8 Ridiculous NFL Storylines and Steelers- Browns TNF Preview

20:09I don't need to be taking questions.

20:11Colleen Wolfe:It's also one of the things where if you're asked a question, like his answer by not answering is the answer. And he's implicating sort of himself in that. Like if it wasn't an issue, you would just say, no, we're good. And some people would just lie. Yeah. But I don't think Drake may be a stand up guy. I don't think he doesn't want to lie. I think he would just lie. He would just it's like, I think you're right. Your analysis of how he's answering that. But he could just say, no, it's 100%. It's totally fine just to shut him up. But he's not that guy. It's a tough scene. I feel like that's on purpose almost, though, too, because I think that he wants probably people to know that maybe he's not 100%, even though he doesn't want to say it.

20:55I don't think he wants people to know, but then they asked about it. Well, they know now. He has no choice. Remember that ball that he dropped in the middle of that game? Yeah. This is how bad their season is going. He said there was blood on the ball. I was kind of curious. Why did that ball just slip out of his hand? His center had some sort of finger problem and was bleeding on the ball.

21:18Colleen Wolfe:Okay. All right. Well, that's where we're at right now in the Patriots season. Just looking for excuses. Shoulder, ball. Nobody's talking about Josh McDaniels.

21:34That guy's dead to me. Are you kidding me? He asked to bring in Tommy DeVito on Sunday. Let's finish the news here before we get to our segment.

21:43Colleen Wolfe:Are you okay? I'm fine. I am buying all the stock right now in Drake May. Maybe it's not next week. Maybe it's not even next month. Buying it all. Hall of Fame career coming. Great. Good. Jeff Halfley is the Miami Dolphins head coach. And I just thought we would end news with this moment in current Dolphins history. They're at 0-3. And if you listen closely, Hefley is confused when he gets to the press conference about, like, why is no one there? Got everybody that's coming. It's Heat Media Day. Say your hand. It's Heat Media Day. I gotcha. Same time. All right. Oh, no. I hated it so uncomfortable.

22:31Colleen Wolfe:Miami. Just where it's at. they have a great media crew covering that team, but there's only, you know, we're a shrinking industry. I don't know if you've noticed this. You know what I have? There's only so many resources. A lot of things have been eliminated. And they're going to ask Giannis some questions about his new team. Oh, man, that is tough, though. It is weird when interest turns like a big market team like the Dolphins maybe into a smaller market team for now. That's enough Dolphins talk. Now I feel bad. Let's take a break and let's talk about the most ridiculous storyline after. It will not include any dolphins.

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26:23Back on NFL Daily, we're fans of drafting things here.

26:27Colleen Wolfe:Yeah. It's a good structure that can build a segment. And I'm always curious how we're going to rank things. And the more ridiculous you can have as a topic, the better. And so I thought, let's just draft most ridiculous storylines. I left it to you to interpret the word ridiculous however you would like to. And so, Colleen, we will draft back and forth. You will have the first overall pick of drafting the most ridiculous storyline of the season. Okay. So, hmm. The most ridiculous storyline of the season, when you put it that way. Oh, yeah. Okay. Forget it. I'm just going to go the Raiders. They're threatening a good time.

27:08Colleen Wolfe:They're fun to watch. They've already matched last season's win total. Kirk Cousins is dealing. Who is that? Kenny Stabler out there? Come on now. He's thrown exactly three touchdown passes in all three games, nine total. Brock Bowers, he makes his season debut. He comes out and just does 10 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Now they have the best tight end duo in the entire league, the Raiders do, with Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers. Sure, they've beaten three teams with a combined 1-8 record. Well, okay, but they are three of those wins. So let's say like... They needed four takeaways in the fourth quarter to escape the Saints while giving up 381 yards to Tyler Shuck.

27:51Colleen Wolfe:But the Raiders are one win away from first place with a Red Hawk quarterback, a takeaway defense, and a rookie head coach. I love it. And the ridiculous part of this storyline, A, that we didn't see it coming. And it's Kirk Cousins in the year 2026, like, at the helm. And we thought we'd see Mendoza maybe by now. The ridiculous part is how bad the Raiders have been for so long. And I've hated it. And I know we have a lot of Raiders listeners and viewers out there. They've hated it. I know. Yeah. I don't hate the Raiders. I'm always accused of being a Raiders hater. I don't want to be a Raiders hater.

28:36But they haven't given us anything. You made the playoffs like one time there with Derek Carr. But for the most part, if you look, this has been a losing team for almost 25 straight years, which is hard to do. All the rules are set up to even out the playing field in the NFL. So it makes no sense that this would happen to any team, much less a team with an incredible fan base, I think right there with the Cowboys as, as among the biggest fan bases,

29:03Colleen Wolfe:storied franchise, they, they, they move so much and they still get supported and, and ownership that you can find fault with, but that loves ball. Yeah. And nose ball. I think maybe Mark Davis, not as much as Al Davis back in the day, but you know, loves ball, nose ball. They've gotten to this point and I've really loved seeing the transformation of Clint Kubiak. He joined us after the Super Bowl last year, and he's become kind of famous on press conferences and with his players that he just gives them nothing. Like, he's very monotone. He's very quiet. He doesn't show much of anything. And then suddenly, after these games, the very first victory of the year, this is where it got on my radar, he beats the Chargers, and he's running back to the tunnel.

29:48And of course, there's a lot of Raiders fans in LA, and he's jumping up and down. Nare I say he's skipping and has a backwards hat and like, you know, high fives one of the fans.

29:59Colleen Wolfe:Almost ran into the thing there, the railing. Almost hit the railing, like jumps up and has like a jaunty high five. And then each week, the Raiders social has been showing his postgame speech to the team. And each week it's gotten a little more aggressive, a little more unhinged. I think he's really leaning into it.

30:29All right, man.

30:34Colleen Wolfe:Hey, man. Hey, guys. That's what resilience looks like, okay? That's you guys believing in each other, okay? Fighting until the very end. So proud of you. So proud of the effort. Like you said, man, that's a great win, but we got a great team coming into town. We already know what it is, bro. It's the Kansas City Chiefs. Enjoy the tonight. Take care of your bodies, and we're on a warpath to get what we want, man. I love y 'all boys. Let's get it. Gang on me. Gang on three. One, two, three. Gang. That, of course, was Max Crosby wrapping it up. Like, Clint was still sort of the opening act and he needed someone to bring up the energy level.

31:06But I like when he's going crazy. He flips the hat backwards. And then when he gets back in serious coach mode, he puts it back forward.

31:13Colleen Wolfe:So he has, like, fun, cool coach and then serious, like, just business coach. How great is it for Max Crosby? He has been waiting for... for a team, a moment like this to be 3-0, to have this game against the Chiefs. Hopefully it's not just three games. I don't think it is. I think they're going to be frisky all year. First of all, what if the whole thing that happened with him going to Baltimore and then going back to the Raiders, what if that was the universe stepping in to be like, no, listen, like you got to be there for this. Maybe this is the start of something. Also, just imagine being a Raiders fan.

31:49Colleen Wolfe:that fan base is so loyal and they are so ride or die with their team, even though, as we just outlined before that the team has seen success in so long, I would venture to say that they're one of the best fan bases in the entire NFL because they've been hanging with the team for so long and they go all out too. I mean, what other team could move from LA to Oakland to Vegas and still be the local LA team? It's ridiculous. We have, we have a lot of Raiders fans in this building and I'm enjoying it. Mostly I'm enjoying that they're watchable, that their players are fun, that I think they're well-coached in a way they just have not been in a while.

32:23So way to go, Clint Kubiak. And maybe you were doing the right thing. When after the Super Bowl, we interviewed him, and he was already thinking about and talking about a little bit off camera and stuff about already thinking about what he had to do with the Raiders, that he was already kind of far behind getting with the Raiders and stuff. And I was like, man, you just won the Super Bowl. That was a credible achievement. Just enjoy it for the moment.

32:49Colleen Wolfe:Super Bowl night? That's what he's doing? Not the night. Like five minutes after the game and maybe 15, 20 minutes after. And I'm like, man, this guy is all ball. But enjoy it and look where it's led to. Just like his dad. He really does. Just like Gary. Gary, one of the most underrated coaches. Super Bowl champion. Let's go to my draft. Okay. I'm going to take Jackson Smith and Jigba continuing to get away with it as my first pick here. How does this keep happening? I don't know. I'm going to give you some on-pace numbers. We're only three games in, but he is on pace for 153 catches, 2 ,295 yards, and most importantly, 34 touchdowns.

33:34Of course, that leads the NFL in everything. That on its own is insane, but the fact that he has 405 yards and the next closest receiver on his team is Cooper Cup with 101. And then Rashid Shahid, they gave Rashid Shahid that contract. He has 57 yards this year. It's all JSN. He has 44 % of the targets on his team go to him. That is way higher than anyone else in the league. 7 % higher than anyone else. Parker Washington of all people is second place in that category. Really? Very surprising. Amon Raya, St. Brown, Justin Jefferson. People that you would expect to be there. And then way above them is JSN.

34:13In the red zone, it gets even crazier. For every red zone pass that they do, two-thirds of them go to JSN. So, you know it's all JSN. That's all I would want to do if I was a defensive coordinator is stop JSN, and it doesn't matter because this guy is too good. I have never seen anything quite like it where one guy is so much the entire passing game on a good passing game. You've never seen it.

34:38Colleen Wolfe:You've never seen it before. Like a Jerry Rice. No! He had John Taylor! He had tight ends. I know, that's fair. I really haven't. Where, like, it's this guy putting up the best numbers in the league and there's no one else on his team, like, getting anything. It's just him every week. That's it. And so the defense, they obviously know that's coming, but they still can't stop him. Shout out to Brian Fleury, who's their new offensive coordinator. Shout out to Drew Locke and Sam Darnold, who have done a great job getting him above. But more importantly, when you thought this guy couldn't get better, he is a young player who is still ascending.

35:12and he is the guy now. Like, I no longer am... It's early, but as great as Jamar Chase is and Jefferson and stuff, like, for right now, until this pace slows down, like, JSN is the guy.

35:24Colleen Wolfe:I mean, averaging 135 yards per game is insane. And everyone knows it's coming. That would put him on track to smash records, obviously. But it's just... I think about when DK Metcalf was on the Seahawks And it felt like DK was the guy that got all of the attention, all of the shine. Like Tyler Lockett, I think, was there too at that point still. And it's just like JSN this whole time is this incredible talent. And now he sort of emerges as the guy and everyone can see it. One of the best trades of the last 10 years was them trading away DK. Not that DK is that poor. they got a second round pick for him and he cost more money I think than he's been worth for the Steelers he's still a good player but he's not worth$30 million a year but they would have had to give him that money and instead they saw what they had they got a nice pick back and they won the Super Bowl I do think about DK and Gino a lot when I think about the Seacogs missing out on that title let's go to your pick okay

36:35Colleen Wolfe:this is going to be a reach probably a bit like if we if we talk about our our board sure um but i just think it's it's a fun one it's not one that was necessarily it's not necessarily a surprise but the fact that the nfc south is such a beautiful disaster yes that includes two of the nfl's passing leaders like the division is three and nine with a combined oh and five record at home so they've done everything that they have done positive has been on the road nobody has um a winning record yet eventually someone will receive a home playoff game and you have the league's two passing leaders in this division price young top of the charts not nine over 900 passing yards tyler shuck right behind him and Tyler Shucks also tied for third and passing touchdowns.

37:32Colleen Wolfe:The NFC South might have the most exciting young quarterback situation in all of football. Whoa. Right. And so that's a bold statement. Maybe if Jalen Daniels comes in here. Exactly. Exactly. And they have it's not just the quarterbacks. Chris Alave is tied for the league lead in reception. OK. But then you like you think about Carolina lost by twenty two, one by thirty one, then lost by three. I don't know who they are. Yeah. Atlanta lost 34 to three to Carolina. Then they beat green Bay 35 to 14, a 52 point swing in the margin. Okay. Tyler shuck through four touchdowns and the saints still lost in a game after those four, four turnovers in the fourth quarter.

38:18Colleen Wolfe:And the Owen three bucks are only one game out of first, first place with a minus 17 differential. Yes. which is actually the best differential among the five winless teams. That's really funny. I could go on and on. Well, in the Panthers, the only way they got to win was a division game. So you said the division is three and nine. I almost don't even count their win over the Falcons because someone has to win that game. They've only won two games out of the division. I have loved the NFC South for so long for its messiness, for its regional rivalry, partly because I feel like They get ignored, partly because I had season tickets to a very mediocre Jim Hazlitt Saints team when I was in college.

39:04It cost like 20 bucks a game to go. But this is the most NFC South I think we've ever gotten. Because it's fun. It's not good. It's going to be under 500 all around. It's messy.

39:17Colleen Wolfe:And it's on Monday Night Football this week with the Falcons at the Saints. That's right. That's the anniversary of... Katrina. Yeah. Although not really. It's a little awkward because like, wait, wasn't that last week? But I like that they're doing this. Roger Goodell wanted this game whenever it was going to be to be in primetime. So even if it's a week and a half later, I like that they are celebrating that moment. And yeah, Tyler Shuck and Bryce Young specifically are extremely watchable. These teams. We'll see about the Falcons. If Michael Penix can just keep the train on the tracks, then weirdly the Bucs might be like the biggest hot mess in the division.

39:55Because at least Penix, we can watch Bijan in primetime, which is usually good for about 200 yards. Drake, London, Moss and people. Truly. Yeah, the Saints, I think, are very typical of this division. They were like down by 20. Then the game comes down to a two-pointer. Then they beat the Ravens. But then they blow a lead to the Raiders. Yeah.

40:13Colleen Wolfe:They're a wild ride. They are. Let's go to my pick. Okay. I'll talk about another weird team. the Vikings being 3-0 while being outgained by 244 yards is almost impossible to have it. That's over 80 yards per game. If you can win one game when you're outgained, it's like, okay, we kind of stole one. When you can do three straight and when it's by a significant amount, I believe they are 31st right now in total offense just in terms of moving the ball. So they are such an insane defense. No one is playing defense like them with Brian Flores. No one has ever played defense blitzing 75 % of the time.

40:55And this team has been together for so long in defense. It's just like nothing else you've seen. Like if you were drafting players, not many of their defenders would get drafted that highly like league wide. And yet when you put them all together and they know Flores' scheme, they're crazy. And yet like Carson Wentz looked better than Kyler Murray, but didn't look too great. And they just traded away JJ and his running game that they'd said was going to be great. The zone running game has been a mess when they've used zone. Like it's messy, but it's very Vikings. And right now it's very fun.

41:29Colleen Wolfe:They haven't reached 250 yards of total offense in any of their first three games. Like it has been all defense. I wanted to give a pass because the second game was impacted by weather and everything. There was the bears, but then you go to Tampa and you know, you have that game and it wasn't any better. I actually thought the Bucs offense looks slightly better, but either way, like the offensive line, which has been good in the past, your poor friend, Gerald McCoy, I saw talking about it. He's just like hurt right now. Everyone's looking for answers when it comes to the Bucs. But when it comes to the Vikings, it's like their fans are just thinking, okay, this is ugly, but maybe we can figure it out on offense.

42:10We get Justin Jefferson back this week. Just a very strange team that they could be getting out gained by that much, but B3-0.

42:17Colleen Wolfe:I have to double check this, but the Vikings and Bucks went, I think, 4 for 32 on third down. That game, when we came up with Ridiculous, I just was like, something related to that game needs to be... There were so many ridiculous things about that. It was difficult. Okay. I'm up. You're up. Good? Okay. I like the Ridiculous storyline of the backup quarterbacks being heroes. They are, they're bringing sexy back. Like this is teams who started their non week one quarterback this season. So this past week and the week before, weeks two and three are six and oh, Case Keenum, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Michael Penix Jr.

43:05Colleen Wolfe:Obviously that's like not backup quarterback, but whatever, it's fine. They wanted to give that job to Tua. I will allow it. He's a backup. Okay. Drew Locke, Carson Wentz, they all went out there. They all won. And I think what is even more interesting about this is that they are recognizable characters. These aren't anonymous sort of replacements. And each one has an individual storyline. Like we know who Case Keenum is. We know that he's the journeyman who's 38 years old and has just always wanted to be the guy and has always just kind of missed out. Marcus Moriota, second overall pick formerly.

43:43Colleen Wolfe:I mean, you have former Heisman winner. Obviously, Jameis Winston is just pure entertainment. Carson Wentz, a former MVP candidate. Like this is the stakes are so high emotionally. And I think that everybody already knows the story going into it. So it's so recognizable. And they've beaten teams that they were supposed to barely survive against or just kind of survive. I love that. And first, I think of Wentz and Mariota and Winston as like, oh, all the guys who are leading shows like this in about 2018, 2017, 2019, they're all back. It's all happening again. We're going to get Jalen Daniels. That'll be a tough ask for him to keep the undefeated record up.

44:27He's an undrafted rookie who's starting for an 0-3 team with a lot of problems. but we'll see.

44:33Colleen Wolfe:I thought Andy Dalton was going to do it for us but he did not. Okay, that brings me to my ridiculous storyline. Honestly, this should be the number one draft pick. Andy Dalton is going to finish this season 0 for 1 with one interception. That is my prediction. That is not a fact but now it is the quest that I am searching for. I think it would be a terrible way for his career to end. Yeah. I've loved the red rifle. You know, we had the Dalton scale back in the day that would measure, you know... Mediocreness? Mediocrity, I think would be the word. But yes, if you're better than him, you're a franchise quarterback.

45:11If you're worse than him, then you're a backup quarterback. At some point, he became the Dalton scale for backups. If you're better than him, you're a backup. If you're worse than him, you're probably not a backup. I don't know what Howie Roseman was watching last year and Nick Sirianni when they gave him this job over Tanner McKee, who I guess had a bad training camp, but our friend Bo Wolfe, who was at every single training camp, was like, yeah, this is what Andy Dalton looked like in training camp. He threw that exact same interception like 15 times where he just stares it down and there's a defender over.

45:44Like they might've lost that game partly because of that McKee-Andy Dalton decision. Hertz was so pissed that everything was taking so long

45:54Colleen Wolfe:for him to get back in the game. And then that's what he watched on the side So I hope in a way that Dalton gets a chance, but McKee should be their backup just so he can get rid of this stat line. But if he doesn't, I am tracking it. Josh Dubow of the Associated Press was so kind to notice something I wrote about Dalton finishing 0-for-1 with an interception. And let me know that six quarterbacks in NFL history have pulled off this feat. Felipe Franks of the Falcons in 21. Koi Detmer. I believe that was on the Eagles in 2000. Matt Blunden in 97. Not familiar with his work. How about Sam Weiss when he was an NFL player, not the coach of the Bengals.

46:37He was a player in 1974. And then Tom Myers and Dean Look back in the 60s. I was shocked that there were so many quarterbacks to go 0-1 with an interception for the entire season. I was like, how could that ever happen? Because I think it's going to happen now. And apparently it happens all the time.

46:52Colleen Wolfe:Dean Look is such a 1960s name. Great name. Now I got to look this guy up. Andy Dalton. Ageless. His hair better than ever. Truly. Let's go to your next pick. Okay. I did really love Debo's 80 receiving yards on zero catches. Like that was just so weird. But that the Texans can't quit going 0-3. Oh, this is not ridiculous. They love a comeback story. They're 0-3 for the second consecutive season, but that's not why it's ridiculous. It's the seventh time in their 25-year history, which means they've started 0-3 28 % of the time in franchise history. I'm not great at math, so maybe the numbers are not there.

47:43Colleen Wolfe:That sounds right. But I'm pretty sure that is correct. They scored 31 points against Buffalo, but they've only produced 23 total points in two games after the defense obviously remains capable of keeping Houston alive out there. But Nico Collins is absence. That looms large. The offensive line has their own issues and a, I'm what a bottom five, bottom three rushing attack right now. It's not great. It's sad. You're super team. This is more sad than ridiculous. I don't accept it. I'm, I'm depressed about them. And I'm getting vibes from D 'Amico Ryan's that I don't want to think about. And I don't think this is true, but there's been those defensive coaches over the years that can never get an offense right.

48:30And at some point you can be like, that's your fault. And they never like get to, they're not great at game management and D 'Amico Ryan's is not great at game management. Some of the fourth down decisions in that game were curious and that they can never figure out their offense. and he's at a higher level than guys like Rex Ryan or Mike Zimmer. But those guys were guys who won coach of the year too, but they just could never wrap their mind around having the right offensive mentality or just find the right hires. And I hope he doesn't get in that rut.

49:03Colleen Wolfe:I know. I'm just like, I'm racking my brain right now for defensive coaches that have had good offenses. I don't like this because even my son, who's a fan of the Texans at 0-3, He's like, well, they did it last year. You can't just count on that happening each and every year. Let's finish. Okay. With the Jets 2027 draft. I'm a fan of tank-a-thon. The Jets have three picks. If the draft were to happen today in the top 11, that's incredible, but I kind of want to break down why and how that's incredible. The sauce gardener trade has gone gangbusters for them. They got two first round picks for Sauce Gardner and A.D.

49:47Mitchell, who I said at the time was a throw, like is not a throw in, is playing good ball for them as a starter. They got Kenyon Sadiq with one of those first round picks. To me, he looks like a future pro bowl, pro bowler. And they got the Colts first round pick next year, which looks like it could be pretty good. Now let's go to the Cowboys. Not only did they get a second round pick in last year's draft, which turned into D 'Angelo Ponsor, they traded it around. Good young defensive back, hopefully. Yeah. But they somehow convinced the Cowboys to give them the better of the Cowboys pick or the Packers pick.

50:26And at the time you're thinking, those are two good teams. Yeah. Right now, that Packers team, that Packers pick is looking juicy. That Packers pick is like, I don't know, to use a vegetable comparison, at first it doesn't start out that well, but it's getting ripe. You're like, wow, this thing.

50:44Colleen Wolfe:Wait, what? I don't know. What about to use a vegetable? I'm just saying, I don't know if you do any gardening. I'm saying sometimes. I'm growing loads of passion fruit right now. Dragon fruit, olives, strawberries. Sometimes at the beginning, like, oh, you think that's going to be a good one, and it flips around. This is what's happening with the Packers. So if you're a fan of the Jets, who, by the way, have looked good for one and two teams, they've looked the best of these three teams, Jets, Colts, and Packers. And if you want to throw the Cowboys in, the Cowboys have probably looked a little better.

51:19But either way, the Jets' own pick right now is 11. We'll see where that ends up. But if the Packers pick falls through the floor, or maybe the Cowboys plus the Colts, they are looking like geniuses. Darren Mugey. The Jets are back.

51:35Colleen Wolfe:You know what? You can say that the future is bright for the Jets, regardless of how they play this season, because of the way that the draft is already looking ahead for them. I love that. I just think it's a fun way to be a fan, too. They're going to get Jets fans are going to get to experience this season trying to watch their young players develop. Gino's obviously playing great so far, but maybe you don't want your team to be too good. You just want them to be respectable, win seven or eight games. but then you have three other teams to root against because it could be the Packers or the Cowboys and then you're rooting against the Colts and it could all end up in a stew where they can do whatever they want in the 2026.

52:12Colleen Wolfe:I like how you're spinning this. It's fun. I don't even think it's a spin. No. I just think it's trenchant analysis and it is the eighth most ridiculous storyline of 2026. That maybe should have gone higher. That was a steal. I know. That was my favorite one. What other ones were on here? That's all I had. Oh, that's all we had. We're done. We are going to preview Thursday Night Football because the ridiculous storylines are done in terms of the draft. Thursday Night Football this week, the Browns and the Steelers, it is in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are only two and a half point favorites on a short week at home.

52:49That is basically saying it is like two even teams playing. We have Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on the call. If I was being ungenerous, I could say, it's a little ridiculous. They're national broadcasters. I can think of 10 crews I like better to listen to. I know that's not, you know, who knows? People could go work for Amazon someday. It's not going to happen for me. There are 10 or 12 or 15 better crews. So it's unfortunate to me, but they'll probably have a new one next.

53:27Colleen Wolfe:That's Greg's opinion. Just my opinion. Not mine. What do we think about this game? Where do you want to start? Are you buying into the Browns at all? Well, they beat Carolina. They only produced 259 yards. They committed a ton of penalties in this game. Deshaun Watson, yes, he was clutch in the game, delivering that go-ahead drive. But I am not really buying it yet. I know that I feel like they're turning a corner. I'm more optimistic about the Steelers because their offense finally opened up and they finally had a running game and they beat Cincinnati behind Aaron Rodgers' best performance of the season only two others to compare it to but three touchdowns there was one tipped interception Jalen Warren looked great 158 scrimmage yards 127 of them rushing.

54:27Colleen Wolfe:So the offense had balance. It was something that I just was not expecting. And there it was on display. So now does that carry over? To a game where, look, you're in Cleveland. So that's why it's two and a half. I was a little confused there. Take that back. The fact that the Browns defense has gotten better, I think, over the last couple of games makes me just not know what to expect when the Steelers have the ball because those were the most explosives from a Steelers offense since Rodgers got there last week. It was his deepest depth of target on average throwing it down the field, like by far.

55:09They were using play action, which he doesn't always love to do. Six for eight for 128 yards. And Roman Wilson just looks faster this year, a little more explosive. Jeremy Bernard, I think, has something going on, but they looked so bad the first two weeks that it was almost confusing. Where did this come from?

55:27Colleen Wolfe:Yeah. And how could it possibly be this bad? Part of it might be that the offensive line makes a change on the right side where Maxi Hanachor, a rookie first round pick looked really good in his first start. And then Brock Hoffman was just throwing people out of the club. The other guys like, why didn't you start him in week one? But he had a great, and suddenly you have Troy Fautano is on the left side and that's where they got most of those good runs. again. So overall, I was really encouraged. I don't think they need to be great on offense to be a playoff contending team. They just need to be good.

55:59I am a little worried about Jalen Warren, one of my favorite players in the NFL to watch because he has not had a workload like that in his career. And now he has to play on Thursday night football. So do you have to get the backups involved a little more? That's just one small thing to be concerned about.

56:15Colleen Wolfe:I also have really liked Cleveland's front with Mason Graham. He has at least a sack in every game. And this is a front that also has Jared Verse. So they've been good with just like some interior disruption. And I think too, when I look at Pittsburgh's pass rush, like Cleveland's, the interior of their offensive line is banged up. Yes. So that's another storyline and another spot where things could get messy. So I'm glad you brought that up. The Browns center Elton Jenkins might miss this game. And at right tackle, they acquired Titus Howard from the Texans, who has been struggling in general.

56:59So then you suddenly have two weak points and you're going up against TJ Watt, who was shut out last week, but also Alex Highsmith. And Harmon, Derek Harmon on the inside has turned into a game wrecker. Literally, he won them that game last week. you have Keanu Benton. When they sacked Joe Burrow to win the game, all their backups were in, which was kind of crazy. Like they were rotating, like they were good enough that their backups were in there because they were trying to like keep everyone fresh. And the backups are the one that closed out the game for him. So I do wonder how Deshaun Watson will respond to that.

57:30Here's what I like about the Browns offense. Can I give you that? Please. Okay. Watson is moving way better. There were a few good improv plays. On the fourth down for a touchdown. A few good scramble plays. It looks like a night and day how he's moving. They're young players. Harold Fannin Jr. is a baller. Looks great. Casey Concepcion. They haven't really unlocked him, but he looks good to me. It's like 12 touches, 80 yards. Like it hasn't happened yet. But Denzel Boston is a dude as a first receiver. So you have these young players. And they've been really aggressive on fourth down. They won that game last week because Todd Monken trusted his team a couple times.

58:08I do love that. On fourth down, and they delivered. What I don't like is, look, Watson right now has actually the lowest depth target of his career. So it's all schemed up. The scheme is winning. That's good coaching. But he's still a little uneven. They have not topped 300 yards yet as an offense. They are bottom five in terms of like yards per drive, third downs, red zone. So I am prematurely sick to my stomach of listening to Alan Kirk talk about Deshaun Watson as some comeback story when he's coming back from committing crimes, you know, and then not taking any accountability for it. And he is playing better for sure.

58:48He has not shown consistency in terms of like the drop back game, but he did make enough plays for them to win. And he's being held back. One last thing I don't like by the running game. Quid John Juggins is averaging three yards per carry. And so they don't have a running game right now. Throw that all up in a blender. and that's going to be pretty difficult against the Steelers defense. Let's actually listen to Todd Monken talk about his opposition.

59:12Colleen Wolfe:What about the hot start that TJ Watt is off to and just how good is he trying to pretend? Well, I mean, I think it's about time that he retires. I think he, to me, I mean, it's, and Hayward and all those guys, like, I mean, it's credit to those guys. I mean, how long they've done it at the level they've done it. and uh it's been tough to go against i mean it those elite players are hard are challenging like every week in the nfl but those guys along with the the other guys that they have in their front seven and the back um i i think he ought to retire that's great he's being funny it's a joke i think it's hilarious um i think it's gonna be amazing when tj watt uses that as some type of motivation and it's like bulletin board material and all of that.

1:00:05Colleen Wolfe:Are either of these teams actually good? I think the Steelers could be good. I have my doubts about the Browns, but I think they have enough and they have good coaching. And you mentioned the defensive front. Mason Graham is having a great year. Daniel Jeremiah might have to give him credit on this one. He was telling me Mason Graham was going to be great. I had my doubts, but there's depth. like Jared Verse, Malik Collins, Isaiah McGuire, Derek Barnett, the former Eagle. They all had at least four pressures last week. So they're deep. I think you can attack the Steelers secondary. I don't think the Browns are quite the team that can do it.

1:00:37So when you ask, are they good? I think they could beat their win total from before the season, which was like five and a half. Can the Browns win six or seven games? I think they can, which for them I think is a good step forward. I think the Steelers can make the playoffs. I think they are a 10 win type of team. I thought that all around. I'm buying it.

1:00:52Colleen Wolfe:You believe in that offense? that you don't think that that was, you think that was like a turning point and not just a breakout. A turning point to be mediocre. Like, can you have the 18th best offense and the fifth best defense? And that takes you to 10 wins. We've seen it before. Yeah, that's what I think. Yeah. By the way, it's the third annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame game for the Browns. Oh. So MC Light will serve as a guest DJ. Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols is the honorary coin toss captain. Wow, okay. And a rock haul inductee will give a surprise halftime performance. Oh, wow. Okay.

1:01:31There you go. I am looking forward to that. We got the 90s covered.

1:01:34Colleen Wolfe:Uh-huh. Who was it again? MC Light? Yeah. And then we got the 70s covered with pistols. Maybe we have an 80s guest at halftime. Ooh. That'd be good. I'm an 80s kid, kind of. I am, too. I mean, not really. You were a baby. I'm saying you were a baby. I'm saying I grew up in it. Yeah. I'm technically 79. I'm old. Old AF. Let's get out of here, just like Aaron Rodgers. As Keith Keenum taught us, it's not about the age. It's about taking advantage of your opportunities. We will take advantage of our next show. Colleen, you knocked it out of the park. Hey, thanks. We are back on Wednesday with our two-part preview show.

1:02:12Myself, Jordan, Rod Reig, going through each and every game, giving you that preview, what's bringing us joy in each game. We will see you then.

1:02:24Good stuff.

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1:03:05Colleen Wolfe:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.