AFC South 2026: Every Team's Ceiling, Floor & Breakout Player + AJ Brown Trade Rumors (Ep. 2032)
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59 min
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May 21, 2026
Published
Thu, May 21, 2026
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Full transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. During Memorial Day at Lowe's, shop household must-haves for less.
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0:22Park it right here, everybody! It's time for the tailgate.
0:25It's me, Joey P., Joe P. Pisapia on our newest channel where we just talk NFL all day long.
0:30If you missed last episode, we were discussing the AFC North and today, well, today we're gonna move on down south.
0:36That's right. And I'm wearing one of my favorite shirts today on the show, my old CM Punk shirt that says, I'm
0:43hurt, I'm old, I'm tired, and I work with children.
0:45And speaking of those two children, D-Bro, Derek Brown, the King of Bros, and Andrew Erickson.
0:50Erickson, where did you park your Subaru Outback before the show today?
0:53My Subaru Outback? I drive a 2010 Toyota Corolla and I love it.
0:57Okay. I don't know. I don't know. From the attire today, I don't know.
1:01Erickson, did you finish that novel or short story that you're working on?
1:05I don't understand this. Are you broadcasting from a coffee shop right now?
1:08What are we doing? Because I'm wearing glasses and making me a hipster?
1:12Is that what you're saying? Is that what you're saying?
1:15Is you wearing glasses, flannel hoodie? You look like an aspiring writer.
1:18I don't know, man. That's the point of like, you're a poet.
1:21I don't know. But seriously. This is my, I ran out of contacts look, so.
1:26Oh, I thought it was, I stopped my composting in order to come here and do the show.
1:31I thought that's what it was. And what are you laughing about Bilbo Sagins?
1:35This guy over here. I need a holiday. I need a vacation so bad.
1:39I do. From what? From hanging out with me?
1:41Is that what you need a vacation from? I'm old.
1:44I'm tired. And I work with children. That's all I can say.
1:47It's a classic. It's a classic. Let's go. We got a great show for you today.
1:52As always, we're going to preview the AFC South.
1:54But before we get into all of that, subscribe to the channel.
1:58Like this video. It's easy to do. This is our new channel.
2:01It's our labor of love. The three of us, where we come on here and just talk ball a little bit of
2:07everything here when it comes to football, because that's how we, all of us digest the NFL.
2:12And before we get to the teams, I want to talk about something that we need to digest here because we are now just what?
2:19Like less than 10 days away from the decision.
2:22I feel like there should be an ESPN special about this when it comes to AJ Brown, because AJ Brown is probably going to be traded here.
2:29We've seen the roster moves that how he Roseman has made with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.
2:34So there's a good chance he is on his way.
2:37Perhaps he is going to the New England Patriots.
2:39Maybe the Rams want to kick the tires in here.
2:42If there's one move that could put the Rams over the top and we know Sean McVay hates first round picks.
2:48Just, just ask Ty Simpson how much he hates first round picks.
2:52There's a chance also from a bit of reporting yesterday that the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Albert Breer, could be circling
2:58back around because of some of the stuff we talked about on yesterday's show, which you can watch on demand on tailgate NFL, subscribe to YouTube channel.
3:05So Eric, I want to talk about this for a second here because we kind of, without realizing it, we're sort of
3:12putting this out there into the ether, I think about how much can the Chiefs really rely on him and what's it going to look like next year?
3:19Are they probably going to move on from him?
3:22We all thought that was probably a bad investment.
3:25Now we're in a situation where it looks like there's a possibility where the Chiefs might be saying, okay, when my homes
3:31gets healthy, can we really rely on rushy rice to between, I don't know, the 20th of May and the 1st of
3:37September to not get into even more trouble. And I don't think that's a ridiculous thought process from the Chiefs organization.
3:43Do you think that they're actually really in on this?
3:46Or is this just an NFL reporter kind of hearing a rumor and putting it out there as a possibility?
3:51I think it's them doing their due diligence. I think that any team, they need wide receivers, even if rushy rice, wasn't
3:57in jail, you're spending his 30 days away. So I think that calling the Eagles just to get an idea, kicking the tires on all right.
4:05Well, what is the AJ Brown Patriots compensation? I think that we all believe it's a 2027 first round pick or 2028 first round pick.
4:12That's going to be dealt for AJ Brown because that's what the Eagles want a future first rounder.
4:17So I believe it that they're calling about it.
4:19But I do think that it's going to be to the Patriots unless another team offers a lot more.
4:25And that's kind of what the handshake agreement is.
4:27The Eagles. Yeah, we're going to trade you AJ Brown for our future first unless we get something better, because if we
4:34get something better, then we have to renegotiate because we're going to take the best deal.
4:38We don't care where he necessarily goes. We don't necessarily feel that we need to do right by AJ Brown.
4:44I think AJ Brown wants to go to the Patriots.
4:46I think that's pretty clear. He likes the Patriots.
4:49He likes Mike Vrabel. I saw I saw a post.
4:52I don't think that I'm pretty sure it wasn't real.
4:55But at AJ Brown's wedding, it was like who was invited.
4:58It was Drake May, Mike Vrabel, and then Mike Vrabel is plus one with the initials DR.
5:03Like, like so clearly, but like the AJ Brown has a connection with the coaching staff in New England, and he wants to be there.
5:10So I think that makes the most sense. But I think that every team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Los Angeles Rams, you
5:16just got to call and ask like, well, what is it?
5:19The price? Is it changed at all? And maybe teams will get more desperate if, you know, certain things injuries happen between now.
5:25I also wonder if it's some of the teams just rolling that price up on the Patriots, too, because they can.
5:31Could be. You know what I mean? Like that's all those little games are shipped.
5:35It's the NFL, everybody. All right. If you think that stuff doesn't go on, of course it does.
5:41It's the same crap that goes on your fantasy football leagues or somebody is like, ah, you know, before I trade this
5:47guy to so-and-so, maybe I'll kick the tires on it.
5:50Well, so-and-so is giving me this guy for AJ Brown.
5:52It's no different. It really isn't. I think we all believe it to be a foregone conclusion that the Patriots will be
5:59the team for AJ Brown because what Erickson said that that connectivity between the two of them, it's a real thing.
6:05We all know that. We know that a lot of the players love to play for Mike Frabel and all the scandal and nonsense aside there.
6:12Like it just feels like that's probably where we're going.
6:15However, if it does go somewhere else and it goes to the Chiefs or the Rams or some other team, the Rams
6:21are the one that's still the most interesting to me because that puts them in a spot where you go.
6:26I don't know what you do to stop that Rams offense.
6:30And it also creates this incredible insurance policy where if you do get another Puka Nakua injury or if you do get
6:36some decline in another year of age of Devontae Adams like AJ Brown, Puka Nakua, Devontae Adams.
6:41It's one of the great wide receiver trios I think we'd ever see in the NFL.
6:45It's probably unlikely. I think the Chiefs might be a more likely landing spot.
6:49But if you're AJ Brown and his agent, do you want him to be with the Patriots or do you want him to be with the Chiefs?
6:57Oh, I feel like you can make more money with the Patriots because the Chiefs still have massive cap issues coming forward in the next couple of years.
7:05Yeah, I was just pulling up cap space for 2027 and it looks like if you're AJ Brown, you probably want to end up with the Rams.
7:12They have over a hundred million dollars in cap space in 2027.
7:15Now, OK, the the Chiefs, like you said, Joe, they're underwater.
7:19Well, here's the difference to D bro, because you're talking about a team that like whenever you have that first rookie contract
7:25for a quarterback like Drake May, you can overspend on the frills, right?
7:28The other stuff. You can't do that when you're paying a guy 50 million dollars like Patrick Mahomes.
7:34And then the other question is, if you're AJ Brown and everybody, OK, yeah, the Rams, that sounds good in theory.
7:39But if you win it all and then Matthew Stafford goes away, what does that look like for the next couple of years?
7:46The end of your career. So there's a lot.
7:48I feel like, again, the best landing spot if you're AJ Brown, where you want to be to get paid and where
7:55you want to be to be relevant is still New England.
7:58When all is said and done. Yeah, I think it's still New England.
8:01And I think that's probably still like the favorite place for him to go.
8:05And I don't disagree with any of that. I'd say the place that needs him the most.
8:10A lot of people will say the Patriots. I will say the Chiefs need him the most.
8:15They don't have a guy that can beat man coverage.
8:18They legit do not have that guy on their roster.
8:21Like Xavier Worthy can't do that. Rasheed Rice has never been asked to do that.
8:25And at this point, I don't know that he can.
8:28So they need they've been needing a guy that could beat man coverage for multiple seasons.
8:32And it's a problem. I think the Chiefs need him more than even the Patriots.
8:36And it obviously the Rams, considering the wealth of riches that they have.
8:40But I think the funnest spot for him to land would be the Rams because then everybody's like, oh, they're going to calm it all down.
8:47But they're going to try for this not to come out.
8:50But like everybody be like, is this the new dream team?
8:54And then it's like, oh, no. Oh, no. We've jinxed.
8:56Like I said, we should have the decision. We should have.
8:59I mean, this is exactly what LeBron did, right?
9:02We get we get everybody together in that in that dream team scenario down in Miami years ago.
9:07Erickson, I think I know the answer to this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway.
9:12Is there any universe where the Eagles actually are better offensively without A.J.
9:15Brown because of a different construction of the offense?
9:18I don't think so. I think A.J. Brown is too good of a player.
9:22I like them thinking from a long term perspective that maybe Mekhi Lemon, Eli Stowers as the integral parts of this offense
9:28operating more over the middle of the field. Obviously, last year with A.J.
9:32Brown, like you weren't getting the best out of him because of the I want to say lack of effort, but lack of his involvement in the offense.
9:40When you're not featuring your best player more often in the passing game, well, the offense is going to struggle.
9:45So their time is obviously worn off like he was no longer going to fit in what they're trying to do.
9:51And I'm drafting. I mean, trading up to draft Mekhi Lemon.
9:54I mean, that's pretty telling. Yeah, we're ready to move on and go in a different direction.
9:59Devontae Smith, wide receiver one, etc. So I don't think the team is better in 2026.
10:04Now, but that's the thing. A.J. Brown is not a spring chicken.
10:07He's not like super old, but he's getting closer to age 30.
10:10And he does have this mysterious degenerative knee thing that's been reported.
10:14Like how many years does he have left? And the way that he plays, he plays bully ball, right?
10:19This dude wants to run you over. He's a superstar receiver.
10:22But he just fits what the Patriots in their timeline are right now.
10:26Whereas I guess I'll push back a little bit here on the Chiefs.
10:30Is this the best version of the Chiefs that you're going to get 2026 with Mahomes coming off his ACL?
10:35Like probably not. No, no. I kind of feel like the Chiefs are not.
10:39So for me, it's like A.J. Brown is more of a drop into a contender versus drop into a team that's kind
10:45of on a mini rebuild, which I think the Chiefs this year kind of fit that profile.
10:50I feel like the Chiefs think that they're in that deeper like mini rebuild to be possibly a team that backdoors their way into the playoffs this year.
10:58And if they're healthy, make some noise there, which is still relevant.
11:01Whenever you have patching Mahomes healthy, you have a chance.
11:04But, you know, fun fact here, Rushy Rice is going to be turning 27 and A.J.
11:09Brown's 28. So I like that, Matt Bowles. Yeah.
11:11Like we said before, Rushy Rice isn't nearly as young as people think he is.
11:15And I don't disagree. I think where the Chiefs are in their life cycle of their team, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
11:23It makes a ton of sense for the Rams.
11:25It makes a ton of sense for the Patriots.
11:28I'd say those are the two probable favorites and probably the best landing spots for him.
11:32But I kind of disagree. Like the Eagles could be a better offense without A.J.
11:36Brown if Jalen Hurts isn't force feeding the ball to him on a person that basis.
11:41And what if he does hit the wall with the knee?
11:44And what if he does fall off a cliff?
11:46Because wide receivers of his body, of his archetype and skill set, when the cliff comes, baby, it's here.
11:52And it's very, very real. And now you don't have a game changing talent.
11:56Now you have a disgruntled wide receiver that can't deal with the fact that he's not what he once was.
12:01Is that a good thing to keep in Philly?
12:04It's a good question. I want to know from everybody out there, too.
12:08Drop your comments below. Let us know what you think.
12:10Where does A.J. Brown end up? Drop your predictions here in the comments.
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12:49Join us for all things football. All right, everybody.
12:51Let's turn our attention now to the AFC South.
12:54That's right. When I think of the South, I think of Derrick Brown, you know, because of that lovely accent, twang of his.
13:00It's just cheerful in my soul sometimes. I think of Daniel Jones.
13:04That's what I think of. All right, let's talk about the first squad here.
13:08We're going to talk about the Jacksonville Jaguars. So just doing kind of a little look here at the schedule, looking through some things here.
13:15Obviously, last year with Liam Cohn in that first year, you got that bounce.
13:19Everything was new. Everything was exciting. Now, year two, I think there's a little bit more preparation.
13:23We had a great discussion on the Fantasy Pro Show earlier in the week with Jake Seeley about Trevor Lawrence.
13:29And yeah, like towards the end of the year, he really did come on strong.
13:33Some of those big stats, though, again, I keep coming back to the same thing.
13:37They get padded by playing some really crappy teams, including the Jets.
13:41At the end of the year, we put up his only 300-yard game and a five-touchdown performance.
13:46The other big performances down that stretch against the Titans, a team that was still not very good, against the Arizona Cardinals.
13:52So I'm glad that Trevor Lawrence is turning in the right direction.
13:55I'm just not sure that right now, Debra, we're getting all of a sudden, like Trevor Lawrence has now finally realized all his promise.
14:02Now, one thing to keep in mind, too, they only have six true regular season home games in Jacksonville this year.
14:08The other 11 games will be on the road and neutral sites because of all the, you know, I guess London is their home away from home.
14:15How much does that impact your take on the Jaguars this year, that schedule?
14:19I was just looking at the schedule. I think we could talk about the travel and the lack of home games, and I think that all matters.
14:27The other part about this schedule, guys, it is brutal.
14:30Like before weeks, their week seven bye. Okay, fine.
14:32You get the Browns in week one. Kudos. Probably get a win there.
14:36After that, dude, are we staring at a one in five team going into their bye week?
14:41They get the Denver Broncos, the Patriots, the Bengals, the Eagles, and the freaking Texans.
14:45Who? Man, that's rough. And does some of the luster come off of Liam Cohen and all the Gladstone stuff about like
14:51him bombing these two last draft classes? Is the volume going to get turned up on that when we're coming out of the bye week?
14:58Well, you know what happens, Erickson, is when you don't have good drafts and you start to have the inevitable injuries, as
15:05you love to talk about the injury attrition year over year and which teams have good and bad and all that stuff.
15:11It's that roster depth that kind of saves you during those moments.
15:14And I feel like when we look back at this year's draft for the Jaguars, I think that's one of the things
15:20you can point to as a negative. Yeah, I don't think that a lot of us were really high on what the Jacksonville Jaguars did in their draft.
15:28And the Travis Hunter pick obviously put them behind the eight ball a little bit without having a future first because they traded to get Travis Hunter.
15:36Now, he missed the second half of his rookie year.
15:39It looked like maybe he was kind of on the cusp of a breakout in his last game against Los Angeles Rams
15:45where he had 100 yards as a receiver. He was defending passes against Devontae Adams.
15:49It was kind of like the thesis of the play of, OK, this is why we like Travis Hunter because he's going
15:55to shut down Devontae Adams and he's also going to go for 100 yards on the other side of the football.
16:01Now, I think with them in terms of the schedule, agreeing with you guys, fifth most difficult through weeks one through six.
16:07And then talking about in the second half of the year, the road games, right?
16:12Seven of the last 10 games are on the road in the second half.
16:16And one thing that I thought was really interesting when I was looking back on my schedule release article, I know, Joe,
16:22you didn't read it, but in 2025. No, I did not.
16:25This article. No, I did not. Maybe you should have read it because what I talked about in that article was that
16:31Trevor Lawrence had one of the easiest schedules in the second half of the 2025 season.
16:36So to your point, it was a cupcake schedule that ended up playing out that way.
16:40And I think did really boost some of his statistics towards the end of the year.
16:45Now, obviously took major growth in Liam Cohen's offense.
16:47Acquiring Jacoby Myers was, I think, a big boost, just getting more of his style fit types of receivers.
16:52Whereas in the beginning of the year, really wasn't clicking between him and Brian Thomas Jr.
16:57So you're adding pieces of players that he was more comfortable throwing to, whether it be Parker Washington or Jacoby Myers.
17:03So those are a couple of things I would note.
17:06And yeah, maybe it is a little bit more strugglesville in Jacksonville to start the year with a tougher schedule, especially with how front loaded it is.
17:13I want you to know something, Andrew. I love you very much.
17:17You're a dear friend of mine. So is Derek Brown.
17:19I don't read his articles either. I just don't.
17:22I'm too busy writing books instead of reading stuff.
17:25That's what I, that's the thing. Oh, but it's just a busy time of year for me.
17:29He's old. He's tired. I mean, and I work with children.
17:32Full disclosure for the people that are listening. Joe put the Carolina Panthers on the show sheet for the A.S.
17:38Because I was going a hundred miles an hour, trying to get the show ready.
17:42It's fine. You know, I dogged you at the top of the show.
17:46You could dog me here. He's tired. I'm just going Southern teams.
17:49Am I going through stuff? And like my brain just completely zapped because I was trying to get this show planned for
17:56tomorrow done before the four more baseball shows I had to host yesterday.
17:59The writer formerly known as Erickson pointed it out.
18:02Wait, wait. I'm getting called right now. It's, uh, it's the wambulance, uh, Joe.
18:06You want to pick it up? I don't, I don't.
18:08Well, they might be picking him up. You know, he's old.
18:12I wish they would take me off. They would just take me away from all my problems.
18:16Um, so for it. All right. So Erickson, uh, talk to me about this.
18:20Travis Hunter. This off season has been bizarre. I mean, we've gotten quick.
18:24First of all, it was, he's only going to play corner.
18:27Then it's, well, you know, we think maybe we do want to get him involved in the, in the wide receiver.
18:33And then while the wide receiver's room is, is really, you know, kind of crowded already.
18:37Are we going to look back at this Travis Hunter move and think that they grossly overpaid to move up in the draft to get him?
18:45I mean, that's probably what it looks like right now, because we don't really have an idea of what he's going to be doing.
18:52I think that they want him to play both ways.
18:54And that really is what you have to do with him.
18:57If you're going to try to justify the price that they pay to get Travis Hunter again, moving him for first two
19:04first round picks, they essentially get two players that can play both cornerback and wide receivers.
19:08So I believe them what they say that they want to continue to have him play wide receiver in a more of
19:14a scheme touch role, and then have him continue to get more snaps on the defensive side of the football, because that's really where they need him more.
19:22We talked about the depth that the Jacksonville Jaguars have at wide receiver.
19:26He's a starter at the cornerback position. When you just look at the depth chart based on the guys and moves that they made during free agency.
19:34So I do think it is noteworthy though, that before he got injured last year, he led the team in catches weeks
19:40one through seven second in the team and routes mostly operating out of the slot.
19:44So look, a lot of it was underneath stuff scheme touches.
19:47I think that's going to continue. Well, isn't that where Trevor Lawrence excels Erickson?
19:51I feel like that's his MO so far because the Brian Thomas on the outside, that was the Mac Jones project.
19:57That wasn't the Trevor Lawrence project two years ago.
19:59Uh, D bro to this point too. Now you've got a very crowded group of guys like Parker Washington and Jacoby Myers.
20:06Like all those guys can do the slot stuff.
20:08So you don't really need Travis Hunter to do that.
20:11So should he just play corner and focus on that?
20:14He should just play corner and it's a fool's Aaron to keep doing this back and forth.
20:19Everything. I mean, the thing that I go back to is if Travis Hunter becomes who he is meant to be and
20:25he is a top five to 10 top 12 corner in the NFL, let's just say top 12.
20:30If he becomes a top 12 corner in the NFL, nobody's going to freaking care who the Jaguars traded or how much
20:36they traded to get up, to get him. Nobody's going to care about that.
20:40If you keep doing this back and forth garbage, he doesn't have enough time to sit here and practice both.
20:46He's still unrefined as a wide receiver, never going to hit his ceiling as a corner.
20:50He's not a true difference maker or an all pro on either side of the ball.
20:55Yes. He's going to go down as X. I'm not saying a bust, but the price they paid to get him, it's
21:01going to look like a fool's errand. They need to stop this crap, man.
21:05Like I talked about this as Travis Hunter as a prospect.
21:08It's like, there's only so many hours in the day that you have to work on your craft.
21:13The guys that play on one side of the ball, that's been all of their effort focusing on becoming the best version of themselves for that one position.
21:21Most of them still don't even like become like elite players at their positions.
21:25So we're expecting Travis Hunter to just buck that trend and be an outlier of outlier of outliers.
21:30It's foolish to me. And honestly, considering the foolishness here, it's kind of in line with what Gladstone has done and continues to do.
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22:13Andrew, how many hours a week do you think D-Bro loses to his craft by combing his beard for hours on end?
22:19No. How many hours? I would say at least three or four hours in a week he loses to combing his beard.
22:25Where he could be working on his craft. Yeah.
22:28What do you think? You could be doing so many different things instead of combing your beard.
22:33It's like reading Andrew Erickson's article. Yeah, you did the article.
22:36Or I could be just staring in the mirror hoping that I had a beard.
22:40It's okay. You could be growing hair on top of your head.
22:43Oh! If he could, he would. Okay. If he could, he would.
22:47He went there. I was waiting for it. I was waiting for it.
22:50You know what? I think in season or maybe in the playoffs, D-Bro and I, instead of like the, you know, people
22:57do the playoff beards, we should do the opposite.
22:59Oh, no. I don't want that. I don't want any part of that.
23:03I don't. No, no, no. That would be hilarious just to let it go until the Super Bowl and then we shave it again.
23:10Oh, geez. Just to see what it looks like.
23:12I know what it'll look like. It'll be after the holidays.
23:15It's fine. You can look like a bad scientist.
23:18I don't want it. Now I want to see it more.
23:21Super Bowl winner for the Jaguars. Odds in Vegas.
23:23Plus 3,000. Hard pass. Conference winner. Plus 1,500. Hard pass.
23:26Yes. Division winner. Plus 230. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? No.
23:29South is always so tough with these playoff teams because you don't necessarily have to put up a good record and you
23:35can somehow sneak in back where you're waiting to the playoff.
23:38So it's probably going to be a shy way for me.
23:41All right. If you were to set the win total, what would it be for this team?
23:46I bet it's way too high. I think that wasn't the question.
23:49Second half of last year. What do you think it is?
23:52I'll say nine and a half. I think it should be nine and a half, but I get the feeling that Vegas
23:59has made it ten and a half. Nope. It is nine and a half.
24:03So you want to go over for plus 120 or under minus 130.
24:06See, if the minus is telling you minus 130, then you definitely want to vote no on the make the playoffs.
24:12Uh-huh. Yeah. So to me, that's like one of those things where it's like they're telling you the story of, you know,
24:18they give us a script out for the NFL every year, guys.
24:22Everyone says it on Twitter. So they're telling you what's going to happen.
24:25So just listen to it. The script is they come back to earth this year.
24:30Massively. All right. Let's talk about the Houston Texans because I think the Texans are all about CJ Stroud between the ears this year.
24:36It's a confidence level. The confidence definitely was shook at the end of the playoffs.
24:41And rightfully so. Like he faced some pretty good defenses there.
24:44And he's, you know, the offensive line was still a very much work in progress.
24:48Now they have done, you know, a lot to kind of remake that.
24:52How good it is. We can debate that here.
24:54But CJ Stroud definitely has had some issues. I believe that some of them also stem from the lack of consistency at the running back position.
25:01Because I think when you have that run game that you can count on with some balance and some better offensive line
25:08play, I think every quarterback is a little bit more comfortable throwing the football and be in the pocket.
25:13D bro. Talk to me about the Texans offensive line and the acquisition of David Montgomery and how much that theoretically could
25:19help CJ Stroud get back on track for 2026.
25:22Because this Texas defense is Super Bowl caliber. Absolutely agree with the defense.
25:25Super Bowl caliber of one of the best in the end.
25:28Honestly, you can make the argument that they're the best defense in the NFL.
25:32And one good. With what they've done with the offensive line, I just, I don't find myself loving anything that they've really
25:39done outside of bringing in Braden Smith. Like Ed Ingram is okay, but not amazing.
25:43Wyatt Teller, there's a reason the Browns didn't retain him.
25:46The effectiveness, the health of this part of his career.
25:48They drafted, they traded up for Keelan Rutledge to play him at center.
25:52Although that is a position he has never played at all.
25:55But he's just going to magically morph into a center in his rookie season in the NFL.
26:00Yeah, that seems like they're setting him up to succeed.
26:03And then you talk about the death behind him.
26:05Like Evan Brown, passable at best. Trent Brown is just a mountain of a man.
26:10Like he gets it done because team like defensive ends have to try to run around him.
26:14And so the offensive line, I'm not nearly as high on what they did this offseason versus somebody like the Cleveland Browns.
26:21But going back to it, I think that adding David Montgomery and giving C.J.
26:25Stroud a running game to one, lean on two, it'll help play action.
26:28And three, it's going to help hide C.J. Stroud to a certain amount is definitely a plus.
26:33I think David Montgomery still has juice. I think he still can get it done.
26:37I'm actually very excited to see him back into a workhorse featured role.
26:41And I think that's what he's going to get.
26:43I think this is, he's the new Joe Mixon in town.
26:46They're going to lean on him as much as he possibly can.
26:50Like he's going to get 300 plus touches. And if the Texans do go to the Super Bowl this year, I think
26:56it's more likely because of their defense and their run game than it is because of anything C.J.
27:01Stroud does. Well, Erickson, to me, it's like C.J.
27:04Stroud. Hey, don't make mistakes. Go manage the game and play with a little bit more confidence and let the defense cook.
27:10To me, that's the special sauce here. What do you think?
27:13I think that makes sense. But I do think that having C.J.
27:16Stroud look anything like he did his rookie year is what puts the Texans in the Super Bowl, right?
27:22Where if he can be that guy and you're getting the defense as a top five unit or the best defense in the NFL.
27:28Again, the defense was winning games last year, to your point.
27:32I think this is what they tried to do last year.
27:35And it worked to an extent. He wasn't losing games for that.
27:38I mean, they were good last year overall. But then things kind of unraveled when Moore was asked to put on his plate.
27:45He was coming off of the concussion. Scary injury.
27:47And especially when you're playing behind a patchwork offensive line.
27:50The thing with Stroud that I was really surprised at just looking back at the last three years and going back to
27:56his rookie year where I'm thinking, man, did this guy like ever have a good run game?
28:01I'm like looking like last year, rushing success rate last two years ago, like dead second to last.
28:06His rookie year, it wasn't good. Yeah, no. His rookie year, again, it was still like terrible.
28:11So with this offensive line, can we at least get a semblance of a run game where it's 20th, 16th, 18th?
28:17We don't need a top 10 run game here, but just something to take the heat off of CJ Stroud so he
28:23can kind of develop a groove with some of these receivers outside of Nico Collins.
28:27Right? They're trying out Christian Kirk all year last year.
28:30Why? Like Jaden Higgins is entering. He's a talented guy entering year two.
28:34Jalen Knoll entering year two. A lot of excitement with some of these skilled players outside of Nico Collins.
28:39And I think too, with the offensive coordinator coming back from last year, something that I would like to see more of is these heavy tight end sets.
28:47Like lean into it. The offensive coordinator came from the Rams.
28:50Everyone is doing it. They drafted Marlon Klein in the second round because, hey, he's a tight end.
28:55We have Dalton Schultz. Let's use these heavy sets.
28:57Get play action going for CJ Stroud. Make it easy because we know that he can rip it.
29:03We know that the upside he can offer and that he can win in a shootout just hasn't shown the last couple
29:09of years and they haven't been asked to do that.
29:12But there are going to be times where the Texans defense can't shut out a team and keep them below 17 or 20 points.
29:18That happens in the playoffs. I think CJ Stroud has shown, at least at the NFL level, he can be an elite passer.
29:25But it's obviously been a few years since we have seen it.
29:28And that does concern me that he has taken a step back.
29:32He has regressed. And will we ever see that guy again?
29:35I just I don't know the answer to that.
29:37I want to believe he can do it because he was so good as a rookie.
29:42But and that's when you're expecting him to face the biggest challenges.
29:45But maybe he kind of, you know, bit off too much that he could chew.
29:49And he was trying to take too much of the offense.
29:52I think the offense is really needs to be better around him, honestly.
29:56And I think that's, you know, that's not a hot take.
29:59I think he was sniffing his own hype too damn much, man.
30:03Like everything coming out of his rookie season. Maybe it was all these interviews and stuff.
30:07And he's talking about he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
30:11And and then I think you have to believe that, right?
30:14Like, that's fine. But it's how you carry yourself to that.
30:17Yeah, it's how you carry yourself to man. Well, you know, it's also, you know, not being on your back.
30:23One thing, one thing, too, I want to note.
30:25And it kind of gets forgotten or lost in the sauce is losing Tank Dell.
30:29Like Tank Dell was CJ Stroud's guy. He was a he was an explosive playmaker.
30:34Absolutely. But but but the way that Stroud talked about Tank Dell, when he would list off, like, who are the best wide receivers in the NFL?
30:41Like Stroud would mention Tank Dell. Like, I think they asked him on one of his interviews where it's like, OK, you have your optimal lineup.
30:48We were putting on X, you putting at Z, who you putting in the slot.
30:53And Tank Dell was the slot receiver he listed off.
30:56Well, look, that's what you do to your friends.
30:58I'm sure if you ask, you know, who's your favorite host, you'd say me.
31:02But really, you'd rather be working with Rich Eisen.
31:05I think that's obvious. No, but I don't think that he mentioned Nico Collins as like his main.
31:10He was like, you know, I want Justin Jefferson.
31:12I want Jamar Chase and I want Tank Dell.
31:15Like, I was like, OK, but and obviously Tank Dell's career has been derailed by brutal injuries.
31:19But when you lose your guy, I think that also has a big impact on you.
31:24There's a lot being made. Oh, go ahead. Go ahead.
31:27I am no fan of Nick Caley. I don't care that he's back.
31:30I think he's one of the worst offensive coordinators in the entire NFL.
31:34Well, the fact that they trotted out Xavier Hutchinson last year, you talked about like losing Tank Dell.
31:39Well, that's also magnified when you're trotting out Christian Kirk and Xavier Hutchinson over two talented rookies for most of the year.
31:45And even when Jane Higgins is flashing and he's showing you he deserves more playing time.
31:50You should give him more playing time. You should be utilizing Jalen O'Neill more.
31:54He didn't do it. And it's fine. Is that Kaylee, though?
31:57Or is that D'Amico Ryan's? Like, he's the head coach.
32:00I mean, he's not the head coach. Yeah, but Ryan's, I think, sticks to the defensive side.
32:05I don't think he really puts himself in good offensive.
32:07I mean, if you're the head coach, you're like, dude, these rookies are flashing.
32:11Get them on the field. Yeah, I mean, you can.
32:14But, like, I mean. Or you leave him in his sandbox to play with the offense and you stick to the defense.
32:20Who knows? There's a lot being made, too. The quote-unquote cold-weather crucible that they've got to go through here at the end.
32:26We're in December. On the road, they play the Steelers in Pittsburgh, the Commanders and the Eagles on the East Coast in
32:33December and then the Green Bay Packers on 1-4 in January, where you assume Micah Parsons is going to be back by then.
32:39To me, defense travels. So I really don't care about this.
32:42I don't care about that. Do you all agree?
32:45Yeah, that's overblown. That's just a talking point. I think it's garbage, to be honest.
32:49Well, I do think it sucks for, like, the fantasy outcomes for the Texans players because these games are not going to be high-scoring.
32:56So that is terrible. That I agree with. My whole thing is, like, it's cold that time of the year.
33:01Everybody's going to be playing in cold unless they're playing in freaking domes.
33:05So whatever. It doesn't matter. Alice is playing in domes in weeks 15, 16, and 17.
33:10They're not going outside. How about them cowboys? Very interesting.
33:12I'm going to wear my Jerry Jones shirt on the NFC East when we get to that show.
33:17Are you sure? All right. You should never take it off.
33:21Super. That's why I have the tattoo. It's a Jerry Jones tramp stamp.
33:24Hey, that's right. Which way are his eyes looking, Joe?
33:27Up or down? Both. Free agents enter this portal.
33:30All right. Oh, my. Oh, my. All right. Super Bowl winner for the Texans, plus 2,000.
33:34I'm kind of curious about this one. No, I can't roll them out because the defense is a league.
33:39I can't roll them out because the defense is so good, too.
33:43And here's what I think, Andrew. At the very least, this makes money as an investment and a cash out later on.
33:49That's how I. Yeah. At some point, that's going to be five to one.
33:53And they might be like, oh, here's 60 percent of that bet back.
33:57And yes, I'll take that very much because that's how I play the futures market.
34:01Who do the Texans play early in the year?
34:03Like what's their. Early in the year is not nearly as bad.
34:07Early in the year. It's well, they start off with Buffalo, but then they got the Bengals, the Colts, the Cowboys, Titans, Jags, Giants.
34:14Titans, Jags, Giants. That's where you start to, you know, you go on a little bit of a run there, I think.
34:20Yeah. And then you hit your bye week. And after the bye week, they get the Chargers, Browns, Colts again.
34:25It's not the easiest schedule. But again, AFC is not terrible, though, either.
34:29Conference winner plus 1,000. OK. Intrigued. I'm still intrigued by that one.
34:32Division winner plus 140. Yes. No. Like, I think this is a good wager to make the playoffs.
34:37Yes. Minus 155. No. Plus 140. So obviously, they're going to be a playoff team if, you know, unless Stroud completely implodes,
34:44what I don't think is going to happen. Win total.
34:46What do you think it is, boys? What do you think it is?
34:50What's it? Jags was nine and a half. Jags was nine and a half.
34:54That is correct. It's nine and a half again, ladies and gentlemen.
34:57The over minus 110. The under plus 110. So they're telling you they think that the Texans are the edge here for
35:04this division, which means instead of betting that, give me, you know, division winner plus 140.
35:08That's your best odds. See, look, that's how you play this game, kids.
35:12So you look at that and it's telling you, oh, they think they're a little better than Jaguars.
35:17OK, Vegas, if you think they're going to win that division, just instead of betting that instead of betting the win total,
35:23just go bet the division plus 140 and you make more money that way.
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36:36Let's go to the next squad here that we want to talk about.
36:40It's the Colts. I know we've been waiting for this for a long time, baby.
36:44Let's talk about the Indianapolis Colts, which I don't know why it's all in red.
36:48I don't know who did that. I don't think I did that, but whatever.
36:52I did that whenever you were supposed to take out the Panthers, but apparently you didn't I told you.
36:57I was just rushing a million miles an hour.
37:00We have to wait. We can't talk about Bryce Young.
37:03It's not time yet. Well, wait. It'll have his time.
37:06Well, wait. No, instead, it would have been a positive for you, would have a show without Daniel Jones discussion.
37:11I mean, every show has a Daniel Jones discussion these days.
37:14So let's spin it different. Let's not talk about Daniel Jones.
37:17I don't want to talk about Daniel Jones. I want to talk about Jonathan Taylor.
37:22Let's talk about Jonathan Taylor. Yes. Yes. Let's stop it.
37:25Yeah. Good. Yeah. Okay. Jonathan Taylor. Great year last year.
37:27Hello. It's been a while since he had a great healthy season.
37:31In between, it's been ankle injury, ankle injury, ankle injury.
37:34Right? So it's been a couple of years of that.
37:36So Erickson, where are you here with Jonathan Taylor going into the season?
37:40Because especially with Daniel Jones coming back from all the surgeries and issues and health stuff, it does feel like at least
37:46early on, you have got to lean on Jonathan Taylor.
37:49Is that too much to ask of Jonathan Taylor that early?
37:52And are you going to ruin him by the time the year is halfway through?
37:56I think that's possible that he might wear down as the season progresses.
38:00But if you're Shane Steichen, dude, that's what I'm trusting this offense in with Jonathan Taylor, because you have so many of these projections, right?
38:07I don't mean to, he who must not be named is coming off an Achilles injury.
38:12Right? But there are other parts of this offense.
38:14Can we get a Voldemort Daniel Jones picture? Please, producers.
38:17I want Daniel Jones as Voldemort with that weird nose.
38:20It's like, yeah. There are other parts of this Colts offense that also are projections.
38:24Alec Pierce, you're not going to be wide receiver one.
38:27Can you deliver on that? Maybe he can. Maybe he can't.
38:30Like, that's a projection. You have a new right tackle that's going to be in, because Braden Smith left the Colts is now with the Houston Texans.
38:37Okay, another starting tackle. How is he going to perform?
38:40I think that this offense overall is more likely to be average than the top five unit that it was last year, where, again, 2007 Patriots-esque.
38:48That's not repeatable. That offense regressed the following year because Brady got hurt.
38:51But again, it was going to regress no matter what.
38:54So those are the things that I'm looking at beyond the quarterback, where if you're psyching, you have to feed Jonathan Taylor
39:00as much as humanly possible, because that's going to get you two wins on the offensive side of the football while Daniel
39:06Jones starts to come back from his injury. Because at some point, like, he will be much more healthy than he is
39:13in week—I mean, I think he'll probably be looking much better in week 10 than he does in week 1.
39:18Again, fresh off. Again, he also fractured his leg last year, too.
39:22And he was playing on it, which is why he tore his Achilles.
39:25So that's kind of how I'm reading this offense, where there are other question marks I have of, OK, you could see
39:32if these guys do step up into new roles.
39:34They smash. But I think it's Jonathan Taylor robust early in the year for this Colts offense.
39:39The quarterback that lived come to die. T-bro. All good Harry Potter jokes aside, I don't think Alec Pierce is the number one target in this offense.
39:46I think Tyler Warren is. Hot take or no?
39:49No. I think Warren is a superb talent, and I don't think he gets talked about enough because we're in this golden age of tight ends.
39:56He's not Colston Lovlin. That's fine. Well, it's tough.
39:59Not everyone can be. No, but you know, I agree.
40:02Tyler Warren is also very, very good. I don't disagree with you, Joe.
40:05And I think to that point, this passing attack scares the crap out of me, man.
40:10Like, Josh Downs has been banged up over multiple seasons.
40:13Is he going to be an outside wide receiver?
40:15How is that going to go? If he misses any time, then you're boiling this down to Alec Pierce.
40:21Mark Pierce, who is an unknown as a true wide receiver one for an offense, and Tyler Warren.
40:26And then we get into Nick Westbrook-Akine, Ashton Doolin, Deion Burks, Anthony Gold, Laquan Treadwell.
40:30Yes, he's still in the NFL. Coleman Owen. How is that possible?
40:33Laquan Treadwell's still in the NFL. Did you mention Deion Burks?
40:36Did you mention him? I did mention Deion Burks.
40:39Yeah. Yeah. You know, seventh round pick. Got to mention him.
40:42He's a game changer. But this all comes down to there is so much in flux with this team on the offensive
40:48side of the ball that it's insane. And quarterback health, what are you getting out of the passing attack?
40:54Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren dealing with, you know, getting pushed up.
40:57Yeah, but despite all that, this was one of the many faults of a lot of teams we do like.
41:02Like, I still think the Colts have a top 10 offensive line, don't you?
41:06Well, they haven't. Well, because PFF does. They're starting Jalen Travis as a 2025 fourth round rookie pick.
41:11So he's their new starting right tackle. So like, that's one thing that I think matters.
41:16Like having a different right tackle. It does. I think is one thing.
41:19Again, I don't think that it's, this is a team that bottoms out on offense.
41:24Look at Shane Steik in the last three years.
41:268-9, 8-9, 9-8. Like, like, they're going to kind of be, they're kind of doing the Colts.
41:31And that was with Gardner Minshew, that was with Anthony Richardson, that was with Phillip Rivers, that was with Daniel Jones.
41:37I mean, Shane Steik in, I think deserves a little bit of love.
41:41Yes. You know, I mean, that's a good football coach.
41:43Get this guy a real quarterback, please. And now he's got to overcome another injury to his quarterback.
41:48And that ties our wagon to a real quarterback.
41:51You know what, though? I realized something. That the Voldemort title for Daniel Jones is really applicable.
41:56Because he is coming back, you know, from the dead, basically.
41:59Reformed, remade, right? A lot of magical spells going on there.
42:02And makes him very dangerous. Very dangerous. You know what, I think we should have that dark mark on our arm, too.
42:08So whenever we call upon him, he can show up on the podcast.
42:12I think that'd be great. I'm going to need a rain check on that because I burned my arm in the oven yesterday.
42:18Baking your sourdough? Joe, I've never made sourdough my entire life.
42:21I have no idea why you assume that. I just threw it out there yesterday as like a thing.
42:27But now, now you burned your arm suspiciously. And we don't know why or how.
42:31What about the defense of the Colts? Can we talk about that for a second?
42:35Because offense is all we focused on. D-Bro, talk to me about the defense of the Colts.
42:40What do you think it looks like this year?
42:43I think they're a really good unit with the ability to be a very strong defense.
42:47Now, I'm not going to say like they're going to be a top five unit.
42:51I think their pass rush is good, but I don't know if they have the parts or pieces.
42:56Will they out to a lot to like, can he take another step?
43:00JT there, like their defensive line is very good.
43:03I just question what is the absolute ceiling of their pass rush?
43:06Like, I don't look at this unit as saying like this is a top five pass rush in the NFL.
43:12I think the biggest thing for them is what does the secondary look like?
43:16And how does that come together? Because if Charverius Ward can actually stay healthy, same thing with Sauce Gardner, that tandem can
43:22be one of the best in the NFL and that can help their pass rush get home.
43:26The addition of CJ Allen, I thought was fantastic considering their linebacker room in the offseason.
43:31So I think this defense could be a top 12 unit, but I don't think that they'll step into rarefied air as
43:37an elite unit unless their corners just all really outkick even what I think they can do.
43:42All right. Super Bowl winner plus 6,500. You can miss me with that conference winner plus 2,800.
43:47You can miss me with that division winner plus 400.
43:50Interesting long shot because it is so tight. It is so close, but you can also miss me with that too.
43:56I'd rather bet on the tech. I'm always betting on defense.
43:59I'm a defense guy. Okay. Me and Boggs, we like the defense.
44:02That's what we like around these parts to make the playoffs plus 170.
44:06Yes, that's a lot. That's a great number minus 170.
44:08No, what side you want to be on of that Erickson?
44:12I want to be on no because I think that these odds are going to shift after the first three weeks.
44:17They play the Ravens, Chiefs, and Texans. And if you're getting Jones at less than 100% and Jonathan Taylor can't eke out
44:24wins even though he's touched the ball 30 times a game and they're losing to those teams.
44:28I mean, you look at those Ravens, Chiefs, Texans, those are all good defenses.
44:32I think that this team, to Debro's point, I didn't get to mention.
44:36It's brutal. I think that this defense is also pretty good.
44:39I think they're probably average at worst. But remember, who did they go after last year?
44:44They traded for Sauce Gardner. Like he has to be top five, locked and loaded, number one cornerback in the NFL.
44:50Shutdown has to be. Yeah, exactly. So I think that puts them into that top 10.
44:54And maybe their defense has to carry them while the offense kind of gets back up to speed with the injury to their quarterback.
45:01And I think that it's possible with Gardner. I do think that because they've also had issues, too, with some of their
45:07defensive tackles were like DeForest Buckner when he's missed time in the past.
45:11Like their run defense just gets eviscerated. Grover Stewart.
45:13Those guys are a little bit older. So but I think secondary wise, Javarius Ward, they really could have an elite tandem.
45:19Dude, they have to stay healthy, though, because behind them, the depth is is not great.
45:24They have Jonathan Edwards, Cam Taylor, Britt, Wyatt Eckler, Makai Blackman.
45:27They cut Kenny Moore, too. Yeah. And Kenny Moore is gone.
45:30So like they need those outs of the corner to stay healthy.
45:34What would you set the win total out for this team?
45:37I feel like all these teams are going to be.
45:39I think eight and a half would be. I think it's less for the Colts than the other two teams.
45:45Yeah. I think it's eight and a half. And I'm taking the under.
45:49Yes. All right. All right. So there you go.
45:51Is it eight and a half? What is it?
45:54Yeah. You're leaving us hanging here. Are we? Well, it's eight and a half and eight and the best line you can get on betting pros right now.
46:02And this shows on betting pros today as well as a regular podcast feed everywhere over seven and a half at minus
46:08one thirty under eight and a half at minus one forty five.
46:11So to me, that's basically telling everybody like we have no idea.
46:15All we know is we're covering our ass either way.
46:17That's when the Colts aren't making the playoffs. That's covering their ass.
46:21And they're like, you know what? We're just not a big fan of this.
46:25It's it screams unknown. And I think that's something to be very curious.
46:28What are the odds of them finishing last in their division?
46:32Yeah, that I have to find out. I don't know.
46:34That's the specifics there. Let's talk about the Tennessee Titans with the most attractive coaching room in the history of the NFL staff for the NFL, baby.
46:42Beautiful. Well, my older brother, Robert Sala is back here and I'm very happy for Robert Sala.
46:47Again, I think he's a really good football guy.
46:49I think this is a really fun team here, potentially.
46:52I think they're going to be disruptors. I think they're going to be annoying.
46:56I think they're going to have there's going to be a couple of weeks where we're going to see here on the show and we're going to go.
47:04Can you believe what the Titans pulled off? I think they're going to do that.
47:08I don't know if it's going to happen right away, but I'm very intrigued by this team.
47:13So let's talk about what the impact of Robert Sala is going to be.
47:17D bro, I'm going to start with you here because you're bald like me and so is Robert Sala.
47:22Yes, I had to take the hat off just for this team.
47:26That's right. I think they can make some noise out the gate.
47:29Like you look at the beginning of their schedule.
47:32They got the Jets, the Eagles, the Giants, the Ravens.
47:34I mean, if they start off two and two in those first four games, people will be talking about them.
47:40And if they're competitive against the Eagles and the Ravens in those games, people will be talking about this team.
47:46If they managed to knock off the Eagles or the Ravens in one of those games.
47:50Yeah. Like you're looking at a team that could be three and one possible.
47:54Like I agree with you, Joe. I think they're going to make some noise this year.
47:59Now, like, I don't think that, you know, saying that they're going to win the division and go to the playoffs and that kind of stuff.
48:06Like we shall see, uh, depending on the odds that we get to later, I might not be against betting that, but
48:12I think adding Robert Sala, adding Brian Dayball, like say what you want about Brian Dayball as a head coach, as an
48:18offensive coordinator and what he did with Jackson Dart last year, I think is very commendable.
48:23Now they didn't end up like closing out a lot of games, but if they wouldn't have fallen apart in the fourth
48:29quarter of a ton of games, Brian Dayball would not be the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.
48:34He'd still be coaching the Giants right now. So I liked his addition with Cam Ward, the fact that they put offensive
48:40weapons around Cam Ward and said, Hey, we want you to succeed.
48:44Tony Pollard's good enough to sit there and hold up the running attack.
48:47You know, if they get anything out of Tajay Spears, Nick Singleton, kudos, but putting more weapons around Cam Ward, like he
48:54has a legitimate, like you could put that starting three with Carnell take Calvin Ridley and Wanda Robinson up against a ton of teams.
49:00And I'm not saying it's the best starting trio in the NFL.
49:04Ain't bad boys. Ain't bad at all. You know what I like that despite he's a defensive minor head coach, the organization
49:10is paying attention to the fact that it's an offensive league.
49:13And a lot of the off season was spent, Andrew, between the draft and what they've brought in here, you know, bringing
49:19in Brian Dayball, who's got a nice track record as a good offensive minor in the NFL, that they're paying attention to.
49:25You have to develop this young quarterback and you were stunting his growth with the last regime.
49:30The minute you got rid of them, things started to get a little bit better.
49:34And what you really want is to see a big jump in year two.
49:38So that's, that's why I'm so cautiously optimistic is like, I feel like they're going to have the defensive mindset, but the
49:45organization was looking towards improving the offense, which was really important.
49:48The Titans are going to put the whole league on notice after week one when they killed the Jets.
49:53So I am, I am all aboard the Tennessee Titans.
49:56Man, I want, what's that? What's the line on that game?
49:59We talked about this on a previous year. Mine is three and a half.
50:03I think it was. It was the Jets favorite?
50:05No, the Jets are not. It's because it's playing in Nashville.
50:08They were in Nashville. Yeah. But I think that that's going to be a launch point for this team.
50:14Robert saw facing his old team that he coached for.
50:17I think that this is the Cam Ward breakout party.
50:19I love the Tennessee Titans. I want to bet them to win the division because we see this every single year where
50:26one team goes from last place to first place.
50:28And the Tennessee Titans have all of the ingredients of that type of team where you have a second year quarterback taking a major leap.
50:35You have him paired with a successful offensive mind in Brian Dayball.
50:39You have Robert Sala who's shown that he can win games with bad quarterbacks.
50:43Then talking about Shane Steichen, this guy got seven wins with Zach Wilson, Mike White and Joe Flacco in 2022.
50:48And he had a top five defense with Zach Wilson and Trevor Simeon in 2023 as his quarterbacks.
50:53Again, seven wins. Both of those seasons. What did Johnson say?
50:56That's not enough though, Erickson. What did Johnson say?
50:59I mean, it's one of these things where I think that you have to, anytime a player like does something with the
51:05Jets and then does something like, and then removes himself from that situation.
51:09It's like, wow, it really isn't that bad when you're not on the New York Jets anymore.
51:14So you know what I liken it to? You know, when the people work out in the gym or you see him
51:20on the walks with a weighted vest, you know, and then you take it off.
51:24You're like, oh, I feel so much lighter. I think that's what it's like.
51:28And all the defensive additions they made, John Franklin Myers, Jermaine Johnson, Anthony Hill.
51:32Wante Taylor, Cordell Flott, Joshua Williams, Kedrick Falk. I adding half the giant step chart.
51:36Yeah. And they, and they added, I think they added the good pieces from the Jets that worked with Salah.
51:42They added the good pieces from Dayball's Giants. So you mix this all together.
51:46And I think you got a division winner here.
51:48I know Debra was waxing poetic about the weapons.
51:51It's not even just about the weapons. It's about the comparison to the weapons last year.
51:55He was throwing to two rookie day three picks as his two wide receivers because Calvin really got hurt.
52:01And honestly, like she married DK, like he flashed.
52:03And I think that is telling about Cam Ward, who one of the guys, he's one of the quarterbacks that's going to
52:09be on the Netflix quarterback documentary this year. I am so amped to watch that with Cam Ward because it's going to be him in all ball.
52:17It's like, okay, what are you going to do tonight?
52:20I'm going to watch film, play football. And then that's it.
52:23Like, I really feel like that's all he's going to do.
52:26And I think that's going to show this season when he has a breakout and just getting him away from Callahan.
52:32What the offensive setup was last year, last seven games, 11 touchdowns, one interception.
52:36Like he showed that he was, you grew. Absolutely.
52:38And he, and he shows the work. I think there are things when you watch Cam Ward tape from college that you
52:45go, okay, there's some stuff to fix there. You could see, yeah, you could see the skill level.
52:50You could see that there's something to work with.
52:52But I think to me, the Cam Ward story in the NFL is going to be one of the great stories of this is a worker.
52:59This is a guy that's going to outwork everybody else.
53:02And he's going to make up some of those physical deficits that he might have compared to some other quarterbacks who could
53:08just do things easier than he does them. But he'll be able to actually make more progress than some of those other
53:15quarterbacks because of his mindset and the work mentality.
53:17And I think that is going to be the separator for him.
53:21You know, it's like, like Derek Jeter. Okay. Derek Jeter was, was never the most talented shortstop of his era.
53:26He kind of just outworked everybody and he had deficits on defense.
53:30He had deficits all the time, but he has 3000 hits and he's in the hall of fame.
53:35Right? Like that's the kind of thing. And I'm not saying like, you know, Cam Ward's in the hall of fame yet.
53:41And I want to put them there, but I'm saying it's like that kind of mentality.
53:45It was like, well, you know, Derek Jeter wasn't in 35 home runs every year, but Derek Jeter was a winner.
53:51And I, and I think that's what Cam Ward is.
53:54And I think that's going to rub off. And I think that combination of Cam Ward with Robert Sala is going to be really fascinating one.
54:01So let's get to some of the numbers here on the Titans too.
54:05Before, before we dive into that, Erickson brought up one really good point that I want to expand on just a little bit.
54:12Sure. Brian Callahan system with a West coast offense and adding asking Cam Ward to play within structure and go from one
54:18to two to three and get the ball out.
54:20Timely. That is a horrible marriage was a horrible marriage from the beginning of it.
54:25It was terrible. Putting him with Brian day ball and the ability that they're going to let him play outside of structure some more.
54:31They're going to get him on the move. I'm not telling you he's going to become like a true rushing quarterback.
54:37They are going to utilize his legs more and his off script ability.
54:41That is a perfect marriage too. Whereas like Callahan, I don't know what the hell he was thinking.
54:46Like, yeah, this quarterback is perfectly going to fit my system.
54:49No, it was horrible to begin with, but now I think it's going to be good.
54:54Let's see how good you think it's going to be.
54:56Uh, not for a super bowl, not for conference winner.
54:59Forget all that division winner plus nine 50. Andrew Erickson.
55:02Have you heard about it? Done. Yes, I am.
55:05Go check out the betting pros feed, the socials.
55:07It's all over there. My favorite futures bets featuring the Tennessee Titans.
55:10So to make the playoffs, I'll take the, to make the playoffs at plus 360 instead.
55:15Wow. To me, that is a power. It's way out.
55:18Take that's fine. That's fine. You know what's amazing though?
55:21You're going against the trend though here. Like I, that's, I don't think that's wise.
55:25Like the trend is last place to first place into the division.
55:28I know, but I already have one of those.
55:31You think two teams are going to come out of the ASC South?
55:34No. So then why are they, how are they going to make the playoffs?
55:38They don't mind the division. Is that another mic drop?
55:41Is that another mic drop? Oh. Two shows, two microphones.
55:44Two shows, two microphones for Andrew Erickson. All right.
55:47Bazinga. All right. I'm going to have to go bet it now.
55:50It was well done. What do you think the win total for this team is?
55:54Oh. I know what it is. Six and a half.
55:57Seven and a half. Six and a half. Plus one 10 for the over minus one of five for the under.
56:03Over. Taking the over. There you have it, everybody.
56:05So that's a look at the South. But what do y'all think of the South?
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