3 & Out - Best of The Week: Dante Moore DONE for the season, NFL Primer, Season predictions

0:01 The Volume. What is going on? This is John Middlecoff from 3NOW Podcast and this is the best of of my favorite takes, our best takes as we head on into football season. Dante Moore, the Oregon quarterback who got KO'd at the USC game, is out for the year. Historically, when a guy returned, most of my life, in basketball or in football that was viewed as a high pick, a lot of people went, that is very risky. Your stock could fall off a cliff because you play poorly or you could get injured. I In the NIL era, I mean, what do you think he made this year? Six, seven, eight million dollars? Probably one of, if not the highest paid quarterback in all of college football. He made, you know, maybe Arch Banning made more, and I bet it wasn't

1:06 that much different. And I respect he came back because he thought they could win a national championship. And he would help provide the first national championship in program history and become a legend at the program while getting rich and then becoming a high pick. You know, as long as he doesn't have some neurological long-term effect, which we've seen a lot of guys get concussions and come back, and I know his was a bad one, but if I'm going to assume he's going to make a full bill of health based on what Dan Lanning said he will and already has, I still think he's going to be a top 10 pick. And I actually think he has a chance to be like a top two or three pick. Look at this quarterback class. Who's he competing against?

1:49 I mean, I think Trinidad's performance the other night really rattled some people against an NFL defense on the road. It was like, whoa. And I'm a huge fan. You know, we'll see Darian Mensah, the better teams they play. But. Like the Oklahoma State guy has started like a year and a half of his college career. He didn't even start a game in high school. Arch Manning wouldn't get drafted in the fourth round right now. So what are we even talking about? Everything's going to be okay. He made a decision. He got compensated for it. and a freak thing happened, and it derailed his season. And then, like, and Dan Lanning, I watched some of his press conference, like, this guy's not quitting. Well, you just fired the offensive coordinator.

2:32 The offense is a nightmare. So even if you could come back for a team that's not going to the playoffs, your offense, the coaching staff, is in disarray. It is, it's one of those that everyone in the NFL would be like, right decision. Right move. Start getting ready for the NFL. Just stay with the team. Keep training. Stay in shape. And then, you know, get ready for whether you want to play in the Senior Bowl or just get ready for the Combine. But there's going to be a lot of different takes about this. And he would have made more money if he would have come out and gone to the Browns or the Jets. Right? I guess he probably would have gone number two to the Jets.

3:08 I actually think if you go to the Jets next year, they are much more equipped. Adding Omar Cooper Jr., adding, you know, Sadiq, his teammate. Like, they just, I mean, who knows? Maybe they could flip Garrett Wilson the next week for a first-round pick. Like, they are going to be much more equipped to handle him. You know, the Browns are no longer going to be drafting that high.

3:30 And if there are some teams I would be very hesitant to go to if I was him. Like, if the Arizona Cardinals had one of the top picks, I would refuse to go. I would have some similar thoughts when it came to the Miami Dolphins. Like, I do wonder now if some of these guys are highly compensated. They're already rich. They already got some juice. They start kind of pulling some Eli Manning move of like, I'm not playing here. Because that's essentially what he did. He went back to try to win a national championship. But also, like, I'm not comfortable with the group of teams drafting high.

4:04 So now, if I am coming out, which I guess technically he probably could still end up going back. We'll see how that plays out. But I think all expectations are him going to Perot. Depending on who's drafting high, and we got a long way to go. We'll see how this quarterback situation plays out. I think some quarterbacks need to start going like, I'm not playing for you.

4:22 It happens all the time in the NBA. NFL players would juice historically have done it. I would not go to a place where careers go to die. And we'll have to see how it all shakes out, but... I think he 100%, I mean, it wasn't even a decision to be made. Once the OC gets fired, like, for who, for what, as my man Ricky Waters said. So the Dallas Cowboys dominate, and Dante Moore says adios, Oregon. When do the Raiders put Fernando Mendoza in the game? Early on, Raiders were competitive. Everyone's like, God, do you compete for a playoff spot with Cousins? Kirko Chains, baby. Just ride that wave. Then they almost beat the Chiefs, and I'm guilty of this. I'm like, God, the Raiders are not bad.

5:09 Since then, it's imploded, and they clearly do not look good. They've been blown out, essentially, in two of the three games, are now under. 500, and feel destined to kind of unravel here, which is understandable. They don't have a great team on paper, and Cousins, at his age, has some limitations. But it actually, seeing the situation, I think this goes back to Bill Polian, that he had a famous line that if you listen to the fans, you will be sitting with them. And I think in public jobs, and this would probably go for in relation to major public companies, obviously sports franchises, there is a huge loud noise outside the building. And the Raiders were adamant the moment they drafted Fernando Mendoza from Tom Brady to their head coach

5:59 that they believed the best case scenario for any young quarterback in his shoes is to not play as a rookie. Clearly, Brady, who has a major influence over this organization, specifically with the quarterback position, is a benefactor. Now, way different situation, six-round pick, first overall pick, but... He sat the first year, he made the team, he learned by the next year, you know, by after Bledsoe gets injured in game one, like the rest is history. But I bet, you know, if you're having beers with him, that first year of seeing how everything was done helped change the course of his career. Now again, even going back to his time at Michigan, which when he was there, unlike currently was an elite program, he battled the job, he played a lot,

6:50 but he was in and out of the lineup, unlike Fernando, full-time starter, national champion. It does make me think, and listen, these situations are not easy. I do think it is easier. We often see it when coaches are competing for their job. Wins and losses impact their status within the building. We've seen it countless times. They go to the guy they just drafted, whether it was the number one overall pick or whether it was a guy in the second round, just to hopefully get a spark, get some hope. and have the owner go, you know what, we can ride this out another year. Clearly with Clint Kubiak, he's got a long leash. They are not running through him of like, hey, you went 6-11, or hell, let's say they win two

7:37 more games the rest of the year, he's not going to get fired. He is getting a long leash to work with Fernando Mendoza at minimum a couple years after this season, rightfully so. But I was watching the Saban documentary. I still need to finish the last episode. And one thing, a lot of things stuck out. I want to watch it again and take notes. I mean, it is. I think there are a lot of parallels to whatever you do in life, takeaways and messaging that you could use for yourself. It really is. I mean, it's a football documentary.

8:10 It's a life documentary. But I think there are a lot of lessons in there that you can, you know, remove the athletic portion of it and just use in your everyday life to help you be successful in whatever you do. And one thing really stuck out to me is there, I forget what episode, maybe like the third or fourth episode. It basically documented the situation when Nick Saban fired Lane Kiffin. He fired Lane Kiffin after the final four game, which they won 24 to seven. They rolled wide. I remember watching that game. That score was not as close as the game. But in that game, they went over in the dock, like, bunch of penalties, bunch of guys didn't know the plays. It was very discombobulated.

8:59 It did not look right, especially for his standards, the program standards, and the standard in which it would take to win the national championship game. And Lane had already accepted the job at FAU and clearly was basically his mind and just emotional being was already out the door. And Saban knew it. Everyone in the building knew it.

9:19 But no one does that. No one fires the offensive coordinator where you have been winning and had success with them right before the biggest game of the season, literally for another ring. And Nick did it. And they were interviewing the other coaches, the strike staff, even Jalen Hurts, who all thought it was pretty nuts. I mean, Jalen, who's exceptional in the doc, was like, I was a true freshman. That's a pretty big change for them just to insert Steve Sarkeesian the week of the biggest game of my life. Mike Loxley was like, yeah, we all thought it was crazy. Like, hey, man, can't we just suck it up for seven more days? We're all cool with it. The offensive staff, we'll just deal with it.

10:04 And Nick essentially said, like, I knew it wasn't right. And there are certain lines that if you cross, I have to make a decision. And no matter what everyone outside thinks, and in a gig like that, a lot of people on the outside have a lot of opinions. And people thought he was insane when he did it, right?

10:25 And even looking back, it's pretty unheard of, and I don't think you'd see that ever again. I mean, most times when these teams make runs... you see these coaches continue to operate for their program. Saban's guys have been doing it forever. Last year, Bob Chesney is coaching a playoff game. He did the UCLA press conference like two weeks before. So it's proven it can be done time and time again. But now with Lane Kiffin, Nick Saban knew it and he moved on. And you watch the documentary and you go, you know, it's weird saying this because it's like, listen, he's already had a bunch of national championships. His job, it's not like he's worrying on a year-to-year basis. But that's the type move that's like,

11:08 this guy's got some balls. This guy's like, I'm not having this crap happen under my watch, watching it firsthand, knowing what this guy's doing, which is essentially not trying that hard. It's not acceptable big picture. And I was thinking, think how many guys in Alabama, whether it be the coaches or even a guy like Jalen, that will never forget that and the way they operate the rest of their lives. And I think it's so easy. You get so much credit in the sport of football when things aren't going well, especially like this Cousins thing, like he can't move. So they can't run the ball. They don't really have wide receivers. Their defense isn't that good. He's not going to be able to turn into Josh Allen

11:52 or Patrick Mahomes and win them games against better competition. It's not really possible. The longer the season goes, I also think the worse he's going to look. The freshest he was going to be was in September. Wait until it looks like in November. But I also think this is a situation that is not equipped very well for Fernando Mendoza. You throw him out there, one, only they know truly behind the scenes. Like, how comfortable is he in the offense? How comfortable is he under center? Is this a situation where we put him out there and it's like, I don't think he really knows, or is that comfortable doing a lot of the stuff that Cousins is doing, which he's been doing for over a decade in this offense? He knows this offense, this terminology, the checks,

12:37 what to do with the line of scrimmage, like the back of his hand. And one day, in a perfect world, Fernando Mendoza will too. But there's currently no possible way for that to happen. And to stick with your guns, knowing that if you do throw Fernando Mendoza out there, and clearly he reiterated today, we have Cousins, our guy, he's playing well. They're not doing it anytime soon. But the moment a Monday comes and he just goes, they could have lost seven straight games. Fernando Mendoza is starting this week. Everyone would give him an applause. Everyone would be excited, even if it's the wrong decision. And that's part of, that's why you make all this money. Because you're really paid for your decisions. Obviously, as the offensive coordinator,

13:20 you're paid for your schemes too. But as the head coach, you've got to stick with your guns. And this is where organizational alignment really matters. And this is also where organizations that people are always worried about their jobs make poor decisions and you put yourself in bad spots. So, listen.

13:42 If he truly was ready and was kicking ass at practice, it'd be a no-brainer. But I think it's an easy one where you go, you know, we are not equipped. He could use some knowledge and more understanding of watching Cousins go through. This is part of paying Cousins. Like, in a weird way, you paid to throw him to the Wolves and get his ass kicked. And that's kind of what's happening. And listen, he hasn't played that bad by any means. But if I was a betting man, this thing's only going to get worse. And that's why I said it yesterday on the podcast. I would be shopping Max Crosby. And if you were in a position to get more draft picks, get more players, because as you see, they're in a position now where Max can

14:24 be a high-end player, and they're down 28-3 to the Rams, who have played like shit and just had to put like six guys on injured reserve. And that was a practice for the Rams. In Vegas. You know, so... I think the key here, and I don't expect it to change, stick with your guns. And speaking of sticking with your guns, people keep asking Shane Steichen every week as the Colts keep losing. And Daniel Jones was just getting punked. I mean, Flores, I saw some clips last night of people breaking down.

14:57 He was faking stunts to run other stunts. I mean, the shit he's doing, he blitzed them almost 90% of the plays. Like at this point in time, he's going to have a game where he blitzes every defensive play call, which is awesome. You know what I mean? They just got a bunch of guys in the line of scrimmage.

15:14 Everyone runs one is running stunts and twists. You got guys coming through creases. It's crazy. And they're just crushing the quarterback. And if they don't land the quarterback, they're getting in his face. I mean, Flores is easily right now the coordinator of the year. And kind of carrying that team with how poor Kyler Murray played. But Shane Sykin was asked, like, do you have any plans? Like, we're going to make quarterback change? He's like, absolutely not.

15:39 And essentially like, you know, he's got to play better. You know the reason that Daniel Jones is not going to get benched? Because football is not stocks, right? You can't just take the loss and, you know, you paid X for some stock and all of a sudden you're down 30%. You're like, I want out and you just sell it and you invest in something else. That's not how it works in the middle of the season, especially with a guy like him. It's not like you could trade him. You're stuck with the guy. But the most important number in this Shane Steichen, Daniel Jones conversation, when Daniel Jones signed his two-year $ 88 million contract, They gave him a $ 44 million signing bonus. So they essentially gave

16:20 him half the total amount of the deal, which, unless I'm reading this wrong, a couple weeks within signing the deal, a direct deposit. They gave him a huge sum of money for a guy coming off an Achilles, a broken leg, which is crazy. I mean, they hitched their wagon to a broken down Ford Taurus, right? And now they're stunned that they're on the side of the road needing to call AAA. That's the situation they're in. We all saw this coming except them. Now you could argue they didn't have any other options. My argument would be, even if I don't have any other options, I could not choose that option, but they did. And once you give a guy that much money and they sound like they have anyone else on the roster, clearly Steichen can't stand Anthony

17:06 Richardson as a player. Uh, They're going down, like, the ship is going down with Daniel Jones and Shane Steichen on it. So, unless he gets injured, which is obviously always in play, given his career arc, he's not going to get benched. No matter how many bad picks he throws. I mean, there wasn't, for a second, listen, Minnesota's a very, very tough matchup. If they just, I mean, God, they didn't cover the six and a half, but if their quarterback just played a little bit better, they don't get a field goal block, like, it's, They should have won that game by double digits. The Colts stink. I mean, they are not good. And a lot of it starts– Daniel Jones is a very good player. And I know he had a good stretch last year, but this all

17:50 gets back to the money. And this is how football works for a long period of time. And now the money is so astronomical. You see all these teams in the offseason cutting guys, paying them to go away, which I would imagine, you know, depending on how the cap works and who the new coach is and administration is, Daniel Jones probably won't be on the team next year.

18:09 But as of right now, when you gave him that much money up front on a short-term deal, I'm just telling you, the ship is going down with this guy steering it. And don't be shocked. He's going to get this question asked after every single loss, and it's probably only going to get worse if they do the right thing, which is a full-on fire sale. I do not understand why I'm recording this part in the afternoon before the Monday Night Football game, how there haven't been five different stories today of like, hey, The Colts are in negotiations with these two players. What are you waiting for? Like part of leadership, and this is what the Raiders, like we are not playing him. I don't care how ugly this gets. We aren't pivoting. Now, three and four, it's

18:52 easier to say that than, you know, four and nine, but they better stick to their guns. It's part of leadership. Well, Carly Ursae, if you want to be a leader, like, hey, we need to get rid, we're two and five, we fucking suck. The money's already been spent. I read an article today that like her dad was always big on the cash going out. And this gets back to some of these families that are living in like the 80s, even the 90s, like the money's way different. While $ 44 million to give a signing bonus is a lot of money, relative to some of these contracts, it's really not. You know, you just saw a center for the Raiders get $ 27 million a year. You see random guards get $ 25 million a year. I mean, Brandon Ayuk, who was at best

19:35 a good number two, solid player, who had, I mean, now is a disaster, but at the time, they gave him $ 75 million. $ 75 million. I mean, it's just like the money is way different. I do think it's hard for some of these families to kind of wrap their head around. It's human nature, right? If you're a guy making a hundred thousand dollars and you're used to living on that amount, right? How much your rent costs, how much you live, and that's then whatever you actually take home net after taxes and stuff, you have a pretty good idea. Well, if I tell you in five years or 10 years, you're going to go from $ 100, 000 to $ 7 million. It's a pretty big jump. But the key is if you want to change lifestyles, if you want

20:18 to send your kid to private schools, if you want to start flying in first class, if you want to upgrade your house, you're going to have to change your mindset a little bit because the money coming in is a lot different than what it once was. And I think for some of these families, it's hard. There shouldn't even be a question. But when I saw that comment of the one thing her dad taught her was about cash going out. And there was a comment in Mike Sandoz's article today. He's like, you know, the irony is Ursae could be cheap at certain things, but then go pay an unlimited amount for Johnny Cash's guitar. And listen, none of these owners... are being very frugal when it comes to the fun shit outside. But, like, I'm sorry. Like,

20:59 I understand the Ravens being like, are we super comfortable? Like, is this guy going to get injured a bunch moving forward? But the cost of Lamar Jackson, you're talking hundreds of millions of dollars. Like, that is the cost of an extension. Like, you just have to be comfortable with it if you're going to sign it. And I do understand them being a little uncomfortable. Because we said the stat yesterday, he's missed more games since 2021 than Joe Burrow. Yet when we talk about Joe Burrow, and I'm guilty of this all we ever say, guys always hurt. Elbow, wrist, knee, turf toe, fucking always on the training room, the blue tent.

21:37 It's like, well, if we're saying that about him, we definitely got to say it about Lamar. And the cost of extending guys like that is just a lot of money. So I get it. Like I'm not one of those got to pay everybody. I saw someone online was like billionaire propaganda. I've defended John Snyder on here because it's like, well, they couldn't pay Kenneth Walker. Guys, they paid a ton of money to other guys literally this off season. I mean, the highest paid players in league history, DB and wide receiver.

22:07 And both guys are worth every penny. But you got to make tough decisions. But your core big-time guys like your quarterback, like Daniel Jones, relative to the league, is a bargain. Turns out he just sucks. If Daniel Jones was just solid, two-year $ 88 million is an incredible deal. But when he's one of the worst quarterbacks in the league, it's awful. Because, you know, you see other guys. You see Bridgecourt. I mean, what's Cousins making? $ 10 million a year.

22:35 And Cousins is just a way better player. So I think some of these families have a really, really hard time because they're stuck in the past. And a lot of humans are like that. A lot of humans hold on to what things used to be. And listen, if things aren't going well, I've always defended people like I never have a problem with people being cheap that don't have money. But like Tiger Woods taking a bunch of Marines to cheeseburgers and just paying for himself, it's like, come on, Tiger. I get you didn't grow up with a lot of means, but once you are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, time to be a fucking grown-up. Now, you don't need to be Charles Barkley or Mike Ditka and just be taking care of everybody all the time.

23:12 That's a personal wiring. But, like, you got to change the mindset. I think you're honestly kind of a loser if that's how you think. Once you have the means where it's not that big a deal. And this gets back to Rodgers yesterday talking about the Roonies of like, yeah, you know, the league should mandate we come out a week early. Well, why did the Roonies not come out a week early? Saved them a bunch of money. And what's one of the biggest talking points this year when they traded away Joey Porter? It's like, well, they don't guarantee after the first year. That might have been cool with like Lin Swan and, you know, some of your guys in the mid-90s. Times have fucking changed, guys. I mean, this is that you didn't buy, you know, I get

23:53 you bought the franchise for $ 7, 500 and it's worth $ 8 billion now. But the revenue you have coming in, like you got to adapt. You got to change your mindset. And if you don't, you're going to get lapped. So, yeah, I mean, I just think if you're a Colts fan or you think, you know, this is going to change, it's not this year. And it gets back to them giving them $ 44 million over the summer. I need to tell you about this new sports trading app called Polymarket.

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25:47 software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing. The CFTC regulated exchange and clearing organization. Okay, let's dive into the weekend games. We've struggled the last couple weeks. We have the Saints, thank God, the Giants, the Niners, and the Texans on buys. We have, for the first time in several weeks, no international game. So there's no Rodgers complaining about going over the day before, sneaky shots at the Roonies, even though it was a big Pittsburgh game.

26:26 We don't have to get up super early. And I think we're rewinding the clocks Saturday night of Halloween. But let's dive into the four box. And we got Baltimore, Buffalo, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Arizona, Dallas, Minnesota, Detroit, Vegas at the Jets, the Browns at Pittsburgh, Atlanta at Tampa, and Indy at Jacksonville all in the 11 a.m. hour.

26:49 This one was pretty easy for me. We'll go in order that I'm most excited. I think Tampa, Atlanta is a pretty good game. You know, it's actually a massive game. Because if Tampa wins, all of a sudden they're 3-5, they would have a lot of life. I'm recording this before the Carolina game, but even if Carolina wins, they'd only have one more win. And if you're Tampa, you're just like, 9-8 is winning this division. So this is not one of those where we've got to dig ourselves out of the hole and try to get to 11 wins.

27:20 We got to get to a number so high just to ensure that we'll get a wire. This division to me, if you go 9-8, I feel like you have an extremely good chance of winning it. I mean, we saw last year 8-9 won it. It does feel like there'd probably be one win more at least this year, but you never know. These teams have to play each other.

27:39 I would have told you I think Carolina, hell, I did. I bet on Carolina in that game. And then they played, you know, when they played Tampa and they were down 33-6 at half. But my question is, and this gets back to last week, the 49ers didn't touch Penix. And they had three pressures the entire game. And when he's untouched with their weapons, he's just a big-time player. He's a very accurate thrower in a clean pocket. He has been since college. He has been going back to Indiana.

28:10 If you do hit him, you throw their entire operation off. And the one thing Bowles will do, he's not quite... I would say he doesn't have to do it like Flores, but he will make the quarterback uncomfortable. And every time I looked up last week, it felt like Bryce was getting just demolished and just engulfed. And Bryce is a better athlete in terms of movement-wise, not that he's a great one, than Penix. So to me, that's the question mark.

28:38 If they can rattle with Penix, because last week he was untouched and he sliced and diced him. It was kind of a joke as the game went on. But to me, if Tampa gets the momentum off that win and generate pressure, I like Tampa in this game. Number two, who would have thought that Cleveland and Pittsburgh would be for first place in the division? I mean, I was just watching some clips of some of the Steelers players.

29:08 You can tell, and part of it is, you know, you played them earlier in the season, you lost in kind of embarrassing fashion. They're 5-2. They have a bunch of young, high-end players. This is a massive game. And when I saw the stat, and obviously anyone in Cleveland or Pittsburgh knows because it's been a running total for a long time, and maybe when they played in that playoff game, the Fugazi year when there weren't any fans, I'm sure we were talking about it a lot, but this is five years later. The Cleveland Browns have not won a game in Pittsburgh in the regular season in 22 attempts. Pittsburgh Steelers have won 22 straight games in Pittsburgh against Cleveland. That is an insane stat. That feels

29:56 a little Belichick-y in the Jets' But I feel like his carried over to a way and road. Bill didn't lose to him for eight straight seasons in both games. I like Pittsburgh a lot in this spot. I really do. And you could see the players, the seriousness, like Cam Hayward. I think they're approaching this bad boy. Not that they wouldn't in years past. But let's face it, the Browns have kind of been a joke many of the years.

30:28 They've typically had to take the game seriously against Lamar, the Ravens, and Flacco. And then once Burrow got there and Andy Dalton, like those were the two teams. Even though this rivalry, that's a weird thing about sometimes NFL rivalries. It's like they still mean a lot to the owners, but there can be stretches of like, are the Chiefs and the Raiders rivals? Well, like in theory, the history of the league, yes. But if you just look over the last like 20 years, and definitely since Andy Reid got there, like one team's a high-end franchise, the other doesn't sniff the playoffs, right? Same with them and the Broncos.

31:04 I remember like, this is a Raiders-Broncos rivalry. And then Peyton Manning would roll in, they'd win like 50 to 10. He'd be like, oh. These aren't really equals. And this is how this game has been for a long time. They haven't been equals. And now, at least based on record, they are. The underrated part about the, whenever I see someone's like, and listen, I like Peter Schrager, but I saw a clip that his show put out of like, could they have to pay and extend Deshaun Watson? Guys, have you watched Deshaun Watson play? Like statistically, everything he does adds up to like bottom third to bottom of the league in terms of quarterback rankings. He is not a good player. Now they have good players around him,

31:47 but under no circumstance, I'll promise you this, are the Cleveland Browns going to give Deshaun any more money whenever this contract is done? I feel very, very confident on that one. But last time they played, he didn't beat them. He tried to get the game away in the second half because he completely unravels. And if you watch him in stretches when he's bad, he's really bad. But they have really explosive players that you can get to around the line of scrimmage and then they can do more.

32:15 I mean, Concepcion has been, his speed jumps off TV. Jumps off TV. Now, Jared Verst was taking some shots. You know, saying like, you know, they were chipping and double teaming me. And then I saw Cam Hayward's like, is that against the rules? Like, welcome to the NFL. What do you think fucking happens to TJ Watt and Miles Garrett? It's like, this is the league, buddy. And if you're going to be their best edge rusher, yeah, people are going to bring more attention to you. So I like Pittsburgh in this spot. I by no means take Cleveland like I'm not looking past them at all.

32:50 I do think there's got to be, you know, water finds its level. Deshaun's going to have one of these games. And listen, having those explosive players like do you totally trust the secondary of Pittsburgh to run around with those guys in space? No, but. I think Deshaun's due for one of those two-picks, fumble, just disastrous games. And historically, history would tell you that typically happens in Cleveland. This game is pretty fascinating because Minnesota's the last unbeaten team in the NFL. Their quarterback play has been atrocious. But everyone's been talking about it, rightfully so, Flores. I said this yesterday. I don't think he's the assistant coach of the year. I think he's the coach of the year.

33:34 I would give him the, as of October 29th recording this, like who's your coach of the year? Well, it's like, I'd want to go with the defensive coordinator. Here's a problem. Since 2021, or excuse me, I guess the last three years. So that'd be 2023. So 20, 23, 24, 25, or maybe it's 24, 25. And then this year, no quarterback is better against the Blitz than Jared Goff. He's thrown 21 touchdowns and three interceptions over that period of time.

34:02 He's the number one quarterback ranking, and he's number one in pass yards. This season, only Brock Purdy has as many touchdown passes, eight, as Goff does against the Blitz. He is a dominant player against the Blitz. Well, here's why. Because last week, you know, Daniel Jones, you know, he's probably not the athlete right now that he was a year ago before he got injured, just coming back off the injury. But Daniel Jones is viewed as a good athlete.

34:29 And I think when you blitz athletic quarterbacks, if you do scheme them up correctly, it can throw them off because they'll see something and they are more likely to see like a one read and then move to keep the play alive. When you cannot move, Brady, Peyton Manning, you go the history of the non-mobile guys. They know they got to get rid of the ball. So that entire week, there is no, well, if this doesn't work, Move away, you know, if the blitz is coming to your left, scramble right or vice versa. Jared Goff knows he has to get rid of the football. That's his only way to survive when people are pressuring him. That's it.

35:12 Because he can't run away from me or you. Which is his greatest strength. It's why these elite quarterbacks that have never been able to move always dominated so much against the blitz. Because they had to dial in the game plan going in that week knowing they were going to get a bunch of pressure. And Jared Goff knows that on a given week, if you're a team that can't get a lot of pressure with your down four guys, that you're going to have to bring guys. And then throughout the week with his offensive coordinator, they're building hot routes.

35:41 They're using their Laporta or Amon Ra across the middle. Throw it to the running back out of the backfield and just get the ball out of your hands. And I just think this is a terrible matchup for Minnesota. Their last three games, 15, 23, 16 points. And it feels like it's been pulling teeth in a couple of those games to get to that number. Now, last week, they had a play that was overturned on a holding where he hit Jordan Addison late in the game that instead of 16, that number could have been 20, I guess.

36:14 They might have scored a touchdown if there was like three minutes left in the game. Maybe they run the ball in. But still, you're talking about Vikings fans have to agree. When you watch Kyler Murray, there isn't just a lot to be desired. You go, you understand this is the player now. And you go, this is it?

36:31 What happened to this guy that was one of the great athletes that have ever been drafted in the NFL? There will never be a guy with his size profile that everyone's like, yeah. It wasn't even a question. I would take him one too. Because he was such an elite athlete. I don't even think he hit 300 in college.

36:49 And Billy Bean took him 9th. just because of the physical upside with how explosive he was. He could be a plus defender. He could be steel base guy. If he does make contact, I mean, you look at that dude for the Tampa Bay Rays. Tell Maria, that guy looks like a defensive back. There aren't athletes like that in baseball anymore. So, fuck, ball gets on the ground.

37:09 Dude's already at second base. And by the end of the series, I mean, he looked sweet. But I just think when the thing you hang your hat on as a franchise, which has worked incredibly well this year, we're going to blitz every play. Literally. It's not like, bro, he's blitzing like half the time. No, he's like, he keeps approaching low 80s, mid 80s, high 80s. So is this week he's not going to blitz his butts? Is he going to throw a curveball and go, well, we can't do that to Goff because he'll burn us? I think that's the knock on the personnel. It's like, well, their talent. This is not peak Mike Zimmer years where their defense was loaded with dudes. That's why Flora's been so incredible. I think there's a big overachievement aspect to

38:00 this team, which speaks to his brilliance as a coordinator. I just don't know if that pitch works against this team. And based on Goff's numbers, it 100% does not. And then the weakness of the Vikings, like, well, they're secondary defense. Like, Kyler Murray going to make you pay? Because the Vikings get to 25. Can you get to 26? If they get to 24, are you in the teens? It's why I like Detroit big in this game. This last game, on paper, is incredible. I don't really know what to make of it. Lamar's practiced the last couple weeks. He's obviously playing. But the way he was playing before he rolled his ankle or got rolled up on, I guess the guy tackled him from behind in the Titans game, you've just been like, this guy's MVP contender. And then

38:53 you take the weeks off. It's been weird. And here's the other thing. It's kind of crumbled around him. I saw Wink Martindale, the former defensive coordinator for the Vikings, or excuse me, the Ravens under Harbaugh, was kind of shitting on him. It's like they just look like they have no leaders. It's like, damn. And no franchise. I think this year they are first in point differential in the first half and dead last in the second half. Now, granted, three of those games Lamar hasn't played, but that was a bugaboo for them the last couple years they would just unravel and i i think there are some negative question marks that are just coming up around this team obviously the lamar kawaii like weirdness with injuries but just

39:40 when you watch them play you're like are they missing something was it because i heard i heard uh I forget who said it, but they brought up a good point. Like, look at the Ravens right now. They fired John Harbaugh. He is, like, because everyone just said he was the problem. John Harbaugh was their issue. And listen, I'm a big believer sometimes you need a fresh start. It's called life.

40:05 It'll run its course. But he's with the Giants, kind of making chicken salad out of chicken, you know what. with his quarterback situation and how hard they play and how buttoned up they are. And just some of his moves like the scataboo move. We have Jesse mentor. You have a 31 year old offensive coordinator, and now they're starting to feel some pressure. And then, you know, you desperately need to win Lamar's back. You got to go to Buffalo. Now they're coming off a buy should be fresh.

40:37 I don't know. This is stay away from me from, uh, putting money on it. But I, I don't trust Baltimore right now. Now, if you tell me Lamar just hits the ground running, he's exactly where he was before he got injured, I'd be like, yeah, this thing should be a down-to-the-wire game. But how can a guy that just told everybody that he felt weird and he wasn't close to 100%, part of the reason he just didn't play in this game, he's just healed now? He's going to be completely fine? Like, does the athleticism just come all the way back? He's not worried about the ankle at all?

41:09 There's a high ankle sprain? He said it was. They kind of, like, what's going on? So this... Buffalo's in a position right now where it does feel... Especially, let's just assume the Steelers win. They're 6-2. Then all of a sudden, if you're the Ravens, you'd be 4-4. They would be clear out ahead of you. Which would be a little problematic. Not that the Bills are worried about the Steelers... but this is a chance which they would benefit from. You kind of got this team against, they're just kind of against the ropes. You're coming fresh. You got some momentum. Now your quarterback's balling. You kind of hit him with an overhand Mike Tyson, right? And just knock him to the ground because at four and four

41:57 with a young, inexperienced head coach would be a pretty tough spot, would be a pretty tough spot to, to come back from. Um, Any of the other games interest me? I do think the two teams have just made the trades. I was a week early on the Colts quit watch. Would anyone be shocked if Jacksonville just runs them out of the building? One, they've always had trouble in Jacksonville.

42:26 And two, this is the type of deal in a locker room where just everyone's thinking that has a pulse, like I could get traded on Monday. Are they going to, is Jonathan Taylor playing in this game? Like, if they got some serious offers over the course of the next couple days, and they go, let's wait and see what happens to our team Sunday, do you just inactivate them?

42:49 And just be like a wait and see approach? Because if he's not playing, you just lost your best O-lineman, you just lost your best defensive lineman, I don't know. I could see this thing being a bloodbath. And the Titans just stink to begin with. But I was watching the clip of Robert Sala today. He's like, you know, we had to tell everybody this is what happens when you're 1-6. 1-6 could turn into 2-13 pretty quickly. And I think the Titans who have, you know, they've battled.

43:19 But you remove him, who was by far their best player today. Quarterbacks getting peppered about his footwork every week and people thinking he sucks. He keeps thinking he's good. It's bizarre. You know, it's weird. Like the Titans brass of reporters, like their core group, kind of coming after him. He is going the opposite of like, I'm like Lamar Josh.

43:42 He's not saying that, but he kind of, he's like, I'm good. It's not my fault. It's just weird. It's bizarre. I'm out. Arizona, Dallas. That game could be terrible. Vegas Jets, that game's terrible too. The afternoon games, I've seen a lot of people with big opinions about how could Andy Reid sign Justin Tucker? One, I say it all the time, if you're looking for your NFL teams to set the moral standard for society, you're wasting a lot of time and effort. It's on you to parent your children. Teach them wrong and right. The NFL's not going to do that.

44:20 They care about winning games and making money. Everything else is white noise and a bunch of BS. But I saw Coach Reed's like, well, he started a suspension. Like, what the hell? Everyone just took back, and again, I'm recording this part before the Thursday night game. Josh Jacobs admitted without essentially saying it. Like, yeah, two or three seconds can really derail your life. Matt LaFleur last week, like, yeah, it's not an ideal situation. Hopefully learn from it. And then he's boom, backscores, touchdown. People are like, Jacobs is back!

44:52 Deshaun Watson's been the quarterback for two years, whatever, since he got back from suspension, and he has double the amount of the complaints, and he paid them all to go away. So it's like, if everyone else, no one else gives a shit, why should you? But why would they sign Justin Tucker? It's like, well, you're just bringing the practice squad. Why not some random kicker? Because they want to get Butker back making field goals. And the only way to do that, they feel like they're out of ideas, light a little fire under them. Well, if you bring John Middlecoff or Billy Lopez from one of these team's practice squad or some random guy on the street, do you think Butker thinks that guy can beat him out?

45:34 Of course not. But if you bring in Tucker, who, before everything happened, looked like a Hall of Famer, I mean, probably still a Hall of Famer, but in there, that's gonna, okay. I better get my shit together because they will get rid of me despite my longevity and resume in Kansas City if I don't start making some kicks. Like, to me, it was 100% a motivational tactic. And like, yeah, they got a bunch of bad PR. Half the teams in the league just... We saw two prominent teams bring back players like, yeah! Not ideal, but too good to pass up.

46:14 Watson made $ 230 million. Started for the Browns. We're like one of the stories of the league. So I can't just sign a kicker and put him on the practice squad? I think sometimes the reaction to this stuff, everyone else is doing it. It's why Lane Kiffin is like, Lane, you can't sign these pro guys. It's like, well, no one else is doing it. You're the only one doing it.

46:39 If you're the only one doing it, then yeah. But literally every team does it. And the teams that say, like, we're above that bullshit, no one is. I did see, my guy Shane sent me a tweet that, I don't remember this, but in June, the Patriots were playing the Dolphins, where historically they've had some weird games. that Elliot Wolfe over the offseason acknowledged that A.J. Brown had a degenerative knee condition, but the Pats still signed off on it medically.

47:16 Fast forward to this week, and Brown has a knee issue that's flared up and his status for Sunday's game is up in the air. I do think that trade was absolutely insane. And I get it, the first rounder's in two years, but Part of the reason, remember, the Rams were in on it. They were going to get rid of Devontae. And they're like, yeah, his knee, no way.

47:40 But why do you think the Patriots did it? Because the boss is not Elliot Wolfe. The boss is Mike Vrabel. And Mike Vrabel's not worried about three years from now. He's worried about trying to win right now. But if the knee ain't working, and when you watch him play, doesn't even feel like he's playing that hard, not an ideal situation. Honestly, kind of like the Dolphins and the points this week. Okay, let's do a couple quick predictions by my friends at Pauly Market. And I mentioned this earlier.

48:07 I was a week early. Quit watch on full display this weekend. The Jags to win by 10.5. I'm going yes. $ 100 plays 201. I could see the Colts folding like a cheap 10 here. Just a complete unraveling of a franchise in front of our eyes. Liam Cohen, Trevor Lawrence, foot to throat. The Steelers. You just got to ride the trend, baby. 22 straight years. I think they make it 23. I think they win this game by 10 plus points. Especially lost earlier. Bunch of motivation. Steelers to win by three and a half points. Hit yes. $ 100 pays 197. Maybe my favorite game of the weekend. It's simply just a matchup. Jared Goff versus the Blitz. Advantage, Jared Goff. The Lions, at home, minus three and a half. Yes,

49:04 $ 100 pays $ 203. If you want a little extra, I also do not hate the Titans to fold against the Bengals. The big spreads, but I just think these two teams just fractured. at the seams the volume