Quarterback Island: Who are the 12 Defining QBs in the NFL?

15:42Steve Wyche:We've crossed three players off the list. It's Joe, CJ, and Brock. Will Table, Hurts, and Jaden, because Lamar's such a unique case, I guess we could just bring it up now. I don't know what to think about Lamar. Because in the past, you had said, Jordan, we had a soft rule. Injured players can't really...

16:01Jourdan Rodrigue:It was a pretty hard rule. Beyond the island. It was a soft rule. It was really a soft rule.

16:05Steve Wyche:In Lamar Jackson's case, we know he's returning relatively soon. He sounds unlikely to play this week. Then they have a bye. Then they have a bye. The full expectation is he would be back after the bye. He has played three and a half games at an MVP-ish level. he is Lamar Jackson I do think different rules

16:25Jourdan Rodrigue:well so here's the thing here's the thing we decide that with the next quarterback island what this next window is three and a half games that's almost our full sample size of what we're evaluating right now and I think how many games has Jaden Daniels missed? and we did that with Justin Herbert last year when the rule was initially set Justin Herbert was only out for like three weeks and so for me I am fine keeping Lamar on, but by actually the same reasoning, I don't know that Jaden Daniels stays on because he's just missed more time. It's kind of an incomplete. I say we take Lamar off based on the rule you designed last year.

17:00Jourdan Rodrigue:I think it's a hard, fast rule. We take him off because last year, remember Justin Herbert, we didn't put him on at the beginning of the season and he only missed, I think, two weeks. He started out off because he didn't start the season. Correct, because he was wounded. It was like an ankle injury or whatever, but he was on three weeks later. So I'm just saying... But he's not Lamar.

17:19Steve Wyche:And he didn't put together some electric performances already. It is tricky.

17:23Jourdan Rodrigue:I think the two actually that we're discussing here, because it's either or to me, not both, is Jaden and Lamar. Because they both you know, only one of them has played well enough to be on this island, despite the injuries. And that's Lamar.

17:39Steve Wyche:Do you think Jaden Daniels' performance

17:43Jourdan Rodrigue:coupled with Don't put words in my mouth, Greg.

17:45Steve Wyche:Is a factor, though.

17:47Jourdan Rodrigue:Is combined, to Colleen's point, combined very heavily with the fact that he's missed more games than Lamar. It's a weighted grade here. And I, and I just, I think in the beginning of the season, watching the commanders looked a little, a little loose. Now I think this offense is going to be humming down the stretch.

18:04Steve Wyche:I thought he played great against the chargers in the second half. The second half of that game was, was kind of peak Daniels.

18:09Jourdan Rodrigue:But to finish the sentence that I was just saying at the beginning of this, at the beginning of the season, like I just thought their entire operation looked too loose. and that was everyone, including the quarterback. And then they started getting that rhythm back with Terry and then Debo got more involved and the run game started getting off the ground and everything started clicking better. Now, all I'm saying is if we are going to factor in the injury question, he has missed more games than Lamar. That's all I'm saying. Lamar's still out.

18:40Steve Wyche:So yeah, it is all tricky to think about because Lamar and then he has the bye week for what that's about. Let's just table one of you two honors. We'll table them for now. We'll table them, but then see how the math works. So for now, Lamar, Jaden, Daniels, and Hertz are tabled because I think we should talk about Hertz. Let's just go through quickly who's definitely off. So that's five. And see if you guys disagree. That's three. We have so far booted three people off the island total, and then we've tabled another three. So six people are locked in. Right now we kind of have six open spots, if you would consider Lamar and Hurts.

19:20Steve Wyche:You want to go through who is not on the island? Let's just go through and see if you guys disagree. Just to cover the quarterbacks of it all.

19:27Jourdan Rodrigue:Like, for sure not.

19:28Steve Wyche:Yeah, for sure not. In the NFC, these are the starting quarterbacks right now who would for sure not be on the island. Jackson Dart, Carson Wentz for the Vikings. Michael Penix, you know, has had some moments, but certainly not elevated to where I think he's having a discussion. right Bryce Young overall a little disappointing start to the season Spencer Rattler you know he's doing better than expected and then when you talk about the math mathing I don't think that Kyler or Caleb Williams really have a case even though okay oh wow okay I thought maybe someone would no some of Caleb's traditional numbers are pretty good but I'm with you guys okay so they're all

20:09Jourdan Rodrigue:Factoring in numbers, tape, all of that. Injuries. They're all off. In the AFC, the players, I would say, are definitely off.

20:17Steve Wyche:Tua with a rough start to the year. Justin Fields hasn't happened. Dylan Gabriel just got that job. Cam Ward. Gino has had three of the worst games of his career. Although last week when I went.

20:31Jourdan Rodrigue:How are you doing with all that, Greg?

20:32Steve Wyche:I mean, I'm doing fine. The Raiders are in trouble. That's for sure. Trevor Lawrence is interesting because I kind of think he's playing worse this season than usual. Until Monday night.

20:45Jourdan Rodrigue:I thought he played bad Monday night. Even in that game, it was a little up and down. Minus those two gorgeous throws back to back that he made and then some of the run plays. I mean, you can count. This is the thing that is infuriating with Trevor Lawrence. You almost want him to play this like berserker type of football because that's the way that these big plays start to happen. Yeah, you almost want to cut him loose And like you, then you also accept the fact that like some real sloppy crap's going to happen. And that's dumb mistakes, just mistakes that you, you, in your fifth year, you're not supposed to make and, and not seeing the line of scrimmage or running, you know, out of bounds, you're supposed to slide in bounds or these types of, of, uh, you know, the, the, the time on the clock, the play clock running out and having to take penalties, like these types of things, the fumble, you know, these types of things you're, you're going to get with him and you still are getting all these years in but also when you cut him loose and give him and have he's confident and kind of angry like then you get like these incredible dials in yeah anger sort of centers him yeah it just is like like i said it's like this berserker mode that he vacillates between that and then like oh god what's gonna happen so we're just waiting for a breakout in year six maybe i think traditionally we can't we can't let's not let's not laugh that off uh we're seeing sam darnold and baker mayfield the guys like that.

22:03Let's not laugh at all.

22:04Steve Wyche:I wouldn't be shocked if because of the foundation that they're setting now and him getting used to that offense, that at the end of the year, he's a really serious conversation or he makes it onto that. I think right now, having a defense, it gives him short feels like some of these other quarterbacks. Right. The advanced stats are great to look at and they're not great for Trevor Lawrence. But like, I think it's tough to even think about him as an option when like his yards per attempt is everything is actually way down than ever before. So Trevor, Trevor is out. All those players, I don't think you guys would disagree.

22:35Steve Wyche:And then I'll throw in the Bengals starting quarterback here too. Joe Flacco is the Bengals starting quarterback, apparently, for this Sunday. For anyone that's just learning about this via Quarterback Island, let's have a quick Joe Flacco talk. He was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday. That's fun. The Browns get a fifth-round pick, but it's not for a fifth-round pick because they sent a sixth back. All it was was a small move up on day three of the draft. Essentially, I would say a salary dump, except he's barely making any money. The Cincinnati Bengals are betting on Joe Flacco to have a better chance to keep them afloat for when Joe Burrow possibly returns in December.

23:20Steve Wyche:Try to get to Joe Burrow at seven and seven or or even six and eight or something. Steve, you look skeptical. Do you think Flacco can do this? first off Jake Brown is going to start this week Joe do we know that Joe's not going to have enough time to get it going even though he did in Cleveland these are these are like two totally unimaginative organizations right now I mean for real I want whatever's in the jar that they're snacking on because some gummies you're saying late night okay whatever I'm kind of I'm sitting here like Joe Flacco behind that offensive line and it was really quick passing game in Cincinnati um well he moves so fast you know he's still he's so bright Bengals have these five second developing pass plays right so you need somebody who can move a little Jameis can move a little and he's gonna make it interesting I don't so you're gonna go with the dude Joe Flacco who you've seen for a couple years in Indianapolis you know I thought maybe he can get something going to Cleveland It's the same Joe.

24:28I mean, would you rather Joe Flacco be with the Bengals or Andy Dalton? If we're talking about guys, that would have been fun. He's a good one. I mean, but there were so many. It just felt like other options. And I'm with you. The Jameis one would have just made so much more sense with those receivers too. With those receivers. And it's kind of like, really? And then the Cleveland like, oh, we're going to be slick here. We're going to give it to Joe so he can move up to Shadour so we can politically let him get shorter on the depth chart. Ooh, that was creative. So now if you're the other 50, if you're the other 52 for the Browns and you're like, we're rolling.

25:08We have what? 12 more games left. And we're rolling with this.

25:13Steve Wyche:Well, just what I think Dylan Gabriel is an upgrade from Joe Flacco based on one game, which is not much. Sure. But I mean, I'm like, I'm like fine. Right. But if you're the Joel Batonio is going to be talked out of retirement. Yeah. If your guys like to say, this is how we're going. This is we're going through this ish again. Also, what are the vibes in that quarterback room?

25:32Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, because because there's no middle child anymore. Joe Flacco is not in there breaking up any of the like kind of awkward. I don't know if they I mean, it's I can't. There's been some statements. Yeah, there's no middle child anymore.

25:45Steve Wyche:Less than ideal. Chidder Sanders is listed as the number two quarterback. Maybe they'll bring in a veteran at some point. It is really funny to me, by the way, that Bailey Zappi is also in that room, who was kind of famous in New England for absolutely campaigning to get Mac Jones benched. They didn't get along. It's just like, man, it's so ugly. I could see a scenario. I don't want this to happen, but I could see a scenario where they bring in another quarterback and then Chador is still not the backup. up they move him back again just that would be i know it would be crazy it would be chaotic i mean right now i'm kind of like what do you know you know what it made me think our expectations were low but holy cow so jake browning looks so overmatched in the first three quarters of that game and just like he had lost so much confidence that i did start to think and i'm sure bangles fans were thinking this way is like is this it for zach taylor like if it goes this way the rest of the year where they pack it in and they just get blown out every week like they have the last few weeks like is that the time that they think about doing it so i i think when you see a move like this it it might be a little bit of them thinking we think joe flacco is our best chance to save our jobs by just putting it up there because one thing he made mistakes for the browns this year and he was terrible under pressure but he's not holding on to that ball he's got to go throw it down the field he can rip it he's going to give t and jamar and yosha boss a chance well here's the thing how many more years is that taylor having his contract because if he's got two extended he's coaching too they're they do not fire coaches with time left on their deal so he's good i like the the concept of not giving up on this season in the middle of joe and t and jamar and trey hendrickson prime so i just don't necessarily like the quarterback they to correct that's why i hate it like go get somebody who's got some type of pedigree i didn't even think about andy dalton right that would be a great it makes too much sense i feel like

27:51Jourdan Rodrigue:to to say there i like that they're not giving up on this season i think is giving them a little too much credit because yes they have these players who are incredible in their prime but what what else were you going to do but make a move i mean the product i said this earlier it's it's not like zach taylor does not know what he's watching and does not see how depressing it is when you trot Jake Browning out there to get killed every day. Like, it's not like he's not aware. It's more like, well, what else were you going to do? To me, it's not like some valiant effort fight to keep our dreams alive.

28:22Jourdan Rodrigue:Jake Browning is the least of their problems.

28:24Steve Wyche:Like, Joe Burrow, sneaky, wasn't that effective in the five, six quarters he played. Joe Burrow is a superhero. And so that means that everything around Joe Burrow, whether it's the coaching, especially the offensive line, the running game is one of the worst in NFL history. And the defense has never gotten any better. So Browning's taking all this heat, but when he was in a better situation a couple years ago and maybe got a little, you know, just caught a hot streak, like it looked better, but now they're one of the worst teams in the NFL and so are the Ravens. What a world that we're living in.

28:52Steve Wyche:Let's put a pin in all that. Let's take a quick break actually now, and then let's get to the good stuff, which is nominating some players for the open spots on quarterback. I'll be back. Bye.

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31:36Steve Wyche:Back on Quarterback Island. I want to live in a world where at the end of every season, you know how on Pro Football Reference, they list all the postseason honors. They have like the all-pro teams. They also list stuff like the PFF All-Pro teams or the top, you know, they put top hundreds. We should have end of season quarterback island resident as one of the things. We should send it to the players. We should send some type of award to the players. We'll print it out. There has been some talk of sending to the players, I don't know what, a little piece of a palm tree or something like that. That would be beautiful.

32:17Steve Wyche:It is sponsored, right? So that's why I grab them from the back. You know, someday Gino be like, yeah, it was rough in Las Vegas. But he shows his kids. Look at that. End of season resident 2024.

32:29Jourdan Rodrigue:Look at this four foot high quarterback Allen in my backyard. I planted that kids back when I was. I can't wait.

32:36Steve Wyche:I can't wait till Dylan Gabriel gets to show it to his kids. We basically got six spots available. Like we tabled three. It's been cautiously maintained by Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Jaden Daniels. But we definitely have three spots totally available. There was one name that to me actually didn't fit on the list of guys that I think have any chance to be nominated or are definitely off. So I'm just going to start by voting no, but just mentioning Bo Nix. He's not played well enough this season. He's on his way. I just felt bad saying that you're on the definite no's. But he hasn't played well this year.

33:11Steve Wyche:That Eagles game was kind of a great way to end the game, but he was the problem for three quarters in that game. He's got the Jets over in England, baby. He's going to start making his way. That will help. That boat's leaving the pier. Because he's in such a good situation, I think he might have a case by the end of the year, but not happening right now. Why don't we...

33:29Jourdan Rodrigue:Oh, Nick's just call his boat the boat.

33:31Steve Wyche:Oh. Oh, wow. There you go. Sorry. Like AT is under, you know, not capitalized. Let's go, Colleen. Why don't you throw out a player that you want to nominate for quarterback Island? Okay. I would love to see. I think Sam Darnold. Guys, I'm back on the Sam Darnold. I've never left. I never left the bandwagon. I'm also back on the Colts bandwagon, by the way. She never left. She never left. No, never. But Sam Darnold has been playing so well and I'm so happy for him because it's like he's he had that terrible ending in Minnesota after such a great season and then he went to Seattle and now he's still continuing on that larger sample size that we saw from his time with Kevin O 'Connell and the Vikings and his numbers back it up too so I think he absolutely deserves a spot.

34:28I mean Jackson Smith and Jigba's that's a pro bowler right now and him and Sam have something to go in the way he's distributing it to the tight ends yeah the running game he's

34:37Steve Wyche:an all pro maybe not that not that it really matters five games into the season but i was like jsn yeah i think jsn would be my first team all pro wide receiver one of the two it's crazy how

34:46Jourdan Rodrigue:about that my guy it's incredible and i what i really like about what the seahawks are doing this year and sam is really thriving within this as well is they're staying patient even if their run game is not necessarily as efficient which for the first few weeks of the season it really wasn't there but like steve and i talked about before you could see the theory behind it and they would not quit using it. They wouldn't quit trying to stabilize and continuing to, to run those plays because they know that it helps stabilize the quarterback and it gets their play action passing game going. He is thriving in a heavier personnel offense, 12 personnel, two tight ends, sometimes 21 using a fullback.

35:25Jourdan Rodrigue:And it's just cool to see how I just love how the hair says up on the back of your neck. When you talk about using a fullback. You are a lot of cool. I know. Okay, listen, Jude Law and a fullback. Oh, my God. That's my wish list. Hey, you've never seen them together. Robbie, oops.

35:42Steve Wyche:Yeah, Darnold would have been one of the guys if he was on the island that I would say we don't even need to discuss. I think he was easily the first one. No, I like discussing because he's earned it. I think he's playing at a significantly higher level so far than even than he was in Minnesota. I think he's being asked to do more in a way when they do drop back. They do limit him on some level, like compared. He will have the fewest pass attempts of anyone that makes it onto quarterback island. So in a way that is helping to protect him. But he he's just throwing dime. He doesn't he doesn't. Yeah, he doesn't need to be protected.

36:17No, we saw last year when he had to 45 times in Minnesota. He's fine.

36:21Jourdan Rodrigue:And the throws he has made like when he gets his spots and he's and he has, you know, the autonomy to kind of go through his reads and he has hit some throws. Oh, man. Under pressure, too.

36:32Steve Wyche:Like, a lot of more creativity out of him this year.

36:35Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, and I like that he doesn't, he's not pressed to have to make that play every single time. Like, that's what I love about this offense in Seattle is how much balance it has. And it's also like they've built, like, just like a human wall in front of him, whether or not they're always going to be great in pass pro. They've been shaky a little bit with their run blocking come along the last couple of weeks, like you mentioned, Steve. but like it's it's massive tight ends it like i said it's it's the 21 personnel when they get that going it's their running backs are huge and pretty soft been pretty solid in past pro as well like it's just it's it's all about settling him and allowing him to pick his spots where he is maximizing his comfort level and i really like that because he thrives in that he's only gonna

37:16Steve Wyche:get better guys kubiak bloodline i mean voting yes or no around the room we have four on yeses easy. Okay. Yes, for what it's worth, I decided to look at, just write it down for spots of different advanced stats plus the PFF grade, and Darnold is in the top four of everything. Yeah. He's number two. The numbers are wild. Second in QBR, first in PFF, first in the EPA completion percentage over expected, fourth in Football Outsiders. You didn't even have to dig that deep. Crazy. No, I didn't. I just like to see it because compared to every other quarterback in the league, he actually had the most consistent across the board in every way you can measure it.

37:53Steve Wyche:All right, Steve, why don't you... Okay, I'm not going for necessarily a slam dunk. I'm going for the alley. I want to see if you guys hoop it. So Darnold is on, by the way, is the seventh player on, and we have two totally open spots. Since my guy Bo Nix is not on, I'm going for my other young fave, Drake May.

38:14Jourdan Rodrigue:Now Greg's hair on his neck is still. Look at his smile. Oh, yeah. Let's go.

38:19Steve Wyche:I mean. Well, I'm just surprised he brought him out so early. Oh, no. Let's go there. I mean, we did it last time. I just think the way he's leading, he's playing. We know we are. Oh, Josh McDaniels isn't going to try to overdo it on him. Josh McDaniels overdoes it on everybody per game. He's handling everything. You're seeing receivers now. Stephon Diggs is getting healthier. He's playing at a higher level. Their running game is working. but he has got that Baker Mayfield stuff to him. And I've talked about it since I saw him get his butt kicked over in England. He's got something to him. And you're seeing it get better and better.

39:00And I'm not necessarily saying he needs to boot anybody off the island, but if we've got an open spot, Drake Mason, he needs to be on this island.

39:11Steve Wyche:That game on Sunday night certainly helps because I think he needed, defining sort of moment where everyone could see what he does. And you said it really well, that there's the out of structure stuff and the Josh Allen type stuff. Well, you know, defenders are hanging off them, but there's a lot of instructor stuff. In fact, I would say this offense, and that speaks to his ability to handle things, has been changing more on a week to week basis in terms of how they attack opponents as much as any team in the league. And it's amazing that he can handle that.

39:43Jourdan Rodrigue:He's playing well enough to overcome their turnovers. when they've been fumbling the ball and he's playing well enough.

39:48Steve Wyche:Although he's been part of that. If you were going to make a case against him, a few too many negative plays and a few too many sacks. So that's where if we're comparing him to some other great quarterbacks, which we will be, that could work against him. If you're curious on the metric, 14th in QBR, 11th in PFF, 4th in EPA per play plus completion, and 7th in adjusted yards over replacement. So like right in the mix of where you would think he would make it. I mean, my instinct is yes, certainly. But it's going to be tricky because we're going to be comparing him to other players that are coming up.

40:22I mean, he was electric in that game in Buffalo, especially in that environment with the whiteout and everything. And it's, you know, a division rival. Just he looked so poised, so confident, just so chill about everything that was going on. but also the way that he played in the game against Pittsburgh. Like there were, there's moments if you look back where it's, I don't know if he's on yet or if he's on his way, or maybe he's arrived because of that last game in Buffalo. Maybe that cemented his spot.

40:57Steve Wyche:Is he helping to define the position? I'm seeing the crescendo and I stock up for sure. And I think he is, when we're looking at how the quarterback position is being deployed, being played, that is being decisive right away, whether you're passing it or running it. Right. That's something you're seeing with Bo Nix is starting to do. You saw Trevor Lawrence start to do it. Now those guys aren't going to be on, but you look at the way the position is being played now because defenses are better. They've caught up. You're not seeing a ton of necessarily pressure. You're seeing a lot of four-man fronts, stacking five-man, not necessarily on first down, and quarterbacks are figuring it out, and he seems like he's one of these guys who's figuring it out.

41:33Steve Wyche:And he's forcing the opponents to play more zone because they're so afraid of his legs, which opens it up. I was talking to Ollie Connolly last week about that off air, just that so much of the defensive game plan against Drake May is a living fear of how he's going to run downhill.

41:52Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, I remember back, you know, he's getting these comps already and is certainly coming off of the game that he just had with Josh Allen on the other sideline. I would not necessarily one-to-one comp them, but remember back many years ago at this point when we saw everything with Josh Allen but we also saw some of the erratic decisions and we saw some of the mistakes and the plays. I think Drake May's playing more disciplined than that guy was.

42:16Steve Wyche:I would not have expected him to be among the league leaders in completion percentage. There's the occasional one where he'll take the sack and it'll just freeze a little bit. Josh McDaniels. Yeah, he wants them to take a sack. Do we want to vote on him? The trick is we're going to be like, would we take him over Jaden Daniels, for instance, two second-year players? Would we take him over Stafford and Daniel Dimes? Like, all these things are going to happen. You're going to have to think about that.

42:41Jourdan Rodrigue:I will say, like, I'm also, and this might just be me personally, but I'd love to hear from you guys on this. Like, I'm weighing in Jaden Daniels' missing games. That's the thing.

42:50Steve Wyche:Yeah, I think that's fair.

42:51Jourdan Rodrigue:That's why I would vote. Specifically, that's why I would vote May over him. Because I'm weighing in. All right, let's vote then. I'm also projecting forward, and I'm looking at the Patriots' schedule to see how he will do. Ooh, that's not fair, but it makes us a part. The Saints coming up, the Titans, the Browns, the Falcons, the Jets.

43:10Steve Wyche:Schedule helps. The Browns aren't a welcome. You got to say your vote out loud. Colleen. Yes. I'm going to put them on the island. This feels crazy.

43:18Jourdan Rodrigue:Yes. I will also put them on the island.

43:20Steve Wyche:Yeah. I'm the one who freaking campaigned for them. Look at that. I didn't even have to vote. There's no bias involved. Drake May. Wow.

43:28Jourdan Rodrigue:Good hosting there, Grace.

43:28Steve Wyche:Who knew he would be achieving the highest honor possible in his career? I hope we don't regret this. So early. No, no, we'll be fine. Drake may is on both him and Sam Darnold have joined the island. Darnold on for a second time was, was off and on throughout last year. And he's back in 2025. Sure is. We've got eight players totally locked in. Good. Jordan, why don't you nominate?

43:52Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, you're about to have nine with nine because Matthew freaking Stafford is getting my nomination. I know you're all shocked. You're all so surprised. Oh, this chick's talking about Matthew Stafford again. And won't she ever shut up about Matthew Stafford? No, I will never, ever quit that guy. Because if you go and watch some of the throws that he has made, yes, he's had some bad quarters. He's had some bad halves. But overall, through the first four weeks of the season, he is playing at among one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now. He is up in the top five in EPA per drop back right now, just purely looking at statistics.

44:29Jourdan Rodrigue:But if you look at the arm angles are still there. the the the no looks I mean that game against Indianapolis watching his mic'd up and some of the angles that they were able to show showcase more clearly of the throws that he was making then going back and watching the all 22 of the precision that he was able to place some of those passes with and and Puka Nakua is on track for a record-breaking season not just because he is one of the best if not the best receiver in the NFL right now but also because number nine is getting him the football yeah at any type of of plain bending brain breaking throw that you want this guy to make oh and then he's feeling it because he will talk smack to you in your face right afterward don't effing look at me don't effing look at me after he hits a no look touchdown pass against the indianapolis colts i mean he is playing outstanding football i feel like this will be unanimous but i just had to have my spiel yeah i mean nfl leader in passing yards He makes calling a game so much fun for Sean McKay.

45:29You know, you think about if.

45:30Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, so maybe, hey, don't take the ball out of his hands on. Oh, my God. What are we doing? Anyway, I didn't love the call, but I am kind of a guy. Like, if you can't get a yard when you need it. I know. Yeah. You don't have bigger problems. I'm one of those guys.

45:46Steve Wyche:He's just like the center of the end. He's one of the centerpieces of the NFL right now. He's like just been involved in so many great moments and games this season that I think it's beyond the numbers, which are good, but it's even better than that. Yeah, and I'm also just looking at who could possibly go on still, who's hanging out there, who we've tabled. Yes. And so if it's Stafford up here on the top, we haven't... Have we decided on Lamar? We haven't really... Lamar, Hertz, and Jaden Daniels have been tabled, and I would put Stafford over all of them. So that's why it makes it an easy yes.

46:17Steve Wyche:Thank you for making my points for me. It's a yes. Number nine. Yes. Yes.

46:21Jourdan Rodrigue:Yes for nine. Yes.

46:23Steve Wyche:Yes for nine. The number one PFF quarterback. I know you don't like PFF, but...

46:27Jourdan Rodrigue:I don't mind when they put Stafford at number one.

46:29Steve Wyche:Yeah. I was surprised. He's great. He's like, they're not...

46:32Jourdan Rodrigue:They're great.

46:33Steve Wyche:He's great across the board in the advanced stats, except for, like, adjusted EPA per play where he's 15th. I'm curious, like, what goes into that. But everything else, he's electric, and he's just as obvious, I think, right now. So we have nine quarterbacks on the island. Okay. We have three players that we've tabled. So now, look, Eric would think about it like the island's kind of full right now. And if we add anyone, we have to take someone off. All Eric Roberts cares about is that we don't lose track. I've been living here for a year and a half now. I know how to do the island. Wait a second.

47:11Can we just check in with you? How are we doing so far?

47:14Steve Wyche:I will say this has been the smoothest. But now that I'm saying it, this has been the smoothest go around. I'm following you. Still time. You're doing great. Good job. Okay. Okay, the trick is if we do put someone else new on the island, that means we are accepting that someone else has to come off or, you know, we've figured out. I think some of the injury discussions we were having should absolutely factor. Okay.

47:34Jourdan Rodrigue:There is a major name.

47:35Steve Wyche:Yeah, to me there's one more name. Come on. There's a couple more names to discuss, but I think there's one more name that I will voice. Who is it? Strongly, and it's Daniel Jones. I knew it! That's about time. Yeah. I mean, come on. Okay, you go then. Let's go with our boy. Okay, listen. It's not like the flashiest throws or anything like that, but they're efficient. And he's like, he is Sam Darnold of this year. Even though Sam Darnold is still Sam Darnold of this year. But... Came through the same train there up in Minneapolis. Sam Darnold's graduated though. He's backing it up. Now Sam Darnold is kind of like Baker.

48:12We let him off to fly now.

48:13Steve Wyche:He's kind of like Gino in year two or three of Seattle. Like he's a made man. Daniel Jones, we did not expect. No, Daniel Jones. And I couldn't believe it when I was looking up all of the metrics this morning. And he Daniel Jones, because he's been so efficient and he's not really making boneheaded mistakes either. He's in the top of so many of these categories. He's playing so well. And the fact that they're what, four and one the Colts right now. Yep. That right. Yeah. And he passes the eye test, don't you think? He is. I know. I know. But they lost because like Jonathan Taylor dropped a ball in 80 minutes.

48:53Jourdan Rodrigue:I've been holding it in for weeks. You just let me have that one. This is Russ. I do like that. He's taking Jordan has embraced her voting Stafford off last year. So she's it's the boomerang. He is. To Colleen's point, like he's he's taking care of the football for the most part. He's not making a lot of negative decisions. But he's also the one thing I worry about him sustaining through the course of the season is the hits that he takes. He takes some hard hits. He's obviously using his legs a little bit, but he allows Shane Steichen to come alive the way that Shane Steichen, you could just, you could feel it.

49:27Jourdan Rodrigue:He's like, he was like crawling out of his own skin last year, just really wanting to devise a game plan for somebody who's going to not just make the throws that he tells him to make, but also make some tough throws too. I'm glad you said that because I've been saying Shane Steichen can coach for whatever people want to say. He won seven games at Gardner Minshew who almost got them to the playoffs a couple of years ago. he can coach now he's got a quarterback and boy are the colts making a lot of people look bad right they got rid of what two if not three starting offensive linemen offensive lines playing pretty good they made a change at dc oh boy louis anarumbo he was really the problem that defense is playing well but look at jonathan taylor now you got teams having to adjust how they play the colts defensively and boy that tyler warren pick at tight ends looking really smart Perfect.

50:11Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, he's the perfect. Bears fans are like, hmm.

50:13Steve Wyche:Yeah. He's been incredible. And the numbers do back up. He is first in ESPN's QBR. He is first in FDN's defensive yards above replacement. He's ninth in terms of PFF and sixth in like EPA. Like either way, it's all in the top 10. And a couple, he's right there at the top. And more than anything, like when you think about the first five weeks of the 2025 season, And obviously surprises are going to stand out more than like what you expected to be the fact that we're talking about Daniel Jones at all.

50:44Jourdan Rodrigue:Like for him, like that's such a huge surprise.

50:47Steve Wyche:Yes. On Danny Dimes. Indiana Jones. He doesn't like it. He's no fun. He doesn't like it. He's on. He's on. What a world that we live in. He's going to have so much fun on Danny Dimes. Oh, he's the party guy.

51:00Jourdan Rodrigue:Let your hair down a little bit. Let your hair down a little bit.

51:07Steve Wyche:Okay, there's only one other player that hasn't been tabled that I think is worthy of at least discussing. And that's Jordan Love. That's a great point. I mean, I'm sitting here like... That's it. I think we've gotten to the end of the list. Those are, yeah, the same exact ones. So we have 10 people on the island for sure. We've tabled Lamar, Hurts, Jaden, and Love. That's four players. so two two of those four are going to get on the island and and two will not be so i think keep that in mind when we're going through these four players well i mean i'm i'm with jordan i think if lamar didn't play last week he's not going to play this week then they have a bye that's three weeks he's shelved and this using the same rules we applied to justin herbert at the start of last

51:54Jourdan Rodrigue:year and that we would apply doesn't qualify and we apply to jay they don't qualify because that i I mean, we need to kick someone off to make room for Stafford.

52:04Steve Wyche:Lamar is different. A, because he played better than because he played so well. That matters. And then B, because he's Lamar Jackson. He was the first team all pro last year, and he was playing fantastic this year. So I do think it's a little different. I think it's just sliding scales in terms of rules. But I don't know what to do about that. So I have him. He was insane. I mean, I covered some of their games, and he was really all they had going off. Yeah. Just feel weird.

52:32Jourdan Rodrigue:Jordan love to me too. I would rather put Jordan love on the Island than keep Jaden Daniels on within these parameters because Jordan, I had no problem with that. Jordan loves EPA per drop pack. Drop back is right up there with Jared Goff and Josh Allen. And he's playing really, really well. And especially, I mean, they people, people forget they've banged up with injuries too. They were missing some offensive linemen at a certain point. They were also dealing with the receiver kind of receivers, kind of shuffling around. And I think he's playing really well. You're going to get some weird games with him, but I do think he's playing well.

53:04Steve Wyche:I agree, but when it comes to the intangible of defining the position and has he really put his stamp on the season, he is someone I just struggle with because you're right, the numbers back you up. Sixth in PFF as well. Second in EPA plus completion percentage over expected. 11th in QBR, 11th in the defensive yards adjusted. So a little lower there. That's still in top 12. But so much of that is off that Cowboys game, which was a defining game of this season. And he was fantastic. But, you know, opponent in that game. It did feel like...

53:35Jourdan Rodrigue:Cowboys defense is playing better now.

53:37Steve Wyche:Yeah, it did feel like he got carried a little bit the first couple weeks. And so when I think of, like, defining the position this year, I would have a hard time with... I think him versus Hertz is a very interesting... I think so, too. Let's talk about Jalen freaking Hertz. All right, yeah, because... That's a good... Don't tell anyone this, but I think we might have to kick them off. Really? I don't know. I just, when I look at the performances and even the numbers and even just the dysfunction that is happening right now in Philadelphia with that offense, they have no identity. Their identity should be the running game and Saquon Barkley.

54:13And then everything else builds off of that. But because with the new offensive coordinator, it just feels like it's so erratic. Every week you are having something different and you're having receivers that are upset. you're having just it's not I feel like the quarterback in Jalen Hurts he's not the one that even though their record is so good right now I just don't think that he is playing as well as he could I just and other quarterbacks right now are playing better than him

54:42Jourdan Rodrigue:I just don't think he's the problem I think he's far from the problem I think their offensive line the they're beat up the fact that I mean he can't call us he's not calling his own plays here either But if we're just talking about the results, the run game,

54:56Steve Wyche:but is he helping to call his own plays? That's something like you're just trying to guess what the problem is here. And I think part of the problem might be like, they've made it the Jalen Hurts offense because we have heard this about play callers in Philadelphia before of like, how come they're not doing this? How come they're not doing that? Well, you know what this offense reminds me a lot of? Like almost every Eagles offense, like they play to Jalen Hurts' strengths, which might be a little more limited than other people. And I think he's been empowered as he should be to have a strong voice in like what they do.

55:28Steve Wyche:And maybe, I don't know what you've been hearing, Steve, cause I'm not hearing anything. I'm basing this up for Porter. I'm not hearing anything. like, is that what AJ Brown and Devante Smith are upset about? You're kind of walking me down the Russell Wilson path, right? When early in career, when Russell was doing things, they're playing for championships. He didn't necessarily have that autonomy that he got paid. Then he started doing some stuff. And there's Russ's show that Russ cook. And he saw what happened. I don't think that's what's going to happen here. And we are not giving enough credit to what defenses are doing to offenses.

55:56This is where now the offenses have to adjust. For the past five years, defenses are trying to have to figure out, okay, how do we stop Saquon? Because they've got A.J. Brown over here and they've got Devontae Smith. Well, you know what? Let's just stop Saquon and make everybody else adjust to us. Let's stop Derrick Henry and make the Ravens adjust to us. Let's figure it out. defenses are becoming so much more athletic. Jordan, we see it all the time. You're seeing odd, even, odd. It doesn't matter the down anymore. It used to be four and five on first down. Now we're seeing three. We're seeing six back.

56:30Defenses are doing things now. Analytically, tendencies, position of field to put all kind of question bubbles above these quarterbacks and offensive coordinators. I think that's more of the issue. And I think some of these quarterbacks are going to hit. I don't think Jalen is necessarily the issue. but I'm wondering when Greg was talking about what Greg was intimating is he doesn't have that Drake may ish to him so he doesn't have the dude like hey you shut up you shut up let's go win a ball game right let's make that happen well that could be happening behind closed doors we don't know what I would say that here's what I would do with Hertz because Hertz right now is just someone who is making me nervous about being on the island and the way that he is playing and the team in general, the entire offense, the way that it's working.

57:15I looking at who is on the island and who has come off the island. I would not vote him off the island because I would put it. I would put in Daniel Jones and Jordan Love and I would take off Lamar Jackson. Daniel Jones is in. Daniel Jones is in. And Jaden Daniels because of the injury rule and then leave hurts in there. And that's it. There's no open. There's no more open.

57:36Steve Wyche:So the debate is Lamar. Yeah. The hurts thing is so weird, too, though, because I kind of think he's playing a little better this year. He's actually made really good. I think he's doing what he should do. He's coming off his best game, which I feel like got lost because they lost. But like he had a number of big time throws in that game, but they lost. So we react so much to the win or the loss. And we actually got their butts kicked. Right. We like. I'm a typical Philadelphia I thought he struggled a lot more in the Rams game and in the Bucs game. It's it's so funny because I do think if he gets booted off.

58:06Jourdan Rodrigue:Second half in the Bucs game. The first half, he was perfect. Right. That's OK. The Bucs. They're so weird. The best defense. Yeah, they got a bunch laid on him by Seattle, but the Bucs were the best defense. Denver, arguably the best defense. I just mean, I've seen a little growth.

58:18Steve Wyche:I actually think he's playing better than he did in the regular season last year. So I really struggle, but the numbers are with you. Of all these players, his numbers are the most middling, anywhere from 10th to 17th in all these sort of advanced or PFF numbers. Let me phrase it like this. If Joe Donut all of a sudden pops on quarterback island and he sees Jalen Hurts on and Lamar off, what are you going to think about our credibility? Well, that's where I wanted to go next. That's the thing. Let's all stand on the table for one quarterback that's remaining and who you feel the strongest of these four quarterbacks.

58:55Steve Wyche:So there's two open spots. And this is regardless of the injury rule. And this doesn't mean they're on, but I've just wanted to see what everyone's saying. No, the injury rules, whatever is in your mind of how you want to handle that is involved.

59:07Jourdan Rodrigue:May I interject? Sure. I feel like if I feel like if we're going to apply it, we apply it. If we don't, we don't. And I'm fine not applying it because it's almost too nebulous to apply to one and not the other. What if we have an asterisk?

59:22Steve Wyche:So that would say like either you're saying either Lamar and Jaden are on together or they're off together.

59:28Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, I'm saying I think, you know, I think Jane's off.

59:32Steve Wyche:All right. Should we vote on Jaden Daniels?

59:34Jourdan Rodrigue:I do think there's some agreement there because I think there's a couple guys playing better than him right now. now. Yeah, I think it's that simple.

59:40Steve Wyche:It's close, but I agree with you. I'm voting no on Jaden Daniels. Same. Yeah. Okay. Jaden Daniels is off.

59:46Jourdan Rodrigue:Okay.

59:46Steve Wyche:He's gonna make us look bad for this one.

59:48Jourdan Rodrigue:I love it. I want him to.

59:49Steve Wyche:Yeah.

59:50Jourdan Rodrigue:I want him to look like. We want to be the motivation.

59:53Steve Wyche:Jaden's off. Jaden Daniels. Which means we have Lamar. We have. Low on the list. Jordan Love. Mm-hmm. Those two. Right. And who else? Now I finally, it finally happened. It finally happened.

1:00:07Jourdan Rodrigue:What do you mean? Wait, wait, wait. Let Colleen Cook. Wait, Colleen's got it. Let Colleen Cook. Or Jalen Hurts.

1:00:13Steve Wyche:That's it. Or Jalen Hurts. Yeah. So we have one spot for Jalen Hurts, Lamar, or two spots for Jalen Hurts, Lamar, and Jordan Love. That was it. I feel the strongest. I'm just curious. This is not binding, but I just want to get a feel of how the room is feeling because I don't know. Like, of those three players, who do you want on the most, Steve? Between Jalen Hurts, Lamar, and Jordan Love. Who would be your number one pick? And I am applying the injury rule because we decided last year that Justin Herbert was not going to start the season because of the ankle injury. Even though we know Justin Herbert is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Lamar can get back on.

1:00:49Right. I would say Jordan Love because he's healthy. He's on the field. He's playing well. I am adhering to the Jordan rule. But I think that when we put this out there for the people to see, there should be some type of asterisk that they are on injury island right now.

1:01:02Steve Wyche:What about you? Who would be your top one?

1:01:04Jourdan Rodrigue:I recognize my own hypocrisy here, but it's Lamar for me. If I'm looking at it, throw for throw.

1:01:10Steve Wyche:I just feel like Lamar breaks the rules. I don't care. Well, if you're going to soften it, it's absolutely Lamar. Oh, no, it is a soft rule. All right, let's vote. Let's vote. Let's vote on Lamar. I vote yes on Lamar. I just can't do it. I can't take him off the island, but I know he's returning. I'm not going to have everyone come after me for this. I mean, obviously, he's a great quarterback, and he's a young quarterback island.

1:01:29Jourdan Rodrigue:You are, I, by the way, not enough space taken. And Colleen was like one man show manning this game when we all lost it there for a second. I got it. She had it. Yeah. I have it here. By the way, I want to make sure that's clear.

1:01:43Steve Wyche:All right. You went to Trinity College.

1:01:44Jourdan Rodrigue:So I also think that it's really funny that Greg asked me for my opinion, then waited until I almost nodded the affirmative, then jumped right back in because he knew someone was going to agree with him. So what's going on? I love that.

1:01:57Steve Wyche:I feel like Jordan is tired of doing the show with me. It's not just the reality. Remember how she started It's not just a reality It's the idea It's the idea She's hanging That's true She's hanging over you Should we vote on Jordan Love Versus Jalen Hurts That's what Oh wow Came down to We have one spot left That's a good one On quarterback island I mean I gotta say I don't have a What are we Who are we Super strong feeling Where are you Leaning Well I'm gonna keep Hurts On the island Over Jordan Love That is where I'm leaning to But it's tough Because the numbers Suggest that he should not be on the island.

1:02:32Steve Wyche:Maybe I'm reacting to last year where we didn't have Hurts on for so long. He's not playing amazing. But I do think to make QB Island, you sort of, you have to almost put no doubt to it. You have to do it Danny Dimes or Drake You gotta just be falling out so much. The tie goes to the guy on the island. To me, this is about a tie.

1:02:57Jourdan Rodrigue:Ooh, new rule. I love it. I love it. No, no, no. I love it. But I love that there's a new rule. The tie goes to the person on the island already.

1:03:04Steve Wyche:Also, it's Jalen Hurts. Like, he is defining the position in a way, whether you like it or not. Yeah. Yeah, we got it. You know, the run game, the tush push. What about you? We haven't heard from Jordan and Steve in terms of this debate. He was in on love. So it's really up to Jordan whether we're at a deadlock, Hurts versus love, or whether Jalen Hurts stays on the island.

1:03:26Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, either way, it's Jalen Hurts because the tie goes to the guy on the island. Okay, or let me just throw this out there. What if it is Jalen Hurts or... Wait, damn it, I lost this one. She was almost there. I had it. Oh, I got it back. I got it back. I got it back. What if it is Jordan Love versus Drake May? I'd put May, probably. I'd put Drake. Okay, all right. No, that's a good thing to bring up,

1:03:53Steve Wyche:to not assume that Love is behind all those guys. Yeah. because we put May on we put Dimes on we put Darnold on and Stafford May would be the last guy he would be my 11th guy right now you are right to say that I would have him behind Dimes and certainly Stafford and Darnold so far but the last spot Jordan Love just make us feel something more do more I have a feeling he's going to be there but should we call it who are we voting on I think it's going to be Jalen Hurts. Let's vote on Jalen Hurts. I vote yes on Jalen Hurts. He stays. I'll vote yes. Oh, a resigned yes. I feel like this was a begrudgingly, I don't know.

1:04:35We kind of... And now can we reopen the government? That was coming to help the negotiation. Oh, my God.

1:04:42Steve Wyche:Discuss that amongst yourselves while we take a quick break. We have reached the end of Quarterback Island, the second episode of this season. And let's go over.

1:04:52Jourdan Rodrigue:We're all sweating a little bit. I loved this episode. has made it. You had followed.

1:04:56Steve Wyche:I loved it. I mean, we need customs and TSA to get to quarterback Island. Josh Allen, you're still on the Island. Dak Prescott. You're in the MVP mix. You're definitely on the Island. Baker Mayfield, you're one of the first people we knew were on the Island. Patrick Mahomes, I see you. You're making Chiefs football fun again. Herbo, Goff, we can count on you. We absolutely love you. CM Darnold was the biggest no-brainer of all the guys to jump on the Island. That's growth. Not just for him, but for me. Matthew Stafford. Easy one. Danny Dimes somehow was not a heavy conversation. Drake May is on the island.

1:05:38Steve Wyche:And yes, even though you're hurt, Lamar Jackson, you are there. And you can talk with Jalen Hurts about what it's like to play in Super Bowl. Can I make one observation? Yes. There's a quarterback we did not mention one time. Oh, no. This is my nightmare. A-Rod. A-Rod. He was supposed to be on my long list.

1:05:56Jourdan Rodrigue:This is my nightmare, says Greg.

1:05:59Steve Wyche:I did not put him down on the ones who were definitely off, but he was definitely off. I looked at his name and put a question mark next to it. I've got a hollow bubble. No bubble nothing. We left him in the dark. He's coming off a nice game. You saw him in Dublin. Yeah. Coming off a nice game. There were three games before that. They were three games before that. Just throw it up to DK. Maybe they're just getting going now. Here we go. Let's. Greg's exhausted. A little TNF and a couple of trades quickly after the break. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters.

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1:08:50Steve Wyche:Back on NFL Daily, the Eagles and the Giants have a lot to live up to in terms of taking a primetime spot, making it your own. That Bill's Patriots game was a great primetime game in the end. And last week's Thursday night game, the Rams-Niners game was in the end. One of the best games of the season, I think. and then the Jags and the Chiefs. Great game. Just days, Jordan, after we spent an entire segment, an entire show naming the Jaguars, kind of the unofficial team of NFL Daily, but calling them the most messy, fun team in the NFL. They showed up and they made it happen. Like that game was so fun.

1:09:31Steve Wyche:I don't know if Giants-Eagles is going to be that fun.

1:09:34Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, I never roll out weird stuff happening. But this, yeah, I don't, it's just, it's weird watching the Eagles right now. We mentioned this earlier in the show. They are banged up along their offensive line. Saquon Barkley. He's going for 200. Yeah. Reportedly, yes, going to play, but feeling some knee soreness earlier this week. It's a short week. Obviously, that's tricky. Psych job. I love it. He's excited. Hey, Giants, I got a sore knee. When I pound you for 200, I'm like, oh, yeah, my knee feels so sore. And their run defense is so bad, the Giants. So you have Saquon going in there, playing them for the second time.

1:10:11And yeah, this is like a perfect matchup for him.

1:10:14Steve Wyche:But their running game is so bad. It's so crazy to think about. Oh, they're slump busters. They might be. It's the interior of their offensive line. Tackles are great. They're fine. Lane Johnson looked back to being himself. But Cam Juergens admit he's playing banged up. He's not playing well. Landon Dickerson has a million injuries. He might not play in this game because he has the ankle injury. And then Steen. and you just think about the identity of what the Eagles have been over the last 10 years, really. And it's like this offensive line and it's their pass rush. And they're one of the, they're not in the top 20 in the league right now in terms of quarterback hits or pressures from a four man pass rush.

1:10:50One in the trenches.

1:10:52Steve Wyche:And that's the whole Eagles thing. So there is something about like all the negative attention on the Eagles kind of makes sense to me. Cause I, I think they're searching a little bit for who they are. Well, I mean, look, we saw the Chiefs go through it, right? It's like whoever's on top, okay, what are the flaws? We saw the Patriots go through it for years. What are their flaws? Oh, they're starting two and two or two and three, and then they go ahead and march it on. I think the Eagles, again, they're nicked up, but they're going to be just fine. And it's Thursday night, though, so you can't count the Giants up.

1:11:21You know, everyone thought that the Niners were going to get 10-spotted.

1:11:23Jourdan Rodrigue:Because the Eagles have legitimate flaws, yeah. And everyone thought, like, the Niners are going to get 10-spotted last week because all their injuries coming here to L.A., and they came in here and they showed up, so you just don't know what's going to happen. I expect the Eagles pass rush to, I mean, I feel like Jackson Dart is just going to be under pressure all night long, especially because he doesn't have Malik neighbors or, you know, that's a rough one.

1:11:44Steve Wyche:And Jermaine Illuminor has been out of practice this week. Granted, it's Tuesday. It's tough to know. He's quietly had one of the best years of any impending free agent contract. He's playing really well at right tackle. Like he is. Oh, he's pretty high on the list because there's never tackles. I think Devin Lloyd is number one on that. that's a high one. So if he doesn't play, then suddenly, yeah, that could wake up the Eagles pass. Or maybe they'll keep blitzing more. You know, they're having to come out of their comfort zone a little bit.

1:12:13Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. Vic Fangio calling still not like in exorbitant amount of blitzes, but more than we're used to seeing from him, especially in the first half halves of games when their four man front is not getting home. But yes, I think you do that, but you also have to be aware of Jackson dart on the move. And this is where I think Quinion Mitchell and Cooper DeGene come in so handy as like such an incredible tandem. Yeah. You cannot get anything into the flat against Cooper DeGene when he is playing in the slot. That's just that's basically a no run, no passing zone at this point. And who is Jackson Dart aside from his legs where he's yes, he's running up some of the middle creases, but he's also been trying to hit the perimeter a little bit.

1:12:53Jourdan Rodrigue:So those flats on the left and right sides. OK, but so, OK, you can't do that because Cooper DeGene's there. and Quinion Mitchell manning down the other side and locking things down so well. And then he's also hitting the tight end a lot. Theo Johnson, we predicted with Malik Nabors out, he would kind of become a little bit more of a security blanket, and he very much has been. And so, okay, where are you trying to hit Theo Johnson? In Cooper Dejean territory. Well, it sounds like a Zach Bond game too. Yeah. Zach can cover the tight ends and he's a good spy. So, you know, knowing how Vic loves his outside linebackers and be creative with Zach Bond could be a factor in this game.

1:13:25Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah.

1:13:26Steve Wyche:Let's listen to Brian Dable talking this week. I just love the way he ended this little clip. A little bit of a Stinky Davis. Yeah, you watch all the games, and you watch him when he's out there get open, big, strong, fast, has good hands, can run any route you want him to run. I'm sure they can throw him the ball as many times as they want. I mean, Saquon doesn't get it, or Saquon and A.J. doesn't get it. There's one ball. They're all really good players. Schmitty. I mean, I've been around Schmitty. I think he's an exceptional receiver, too. So I think what I'm sure whatever they want to do or think they need to do, that's what they'll do.

1:14:03You have to watch the tape.

1:14:07Steve Wyche:AJ's open a lot.

1:14:11Steve Wyche:Your reaction, Colleen. Oh, you know what? I actually like Dave all more for that, though. That is insane. I love it. You got problems in the building. He's trying to sew a little. Oh, I like how like that's just like petty a little bit. When your team isn't great, let's go to the dark arts of let's mess them up a little more. AJ's open a lot. He's open a lot. That's fantastic. I tell you what, I was too distracted because I know it's the it's the Cancer Awareness Month that he has on the Giants thing. But I need 3D glasses to watch that thing. Yes. Another invitation to check out that the YouTube just so you can see Brian Dables.

1:14:49Steve Wyche:Absolutely. And look, there will be open. He will get open against the Giants. That's what I'm saying. Be careful what you wish for

1:14:55Jourdan Rodrigue:because the Giants secondary is completely outmatched and outmanned by this group of receivers. They would outmatch and outman most secondaries in the league should they decide to throw the ball down the field.

1:15:07Steve Wyche:They got to protect against Abdul Carter, who continues to be on fire. And so to block up those. Give it a play better. But honestly, they kind of did it pretty well against the Broncos, who have maybe the best four-man pass rush in the league. I don't think pass protection was the problem in that game. And so, yeah, I think we could see some A.J. Brown down the field. Is there a metric, by the way, that measures receivers or pass catchers who are open? Yes, but it's not reliable because of... Really? I mean, no offense, next-gen stats people. There is separation score from ESPN. There's how open you are, but it really depends a lot on what your role is in the offense, where you are, and scheme.

1:15:45Steve Wyche:So it's tough. We're not there yet. I don't think we're there yet. I am curious to see how, you know, our guy Jackson Dart looks in this game. There was a lot of hope balls. That's what I call them in the game in New Orleans, where it was just like, and he's taking too many. I don't know what's going to happen. So I'm just going to hope and I'm just going to throw it up there. And oh, gee, and Brandon Staley plays the same defense as who? Vic Fangio. Because they had a beat. And that works maybe if you have T. Higgins and AJ Brown. That's not going to work with these Giants receivers. It's like hope balls don't really work to these receivers.

1:16:20Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. And then another, I guess, security blanket, although like a very angry and violent one emerging for Jackson Dart is Cam Scadaboo. So someone said on social media that he runs like the Kool-Aid man, like bursting through the door, which now I can't unsee that. So he's playing. Both of these guys are playing without regard for their own lives, essentially. I love it. Jackson Dart and Cam Scadaboo, which is what the Giants, I guess, You know, they need it. Right. And that's part of the game, of course. But Jackson Dart specifically is taking too many hits already. And Cam Scadaboo, I don't know how sustainable his particular style of play is.

1:16:57Steve Wyche:He's taking too many hits, which is weird to say about a running back.

1:17:00Jourdan Rodrigue:But it looks like he's like looking for hits, like extra hits. Yeah. Which don't expose your numbers. And he exposes his numbers. Yeah. Yeah. So just something to keep an eye on him in the past. Seven's a lot.

1:17:12Steve Wyche:But I do like a championship team to respond after. We got Jalen on the island. He lost. Yeah. Jalen's one. I got to do it. Stick up for us. Okay. That's Thursday night football. Just quickly. As we were taping, we had a very surprising trade come down. Adafe Owe, the first round pick of the Ravens four years ago is going to the Los Angeles Chargers. Steve, what was your first reaction when you saw it? Well, my first reaction is fascinating. Aloy Gilman is going back. Aloy Gilman. Safety is going back. But this has an addendum to it. earlier in the day the raven signed cj gardner johnson second safety who didn't play last week for the ravens kyle hamilton this is telling me that maybe something's brewing with kyle hamilton injury wise if they go back and they get two veteran safeties a younger one and an older one uh one's gonna add a little spice to the defense you know cj gardner johnson who did not play well or fit in in houston yeah but you don't go to the ravens kicking that noise how many weeks is he

1:18:09Jourdan Rodrigue:there. No, no, no, no. No, no. And that Bill Gardner Johnson. No, no. It's just funny. We were keeping tabs on it because it's like he goes to these different stops and it gets shorter and shorter every single time. He has been humbled.

1:18:20Steve Wyche:I am sure when I saw that he signed for their practice, I thought, man, what have the last couple of weeks been like for CJ Gardner Johnson and the fact that he's having to sign to the practice squad. I feel like he's going to have learned and he's a good player. I'm going to say all right. Weeks left. He'll be there of the season. Then I'm going to give him one more year. 30 weeks left. I think he gets a solid year and a half. Will he be benched at any point? And then he'll kind of expire. I mean, he could, but look, last year when the Ravens defense took a turn, they adjusted their safeties.

1:18:51Right? They sat Marcus Williams. They brought in Ardarius Washington, who's hurt Achilles before the season. And their defense got better. They adjusted Kyle Hamilton. Maybe they think they can, you know, reset in some way here. They've got bigger issues because when I watch the Ravens, To me, it's not schematics. I was watching them get blocked all up and down the field and guys not get off blocks. DB's in position to make plays and not making plays. So I think maybe adjusting like this, Owey's a good player.

1:19:20Steve Wyche:So Owey had... A little brotherly love too,

1:19:22Jourdan Rodrigue:because it's the Harbaugh's and then that front office comes from out of the Ravens. Yeah.

1:19:27Steve Wyche:I think they both know that they're trading players they're not completely happy with. You know, Owey's at the end of his contract, he's going to be a free agent. this year. He had 10 sacks a year ago, but even in that season, I think he's viewed as an inconsistent player. Like he can get washed out a little bit in terms of the running game. And in general, like I've been a very up and down throughout his career. He doesn't have any sack, like hasn't had a lot of pressure this year. And to give up a first round pick pass rusher at that's, that's a pretty strong statement that like contract year too.

1:19:59Steve Wyche:It might be cap clearing stuff. Knowing the Ravens got to clear some speed. And the Chargers

1:20:03Jourdan Rodrigue:early when they're going to move. They move. Yeah.

1:20:06Steve Wyche:And the Chargers have like no pass rush right now whatsoever. They also got. I mean, it's Tully and who else? That's it. A fifth round pick in the deal. So Owe goes for a fifth for Gilman and a seventh. So it's a trade back essentially. And that's saying that Owe has more value in the trade, but just kind of fascinating. Welcome to LA. It almost feels like at first I was like, are the Ravens giving up on this season? but no, the Gilman part. Jesse Minter, I mean, again, they run the similar schemes, so Owe will fit right in.

1:20:38Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, and Jesse Minter needs a player who has the potential that Owe has in order to maximize what this defense actually can be and rush the way he wants to rush. Then his coverages can deploy the way he wants to deploy them. We haven't seen the same version of this Chargers defensively.

1:20:53Steve Wyche:No. Things change fast in the NFL. If you had told me that the Ravens are... It's wild how much it changes. One and four trading a pass rusher off the worst defense in the league. We'll see. I mean, the Browns trading Joe Flacco. He's got to get to Pittsburgh, and then he will complete the set. Okay, so we did quarterback island a little later than probably we would have because I was overseas. Thank you for your patience, and that extra time, I think, helped to get Drake May on, so I'm happy. congratulations to everyone who made it to quarterback Island. We will do another quarterback Island episode in about four weeks.

1:21:36Steve Wyche:I cannot wait. One of my favorite days of the season. We will be back on Wednesday. We're back to the normal preview shows, double barreled action from the Chris Wessling podcast studio. Maybe we'll have some funky trades. Tuesday's really the day for trades in the NFL. Get excited. Quarterback Island. It's always Island time here in the Chris Wesley Podcast.

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