The NFL Report: Titans trade DT Jeffery Simmons to Bears + Lanced Zierlein joins the show

Remember those days when the trade deadline was boring? Not anymore. Coming up on the NFL Report, why and how the Bears went all in for Jeffrey Simmons. You know, we could have a classic Sunday in Buffalo if, if it's Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. But will it be? We have an update from Baltimore. And we preview the best divisional schedule of the season so far. It's next on the NFL Report. We are presented to you by Nationwide.

It's week eight. Happy week eight, everybody. From our studios in Los Angeles, hi there. I'm Andrew Siciliano. Lance Zierlein coming up quickly, shortly with a TNF preview. Who is up and who is down at Lambeau? We begin, however, as we always do with our headlines, what is news to me? We had a trade this morning that makes you say, wow.

Out loud.

That's what I did.

Wow.

This is one of those deals. Jeffrey Simmons and a five to the Bears for two ones and a four. Simmons is the first defensive tackle in the common draft era traded for two first round picks.

Well, I think that speaks to Jeff, who he is as a player, first and foremost. And it probably would have had to take a deal like this to to do this move. And no one's ever came to us with this. Like I said, I've probably gotten 50 phone calls since I've been here in Jeff in the spring, the summer, the season. And it never crossed my mind once.

Like I said, I have a relationship with Ryan Poles, and he just came out and gave me the offer. And he said, think about it.

And we did it.

And they made the trade this morning. Hey, Lance Erlein. So Ryan Poles called last night, made him an offer, and Mike Borgonzi said, I can't refuse it. From a Bears perspective, they're 5-2. Huge game in Seattle in primetime on Monday night. This is truly them going all in. Is it enough?

Chips are in the middle of the table right now for Ryan Poles. It's a full push. And why not?

I mean, I think people have been sleeping on the Bears for far too long before the season started and even during this season. They're a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the NFC. And one of the things missing. is that you want the spine to be a little firmer in the middle, and that's what they just got with Simmons.

You give up two first rounds. Everyone panics. Oh, it's two first rounds. It's two first rounds. Let me tell you, the 28th pick is where the Bears sit right now. The last four 28th picks, Caleb Lomu, Tyleek.

Williams, Xavier Worthy, and Miles Murphy. You could pick three of those guys together and have them on. They wouldn't make the impact of Simmons. Jeffrey Simmons is just really impactful, not just against the run, but also in terms of his ability to threaten the pocket. He gives your defense more swagger. They still need a little more rush off the edge. But to me, this move puts the Chicago Bears in clear win-now territory and a chance to compete for a Super Bowl appearance coming out of the NFC.

I remember sitting at the combine in Indy two off-seasons ago, and every Bears fan wanted them to send two number ones to the Browns for Myles Garrett. They didn't do that. Now they do it for Jeffrey Simmons. Dennis Allen plays a lot of man behind and push the pocket. I absolutely love it. The other side of things here, the Titans side, Cam Ward, a lot of people think they're going to tear the entire thing down now. Do you buy that real quick?

Well, I'm already doing some homework on my NFL draft because that's what I do for NFL.com, and I don't know that this is going to be.

The quarterback draft. I don't want to.

I don't know if you want any spoilers for the 2027 draft, but this may not be the draft where you go all in on a quarterback. So you do have a chance to take one if you want, but I don't think this is the end for Cam Ward. I think it's really all about rebuilding a roster. I should say building the roster out individually. It's like baseball.

You move on from your best assets, you try to hit it big in the draft, and the more swings you have, the better chance you have at building a roster. And they're just trying to add swings with as many draft picks as possible.

Titans, one of three teams with multiple ones next year. Let's move on to the deals that have already been made earlier in the week, including the two that the Colts made in Indianapolis. We heard from Jonathan Taylor. today for the very first time since Quinton Nelson was traded and since DeForest Buckner was traded. As we sit here right now at 7.04 Eastern time, Taylor is still a Colt.

I haven't heard anything and I can't control that. Obviously, like you guys know that I'm always proud to wear the horseshoe, proud to be here. And similar to Quinton and Buck, they were proud to wear the horseshoe. They were proud to be here. But obviously, circumstances may cause otherwise. So Hopefully that day may not come, but I can't control that. The only thing I can control is rallying these guys in the locker room, helping us put together a great plan and executing a great plan for Jacksonville because, like I said, it's a division game. They're licking their chops right now. They think they're going to kick us while we're down, and that has to be the point of emphasis.

Taylor and the Colts get the Jaguars this week. Quentin Nelson, his former teammate, and the Seahawks get, as mentioned, the Bears on Monday night. How about Nelson and Jeffrey Simmons lining up across from each other in primetime? Nelson met the media in Seattle today for the first time after eight and a half years in Indy.

It was like a little bittersweet. Formed a lot of great relationships in Indy. Great community there. But definitely excited for this next chapter, being here in Seattle. I mean, just driving in and the couple times I've played here, it's a beautiful state, a really cool city. All the nature here is sick. And then getting to meet some of the guys, everyone's been super welcoming already, and the coaches as well. And everyone, it's a family here. The equipment, the trainers, it's been a great day and a half so far.

Love that. By the way, I agree with everything Quentin Nelson just said. The nature there is sick. Seattle is beautiful. So too is Lambeau in primetime. Bryce Young and the Panthers won there last year, not in primetime, in an afternoon game. They're going to try to do it again tonight. It's time for a primetime preview. We are presented here, our primetime preview by Nationwide. Lance is back with us.

The Panthers are are hard to figure out. They started so well. They came out of the bye, though, last week, and they got boat raced. They're the only team in the NFL, Lance, to win a game by 30 this year and then lose a game by 30. What gives for Bryce and the Panthers this evening?

Well, they were sick last week, but not in the Quentin Nelson good kind of way.

The offense was very sick.

And they were blown completely off the face of the map last week, and they really have to get it together. You know, you've got to run the football a little bit to get Bryce Young, to take some pressure off Bryce Young, so Hubbard is going to be important.

The running game in general is going to be important for Carolina.

You really can't afford to have another bad performance because that could really stun the confidence of a team that got off to a fun start. I mean, they were very competitive, but they're not so competitive against the run, and I think that's one of the The real problem is what can the Panthers do to control this game offensively?

That's a big question mark in today's game.

The Packers offensively do have Matthew Golden up. He had been questionable with foot and ankle injuries. They're taking on, however, if you look at the run game, the number 32 run defense in the NFL tonight.

Well, it's movable object. It's what, resistible force versus movable object.

I mean, the Packers are averaging 59 yards a game. It's the worst in their history on the ground. But Josh Jacobs is back. We'll see what difference Josh.

Jacobs can make.

I think he can make a big difference because he's able to create with his vision.

He can create with wiggle. He can create with power.

And I think that's going to make a big difference compared to what the Packers had seen previously.

And let's face it.

The worst defense in the league against the run, as you referenced, is the Carolina Panthers.

So they can get it started.

But really, the bread and butter here for the Green Bay Packers, yeah, you want to run the ball better, but it's been Watson and Golden. The two wide receivers have been terrific.

They have really helped Jordan Love along.

To have a strong year despite having subpar offensive line play and protection at times. Golden and Watson have combined already for more catches, more yards, more touchdowns than they did for all of last year. So they're just one yard behind the duo of Pickens and Lamb in terms of the most prolific, at least by yards, the most prolific wide receiver combination in the league. And I think we'll see them go off again this week.

Packers are 4-3. That is good for last in the NFC North somehow. Carolina is 3-3. That leads the NFC South to totally different divisions. All right, this game should be good. Matter of fact, I don't care who plays quarterback for the Ravens. It should be great. We got the Bills, we got the Ravens in Buffalo coming up on Sunday. When last they met week one a year ago, you had that 81-point total Sunday night classic. Ravens blew that massive lead. Lamar Jackson was a full participant again today in practice, so you think he's back after missing the last three games. Head-to-head, two of the best quarterbacks of our generation. Let's assume, Lance, it is Lamar on Sunday.

Dangerous to assume, but I think it's going to happen. What do you expect if we have these two guys atop the marquee?

Listen, even if Lamar makes it back and he hasn't played for a while, the Buffalo defense has been problematic this year. And Josh Allen, he's an MVP caliber. He's having another MVP caliber season this year. He always can put the team on his back. And he may have to do it again because defensively they're just not consistent enough.

And Lamar Jackson has weapons. We know that.

We know they can run the football, control the tempo of the game with the big running back, with Derrick Henry. And Lamar, with the weapons he has, yeah, he may be a little rusty, but I still think he'll be able.

To move it through the air. The last two games have been high-scoring affairs, but.

Buffalo Bills have won four of the last five in these matchups, and Josh Allen, it doesn't look like the Ravens are really able to stop him.

They did early on in those matchups.

It's been much, much more difficult for them over the last four or five, so I think it's going to be a high-scoring game. I like the Bills in this game, but I do think that Josh is going to have to have a strong performance because I don't think the Bills' defense can be counted on in this matchup.

Good injury news here for the Bills today. Ed Oliver back on the practice field, a full participant there on the Bills defensive line. Thank you, Lance. Lance coming right back. In the meantime, we give you this news. The football world, really both the NFL and college, mourning the loss of former Falcons, Hawaii, and SMU head coach June Jones this evening.

Few coached the run and shoot. Few got better numbers out of quarterbacks. Better than June Jones, who also played well quarterback. He started five games for the Falcons in the late 70s. We lost June Jones today. He was 73 years old. Do you have NFL Plus Premium yet? Why not? Go get it. You get NFL Red Zone.

You get every touchdown every Sunday afternoon during the regular season. You can catch game replays. You can track advanced analytics powered by next-gen stats with NFL Pro. Sign up today. Plus.NFL.com slash fast. Terms and conditions do apply. Look at this divisional schedule this week. I mean, how good is this?

Even the Falcons and the Bucs, they both are below. 500. That is a legitimate game in the NFC South where, say, if the Panthers lose tonight, the Falcons can move into first. What a great, great schedule. Let's focus on the game at the top because that game is delicious. The Vikings have won 11 in a row. They are 6-0. But they have scored only nine offensive touchdowns. That is it in six games. 75 players have more targets this year.

And I'm not just talking fantasy. I'm talking like they need to score more points than Justin Jefferson.

I think as far as getting involved, everybody wants to get just the ball.

He is who he is.

He always causes a lot of guys coming to attention. So we've got to pick and choose.

I know....

You know, he's not, he's an unselfish guy.

He's a team guy.

We're winning.

And that's all he cares about, you know, but at the end of the day, obviously everybody wants to get on the ball and it'll happen.

Also will happen at the same time, Falcons and the Buccaneers. Atlanta has mentioned one game back in the lost column behind Carolina for now with Michael Penix at quarterback, he's dealing. The Falcons are averaging 31 points a game.

That comes with the experience, you know, time on task and stuff like that, you know, so, You know, you always build confidence as time goes on. You know, the first time you do something, you know, you got to get used to it. You know, but that's no excuse for, you know, however it was then. You know, when you get into this role and you're playing at the professional level, it's a lot of high expectations. And, you know, everybody that comes into this role, they want to meet those.

You know, but for me, I just want to, you know, be the best version of myself I can each and every day. And like I said, with time, it's going to come with more confidence and, you know, reps and stuff like that.

Lance Erland back with us here on the NFL Report. Such good divisional games, including that Pennix Falcons-Buccaneers game. If we're ranking most intriguing, Lance, this one's number three for you.

It's number three, but it's intriguing nonetheless because I think it's a really interesting battle.

Of who can take away what.

And let's face it, Michael Penix has been terrific since he's come back. And as you know, two-time coach of the year, Kevin Stefanski, who had come over from the Browns, his offense can be quarterback friendly when he has the right quarterback. is a very underrated offensive mind. Those guys have run the ball well, obviously, with B.

John Robinson. He's number one in the league. So it makes life easier.

That levels passing attack makes life easier for Michael Pennix, and he's been able to just play with confidence, play with poise, and he's got some really good targets like Drake Lennon and Kyle Pitts.

And, of course, B.

John is there to take away a lot of the heavy lifting. However, Tampa Bay allows only 3.2 yards per game. So if you can take that away, the running game, and then your second in the league in takeaways, the Tampa Bay Bucs, you might.

Be able to force Michael Penix into some of those mistakes.

I would bet against that, though, because I think right now Penix and the Falcons are playing really underrated offensive football, some of the best offensive.

Football in the league right now.

So I don't know if it continues to the same level, but I think they are going to have.

A strong performance, a stronger performance against the Bucs. It won't be easy, but I have some confidence in them this week.

This is a Baker revenge tour kind of season. Lost to the Browns week two. Last week stomped on the Panthers. This week, it's Kevin Stavansky and the Falcons. Speaking of the Browns, they have a divisional rematch coming up on Sunday. This week, the game's in Pittsburgh. Back in week four. The game was in Cleveland where the Browns defense got after Aaron Rodgers. They sacked him five times. After that game, Jared Verse, and the game was chippy during the game, called the Steelers' old line out and called them dirty.

I'm just going in there ready to dominate. Obviously, I've been waiting for this one for a good little bit. But, you know, the whole bulletin board material and things like that, I'm just ready to go put them hands on them.

I'm just going to keep it simple like that.

Did you see Cam Hayward's comments the other day about what you had said after the game?

I'm not worried about Cam. I'm not worried about that whole line. I'm not worried about nobody that got on their team. We're out there to go dominate.

Okay, so the Browns have lost 22 consecutive regular season games in Pittsburgh. I think everyone knows that. The Browns have not swept the Steelers since 1988. Lance, I was 14. Who framed Roger Rabbit in Die Hard and Nakatomi Plaza? It is a Christmas movie. We're huge in theaters. The quarterback that day, well, when they won in Pittsburgh, was Mike Pagel. The Browns won later in Cleveland with Bernie Kosar.

I know how I feel about this game. Lance, how do you feel?

Well, look, I mean, they've been.

Tied or behind in all seven games this year.

They are 5-2 in those seven games.

Deshaun Watson plays one kind of football the first three quarters, and then he turns into a superman with a 125 quarterback rating in the fourth quarter.

A ton of fourth quarter comebacks, but listen.

I mean, they're just filled with red in the offensive columns. We get the research note, but you're in the research, that our research department comes up with all.

These offensive stats, blood red in the Cleveland side.

And so I don't know, it feels like paperclips and duct tape trying to keep it together offensively. And I just don't know if that can work in Pittsburgh.

But I keep saying that every week, and here are the Brownies.

You know, making Todd Munkin look like offensive, like the coach of the year, really.

But the Pittsburgh Steelers can rush the quarterback. Neither of these teams really protect all that well.

But Deshaun has a tendency to hang on to the ball. You've got big mismatches on the edges with the Steelers' rush. And at the end of the day, they can just really run the ball effectively. Rico Dowdle is back for this game. He wasn't there for the first loss, 27-24, that the Browns won. So the combination of Warren and Dowdle, Jeremy Bernard has developed a nice rapport with Aaron Rodgers.

I just think they're the more balanced.

Team, and maybe the paper clips and the duct tape come unfastened in this one for Deshaun and that offense. But, hey, I keep saying that, and they keep finding ways to win in the fourth quarter.

What if I told you real quick that Deshaun threw for 200 yards in the first half last week? Would you change your mind?

No.

Okay.

But you made me think about it briefly.

Let's get to the AFC West because we have a rematch there as well. Chiefs-Broncos also a rematch. They played back in week one. Kenneth Walker ran all over the Broncos. Last week, however, Casey went to Seattle and Pat Mahomes and the boys lost for the first time this year.

I feel like in the first half especially, I didn't play well. My feet weren't in the right spots or they were rushed and I wasn't given chances in the pocket to kind of make those plays happen and that kind of spiraled into the rest of the game. And you can't let a defense like that kind of get that momentum going. And that's stuff I have to be better at, especially with the team that we're running up against this week. Kind of very similar, great defense, great D-line, linebackers and secondary. And so it'll be a great opportunity for us to kind of show up and see how we respond.

How do you think they respond?

Well, you know, we talked about the Seattle-Kansas City matchup last week. It was a great matchup between the quarterback Mahomes and Andy Reid and Mike McDonald. We saw it was a battle of styles, and McDonald and Seattle was able to really impose their will. Now you look at this matchup, and it kind of flips. It's going to be Steve Spagnuolo versus Bo Nix. I understand Denver has won three in a row. And it's 5-2, but they're another team. They're 5-2 and they're 30th in the league this.

Year with total yardage.

It just has not materialized consistently offensively. If they get behind, the real key here is going to be Sean Payton managing down and distance.

Early in the drives. Because if they get behind the sticks.

And Spaggs can really cut loose from a pass rush standpoint against Nix.

Nix is one of the worst in the league at handling.

Pressure as a quarterback. So that's a big, big battle. That's a big matchup in this one. The other big matchup, frankly, is going to be the run defense of Denver against Kenneth Walker. Walker started off great, but really... was silenced last week by Seattle. We'll see if Denver goes to school on some of what Seattle did defensively to slow down Walker. But if Walker can get going, I like Denver, actually.

I like Kansas City to pull off the win here. I'm just not sure that this is a great matchup for Bo Nix versus Spagnuolo in that defense right now.

If, however, Denver and Bo Nix can get a victory, your Broncos move into first at 6-2 in the AFC West and Kansas City. We fall to 5-2. Lance Zerline, appreciate you, my friend. Coming up, back to Lambeau. Tucker Kraft and the Packers get ready to try to even things with the Panthers, who won there at Lambeau a year ago. It is Week 8, everybody. You're watching the NFL Report. It's Week 8. It's Week 8. Bryce Young trying to become the first quarterback in NFL history to open 2-0. As the road QB at Lambeau Field. Here come the Packers. Primetime. Lambeau does not get much better than that. Let's get some quick hits here on the NFL report.

A.J.

Brown not practicing today. They are calling it a knee issue. Not good. Remember, he was on IR with an ankle issue. The Patriots are on the road this week in Miami to face the Dolphins. Judarian Price not yet activated, but he was designated for return. He's been out a month. the rookie running back there for the Seahawks. Carnell Tate, speaking of rookies, did not practice today in Nashville. He has a shoulder injury. Had a nice game last week, but dove for a ball late in the fourth quarter and got up slowly. Good news in Cincinnati. Jamar Chase back on the practice field today. He practiced in full for the Bengals after sitting out yesterday with an ankle injury.

Your Cincinnati Bengals this week at home facing Cincinnati. the Tennessee Titans. The Chargers, meantime, are on the road playing the Rams. Yes, it's a road game in their own building. Mike McDaniel is still the offensive coordinator. Jim Harbaugh sticking with him after the bye.

You can't have your cake and eat it, too. Incredibly fun job, a ton of responsibility. And in this league, you have to produce results or there's going to be heat. So I don't expect anything else. what I spend my time on instead of thinking about what's being said. I think my time is best used to focus on the opponent, focus on us, and find ways that we can improve and nothing else.

McDaniel said he had a four-hour meeting with Mike McDaniel. I could watch this for four hours. This is earlier today in Berea. This is at the Browns building. That's Denzel Boston on the left and the rookie Casey Concepcion on the right. They are shadowboxing in the locker room in front of the media there before press conferences. Did you watch Hard Knocks at all this past season? The Seahawks, they had a whole thing on Hard Knocks. The Seahawks love shadowboxing. Now, I don't know if Casey and Denzel were copying the Seahawks. I don't fully get the shadowboxing thing, but if they like it, that's fine. They're nearly inseparable off the field, do everything in the community. And evidently, they shadow box together as well. One other note here

about that Browns and Steelers game. The last time I mentioned the Browns have swept the Steelers was back in 1988. There is only one player on either team's active roster that was alive in 1988. That would be Aaron Rodgers. He was five years old. He is also the oldest active player. in the National Football League. That's it for me this week. I'm Andrew Siciliano. Yam is here Friday.

So long, everybody.

The NFL Report: Titans trade DT Jeffery Simmons to Bears + Lanced Zierlein joins the show

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