Patriots-Seahawks and 49ers-Rams Week 1 Previews

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2:32Welcome to NFL Daily, where we have actual NFL games to preview in this episode. It's not an episode where we're talking about, oh, which week one games are we looking forward to? Well, what's this going to be like when it finally gets here? It's actually here. We're in the Chris Wessling Podcast Studio. My name is Greg Rosenthal. I'm with my friend Jordan Rodbrieg. We've made it. We're ready to talk about two big games, the kickoff game and the game in Melbourne. Are you ready?

3:02Jourdan Rodrigue:I'm so excited because we have been anticipating the return of regular season football and... Need it. It's on a Wednesday this year. Gotta have it. So gotta get going, you know? I think Wednesday starts could become the norm, especially if they capitalize on that threat to maybe go to Tokyo next year. You would just imagine the Tokyo game slots into the Australia spot. Right. I really hope that happens. They just won't let me forget about Super Bowl 60 with the Seahawks Patriots start to the season. We'll start with that game. Comes up first. We got the Sunday night football crew. We got Tirico.

3:41We got Collinsworth. It's only a three and a half point line. I know famously you don't know how that works. Famously. And weirdly, like they think this is a closer game than it was in the Super Bowl going into the Super Bowl, even though it's in Seattle, generally a very difficult spot for the road team on banner night, the Super Bowl champion celebrating. We both wrote down just some questions. Without talking to each other, that was sort of the exercise in week one because we've talked about the season preview of it all of these teams so much that we have to get back into talking about, okay, how do these two teams specifically match up against each other?

4:21What is the question that stands out to you the most?

4:23Jourdan Rodrigue:One of my biggest questions is about Seattle and what their run game looks like now featuring rookie Janarian Price minus Kenneth Walker. Brian Flory is a new offensive coordinator in Seattle. Clint Kubiak obviously is the new head coach of the Raiders, did a great job last year with Seattle's offense. I have no questions about Seattle's offensive line. I have no questions that Jadarian Price is going to come in and make an impact right away and maybe even secure, dominantly secure that lead role, even when Zach Charbonnet comes back, less of maybe even a two-back system other than in extreme cases of needing to rest him or those types of things, because I think he is that good.

5:00Jourdan Rodrigue:I'm curious though what it will look like and how they attach it to the screen game and try to make New England's corners and safeties come down and tackle and especially because Kenneth Walker was so effective in that early in the season and that really gave them an edge early on against their opponents and if you think about the Patriots defense on paper probably better stopping the run right now than than rushing the passer it was more or less true last year as well and yet in the Super Bowl it was Kenneth Walker's creativity that did it I can't wait to see how much juice Jadarion Price has in a regular season game I think we'll see a lot of George Helani yeah they trusted in big spots in the Super Bowl like he was out there he is clearly going to be RB2 I think he'll play some of the passing downs but I'm really fascinated by that too I sort of thought on the other side like which running game would you trust more right now coming into the game do you trust the seahawks or the patriots even irrespective of the matchup like which would you trust the reason i trust more the seahawks more is because i trust their offensive line yeah listen i know that the patriots went to work on rebuilding and in some phases their offensive line this last offseason it sounds like things started to get put together with this group you know starting with will campbell campbell still at left tackle elijah Javara Tucker is there now at guard.

6:21Jourdan Rodrigue:It sounds like they started to come along in camp for the positive. I just, I don't trust him until I see him against an opponent. And I don't trust this whole system in totality until I see this offensive line improve. I want this game to be good. I want both of these games to be good. The three and a half line like threw me a little bit. If there's a path to the Patriots being competitive, possibly winning, leading this game close. in late. I think it's the offensive line being significantly better this season in the end than it was a year ago. Now, my biggest question is more about how the pass rushes have changed for each team in the matchup.

7:04And so, I'm hoping to live in a world where Will Campbell takes a year two leap and he was hurt in the playoffs last year. He's reportedly had a really good camp. Elijah Vera Tucker, a big upgrade if he's the player that he's been when he's been healthy at guard. You have a new center who's only a second year player, Jared Wilson. Like, how is that going to work? Could that be an upgrade? We'll see. It's going to be a pass heavy offense now against a pass rush that basically has everyone back except you replace Boye Mafé with Dante Fowler, which is a downgrade. And yet that's like their fifth or sixth rusher.

7:39They are so deep. That was a huge problem in the Super Bowl protecting Drake May. They did not have to rush five to get pressure. The pressure rate was exceptionally high. And so I do want to talk about the pass rush on the other side too. But on this side, that to me is a big question. Can the Patriots protect better consistently this year? I just don't see them being the team they want to be unless that answer is yes, because I think they got problems elsewhere.

8:09Jourdan Rodrigue:It's a really tough thing to do right out of the gate too, because what I would imagine Seattle is going to try to do is just dominate that side of the line of scrimmage and just throw every type of rush at these, especially these tackles, especially Will Campbell, really try to shake the confidence early. When you're going against a bunch of different types of pressure, not necessarily the fact that you're changing and rotating guys in and out all the time or stunting or whatever, but all of these Seahawks players can use, they have different tools in their toolkit that they can use in combination with each other.

8:42Jourdan Rodrigue:They know each other so well, even with Dante Fowler being sort of, quote unquote, the new guy, still a veteran. They all know each other. They rush as one. They can throw a bunch of different types of things at this Patriots offensive line. And that, to me, them trying to get in the head and rattle this group early, it is going to be one of the biggest tests all season this Patriots offensive line faces. Maybe the biggest. I mean, they got the crowd noise too, which they had in the Super Bowl, but not nearly. Not like this. It won't be like this. Yeah. Jared Wilson in his first NFL start at center.

9:18That that's a it's a tough situation for him to be in. So that that's the hope for the Patriots on the offensive line. And I am positioning it in a way that look, I think the Seahawks, if I want to spoil my pick here, like I think they're more likely to win this game somewhat comfortably, even if it's a touchdown. that's not the worst result ever for the Patriots but they cover comfortably here I'm operating like that game that just happened in the Super Bowl we're not that far removed how can it be different on the other side where the Patriots are rushing the passer I personally have a hard time seeing it be different the Patriots were really aggressive in terms of their blitzes their defense played very well in that game they did not give up a touchdown in that game until the Seahawks' 10th possession.

10:08They held the Seahawks to 4.2 yards per play in that game. Overall, they had a good defensive plan. Are you confident they have the horses to do it again and give the Patriots offense a chance in this game to do what they couldn't in the Super Bowl?

10:24Jourdan Rodrigue:Repeat pressure has been a worry with Sam Darnold in his career. That being said, I said it on a previous show, I think we're going to get a better season overall from Sam Darnold. I think that if you want to talk about confidence and ownership and, and empowerment within a system and also this plan that these guys have, have taken upon themselves, including, you know, again, Brian Flory to build any kind of answer you need with some of the layers that they have in their passing game, including, you know, use of the two, the two backs in some cases, use of the backs in the passing game, use of the tight end, AJ Barner, use of like very layered threats in the receiving game and JSN obviously being able to draw defenders back and like widen the space out a little bit for Sam Darnold and maybe make it less likely that you send all that extra pressure because if he gets you once on one of those blitz beaters, then you're not going to be feeling like you want to run it again.

11:22Jourdan Rodrigue:So for me, I just think that I trust the Seahawks to be better against those looks. and that in part to me is because I do have a lot of confidence in their offensive line. And they blitzed like crazy in that game, 5, 6. They blitzed more than half the time. They got an appropriate level of pressure. It wasn't extraordinary, but they had to do that to make it work. Zach Kerr did a great job in the postseason with all of his blitzes. But this is not the same pass rush. The biggest concern I have as a Patriots fan is that Harold Landry is not healthy. Caleb on chase on is gone. So now you're starting edges are Draymond Jones who comes in as, you know, from Tennessee and in Baltimore.

12:10And it's not really a great pass rusher. Your other starter is probably Elijah Ponder. Who's a good up and coming young player who could have a good career. And then the depth isn't that good behind them. And I know they have their defensive tackles. That's the centerpiece of their defense.

12:26Jourdan Rodrigue:That's why I think they're going to break off this wide zone and middle zone run game immediately with Jadarian Price. And that's a chance for them. But you combine that with questions at cornerback right now. Carlton Davis hasn't been that healthy. The safety position is different for the Patriots, a little slower. You have Kevin Byard back there. They lost Hawkins to the Ravens. And so I think there's a lot of questions about the Patriots defense going into the season that I didn't have in the playoffs and concerns me. And you have the full offseason of Rashid Jahid. What is another question you want to throw out there before we move on to the Australia game?

13:04Jourdan Rodrigue:To me, it's a question of what on paper, it looks like we know what personnel the Patriots want to live in. It looks like they want to be an 11 personnel team. They have A.J. Brown there now. Now, obviously, they have the three deep of receivers and Hunter Henry is their only proven tight end. They have Eli Raritan, who they drafted, who apparently had an amazing training camp. So they could go to 12. Hey, don't forget undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin. Wouldn't shock me if he plays as much or more than Raritan, a good blocker. Yeah. So for me, this is the question, because you see their talent in the receiving room and you think this is a team, and especially with Drake May being as willing to throw the ball and push the ball as he is, they would probably want to live in 11, right?

13:50Jourdan Rodrigue:Because if you look on the other side of the ball, Seattle is still trying to figure out whether or not it will have Nick and Manwari, first of all, who's their, I call him the power slot on their defensive side. And he's a personnel neutralizer. So it doesn't matter if you're an 11, 12 or 13, he just sort of makes everything neutral because of how he can cover and tackle in the slot. However, not totally sure if he's going to be available coming off of that ankle surgery in the summer. You know, Julian Neal is somebody who they drafted to be their smaller nickel corner. And he's dealing with injuries as well.

14:21Jourdan Rodrigue:Kind of repeat injuries have come up. They're sneaky thin. They're sneaky thin there. Avery Smith can play inside. He might be somebody. John Schneider was just talking him up the other day. They even are at the point where he's an undrafted rookie that just spent training camp with the Chargers. And he's playing week one. Exactly. Crazy. All my point and Trayvon Diggs is even on the practice squad could get called up. My point is their third corner that they really, really rely on in this defense. It could really be predicated on how the Patriots come out because they'd be OK probably living in that smaller sub package with a smaller corner in the slot.

14:55Jourdan Rodrigue:If all the Patriots want to do is stay in 11 personnel, they are talented enough where I think they would be very they'd be fine. Just sort of patching that up until they have their healthy players back, the Seahawks. But if the Patriots do decide to go 12 personnel, which they sort of sneaky can, but it's not really being talked about because we just haven't seen them do it really with this group, then that to me is where there might be a little bit of a matchup gamesmanship happening. And that's what I'm really curious about. Yeah, I think they're going to wind up playing Nehemiah Pritchett a decent amount on the outside, kind of replacing Rick Wollin.

15:30And so, again, you look at the Seahawks and you forget that statistically they were one of the most dominant Super Bowl championship winning teams of the last 25 years. And I feel neutral about like where they are now to where they were. That's a very high level. Whereas the Patriots, I feel a little worse about in a few ways. But the one way I think they might have an advantage in this game where that they didn't previously is what you just talked about in the secondary, especially if Eman Worry isn't there and compare it to the depth of receivers that the Patriots have with Demario Douglas now established as the three behind Romeo Dobbs and AJ Brown.

16:08And you start thinking about, well, what are the matchups going to be? You have Devin Witherspoon, sure, but then it's Jobe and then it's Pritchett. And then you're going to have some matchups that you can dictate with a quarterback and an offensive coordinator that I think are confident in what each other is going to do. And that's what I want to see more than anything is them play fast. Like all this offseason talk about pace, pace, pace, and that they give it a shot and that they play fast. They try to keep the same personnel groups on the field. And if I have a hot take for this game, it's points.

16:38I like the Seahawks in the game, but I like the points even more than the Seahawks because I think both defenses are not at the level necessarily that they probably were at last season. Sometimes you see an ugly week one. I think this is going to be a fun scorefest of a week one.

16:54Jourdan Rodrigue:Me too. I mean, well, I don't... scorefest. I would love to see a scorefest, but I think... Let's go like 29-22. If you get over 50 and the Seahawks are involved, that's a scorefest to me. Well, I think the Seahawks are going to win this game. I also think it's so interesting you mentioned tempo and pace because Nicky Manwari is going to be one of those players where we don't... At the time that we are recording this podcast, we don't know whether he's going to play or not. If he can play, it's okay if they freeze you in the same personnel Again, he neutralizes anything you want to try to do when he's on the field.

17:31Jourdan Rodrigue:And you can't necessarily use pace and tempo and no huddle as a weapon. But is he the same Nicky Manwari? That's the big question. He is the most, to me, he's one of the most important players on the team. He's one of the most important players in this matchup. And regardless, I think the Seahawks are going to win. They're just too good of a football team. And they're at home and it's banner night and it's going to be really fun. But I also think the way they do it is going to be fascinating. to me. Yeah, three and a half just begging you to take the Seahawks. I don't like that. Reeling you in.

18:02Rams and the 49ers are a fascinating game because it's in Australia. We love our Australian listeners. I hope you guys are enjoying this week of 49ers content. Yeah, it's literally just the

18:14Jourdan Rodrigue:49ers. Right. Them hanging out there. Like the Rams are the team that like pushed to have the Asian rights and they're the home team here. And yet the 49ers are actually doing the legwork of doing some of the media and everything, and they're out there. It's very cool. But one of the reasons I liked this being the game on top of Seahawks Patriots is you have these three NFC West teams all right at the beginning of the season. But in my mind, something we talked about in the show with Patrick is you have the two super duper powers starting off the season against two teams, Patriots and 49ers, who I think a lot of us believe are contenders.

18:56Like obviously they're playoff contenders and it's a chance to stamp the start of this season how they stamp last season as like, actually, no, you might have given us tough opponents week one. We're going to stomp them and show you that this season is going to be about these two superpowers and the Rams have an opportunity to do that if the Seahawks, you know, complete a victory on Wednesday night. What is the question? And this is a Friday game, by the way.

19:25Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. In Australia, but Thursday night for us. What is the question you wrote down first? You're most curious about answering. The very first question I wrote down is, will George Kittle play? And he traveled with the team. There was even questions about whether he was going to or not. It sounds like he's pushing to try to return after that injury last season. And he's absolutely an X factor for them. Now, what version of him? I don't know. We just don't know until we see it. But I'm really curious because I do think he's one of those mathematically changing players when he's on the field, even if he's not 100 percent back to his full self and his normal self.

20:05Jourdan Rodrigue:he still changes how you are going to structure your defense. What types of your, what types of a plus and B plus personnel is you are going to go to first in your call sheets, how you're going to leverage your blocks, you know, and, and all these things. I just think that he is just, his presence on the field is such a math changer that when you combine him with a Christian McCaffrey on that side, and then, you know, Mike Evans, who I can't wait to see play and John Stribling and Debo Samuel, which is like the Rams will have deja vu. Weird. Devo Samuel is involved in this game. But factoring in George Kittle, if he is going to play, which we might know soon, we don't know yet.

20:46They're going to bring that up into, and even I think closer to game time and even if he's out there practicing, you won't know for sure until he's out there. You know what I saw going through my notes from these matchups last year? Out of Jake Tonjes.

21:01Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. And Jake Tonjes is a good player who has value as a second tight end that can be amplified if Kittle is on the field. They're that much dangerous, much more dangerous together than they are apart. That's what they say about Jake Don. Miles Garrett will be on the field for the Rams. And so I would hope that you put more tight ends out on the field or you feel like you might have to because one of them's got a chip, right? I would imagine they really hope George Kittle and sort of his maniacal energy can try to at least throw the best effort. Not the chip on the shoulder and not a championship.

21:33Jourdan Rodrigue:Chip block. Chip block. Chip block. And the other guy's got to catch passes for you. Famously, the 49ers, no championship. They've gotten close here in the Kyle Shanahan era. And the one that probably took away, maybe not their best chance because they were a drive away, a play away from beating the Chiefs. But, you know, Sean McVay won the biggest matchup that these two guys have ever had. And yes, Kyle has the record all over him. It's 11 to 8. You count the playoff game. but it's been a little more in the Rams' favor lately. I went and looked. They've never played in week one. And they've never played in Australia.

22:09They've never played in Australia. They have played in week two and week three. So it has happened early in the season. But I do think week one is its own mini season within a season because you haven't seen anything. And it is delicious that these two coaches who already play such a deep game of, I know you know that I know you know that I know you know that I'm going to do this. putting that into week one where you can break out some funky stuff is really fun to think about. And as much as that record is, is interesting between the two of them, they've only played three games with Brock Purdy at quarterback between these two teams.

22:51Isn't that crazy? Cause Purdy's been hurt during some of the matchups. I think there was a week 18 games. Like they Brock Purdy's 49ers teams are one in two against the Rams. It's kind of that is a that's a wild thing. So this version of the rivalry has not really gotten to take hold.