment.

56:19But you know what? I look at that third and seven and think that is growth from Daniel Jones. And ultimately, I am trusting all the people around him, the system, the organization, the players around him to carry him this week. Dimes has killed the blitz this season. Right. The Tennessee Titans are one of the lowest blitz rate teams. in the NFL, there's familiarity here with the Shane Steichen situation. I'm feeling good about Cam Ward getting his first win. Ooh. So, yeah, I heard the survivor music, Greg. I thought you might be willing to lock up the Colts here.

56:52Jourdan Rodrigue:Quarterback Island music. Oh. It's pretty much the same music, but I'm glad you brought that up. I was going to save it for the end of the show. I did forget to pick a survivor team this week. It's not the Indianapolis Colts. The idea, it's in the name, is to survive and advance, to just keep going. And so I'm taking the team playing the Browns once again this week. Why were you looking at me when you were explaining? It's the Green Bay Packers. No, I've loved your picks. The last two, it now shows me you're taking it seriously. But I'm taking the Packers. I am not taking the Colts. I could see that happen.

57:25That is very much a week three result. Like Titans getting their first win, Colts coming back to Earth, even if I'm not ready to pick it. First of all, I've always taken this survivor picks thing seriously.

57:37Jourdan Rodrigue:Just want to put that again on the record. You told me you didn't care at one point. You can't prove that also. So, Patrick, I like the idea of, I think, way friskier than we thought they would be. Tennessee overall team. We knew Cam Ward was going to be good. We hoped he would be good. He's even better, I think, than a lot of people on the outside were expecting. team, but he'd been doing all of this stuff since college. So we kind of saw it coming. He looks awesome. His line does not, that could be a difference maker for him. But I also think that the Titans defense, which has looked creditable, um, over the course of the first two games where they are deeply susceptible is against the run.

58:20Jourdan Rodrigue:Uh, I don't know that this bodes well against this particular Colts team. I don't know that it bodes well for the Titans to not give up a lot of points here. I know Daniel Jones is sucking up so much oxygen that nobody's noticed. Jonathan Taylor's leading the league in rushing and literally ran faster than any running back, any player in the NFL since 2020. It was Raheem Mostert name drop for the second time in this show that had the fastest speed until that, that play by Jonathan Taylor a week ago. And Oh, by the way, Hey, Tyler warning is leading all tight ends in receiving too. So it's crazy.

58:58Jourdan Rodrigue:They're susceptible. The Titans are really susceptible on sweeps and screens as well. We saw that last week with Puka Nakua, what he was able to do for an explosive gain and then 150 rushing yards per game and the sixth highest explosive run rate. I don't think this is the Titans week per se, but I do think they're still going to be fun to watch. And I love that for them. I think it could be they've, they've done well. I mean, not that it really matters. These are, these are the new coaches, but in this rivalry somewhat over the years. And Brian Callahan kind of needs some positivity. The Titans fans are getting a little restless.

59:31He's been in the middle of some bad decision-making processes in each of these games. And then they really built their team resource-wise and what they talked about was important to them on the offensive line, which has been a liability. That's always a red flag. When your focus is struggling, you got to get worried. So we'll see. Fun little AFC South game. We picked the Survivor. We went through all 15 games, and we laughed a little. I had fun. I had a lot of fun. I will be back in this feed on Thursday night with my little buddy, Nixia. I love how you're... Little buddy's going to survive. Let's have little buddy laugh for it.

1:00:12It is absolutely happening. We're getting a lot of comments. That's just how I look at him. My little buddy. So check us out Thursday night. We're going to make it fun. Bill's Dolphins. When you don't think that the game's going to be great, that's when it's going to be great. And that's when our performance is going to be great. I'm sorry I didn't laugh harder at the Tyler Durden joke. I'm a jerk. We'll see you Thursday night. Bill's Dolphins.

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1:03:22Jourdan Rodrigue:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.