

22 Sep 2026 · 29m · 12 chapters

Monday Night Football Week 2 recap—Rams beat the New York Giants, focusing on injuries, Rams defensive pressure/coverage, and Rams offensive red-zone success.
Dave Hellman and Derek Klassen (football analysts joining host Robert Mays). No other guests are interviewed in the transcript.
The Giants’ offense looked lifeless after QB Jackson Dart left with an injury; Rams man coverage and pressure disrupted Jameis Winston (pressured on 59% of drivebacks). Aaron Donald returned and played 32 snaps in a rotation; Trent McDuffie had a standout night vs Malik Nabors and Blake Neighbors. Rams’ best plays came vs cover two, and Stafford-to-Adams was a consistent red-zone weapon.
Nabors 1 catch for 1 yard; McDuffie end-zone interception and deep breakup; Rams pressure from Byron Young/Josiah Stewart/Braden Fisk/Tyler Davis; Stafford’s scramble/heat-check interception; Ferguson drops but later targeted again; Rams special teams issues (missed late FG, botched kickoff).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes.
Discussing the impact of injuries on the Giants and the game's outcome.
“Week two ends exactly as week two began.”
Analyzing the Rams' defense and the effect of losing Jackson Dart on the Giants.
“Like this game, some people weren't even settled into their seats when this happened.”
Exploring Jameis Winston's challenges and coverage strategies in the game.
“seemed like he did a hell of a freaking job on him, though.”
Reviewing Aaron Donald's performance in his return after two years off.
“Do you have NextGen pulled up right now?”
Discussing the Rams' strategy, particularly their use of man coverage this game.
“And so the idea that he's 280 right now is very funny.”
Discussion focuses on the performance of Quentin Lake and the Rams' defensive strategy against the Niners.
“Quentin Lake was horrendous in week one.”
Explores the Rams offense, particularly the connection between Matthew Stafford and Devontae Adams.
“Football season has arrived, and with the U.S.”
Explores the Rams offense, particularly the connection between Matthew Stafford and Devontae Adams.
“Now available in Canada and the UK, too.”
Discussion on the Rams' offensive strategy, focusing on successful plays against cover two defenses.
“He looks like the animated CGI Bruce Holt when he's wearing human clothes.”
An in-depth discussion on Terrence Ferguson's game performance and future prospects.
“with Devontae was not working and they just kept doing it?”
Examining the issues within the Rams' special teams and their implications for the season.
“And they missed a field goal in the two minute drive, which could have been so incredibly impressive if they had pulled it off.”
A light-hearted take on player appearances and the contrast between athletes.
“You cannot let this shit go with considering the margins that are going to define this team's season and what they have to do to be successful, I would be pissed if I were Sean McVay.”

Get the gist, explore an idea or ask about something said.
On The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL, what are the key points of this episode?
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.
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2:01Robert Mays: Welcome to the athletic football show. I'm Robert Mays. Week two is all done. Monday night football in the books. The ramps take care of business against the New York giants. Another quarterback injury that we're having to deal with. Thankfully, it sounds like Jackson Dart is going to be okay. We really didn't dig into the timeline during this conversation just because it does seem like he's probably going to be back. Jordan Renaud from ESPN reported during the game and Laura Rutledge, who I think did a really good job all game giving us context about the dart injury, relayed that he tried to go back into the game.
2:30Robert Mays: It doesn't sound like he's serious. Obviously, it doesn't sound serious. Obviously, he was on the sideline for a good chunk of the second half of that game. So it does sound like Jackson Dart is going to be back sooner rather than later, but still a bummer to lose him for the entirety of this game. And you really felt it for the Giants offense. We dug into that, the return of Aaron Donald, a bounce back game for the Rams offense, and much, much more with me, Dave Hellman and Derek Klassen. Let's get to it right now.
3:03Robert Mays: Week two ends exactly as week two began. What can we just stop doing this? I'm so tired of this. Can we get through a game without one of the starting quarterbacks being helped off the field and us wondering when he's going to be back and how long he's going to be out and how sad that
3:17Dave Helman: team's fans should be this is nonsense with the Giants specifically did any team in the NFL have the most whiplash between week one and week two than the New York Giants you look great on offense
3:28Robert Mays: feel great about your young quarterback congratulations all of your most important players are going to limp off the field at some point in this game because it was neighbors too it wasn't like it wasn't just Jackson Dart like the Dart thing is one thing and the neighbors had the shoulder separate issue Andrew Thomas limped it limped off Brian Burns got hurt at
3:44Dave Helman: some point in this game my god it was a bloodbath burns couldn't get into the injury tent because thomas was in there like he had to wait no room at the end unbelievable and that stuff happened
3:56Robert Mays: later make reservations in the blue town if you're the giants about a week in advance there's something especially heinous about it happening on like the fourth play of the game
4:06Dave Helman: or whatever it was for the giants like you know i mean all injuries are terrible especially quarterback injuries, but at least Caleb got to the fourth quarter and Jaden Daniels got to the end of the half. Like this game, some people weren't even settled into their seats when this happened. And it just, I mean, it takes the air out of everything. It makes this game hard to evaluate. It makes it way less fun to watch. Just sucks.
4:31Robert Mays: He was playing. I mean, they were driving the ball again after he looked really good in week one. And, you know, I think they're really excited just the staff there about what they've seen from him so far and even you saw it on the first drive the greg roman run game has so many checks and so many layers to it for the quarterback he's handling all of that stuff i mean coming out of that week one game i was really excited to watch him play again and then for that to be ripped away the jamis experience doesn't quite have the charm it did like 10 years ago it's getting much worse yeah it's we're done now we There was a stretch where, and we don't have to get into all of this, but there was a stretch where there was a certain enjoyment in watching him play just because there was an aggressiveness.
5:17Robert Mays: There was a reckless abandon. There was a we're just going to chuck it down the field. I mean, 30 touchdown, 30 interception. Jameis is not walking through that door. And so it really did suck the air out of this game to lose dart when they did. Jameis won 11 of 27 in this game. Malik Nabors finished with one catch for one yard, which I don't know how much of that is. we have to go back and watch, but the Rams are playing a lot of man coverage. They really did blanket the Giants offense for most of this game, but the fact that the Jameis experience is still, the promise of it is still supposed to be will still feed the guys that you want to see fed, and Malik Nabors had one catch for one yard by the time this game ended.
5:53Robert Mays: How much of that is on the Giants offense, and how much of that is because of the injury? I can't really say at this point.
5:59Dave Helman: I would just say that Trent McDuffie seemed like he did a hell of a freaking job on him, though. I mean, two huge moments in this game were Trent McDuffie in coverage on Malik Nabors. He got the better of him on the end zone interception. Certainly plenty of that is on the throw by Jameis Winston. But then the breakup that he had on the deep ball was just an incredibly fun play. And we talked about it after the Rams opener about just the physicality and the size of these corners. And that's why you go out and get these guys. And I was thinking about that on that play where neighbors was looking for a flag.
6:36Dave Helman: There was so much contact, but I just I thought it was good, sturdy contact by a big physical DB. And so maybe no, not maybe. It definitely looks better with Jackson Dart, even if the result is similar. But I do think I think Trent McDuffie had a hell of a night, too.
6:53Robert Mays: He was following neighbors in this game. They had 21 plays where they were lined up across from each other on those plays. three targets, no catches for Blake neighbors on those plays. So yeah, you're right. Trent McDuffie does deserve a lot of credit for that. But overall, just a pretty lifeless performance from the Giants offense, essentially from the moment we lost Jackson Dart.
7:12Dave Helman: And it feels like so much of the promise, too, with the offense was not even just what Dart had looked like in the passing game, obviously, but I think part of why the run game works, and they've been under center a lot, and it's a lot of dot formation stuff in their run game. But part of the run game promise was that you could have Jackson Dart, even if just as like a fake, faint threat in the shotgun. And the fact that that immediately is pulled out of the offense and they have to go to Jameis Winston, who other than the fact that I guess these quarterbacks are both willing to push the ball and be a little bit aggressive, there's really nothing similar about Jackson Dart and Jameis Winston other than some of their reckless abandoned.
7:45Dave Helman: And so having to switch gears like that in the middle of this game with neighbors clearly not at 100%, he gets banged up. It's just like they did feel pretty lifeless after a certain point.
7:57Robert Mays: On plays where he was pressured, Jameis finished 3 of 15 for 54 yards in this game.
8:06Dave Helman: I'm glad you brought that up, Mays. Do you have NextGen pulled up right now? I have it pulled up right now. What were the Rams' pressure numbers?
8:13Robert Mays: 15 % for Matthew Stafford.
8:16Dave Helman: No, but what were their numbers on Jameis?
8:19Robert Mays: 59%. He was pressured 59 % of his drivebacks.
8:22Dave Helman: The stat that I had, it was so low. I was like, there's no way that's right. Because the minute the Rams got ahead by enough that they had to, that the Giants had to throw, it just felt like Jameis was under siege. I mean, every single piece of the Rams front was just doing whatever they wanted to those guys. So I figured it was high, but I'm glad to get confirmation. And his like, he had some plays where he's holding onto the ball a little bit, but it didn't feel like every single play like he was holding onto it. It really did feel like they were just getting to him pretty quickly. Like the promise of the Rams having a bunch of waves in this game, even without Miles Garrett.
9:00Dave Helman: I think you saw it tonight. I mean, even on like, I hate to like talk about it with this play, but like the dart play, like it's Josiah Stewart, who's like winning around the edge and beating Andrew Thomas. It's like, that's what you hoped for is that your guys off the bench even would be really, really good on this front.
9:15Robert Mays: They had four guys to finish with two quick pressures each. Byron Young, Josiah Stewart, Braden Fisk, and Tyler Davis. And then Donald and McDuffie each added one. Donald got double teamed on 39 % of his pass rush plays in his first game in two years.
9:31Dave Helman: They have not seen him play. And they were like, we're not going to be the team that gets embarrassed first.
9:36Robert Mays: By the way, I think it was Joe Buck during this game said that he's 280 right now. Bullshit.
9:47Robert Mays: He's like 260 right now.
9:49Dave Helman: He was probably never 280 when he was playing, really.
9:52Robert Mays: He wasn't. And that's the dirty secret is that he played at a much lower weight than he was listed. And he was still wrecking shop. And so the idea that he's 280 right now is very funny. He is. I would bet some money is not 280. And that doesn't take away from what he could potentially be. Because when he was playing a couple years ago, that was not his week eight weight while he was the best defensive player in football, which speaks to just how absolutely ridiculous and one of one all time freak show Aaron Donald actually is. The fact that the most dominant defensive tackle both of his generation and arguably that we have ever seen was playing at 40 pounds less, 35 pounds less than the average player at that position in the NFL.
10:36Dave Helman: And was 35 % better than almost all of them. He also, I remember it happened like very shortly after I saw somebody posted his stats online. We're just like, you know, he doesn't have a tackle. He doesn't have a pressure as of yet. And immediately he was in on that TFL in short yardage where him and Cam Curl just shot in and took the back down in the backfield. And like, A, the fact that we're like impatiently like tapping our wristwatches in his first game back in two years, like, hey, do something incredible, idiot. And then he did it like right after that. It was pretty awesome. I had a lot of fun.
11:15Dave Helman: He hasn't played football.
11:16Robert Mays: He hasn't played any football in three years.
11:19Dave Helman: That's the thing. What an unbelievable legacy that you could not play this sport for two years. And we kind of expected him to be pretty hot out of the gate. I think all things considered, he did play a pretty good game for having not played this sport for two years. He's unbelievable.
11:36Robert Mays: He'll ramp up. And he played a decent amount of snaps in this game. I don't know what the final number was. I can get it for you guys really quickly. so over the course of this game he did finish with 32 snaps and you look at the defensive line rotation overall that's him and Kobe Turner played the exact same number of snaps 28 for Braden Fisk 22 for Tyler Davis and so it really does seem like it's going to be a rotation among all of those guys and I would not be surprised if we saw him ramp up even if it's not in playing time just in quality that we feel him more over the course of these games because I think that is the element of this that we probably just haven't talked or considered enough.
12:13Robert Mays: The fact that he hasn't just a feel of what it's like to be back out there hitting people, taking on blocks. Like that's just stuff that it's going to be impossible to replicate, especially in the very short time that he's been practicing. And so I expect that we will have louder games from Aaron Donald, even if, like you said, Derek, this was a worthwhile return and a pretty decent performance, all things considered. Anything else on this side of the ball that you guys want to sit with before we move on? I do think it's notable that the Rams played as much man coverage in this game as they did.
12:45Robert Mays: It's not necessarily surprising. Obviously, you just have a lot less overall movement and moving parts to consider. I mean, teams don't play man against the Niners for a reason. I mean, just the amount of motion that you're getting, having to deal with McCaffrey. There are really two players, and I don't have the numbers specifically on this, but anecdotally, when you look at coverage rates around the NFL and how teams approach certain offenses with certain players, the two guys that make man coverage pretty much a no-go when they've been at their best or just have been featured pieces within offenses have been Tyree Kill and Christian McCaffrey.
13:19Robert Mays: Those are the two guys that when those are... And they happen to be in the offenses that use the most motion. So it's a double whammy. When teams were playing against the Dolphins, there was not a lot of man coverage against Tyree Kill. When teams were playing against the Chiefs, there was not a lot of man coverage against Tyree Kill. And same for the Niners. And so to see the Rams ramp it up in this game probably gives us a truer sense of their intentions and how they want to play after making those moves a corner than what they did against the Niners.
13:47Dave Helman: And I don't know if it was just because of the plan or them just feeling better rested, whatever it's going to be. I just thought the DBs looked better overall, like McDuffie was. Quentin Lake has been out there. Bigger gap between what we saw in Week 1 and Week 2
14:00Robert Mays: than anybody else on that defense. Quentin Lake was horrendous in week one.
14:03Dave Helman: And part of that is like the Niners clearly have an unbelievable plan for what they're going to do with Mike Evans. And he was cooking him in that sense. But like the fact that Quentin Lake looked like the linchpin middle of the defense piece that we thought he was going to look like on top of the corners looking like what you paid for. And again, like, I think with an 80 percent neighbors who even got banged up in this game and the rest of the Giants receiving core, we'll see how well that plays out over the course of the season. but the fact that like already they've proven that this is something they can go to it's it's again how much it's going to matter after doing it against this team I don't know I don't think they could have even really done this last year with the corners that they had like with Kobe Durant and Emmanuel Forbes being your starting guys like it just wasn't going to work I don't
14:42Robert Mays: think it's the last thing you want to do you have to play the exact opposite way with those guys and so again I just I think people were confused and a little bit it was a curious outing in week one when they didn't play much man coverage, considering the moves that they made at corner. But again, I wasn't surprised because it was the Niners. And so do they play it 50 % of the time the way that they did tonight moving forward? I would say, I would guess probably not. My assumption is it probably lands somewhere between what we saw in week one and what we saw tonight. But this was an example and I think a declaration from Krishula that they're not going to be afraid to do it when the situation calls for it.
15:19Robert Mays: On the other side of the ball, the Rams offense looks like the Rams offense without Pukunakua. Devontae Adams, Matthew Stafford to Devontae Adams is just very, not even quietly, but is just a connection between two of the coolest players who played in the NFL over the last 15 years. Like that touchdown is, it just, in that moment, I was just like, oh yeah, these are two of the coolest dudes that have played professional football in the last decade. Which one? Because they were both pretty sick. The first one. The first one was so disgusting.
15:48Dave Helman: But I loved the fade too. But yeah, the first one was better.
15:51Robert Mays: The fade is just what they've, that's been their red zone.
15:53Dave Helman: for the last two seasons, even when Kukunikua has been playing. The cool part of that is, like, as soon as he threw it up, you're just like, got it, like, in the bag, like, cash it. It's just like the fact that the connection feels like that when they're inside the 10, like, that part is pretty special.
16:09Robert Mays: Is he the best red zone receiver of all time that's not taller than, like, 6 '4"?
16:18Dave Helman: I mean, the stats are hard to argue with, even if jsn currently is pretty nuts that's a good one we talked about that today like his he's he's pretty good i he too like i feel like it's a little bit different i davante is very different the way they do it is so different on like the fades and just like the quick release stuff davante is better i feel like jsn is somehow always open in the back of the end zone like on the back line he's just always open and so i guess it's a little bit different but like he really is like the best just fade ball or bullet slant winner for again a guy who's not like he's not small, but he's not Mike Evans.
16:53Dave Helman: And so it is a pretty fun distinction. The Discord folks are going to love hearing this. And yeah, hearing some JSN love on the hangover tomorrow.
17:03Robert Mays: Oh, we did like the whole show on that. We were levitating. We were levitating today talking about JSN levitating. That's what the entire conversation was between me and Derek about the game that JSN had yesterday. All right, before we move on, let's take a quick break. Football season has arrived, and with the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card, you earn an unlimited 2 % cash back on every purchase, including at the stadium or at home watching on a brand new TV. Score big with unlimited 2 % cash back on every purchase. Visit usbank.com slash smartlycard to learn more. The creditor and issuer of this card is U.S.
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20:26Robert Mays: The other elements of the offense, aside from that connection, which was beautiful throughout the game, I mean, several just stake to the heart explosives between Matthew Stafford and Devontae Adams over the course of this game. Really nice to see them back running the ball the way they were able to in this game. I mean, I don't know where exactly they finished. It was north of 55 % rushing success right on the ground. 54.2, 28 carries for 163 yards, 5.8 a carry. And even that, I think, is dragged down a little bit by multiple Matthew Stafford runs in this game, which, no, no. at this point, just throw the ball out of bounds.
21:05Robert Mays: Like there is nothing in professional football right now that is less worth it than whatever he is going to do outside of the pocket with his legs on those plays. Just take the L. Like I don't even care about the two yards. Just throw the ball out of bounds and go to second and 10. I do think that's the right approach from him in those moments. He had multiple scrambles in this game. We don't need those. He collided with the equipment cart.
21:30Dave Helman: that can't happen that cannot happen he needs like a get back coach or something somebody needs to remind him of that and i love the competitive spirit i love that he's willing to do that stuff at 38 years old but we're losing quarterbacks left and right in the nfl this week we do not need it to be matthew stafford uh yeah i that was that was one of the only flaws i could come up with in his game other than i mean the interception to devante was just really funny because he was like, is it open? No, it's not open. Ah, screw it. He might get it anyway. And then, uh, Javon Holland, if you're looking for a bright spot in this, for this giants team, Javon Holland was all over the damn place in this game.
22:09Dave Helman: Trying to punch out the fumble like three different times. He had two forced fumbles and the pick of Stafford to, to steal a Dave helmet as in that you like
22:18Robert Mays: classic, too much dip on his chip moment, uh, from Matthew Stafford on that interception. That is an ultimate heat check after the way the first couple of drives have been going.
22:26Dave Helman: It's kind of charming when you are that hot, where you're just like, ah. I'll let him have that one. What are you going to do? This is the thing. Between that and the scrambling, we just have to accept that he's more 40-year-old Brett Favre than 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers. And that's just going to be what it's going to be.
22:41Robert Mays: The scrambling is a no-go. If you want to throw one gross pick against a team that you're clearly outclassing and you're just kind of playing with your food over the course of these four quarters, which it did feel like the Rams were for stretches of that first half, it was sloppier than it needed to be that's fine but i remember when we were watching philip rivers in like 2019 and 2020 we joked that there was a force field around the line of scrimmage where it was impossible for him to move past the line of scrimmage he would get an electric shock like a dog that's what i want with matthew stafford we should just have a shock collar on him but if he moves past the line of scrimmage he gets buzzed i'm glad you i'm glad you said that though
23:20Dave Helman: because we talked about this in the preview, like the standards we're holding this team to are unreal for good reason. And by the way, one thing I wanted to add about the Rams defense in the third or fourth quarter, they just cut to miles Garrett hanging out in a hospitality suite. And I was like, Oh, right. He's just, he's not even doing this.
23:39Robert Mays: And so this team has weird seeing him in street clothes. I know he's so huge. It just, he looks, he looks like Chris Evans in the, in the captain America movies. That's what he looks like when he's just standing there.
23:52Dave Helman: He's wearing like a very nice tailored dress shirt. And I was like, I bet they had to sew like three shirts together to put it on that guy. Like, I bet that thing's the size of like a fumigation tarp.
24:02Robert Mays: That's actually not what I meant. He looks like the animated CGI Bruce Holt when he's wearing human clothes. That's what Miles Garrett looks like when he's just wearing like a fucking shirt.
24:12Dave Helman: To me, he feels like the opposite of what we said with Aaron Donald, where he's listed at like 272. And I look at that and I'm like, I don't know. He's got to be bigger than that. He is 280-something. There's no way. The point I wanted to make at the start of that, though, was the expectations that come with this team. I think it's okay to say, yeah, they were bullshitting around for a little bit in the early going of this game. You had the Stafford heat check interception. Kyron had another fumble, which that number gets more alarmingly high on a regular basis. And they had a couple just very, I mean, they went three and out or like four and out to start this game.
24:49Dave Helman: They had a couple very herky-jerky drives. And I remember thinking when Stafford got sacked early in the third quarter, I was like, what's going on with these guys? And then immediately it's like they asked themselves the same question and they just ripped off like four 20-yard gains in a row and scored a touchdown, which it's really nice to see that gear, but a little more consistency would be nice.
25:13Robert Mays: Yeah, there were some frustrating stretches of this game, But again, they ended with a 56 % success rate. They averaged 8.2 yards per play. By the time the game wrapped up, they got it together.
25:24Dave Helman: They were cooking. Honestly, too, one thing I didn't even really, I wasn't really tracking this in real time, but as I went back and through my notes, it was kind of interesting to me. So many of their best plays were against cover two, or at least cover two to whatever side. The big Devontae Adams, he's starting to run that corner, turns it back up. It's like, well, he's just crossing the face of the deep safety. two of their touchdowns in the red zone were also like cover two beaters like the Kyron touchdown is super cool I thought like disgusting design absolutely disgusting especially against a rookie linebacker and so they get one guy running out into the flat he holds the corner and then they get I think it was one of the tight ends maybe Ferguson runs like that deep like 10 yards starts to bend and so Reese is sitting there in the curl and he's like well I have to let this go vertical and I need to help my safety a little bit so he's sitting there but then once it passes he just gets a little bit flat-footed and he's like well now what and Kyron just sprints past him up the seam and that's a touchdown uh and then the Ferguson touchdown where Matthew Stafford just uses his eyes gets the pole runner to look one way and he rips it back the other way like just the fact I just thought it was like I didn't track it in real time that all of their best plays were against cover two but in the league that we live in now like that's where you gotta hunt your best plays and they I thought did an incredible job today we don't talk about them in quite the same way
26:37Robert Mays: as the Niners when it comes to how dangerous they are when they can get five out in the route and how good they are at manipulating and attacking space, but they are one of those teams. They just do it in slightly different ways. Their ability to get more guys out in the route than you might expect off play action is a defining character of this offense. And so those plays you're talking about are perfect examples. When you watch the Ferguson touchdown, they have, it's Ferguson's on a short post. Adams is coming on one behind him. They have Kyron on the right side, either in the backfield or kind of like, he's offset, but he's a little bit wide.
27:10Robert Mays: He's almost like to the tackle. he runs a little angle route that kind of yanks down Tremaine Edmonds in that spot and that creates the space right behind Tremaine Edmonds for Stafford to fit that throw into Terrence Ferguson and so you're right I mean a lot of their best moments in this game came on looks like that but this offense I think is well equipped to attack those sorts of things I think a couple years ago it was either last year or the year before Stafford led the NFL in EPA per drop back against cover two looks which is not surprising at all I mean you think about who in the league is most capable and committed to attacking hole shots.
27:41Robert Mays: Matthew Stafford is probably at the top of that list.
27:44Dave Helman: It's attacking the hole shots. And also like sometimes you got to throw it right under that safety when he might drive down. Stafford's like, yeah, of course I can fit it in there. Why wouldn't I be able to? Obviously.
27:54Robert Mays: Nice to see the Terrence Ferguson experience. A little bit of a mixed bag in this game.
27:58Dave Helman: That's where I was about to go. Remember last September when the red zone stuff with Devontae was not working and they just kept doing it? that's how I felt about Terrence Ferguson in this game where like they just couldn't get on the same page and then in the second half he had two drops in a row one of them maybe less the first one is not his fault that's that the that one gets tipped I mean that's like that's a tough catch it I was about to say that it was a tougher catch because it glanced off Jermaine Edmonds helmet but like he still they just couldn't get it right and like and it kept happening and I just was imagining McVay and Stafford being like, we can't afford to not target you, so we're just going to keep doing it.
28:40Dave Helman: Just get pushed through it.
28:41Robert Mays: We're just going to pretend this isn't happening. And it worked. They got a touchdown at the end. The one that he actually, so he had one play early in the game. We didn't get his head around quick enough. Stafford puts it on him. That ball goes incomplete. The one glances off a Tremaine Edmonds' helmet. Both of those are bang-bang plays. You'd like to see them made. The fact that they were is like, kind of whatever. The one he drops on the left sideline is particularly that's particularly tough because that is an insane throw by Matthew Stafford. That ball was thrown like three steps before Terrence Ferguson's out of his break.
29:12Robert Mays: It is perfectly placed. And he somehow doesn't come, isn't able to hang out onto that one, which that was the one that was most frustrating. Like that's a play that you have to make. But the fact that they came back to him multiple times on the next drive, I think that he's going to be part of their plans and they can't afford for him to lose faith at this point in the season.
29:31Dave Helman: I mean, not to I'm not being flippant to shit on the Giants, but in a game where it's in hand and you are very confident you're not going to let it slip. Get the young guy some work target Terrence Ferguson, get him in a flow and get those opportunities in a situation where the stakes aren't very high.
29:50Robert Mays: The other thing I think is worth pointing out. He last year, he was his usage was incredibly specific. Like he was out there when they were in 13 personnel. He was the vertical player in those looks. now I can't remember who it was and I apologize for not getting this right but he played more snaps in 11 personnel in the first two weeks than he did like all of last season and so he's just going to be a more featured piece within their passing game because of the things that they're asking him to do than he ever was last year and that was a thought coming in I mean I thought he might have a pretty productive year and even if tonight was a little uneven I don't think the first half usage from last week and then just the overall snap share and how often he was on the field tonight nothing that i've seen over the first two games leads me to think he's not going to be a big part of what they're trying to do offensively anything else you guys want to hit from this one kind of a stinker coming out of week two huh i i do have something else let's talk about
30:48Dave Helman: special teams specifically the rams special teams specifically again if this was anybody else i I don't think I'd care, but it's Super Bowl or bust for the LA Rams. And they missed a field goal in the two minute drive, which could have been so incredibly impressive if they had pulled it off. It didn't need to be that hard. Sean McVay wasted a timeout challenging a virtual spot, which even knowing that Sean Bay loves burning timeouts, I had that one kind of took my breath away. And so like the end of half field goal situation doesn't go your way. and then they botched the third quarter kickoff and pinned themselves on their own tin of their own doing.
31:28Dave Helman: And it's just not what I want from the team that said that they're improving their special teams. It's a nitpick after you win comfortably on Monday Night Football. It's important, though. Yeah, it is. It literally lost them the Seahawks game last year. It's important. You cannot let this shit go with considering the margins that are going to define this team's season and what they have to do to be successful, I would be pissed if I were Sean McVay. And knowing Sean McVay, he probably is.
32:00Robert Mays: I want to be very clear about what I'm about to do. I'm not making fun of this person because I'm not in the best shape of all time. It is very funny the way that we're talking about Miles Garrett and then every time they flash to Meebus before he's about to kick off, he looks like somebody that's playing a beer league football game. It's just the gap between some of the players wearing that uniform over the course of this game for the Rams is just very funny to me. Every time I see him, I'm like, good for him. It's a perfect sport for him, man.
32:28Dave Helman: It's like some version of like when Derek Henry and Dion Lewis played on the same team together. And it's like, how are these two doing the same thing?
32:36Robert Mays: I need the sideline shot of Miles Garrett standing next to him or just like him standing between Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald. Three of the most beautiful specimens that have ever played this sport that we love. all right that's all we've got for tonight uh if you're listening to this on the podcast feed the monday hangover should be available to you guys right now derrick and i as we said a little bit earlier dug into seahawks cardinals talked about chiefs colts it's so nice that the chiefs offense is fun to watch again i just am so happy that the chiefs are an enjoyable team to watch again it makes my sundays so much better and we also chatted a little bit about steelers patriots which has the exact opposite sort of feel to the conversation that we had about the Chiefs.
33:20Robert Mays: So those are the three games that we hit. Encourage you guys to go check that out if you have not. For now, that's all we got. Appreciate you listening. We'll talk to you very soon. Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed what you heard, please like, comment, and leave a rating. We'll see you next time.
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Week 2 was a stark departure from Week 1 for a number of teams, so it was fitting that the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants put a bow on the week in the way that they did. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman recap the Rams' 28-6 win over the Giants on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.
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