0:00Right now, when you buy more carpet at the Home Depot, you save more.
0:05During our Buy More, Save More event going on now, upgrade your carpeting with the top brands and save up to 15% off installed carpet projects.
0:14Installation starting at just 49 cents per square foot.
0:17Select from a wide assortment of carpet to fit your room, lifestyle, and budget during the Buy More, Save More event at the Home Depot.
0:26Offer valid August 27th through September 13th, 2026. Base price for standard installations only.
0:30Excludes Traffic Master and stock carpet. For licenses, see homedepot.com slash license numbers.
0:35Welcome back to the Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny, only NFL podcast.
0:39One of the hosts thinks an Aussie is a type of dog that likes to herd cattle.
0:45That's Lenny. Dominique, now that you're on Thursdays, Wednesdays, I know, you get to hear my jokes.
0:51I don't do them on Tuesdays. Lucky you. It's been so long.
0:55I missed them. I like that one. It's good.
0:58Thursday, Wednesday, very confusing right now for all involved.
1:01It is Wednesday. I got a Kyle Shanahan clip, right?
1:04Yeah, that was well done. What do you think is going to have the better sleep plan, the Niners or the Rams?
1:12This has been one of the funniest. Yeah, I mean, I think the way this has been explained to me is that
1:20the Niners will be better for this game, but the Rams will be better for the following games.
1:26And so, like, I'm going to stick with it.
1:29It seems to make some bit of sense. It's like they might deal with a little.
1:34The Rams might deal with a little bit of challenge and just getting there and playing, but they'll get back and get right on the schedule.
1:4349ers out there time travel. The Niners have the Rams and then the Dolphins and the Cardinals.
1:49So maybe this was strategic. They're like, let's get this game right.
1:53And then there's no disrespect to the Dolphins and the Cardinals.
1:57OK, so Dominique is here to preview week one.
2:00We're going to talk about every game, as always.
2:03As I mentioned on Tuesday's podcast, make sure my days right.
2:07Ben will be joining me on Tuesday to react.
2:10Dominique will be joining me every other week, but every other week I will be over at Dominique's show.
2:17So check out the Dominique Foxworth show also wherever you're pods.
2:21If you like to listen to both of us talk football, if not, why are you here?
2:27That would be weird. OK, so as always, we go through every week one matchup.
2:32Some of them, we will both present keys to bigger games.
2:36Some of them, only one of us will present a key.
2:39You know, there's a few, there's a few week one, though, honestly, like there were a couple that could have made the big game.
2:48You know, like Ravens Colts is really interesting. Packers Vikings is really interesting.
2:52But obviously, we're going to both talk about the opener, which is tonight because this is Wednesday.
2:58You are listening to this on Wednesday. The game tonight is Patriots Seahawks Super Bowl rematch.
3:03I will go first. I got Patriots offense versus Seahawks defense.
3:07And my question is, who's in this secondary? Oh my God, they've run out of safeties.
3:13So the key is, can you protect Drake May long enough to punish this incredibly injured Seahawks secondary?
3:19I feel like this snuck up on people outside of Seattle, but Seattle is heavily undermanned coming into this game.
3:26Tai Okada, who was the second safety with Kobe Bryant gone next to Julian Love out.
3:31Kobe, probably Bud Clark, who was the rookie that they drafted this year in the second round, lost for the season.
3:39And Nicky Minwari looks like won't play in this game, or if he does, it would be in some very limited capacity.
3:46So they are very injured. Dan Wearspoon, Josh Jover, you're starting corners.
3:50But like, I'm looking at this Patriots revamped group of pass catchers, and I think there's a litany of ways they can attack.
3:58The question, Dominique, and this is obviously a referendum a little bit on the Super Bowl where Drake May was under siege.
4:06Can Seattle come up with ways or pressure Drake May enough to the point where they can mitigate that to some degree?
4:13I think that's what's going to decide this game on that side of the ball.
4:19Yeah, and I guess the way that you phrase it doesn't really matter.
4:23But like, I phrase it differently because of the Super Bowl.
4:27It's not can Seattle get there? It's can the Patriots protect them?
4:31Like, it was an onslaught in the Super Bowl.
4:34It felt like we had a referendum on like arm length for tackles and on their whole offense.
4:40Like, that was such an enormous story immediately after the Super Bowl and throughout the Super Bowl.
4:46I was sitting there watching it in L.A., ironically, where next year's Super Bowl will be with like Rex Ryan and some of the other people there.
4:56And they were just going to some of the other like football people we have at our company.
5:02They were just going nuts. And I kept looking up wondering if it was because we didn't have the sound on.
5:09So we're talking about each other. And it just felt like every other snap.
5:14We're getting through those edges and just steamrolling Will Campbell in the backfield in Drake May's lap.
5:20So, yeah, that to me, obviously, there's an advantage.
5:23It seems like there's an advantage for the Patriots receivers against the secondary.
5:27But are they going to be able to attack it?
5:31Doug Marone, who is the Patriots offensive line coach, is like sneaky, like under pressure in this game because, you know, I
5:38think he wears a lot of that bad performance of the offensive line.
5:43So he hasn't even blitz very much, but like they had like 100 percent blitz hit rate.
5:49It was off of the same blitz over and over.
5:52And it felt like New England just never adjusted.
5:55So I think he's got to be prepared for, you know, I doubt they're going to blitz at a heavy rate, especially
6:03again, given how undermanned they are in the back end.
6:06But like they've got to be prepared for those blitzes this time around.
6:11I think for New England, too, you know, just kind of going to like, all right, how can you ensure that Drake
6:18May has the time to take advantage of your matchup advantage?
6:22It sounds a little bit paradoxical because we're talking about how the Patriots receivers are a great matchup now against Seattle.
6:29But I wouldn't be surprised also if we see them maybe put some bigger bodies on the field on our layer downs.
6:37They have the fullback Reggie Gilliam now. They're tight ends because, again, the Seahawks superpower and again, the Seahawks superpower.
6:44Well, I guess, again, if you listen to this podcast was that they never had to respond to big bodies with big bodies, right?
6:52They would put Nikki and Wari on the field and play their big nickel or their dime, and they could defend the run at a reasonable rate.
7:01But New England couldn't even run the ball on them, right?
7:05So I wonder if New England's like, cool, we're going to put our big bodies.
7:10Let's see what you do. And in doing so, not only might we be able to run the ball and protect Drake May, A.G.
7:19Brown might get a one-on-one in this situation, too.
7:22So there's some, I think, personnel games that they can play to also take advantage of all the Seahawks injuries.
7:29It's funny that in preparing for these games and watching, having all this time, there's things that don't come to your mind until you're in conversation.
7:38And I know this side of the ball is keys for you, but I would throw in there now that we're talking
7:45about it, is the coaching staff of the Patriots.
7:48Because if you think back to the Super Bowl, they ran one protection.
7:53It was getting destroyed. They didn't do anything about it.
7:56To be able to have in-game adjustments, and I think you could argue about the age, like the youth that they had
8:04on that side of the ball at important positions from quarterback to left tackle might have played something into it.
8:11But you saw it throughout the course of the season.
8:14And to your point where you're making that point, I was thinking, I wonder how the Seahawks would have adjusted if the
8:22Patriots gave them some other looks and challenged them with different personnels and different formations in the course of that game or even tried new protections.
8:31They didn't do anything. They ran the same protections and just left them all on the island.
8:37They didn't try any new personnel. And that's like the in-game adjustments to me have become so, so important in the modern NFL.
8:44No one really sticks to what they were their original game plan throughout the course of an entire game.
8:51If I remember correctly, I'm pulling this up now.
8:54I think they went like jumbo once and hit a big play and then never went back to New England.
9:01I'm looking it up now. Let's see. Yes, one play.
9:04And yes, one play and it went for 21 yards.
9:08And then that was it. Yeah. So that's I mean, I think that's one of the keys also is Mike McDonald.
9:15We know it's going to have a good or maybe he doesn't have the information to use to have a really good bespoke game plan.
9:24But through the course of this, like they it's one thing about his defense.
9:29They adjust really well. And you're going to have to force them to adjust.
9:33You have the pieces. I mean, they're just they're so hamstrung on the back end.
9:39And like as good as Seattle's defense was, and I think they're one of the two best defenses in the NFL.
9:46You know, I think back to the Bucs game that when Baker Mayfield and company shredded them, they were extremely injured in that game.
9:54At a certain point, scheme only takes you so far.
9:58You have to have, you know, starting caliber players.
10:01And they hit that wall in that game. And I do wonder what it's going to look like in this one.
10:08Before we switch to the other side, I would like suggest anybody who's whacking this game, pay close attention to like the first 15 of the Patriots.
10:17Because oftentimes the first 15 is a recon mission.
10:20It's like these are the shifts in motions that we are bringing into this game.
10:26We want to throw them out there and see how you adjust to it.
10:30If they come out and have a similar personnel group and they don't do much like that would be concerning to me.
10:38Like you want to check, check them on everything that you can in the first few plays.
10:44Yeah. Like what if you put Gilliam on the field on that first drive just to see what are you going to do about this?
10:52Right. Like are you without Nikki Minwari, without the safeties?
10:56Are you comfortable playing this light? And if not, let's freaking run the damn ball.
11:01Okay. On your, you've got the other side of the ball.
11:05I know that sounded dire. Seahawks fans. I promise you it'll sound less dire on this side of the ball, at least
11:12based on what I, what I'm thinking. Oh, well, I think on this side of the ball, I was thinking the edges for the Patriots.
11:21Like I have Patriots defense against Seahawks offense. I think the edges are hugely important, not just because the Patriots don't have great pass rushers at that spot.
11:31I think that's a huge part of it, but that's the obvious.
11:35I also think that because they run so much man coverage, the, their edges ability to hold up in the run is
11:42going to be important also because you do, the Seahawks will do a lot of those cross field play actions.
11:49And so if you're a man coverage and you have, so if you imagine the receiver going into crack, the man who's
11:57covering them in man coverage, it's going to chase them down in there, whether he's blocking or going across.
12:03So that makes the edge weak and they're not going to replace on the crack very much unless it's in zone, if they're a man.
12:12So I think that if those edges can hold up and you saw them break some plays in early in the game,
12:20some running plays because the edge didn't hold up in Gonzalez or Davis is chasing this guy in to block someone else.
12:27So they're getting a two for one because the corners taking themselves out of the play because they're so concerned about those
12:35play action deep overs and stuff that you saw JSN just eat on.
12:39And so like, I think those edges are going to have to be good in the pass rush, but more importantly, I
12:47think they're going to have to be like stout in the run to be able to keep the cornerbacks out of it.
12:54Yeah, I have as one of my keys, Kenton, New England set an edge this time because Seattle really killed them.
13:02They weren't even that efficient running the ball in this game, but they hit some real explosive runs to the perimeter and you've got a new back here.
13:11But I think everything I've heard about their new offense coordinator, Brian Fleury coming from San Francisco, suggests that that's something he's going to prioritize.
13:20You putting also using like Brady Russell's kind of like a hybrid fullback tight end for them, but using him on motions
13:28as well as the tight ends and the receivers to try to create space on the outside for Jared Aaron Price, I
13:35think is going to be a priority. And I think to your point, New England, I expect to play a decent amount
13:43of man coverage in this the way they did the last time these teams played the way they did, honestly, successfully for a lot of the game.
13:52Yep. They blitzed Sam Darnold a ton the last time and Darnold like struggled against it, but then they hit just enough
14:00big plays coupled with the runs for the offense to be successful.
14:04I think, you know, when I said at the top of this, like, I think they'll have more success on this side of the ball.
14:12I just feel one, they're healthier. So we should start there.
14:16Like the Seahawks offense is basically healthy outside of Torrey Horton.
14:20Like this is the starting unit. And I think there's going to be some new wrinkles in the run game.
14:27That are going to be really interesting. But I also think that this is going to be a very tight ends.
14:34Yep. Whatever you want to call Brady Russell heavy offense.
14:38And that is where they had success against New England in the Super Bowl.
14:42And I think it's where they're going to have success in this one as well.
14:48The strength is Patriots defense is those corners. JSN, for those who have forgotten, was like not a big factor in the Super Bowl.
14:56And I think Seattle, one thing that I think is a big part of their offense this year is finding answers when JSN isn't.
15:04And I say that and he might go crazy and maybe he'll kill Christian Gonzalez, who's, you know, just resolved his contract.
15:12Great. But I really believe a big priority for them this offseason has been like, OK, we're playing a team that can
15:19really take out or focus on JSN. And can we attack the other, the weaknesses, safety, a little bit of a, I
15:27know they have some additions there, but linebacker in coverage.
15:30I think Seattle is equipped to do that. And I think they're going to be able to run the ball.
15:37What do you think about Elijah Arroyo? It's like, yeah, I think that he kind of feels to me like the guy
15:45that they're going to bring out in these man coverage situations.
15:49And try to use him and go ahead and JSN decoy, try to use him to make replays.
15:55The other thing I don't, I don't see this very often.
15:59And it's not just of the Seahawks, but it's particularly important for them because I think they need big plays for Sam Darnold.
16:07Not that everyone doesn't need them, but they need those for Sam Darnold more than most people do.
16:13I'm really surprised that they don't, especially with a corner like Gonzalez, they don't like take shots or double move on third and manageable.
16:21Like I don't, cause Kristen Gonzalez has got some guts is the word that I'll use on those important, like gotta have it down situations.
16:30He will sit at the sticks no matter how fast the receiver is.
16:34I'm surprised that nobody uses third and five or third and six as an opportunity to try to get a big play.
16:42If it doesn't work, just punt it away. Cause otherwise you're throwing into like a real tough spot there.
16:48Cause he's waiting. Do what's your temperature level on Sam Darnold in this one?
16:53Yeah. I mean, I think, yeah, I, I think they need the big places is my, I wouldn't ask if they're, they
17:01need to have a successful running attack and they need to find explosive plays.
17:06So like, uh, I think Sam Darnold was capable of doing that.
17:10And if the defense keeps it close, but I wouldn't want him given what we saw in the Superbowl last year, I wouldn't want to go at it.
17:19Like they did in that Rams, um, playoff game.
17:22The thing about Superbowl is like, and Darnold has talked about this.
17:27They actually left a bunch of big plays on the table with like slight misses.
17:32Yeah. And so I really think that they have the pieces though.
17:36Yeah. The other factor here is Clint Kubiak. Like I thought by the end of the season was just tremendous for Seattle
17:43and you know, this is new play caller. Um, all right.
17:47So like, I'll just say, I think I feel close in high scoring.
17:52That's where I'm going here. Um, I'm, I feel like you're going to pick new England cause of the CX injuries.
17:59No, you sounded so negative and doubting this whole time.
18:02Yeah. I was concerned about it, but I, I, um, that pass rush was a lot last time.
18:09Like I need to see something different. Do you think I'm off?
18:13I'm off with the, um, high scoring. Um, crazy to say about the CX defense.
18:18I just, like, they're just so injured on the back.
18:21Yeah. Yeah. I, I think the difference between our analysis is you believe that they're going to be able to, to block
18:29it up or they're going to find other ways to attack that secondary.
18:33Um, um, I think I don't believe that they are, they're going to be able to exploit the secondary as much.
18:41So, uh, I could certainly see a high scoring situation if Darnold hits those big plays, but I guess I'm banking on
18:48the pass rush and, and Mike McDonald figuring it out.
18:52I'm taking Seattle, but I think this is very close.
18:55Yeah. If it was in new England, I might flip it, but it's hard.
19:00You, I mean, you're a defending champ. You're, you're putting up the banner.
19:04Yeah. You can't lose. I want to be clear.
19:08Like the, I know the Seahawks, like if you were healthy, I would pretty, I would definitely take Seattle issues.
19:14They're so injured in this area. They're injured in, at a place where they're very strong too.
19:20It's like, it's not like we, yeah. Yeah. It's not like we get, we hide this group all the time.
19:27Like this, that unique group is part of the reason why they were so good last year.
19:33So you're Seattle too? Yep. I'm Seattle. All right.
19:36Niners Rams in Australia. No Aaron Donald. Didn't think Aaron Donald was going to play.
19:41This was like, no Aaron Donald. I saw it today.
19:45I was like, yeah, right. Who thought? I didn't think he was going to, I don't know, whatever.
19:51All right. So you have the Rams offense versus the Niners defense.
19:55Why don't you go first in this one? The Rams, like the lone pronounced weakness they have is their tackles.
20:02And honestly, they did whatever they wanted with the 49ers the last time they played.
20:07But the 49ers were entirely different personnel wise on defense and had a different coordinator.
20:12So Raheem Morris is stepping in and they get back.
20:16Most importantly, Fred Warner, but they just get back a reasonable or a number of starting level players, which they didn't have on the field last year.
20:25So it's hard to like gauge it off what they did last year.
20:30They started to get away from the things that they do normally because they were in so much trouble.
20:36But I do think that like the key to this game is, are they going to be able to find ways to attack those tackles?
20:45That's one place where you feel like you have some sort of weakness that the Rams have offensively and get in Stafford's face and cause them havoc.
20:54Of course, they need to be able to stop the run.
20:58But I was looking for an advantage that they could have.
21:02So initially, I have to stop the run and put them in situations where they can expose those tackles.
21:08That's exactly my thinking. It's all about this is a down and distance.
21:13Like if you can get them into third down, I actually think it switches.
21:18Yeah, this gets kind of lost. But the Rams offense last year was first DPA per play on first down.
21:24They were 22nd on third down. They just were never in third and long.
21:29Shepard had the lowest conversion distance on third down in the NFL.
21:33And some of that was because of him. Some of it was because they had an unbelievably efficient run game.
21:40So the Niners run defense last year was an abomination.
21:44But like you said, obviously, they were very injured.
21:47You have Warner back. Bosa, I believe, is going to play in this game.
21:52You're two of some of those, you know, all those young defensive tackles, CJ West, Alfred Collins, like, can they be better?
21:59You don't have Michael Williams back yet. But I kind of think that's it.
22:04Like if the Niners defense can't stop the Rams run game on early downs, which and of course their play action pass attack is tied to that.
22:13I don't think they've got a shot in this one.
22:17So like it's funny because the Niners, I'm going to actually say something kind of like the inverse on the other side of the ball.
22:26But like last year, they were just so bad running the ball and stopping the run.
22:31And they were still great in spite of that.
22:34I think this year their ceiling is going to be determined by whether or not they can do either of those things, at least at an average level.
22:44Yeah. Yeah. The ability for them to be able to stop the run and put them in.
22:50It's not only just stop the run. To your point, they're really good on first down, not just because they were running
22:57there, but like we all know, like that's the best time to throw the ball, especially going to do play action is like first down.
23:06So they're really good on first down. So it's when the first down and that starts with their ability to stop the run.
23:14But the reinforcements that they are, I guess the enforcements that they have received through health and through free agency on the
23:21defense is I think that's going to be interesting test to determine what type of season they're going to have is they
23:29really had kind of a miracle season. They don't give out trophies for it, but like what they accomplished last year was
23:37absolutely incredible considering that they couldn't run the ball.
23:40Their entire defense is depleted, but somehow they made it to almost winning this division and won a playoff game against the Eagles.
23:48I'm also interested in if whether or not Rahe Morris puts a stamp on this defense at all and what that even
23:55looks like in 2026 because we kind of are removed from, you know, he wasn't play call or defensive play caller in Atlanta.
24:03I'm interested in seeing if he mixes it up at all for them in terms of their pressures and because it's been
24:11like the same defense, you know, for years now.
24:14They changed some last year, but yeah, I mean, good point.
24:18They they've changed by by they just had to by the end of the year to do a little bit more interesting things.
24:26The 49ers defense, but yeah, Raheem Morris is going to look entirely different.
24:30I would assume that they're going to hand it over to him.
24:34You don't bring him in unless that's the plan.
24:37They said that about Steve Wilks and all right.
24:40Like I said, it's basically the inverse for me.
24:43Niners offense versus Rams defense. Can you be moderately efficient on first down?
24:48So no Aaron Donald, but like it honestly, this is it's the same analysis kind of applies with smiles Garrett and Kobe
24:56Derner and whatnot and Byron Young and brain frisk and Puna Ford and all of that.
25:01But like we alluded to this, the the Niners rushing attack last year was like really bad and first down there were 26 in yards per carry.
25:10And a lot of that had to do with the offensive line and also defenses.
25:16I think not entirely fearing like that they would use the entire field, the passing attack again, obviously a lot of injuries played into that.
25:24I don't think to beat the Rams, you have to have like an unbelievable rushing attack, but you have to make them
25:32respect it at least to the point to where you can attack the backers in coverage, which is the one weakness relative
25:39weakness that the Rams defense has, which is what Kyle Shanahan does, right?
25:44Like he the famous microscope beam. He draws a micro that like.
25:48Kyle Shanahan has one mission in this game is to get those linebackers on the field and find ways to put them in conflict.
25:56There you go. That's two missions, to be clear, because the first I think the first mission is going to be the
26:04hard one, like getting them in conflict is Kyle Shanahan can do that in his sleep, getting them on the field.
26:11I think given what Chris Shula did last year and what they've at.
26:16Yeah. What they added to their defensive line. Like I, I've been trying to force, I guess I'm on get up, not NFL live.
26:24So no one wants to have to like get up when I have the NFL live level conversation on get up, but
26:31I've been trying to force them to talk about like how significant the D line is to allow them to be able
26:39to play dime is like, we talk about how these tight end offenses are designed to make you put your linebackers.
26:46Your, I feel the, the antsiness just go ahead.
26:49Just whatever you got to say. Last time that they played, the Rams were in base defense 45% of the time, which
26:57was their second highest rate of the entire season.
27:00Okay. Okay. This is against the Niners, the Niners against those looks actually threw the ball pretty well, obviously.
27:07Right. Could not run the ball for anything. So what I'm interested in is if you're Chris Shula to your point, are you like, you know what?
27:16Run the ball on us. Yeah. Let's see it.
27:19That's the hidden thing in the miles Garrett acquisition.
27:22And then the Aaron down acquisition. It's the point that I was trying to make is that I think that they want to eliminate linebackers.
27:31Like, I think that their, that their goal is to eliminate the linebacker position.
27:36They might have one linebacker out there just because they have to, but I think that because they recognize that that's the
27:43conflict that's created is their D line. While we talk about the pass rush and how hard it's going to be able to block them.
27:52Like, I think the difference in teams that are able to like the Seahawks that are able to stand up in lighter packages against the run.
28:01It's not only that Nicky memory is physical enough and that Devin Witherspoon is physical enough.
28:06It's that their front. Yeah. Their front plays really well against the run.
28:11And I think that's one of the best defensive tackles against the run in the entire NFL.
28:17And I think that's part of the strategy is like, we're going to be really good up front.
28:23We're not going to be intimidated against whatever personnel group you put out there because the best thing we can have out
28:30there to eliminate big plays is speed. We'll keep the speed out there and dare you to run the ball at us.
28:38Kuna Ford on early downs. Yeah. I promise they're going to play Penny.
28:42It's not going to be anybody out there, but DB just safeties and corners and, and Miles Garrett.
28:49And that's it. Uh, uh, the linebacker disrespect. Um, yeah, I, I, I, you know, I've been talking about this last week.
28:56We talked about like what offenses can like actually take on this defense.
29:01Seattle, interestingly enough, has the tight ends to do it.
29:04Buffalo is one. Um, and, and San Francisco is one that hypothetically could, but not if they can't run the ball at all.
29:12I don't, they don't even need to be explosive running the ball.
29:16They don't, uh, they just can't be as bad.
29:19They don't need to be as bad as they were last year.
29:23It is remarkable how good this Niner's team was last year, given that they couldn't run the ball or stop the run.
29:31Yeah. Like when you think about it, it is insane.
29:34Um, all that said, I'm taking the Rams. Yeah.
29:38I'll go first in this one because I have the Bucs offense versus the Bengals defense.
29:43So I want, it's funny, I swear to God, I'll stop saying test the linebackers, but like it's kind of what you want to do against this Bengals.
29:53It is the glaring weakness of so many teams, including Cincinnati.
29:57But I put Tampa Bay. Can you run the ball better than you did last year and also bring down Baker Mayfield's depth of target?
30:05Because I really think that's how you beat Cincinnati here is running the football and short throws.
30:11Last year on short throws, the Bengals gave up 6.7 yards per play, which was the second worst in the NFL.
30:18They were horrendous against screens. And obviously the run defense was abysmal.
30:22I would say you want to, you know, with Dexter Lawrence in the middle now, the edges are, you know, Boyd Maffey's
30:30going to be better, but you really want to get the linebackers moving side to side.
30:36I looked this up because it felt, I was like, I knew it would be bad.
30:41On runs outside the tackles last year, guess how many yards per carry Cincinnati gave up?
30:47It was worse than the NFL. Just guess, just guess.
30:50Five. 7.4. Nope, that's not possible. Five is crazy high.
30:53Five is 7.4. So Tampa last year, I think a lot of the struggles of the offense were running the football.
31:01And then I really think Baker, they should have like brought down his depth of target.
31:06And, you know, this used to be a great screen game, offensive line injuries.
31:11Offensive line is healthy now. And Bucky Irving is healthy, hypothetically.
31:15Got Kenny Gainwell. So I'm really like, you don't need to air this out against Cincinnati, is my point.
31:21Just run the football, test them on the ground and quick passing, short throws, I really think can work against this defense.
31:29You don't think that Cincinnati, or I guess you test them out to see if they've addressed it.
31:35But yeah, I mean, because it's not the same Bengals.
31:39Well, it's the same linebackers. Yeah, same linebackers. But like the D line has been overhauled, which I think is, that matters a huge amount.
31:47We'll see. But yeah, on the other side of the ball, like maybe you're a bit of a broken record, but I am too.
31:56I think this is about two things. It's about the mediocre, I guess, Bengals offensive line against what I think is going
32:03to be a really, really impressive defensive line of the Bucs, that along with the youth.
32:09So like if the young players, including Bain, Trotter, and Keontae Scott, their nickel out of Miami, who I loved him when
32:16I was watching tape, just like his attitude, his intensity at Miami, like those guys need to step up and play well.
32:24They're important parts of this team. And I think it's going to come down to if the defensive front is just getting
32:31after Mims and Brown, which I think they probably will with adding up.
32:36Speaking of the young guys, including that Reuben Bain is a part of that really dominant front.
32:42Yeah. Bengals offensive line has absolutely improved. Improved Orlando Brown Jr.
32:46is maybe the matchup I'm looking at. If he's getting a one-on-one versus Diaby or Bain, is that a matchup Tampa wins?
32:53Earlier in the week, I had Tampa as my pass rush that could take the huge leap this year.
33:00I'm very excited about this defense. It's funny because Cincinnati is hypothetically, I'll stop saying hypothetically, but they're supposed to, and we've
33:07seen this in the preseason a bit, have a bit of an offensive makeover in terms of getting under center, attacking downfield, run the ball from under center.
33:17But it does feel like against Tampa, the old offense might be the way to get him, which is burrowing the gun,
33:24ball out quick, make him tackle in space. Because the Bengals' biggest advantage here, obviously, is their receivers against the Bucs' corners.
33:32Even though they're not bad, but it's just, you know, Bengals.
33:36The Bengals receivers are going to be good against anybody, yeah.
33:40Yeah. So, you know, this is a very difficult run defense.
33:43So, yeah. That old Bengals style, it led to Joe Burrow holding onto the ball a lot for too long.
33:50So, like, I'd be concerned about breaking that out of week one, but I get your point.
33:56Because, like, I know that maybe he should get rid of the ball quickly, but he doesn't always.
34:02And those matchups are not great. This is one where the time to throw is going to be huge.
34:09I actually don't know who's the favorite in this one.
34:12Now I want to see, because I think this is close.
34:16I'm taking Cincinnati. I would go Tampa. Okay, cool.
34:19I mean, this has got to be – it's in Tampa, right?
34:23No, it's in Cincinnati. Okay, so I feel good about Cincinnati.
34:27This is – I feel like these are pretty – yeah, it's – so it's Cincinnati three and a half.
34:34That's, you know, basically close to a pick-em. That's right.
34:38I think – I'm excited to see this young Bengals – this Bucs defense, but they're – week one, this is a tough, mad, tough draw for them.
34:47But Bengals offense, I think, is going to be really good.
34:51So, all right. Good. We've got some – I like it when we don't pick all the same.
34:57Saints Lions is me. So, I wrote for my key, Tyler Shuck versus the Bullets.
35:02Really like Tyler Shuck. I think this Saints offense is going to be better.
35:07But that was one area where he really struggled last season when blitzed.
35:12He was 27th in success rate, 28th on target rate, 26 in yards per attempt, 28th took a lot of sacks against the blitz.
35:20And I think Detroit is probably going to bring a lot of – which they already – they always do.
35:27Yeah. But with some of the question marks, too, and the rest of that defense, I feel like there's going to be
35:34a game where they bring a lot of pressure.
35:38So, I want to see if Tyler – I'm not saying he can't.
35:42I want to see – this is year two.
35:45He was a rookie. Offensive line should be better than they were last season.
35:50So, I think this is a good kind of heat check, not just for Shuck and his development, but also for this Detroit pass rush.
35:59Because all offseason, I've been saying, love Detroit offense, Detroit defense, a lot of question marks.
36:04Can they get to the quarterback opposite Hutchinson? What is this secondary?
36:08They're so injured, yada, yada. So, I'm kind of – I feel like if there are glaring warning signs in this game,
36:16that's going to be concerning moving forward. Yeah, absolutely.
36:19I mean, I think the expectations for the Lions are different than those of the Saints.
36:24But I think you're right. Like, Shuck, it's – the question is, can he be the long-term answer?
36:31And the bar is higher for a player like him than it is – than it's going to be for, like, a highly drafted guy.
36:39So, he's not going to get multiple years to try to figure this out.
36:44If he doesn't figure out those – the shortcomings that he has this year, I think it's probably likely that they look
36:52elsewhere, especially if the season goes badly enough that they're high in the draft and can look – which is a possibility.
36:59I think they're a pretty talented team, but not at that key position.
37:04So, things could happen there. We'll see. I think, yeah, the Lions – we'll find out a lot about them early in
37:11this season about how high the expectations should be.
37:14That whole division, with the exception of the Vikings.
37:18But I guess you can include them, too. That whole division is just, like, what's up with your defense?
37:24It's, like, the question for everybody in that division.
37:27And it's hard for me to, like, feel good about that defense considering what's happened to their secondary right now.
37:34So, yeah, we'll see. Also, a good heat check for the Lions offensive line.
37:39Because the Saints defensive line really improved last season.
37:42Chase Young, I talked about, over the offseason was quite good.
37:46Granderson. So, you know, I think for – it's not – but even that said, they're not going to be one of the best pass rushers you face.
37:56So, I think Detroit, let's see if this – let's see if – we talk about the Niners having, like, a sneaky bad run game.
38:04Let's see if Detroit can run the ball. The Saints' run defense was quite good.
38:09And they'll play a lot of – they'll put three linebackers on the field against Detroit.
38:15But, you know, it's been – wasn't it – quietly, Jameer Gibbs, as productive as he was, did not actually, like, was
38:22not efficient at running the ball through no fault of his own for the most part last year.
38:29So, I'm going to take Detroit here. Yeah, I go Detroit also and root for Gibbs for the sake of your fantasy team.
38:37Didn't you get him? I do. Well, I haven't taken him yet, but I have the first overall pick.
38:43Oh, I gotcha. Are you going to give it, like, some Gibbs-related name?
38:48It's always Lenny's dogs. We keep the same names every year.
38:51All right. Jets, Titans, Dominique. America's game. Yeah. I think this one came down to, for me at least, the coach-quarterback combo,
38:59like the new coach-quarterback combos that we have. Yeah.
39:02Geno Smith is going to be with – I don't want to say Shane Smith.
39:07It's not Shane Stockton. Yeah, Frank Reich. That's why Shane Stockton is online.
39:12That's going to be weird. Frank Reich back on the sideline is going to be one of those, like, oh, kind of moments.
39:20Yeah. I think that's the question. It's, like, we'll see if Geno, that issue that – or the issues he had last
39:27year were a result of the coach-quarterback combo he had then.
39:31Like, he's in a – it seems like a much better situation, surroundings as far as talent is concerned, particularly on the
39:39offensive line with two good tackles and weapons and receivers, a good running back.
39:43Like, it's a good situation, but the question is going to be, does he feel comfortable?
39:49And Frank Reich's offense on the other side, we got Dayball and Ward.
39:53Like, that's – it feels like the bloom is starting to come off of that.
39:59Like, rose a lot sooner than people had anticipated.
40:02Like, I think the expectations were we have a really big athletic quarterback who reminds us of Josh Allen.
40:08It's like that trap that Josh Allen has created for everyone.
40:12It's like, yeah, you just got to get the right coach with him.
40:17And I know people have been investigating Brian Dayball's past and quarterback success and looking at it in the light now.
40:24It's like, hey, did he really do that much?
40:27And we look at – it's like he got a – he was around Josh Allen when Josh Allen ascended.
40:34And that could have been a lot more credit to Stefan Diggs than Brian Dayball and the other innovation around – or the other successful quarterback developments.
40:43It's hard to say that Brian Dayball's that guy.
40:46So I think we'll see what happens there. I think that game will be decided by that.
40:52Honestly, like, surprisingly, with lean jets in this matchup.
40:55Yeah. In part because the – yeah, the Titans preseason was pretty alarming.
41:00The Jets, like, should be one of the softer starts for them in terms of the secondary.
41:06I do think the Jets, though, pass rush could be sneaky.
41:09You know, Will McDonald, David Bailey, Kingsley, and Barre, Devondra said on the inside.
41:14And I am – I hope I'm wrong about the Titans after the preseason, but it was a concerning outing.
41:21I do like, though, the idea of investigating Brian Dayball.
41:24People are investigating. Like, Pablo Torre is going to drop an episode.
41:29Did Brian Dayball really help group Josh Allen? I mean, the stamp of quarterback whisperer gets put on people really quickly sometimes,
41:36and I'm not sure we can point to all that much whispering he's done.
41:41I will say Titans defense. The opposite of the Dayball, did he really quarterback whisperer, is Robert Sala, who has had a
41:49clear and obvious effect on defenses as a coach.
41:52So – and this is his revenge game. Yep.
41:55So that's something to – And Aaron Glenn. I mean, I think it's all about coaches here, because Aaron Glenn is taking
42:02over the defense, and after they set a record for zero interceptions, he's going to put his stamp on the defense, which is how he got the job.
42:12So, yeah, we'll see. It's a big coaching game.
42:15All right. We're both taking the Jets. What a sentence.
42:19Ravens-Colts. Okay. So this is – I really want to get eyes on this one, because I think it's really interesting for a litany of reasons.
42:28I could talk about the new Ravens offense, attacking the Colts linebackers, which is what I would do.
42:34But I'm really interested in how Daniel Jones responds to pressure and if there is pressure, because I think that question is
42:41going to, like, really – not just determine this matchup, but, like, maybe the course of both of those two teams this
42:49season, and it's kind of one of those, like, ah, I just want to see it, right?
42:55So on the Ravens side, we know that this is a completely revamped defensive front.
43:00Yeah. Totally different. Namdi Madhubike took off the neck roll in practice, so that's going to be a thing.
43:07Next to Travis Jones, Claes Campbell, Trey Hendrickson was brought in to get sacked.
43:11A bunch of young pass rushers behind him. Jesse Minter.
43:15So a lot of creativity also in the rush.
43:18Meanwhile, on the other side, Daniel Jones, I want to see it.
43:22I want to see how he moves. I mentioned this talking about him, I think, when I did my AFC South pod,
43:30but something, I think, a little bit lost in the injury last season and how it ended was that in the weeks
43:37before the injury, he really started to struggle under pressure.
43:41Like, weeks one through eight, he was unbelievable under pressure, like, better than he's ever been by a mile.
43:47And then after that, and there were still some injuries that played into it, really started.
43:53He went from third in pressure to sack rate to 28th, second in QBR to 27.
43:58Like, all of his numbers started falling off a cliff, right?
44:02So where is the truth? And also, can he move?
44:06I think, you know, is something we actually just need to see.
44:10So I'm really interested this week one, that particular factor, which is just, I want to see both sides of that question.
44:17Different injuries mean different things to different players, and athleticism to Daniel Jones is so core to what has made, when he
44:25has been effective, that's so core to what has made him effective.
44:29Like, I'm, I think I'm with you as I want to see it, but like, this quick off Achilles, like, it's hard
44:37for me to have the expectations that it's going to be good, but I do want to see it.
44:43And like, it started to fall apart a little last year before the injuries started to take place.
44:49Cause he had one injury before he had the season ending injury, but like, even before that, things started to get a little wonky there with that offense.
44:59So I think it'll be really tough for him, even against, even if this Ravens defense hasn't improved and doesn't have a
45:07new coordinator, like, I think it was going to be tough for them offensively without Daniel Jones being able to threaten with
45:14his legs in the way that he kind of always has.
45:18Ravens for me. Yeah. Ravens. I mentioned the Colts is a team that could look better in the second half of the
45:25season than the first with all of the guys coming off of injuries.
45:30Yeah. I just want to see how he moves, man.
45:33I want to, if he, is he under center a lot?
45:37How is he moving coming off of under center?
45:40It's not just about, you know, like your point is really important too.
45:45We're talking about his athleticism because it's not like Daniel Jones design runs.
45:49That wasn't even a big part of their offense last year.
45:53It's much more the, like part of the reason why he was so amazing under pressure in those first, you know, eight
46:01games is because of his movement ability. And there's some questions.
46:04It's called Colts. Colts are one of the harder teams to get your arms around right now.
46:10All right. Falcon Steelers, the Tua Tunga Bailoa finally officially announced as starting quarterback, led Falcons against the Pittsburgh Steelers who may have Joey Porter Jr.
46:19Maybe that'll be resolved by the time this hates your ears.
46:23What are you watching for here? It's a lot of delicate QBs at one place at one time.
46:29So I think for me, it's we know that the Falcons pass rush is pretty much gone at this point.
46:36So I think Aaron Rodgers will be pretty comfortable back there.
46:40But the question for me is how good is the Steelers defense?
46:44And in particular, like the front and the pass rush, like are they going to be healthy and back?
46:51Because we expected better from them defensively last year.
46:54And I think if that, depending on what type of defense we get from them, I think it'll decide this game.
47:01I don't think there'll be much threat. But I mean, the weapons for the Falcons are obviously there.
47:07The arm strength for Tua is what it is.
47:10So the expectation is get the ball out of his hands quickly to mitigate whatever pass rush that they do have and
47:18see if you can make some sort of damage that way.
47:22So I think the Steelers are going to have an easier time offensively because there is no pass rush to threaten Aaron Rodgers.
47:30He can still throw. He can still throw if no one's going to be in his face.
47:35So unless they can scheme up a way to blitz him, just a straight four-man pass rush and Aaron Rodgers is going to have a pretty good game.
47:45Yeah. Vastly different situations up front for these quarterbacks and what they're facing with Rodgers facing the easier one by far.
47:52I think, you know, Pittsburgh is funny because, you know, I alluded to Porter Jr.
47:58A lot of moving parts in the secondary. Guys who haven't played together this offseason, Porter Jr.
48:03has been holding out or holding in or whatever.
48:07The safeties are all coming off of injuries. Brisker, Elliott, Ramsey, Jamel Dean is new.
48:12So like, if it was a really good passing attack, I would say make them communicate to new defense.
48:18Patrick Graham, I just don't think Tua's capable of testing them downfield maybe in a way that challenges that.
48:25Sometimes Steelers' defense has struggled with motion in the run game.
48:29So I think for Kim Stefanski maybe and Tommy Reese there's a way to weaponize Bijan against those linebackers but I just,
48:36I just don't have any faith in this quarterback.
48:39So I'm going Pittsburgh here and the top defense.
48:42The top defense is just, you know. All right, one more game and we'll take a break.
48:48This one's mine. Bears, Panthers. Hmm. Caleb Williams versus Bryce Young, the two sides of the trade.
48:54Um, I'm going to focus on, it's funny because now that I think about it, like, this is like Bryce Young, really,
49:02this is, you should be able to move the ball.
49:05But I'm going to focus on the more interesting side to me which is Caleb Williams against this Panthers defense because I
49:13really do think this Panthers defense is going to be improved this season.
49:17And, uh, what I feel as the biggest mismatch in this game which is the Bears tight ends and slot receivers specifically
49:25Loveland and burden against the Panthers safeties and slot.
49:28Like, the Panthers are just one of those defenses where they have such glaring strengths and such obvious weaknesses.
49:34The strengths are the corners. Now you have Devin Loy, he's better at linebacker.
49:39But they remain incredibly dubious at safety and in the slot and Chicago is very equipped to attack that with Colston Loveland
49:47who, you know, this game, I mean, you can just put him in the slot like, pretty much the entire game if
49:54you want, I feel like, um, or in line.
49:58And I think, you know, it's just, uh, as, as, while I do think this Carolina defense is going to be better,
50:05I just think this is a particularly, this is a tough matchup for them, um, through the air.
50:11Now I will say Chicago's got some question marks on their offensive line.
50:16Maybe Carolina can get it going against, but I just, I just don't think they're going to have an answer for Loveland in particular.
50:24Yeah, I love the Panthers corners. Like, I enjoyed watching them last year, um, with Horn and Jackson.
50:30Uh, I think you're right and I think they know that Loveland is, it's not a secret.
50:36I'd be interested on how they're going to attack it.
50:40the Bears receiving core, there's no, Doomsday has like, uh, issue, right?
50:44Yeah. And, um, obviously we all thought Luther Burton had a really good rookie season.
50:49He still should have some impact, but the other weapon they had, DJ Moore before it's gone.
50:55So like, I feel pretty good about the corners.
50:58I guess as good as you can feel about corners on any team, it's hard to find a team that has two
51:05good corners and they have it to me. So I'd be interested to see what they do to address that if they
51:13would isolate out there and try to give help or if they would move one of those corners to guard, or go
51:21nickel to guard Loveland and move one of those corners in and challenge them to go outside.
51:27So yeah, that, that to me, I think they know, I think they would come into this game expecting that Loveland is
51:34going to be key to their game plan. I have as a note and I'm like, is this right that the Panthers
51:42defense allowed 0.4 EPA per play to tight ends, which is, insane.
51:46It feels right, but like, that's a really high number.
51:49Yeah. They were much better against wide receivers, obviously.
51:52All right. I'm going to take Chicago here. Oh, I don't know if we said Steelers.
51:58We're both taking the Steelers, I presume. we both stayed taking the Steelers.
52:02I mean, we didn't even talk about the other side of the ball, though, which is like the Bears defense is, yeah,
52:10I'm, I think I would go, hmm, yeah, I think I'm going to go the other way.
52:16I think I'll go Panthers here. I mean, I've talked about this nonstop.
52:20The Bears defense is really, really up against it.
52:23tough spot. All right. Let's take a quick break, come back, and get to maybe my favorite game of the entire weekend.
52:31Browns, Jaguar, I'm just kidding. It's a different game.
52:34The greats don't shy away from change. They attack it head on with confidence, preparation, and a clear strategy.
52:41KPMG, LLP, and their transformation professionals work with organizations across industries using advanced AI to help them move faster, work smarter, and adapt with purpose.
52:49Because in today's business environment, winning teams don't react to change, they shape it.
52:54Learn more at visit.kpmg.us slash velocity. Life insurance is one of those things that's easy to put off because it doesn't feel urgent today.
53:02But it's not just another financial box to check.
53:05It's about having a plan in place so if life throws something unexpected at your family, they're not left dealing with the financial side without support.
53:14Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy. It's 100% online so you can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same-day coverage.
53:23There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions online.
53:28You can get up to $3 million in coverage and some policies start as low as $30 a month.
53:34Ethos has also earned strong customer feedback with a 4.8 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot based on more than 4,000 reviews.
53:42Take 10 minutes to get covered today with life insurance through Ethos.
53:47Get your free quote at ethos.com slash sports. That's E-T-H-O-S dot com slash sports.
53:51Application times may vary, rates may vary. Trustpilot rating as of June 1st, 2025.
53:56Shohei Ohtani's interpreter was fired today if Ipe Mitsuhara ran up gambling debts to a Southern California bookmaking operation.
54:03The inside story of the biggest scandal in modern baseball.
54:06He was absolutely bananas the amount of bets he was making.
54:10I've never seen you like it. From 30 for 30 podcasts, this is The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani.
54:16Presented by Gusto. New episodes available now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
54:21All right, we're back. Dominique. Browns, Jaguars. What's your key?
54:24Oh, okay. We're doing this one. Okay, cool. We are doing this one.
54:29We're going to do this one and then we're going to get to I'm just joking.
54:34I'm just joking. That was teasing. I mean, the Browns, they're still good up front despite losing Myles Garrett and the Jags,
54:42they're only, or it seems their biggest weakness is their offensive line.
54:46So like that's a matchup that I'll be watching and honestly what this is a bit of like a football cliche, but
54:53I think it comes down to like turnovers. It's like I think the Jags are definitely a better team and, but I
55:01think Deshaun Watson's not going to take very many chances down the field.
55:05So I don't see the Browns turning the ball over that much and it's kind of the opposite with Trevor Lawrence and
55:13the Jags is they're going to be aggressive and take chunk plays.
55:17So like that, being smart in there and not giving opportunities turnover for turnovers because I think the Jags are definitely a better team.
55:25They have risk there for sack fumbles because their O-line is not great and they have risk there for interceptions because they'll take shots down the field.
55:35So I think the Browns will go conservative and what you've seen from Deshaun Watson lately is not someone who wants to attack down the field.
55:44So I think the only way they win this game is if they get a short field a couple times as a result of turnovers from the Jags.
55:53So I think I've given away my pick pretty obviously, but no one will be surprised.
55:59I think the Jags will win this one. Yeah, I'm interested in seeing the Jags run defense without Devin Lloyd.
56:06You know, I made no secret of the fact that I'm very high on the Jags since they're really bad.
56:13You and I, I remember when we did our power rankings, we both had, that we ended up having them really high.
56:20So I think that's something I'll be watching because if you can shut this Browns run game down, it's like, you know, probably not gonna.
56:29Nothing else. Yeah, I will say like, yeah, like Browns defense is still good.
56:34So it's a good challenging matchup for this Jags offense.
56:37I want to, I've talked about seeing if the Jags run defense is good.
56:42I want to see if the Jags can run the ball better than they did second half of last season.
56:49Because I do think this Browns, they should still have a good run.
56:53Like, Browns defense is still gonna be good. You know, they're kind of, I have them floating outside the top 10.
57:01I do think offenses are gonna play them pretty differently though without Myles Garrett.
57:05Yeah. Probably throw more. You know, Jared versus a very good run defender.
57:10So, you know, they'll be challenged in ways that they haven't been challenged when 95 was on the field.
57:17But lots of good, talented young players. All right.
57:20I'm on the Jags as well. Bills Texans. Yeah.
57:23This is my favorite game of the week. Uh-huh.
57:26The Bills offense versus the Texas defense. It's funny, right, though?
57:30Because on one hand, I'm like, yeah, let's go fireworks.
57:33And on the other hand, the Texans have been a house of horrors for this Denver Josh Allen and his Bills team.
57:41Yes, I went back and watched those games. Oh, God.
57:44Last two years, Josh Allen against everyone else. First in QBR, first in EPA replay, you know, just whatever.
57:51Josh Allen against the Texans, like, bottom in the NFL, type numbers.
57:55It's been rough. My key, and I think just to get a drill down to the nitty gritty a bit on that
58:02side of the ball, can Buffalo actually beat man coverage this year?
58:07So, last time they played week 12, 2025, Texans played more man coverage, even.
58:11They do play a decent amount, but they played a lot against Josh Allen, and he had a QBR of 7.5 against it.
58:19So, DJ Moore is now Buffalo Bill, and something we've talked about a lot on this show is whether he can, he
58:27doesn't have to be freaking, you know, JSN, but like, can he give them a credible answer to man coverage?
58:34Now, unfortunately, I think the answer to that question is yes, but I will say the Texans, like, is a little bit
58:41different from most teams in the NFL when we're talking about man coverage.
58:46So, but I do think that's going to be very significant in this game, especially given Allen's history against this team.
58:53Yeah, I mean, I, yeah, I mean, it's pretty straightforward as possible right there.
58:58It's like, they, they're giving them hell because no one's open and he, and he's still like, I think, I haven't looked
59:05at the numbers recently, but if you were to say that there was a weakness for the Texan defense, it is like the quarterback scramble.
59:14That's what it's been historically, yeah. And they, right, yeah, they managed to do, like, Josh Allen would have some plays, but
59:22it's kind of like, you, you'll give it up because most of the time they keep them contained, they put pressure on
59:29them and they stress them out and they cause turnovers.
59:33It's like, to your point, it's a house of horrors for him.
59:37So, I'm interested to see how they answered. And you're right, they made the argument in the past that they didn't really need a number one receiver.
59:46I guess Brandon Bean made the argument, but I think in the bigger games, you kind of see that you've got to give them some help.
59:55You've got to give them a weapon that, like, people care about and have to game plan for and are afraid and
60:03will think twice about Blitzen because that really helps against the more athletic quarterbacks to get someone in their face.
60:10if you don't have someone out there to threaten them that might turn into a big play.
60:15It's just, get a first down, fine. You line up and do it again.
60:20The more times you ask Josh Allen to do that, the harder it's going to be.
60:26So, yeah, I think the chain reaction of having DJ Moore, if DJ Moore can be that impactful, is going to be
60:33huge for Josh Allen in this team. You've got the lesser side of the ball for both teams.
60:40This is not the test. I mean, I guess it's a good early test for the Jim Leonard defense because, as everyone
60:47knows, the ability to stop the run was a big problem for them last year and that was like the crux of
60:55all of their issues and probably shouldn't have gotten past the Jags because they couldn't stop the run in the playoffs, but
61:02they managed to do that because the Jags decided they no longer wanted to run the ball.
61:08So, that's to me the big question is like is Jim Leonard his presence because there hasn't been like a personnel overhaul
61:16and I know they're going from a 4-3 to a 3-4 which like it doesn't always matter that much but I think
61:23in this case it does matter because they were bad against the run and your hope is that they'll be able to
61:31address it but a lot of times teams live in nickel anyway so the 3-4-4-3 thing doesn't matter but like what they're
61:39going to see what I think they're going to see from the Texans especially given their receivers injuries is a lot of
61:46excuse me a lot of 12 and so they'll probably be in a lot of base which means the personnel of the
61:543-4 matters a lot to have a like a big inside run stuffer would be nice for them to have but I
62:01don't know that they've addressed that adequately so we'll see what happens with their defense but I think that's the big question
62:09is Jim Leonard's ability to transform this defense it's a lot of pressure on Leonard man because like you said this is
62:17not a big personnel they didn't go out and get Kuna Ford or you know like what like a big run stuffer
62:24yeah Vita Veya was like DJ Moore who like you go get Vita Veya when he was upset but anyway let Josh
62:32Allen run the team no I'm just kidding yeah you said everyone kind of knew I don't know if people appreciate how
62:39bad the Bills run defense was last year I mean I was just looking at like some of their numbers they allowed
62:47the most yards after contact per carry of any team in the NFL worse than the Cowboys Giants and Bengals they allowed
62:54the second highest rate of first downs per carry and it was a team-wide issue I would say all three levels so
63:02for Leonard it's a lot of pressure like I've been interested in seeing you know from what I understand I think we're
63:10going to see a lot of movement on the defensive line as a way of you know trying to mitigate that to
63:17some degree but I don't know it's an issue now all that said this usually team go to run the ball last
63:25year and you got Dave McCoverty and you got the tight end and we'll see but I this is a great like
63:32who's still bad the Texas defense against the Bills offense is like a clash of the Titans it's a no win it's
63:40a no win situation where it's like it's like if you if you manage to stop the Texans running attack no one's
63:48going to be like yeah you fixed that run defense and the same thing for the Texans if you manage to run
63:55the ball against the Bills we're not going to be like yay you can run the ball now so it's a no
64:03win situation but someone has to come out feeling good about themselves are you going to go Texans or Bills here I've
64:10oscillated Texans Texans I'll go Bills yeah I think I do think this offense is going to be better and they were
64:18great last year I don't know about the other side of the ball I don't know what to make of it so
64:25yeah that's a close one I really don't know all right two equally incredible teams the Dolphins and the Raiders my game
64:33all right I wrote can Brock Bowers put up JSN numbers this is the week to find out this is kind of
64:41one of the questions of the Raiders entire offseason which is just like how much Brock Bauer you know we know not
64:48just because Clint Kubiak in Seattle use JSN to such an extreme degree but because this Raiders receiving group remains a concern
64:56Bowers we didn't see in the preseason may or look great by the way but like I do think and I'm just
65:03looking at this Dolphins dip chart and there ain't anyone on here who can stop Brock Bowers it's the secondary right now
65:11is Juju Brents Chris Johnson who I loved but he's a rookie corner Jason Marshall Jr Dante Trader Jr Michael Taffey what's
65:19the well I yeah I don't want to be mean so it's it's going to be challenging I think the Dolphins offense
65:26is going to be more fun than the Dolphins defense this year and maybe they'll do some funky stuff in this game
65:34I'll be interested in seeing like how weird they can get on offense but I just think the Raiders have more NFL
65:41starter players than the Dolphins right now I'm picking the Raiders to win the game yeah I'll take the Raiders also I
65:49have nothing else to add to this game other than I agree with you I'll take the Raiders all right Packers Vikings
65:57this is a big one this could have been we could have talked about this one at length this is your game
66:04yeah yeah I mean I think this is the questions go to the Vikings side for me for both of the questions
66:12that I have coming into these games and keys to these games it's pretty obvious that it's a well it's not obvious
66:19that it's a revenge game for Kyler Murray going up against Jonathan Gannon his coach down in Arizona isn't he the coordinator
66:27now for the defense and Green Bay so that but I mean the question is how will Kyler Murray fit into this
66:34KLC offense and also for me is Brian Flores like is he going to be able to to scheme around the weaknesses
66:42and the loss of Grenard on defense and like those are the questions for me I feel like I have a good
66:50grip on what's happening for the Packers like I think their defense is gonna be struggling and I don't think that there's
66:57a there's like an answer question that could be answered they'll be like oh yeah they're actually better than I think I
67:05think the offense is going to be relying on Jordan Love and Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft so I think the Vikings
67:12I'm interested in seeing the Vikings floor like I think this game will tell me a lot about what the Vikings floor
67:20is and I think their floor and their ceiling could potentially be higher than that of the Packers two starting Packers offensive
67:28linemen are questionable in this game Zach Bacoboele who's their best offensive lineman formerly Zach Tom and then Aaron Banks that makes
67:35me really nervous yeah Brian Flores will find ways to attack them but Tucker Kraft and Christian Watson are in this game
67:43and Matthew Golden so I I'm really struggling with that with the uncertainty around those two players especially Bacoboele like if you
67:50told me he was playing I think I would be pretty comfortable I do think Minnesota is going to be able to
67:58run the ball on the Packers oh this is a tricky one this is a tricky one because I do not I
68:05think Packers defense is going to be bad the first few weeks of the season I'm going to go Green Bay here
68:13solely because I do think this offense is good enough to overcome a shaky offensive line but I don't feel good about
68:21it at all I'm going Vikings for the same reason you went Green Bay if I see it's not out of the
68:28question that Green Bay could win but I think it's a lights out performance by Jordan Love which I think that's harder
68:36to predict than I think Flores will figure it out on defense and Kyler Murray will be average to above average which
68:43is what you need over there oh by the way I no longer hanging over the box congrats Harry Douglas here game
68:51day brings the excitement your stay should feel just as memorable with Marriott Bonvoy official hotel partner of the NCAA and U.S.
68:59soccer you're connected to a portfolio of brands designed for how you travel some offer complimentary breakfast others give you room to
69:06spread out space to stay productive or extended stay comforts so whether you're a traveling fan or part of the team Marriott
69:14Bonvoy celebrates the moments that live on before and after the game Marriott Bonvoy where game day checks in if you've shopped
69:21online chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify you know that purple shop pay button you see at checkout
69:29the one that makes buying so incredibly easy that's Shopify and there's a reason so many businesses sell with it because Shopify
69:37makes it incredibly easy to start and run your business Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S.
69:44from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started Shopify gives you a leg up with hundreds of beautiful
69:52ready-to-go templates to express your brand style and forget about the code tackle all those important tasks in one place from inventory
70:00to payments to analytics and more spread your brand's word with built-in marketing and email tools to find and keep new customers
70:07and did I mention that iconic purple shop pay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world it's why Shopify
70:15has the best converting checkout on the planet your customers already love it if you want to see less carts being abandoned
70:22it's time for you to head over to Shopify sign up for your one dollar per month trial and start selling today
70:30at shopify.com slash network go to shopify.com slash network shopify.com slash network I like things my way my coffee my schedule and
70:38my treatment so I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo pre-filled syringe which contains F-Gart Tegamide Alpha and
70:45Hyaluronic Anadase QVFC it's injected under your skin subcutaneously it means I can inject in my space on my time it's my
70:53treatment my way visit Vivgard my way dot com that's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T my way dot com and talk to your doctor about Vivgard
71:00Hytrulo brought brought you by Argenics all all all Commanders Eagles is me I wrote yeah I wrote Battle of the Young
71:08Coaches Sean Mannion versus Durante Jones I'm really interested in this Mannion the Eagles new play caller Durante Jones Washington's play caller
71:15part because we're not quite sure what we're going to get out of either I think we know some of their tendencies
71:23we know the trees they come from but we haven't seen Jalen Hurts in the new his own coverage behind it but
71:31Hurts has been very good against Minnesota and last year he shredded them I forgot all about this game he destroyed them
71:38so I don't know I'm interested I want to see what both those two units look like because I feel like that
71:46these are kind of two presents I've been waiting to unwrap that's so funny like I vaguely remember it now did you
71:53bring it up but I would have assumed that Hurts would struggle against it but I guess the answer for the complicated
72:01defense is the simple offense which is what they were running last year let's just really does this it's them and everyone
72:09else so that'll be interesting to see what they do there but I think it's pretty obvious that the Eagles have just
72:16about every advantage in these matchups especially along the defensive front against that offensive front it's going to be really hard to
72:24do anything offensively you have a quarterback who you're scared to get hit you don't want to run them and offensive line
72:31that is among the worst in football yeah I actually last on Tuesday we did we had a great question that I
72:39wrote which was which offensive line could tank the season and there's the obvious choices the Chargers the Raiders we threw the
72:47Packers but I totally forgot Washington and one of my commenters pointed that out I should have mentioned Washington it's really hard
72:54for me to get excited about this new look Washington offense with the state of the offensive line right now I'd love
73:02to be wrong because I I will say it's Jonathan Grenard I don't know if it matters quite frankly he's out yeah
73:09so he was activated off the pup list but I think maybe not in this game but any case I don't think
73:17it matters I just think defense is too strong and it's too much of a mismatch on that side of the ball
73:24so I'm gonna take Philadelphia here I agree it's hard for me to find a matchup that I like or an advantage
73:32or technique that they could use to attack this defense so yeah I think it's pretty easy Eagles choice right there Cardinals
73:40Chargers you yeah all right so you just mentioned offensive lines that could tank the season so yeah I think we're looking
73:47at the interior of this Chargers offensive line like that's the question and a lot of these questions I question is how
73:55they're going to answer their offensive line issues and then it's like the cards is a good matchup for yeah we'll see
74:02what happens with that that particular defense but I think the real question the interest point to me because we're talking about
74:10the Chargers long term is will Mike McDaniel be able to solve the interior offensive line issues the way that he did
74:18in Miami Walter Nolan the third he's the third right or is he just Walter Nolan yeah he's a third yeah the
74:25Cardinals defensive tackle was a first round draft pick last year who got injured and missed a lot of the season this
74:33is the game where it's like let's if there's a lot of hype around him he looked good in limited action let's
74:40you know preseason we got a glimpse of like let's see this is it because this is a very tasty matchup for
74:48him Josh Swett's a good pass rusher too Cardinals defensive front I so I don't know I I don't I feel like
74:55there's going to be a game where that Chargers interior offensive line really is a problem that curbs their ability to be
75:03explosive I just don't think this is the game even though Nolan is an exciting young player by the way Jeremiah love
75:11questionable for this one yeah it's better than I thought honestly I mean given how tough that injury looked but yeah I
75:18mean I think this is actually might be a good challenge for the Chargers mentor list defense is yeah this team is
75:26not without weapons or without threats and serviceable quarterback like I be good good but like they're not going to be a
75:33walk over it's a good early season test to see how they're going to live post mentor let's say too because Derwin
75:41James is I got cowboys giants so big big big cowboys news Tyler Smith yeah was it four to six weeks let
75:49me make sure I have the timing on that right this was like I I like takes in here okay about his
75:56thumb Tyler Smith thumb is hurt he's out he is the Cowboys best offensive lineman now instantly the left side becomes a
76:04little bit questionable there's matchups that this will be a very big deal against obviously we'll see how long he's out but
76:11I want to focus on New York which it kind of would have been the same with Tyler Smith but now it's
76:19it's really a point of emphasis for me can you make New York stop the run and can you force them to
76:27tackle Dak historically when he goes against teams with very good pass rushes gets the ball out real fast it's like their
76:34best weapon against that actually last year two of his three fastest time to throw games were against the Giants one was
76:42week 18 where he didn't play that much and the other was Denver that's just stylistically what he will do and the
76:49first game he went 38 for 52 for 361 yards in case you forgot they used a lot of play action he
76:57went 11 for 12 for 110 he would on them so the run thing is interesting because I want to see kind
77:04of the New York new linebacker group and how they look against the run but I really think Dallas is going to
77:12get the ball out of Dak's hands pretty quick and trust their playmakers against the New York DBs Deontay Banks by the
77:20way starting over Paulson Debo I saw that do you see that I didn't notice that dream is live there we go
77:27just took a second and learn the ropes yeah I think the Tyler Smith injury it really makes me worry about the
77:35rushing attack honestly more than anything is their ability to run the ball is going to be impacted by his movement so
77:42that's concerning but to your point I'm less worried about Dak he is one of those he's kind of the closest thing
77:50we have managing I know what everyone is supposed to be Peyton Manning style quarterbacks get rid of it quickly when the
77:58time is right I'm less worried about the impact on the passing attack than I am about the impact on the rushing
78:05attack but yeah this will will the Giants be able to score or not will the Giants to your point will they
78:13be able to stop the run and be challenged that way and put up a fight that keeps them from putting their
78:20offense in a position that I don't think they want to be in or it's like they're down by two touchdowns early
78:28in the game and they just are in comeback mode the whole time it's not the best scenario for Jackson Dart seems
78:35like Malik Nabors is going to play yeah really interested in seeing what he looks like what his connection with Jackson Dart
78:43looks like because I like I actually think there's no one on the Cowboys defense I expect to be improved but there's
78:51no one in that secondary who I like against league neighbors league neighbors when he was healthy he was as good as
78:58anybody in football he wasn't just like a number one or a good receiver like he was a real difference maker like
79:06hall of fame level talent so like if that guy shows up we got a different conversation right Christian Parker's probably over
79:13indexing on stopping regardless and trying to make them beat them with anyone else you know so that would be smart yeah
79:21I'm sticking with Dallas even with the Tyler Smith injury I just think this New York defense as good as they are
79:29up front I still have questions on the back end and then Giants offense you know both unknowns a little bit here
79:36the Giants offense and the Cowboys defense and maybe this is just a little bit more betting on the young up-and-coming coach
79:44over Matt and Crick Roman no I you know I've been high on the Cowboys defensive additions as well I just think
79:51I think Dak is kind of the differentiator here so absolutely all right we're both on the Cowboys final game Monday night
79:59football a great one Broncos Chiefs I'm going to Kansas City on Sunday it's going to be hot humid there nice you
80:07can go first here all right I got the Chiefs O and the Broncos yeah I rewatched the game that they played
80:14against each other last year and it seemed like the Chiefs strategy was to get these explosive big plays to attack the
80:22Broncos man coverage and they were fine with like trying to protect against the pass rush but coming off of that knee
80:29injury for Mahomes I'll be interested how they approach this again as they went after the man coverage and they won but
80:37they could Mahomes couldn't connect on those deep shots a number of times in that game they still ended up being competitive
80:44in that game but it seemed pretty clear to me that the Broncos were better were the better team exempt list they
80:52still have Benito so the pass rush isn't going to be as much of a problem as it was before but I
81:00still think that's what it's going to come down to is I don't think they're going to have as much success running
81:07the ball as they want to with Kendis Walker and they have another injury right with Simmons is out their best offensive
81:15lineman who seemed like he was going to be when he was healthy or Creed Humphrey is their best offensive lineman well
81:22yeah I mean he was their best tackle for sure yeah I guess I was getting ahead of myself I thought that
81:30he what he showed athleticism wise was like he was going to be a real difference maker at a very important spot
81:38so like you're right Creed Humphreys is better but I think that Simmons was going to be more important but losing him
81:45I think matters a lot especially when their biggest threat was the pass rush so like how they address that position and
81:53honestly like gets down to if they're able to run the ball effectively of course that takes pressure off of them but
82:00still to me it's like what they're going to do on the edges against the pass rush I really think they need
82:08to lean on Kenneth Walker as a pass catcher in this one you know and the Broncos last year were a little
82:15bit better at defending they were better at defending throws to running backs but linebackers still the area on the yeah I
82:23mean it's true though it's true a lot of teams sorry it's clearly a team building thing around the NFL so I
82:31you know we talk about like quick pressure with Bonito and whatnot but I think yeah I really think I expect the
82:38Broncos to play a lot of man coverage and while there's hope that like you said the explosives will hit better maybe
82:46there's you know understand a run game play action off of that maybe his connection with Thornton who got open like a
82:53lot last yeah but I do think you have to have other answers against man coverage whether it's finding ways to create
83:01traffic for Xavier Worthy or quick you know throws to Kenneth Walker on a backer that's a mismatch you like you know
83:09how Denver is going to approach this game especially with Obama Holmes is limited mobility so that to me that all right
83:16on the other side of the ball it's funny it's the opposite right because you think Denver is going to play a
83:24lot wasn't played a lot in the preseason but they had them in the slot a lot and this is a game
83:31where I like that matchup whether it's Legerious Sneed or Chris Ronald Ross is a promising young player but Jalen Waddle is
83:39a mismatch for either of those guys you I just don't think they have anyone at this point who can handle him
83:47so Waddle against zone coverage operating out of the slot to me is going to be how you're going to hit on
83:54explosives against this team yeah the Bo Knicks in the past so they're they're switching play callers so like Sean Payne's not
84:02calling plays anymore so that might be something interesting that might play out in this game but just from remembering last season
84:09it was Bo Knicks was taking deep shots and throwing screens and how good their offense was determined by how accurate Bo
84:17Knicks was on those deep shots and I guess maybe the thought is that because it wasn't that they weren't there they
84:24were there he just would hit them sometimes and miss them sometimes so this was one of things that I seemed like
84:32they were trying to protect him by not having him attack intermediate but in the playoffs he went he got after it
84:40and he attacked the intermediate areas and I was really impressed so that's what I'm wondering will they go into this game
84:47with the regular season game plan or will they go into this game allowing him to attack that is also where hypothetically
84:55Waddle should thrive that 10 gets you yards after the catch we saw that in the preseason right like so you know
85:02like you said this was something where it wasn't asked a lot of Bo Nix during the regular season and he hit
85:10on some of those throws now you have one of the best receivers in the NFL working that part of the field
85:18getting you yards after the catch against a very young secondary with mismatches for talented corners on the outside but Waddle should
85:25be able to be a mismatch for them it's interesting because I never considered that the reason why they didn't do it
85:33was for lack of weapons that were comfortable I know you're not suggesting that is it the receivers or is it the
85:40quarterback I just always assume that they just didn't trust him to attack that area but then what I saw that he
85:48did against the bills in the playoffs I was just like he can do this so we'll see let's see it in
85:55we we we up agreeing on way too many no we didn't we disagreed on a few of them I know but
86:03I mean I felt like down the stretch there were some pretty obvious ones are there any like upsets like are there
86:11any any ones that you upsets I know but I guess I'm wondering are there any ones that you yeah you'd be
86:18surprised or you wouldn't be surprised that it went the other way because like Patriots Patriots Patriots I absolutely think but I
86:26feel like that's also like a toss up one I guess I was thinking like is there any chance that you think
86:33the Colts will beat the Ravens no yeah that's okay so like of the games that are like over like that we
86:41that they're like the the no-brainer ones that like we were like yeah obviously Colts are one to watch just because of
86:49all the question marks I think yeah Commanders Eagles no like I there's nothing Dallas Giants there's nothing that could change my
86:56mind about those um everything else is pretty close though like these are all close like this is pretty I mean it's
87:04usually like that week one but like this is pretty this is pretty close close week oh how about um no I
87:11don't think the Saints can beat the Lions especially in Detroit I don't see it yeah yeah yeah we'll be dead wrong
87:19about one of these we're gonna be shocked at the result of one of these games always that'll be fun and then
87:27then we're gonna overreact and then the next week they're gonna be the exact teams that they that we thought they were
87:34for the rest of the year all right well as I mentioned next week I will be on Dominique's pod go check
87:42out the Dominique Foxworth podcast where every year pods I will be back on Tuesday with Ben Solak again you can go
87:49to youtube.com slash at Mina Kimes or follow the show on Instagram it's Mina Kimes show I post in addition to clips
87:57from the show I post original content there are reactions to things um so go check that out give us a follow
88:04before we go Peyton Eli are back oh yeah with their schedule release video Manning Cast Heist has the title uh lots
88:12of celebrity cameos including two people who I might put at my hypothetical dream dinner party Larry David and Marshawn Lynch oh
88:20that'd be great two great Americans a conversation I'd like to see unfold that's the Manning Cast Heist go check it out
88:27on YouTube check out the Manning Cast and check out our show on Tuesday we'll be back with Ben Solak thank you
88:35as always to Dominique Foxworth and my friends at Omaha Productions who make this show Kirsten Specki Owen Saylor Jack Foster Tucker
88:42Tushin we're out this episode is brought to you by State Farm no two football players are exactly alike and the same
88:50is true off the field that's why State Farm gets to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life
88:58and budget like a good neighbor State Farm is there