Are These QBs Actually Good? Checking in on Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young, and Daniel Jones

0:00Ooh, welcome to the Ringer NFL show. I'm your host, Sheil Kapadia. Today we are asking the simple question, are they good? Are they good as it pertains to three quarterbacks who are relevant this season? Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young, and Daniel Jones. They're all in the playoff mix yet. They're all kind of polarizing. Are we sure they're the reason for their team success this year? Do we feel like they have high ceilings? What's it going to look like at the end of the year? We're going to talk about all of that with our new friend from the Ringer, Billy Gill. This one went in a bunch of different directions.

0:32Was a lot of fun. Let's take a break. We come back and we talk about those three quarterbacks. This is the Ringer NFL show presented by FanDuel, the best place to bet the NFL all season long. FanDuel's got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. And Missouri, get excited because FanDuel is coming your way December 1st. Download thefanduel.com slash RingerNFL to get started. Must be 21 plus and present in select states and 18 plus in DC, Kentucky, and Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut.

1:23I sold my car in Carvana last night. Well, that's cool. No, you don't understand. It went perfectly. Real offer, down to the penny. They're picking it up tomorrow. Nothing went wrong. So, what's the problem? That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes to smoothie. I'm waiting for the catch. Maybe there's no catch. That's exactly what a catch would want me to think. Wow, you need to relax. I need to knock on wood. Do we have wood? Is this table wood? I think it's laminate. Okay, yeah, that's good. That's close enough. Car selling without a catch. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pick up fees may apply.

2:05All right, we are back on the Ringer NFL show with Billy Gill. We're talking quarterbacks. Are they good is the basic premise. Billy, first of all, let me formally say welcome to the Ringer.

2:17Sheil Kapadia:Thank you. Thanks for having me. Thanks for being so welcoming both on and off air. as I'm kind of like starting this new adventure here. It's exciting. I heard you with Bill telling the story about the Tua jersey and the Chris Sims jersey so everybody can go back and listen to that. But we were trying to decide, you know, hey, what should we talk about today? And you guys were talking about some quarterbacks. You can watch a highlight reel of like 12 plays and you're like, huh, they look awesome. And then you watch a full game and you're like, I don't think they're good at all. So we're trying to identify some of these guys where opinions vary.

2:49are they good? Are they not good? And the guy who we felt like we have to talk about today is Trevor Lawrence. And all these guys are, you know, relevant this season. They all have a chance to make the playoffs. They're all relevant here down the stretch, but Trevor Lawrence is a very polarizing quarterback. I feel Billy. So, um, where are you on? Is he good? Is he not good? Where are we with this guy?

3:11Sheil Kapadia:It's a good question. He's a, he's a mystery. And I feel like this is a good week to be doing? Is he good? Is he not good? Because next week is all about, you know, Thanksgiving. What are we grateful for? What are we thankful for? And you kind of say like overly nice things about everyone where now this is like the good time to maybe sneak in like the backhanded compliments or the, Hey, is this person actually good at their job or not? And by next week, people will forget about it. And then we're not kind of being insensitive or inappropriate or whatever. So Trevor Lawrence, Hmm. Here's the thing about Trevor Lawrence, as I've kind of like experienced it.

3:44Sheil Kapadia:I feel like this is not the first time we have this conversation with Trevor Lawrence. I feel like in his five seasons that he's been in the NFL, this is probably the fourth time that we've had this conversation about Trevor Lawrence. I think that's right. It's ongoing. It's absolutely ongoing. And you're like, well, is it the coach? Is it the supporting cast? And he had the one good year in 2022 where you just felt like, hey, the arrow's pointing up. It's only going to go up from here and it hasn't really gone up from there. So I am probably in the camp of, I don't think so. You know, I wouldn't be like, I'm in on him.

4:18Like, let me give you his defense. I just feel like sometimes watching him, it feels like a blooper reel. You know, I don't, I, you're younger than me. So I don't know if you remember it, like it would be a baseball rain delay or something. You remember those, right?

4:31Sheil Kapadia:Yeah. Like this week in baseball would have like the bloopers. I remember there was like a famous one. Do you remember VHS is, I know I'm probably not sounding like I'm older than you. I remember. Yeah. Yeah. But like the VHS is that you would get. And then like at the end of like the, you know, major league baseball productions, VHS from like 1994 or whatever, they'd have like blooper reels and it'd be like, Oh, look, here's like a ball bouncing off someone's head. Or here's, you know, I remember one of my favorite bloopers was a grounds crew where they completely like messed up putting the tarp out on the field.

5:00Sheil Kapadia:Then the air gets underneath it. Then they had to go back out to the outfield. They cover the outfield. Outfield's dried. By the time they finally cover the infield completely, it's a puddle. Then it stops raining. Oh, blooper reels. I miss them. That's what society is missing these days is blooper reels, Sheel. I agree. Not only do I remember those, if I went to my parents' house right now, they've still got the bookshelf with some of their son's old VHSs. And we definitely have some baseball bloopers on there. I'll take a picture next time I'm there and send it to you. Well, do you remember also like when DVDs first came out?

5:31Sheil Kapadia:Like DVDs did not want to get rid of the blooper reels either. Like you'd have like the movies and then there was always like the extra section in the movies. So exciting. And then there was always like the extended scenes, the deleted scenes. And then there was like the bloopers and you're like, Oh man, then you start wondering, like being a cynical person, like, is this actually a blooper? Is this like, they were just doing this to kind of fill out the blooper reel? Yeah. No, I'm with you that we've, we've all had those questions. And so Trevor Lawrence is the blooper reel quarterback. back.

5:59And I don't think he's doing it, uh, on purpose where you just watch him. Even you watch him last week, you know, they blow out the chargers, but you watch that game. There's an interception like the last one of the last plays is like a fourth down and he's like trying to, they're up by like 30 points or whatever it is. And he's like scrambling and tries to throw it and they're like fumble. No, it's incomplete. But there are too many of those plays with Trevor Lawrence where I feel like he's, he's all, even the, his best play of the season, you know, Again, not his best play, but his most memorable against the Chiefs.

6:28He literally tripped, picked up the ball, ran it into the end zone, and that could be the play that puts them in the playoffs. So I guess that's my way of saying I don't really trust him. I don't think he's the most accurate quarterback. I think he's mistake-prone. I know he still has the tools. I think there could be a year down the road where he's in a great situation and you say, hey, his numbers look great. He's made the leap, and we think about him differently. but right now I'm not I may I think I'm a no on Trevor Lawrence what do we think it is about him

6:58Sheil Kapadia:though right because he came in and he was supposed to be the next Andrew Luck essentially right which Andrew Luck just obviously because of the injuries his career ended earlier and like he was he didn't live up to what everyone thought he would be just because of the fact that he couldn't stay healthy but Trevor Lawrence he doesn't exactly have those issues in terms of like why things aren't working like you can look at him and you could say he hasn't really had the weapons over the years. His best receivers have been, you know, Christian Kirk and Zay Jones and Calvin Ridley. And, you know, now he has Brian Thomas Jr., but he doesn't have the best weapons, but he doesn't have the worst weapons.

7:35Sheil Kapadia:And like, if he's that guy, that generational talent that's supposed to take you to the next level, he should make some of these guys, you know, pro bowl caliber receivers, I would think. Yeah, I agree with that. Especially this year, Liam Cohen is his coach. And last year, like Liam Cohen was great with Baker Mayfield. And this Jaguars offense is nowhere nearly as good as last year's Bucs offense. So I, yeah, I think he misses a lot of throws, you know, that's backed up by the numbers that's backed up by just watching him on a Sunday. And then I do think it's the negative plays, you know, it's, it's not necessarily sacks, but it's just like, Oh, you know, what was he thinking there?

8:11Uh, type things where everything feels chaotic with Trevor Lawrence and you catch him on the right possession or the right quarter or the right game. And you're like, this guy's got it. But then you watch the full game. You know, the one thing with Lawrence, I can't get out of my head from this year. So they beat the chiefs. If you remember that primetime game, a big win for them. And it was his birthday. Do you remember that? Like the big thing was like, Oh, what a nice win on his birthday. And they interviewed him afterwards, Billy. And they asked him like, all right, now you get to like go home and have some cake.

8:42And I actually looked this up on YouTube, but this was my pod prep today. Cause I was like, did I remember that correctly? Cause I remember that being weird, his response. And his response was, yeah, we've got a lot of cakes in the house. So there will be plenty to choose from. And I remember watching that at the time and rewatching it thinking, this is what an alien would say if they're trying to fit in and be like, yes, birthday celebration, a lot of cakes in the house. Am I the only one who we do one cake? he's doing a lot of cakes in the house what's going on yes normal humans eat cake i will be

9:14Sheil Kapadia:eating cake for my birthday um do you think that maybe do you remember a couple years ago when justin herbert shaved his head and you said you know what this guy means business now do you think that maybe this is a situation because like as far back as i can remember in clemson he had it i think he came out of cartersville georgia he's like the pride of cartersville i'm assuming that his hair was long back then too. You don't just grow that wonderful hair. Do we think that maybe if he changes up his look a little bit, maybe his attitude that this will change things for him? This is our friend Danny Heifetz from the Ringer Fantasy.

9:46This is his theory. I mean, I've heard him say it a million times. I'm not fully there on board, but I would like to see it for content's sake. Just he shows up one day, short hair, buzz. Now, having all said this, you know, we've been kind of, like you said, we're doing, I do like this tradition. Let's make this a tradition, Billy. We talk every year, the week before Thanksgiving and we're just kind of backhand complimenting some guys because I do think we have the start of something special here. They are in the playoffs. If the playoffs started today, they're six and four. They've got the fourth easiest remaining schedule.

10:16They're minus 188 to make the playoffs. So it would require like some kind of choke job. I mean, they've got the Titans twice. They've got the Jets. If they win just those games, they've got nine wins. If they win one more, they've got 10. And I think 10 gets you in in the AFC. So maybe Trevor Lawrence goes on a heater here. The rest of the way, we revisit this in January, February, and we do a me a couple.

10:42Sheil Kapadia:Well, we'll see. If I were a betting man, I would say we will not be having that conversation at the end of the season. But maybe, I think the frustrating thing about him too, right, is that he's in the AFC South, which is such a winnable division for the years that he's been in there. There's no reason that he can't go out there and dominate if he's actually what we thought he was. And I think this probably might be our fault to a certain extent where we just thought he was going to be so much better than he is. He's not bad. He's definitely a starting quarterback in the league. But when you come in and it's like, this is the next coming, this is the Messiah, this is going to be the next big thing.

11:18Sheil Kapadia:It's a hard standard to live up to. And he just hasn't at this point. Yeah, I agree. Competent. And, you know, it's kind of like if you were ever in a relationship or had a friend in a relationship where it's like there's nothing wrong with the other person. You know, they're not like cheating on them or doing anything egregious. But you're kind of like, I feel like they could do better, you know, but until something happens, you're not going to move on there. So, yeah, I think that's the category I would put Trevor Lawrence in. All right, let's get to the next guy, Billy. Next guy on our list, Bryce Young, who was awesome last week against the Atlanta Falcons.

11:52I feel like no one is acknowledging that the Panthers are six and five. They're one game out of a playoff spot here in the NFC South. Yet you look at the odds, they're plus 370. So I would think that speaks to maybe a lack of belief from the betting public in Bryce Young. So Bryce Young now with Dave Canales got the wide receiver McMillan this year. Is Bryce Young good? Where are you with Bryce Young?

12:16Sheil Kapadia:Okay, so you mentioned Tett McMillan, which was a good move by them, obviously, because prior to this, his only weapon essentially was Adam Thielen, right? I have a soft spot for Bryce Young. I don't know what it is. I don't know why I want him to succeed. I feel like there was all the hype around him. And if we're going to be honest, and people may not remember this, but I'm sure you will remember this. What really had people starting to question him was before he was even drafted. And it was like Super Bowl week, the year that he was going to get drafted. And it wasn't anything that he did. And it wasn't anything that he said.

12:48Sheil Kapadia:It was simply a picture that came out on social media where he was just being a nice guy. And he took a picture with Mina Kimes. And a lot of people saw this picture with Mina Kimes. And they said, oh my gosh, Bryce Young is tiny. He is not that big. I don't know that this guy should be the number one pick in the draft. Yes, I do remember that. And I think you're right. I think Mina has talked about that before. But when you said you had a soft spot, like when I was doing notes and press, I have a soft spot too. And I was trying to think of why do I have a soft spot? So here are some of the...

13:21One is a little guy. You always root for the little guy, right? So that's easy. He's like the underdog. Oh my gosh. He can't control it. Yeah, he can't control it. He didn't choose to be this small. So you got that. I think he's a handsome guy. You know, there's something about each other. Yeah, nice smile. And then here's what I actually think it is. Quarterbacks are among the weirdest people in professional sports. You cannot find a normal quarterback. I feel like Bryce Young has a chance to be a normal quarterback. Like if you were just, if your friend called you up and was like, hey, yeah, we're doing this, you know, guy's trip this weekend.

13:53Bryce Young's going to come along. I bet you would come back from that thing being like, man, Bryce, I'm such a Bryce Young fan. Whereas if you said that for almost any other quarterback, hey, this guy's coming, you'd be like, oh God, you know, that guy was terrible. So that's why I think you and I have a soft spot for Bryce Young.

14:10Sheil Kapadia:You know who I think is the exception to that rule just because like he's great is I feel like Josh Allen is a normal guy. And I could be wrong about that. Oh, wow. I don't know. Oh, you think it's a put on? Okay. No, I do think he seems like he would be a nice guy. But come on. He's like so famous. He's married to an actress and he's like a freak show athlete. I think you have to have some dings on you to be a normal guy. Like he's living too high a life for me to come back and be like, oh, that, you know. But I do agree with you. He knows how to at least, I feel like. Present a normal guy. Present as a normal guy.

14:43I would agree with that.

14:44Sheil Kapadia:Okay, so we're going to put this now out there for the public to see. Josh Allen fraud, according to you, is what you're saying. Just public fraud. He's not a nice guy. All that stuff he does with pediatric cancer, it's all to put on just to be accepted as a nice guy. Nice guy, yes. Normal, I said. Okay, fine. Normal versus nice. Normal. I actually think Darnold would be on my podium for normal guy quarterback. Really? Yeah. You don't think so? Normal guy. Seems like a likable guy. Now, does it have to be a starter when we're talking about normal guys? Yeah, I mean, come on, the backups. Their own careers are built on being normal.

15:20Sheil Kapadia:Yeah. So you don't have like a Jay Cutler type as a normal guy. Well, I would say I think I would come back with some stories going on the guy's trip with Jay Cutler. I think that a trip with Jay Cutler involves stories that you can't or wouldn't want to repeat because you're like, I don't want to be implicated in any of what happened this past weekend. I definitely not on a microphone. I would agree with that. That wouldn't be grounds for a podcast. So, all right. So Bryce Young, I say normal guy. We both say we're rooting for him. Well, he also lost his job last year, right? Like they made the decision after they drafted him with the number one pick.

15:58Sheil Kapadia:You know what? We're moving on. And the solution to this problem is Andy Dalton, which is like rarely the solution to the problem at this stage in his career. Right. And a lot of people wrote him off. They're like, you know what? This guy's career is over. He just couldn't get it done the first season. Second season, he was struggling. This guy's just not an NFL starter. And it seemed like that was it. If he wanted to get another starting gig, he was going to have to go and do like the Darnold route or the Baker route where he's going to have to bounce around from team to team. He's going to have to put in his reps, hope that there was an opportunity with an injury.

16:29Sheil Kapadia:And then maybe two years down the road, he catches on somewhere. And then sure enough, Andy Dalton gets in a car accident, hurts his hand. He's right back out there. And he's having a great season. Oh, by his standards, he's having a good season. He's having probably the best season that he's had so far. He had a career game. He broke Cam Newton's franchise passing records for the Panthers. Like, I'll tell you one thing. That's one thing they're never going to take away from him. Like it or not, right now, Carolina Panthers, Bryce Young is your career leader in single game passing yards. That's great.

17:02And you know what? It was beautiful. That's why I can't quit him because of that game. I watched that game and I'm like, he's got it. He's accurate. He's moving in the pocket. And this isn't the best supporting cast aside from McMillan. So listen, if you look at it statistically, the chances of him being like an actual guy, like a top 10 guy are very slim. I'm holding out hope that he's a guy where we say, hey, right situation, you know, good offensive line, add a couple more wide receivers where he can at least have one of those seasons where you're like, Bryce Young's having a moment right now.

17:34So I think we're on board. We want to see it happen.

17:36Sheil Kapadia:Can I ask you an etiquette question real quick? Because we mentioned Mina earlier. So I had a conversation with Mina last week and I'm wondering what you do here. And the basis of the conversation, I'm friendly with Mina. I wouldn't say we're best friends or we text all the time or talk all the time. So I was talking to her because I was in Minnesota at Mall of America. And Mina on the show that I used to work for when the Super Bowl was in Mall of America, we got her to do a number of things. And one of the things that we got her to do was go on the zip line at Mall of America and give us her game prediction while she was going down the zip line.

18:13And she, somewhat beknownst to us,

18:16Sheil Kapadia:but not completely unbeknownst to us, was terrified of heights and is not exact. I know you see Mina and you're probably like, that's a thrill seeker. Turns out, not the case. So she was horrified at the idea of this situation, right? So she goes down the zip line at Mall of America. She gives us her Super Bowl prediction. And for whatever reason, that has always stuck out in my head, even though that Super Bowl was like in 2018 or 2019, right? So I'm walking around the Mall of America. I see the zip line. So I take a picture and I send it to her. She's like, oh, you're Mall of America? I was like, yeah, I'm here because I'm doing this thing for work.

18:47Sheil Kapadia:Zach Lowe's in town. So we're going to do this. And then she tells me, say hello to Zach Lowe for me. Now, here's the etiquette question that I have for you. How would you handle that situation? And I'll tell you how I handled the situation. I am anti say hello to someone for me. especially I would imagine that she has Zach Lowe's contact information, right? So if she wants to say hello, check in on Zach Lowe, then I feel like she should do it directly. Now she's putting you in a tough spot. You just started at the ringer. I assume you're just getting to know Zach Lowe. You're trying to build a relationship on your own.