Maye Anything: Previewing Week One

34:26So, I think Detroit, let's see if this – We talk about the Niners having like a sneaky bad run game. Let's see if Detroit can run the ball. The Saints' run defense was quite good, and they'll play a lot of base. They'll put three linebackers on the field against Detroit. But, you know, it's been – wasn't it quietly – Jameer Gibbs, as productive as he was, did not actually – was not efficient at running the ball through no fault of his own for the most part last year. So I'm going to take Detroit here. Yeah, I go Detroit also and root for Gibbs for the sake of your fantasy team. Didn't you get him?

35:02Well, I haven't taken him yet, but I have the first overall pick. Are you going to give it some Gibbs-related name? It's always Lenny's Dogs. We keep the same names every year. Jets, Titans, Dominique. America's game. Yeah. I think this one came down to, for me at least, the coach-quarterback combo, like the new coach-quarterback combos that we have. Yeah. Gino Smith is going to be with, I don't want to say Shane Stike. It's not Shane Stike. Yeah. Yeah. Frank Reich. That's why Shane Stike is on line. Frank Reich back on the sideline is going to be one of those like, well, kind of moments. Yeah.

35:43I think that's the question is like, we'll see if Gino, that issue that he, or the issues he had last year were a result of the coach quarterback combo he had then. Like he's in a, it seems like a much better situation surroundings as far as talent is concerned, particularly on the offensive line with two good tackles and weapons and receivers a good running back like it's a good situation but the question is going to be does he feel comfortable in frank rike's offense on the other side we got day ball um and ward like that's it feels like the bloom is starting to come off of that like rose a lot sooner than people had anticipated like i think the expectations were we have a really big athletic quarterback who reminds us of josh allen it's like that trap that Josh Allen has created for everyone.

36:29It's like, yeah, you just got to get the right coach with him. And I know people have been investigating Brian Dayball's past and quarterback success and looking at it in the light now. It's like, did he really do that much? And we look at, it's like he got around, he was around Josh Allen when Josh Allen ascended. And that could have been a lot more credit to Stefan Diggs than Brian Dayball and the other innovation around or the other successful quarterback developments. It's hard to say that Brian Dayball is that guy. So I think we'll see what happens there. I think that game will be decided by that.

37:07Honestly, like surprisingly with lean Jets in this matchup. Yeah. In part because the, yeah, the Titans preseason was pretty alarming. Jets should be one of the softer starts for them In terms of the secondary I do think the Jets though Passerish could be sneaky You know, Will McDonald, David Bailey Kingsley and Barre Devondra said on the inside And I hope I'm wrong about the Titans After the preseason But it was a concerning outing I do like though The idea of investigating Brian Taylor People are investigating like Pablo Torre is going to drop an episode. Did Brian D 'Abel really help group Josh Allen?

37:59I mean, the stamp of quarterback whisper gets put on people really quickly sometimes. And I'm not sure we can point to all that much whispering he's done. I will say Titans defense. The opposite of the D 'Abel, did he really quarterback whisper is Robert Sala, who has had a clear and obvious effect on defenses as a coach. So, and this is his revenge game. Yep. So that's something. And Aaron Glenn, I mean, I think it's all about coaches here because Aaron Glenn is taking over the defense. And after they set a record for zero interceptions, he's going to put his stamp on the defense, which is how he got the job.

38:38So, yeah, we'll see. It's a big coaching game. All right. We're both taking the Jets. What a sentence. Ravens Colts. Okay. So this is the, I really want to get eyes on this one because I think it's really interesting for a litany of reasons. I could talk about the new Ravens offense, attacking the Colts linebackers, which is what I would do. But I'm really interested in how Daniel Jones responds to pressure and if there is pressure, because I think that question is going to really, not just determine this matchup, but maybe the course of both of those two teams this season. And it's kind of one of those, like, I just want to see it, right?

39:15So on the Ravens side, we know that this is a completely revamped defensive front. Totally different. Nnamdi Madubike took off the neck roll in practice, so that's going to be a thing. Next to Travis Jones, Clayton Campbell, Trey Hendrickson was brought in to get sacks. A bunch of young pass rushers behind him. Jesse Minter. So a lot of creativity also in the rush. Meanwhile, on the other side, Daniel Jones. I want to see it. I want to see how he moves. I mentioned this talking about him, I think, when I did my AFC South pod, But something I think a little bit lost in the injury last season and how it ended was that in the weeks before the injury, he really started to struggle under pressure.

39:56Like weeks one through eight, he was unbelievable under pressure, like better than he's ever been by a mile. And then after that, and there were still some injuries that played into it, really started. He went from third in pressure to sack rate to 28th, second in QBR to 27th. Like all of his numbers started falling off a cliff, right? So where is the truth? And also, can he move? I think, you know, is something we actually just need to see. So I'm really interested this week one, that particular factor, which is just, I want to see both sides of that. question different injuries mean different things to different players and athleticism to daniel jones is so core to what has made when he has been effective that's so core to what has made him effective like i'm uh i think i'm with you as i want to see it but like this quick off achilles like it's hard for me to have the expectations that it's going to be good but i do want to see And it started to fall apart a little last year before the injuries started to take place.

41:07Because he had one injury before he had the season-ending injury. But even before that, things started to get a little wonky there with that offense. So I think it'll be really tough for him, even if this Ravens defense hasn't improved and doesn't have a new coordinator. I think it was going to be tough for them offensively without Daniel Jones being able to threaten with his legs in the way that he kind of always has. Ravens for me. Yeah, Ravens. I mentioned the Colts is a team that could look better in the second half of the season than the first with all of the guys coming off of injuries. Yeah, I just want to see how he moves, man.

41:42Is he under center a lot? How is he moving coming off of under center? It's not just about, you know, your point is really important too when we talk about his athleticism because it's not like Daniel Jones' design runs. That wasn't even a big part of their offense last year. It's much more the, like part of the reason why he was so amazing under pressure in those first, you know, eight games is because of his movement ability. And there's some questions. Colts are one of the harder teams to get your arms around right now. All right. Falcon Steelers, the Tua Tungabailoa, finally officially announced as starting quarterback, led Falcons against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who may have Joey Porter Jr.

42:21Maybe that'll be resolved by the time this hits your ears. What are you watching for here? It's a lot of delicate QBs at one place at one time. So I think for me, we know that the Falcons' pass rush is pretty much gone at this point. So I think Aaron Rodgers will be pretty comfortable back there. But the question for me is how good is the Steelers' defense? And in particular, like the front and the pass rush, like are they going to be healthy and back? Because we expected better from them defensively last year. And I think if that, depending on what type of defense we get from them, I think we'll decide this game.

42:53I don't think there'll be much threat. But, I mean, the weapons for the Falcons are obviously there. The arm strength for Tua is what it is. So the expectation is get the ball out of his hands quickly to mitigate whatever pass rush that they do have and see if you can make some sort of damage that way. So I think the Steelers are going to have an easier time offensively because there is no pass rush to threaten Aaron Rodgers. He can still throw. He can still throw if no one's going to be in his face. So unless they can scheme up a way to blitz him, just a straight four-man pass rush and aaron rogers gonna have a pretty good game yeah vastly different situations up front for these quarterbacks and what they're facing with rogers facing the easier one by far um i think you know pittsburgh is funny because you know i alluded to porter jr a lot of moving parts in the secondary guys who haven't played together this offseason Porter Jr.

43:51has been holding out or holding in or whatever. The safeties are all coming off of injuries. Brisker, Elliott, Ramsey, Jamel Dean is new. So if it was a really good passing attack, I would say make them communicate. It's a new defense, Patrick Graham. I just don't think Tua's capable of testing them downfield, maybe in a way that challenges that. Sometimes Steelers' defense has struggled with motion in the run game. so I think for Kim Stefanski maybe and Tommy Reese there's a way to weaponize Bijan against those linebackers but I just I just don't have any faith in this quarterback so I'm going Pittsburgh here and the top defense defense just all right one more game and we'll take a break this one's mine Bears Panthers hmm Caleb Williams versus Bryce Young the two sides of the trade um I'm going to focus on it's funny because now that I think about it like this is like Bryce Young really this is you should be able to move the ball but I'm going to focus on the more interesting side to me which is Caleb Williams against this Panthers defense because I really do think this Panthers defense is going to be improved this season and uh what I feel as the biggest mismatch in this game, which is the Bears' tight ends and slot receivers, specifically Loveland and Burden, against the Panthers' safeties in slot.

45:21The Panthers are just one of those defenses where they have such glaring strengths and such obvious weaknesses. The strengths are the corners. Now you have Devin Loy, he's better at linebacker, but they remain incredibly dubious at safety and in the slot, and Chicago is very equipped to attack that with Colston Loveland, who, you know, in this game, I mean, you can just put him in the slot like pretty much the entire game if you want, I feel like, or in line. And I think, you know, it's just, while I do think this Carolina defense is going to be better, I just think this is a particularly, this is a tough matchup for them through the air.

46:05Now, I will say Chicago's got some question marks on their offensive line. Maybe Carolina can get it going against. But I just don't think they're going to have an answer for Loveland in particular. Yeah, I love the Panthers' corners. I enjoyed watching them last year with Horn and Jackson. I think you're right, and I think they know that Loveland is not a secret. I'd be interested in how they're going to attack it. the Bears receiving core. Doomsday has like a issue, right? And obviously we all thought Luther Burton had a really good rookie season. He still should have some impact, but the other weapon they had, DJ Moore, before it's gone.

46:48So I feel pretty good about the corners. I guess as good as you can feel about corners on any team, it's hard to find a team that has two good corners and they have it to me. So I'd be interested to see what they do to address that, if they would isolate out there and try to give help or if they would move one of those corners to guard or go nickel to guard Loving and move one of those corners in and challenge them to go outside. So yeah, that to me, I think they know. I think they would come into this game expecting that Loveland is going to be key to their game plan. I have as a note, and I'm like, is this right?

47:20That the Panthers defense allowed 0.4 EPA per play to tight ends, which is insane. It feels right. but like that's a really high number uh yeah uh they were much better against wide receivers obviously all right uh i'm gonna take chicago here oh i said i don't know i don't know if we said stealers we're both taking the stealers i presume yeah yeah we both stayed taking the stealers all right i mean we didn't even talk about the other side of the ball though which is like the bears defense is yeah i i'm i think i would go hmm yeah i think i'm going out of the way I mean, I've talked about this nonstop.

48:06The Bears defense is really up against it. Yeah, tough spot. All right. Let's take a quick break, come back, and get to maybe my favorite game of the entire weekend. Browns-Jaguan. I'm just kidding. It's a different game. The greats don't shy away from change. They attack it head on with confidence, preparation, and a clear strategy. KPMG LLP and their transformation professionals work with organizations across industries using advanced AI to help them move faster, work smarter, and adapt with purpose. Because in today's business environment, winning teams don't react to change, they shape it.

48:46Learn more at visit.kpmg.us slash velocity. If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple ShopPay button you see at checkout? The one that makes buying so incredibly easy? That's Shopify. And there's a reason so many businesses sell with it. Because Shopify makes it incredibly easy to start and run your business. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10 % of all e-commerce in the U.S. From household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. Shopify gives you a leg up with hundreds of beautiful, ready-to-go templates to express your brand style and forget about the code.

49:27Tackle all those important tasks in one place, from inventory to payments to analytics and more. Spread your brand's word with built-in marketing and email tools to find and keep new customers. And did I mention that iconic purple ShopPay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world? It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Your customers already love it. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com slash network. Go to Shopify.com slash network.

50:05Shopify.com slash network. Evan Cohen here. Game day brings the excitement. Your stay should feel just as memorable. With Marriott Bonvoy, official hotel partner of the NCAA and U.S. soccer, you're connected to a portfolio of brands designed for how you travel. Some offer complimentary breakfast. Others give you room to spread out, space to stay productive, or extended stay comforts. So whether you're a traveling fan or part of the team, Marriott Bonvoy celebrates the moments that live on before and after the game. Marriott Bonvoy, where game day checks in. All right, we're back. Dominique. Browns Jaguars.

50:45What's your key? Oh, okay. We're doing this one. Okay, cool. We are doing this one. We're going to do this one. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. That was easy. I mean, the Browns, they're still good up front despite losing Myles Garrett. And the Jags, they're only, or it seems their biggest weakness is their offensive line. So, like, that's a matchup that I'll be watching. And honestly, this is a bit of, like, a football cliche, but I think it comes down to, like, turnovers. It's like, I think the Jags are definitely a better team. but I think Deshaun Watson's not going to take very many chances down the field.

51:17I don't see the Browns turning the ball over that much, and it's kind of the opposite with Trevor Lawrence and the Jags is they're going to be aggressive and take chunk plays. So being smart in there and not giving opportunities for turnovers because I think the Jags are definitely a better team. They have risk there for sack fumbles because their O-line is not great, and they have risk there for interceptions because they'll take shots down the field. I think the Browns will go conservative, and what you've seen from Deshaun Watson lately is not someone who wants to attack down the field. So I think the only way they win this game is if they get a short field a couple times as a result of turnovers from the Jags.

51:58So I think I've given away my pick pretty obviously, but no one will be surprised. I think the Jags will win this one. Yeah, I'm interested in seeing the Jags run defense without Devin Lloyd. You know, I made no secret of the fact that I'm very high on the Jags I think they're really bad. You and I, I remember when we did our power rankings, we both had that we had ended up having them really high. So I think that's something I'll be watching because if you can shut this Browns run game down, it's like, you know, probably not going to. Nothing else. Yeah. I will say like, yeah, like Browns defense is still good.

52:28So it's a good challenging matchup for this Jags offense. I want to, I've talked about seeing if the Jags run defense is good. I want to see if the Jags can run the ball better than they did second half of last season. Because I do think this Browns, they should still have a good run. Brown Stevens is still going to be good. I have them floating outside the top 10. I do think offenses are going to play them pretty differently, though, without Myles Garrett. Probably throw more. Jared Burris is a very good run defender.

53:01They'll be challenged in ways that they haven't been challenged when 95 was on the field. But lots of good, talented young players. All right. I'm on the Jags as well. Bills Texans. Yeah. This is my favorite game of the week. The Bills offense versus the Texas defense. It's funny, right, though? Because on one hand, I'm like, yeah, let's go. Fireworks. And on the other hand, the Texans have been a house of horrors. Yes. I went back and watched those games. Oh, God. Last two years, Josh Allen against everyone else, first in QBR, first in EPA replay, you know, just whatever. Josh Allen against the Texans, like bottom in the NFL type numbers.

53:53It's been rough. My key, and I think just to get a drill down to the nitty gritty a bit on that side of the ball, can Buffalo actually beat man coverage this year? so last time they played week 12 2025 texans played more man coverage even they are they do play a decent amount but they played a lot against josh allen and he had a qbr of 7.5 against it um so dj more is now buffalo bill and something we've talked about a lot on this show is whether he can it doesn't he doesn't have to be freaking you know jsn but like can he give them a credible answer to man coverage now unfortunately i think the answer to that question is yes but i will say the texans is a little bit different from most teams in the nfl when we're talking about man coverage so but i do think that's going to be very significant in this game especially given alan's history against this team yeah i mean i i yeah i mean it's pretty straightforward as possible right there it's like they they're giving them hell because no one's open and he needs still like i think i haven't looked at the numbers recently but i if you were to say that there was a weakness for the texan defense it is like the quarterback scramble that's what it's been historically yeah and they met right yeah they managed to do like uh josh allen would have some plays but it's kind of like uh you you'll give it up because most of the time they They keep them contained.

55:30They put pressure on them, and they stress them out, and they cause turnovers. It's like, to your point, it's a house of horrors for him. So I'm interested to see how they answered. And you're right. They made the argument in the past that they didn't really need a number one receiver. I guess Brandon Bean made the argument. But I think in the bigger games, you kind of see that you've got to give them some help. You've got to give them a weapon that people care about and have to game plan for and are afraid and will think twice about Blitzen because that really helps against the more athletic quarterbacks to get someone in their face.

56:00If you don't have someone out there to threaten them, that might turn into a big play. It's just get a first down, fine. You line up and do it again. The more times you ask Josh Allen to do that, the harder it's going to be. I think the chain reaction of having DJ Moore, if DJ Moore can be that impactful, is going to be huge for Josh Allen in this team. You've got the lesser side of the ball for both teams. Which is interesting, right? One side is such a rock fight. And then the other side is, you know, kind of like a who's who better. This is not the test. I mean, I guess it's a good early test for the Jim Leonard defense because, as everyone knows, the ability to stop the run was a big problem for them last year.

56:46And that was like the crux of all of their issues and probably shouldn't have gotten past the Jags because they couldn't stop the run in the playoffs, but they managed to do that because the Jacks decided they no longer wanted to run the ball. So that's, to me, the big question is, like, is Jim Leonard, his presence? Because there hasn't been, like, a personnel overhaul. And I know they're going from a 4-3 to a 3-4, which, like, it doesn't always matter that much. But I think in this case, it does matter because they were bad against the run. And your hope is that they'll be able to address it.

57:23but a lot of times teams live in nickel anyway, so the 3-4-4-3 thing doesn't matter. But what I think they're going to see from the Texans, especially given their receivers' injuries, is a lot of 12. And so they'll probably be in a lot of base, which means the personnel of the 3-4 matters a lot. To have a big inside run stuffer would be nice for them to have, but I don't know that they've addressed that adequately. so we'll see what happens with their defense but I think that's the big question is Jim Leonard's ability to transform this defense it's a lot of pressure on Leonard man because like you said this is not a big personnel they didn't go out and get Kuna Ford or you know like a big run stuffer yeah DJ Moore who like you go get Vita Veo when he was upset but anyway Josh Allen run the team no just kidding Um, yeah, I used to everyone kind of knew.

58:21I don't know if people appreciate how bad the bills run defense was last year. I mean, I was just looking at like some of their numbers. They allowed the most yards after contact per carry of any team in the NFL worse than the Cowboys giants and bangles. Uh, they allowed the second highest rate of first downs per carry. And it was a, a team wide issue. I would say, um, all three levels. So for Leonard, it's a lot of pressure. Like I I've been, interested in seeing, you know, from what I understand, I think we're going to see a lot of movement on the defensive line as a way of, you know, trying to mitigate that to some degree.

58:59But I don't know. It's an issue. Now, all that said, this Houston team going to run the ball last year and you got Dave Montgomery and you got tight end and we'll see but i all this is a great like who's still bad the texas defense against the bills offense is like a clash of the titans yeah it's it's a no win it's a no win situation where it's like it's like if you if you manage to stop the texans running attack no one's gonna be like yeah you fix that run defense and the same thing for the texans if you manage to run the ball against the bills. We're not going to be like, yeah, you can run the ball now.

59:43So it's a no one situation, but someone has to come out feeling good about themselves. Are you going to go Texans or bills here? I've oscillated. I'll go bills. Yeah, I think I do think this offense is going to be better. And they were great last year. I don't know about the other side of the ball. I don't know what to make of it. So yeah, this is, that's a close one. I really don't know. All right. Two equally incredible teams, the dolphins and the Raiders, my game. All right. I wrote, can Brock Bowers put up JSN numbers? This is the week to find out. This is kind of one of the questions of the Raiders entire off season, which is just like how much Brock Bauer, you know, we know not just because Clint Kubiak in Seattle use JSN to such an extreme degree, but because this Raiders receiving group remains a concern.

1:00:38Bowers, we didn't see in the preseason. Mayer looked great, by the way, but I do think, and I'm just looking at this Dolphins dip chart, and there ain't anyone on here who can stop Brock Bowers. The secondary right now is Juju Brents, Chris Johnson, who I loved, but it's a rookie corner, Jason Marshall Jr., Dante Trader Jr., Michael Taffy. What's Well, yeah, I don't want to be mean. So it's going to be challenging. I think the Dolphins offense is going to be more fun than the Dolphins defense this year. And maybe they'll do some funky stuff in this game. I'll be interested in seeing how weird they can get on offense.

1:01:20But I just think the Raiders have more NFL starter players than the Dolphins right now. I'm picking the Raiders to win the game. Yeah, I'll take the Raiders also. So I have nothing else to add to this game other than I agree with you. I'll take the Raiders. All right. Packers Vikings. This is a big one. This could have been, we could have talked about this one at length. This is your game. I'm interested in the hierarchy. Yeah. I mean, I think this is the questions go to the Vikings side for me for both of the questions that I have coming into this game and keys to this game. It's pretty obvious that it's a, well, it's not obvious that it's a revenge game for Kyler Murray going up against Jonathan Gannon.

1:01:58his coach down in Arizona. Isn't he the coordinator now for the defense in Green Bay? So that, but I mean, the question is, how will Kyler Murray fit into this KLC offense? And also for me is Brian Flores, like is he going to be able to scheme around the weaknesses and the loss of Grenard on defense? And like, those are the questions for me. I feel like I have a good grip on what's happening for the Packers. Like, I think their defense is going to be struggling, and I don't think that there's a question that could be answered. They'll be like, oh, yeah, they're actually better than I think. And I think the offense is going to be relying on Jordan Love and Christian Watson and Tucker Craft.

1:02:45So, like, I think the Vikings – I'm interested in seeing the Vikings floor. Like, I think this game will tell me a lot about what the Vikings floor is And I think their floor and their ceiling could potentially be higher than that of the Packers. Two starting Packers offensive linemen are questionable in this game. Zach Bacoboele, who's their best offensive lineman, formerly Zach Tom, and then Aaron Banks. That makes me really nervous. Brian Flores will find ways to attack them. But Tucker Craft and Christian Watson are in this game. and Matthew Golden. So I'm really struggling with that, with the uncertainty around those two players, especially Baco Boile.

1:03:30If he told me he was playing, I think I would be pretty comfortable. I do think Minnesota is going to be able to run the ball on the Packers. Oh, this is a tricky one. This is a tricky one because I do not. I think Packers defense is going to be bad the first few weeks of the season. I'm going to go Green Bay here solely because I do think this offense is good enough to overcome a shaky offensive line, but I don't feel good about it at all. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going Vikings for the same reasons you went Green Bay. If I see, it's not out of question that Green Bay could win, but I think it's a lights out performance by Jordan Love, which I think that's harder to predict than I think Flores will figure it out on defense and Kyler Murray will be average to above average, which is what you need over there.

1:04:26Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, Baker Mayfield signed a contract extension with Tampa. Oh, yay. No longer hanging over the Bucs. Congrats. There's nothing worse than waking up sick. In this time of year, with the kids back in school surrounded by hundreds of others, yours may bring home a whole new world of viruses and bacteria your family may have no immunity to. No kids, viruses are still everywhere. and one ugly strain just showed up. Now it's 2 a.m., your throat feels like strep and your fever is spiking. Urgent care? Get dressed and wait in a room full of sick people? Your doctor? Good luck.

1:05:01Or open your medicine cabinet and smile because you have a fully stocked medical emergency kit from the wellness company. It's like an urgent care and a drugstore right at home. It contains essential prescription medications in your name for over 30 common conditions. Strep throat, sinus infections, pneumonia, UTI, stomach bugs, and more. Plus, telehealth doctors standing by for questions. I trust my medical emergency kit and I can save you$45 right now. Visit urgentcarekit.com slash sports promo code sports. That's urgentcarekit.com slash sports promo code sports. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy.

1:05:39But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Shohei Otani's interpreter was fired today. Ipe Mitsuhara ran up gambling debts to a Southern California bookmaking operation.

1:06:14The inside story of the biggest scandal in modern baseball. He was absolutely bananas, the amount of bets he was making. I've never seen anyone like it. From 30 for 30 podcasts, this is The Betrayal of Shohei Otani. Presented by Gusto. New episodes available now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Commander's Eagles is me. I wrote. Yeah. I wrote Battle of the Young Coaches, Sean Mannion versus Durante Jones. I'm really interested in this. Mannion, the Eagles' new play caller, Durante Jones, Washington's play caller. Part because we're not quite sure what we're going to get out of either.

1:07:01I think we know some of their tendencies. We know the trees that they come from. But we haven't really seen Jalen Hurts in the new offense. We've had glimpses of it in preseason. It's not looked great, but it's not been with the quarterback. and they've been missing other players as well. And then on the flip side, Durante Jones comes from the Brian Flores tree. And I will say, so it's funny because on his face, a lot of those things are things that Hertz has struggled with, simulated pressure, his own coverage behind it. But Hertz has been very good against Minnesota. And last year he shredded them.

1:07:32I forgot all about this game. He destroyed them. So I don't know. I'm interested. I want to see what both those two units look like because I feel like that these are kind of two presents I've been waiting to unwrap that's so funny like I vaguely remember it now did you bring it up but I had forgotten about that also I would have assumed that hurts for struggle against it but I guess the the complicated the answer for the complicated defense is the simple offense which is what they were running last year like let's just keep it simple so I don't know I'd be interested to see how far into the Flores bag Durante Jones actually is or how close he is as a fruit falling from that tree because no one really does this it's it's them and everyone else so that'll be interesting to see what they do there but I think it's pretty obvious that like the Eagles have just about every advantage uh in in these matchups especially along the defensive front against that offensive front like it's gonna be just gonna be really hard to do anything offensively you have a quarterback who you're scared to get hit you don't want to run them an offensive line that is among the worst in football yeah uh I I actually last on Tuesday we had a great question that I wrote, which was which offensive line could tank the season?

1:09:01And there's the obvious choices, the Chargers, the Raiders. We threw at the Packers, but I totally forgot Washington. And one of my commenters pointed that out. I was like, oh yeah, I should have mentioned Washington. It's really hard for me to get excited about this new look Washington offense with the state of the offensive line right now. I'd love to be wrong because I really miss watching Jane Daniels ball out. But like Dominique, it's and I actually think like the receiving group is has some upside. I'm interested in seeing what Daniels looks like under center more, all of that. But like when, you know, after Tunsil went down, I was just I was just so.

1:09:39And then this is, you know, this Eagles. I will say it's Jonathan Bernard. I know he's I don't know if it matters. Right. Frankly, I think he's out. Yeah. So he was activated off the pup list. Oh, really? But I think maybe not in this game. But in any case, I don't think it matters. I just think this defense is too strong, and it's too much of a mismatch on that side of the ball. So I'm going to take Philadelphia here. Yeah, I agree with you. I can't really imagine a way that they're going to be able to, like Jayden Daniels. It's hard for me to find a matchup that I like or an advantage or technique that they could use to attack this defense.

1:10:19So, yeah, I think it's pretty easy Eagles choice right there. Cardinals-Chargers, you. Yeah, all right. So you just mentioned offensive lines that could tank the season. So, yeah, I think we're looking at the interior of this Chargers offensive line. Like, that's the question. And a lot of these questions, I think, turn into kind of questions for the season, right, for some of these teams. is like, can you answer these questions? This will tell me a lot about your season. So I think that that's one of these two teams. The Chargers are the team with some expectations. And the question is how they're going to answer their interior offensive line issues.

1:10:58And then it's like the Cards is a good matchup for them. They really struggled down the stretch defensively. I think they gave up 40, 45, 26, 37, 37 the last five games and kept their defensive coordinator, Nick Rallis. They got rid of their entire coaching staff, but kept him because I guess they liked the way he closed the season out. So we'll see. Very injured defense, I would say. Yeah, we'll see what happens with that particular defense. But I think the real question, the interest point to me, because we're talking about the Chargers long-term, is will Mike McDaniel be able to solve the interior offensive line issues the way that he did in Miami?

1:11:44uh walter nolan the third he's the third right or is he just walter nolan yeah he's a third yeah uh the cardinals defensive tackle who was their first round draft pick last year who got injured and missed a lot of the season this is the game where it's like let's if there's a lot of hype around him he looked good in limited action let's you know preseason we got a glimpse of like let's see this is it because this is a very tasty matchup for him josh sweat's a good pass rusher to Cardinals defensive front. I think if, if Nolan takes the leap, I think that they could be decent. Um, but, and you know, but, but McDaniel does so much to mitigate that.

1:12:22So I don't know. I, I, I don't, I feel like there's going to be a game where that chargers interior offensive line really is a problem that curbs their ability to be explosive. I just don't think this is the game, even though Nolan is an exciting young player. By the way, Jeremiah Love, questionable for this one. Yeah, it's better than I thought, honestly. I mean, given how tough that injury looked. But yeah, I mean, I think this is actually might be a good challenge for the Chargers mentor-less defense. Yeah. This team is not without weapons or without threats, and it's a serviceable quarterback.

1:13:05I don't think that anyone thinks the Cardinals are going to be good, good, but they're not going to be a walkover. It's a good early season test to see how they're going to live post-mentor. Let's see, too, because Derwin James is such a tough matchup. You're still going to feed Trey McBride, but let's see what you got in Harrison Jr. Harrison Jr., there's no one. The Chargers DBs are like there's a size mismatch with Harrison Jr., but obviously he has been up and down. I'm going to take the Chargers here. Yeah, I'm with you, Chargers. all right i've got cowboys giants so big big big cowboys news tyler smith yeah was it four to six weeks let me make sure i have the timing on that right this was like i i mean i think let's see yeah four to six weeks with a thumb injury brutal that sucks

1:13:59sorry i was telling my daughter to stop making noise oh you were muted i was like what are you I muted it to tell her to stop making noise. My bad. You were talking about Tyler Smith. Damn, you got takes in here? Okay, about his thumb. Tyler Smith's thumb is hurt. He's out. He is the Cowboys' best offensive lineman. Now instantly the left side becomes a little bit questionable. There's matchups that this will be a very big deal against. Obviously, we'll see how long he's out. but I want to focus on New York which kind of would have been the same with Tyler Smith but now it's really a point of emphasis for me can you make New York stop the run and can you force them to tackle Dak historically when he goes against teams with very good pass rushes gets the ball out real fast it's like their best weapon against that I actually last year, two of his three fastest time to throw games were against the Giants.

1:15:03One was Wig-18 where he didn't play that much. And the other was Denver. That's just stylistically what he will do. And the first game, he went 38 for 52 for 361 yards, in case you forgot. They used a lot of play action. He went 11 for 12 for 110. He went nuclear on them. so the run thing is interesting because I want to see kind of the you know New York's new linebacker group and how they look against the run but I really think Dallas is going to get the ball out of Dak's hands pretty quick and trust their playmakers against the New York DBs Deontay Banks by the way starting over Paulson Debo I saw that do you see that I didn't notice that dream is live yeah there we go Cuba they might uh just took a second to learn it learn the ropes um um yeah i i think the tyler smith injury like it really makes me worry about the rushing attack honestly um more than anything is their ability to run the ball is going to be impacted by his his movement so like that's concerning but to your point like i'm less worried about dak he is like one of those he's like kind of the closest thing we have to like those old school like pocket managing i know what everyone is supposed to be peyton manning style quarterbacks get rid of it quickly when the time is right like i'm less worried about um the impact on the passing attack than i am about the impact on the rushing attack but yeah like this will will the giants be able to score um or not well the giants to your point will they be able to stop the run and be challenged that way and put up a fight that keeps them from putting their offense in a position that I don't think they want to be in.

1:16:49It's like they're down by two touchdowns early in the game and they just are in comeback mode the whole time. It's not the best scenario for Jackson Dart. Seems like Malik Nabors is going to play. Yeah. Really interested in seeing what he looks like, what his connection with Jackson Dart looks like. I actually think there's no one on the Cowboys defense I expect to be improved, but there's no one in that secondary who I like against league neighbors, league neighbors. When he was healthy, he was as good as anybody in football. He wasn't just like a number one or a good receiver. Like he was a real difference maker, like hall of fame level talent.

1:17:27So like, I, if you, if that guy shows up, we got a different conversation, right? Christian Parker's probably over indexing on stopping it regardless and, and trying to make them beat them with anyone else, you know? So that would be smart. Yeah, I'm sticking with Dallas. Even with the Tyler Smith injury, I just think this New York defense, as good as they are up front, I still have questions on the back end. And then Giants offense, you know, both unknowns a little bit here, the Giants offense and the Cowboys defense. And maybe this is just a little bit more betting on the young up and coming coach over Matt Neck and Rick Roman.

1:18:10No, I've been high in the Cowboys defensive additions as well. I just think Dak is kind of the differentiator here. Absolutely. All right, we're both on the Cowboys. Final game, Monday Night Football. A great one. Broncos, Chiefs. I'm going to Kansas City on Sunday. It's going to be hot, humid there. Nice. You can go first here. All right. I got the Chiefs O and the Broncos B. Yeah, versus the Broncos B, yeah. Yeah, I rewatched the game that they played against each other the last year, and it seemed like the Chiefs' strategy was to get these explosive big plays to attack the Broncos' man coverage, and they were fine with, like, trying to protect against a pass rush.

1:18:52But coming off of that knee injury for Mahomes, like, I'll be interested in how they approach this again as they went after the man coverage, and they won, but they could homes couldn't connect on those deep shots a number of times in that game they still ended up being like competitive in that game but it seemed pretty clear to me that the broncos were better or the better team so like i think that i'll be really interested um and well they're down jonathan cooper he's on the commissioner exempt list they still have bonito so the pass rush isn't going to be as much of a problem as it was before but i still think that's what it's going to come down to is uh i don't think they're going to have as much success running the ball as they want to with kendis walker and they have another injury right with simmons is um is out yeah they're their best offensive lineman who seemed like he was going to be when he was healthy or creed humphrey's their best offensive line uh well yeah i mean well yeah but he was their best tackle for sure yeah i i guess i i was getting ahead of myself i I thought that what he showed athleticism-wise was like he was going to be a real difference maker.

1:20:01It did look good. He had a very important spot. So, like, you're right. Creed Humphries is better. But I think that Simmons was going to be more important. But losing him, I think, matters a lot, especially when their biggest threat was the pass rush. So, like, how they address that position. And honestly, like, it gets down to if they're able to run the ball and run the ball effectively, of course. That takes pressure off of them. But still, to me, it's like what they're going to do on the edges against the pass rush. I really think they need to lean on Kenneth Walker as a pass catcher in this one.

1:20:34You know, and the Broncos last year were a little bit better at defending. They were better at defending throws to running backs, but linebackers still the area on it. I mean, it's true, though. It's true of a lot of teams. Sorry. It's clearly a team building thing around the NFL. so I and you know we talk about like quick pressure with bonito and and whatnot but I think yeah I I really think I expected it but I was play a lot of man coverage and while there's hope that like you said the explosives will hit better maybe there's you know understand a run game play action off of that maybe his connection with Thornton who got open like a lot last yeah But I do think you have to have other answers against man coverage, whether it's finding ways to create traffic for Xavier Worley or quick, you know, throws to Kenneth Walker on a backer.

1:21:27That's a mismatch you like. You know how Denver is going to approach this game, especially with Loma Holmes' limited mobility. So that to me, a lot of pressure on Andy Reid and Eric Biennium, I think, to game plan for that. All right. On the other side of the ball, it's funny. It's the opposite, right? because you think Denver is going to play a lot of man. I expect Kansas City to play a lot of zone against Bo Nix. So I wrote anticipating that, can Bo Nix, can you give Bo Nix lots of layered options? Can you force the Kansas City secondary to communicate? Can you attack the slot? So Jalen Waddell wasn't playing a lot in the preseason, but they had him in the slot a lot.

1:22:15And this is a game where I like that matchup, whether it's LeJaria Sneed or Chris Rollins-Rollins. I know he's a promising young player, but Jalen Waddle's a mismatch for either of those guys. You know, I think this is why Waddle is here. I'm optimistic about this Chiefs defense. I like them. I like a lot of the young players, but I just don't think they have anyone at this point who can handle him. so Waddle against zone coverage operating out of the slot to me is going to be how you're going to hit on explosives against this team yeah the

1:22:58Bo Nix in the past so they're they're switching play callers so like Sean Payne's not calling plays anymore so that might be something interesting that might play out in this game But just from remembering last season, it was Bo Nix was taking deep shots and throwing screens. And how good their offense or how effective their offense was was like determined by how accurate Bo Nix was on those deep shots. And I guess maybe the thought is that because it wasn't that they weren't there. They were there. He just would hit him sometimes and miss him sometimes. So this is one of the things that I was a little confused about for the Waddle trade is like, I don't think their inconsistency on the explosive plays was a result of like a lack of talent I know Waddle's great at that I thought it was a result of like inconsistent accuracy so maybe Waddle will run the run down the passes better or something so but generally I'm interested to see how they approach this game because what I noticed last year was my big criticism of Bo Nix all season long was like they seemed like they were trying to protect him by not having him attack intermediate but in the playoffs he went he got after it and he attacked the intermediate areas and I was like really impressed so like that's what I'm wondering is like will they go into this game with the regular season game plan or will they go into this game allowing him to attack that is also where hypothetically Waddle should thrive right that 10 to 20 yard range between the numbers he was not just good at separating gets you yards after the catch.

1:24:34We saw that in the preseason, right? Like, so, you know, like you said, like, this was something where it wasn't asked a lot of Bo Nix during the regular season, and then he hit on some of those throws. Now you have one of the best receivers in the NFL working that part of the field, getting you yards after the catch against a very young secondary with mismatches for talented you know corners on the outside and you know but waddle should be able to be a mismatch for them it's interesting because i never considered that the reason why they didn't do it was for lack of weapons that were comfortable i know i know you're not suggesting that but i'm saying like the quarterbacks you know right is it the receivers or is it the quarterback i just always assume that they just didn't trust him to attack that area but then what i saw that he did against the Bills in the playoffs, I was just like, oh, he can do this.

1:25:29So we'll see. Let's see it in this one. I mean, the Broncos' offensive line is still great and has a ton of continuity. He should have time, even though the Chiefs' defense should be improved. I mean, I'm taking the Broncos here. The Josh Simmons thing kind of pushed me over the edge. I was leaning them already, even without Jonathan Cooper. I think this defense is still too good. I just think the Chiefs pass catchers don't match up well with the Broncos DPs either. We ended up agreeing on way too many. No, we didn't. We disagreed on a few of them. I don't know. But I mean, I felt like down the stretch, there were some pretty obvious ones.

1:26:04Are there any like upsets? Like, are there any ones that you... You upsets? I know, but I guess I'm wondering, are there any ones that you... Yeah. You'd be surprised or you wouldn't be surprised that it went the other way? Patriots. Yeah. I absolutely think but I feel like that's also like a toss-up one I guess I was thinking like is there any chance that you think the culture the Ravens no yeah that's okay so like of the games that are like over like that we that they're like the the no-brainer ones that like we were like yeah obviously Colts are one to watch just because of all the question marks I think yeah commanders eagles no like there's nothing dallas giants there's nothing that could change my mind about those um everything else is pretty close though like these are all close like this is pretty i mean it's usually like that week one but like this is pretty this is pretty close close week oh how about um no i don't think the saints can beat the lions especially in detroit i don't see it yeah yeah yeah yeah we'll be dead wrong about one of these We're going to be shocked at the result of one of these games.

1:27:18Always. It's going to be fun. And then we're going to overreact. And then the next week, they're going to be the exact teams that we thought they were for the rest of the year. All right. Well, as I mentioned, next week I will be on Dominique's pod. Go check out the Dominique Foxworth podcast. We're every year pods. I will be back on Tuesday with Ben Solak. Again, you can go to youtube.com slash at MinaKimes or follow the show on Instagram. It's MinaKimesShow. I post, in addition to clips from the show, I post original content. There are reactions to things. So go check that out. Give us a follow.

1:27:49Before we go, Peyton and Eli are back with their schedule release video. Manning cast heist has title. Lots of celebrity cameos, including two people who I might put at my hypothetical dream dinner party, Larry David and Marshawn Lynch. Oh, that'd be great. Two great Americans. A conversation I'd like to see unfold. That's the Manning Cast Heist. Go check it out on YouTube. Check out the Manning Cast and check out our show on Tuesday. We'll be back with Ben Solak. Thank you as always to Dominique Foxworth and my friends at Omaha Productions who make this show. Kirsten Specki, Owen Saylor, Jack Foster, Tucker Tustin.

1:28:28We're out.

1:28:40We'll see you next time.