GMFB Tuesday Hour 2: Are the Giants the Team to Beat? Plus, Vikings Struggles and Jonathan Taylor Trade Buzz

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Good morning, football, everybody. Presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky. Tuesday, October 27th. We really can do this thing from anywhere. We've been to Kansas City, Chicago, Philly yesterday.

Philly was a vibe.

Jamie Erdahl, Manti Teo, Isaiah Stanback, and Kyle Brandt. We're all back in our respective seats for the rest of the week on GMFB. Week 7 has come to a close, KB. We learned a lot about what's going on in the NFC East last night. We know the Giants are still at the top. We'll get to them in a second.

But the Cowboys and Eagles are scrapping in Philly last night, and it meant something.

I don't know if Philly's getting off the mat from this one. We can make any sort of Rocky metaphor we want. Uh, this is more like Apollo create against Drago 38, 21.

We know that one didn't end well.

All right. 38 to 21. The Cowboys are three and four. The Eagles are.

Two and five.

And let's hear, uh, from Nick Sirianni, but also Dak, maybe talking about his head coach.

Definitely hungry, pissed off, uh, Version of shotty. It's not like he's naive. It's not like he hadn't heard some noise about him. And, you know, whether it's the call in the games or whatever doubt that's been out there. But we've got his back.

He knows that.

He's a guy that takes a lot of pride in his job, a lot of pride in his team. And, yeah, I mean, everybody handles everything different. And so I don't blame him to an extent. And, yeah, we've got his back. More importantly, it's just about us going out there and executing on Sundays.

We got ourselves in this hole and it's our job to get out of it. And so, you know, no one's writing off anything. I think the division's wide open. Obviously, it would have been nice to get one tonight in a division game, but, you know, we didn't, and.

Hats off to them.

Hellish situation injury-wise for the Philadelphia Eagles. With more on that, NFL Network Insider Mike Garofalo joining us.

Mike G.

there was a lot of Saquon Barkley watching last night. Not only was he returning from injury, then it felt like he was overcompensating and kept working through other stuff. So what's the deal with Saquon this morning?

The other stuff is the back issue that popped up last night, Jamie, which he said after the game and telling reporters he doesn't think it's something that's going to keep him out. The hamstring, he said, actually came through pretty OK. So I think we saw him laboring and he did look like he was stretching his back at one point. And I thought, OK, maybe that's just semi related.

But the hamstring.

Was being attended to. There you see it right there.

So we all thought watching the game, at least up until the fourth quarter, that it was the hands thing. Then the Eagles announced that it was the back that had him questionable to return. So after the game, Barkley expressing optimism and trying his best to be the one that's going to lift this team. He was out there trying to be that guy with Jalen Hurts out, Devontae Smith out, a number of other guys out, Tanner McKee in there needing some help. And for as A few plays as he played and as banged up as he was, had a pretty good impact, including that big run to start the game, which really had the Eagles in the game early on. So I would expect Saquon Barkley to continue to try to battle through this stuff.

You also have to be smart about it. So I don't know how he's feeling today as he wakes up. We'll see as the week goes.

But it's not like this team's out of it and he's banged up and he's checking out. He's the opposite of that guy. He also played in a lot of... Games with the Giants where they were out of playoff contention and played hard and really ran the ball well. So this is really not anything new to him. It's just been a while since he's played for a team that hasn't been in playoff position.

But he's going to battle, Jamie. I promise you that.

Yeah.

Mike G., thank you so much. We love Saquon on this show. We love all running backs. Show of record. Because a lot of it is because of our fearless leader, Kyle Brandt. on Tuesdays, does angry runs. And if you want to know who won the scepter this week and where it's going, watch the first hour of our show. Hint, it's the topic of the team we're about to talk about.

Let's stay in the NFC East. The Giants picked up a win on Sunday in overtime over the Texans. Kyle actually picked this moment we're about to discuss as his rewind that on GMFB on Monday. And that is the fact that John Harbaugh, in elation, in celebration, took down his game-winning running back in Devin Singletary after the TD.

So here's Harbaugh speaking on his excitement in celebration over this play.

Once we were on the ground laughing and enjoying the moment and celebrating the football joy moment of the touchdown run, it just made all sense. It made all sense in the world. We talked about playing with joy. What is football joy? It's different than other kinds of joy. There's different kinds of joy. There's all kinds of different kinds of joys. When you get married or you have kids or you win the lottery, there's a lot of different kinds of joys, but But football joy is different. It's kind of gritty. It's kind of tough. It's fierce. And that was a football joy moment.

Let's go, John.

Reach.

Three and out is the name of the game on GMFB. Isaiah, I'll ask you first. Are the Giants now the clear-cut team to beat in this division after seeing the gritty, joyful win they experienced in Houston this weekend?

Yes, this is the gritty and joyful team that's led by Coach Harbaugh.

And they are the team to beat in the East.

Simply because of the fact this is the one team in the East that you can– Put your finger on it and say this is their identity. The New York football Giants are a physical outfit. You're going to get beat up. You're going to get punched in the mouth when you go in there. It's no different than old school Joe Frazier or going in there against Tyson. You know you're going to take your lumps, and that's exactly what the Giants are.

And they have the next man up mentality. These guys have lost it.

Multiple huge contributors on the defense side of the ball. Their quarterback room has been in shambles.

J.J.

McCarthy stepped up in a major way. They're on their third quarterback and still being productive. Guys are stepping up and making plays for these guys no matter where they're at on the depth chart. So that's one thing that you have to take into account because these guys have identity and a culture in New York.

Yeah, you hit it right on the head right there, Isaiah. They're the best team. We've learned this year that it's not about the star power. It's not about who you have on your team. It's everybody on that squad, all 53 guys, coaches included. Are you guys pushing in the same direction? Are you guys striving to achieve the same goal?

And out of all the teams in that division, the Giants is clear cut. They're all pushing in the same direction. And Isaiah, you mentioned the physicality. They're playing a type of bully ball that travels. Physicality, that travels. It is a lot easier for you to... be to consistently execute a brand than a scheme.

Look at around the league. Look at around that division.

You still have guys that are trying to execute a scheme. Well, when you just keep punching people in the mouth, it doesn't matter what week. It doesn't matter what stadium. It doesn't matter what opponent. That approach is consistent. That approach travels. Also, there's a level of buy-in that I see with the Giants that is very, very rare in this league, especially in this social climate with athletes. There's a lot of talks about Cam Scadable and him being demoted by his head coach, didn't get a touch two weeks ago. Then he goes and runs for over 100 yards and has a truck stick or two. Again, to Jamie's point, if you want to see who won the Angry Run Scepter, watch the first hour and you'll know.

Jameis Winston, he also gets benched.

J.J.

McCarthy is in the game.

He leads them to a victory.

But then you see Jameis come in, run a one-yard QB sneak for a touchdown, and he's playing duck-duck goose out there with his teammates. That is the level of buy-in that you see from the great teams.

And so it is a clear club for me.

Not only do they have the best record KB, but they are the most complete team in that division, and everybody's pointing in the same direction.

I don't know if they're the clear team to beat or not. We don't know the sustainability of J.J. McCarthy.

We don't know.

We don't know if a couple weeks from now he's going to fall on his face. And we do know this.

Out of the eight units in the division, the defenses and offenses, the best one we saw last night. I mean, that Cowboys offense, if you have the eight of them, is the best one. I like what the Giants have going on. But, I mean, do you trust Dak or J.J. McCarthy more?

It's Dak, obviously.

I know he struggled a little bit this year, but it's Dak.

J.J.

McCarthy is a neophyte at this point. We don't know if it's sustainable. Quickly on the Giants. You always hear that, well, John Harper's a leader of men, he's an adult, and it's like a lot of times those leaders of men and adults just fall on their face. What he happened over the last week, Manti mentioned it, effectively benching Skadaboo, and also he just cut Najee Harris.

Like, you're out of here.

Like, this is a really talented guy they brought in to be part of the running game. He made one quote to the media, and he was just gone. Like, that is what the adult is. It's not some nonsense soundbite in training camp. It is making hard, unpopular decisions with the fans and the locker room and just be like, I got this.

I'm John Harbaugh.

I've been around way longer than you. I know what I'm doing, and it paid off. They look great right now.

It's early, guys. Dak versus J.J., like, we'll see if J.J. can still stand.

The same concept can be applied to the Vikings, who are the lone undefeated team that it is still early. Have we seen enough football from them? Because after their week seven win over the Colts, who are in shambles themselves, now they have to turn things around and face the Detroit Lions, who are lying in wait on Sunday. Now here's head coach Kevin O'Connell for the Vikings, who is not taking a moment of this season so far for granted, but they also have to look forward.

We know it's going to be a challenge, going to be a heck of an environment there in Detroit. And Dan and his staff are going to put together a great game plan. They've got a really good football team. So it's going to take our best effort. And that's really kind of, you know, more than likely going to be the theme the rest of the way. You know, we can't get bored with just trying to do whatever it takes to win one game a week, regardless of what our record's been, regardless of what is down the line on our schedule. It's all about this week and having the best possible week we can.

All right, KOC is trying his best to answer these questions. A team that still has a lot surrounding it in terms of curiosity, Manti. Do you have an NFC team that comes to the top of your mind that you're keeping a close eye on the rest of the way?

Easy.

Easy, Jamie. It's the LA Rams.

What's going on?

You know, they're sitting at three and four. My biggest thing is I'm keeping a close eye on is this thing going to start clicking? Well, you find out that Devontae Adams is out for a while.

Puka Nakua is banged up.

Can you make a run right now?

The best thing about the Rams situation is what's going on in the East and in the South, right? You look at how those two divisions are struggling and there's some hope for Kyle Shanahan. I mean, for Sean McVay that you could get this thing back on track, but we still have yet to see Miles Garrett, this so-called super team that everybody put into the Super Bowl. I had him in the Super Bowl game prediction.

It doesn't look too super.

And so if there's one team, Isaiah, that I'm going to be watching and have my eye closely fixed on, it's the L.A.

Rams.

Can this thing start getting on track or is it over?

I hear that you're watching the Rams, but the Rams are right now in the rearview mirror for me. The team that I'm more concerned about and that I'm looking at to go ahead and start really rolling are the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers, to me, are one of the most dangerous teams in the NFC, mainly because of the fact these guys are just getting started. Offensively, these guys are lights out throwing the ball. Jordan Love has been exceptional this year, getting the ball to Tucker Crabb, getting the ball to Matthew Golden, getting the ball to Christian Watson. And then they just got some dude back this week by the name of Josh Jacobson. No, he didn't have a bunch of rushing yards, but he did

have almost 100 yards rushing.

From scrimmage.

I don't know if you saw his play on the sideline where he caught a swing pass and just simply just walked in the end zone with everybody diving at his ankles, but he's kind of a dog.

But the other side of the ball, Mr.

Jonathan Gannon has his defense playing lights out.

That's why they are dangerous.

That's one of the top defenses in the NFL, and they haven't even gotten back one of the most dangerous.

Men in the NFL, Michael Parsons.

Once they get everybody back healthy, these guys are definitely contenders.

I'm looking at the only undefeated team in the league. I look at the Vikings. 6-0 is 6-0. It's totally legit. They will be in the playoffs. Over the next month, guys, pay attention and buckle up. They play all grown adult teams, all teams that matter. I know that they've beaten the Colts and the Saints and the Dolphins, and I don't discredit it. But we're getting into Buffalo. We're getting into Detroit.

We're getting into the Niners. Another one against Green Bay. Here's what I want to see from the Vikings, because when you get 6-0, you start getting the questions, can this team win it all? Are they the favorite to win the damn Super Bowl, the Minnesota Vikings? Here's what I need to see. I need to see the one week when that defense just doesn't quite have it. Maybe Flores is off his game. Maybe the defense is just not having a good day. And they let up 27 points.

They let up 23 points. When is that day when Kyler's going to.

Say, I got us. I got us today. I'll drive. Because we haven't seen it yet. We have not seen it. If you look at the point.

Totals that the Vikings are giving up, guys, 10, 13, 10, 3. The offense has not been good. It doesn't have to be, but at some point it will. It's going to happen sometime this month. It's going to happen again in the playoffs when like, I'm sorry, the Vikings are not going to hold every team in the league to 13 points.

Someone's going to get to 20. Someone might get to 30.

Does the Vikings offense have it in it to be like, no problem. We can win that game too. Right now they don't. They may get there, and that's going to be coaching. That's going to be Kyler. But I need to see that before I'm like, yes, the Minnesota Vikings, maybe the most historically playoff-cursed franchise in the history of the NFL, can win the Super Bowl this year.

I've got to see that game.

Along those lines, Kyle, while Kyler can put his hand up and say, I got us today, which one of those quarterbacks that they face coming up will also just try to swat that defense away like Nats? Because they're blitzing at a 72% rate right now. But if they face Josh Allen, and Josh Allen's just like, it ain't no thing, then you have a real issue. Because once someone unpacks and is able to diagnose as to how they can beat this defense, then you have a real issue moving forward. But unbeaten is unbeaten.

Even Caleb, Jamie, you know what I mean? Caleb left the first game early and it was raining. So the next time you're going to play them is in Minnesota on some turf in a covered dome. And so you saw what they were able to do. The Bears were able to do against the Patriots.

That's going to be another one.

Absolutely.

All right.

Seahawks wide receiver Jackson Smith and Jigba is the reigning NFL offensive player of the year. And through seven weeks, it looks like he could repeat easily. He's got this thing in the bag. JSN had another big game on Sunday night with a win over the Chiefs. He had 150 yards and a TV on nine catches. Now he's topped 100 yards receiving. in his six of seven games this season. We on GMFB love on-pace guy, and we just like to check in on on-pace guy sometimes. JSN on pace for 141 catches on the season, 2,106 yards and 19 touchdowns. Ooh, buddy. So I ask you this.

Is he going to break Calvin Johnson's record that was set in 2012? Kyle, is he on pace to break the 1,964 receiving yards that Megatron had?

Here's where I come out on this. And this, I'm sorry, I'm like an old grump and maybe a stickler. If he does, I will love it. You got to do it in 16 games.

It's not fair.

I don't listen.

Miles Garrett broke the sack record last year in 17 games.

He had an extra game. It's just it's messy.

I don't like that.

It's not equal. When we expanded to 17 games, this is the price you pay is that guys are going to break records in an extra game. And people who would be Michael Strahan or Calvin Johnson or whoever it is, they're sitting at home being like, well, yeah, I would like to have another game.

So.

I like things neat and orderly, and if he does it in 16 games, that's amazing. He does it in 17, it's amazing. It just doesn't hit the same. I'm sorry to be a stickler, but really I'm not because somebody has to be.

I'm right there with you, Kyle. I don't disagree, but I'm going to pull one from my movie, Dumb and Dumber.

And say.

Now you're saying there's a chance.

There's a chance. The reason, who's going to stop him? Who's going to stop him?

The only person that can stop him from doing that is Sam Darnold.

That's the only.

Person that can stop him from getting his record because he's placed the Patriots. He went against Gonzo. He went against San Francisco. He went against Denver Broncos. He went against Kansas City Chiefs and SPAC. Nobody has been able to stop this guy. If those defenses can't stop them with their secondaries, then tell me who else that's available on their available schedule that is going to stop JSN.

It's only going to come down to the offensive productivity, and can Sam Darnold get him to rock every single game?

Yeah, I'm right there with you, Isaiah. And the reason why I think that he has a great chance at doing this is if you look at, you know, we can talk about trajectory, but let's talk about the past year.

Six games, right? He hasn't had Sam.

Darnold as his quarterback the whole time.

He had Drew Locke, yet he.

Still put up numbers.

And that is the Seattle Seahawks that offense that has still yet to establish some sort of run game.

So, I don't know how Jackson Smith and Jigba is.

Being able to put up all of these numbers while people are still focusing on him. Not to mention there's no other target for Seattle Seahawks in their passing game than.

Jackson Smith and Jigba.

The clear target, the clear favorite is that man. I mean, you go to Cincinnati, you got Jamar chasing, got T Higgins. There's always like a Batman and Robin. There is no Robin over there in Seattle. So everything is going to Jackson Smith and Jigba. What has been very impressive to me, Jamie, is even though all the attention is on number 11, he still gets the football and he still gets a I had.

This schedule laminated for me on GMFB. And I, anytime someone says like, who are they going to play? I go to my big old flip card here and it looks pretty good for JSN. I got to say, but he does play the Rams two of the last three games of the season for 2026.

That's good.

Maybe they can get their secondary rate for that. Mike Garofalo, welcome back in. Let's stay on the NFC West because we got to talk about whatever happened to the 49ers. Christian McCaffrey and San Francisco went to Atlanta and they got beat. And for a while in that game, they didn't have CMC. What's up with him?

Christian McCaffrey's got a mild hamstring strain, Jamie.

Good news for the 49ers.

They are on a bye, so that gives him some chance to rest, and it sounds like there's optimism that McCaffrey will be back once they return from the bye. Said his leg just kind of gave out on him. Yeah, that's what happens with a hamstring strain sometimes. They called it a thigh in-game, if I'm recalling correctly, but... Mild hamstring strain for Christian McCaffrey.

So, again, optimism. He'll be back. Speaking of running backs, we'll be back.

Jadarian Price, the rookie that we had extremely high expectations for, especially because early in the season, Zach Charbonnet was sidelined.

He's coming back.

They are opening.

The Seahawks are his 21-day practice window, as you see right there, while Charbonnet is also working his way back.

I've got folks in Seattle that are asking.

Me, hey, are the Seahawks going to be active looking for a running back at the trade deadline? they're really getting two acquisitions in price and Charbonnet in the near future. And that's good for a backfield that has been extremely banged up.

Lamar Jackson. I don't know. I mean, optimism.

Yes, that he is going to play this week, but there's been optimism before. So as we said last hour, we'll call it guarded optimism.

Optimism.

Jackson was close last week. Just couldn't get to the point where he felt comfortable. So the hope is for the Ravens that he returns to action to be a big lift for a team.

That needs one right now and And D.J. Moore, the wide receiver for Buffalo. We had high.

Expectations for him. I kept calling him a high-volume guy. They were amazing in training camp. He and Josh Allen, their connection. He had that connection disrupted after a nice week one performance by a shoulder injury. He had come back, then he left again after he aggravated it. Well, the bye week sounds like it really helped D.J.

Moore.

So Moore back in action for the Bills, most likely this upcoming week, barring some kind of setback. That is a great addition to the offense for the Bills, and if you can put that shoulder behind them, we can start to see some of that high volume down the stretch, Jamie.

Time for Good Hands Play of the Week, presented by Allstate. All right, who has the best hands this week?

It's one of our own.

Super proud to do this. Kyle Brandt, take a look at what happened on Monday in Philadelphia. We sent Kyle Brand out trying to catch a punt.

Guys, I'm telling you, Kyle's scouting report is that he said he would drop the first one and then maybe catch the second, right, Kyle?

Yeah.

I'm like an old Gunnar Olszewski, guys.

I'm going to do this, okay? Or Tim Dwight. Let's go.

I believe in you.

I'm glad he's got a solid stand.

Over Chickie and Pete's. Here we go.

Over Chickie and Pete's.

I can't even see where the machine is.

Here it comes.

Kyle, you got this. Back, back, back, back, back.

Come on, Kyle.

You got this.

Oh!

Got it!

Let's go.

Yeah!

Kyle! Let's go, baby!

What you got? Talk about it.

Listen, I would love to say, oh, I'm so cool. I was so clutch.

I was terrified. That's so scary.

I've never caught a punt from the jugs machine before. And listen, like, back in college, even in high school, I didn't return punts. I would stick to kickoff. Kickoffs are easy. Plus, if you drop it, you just pick it up and run. The thing felt like it was 600 feet in the air and 100 miles an hour. Here's a behind-the-scenes that's funny. So I make the catch.

I'm more relieved than excited. I walk backstage at ESPN. I see Swagoo, McAfee, Van Pelt, and everyone's really nice.

Great catch, great catch.

Jason McCourty, nicest guy in the world, looks at me and he goes, zero return yards. And I was like, Jason, shut up, man. Not everybody has your genetics. I don't run 4-3 like you. I don't have an identical twin who also runs 4-3. I just wanted to bring that thing in, and I did it for my guys, Danny Amendola, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Gunnar Olszewski, for the culture. I felt proud out there, and I just thank God I brought it in.

Yeah, fair catch on the front end.

You held it down for the culture there, Kyle. Listen, people don't know. Kickoffs is usually end over end. Now they're getting a little crazy with some of these knuckleballs. But the punt, you got to watch the nose of the ball because that ball moves so much.

I'm very proud of you, Kyle. That was awesome, man.

Yeah, one thing I know about KB is he's not going to fair catch.

KB ain't going to fair catch nothing. All right, OC, you won't catch that ball ever.

Put your shoulder down and chuck stick somebody. Right, KB? You know what, Manti?

I actually thought it would be a funny little flourish in the TV segment. I thought it would make everybody laugh if I did do a fair catch. But the second I saw that sucker, I'm like, hell no.

That's not my DNA.

I'd rather get a helmet right under my chin. I'm going to catch this thing. And then I spiked it just because the adrenaline kicked in. But those of you at home, all you guys are high school, all state, whatever, and you're like, oh, that's easy.

Yeah.

Jugs machine punts.

They had that sucker revved up to 10 i'm telling you this was an incredible george blanda type kick like bam that's i felt it was you know those uh peregrine falcons they like nosedive at 300 miles an hour in nature.

That's what it felt like i caught i was just so relieved i wasn't even happy i was relieved I bet.

And you didn't even angry run through the fans. You just celebrated in pure elation. We're happy for you. Good hands play of the week.

It was a great spike, by the way.

It was a great spike.

Exactly.

It was an all-emotion spike.

Well done.

We got to move on because the Vikings keep winning and Lindsay Theory's in studio. So we're going to talk all things Minnesota. And they are the remaining unbeaten team in the league, of course. But how is this sustainable? The same way that Kyle doing like 20 hours of television yesterday. Is that sustainable? When you catch like that, you can make magic on TV, folks.

And the dress shoes.

And the sunnies. Lindsay Theory, how do you feel about being a Tuesday regular on our show? Do you like it on GMFB?

I love it. We love having you.

You come in off the road, and you're like, we're waking up East Coast time.

We're ready to go.

Yes.

We don't even know what day it is, but we know it's Tuesday.

Happy Monday to somebody else.

I don't know.

We're not sure what day it is, and then we see the scepter, and we see Lindsey, and we're like, oh, it's Tuesday.

Got it.

All right, Lindsey, last you were here, you were telling us you were going to go to Minnesota. First eyeballs on that Vikings defense. They still are the unbeaten team left in the league. What stood out to you from that game?

Jamie, I don't know that you're going to love this, but what stood out to me is this offense because that's really the part that has.

To be true.

But the defense, Lindsey.

The defense is so good, right? Yeah, yeah.

Their defense did play phenomenally, but I was really keyed in on the offense because we know with the schedule coming up, that's where they're going to have to improve to prove to be like the 6-0 team that they are on.

Paper, right? Next they have the Lions, the Bills, the Packers.

The 49ers, and I'm not convinced that this offense is going to be good enough to get through that. It was interesting talking to Kyler Murray after the game. I asked him about a 35-yard scramble, set up a go-ahead touchdown, and He was like, well, you know, we didn't get in the end zone today. And I'm like, Kyler, you actually did. You did get in the end zone today.

You completed a five-yard touchdown pass. But I think this offense is still so much trying to find its footing. Some notable misses to Justin Jefferson. That being said, it was going into this game, only three plays had been completed between Kyler, Justin, Jordan Addison, Jordan Mason, and TJ Hawkinson.

So there's plenty of room to grow.

I'm just not convinced after watching that performance that it's going to happen quick enough to handle this kind of four-game gauntlet.

What is it, Lindsay, when you're watching it, right? What is it? Is it the quarterback?

Is it kind of a disconnect between the quarterback and his wide receivers? Obviously, they've got Jordan Mason back there. There's been a rotating door at running back. What is it to you, in your opinion, that it's just not clicking?

To me, it was just the rhythm between Kyler Murray and his receivers. You see Justin Jefferson, and he's reaching behind to try and get a pass, right? You can't throw the ball behind Justin Jefferson.

It has to be... When he's open, you have to put the ball where he can catch it and keep going.

So that's really where the disconnect looked to be a lot.

The run game, you know, wasn't.

Super solid, but it's really what Kyler Murray's doing out there. And that can take time to develop that chemistry with your receivers. But again, I don't think time is something they have now that they're all back out there healthy. Like they need to be kind of hitting some of these plays that look a bit routine.

I know that one of the things that I heard from Adam Thielen with Kevin O'Connell's offense is that A lot of that is predicated on Justin. Like, Justin has the luxury and the freedom to, hey, I can run this route or I can run that route, right, Jamie? So when you think about Kyler Murray and to your point, Lindsay, with the connection, you have to know what Justin Jefferson is seeing, right? You can't just be, hey, this is a play. He's going to run this route. He might be running a corner. He might be running a post.

So I definitely see there's that connection, this connection.

The other thing Adam said was he was trying to be optimistic. He was like, it takes time for offenses to click.

And I'm like.

It's a couple weeks away from the halfway point. We got to go.

When you talk about how they haven't played together, and they really hadn't played together, that was their first game as a unit, having guys healthy as they've dealt with the rash of injuries. I know Kevin O'Connell says it's close. Obviously, he's an offensive coach. He wants to believe it's close.

Having seen all the teams they're about to come against, I don't think they're close enough to overcome what they're about to face.

All right.

The interesting thing about Sunday was that we entered the day with three unbeaten teams. Let's discuss the other two now that do have one loss, which is the 49ers. We kind of understand how that happened in terms of injuries. But I am fascinated. We both were by the Chiefs and the way they were halted outside the red zone every single time. What do you think that says about Kansas City's offense?

Well, I think Kansas City's offense really ran into a really good defense in the Seahawks. I mean, this is kind of what the Seahawks team has thrived off of. This is what powered them to a Super Bowl a year ago. Plus, you put them in that environment on a Sunday night. Like, that is an incredibly hard place to play. For the Chiefs, probably what that does is really just expose what they need to work on going forward.

As one of the former unbeatens, they hadn't run into any kind of headwind like that. So obviously with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, you know they can go back to.

The drawing board, see what didn't work out there.

So this is probably as good of an early season loss as you can have it for the Chiefs.

There was a lot of commentary about the Chiefs' offense and what they are missing after seeing a game like that. The same could be said about the Vikings' offense. Trade deadline's coming up November 10th. Do you have any early teams on the radar that we should keep an eye on?

Well, I'm Definitely keeping an eye out for the 49ers and what they're going to do. They need some help on the edge with the pass rush, so there's a couple options that they could go look for out there.

I know that internally there's.

Been some guys saying, hey, what about Khalil Mack down there with the Chargers? If you're Khalil Mack, you probably have to think about it.

Your career's... Sure.

Toward the end, maybe you have a chance to go join a team that has a very good shot at winning a ring. So it matters if the Chargers want to open up their phone lines and whatnot. But for the 49ers, that's what I'm looking at. Some other teams, maybe you were thinking the Seahawks need a running back, but Zach Charbonnet should be close to getting back. Jadarian Price should be getting close to coming back because obviously they need some help with their run game in Seattle to kind of sustain that offense.

Right.

Those are the two plays I really keep an eye on.

So a big weekend for the NFC West. The Niners got their first loss. Seattle just dominates the Chiefs. And obviously the frustrations with the Rams. How does this weekend kind of shake up the projections for a division that we've been known to be one of the best in the NFL?

Yeah, so for the NFC West, it's interesting.

The 49ers get a bye at the absolute perfect time. I mean, that team is banged up. And going to that bye, they are Mike Evans. It's Debo Samuel, Nick Bosa. They hope to get all those guys healthy.

Christian has something now.

Christian has something, yeah. So he'll get a week off to come back. But really, it's like you look at the Rams and where they are, and that's the team that you really need to figure out. Sean McVay has no update, had no update as of yesterday evening about Miles Garrett when he's coming back. But obviously, they're all chasing the 49ers right now. But I don't think we can rule the Rams out quite yet when it comes to being in the hunt.

So the Colts were in Minnesota over the weekend. Obviously, they just relieved their GM of his job responsibilities. Will they trade Jonathan Taylor? Is anybody on the move out of that organization?

It was really interesting because Jonathan Taylor opened that game with a long touchdown run. You're like, that's a guy who could certainly help a lot of teams out there.

I know there's reports out there.

I know Adam's been talking about the possibility, and now maybe there's no possibility. that Jonathan Taylor, Adam Schefter, yeah, yeah, Schefter, yeah, right, like Adam Schefter, sorry, Schefter, he's like the guiding light when it comes to the trade deadline. But when watching Jonathan Taylor in that game, and you're thinking like there are multiple teams across the league that could really use this guy, if.

You're the Colts, Why wouldn't you? But it sounds like maybe they won't.

I mean, and now they don't have the person who was making those decisions in the building. So the ownership becomes much more involved as well as like coaching and their buildup influence. Lindsay Theory, thank you so much. Where are you going this weekend?

I'm going trick-or-treating. Oh! We're working on that. It's more of a last-minute family.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't go as shifty. You do enough NFL work. Lindsay Theory, everybody. Thanks for joining us. We love you.

Yes.

GMFB Tuesday Hour 2: Are the Giants the Team to Beat? Plus, Vikings Struggles and Jonathan Taylor Trade Buzz

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