Takeaways from EVERY Preseason Week 1 Game + Jeremiyah Love’s injury

26:51Go to ipvanish.com, that's I-P-V-A-N-I-S-H dot com, and choose your plan today. IP Vanish, more privacy, less exposure. Kitchen and bathroom professionals know, what goes behind the tile matters. That's why trade pros trust fiber cement, hardy backer board, to keep tile firmly in place, resist cracking, and help block moisture. Chosen in over 40 million kitchens and bathrooms, hardy backer board. What the best build on. Shop now at participating Home Depot, Lowe's, and Floor & Decor stores. For more information, visit jameshardy.com slash hardybacker. You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft and the entire room groans because they wanted that player.

27:39Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in primetime. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mailbag, data-driven, quick-hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy.

28:19Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's go to the Bears and the Browns. The Bears roll up on the Browns, even though the Browns are the ones playing the starters. Bad omen there. First drive, run, run, run, punt. I mean, we got a quarterback battle going on. That's how we start. That's a terrible omen. Yeah. Hey, we have a quarterback battle going on. Our game plan is called hide the quarterback. Right. And look, eventually Deshaun Watson threw a lot of passes. If you just looked at the box score, it was misleading.

29:0011 for 15, 125 passes. I am not just showing my bias, which I fully admit to. It just looked a lot rougher when you watch the film. And I felt better because on the NFL network coverage like Gerald McCoy couldn't get over just like Watson just did not look comfortable in the one minute drill his average depth of target was under four and a half yards so it was just really short passes he was lucky to avoid like a possible interception there was a fumble he had a couple of nice throws too but he was indecisive like taking sacks and you saw like three carries for four yards that's because like at the last second he tries to run and just gets like a one yard gain um the thing that gets me though jordan at the end of it todd munkin says he functioned at a high level and it was awesome to see that from deshaun watson so i don't know what's going on are you trying not to laugh at me just no i did the thing you just did reading the comments the comments are really funny on this thank you to everyone watching us live we're trying to do this uh during uh the preseason we'll be doing it each sunday and when we can but yeah good job you guys so I don't know what to think about this because it was it was kind of like lose-lose the the two performances by the quarterbacks yeah I mean this is what they're this is the the situation they've created and they are going to ride this through however they do one or the other or both or three all three or whatever through the course of the season so I don't really have a take because I just think this is what it's going to be and I hate it because I like the receivers.

30:36Casey Concepcion, Denzel Boston, you know, I really had Denzel Boston in the draft. I really want Harold Fannin, you know, Quinjohn Jenkins being back. You know, I just really want to see what these guys can do and how Todd Munkin can scheme everybody because I do like Todd Munkin as a play caller. Yeah, I think what it is is he's trying to build up Watson confidence because I just see a player who plays with so little confidence. And it's funny because Watson, all Watson talks about is how confident he is. And just like the more you have to say it, the less I believe it. And like I'm watching the game.

31:12He's just he's just holding on to the ball. They had 24 yards on their last 12 plays. The numbers look good because some of the players around him did some good things. Samson, Dylan Samson breaks a few tackles on a short screen pass. They go 45 yards. You mentioned Concepcion. Great catch on an outside. One of Deshaun Watson's better throws to the outside where it's contested. It's like, okay, showing a little toughness there. He's tough for his size, but really tough on this 18-yard touchdown run where you just saw the speed, and he runs through tackles like it was James White winning the Super Bowl, where you're like, how did he get in there?

31:46Like, he got first contact at the four, lowers his shoulder, a smaller guy, and gets in. Denzel Boston is just a massive man. He's out there. He made a couple catches. It definitely wasn't all negative, and I think that's the case for Watson is just like he can operate the offense. Whereas Shader Sanders comes out there, the first two throws he made were way better than any Watson throw of the day by far. They were deep. They were beautiful. They were aggressive. He's in the flow. His next throw, right decision, he just sails the ball. Like, again, aggressive down the field, and he sails it by like 10 yards, and it's an interception.

32:24And then he really struggled, kind of like I was talking about with J.J. McCarthy with the mechanics when he was under center. He's stumbling. It kind of kills a fourth down play because he takes too long under center. Another play, they have a pre-snap penalty. And that's the stuff that makes coaches mad and I think would make him him being Monk and lean towards Watson. But it's it's tricky because Shadur shows you a little more of like, OK, that looks like a more of a quarterback that you want to see. There might be at some point because because what a lot of times coaches are watching for right now is exactly what you said, how they get in and out of the huddle, how they operate, just the sort of very vanilla version of the offense off the line of scrimmage and not just what it looks like and not just how it results, but what the operation itself does in terms of the timing and some of the cadences and mixing things up with.

33:14When you mentioned that Dylan Sampson screen pass and the big gain off that, they have players who are going to be able to do that for them. Dylan Sampson, it's really underrated, was the highest EPA running back off of screens. last season and was phenomenal there. And for me, when I think about that, that's a timing. Yes, we often think of it as a check down, but not in today's league with some of these modern offenses. It's an extension of their run game and certainly an after the catch receiving play. And it also is predicated on really, really good timing and operational ability from the quarterback.

33:49So at a certain point, the Browns are just going to probably be like, all right, whoever is just going to operate and distribute the way that gets the timing of this correct, because this is where we're going to live here for the next year, is going to get the job. I think that's really well said. And I also think it's easier to go from Watson to Shadur. Just like one last chance for Watson. They're probably both going to play. You might as well start with Watson. In their mind, I don't think it makes sense. But yeah, for positives, Judkins did play. It's amazing his recovery, considering the seriousness of his injury.

34:23It looked fine. The starting offensive line was out there and healthy. And it was the offensive line we expected and penciled in back in March. So great. Like everything's sort of on schedule there. Z'Darrius Smith is back on this team somehow. We think he's expected to sign with the Browns. He had a tryout there. And so, you know, they're adding players. They're there. And yeah, Dylan Gabriel's there too. There were some reports he's looked better in camp than the other two guys, but he came out there and threw a duck of an interception. He's out there with third stringers, but he actually probably looked the worst of the three.

34:55So not great. The Bears sat most people. They have a lot of injuries. Ben Johnson doesn't want to play his starters in the preseason any way. My biggest takeaway, Jordan, is they did it. They opened in 14 personnel. They somehow benched. I think they sat their top two or three tight ends just because they're sitting starters. And yet they started with four tight ends on the field. I feel like that was kind of sending a statement. Who does that? Ben Johnson literally, someone, I believe it was for The Athletic, went and checked. I hope that's right. And, yeah, they had never done that once all last season.

35:32But four tight ends. It's kind of fun. He's just nuts. I just love it so much because it's like, you know, the talk right now. I'm going around to camps, Greg. I'm at a different camp tomorrow. I've been kind of just all over the place here. And really the talk of camps is just like what we've been talking about and honking about all spring, and it's how many tight ends every team has in pitchers. And it's just like, look, I'm going to one-up you here. I love that guy. He's wicked nuts, though. I told McVay, I mean, I don't know if he's going to listen to it, but when we interviewed him, I threw out the idea of I want 05.

36:12I don't know what you would call that. Five personnel. Just five tight ends. They got five good ones. He had a name for it. I forgot what he said. uh but it was there we I want to see it I want to I want all of it I just want to see all of this this is so fun nothing makes Jordan happier like the first time the Rams got into two tight ends uh during your broadcast you just immediately blurted out like oh my god they're in 12 I was like Jordan well in the red zone they never were in 12 in the red zone anyway we are not on that team yet so no not yet uh Jedrick Wills who's competing for left tackle gave up a pretty bad sack in that game.

36:48I think Kieran Amageddegi is probably leading that battle, but the good news there, Ozzy Trapilo, their second round pick was activated off the PUP list. My sense is he's probably pretty far away from playing. I would be surprised if he's ready for the start of the season, but it does indicate that he's ready to advance his rehab to a point where they just feel comfortable with him practicing a little more, so that's good news. And a thought crossed my mind, and I wanted to throw this by you quickly, Antoine Randall L calling plays in this game and doing it well. I love that. Their assistant, 34 to 10, going crazy in the second half.

37:25They're like playing hurry up. They're throwing the ball all over the yard. Future head coach. What do you think? Oh, I like that idea. I mean, Ben Johnson is going to be one of those guys who everybody who is on that coaching staff should get a look. Right. And I I love it. I love when coaches do this, when they have their assistants call the games, especially in the, obviously in the preseason. That's fun too, because they were doing a lot of different stuff. And I think it's a, it's a nice, like, nod of respect when the head coach says, Hey, put your plan in and call it the way you want it.

38:01And then it looks like this. I freaking love that. That's awesome. He's been around and I think receivers coaches get typecast a little, but I think it's really interesting that Ben Johnson, like, He took him with Randall L to Chicago from Detroit. I don't think the Lions were thrilled about that. They liked Randall L. Randall L has been an assistant for a while. Two good coaches he's been under. And that he is the one that he says could be a play caller. We talk a lot about the lack of a pipeline for young black play callers. And for him to tap Randall L is like, actually, this might be the next dude up.

38:35Just a name to watch for either this cycle, next cycle, just something to watch. All right, let's go to the Cowboys. Hey, how about make him an OC? Just a thought. Right. Right. That could be next. That could be next. Somewhere else. Well, yeah. And to your point, yes, I do think that when you when you are looking this good at this part of the job this early on and in this with this little like actual live experience with the call sheet, that's a huge sign in terms of head coach. My point is, you know, make a difference and make him an OC. Actually make him an offensive coordinator. Don't just have people as your receivers, coaches, or things like that.

39:13Well, it got me thinking. I have to admit, off the top of my head, I was like, who is the Bears' offensive coordinator right now? I know who it is. It's Press Taylor. Oh, yeah, of course. It's always Press Taylor. Whenever you don't know who the OC is, it's Press Taylor. Jacksonville, I got it. Cowboys, 17. Seahawks, 7. Mike McDonald, not thrilled. I was pretty annoyed after this game. I don't have many takeaways from the game on the Seattle side. Drew Locke and Jalen Milrow went back and forth trading drives. Locke had started pretty well with a touchdown drive, but then it wasn't great. Milrow took a lot of sacks.

39:51The numbers looked good. He had some really good runs. But afterwards, Mike McDonald was somewhat pointed in talking about Jalen Milrow, like saying we got to take it to another step just like encourage him to rip it in his words he did extend some plays with his legs that really helped us but the play doesn't have to end when there's no one to throw to with your progressions like you're allowed to extend the play you know it's up to you how long the play goes so I think he was getting a little frustrated about the sacks that Milrow was taking when he was staying in the pocket I'm thinking of a fourth down sequence later in the game.

40:23And so, you know, a little bit of buzzing the harsh of the high I was on with the good Jalen Milrow training camp. But let's go to the bigger news there. Devin Witherspoon is the highest paid cornerback in the league. Not a shock, but he gets that contract done. $101 million guaranteed, Jordan. Four years,$132 million extension. It's a six-year deal. He's signed with the Seahawks through 2031. How about that? What do you think we're going to be doing in 2031? I hope this show. I know we'll be watching Devin Witherspoon play football. I do know that. I mean, I hope we're still working together, Jordan.

41:00Me too. That this is the show and we're talking football. Hey, I told you, I'm a barnacle, baby. I am stuck to you. You cannot peel me off now. That's what you say now. Like, she's going to be, you know how they made Ross Tucker the number two with Ian Eagle to J.J. Watt? Like, by then, Jordan will be up to number three, you know? So, I'm not going to bump them off because I like them. But you'll be up to number three. The quote from McDonald after the contract I really like with Devin Witherspoon. Spoon is all the things. He's a great person. He's a great football player. He's a great teammate.

41:31He's a great leader. He is all the things. I really like that. And I have noticed these contracts are getting longer and longer. It sounds like he broke the barrier for cornerbacks, but it's tacking four years onto the two years that were already there. It's not as much per year if you do the whole six as some of the top guys. It doesn't matter. It's there. It's a framework for Gonzalez. And they control, like, really his career now moving forward. Speaking of careers, DeMarcus Lawrence had said it's going to be his last year. So this is a swan song for DeMarcus Lawrence. I did notice their second-round pick, Bud Clark, was playing well into the second half.

42:08So probably not going to be a factor in terms of playing for this team early. I think there's some safeties ahead of him. Let's go to the Cowboys. Don't you love an undrafted free agent story? Camden Brown is the guy. I got to admit, I hadn't been tracking this, Jordan, but he had a couple touchdowns in this game, including just an outrageous catch on one of them. And then I went and did some digging. I guess this has been a thing. I mean, Cowboys beat writers are like, this has been a thing. They're calling this the Camden Brown game, but it's been the Camden Brown spring, and they think he is making the team.

42:40I listened to some speculation from one of the podcasts, Love of the Star, that was like, Like, is there a world where they keep him over Kevante Turpin? I was just like, whoa, that's kind of shocking because Turpin's such a good return guy and makes a lot of money. I kind of doubt that, but I think they're going to try to find a way to get this guy on the team. Dak said something to the point of, or it was reported that, like, if they cut this guy, Dak is not going to be happy. Camden Brown. That's great, yeah. And with Ryan Flournoy playing so well, he looks so smooth. Like, this is a solid four deep, in my opinion.

43:16So I understand why there was speculation. I don't want to knock Kavante. I was only at practice out there for a day up in Oxnard last week. And Camden Brown has moved up in the reps lines. Now that is hashtag noticing for me when that happens with a young player. Omens and signs. I love hashtag noticing right now. This is really hashtag noticing type of season. So I think he has passed Jonathan Mingo, who actually probably played his best game for what it's worth as a Cowboy. but I don't think he's going to make that team. Marcus Valdes-Scantling, I don't think he's going to make that team. And so, yeah, I think you find a spot for Camden Brown.

43:53I don't know if the backup running back is on this team. Jaden Blue we hear a lot about, and then you watch the games, and it's just not happening as much. Malik Davis is a good player for them as a special teamer, so I think he's on this team. And then I do like to track the first-round picks. Caleb Downs kind of being treated like a real-deal starter. It's been really positive, everything you hear. Malachi Lawrence was their other first-round pick. And some talk at camp that maybe it's been a little slow going, a little bit like Donovan Ezraku, who looks more comfortable this year, year two.

44:26Malachi Lawrence maybe going through that same process and having some struggles playing a little bit in this preseason game and not looking amazing. So he might not be like their first. He's a first-round pick, but he's not necessarily one of their top three edge rushers right now if they had to play a game next week. Dangerous. dangerous group. I don't know what to say about them. They, they could, they could be great. I think when I was out there, it was like, the vibes are high and I love talking to that beat because they've, they're all been, they've all been on that beat for so many years and they seen it all at this point.

45:01And you know, they're always like, you know, everything seems great right now, but, but you know, kind of a thing. And I'm like, come on guys, this, this team looks great. And I was there, even Dak had a, a bad practice day and the offensive general was was not what it had been looking like and um but this defense they they seem really connected and like they're getting better quinn and williams it's just like a freaking joy to be around it seems like for for everybody and he talked and he was talking after the contract extension and he was talking about all these moments that he's gone back and watched when um you know legendary defensive linemen have gotten a chance to close big games and he mentioned you know the Aaron Donald Super Bowl and and he mentioned that the third and the fourth down which I think people forget that third down run stop it just was cool I'm like okay this this guy matters this this guy is going to be a really a cornerstone and and I think they think just talking to some people in the building I think they think that he is the type of player who can bring up sort of help quote-unquote raise everybody in terms of their development even if it takes a little bit i can't wait to watch this team they are they are right near the top of the list for me of like watchability and what i want to see the first month of the season the rams are obviously there too just because they're like the uh they're the superpower they're the evil empire now jordan they are the evil empire just because they i was working for the death star yeah they look so good on paper so the rams uh the rams pull out a 20 to 12 victory I do want to get to your experience in the booth at the end of this game because it was awesome to see and was really proud of you.

46:41Thank you. You were great. But let's talk Ty Simpson, because this was one of the bigger stories, I think, that came out of preseason week one. You know, I was ragging on him, struggling at practice a little bit. And we can give the context of Ty Simpson's performance, but within the context of what they set up for him and how he played, I think it was a really positive step for him. And I think Sean McVay's comments after the game really, really supported like how confident he was in what Ty Simpson did. I like the way you put that, because what they set up for him, I think that's the exact right way to put it.

47:16Now, we had Dave Vergoen, the quarterback's coach, who's been in charge of the development of Ty Simpson and Stetson Bennett. And we had him on, and I asked him directly, hey, did you set up a lot of these long bootlegs and some of these throwing on the move plays, especially early on, partial field reads and all of those things early on in the game to really get him going and build his confidence? and Dave Ergon answered the question well. He basically said, you know, we could call anything. We feel confident, like that kind of a thing. However, this is not the offense that you're running for Matthew Stafford, for example.

47:56And I mean, you wouldn't expect it to be. The guy got no, almost no reps in camp. I mean, he was, he maybe got like, you know, under 50 for sure reps total in camp so far because of how much they were doing with Stetson Bennett as the QB2 in those days. And then also on Stafford's rest days, then Ty Simpson would come in as the QB2 because Stetson was distributing to the ones, right? So I was really happy for Ty. I mean, that was cool because as the game went on, you could see his confidence building. And I mentioned this a couple of times with Rob Havenstein on the broadcast. the thing that we hashtag noticed is that he was distributing to a lot of different types of players he was going through his reads even if he wasn't necessarily doing the exact same and complex things that we would see in an at this actual system they're running a very I want to say like very 2018 version of this offense which is what they always have done in the preseason and this time they did it with more tight ends which I liked to see but they it was I thought he did really really well and you could actually feel him get so much more into flow and into rhythm his pace that long touchdown drive uh where dean conners you know has the has the catch like the catch and run like he that there was a throw to cj daniels on that drive that was excellent excellent and he was seeing it well and his pace was excellent i thought he executed two minute really well as well yeah they they played no huddle that was impressive it look it was the The numbers are crazy.

49:3321 for 25, 190 yards, two touchdowns. Like the average depth of target was, you know, would have been by far like the shortest average depth of target of any quarterback in the NFL last year. He wasn't throwing it over 10 yards. And yet, you know, I actually was a little more impressed when I did go back to watch it on film than I expected because the couple times he did go downfield, they were on point. They weren't the easiest throws. You mentioned the Daniels one. There was one other one downfield. That was good. It was all on target. He did get to his second read a handful of times. I mean, they opened the game.

50:08It was almost funny for him with literally four straight brute legs, like every single play. I started charting at that point. I'm like, okay, that was four straight. I'm going to count how many of these 25 throws are brute legs. I think there was only two more. So it wasn't as crazy the rest of the way. And it's mostly first read, get the ball out. But he was decisive. and there was actually one second reaction play too where there's a defender at his feet. What stood out to me for him and Bennett for the most part was like the offensive line played, you know, incredible. So there was no pressure, but that's my test for NFL quarterbacks.

50:42If you can deliver when there's no pressure, you are an NFL quarterback. Like you will have a career and he was doing that. Yeah, he had time to pat the ball. I don't always like to see a quarterback do that, but the fact that he had time to do it and really had time to settle back a little bit But it was funny that the social media team for the Rams is excellent, and they sort of made an inadvertent pun because they were going with Alabama, roll tide, but he was rolling out in these boots every other play, and so they said roll tide, and I was like, did you guys mean to do that? But it was fun, and I thought Dean Connors, the running back, was excellent.

51:17They're trying to get Jarquez Hunter a draft pick last year. More diversity of looks because he was a shotgun running back for a lot of it in college. but they're trying to get him to have a better feel for under center and just getting him more carries. But then Dean Connors gets in the game, and it's clear. He's been one of the players everyone's been talking about in training camp and all the coaches and scouts have had their eye on. And it's the physicality. He picked up a really great pressure at one point too, which they are definitely going to show on the highlight reel this week. And then the catch and run, he can be on the field for every down.

51:57They love Ronnie Rivers and Ronnie Rivers is a core four special teamer and he's an excellent pass protector. So I don't see him making the leap there, but I could see Dean Connors making this team. Love it. You know, the comment that look, if I was very critical of the Ty Simpson draft pick and, you know, we're seeing like if you're if you were critical of being drafted, don't switch up now, especially if you're a Rams fan because he was dealing out there. It's one preseason game. I would never change anything off of that. But what you want to do is just evaluate what you saw for one game. And what it makes me think about more practically is like Stetson Bennett, some of the practice reports haven't been as good lately.

52:38And so you just wonder if they change up their reps plan in practice with Simpson getting a little more into the mix. We'll see. Or like, is it possible that, you know, Jimmy G is still the backup quarterback for the team? Is it possible Ty Simpson is the backup quarterback? We will see. We have future weeks to talk about it. I was disappointed to see Keegan Trost, their rookie tackle, suffer an injury. He's supposed to be their swing tackle. Alaric Jackson could just potentially be suspended, so he's a key player for them. And so we will keep an eye on him. For the Chiefs, some Cyrus Allen pop.

53:13He's back. He's healthy. I think this rookie and their rookie running back, Emmitt Johnson, who also looked pretty good in this game, I think they're going to play for this Chiefs team. which talk about a team like I'm looking forward to seeing open the season. I'm really curious what this Chiefs team looks like. And I think they're going to get some production out of their rookies. R. Mason Thomas had a couple good rushes, their rookie pass rush. I'm not going to go crazy there. But, you know, especially Cyrus Allen, Emmitt Johnson, like I think they could have rookies who actually get snaps for the Chiefs.

53:44Yeah, and I, you know, my questions, I think their starting offensive line could be really, really good. But my questions about their backups only intensified and some of the depth questions there only intensified. A lot of false starts. A lot of push from some of the Rams, like deep third string and undrafted free agent, interior defensive linemen. And there's some undersized guys there too. That was notable. I thought the Chiefs backup DB. I thought the DBs played well. I was like, Spags is that dastardly, man. He's doing it again. Like, I thought they looked good. I thought they looked long.

54:24They were good. You know, it's not like there was a ton down. It's a preseason. I don't want to over over comment. But I just I like the way they moved. I thought they looked good. Christian Fulton, who's a veteran who was with the Chargers and getting paid a lot of money by the Chiefs, was out there actually in the second quarter. So he's healthy, but I found that interesting. The experience of listening and watching to you was awesome. You killed it. You were succinct. You were just confident. And you were talking ball. You were educating. Rob Heimstein, you mentioned who you were with. I thought it was a great rapport.

55:05J.B. Long's great, too. Just what was it like? You sounded like you were having fun, which was, you know, as a fan of yours, as a friend of yours. That's all I wanted to see because I was like, if you're having fun, the love of the ball and the knowledge of the ball is going to come out. And, yeah, like Ty Simpson was not the best rookie out there on the field. It was Jordan. I have to tell you, I was so nervous. I know you know this, Greg. I was so, so, so, so nervous. For any of you listeners who don't think that Greg Rosenthal has a heart, that there's just a computer ticking and whirring away in there, Greg sent me some really nice, wonderful, confidence-building text before everything.

55:44And I had a moment on the bus ride in. I got to ride on the bus. I was sitting behind Rob Havenstein and there was no room on some of the other buses and some of the backup rookies and second year players had to join the staff, sort of the quote unquote, this team support staff bus. And Blasky, the left tackle, ended up sitting next to Rob Havenstein. And I got to listen to Rob, who is an 11-year veteran and a Super Bowl winner and one of the best tackles they've ever had, give advice to this young guy who was just looking at him with the biggest, like, saucer plate eyes. And it was the coolest thing ever.

56:20I couldn't believe I got to do that. It was so much fun. And once I got there, I had so much freaking fun, Greg. It was, like, one of the most fun things I've ever done in my entire life. Like, it just, it was so cool. I hope this doesn't feel like a letdown, you know, afterwards. Now you're in a hotel room talking about the Jaguars third string tackle. I love ball, man. I just love ball. No, it was so fun. And the crew was great. And JB is the freaking man. Like that dude steered us, guided us. Like we didn't have time to feel nervous once it started. Like it was fun. And Rob did a brilliant job as well.

56:56It was a lot of fun. And I have a lot of things I want to get better at, which I know is not surprising to you to hear. but it was cool not I didn't ruminate over them afterward because I just tried to be in the moment and normally I I do be ruminating quite a bit that's that's the great thing about live anything but especially live like you're at you're literally at the game you are in the moment I have not gotten you know the chance to have like have an opportunity like that but like you know calling calling the Super Bowls for the radio for talk sport and everything and like we're working on hopefully maybe calling some some of the game together in Paris this year.

57:34Like it's just it's nothing is more fun than that. You're just you're just part you're in the moment. So it the great thing is you're going to get to do two more preseason games. You're going to have that job for as long as they'll keep you. And I bet you're going to be getting more jobs. So look forward to it in the future. Every click leaves a trail. IP Vanish helps you leave a lot less behind. With IP Vanish, your traffic is encrypted. your IP address is shielded, and threat protection helps block malware, phishing sites, and trackers. It's simple, powerful privacy that fits real life. So you can browse with more confidence and less exposure.

58:11Join millions who trust IPVanish. Go to IPVanish.com, that's I-P-V-A-N-I-S-H.com, and choose your plan today. IPVanish. More privacy, less exposure. You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft and the entire room groans because they wanted that player. Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in primetime. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.

58:52We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mailbag, data-driven, quick-hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now we've got a hard pivot to the Friday preseason. games you know the Jets the Jets Bucks uh 24-17 the Bucks you know played their third like they went deep I believe who was it that started this game for the Bucks at quarterback I should have this written out let's start with the Jets actually because it was a little surprising they played all their starters except Geno Smith because Geno Smith has a foot injury struggling with which not great I don't think it's got serious but they didn't want to put them out there in a game.

59:50Cade Klubnick delivers 10 points in two drives. Afterwards, Aaron Glenn says, this kid's got moxie. That's what we saw at college. And he was throwing it up there. Garrett Wilson had an insane catch on like a hospital ball that I was like, ooh, I don't love that in the preseason, but he made a great catch. And here's a positive omen here for the Jets, Jordan. First defensive third down for the game. You got all your starters in there. you got will mcdonald on one side getting around the edge you have um the draft pick david bailey kind of going inside and pushing the pocket it's all collapsing in they all win their battles and it's a sack for mcdonald but yeah david bailey who's had a really nice camp by all accounts like good team defense okay maybe this this pass rush i think could be pretty darn good for the Jets.

1:00:42I am really excited about both both lines for the Jets, honestly. And I'm, you know, you have to check yourself sometimes because the Jets do seem to frequently have really nice camps and preseasons. But in this case, they reportedly got destroyed in the joint practice like the offense did when Gina was out there. So but one thing, you know, our our friend MJD has also been on the road a lot and um I was talking to him about some of the camps he's visited and the Jets really the front that that pass rush and especially David Bailey like really really frustrated the Bucs um offensive line and I think that that's really telling to me because that's a talented offensive line they've had some questions and some obviously some returns from injury and whatnot but But David Bailey just seems like the real deal.

1:01:38Football robot. Zach Rosenblatt, my colleague at The Athletic, followed him around camp for one day. Just basically isocammed him, but with a pen and paper. And was just like, this dude is just a machine. He just loves football, and he just wants to be good at football. That's it. Simple as that. Love it. And a really interesting rookie class, which might not get as big an impact out of Omar Cooper, as we thought right off the bat, the late first round pick. This is what the preseason is about for me is to watch guys like that and to confirm things that you're kind of hearing whispers about, which is that Isaiah Williams, who was their return specialist last year, named the team MVP by his teammates for his big returns, has played so well in camp at receiver, and there has been a drumbeat of him really developing that he is their third receiver right now.

1:02:27Omar Cooper was playing with the second, the third stringers for a while in this game. And so those are the types of things I think that we learn right now. Omar Cooper, if you're thinking about him in fantasy leagues, don't bother right now. It's fine. It happens with rookie receivers. Sometimes guys come out faster. Sometimes they don't. For the Bucs, Emeka Abuka has a sprained toe. They do expect him ready for week one. We're not going to see him in the preseason it was connor bazelik who was the starter i don't know how i forgot that but then jalen daniels remember him in college kansas like he played pretty well he might make this team as their third quarterback uh who knows there was a guy like aiden garns uh who i think the broadcast he had a pick six and he's had a good camp apparently in the defensive backfield and they're like he makes the team you're like with a pick six you just kind of you kind of love that Bailey Zappi, unfortunately, is the one that threw the pick six.

1:03:24And then poor guy almost threw an interception, I think, on his next pass, which was a drop. And I want to go back and watch the Ted Hurst film receiver that I like because I hear good things. We got to keep moving. Let's go to the Broncos and the Falcons. The Broncos made the Falcons feel bad about themselves on both sides of the ball because the Falcons were playing their starters. The Broncos played a lot of starters, too, except for Bo Nix. Actually, they pretty much played all their starters. and Jarrett Stidham goes out there. He's reportedly in a backup quarterback battle, Jordan. He goes three for three for 75 yards in the first drive.

1:03:58Cortland Sutton is out there just dominating the Falcons. He goes three for 61 and he's just dunking on guys. Pat Bryant is doing things. They are just killing people. And then Sean Payton at halftime is taking shots at them saying, quote, there's a lot of people dressed as empty seats today. he still hates the Falcons. It wasn't a revenge game, but he's still got that hatred of the Falcons, even as a Saints coach. And it was pretty darn empty there in Atlanta. And they just went up and down the field. We'll get to the Tuatunga-Vailoa, but the Broncos' defense also was just absolutely killing the Falcons.

1:04:36One thing I always hashtag notice about you, Greg, is the way your voice changes when you talk about Jared Stidham. So I'm just noticing that that seems to be back already. Well, Pete, you know, he's in this battle. You had a rough one there for a minute. You had a tough one there for a minute. Now you're all the way back. He's what's called a gamer. It didn't hurt that he had all his starters out there with him. Except in the actually very important game that he played in. Yeah. Okay. He was going against starters. Jaday Barron had a very weird deflection pick six, but was out there late in the second quarter.

1:05:09So I don't think Jaday Barron is going to be a starter of their former first-round pick or last year's first-round pick. The bigger story in this game was the Falcons. Bad Omen, their first drive was a one-yard run, a Tua Tungavailoa fumble, and then a throw short of the sticks. The next series with Tua, they got one first down, but then it just looked really rough, like the operation on a screen. That one ends. He goes punt, punt. Their drives go punt, punt, interception, punt, pick six in the first half. And then this Locked On Falcons podcast headline just cracked me up. the headline was all caps flop colon no more all caps Tua and Falcons offense all caps now exposed this is what's happening in Atlanta these days they're pretty upset wow yeah you know not always a good thing and certainly mostly a bad thing to be memed also in your first there's a you know what's funny is I listened it actually got me to listen I was like I want to hear of them killed they like didn't even kill it they were like they were understanding and it wasn't i watched this game it wasn't that big of a deal it was very one-sided but it there weren't a lot of takeaways here that was a lot of these youtube things do though now there's at least one word that's all capitalized now just to like really draw you in uh four passes to kyle pitts by tua I barely was in there and it was all to Kyle Pitts.

1:06:42It's fine. James Pierce was suspended since we last talked. There was a few suspensions around the league. The biggest one was James Pierce. Their edge rusher is suspended eight games. I think the Falcons knew this was coming. He's been with the third string defense throughout camp. He was listed there on the depth chart. He was one of the defensive rookie of the year candidates last year. The baseline for domestic violence suspensions is six games. So they actually went above that. Not exactly sure. You know, they don't they don't explain the reasoning. But, you know, if you look at what James Pierce was accused of three felony charges, it was scary stuff.

1:07:21He also resisted arrest, drove away from the police. The woman that he was accused of harassing and committing the violence against feared and had to drive away from him. Very scary stuff. But he's entered a diversion program to, in theory, avoid jail. And this is how the NFL has come down on this. And, yeah, that's the James Pierce of it all. And I could have seen them suspending them more. I'm glad that it's a baseline of six games. I could have seen a year. I could have seen a year, yeah. Yeah. It wouldn't have surprised me. And he's not appealing it. So it's happening. They already announced he's not appealing it.

1:08:07Let's go to the Commanders and the Dolphins to wrap up and then a little bit of news. I got to get out of here. I'm going to a Yoa Sobe concert tonight at the Hollywood Bowl with my daughter. It's her band. I doubt there's a lot of Yoa Sobe fans out there listening, But if you are, let me know. You never know. The Commanders, 20. Dolphins, 7. Really, it's just been an excuse to get off Jaden Daniels' five jokes. He's in this little skirmish with the LSU. People are really mad at Jaden Daniels. I know. I was like, that was my first reaction too, to think Jaden Daniels is overreacting to tell them to stop using his name by giving away his jersey.

1:08:47But he's like a young kid. It's not that big of a deal, and he's just getting killed everywhere. It's just like, go easy on Jaden Daniels. Jaden Daniels' backup quarterback, Marcus Mariota, sprained his MCL. This is one of those injuries that I feel better about after hearing what it is because he looked very worried right away. the report is that he could be back for week one. He'll be out for the preseason. They're not signing another quarterback right now, so that shows that they're not that worried about it. He's one of the best backups in the league. So, you know, they need him. They may need him.

1:09:19Unfortunately, with Jayden Daniels' injury history, they may really need him one or two, maybe more games. And as a spot starter, he's fantastic. So hopefully he is back sooner rather than later. Yes, Sam Hartman, he of the flowing locks is the third-string quarterback right now on this team. teams tell you more with their actions than their words so if they don't sign someone else they're not too worried about mariota torrance armstrong their pass rusher also suspended uh but for one game for violating uh the league's conduct policy kwan martin is a guy who was drafted pretty high a couple years ago he looks like he's on the bubble playing deep into this game johnny newton a guy i liked a lot in the second round he was playing a lot i think he's going to be on this team but he is not near the starters because they rested all their starters sunny styles was uh part of six starters who did play on the first drive that gave up a touchdown.

1:10:09Some positive plays somewhere. He looked a little bit slow. Your boy, and I think Jeff Halfley is one of your boys, was trying to send a message here on his first drive. Malik Willis looked awesome, but do we really need to give Devon Achan seven carries on your first drive of the game? No, and it also was like he, I've never, I've met Jeff Halfley once, I think. So I know I don't think that you just like the Dolphins, what they're doing. I do like the Dolphins. I like their plan. I'm I'm higher. But not this year. I'm higher on the Dolphins, like over the next 18 months than I think a lot of people are.

1:10:45You may be more maybe the front office. Maybe that's more your guy. Yeah. John Eric Sullivan, I think, is really solid. But yeah, Jeff, they were joking on. I believe it was Rich Eisen about how he's going to get like 40 carries a game or 40 touches a game, which is quite obviously not being serious because that would be absolutely insane to do. But he certainly didn't calm people down by the opening script of this game. So it's like, okay, maybe he's just trolling. I don't know. They were all, except for one off tackle run, I went back and watched it. They're all inside runs, including some tough, short yardage situations.

1:11:28So remember how Tyreek Hill was trying to give those coaching notes that he didn't like A-Chan in the short yardage. Halfley saying he's great in short yardage. Devon A-Chan's great. Seven carries is a little much. But your guy, John Eric Sullivan, one of his draft picks, Caleb Douglas, looking good. He is going to start for this team. Third round pick. He is a specimen. Had a ridiculous one-handed catch. Go look it up. It was awesome. And then the offensive line played really well in that drive. I know they were going against backups, but Jonah, Jonah Sabs, as they call him in Miami, looked really good.

1:12:02And reportedly the light bulbs turned on, whereas he was like one of the worst starters in the league last year and has reportedly had a really good camp. That offensive line right now is healthy and on paper looks pretty good. So cross your fingers. Malik Willis also looked very comfortable and accurate. It was one drive, but you know, don't sleep on the Miami Dolphins over the, over the next 18 months is all I'm going to say about that. Jamari Sawyer, who I thought was a really good depth signing for them, like a good swing tackle, is on injured reserve. He is going to be out for the season.

1:12:34And Quinn Ewers, their backup quarterback, is out with an injury right now. Could that be an Andy Dalton or J.J. McCarthy destination? Who knows? Remember when you assigned me all of the Quinn Ewers snaps for our games? That was not the most fun assignment you've ever given me. Whatever. It was fine. I enjoyed it. Reportedly not having a good campus. Every click leaves a trail. IP Vanish helps you leave a lot less behind. With IP Vanish, your traffic is encrypted, your IP address is shielded, and threat protection helps block malware, phishing sites, and trackers. It's simple, powerful privacy that fits real life, so you can browse with more confidence and less exposure.

1:13:19Join millions who trust IP Vanish. Go to ipvanish.com That's I-P-V-A-N-I-S-H dot com And choose your plan today IP Vanish More privacy Less exposure You know the feeling You make a pick in your fantasy draft And the entire room groans Because they wanted that player Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers And you start him Right before he goes off in prime time There's no better feeling Than crushing your fantasy football league I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.

1:14:02We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mailbag, data-driven, quick-hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's wrap up with some quick news here. Jeremiah Love is out at least a week with an ankle injury. I hate to say I told you so, Jordan, but we got on Mike LaFleur a little bit for 14 first-half touches for Jeremiah Love.

1:14:46on the 14th touch Jordan where they're using him in the red zone uh that was the play where he got bent back pretty awkwardly when I went back to watch it I was like ooh Lafleur says he's out at least he said a week and I was like oh was that just like a hard week but since then it sounded a little more vague and now some reporting from Jeremy Fowler at ESPN says they are hopeful that he could be back for week one, but it's uncertain. Also their second round pick guard, chase Basantis is out for the season with a torn MCL suffering in that game. So that is a, that's a really tough one, two punch.

1:15:26And I think players should play in the preseason, but that's just a, that's a huge workload in a short amount of time, 14 touches in one half of a game. It'd be even different if it was 14 over the whole game, But he looked a little indecisive in that game and then was warming up. You really hate to see it. But I think if you're drafting fantasy, I'm a little lower on Jeremiah Love than I was even coming into this week. Because it's a little indecisive. You have good veterans around him. You don't have to ask him to have 300 touches, even if he is playing well. Yeah, I can understand why. Normally, I draw actually a pretty hard line.

1:16:04I don't think starters should play in the preseason. That's just my opinion. but with this in this case I do understand a running back you really want to make sure he understands the spacing you're going to use him in not just in the run game and in the passing game too and and some of the blitz pickups and some of the things he's going to just have to be a factor on because he will be an every down player and then also how long does it take him to warm up how many carries does it take for him to really find his legs and really see it well so I do understand with like rookie running backs who were expected to be premier players for their teams just something you really hate to see like I just think injuries suck in general in the preseason and all the time but especially in the preseason and this one is you hate to like this this one's so easy to have hindsight about right and that's what also makes it tough it does and we're taping this Sunday afternoon on the West Coast.

1:16:58Thank you to everyone in the chat and watching live. Give us give us a like follow. We're trying to grow this NFL daily to kind of be a live thing. Sign up to get notifications when we do go live. We appreciate you all. And it's when it's live. And this is the case, you know, when we tape podcasts, too, sometimes we get information as we're taping literally minutes ago from Adam Schefter. Jeremiah Love is dealing with a high ankle sprain he's not going to play obviously in the preseason and don't like that yeah so that is something that could linger and i hope that they don't rush him back i'm sure they won't so they don't need to know like a million running backs to me that is an injury that they are such nagging injuries that like put them on ice for at like the the opener isn't for a month but put him on ice for six weeks.

1:17:54Like, do not like let him sit out the first couple of weeks of the season. 15 games is plenty for a rookie running back. You know, whatever it is, like, just be careful with that young man. But man, that is that is frustrating. Also, an update on Jamal Adams, kind of what we expected. It has been confirmed by Ian Rappaport that he has a season ending knee injury. So now that is more official, but it confirmed what we thought looking at that. And yeah, the Besantis injury is a big one, too, for the Cardinals, a second round guard that they took. Some other season ending injuries. The Texans third quarterback, Grant Mertz, suffered a torn ACL.

1:18:29Hated to see that. Kyle Manung guy. You are a Kyle Manung dude. Suffered an injury at practice. We're going to be watching that Sunday. Grady Jarrett kind of fell awkwardly into his knee. It didn't sound great. Speaking of hashtag noticing. Am I overreacting to this one, Jordan? And thank you to our crack producer, Thomas Warren, sitting in on a Sunday because Eric Roberts has a very important wedding. He has a life, too, to go to. Like, let's let let's let him live. So Thomas has given me this great information breaking on Jeremiah Love. He's got the graphics ready for Clint Kubiak. Hashtag noticing that QB1, the way he talked about it is now Kirk Cousins.

1:19:12It's his job to lose when they asked him. I was like, oh, just like phrased a little differently. I don't think it's different. But then it was also reported that Mendoza might be getting more first team reps this week. And then he tried to couch it like, well, everyone deserves first team reps. Adrian Martinez deserves first team reps. Like, we know what you're doing. It's like, after how hard they sold this whole thing, they're just doing the same thing every team does. I'm hashtagging. Am I overreacting to this? No. Well, I always think my first reaction when anyone, any coach ever says it's his job to lose, it means to me what I hear is he's already in the act of losing it like I don't know I don't know I will see them this week I'm in Houston and part of the reason I'm here is I'm going to be able to go to Raiders Texans joint practices and that's not going to be an easy defense for either of those quarterbacks to practice to practice against I'm very excited for this this is like probably one of the highlights of my of my summer but I also whenever somebody says that it almost puts it in active tense to me yes I know I know coaches are not thinking about this like the same way that like people who do words for a living are but that is always what I think about is hey his job to lose meaning you know I've already put the thought into my brain that he could lose it Raiders would be high on that teams I want to see list I might have to do this as a podcast hey come out and visit i'm here you come out come out to we have you on staff as the raiders texans joint practice correspondent i want to get you on the show to give us your official winner you have to declare winner of the joint practice well that's a condition i'm not willing to agree to that's ridiculous you have to do it it's obvious there's always a winner in competition tucker craft uh is back at practice the packers tight end doing 11 on 11s for the first time rayshon slater we've watching the Chargers tackle has been out now for at least a week.

1:21:08At first, Jim Harbaugh said, oh, it's just maintenance. He's not even hurt. And then they haven't said anything about it since basically. And it's OK. He's coming off of really serious injuries. So basically his recovery not going as well right now as Joe Alt's recovery. Nick Bosa had a setback. He was seen for the first time in two weeks at the side of practice for the 49ers. So that's a positive step, but he's just doing like light individual things. Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey, who they wouldn't say anything about, he hasn't been seen in over a week with quote unquote muscle tightness. I love Roto World, but Roto World had a, you know, a post today.

1:21:48It's like, we're not worried. Still draft him in the first round of your fantasy. Like, why aren't you worried? This is what everyone that fantasy, like people were saying up until the moment his season was over last time around be worried be very worried i'm not taking him period i almost forgot about that man that right that brings me back to that too because it was like it'll be fine it'll be fine it'll be fine super super not fine all of a sudden yeah no team lies more about injuries than the 49ers as our friend cynthia freeland would often call kyle shannon who she's friends with so she felt like she could do this on tv though uh calling him the lying liar who lies about injuries so keep that in mind and then finally uh aaron donald back on the transaction wire he's he's worked out again so i guess it's not a it's not a tryout anymore but you know he's working out with the team so let us know when you're ready to go uh we're ready to go i gotta get to that concert jordan uh thank you so much um not just for your star turn uh but for like lighting up this show with your love of ball in a somewhat sad looking Houston hotel room.

1:22:59We will be back on NFL Daily on Monday. It's our AFC East preview show with Taylor Kiles. First time guest. Really excited about it. We'll see you then.

1:23:17Every click leaves a trail. IP Vanish helps you leave a lot less behind. With IPVanish, your traffic is encrypted, your IP address is shielded, and threat protection helps block malware, phishing sites, and trackers. It's simple, powerful privacy that fits real life. So you can browse with more confidence and less exposure. Join millions who trust IPVanish. Go to IPVanish.com, that's I-P-V-A-N-I-S-H dot com, and choose your plan today. IPVanish. More privacy, less exposure. Shop the Sherwin-Williams sale and get 30 % off Duration, Superdeck, and Woodskates products August 14th through the 24th.

1:24:00Whether you're refreshing your interior or exterior, we've got the colors to bring your vision to life. And with delivery, getting everything to your door is easier than ever. Shop online to have it delivered or visit your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store. Click the banner to learn more. Retail sales only, some exclusions apply. See store for details. Delivery available on qualifying orders. The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zachary, host of the award-winning late round podcast.

1:24:35Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the late round fantasy football podcast on the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:24:52This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.