Week 2 Hangover: The Chiefs are back, the Seahawks look dominant, and the Steelers are sad
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
1 hr 1 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 22, 2026
Published
Tue, September 22, 2026
25
Player insights
18
Players mentioned
Topics
Alec PierceDrake MayeDrew LockHunter HenryJaxon Smith-NjigbaJonathan TaylorKeenan AllenAaron RodgersDK MetcalfElijah ArroyoJosh DownsMichael WilsonPat FreiermuthPatrick Mahomes
Player analysis
Player insights
Aaron Rodgers
NegativeProjection40:39
The source expresses deep concern over Aaron Rodgers' performance, citing his inability to move, poor decision-making, and a lack of success on deep balls (0-for-9 on 20+ air yard throws). The source describes the current offense as 'disgusting' and 'static,' noting that Rodgers is no longer the dynamic playmaker he once was.
Insight pageAlec Pierce
NegativeInjury17:35
Alec Pierce's potential absence is a major concern for the Colts' passing offense. He is viewed as the primary player who creates space for others by taking the top off the defense and running dig routes; without him, the offense becomes limited and 'constipated.'
Insight pageNegativeRole19:14
The source notes that removing Alec Pierce from the Colts' offense changes the geometry of their threats, and there is concern regarding how the team will function if he misses time due to injury.
Insight pageDK Metcalf
NegativeUsage42:48
DK Metcalf is struggling to produce in the current offensive system, with the source noting that he is being asked to carry the passing game in a way that is frustrating and ineffective without other supporting talent.
Insight pageDrake Maye
NegativeProjection54:52
The source observes that Drake Maye appears 'gun shy' and is struggling with shot selection compared to last season, often turning down aggressive throws he previously would have made.
Insight pagePositiveProjection57:14
The source observes that defenses are increasingly squeezing the middle of the field against Drake Maye, anticipating his tendency to target that area. While his arm talent remains phenomenal, the offense feels unsettled compared to last season, and Maye's performance has lacked the cleanliness and consistency seen at his peak.
Insight pageDrew Lock
PositiveProjection37:23
The source is impressed with Drew Lock's performance as a backup, noting his ability to make tight-window throws and his situational awareness in buying time against pressure.
Insight pagePositiveRole38:25
The source describes Drew Lock as a perfect backup for the current offensive scheme, noting he is capable of making the necessary tight-window throws required by the system while Sam Darnold is sidelined.
Insight pageElijah Arroyo
PositiveUsage39:04
Elijah Arroyo is being integrated into the passing attack, specifically running a 'bang eight' skinny post route that resulted in a successful completion.
Insight pageHunter Henry
NegativeUsage56:48
Hunter Henry is being utilized on crossing routes, but the source notes a specific interception where the timing and execution between him and Maye failed against the Steelers' defense.
Insight pagePositiveUsage59:06
Hunter Henry was highlighted as a successful target in the passing game, specifically noting a corner route conversion against man coverage versus Jaquan Brisker.
Insight pageJaxon Smith-Njigba
PositiveBreakout23:44
The source describes Jaxon Smith-Njigba as a special player and arguably the best route runner in the NFL, noting his unique ability to negotiate space in the air and make physicality-based plays despite not being a physically imposing receiver.
Insight pagePositiveUsage38:46
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is being utilized effectively in the passing game, including a touchdown catch against Max Melton and a successful fake corner-to-seam route.
Insight pageJonathan Taylor
PositiveUsage17:00
Jonathan Taylor was exceptional in his recent game, with the source noting that he makes a tangible difference every time he touches the ball. His performance on zone runs behind a well-constructed offensive line remains a bright spot for the Colts' offense.
Insight pagePositiveRole21:12
The source highlights the Colts' run game as a reliable element of their offense, with Jonathan Taylor serving as a central figure in their game plan.
Insight pageJosh Downs
PositiveUsage17:16
Josh Downs was fantastic when utilized in one-on-one situations from the slot. While he is being used more vertically than in previous years, he remains almost exclusively a slot-based player, which limits the team's offensive geometry when other receivers are missing.
Insight pageKeenan Allen
NegativeBust18:20
The source expresses significant concern that Keenan Allen's play is declining, noting that his performance in recent games has been 'extremely ugly.' the source suggests that the expectation for his game to age gracefully may be failing, making him a liability in the current Colts offense.
Insight pageNegativeBust19:31
The source expresses concern that Keenan Allen is showing signs of physical decline, noting that while his game was built on route running and smoothness, he may be reaching a point where he can no longer beat defenders at his current level of athleticism.
Insight pageMichael Wilson
NegativeUsage32:05
Michael Wilson is utilized in creative motion and slice actions to manipulate defensive linebackers, showing promise as a competent part of the Cardinals' offensive scheme.
Insight pagePat Freiermuth
NegativeUsage44:03
Pat Freiermuth is running routes that get open, but the source highlights a specific sequence where Rodgers failed to hold the ball long enough to hit him on a corner route, opting for a check-down instead.
Insight pagePatrick Mahomes
PositiveProjection11:12
Patrick Mahomes looks as calm in the pocket as he has ever been, showing improved deep-ball accuracy and better mobility. The source notes that his ability to buy time and his performance against zone coverage make the Chiefs' offense look significantly more dangerous and enjoyable to watch compared to the last two years.
Insight pageRashee Rice
NegativeUsage8:04
Rashee Rice is being utilized in creative ways, such as being shuffled into the formation to run crossers in hook windows off play-action. However, the source notes he still struggles against man coverage in third-down situations, which remains a lingering question for the Chiefs' receiving corps.
Insight pageSam Darnold
NegativeRole38:00
The source notes that the current offense is designed around Sam Darnold's ability to make tight-window throws, a role that Drew Lock is currently filling while Darnold is injured.
Insight pageTravis Kelce
PositiveRole5:56
Travis Kelce looks significantly smoother and more reliable as a chain-mover than in the previous two seasons. The Chiefs are effectively using him in full-house pistol formations and as a chipper who releases into quick out routes, which has made him a more viable and consistent offensive weapon.
Insight pageXavier Worthy
PositiveProjection11:27
Xavier Worthy is being used as a deep threat, with the source highlighting an 'insane' deep pylon route throw from Mahomes that showcased Worthy's ability to stretch the field, even if the specific pass was not caught.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Welcome to The Athletic Football Show brought to you by the US Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card.
0:05I'm Robert Mays. The Week 2 Hangover today, me and Derrik dug into three games that we did not get to in depth on the Sunday Night Recap.
0:13Chiefs, Colts, Seahawks, Cardinals, and Patriots Steelers. Let's get to that conversation with me and Derrik right now.
0:18We're digging into three games today from the Week 2 slate that we did not have the time or space to really
0:24chew on during our Week 2 recap. Derek, we spent some time talking about the end of the Sunday Night Game at
0:30the beginning of our recap show last night. I don't think we have to rehash the decisions that Shane Steichen was making
0:36in overtime and what the Colts decided to do in kicking that field goal.
0:40If you guys want to hear our thoughts about that entire situation, you can go back and listen to yesterday's show.
0:46I want to spend most of this conversation really digging into the nuts and bolts of what this game felt like for
0:52the first four and a half quarters, let's say.
0:55I want to start by floating a theory to you that I started ruminating on after Week 1 and I think the
1:01Colts game really crystallized for me yesterday. I actually did my morning brew video about it like 20 minutes ago that you
1:07guys can watch on our social media probably tomorrow.
1:09There was a moment last year early in the season when I was watching the Bills offense and I was watching the way the tight ends were blocking.
1:17And it was kind of a light bulb moment where I was like, I think that good offenses you can feel like
1:23this isn't true for everybody, but you can feel the good offenses by which tight ends are capable committed blockers.
1:29And that proved to be so true over the course of the season at the 13 personnel stuff and then into this offseason this year.
1:36It's going to be linebackers. Yes, the good and bad defenses are going to be dictated by what your linebackers can do
1:42in space and in coverage because we've gotten back to this place and the Chiefs.
1:46You watch the Chiefs offense and what the Chiefs offense specifically is doing.
1:50The Chiefs ran seven play action passes from under center yesterday.
1:53That is the most tied for the most in a single game during Patrick Mahomes his tenure.
1:58So they are such a good example of where the league has swung back to.
2:02But we're still in a place where everyone's playing too high and playing with fewer defenders and blockers in the box.
2:08And so we're in this moment where the structural stuff has swung back for offense, but not all the way for defense.
2:14And then you add layers on top of it.
2:17The number that really stuck out to me through two weeks this season teams have used motion at the snap on 44% of run plays per next gen.
2:24It was 27% in 2020. So I legitimately when you think about the changes on offense and the changes on defense think
2:31it is harder to play linebacker in coverage right now than it has been at any point since I started covering the sport.
2:37And we're going to really feel the difference between the teams that have skimped at that position and have no answers and
2:43the teams that have guys that can live in the conflict that offenses are creating for them.
2:48And the Colts to me are the purest example of that that we could possibly see right now.
2:53But we're going to talk about a number of teams today where I think that's true.
2:57We'll get to the Steelers and their linebackers later.
3:00But I do think that like the Colts have been a huge I mean, it's two weeks now in a row where
3:06teams have just picked on them very, very badly both in the passing game with some of the movement stuff that they're
3:12doing and some of the play action stuff getting tight ends running out.
3:16I want to say too, I think obviously what the Chiefs do with their tight ends is not going to be like the Bills.
3:23They are not asking them to block the way that those guys are blocking.
3:27But I do think that what they're doing with their tight ends right now is kind of interesting.
3:32You saw in this game a lot of like full house pistol stuff where you can have these guys.
3:37It's like, OK, are they both going to slice left?
3:40Are they going to split out to either direction?
3:42You can use them as like chippers that way.
3:45I think using them in we don't know where they're going to go post snap, I think is like a useful way
3:51to use guys who are not great blockers. The Chiefs did a really good job of that in this game.
3:56There was also a handful of plays where they would put Travis Kelsey where he's almost in line, but he is standing next to the line of scrimmage.
4:04And then he like kind of chips the end and then he goes out into just like a little slot quick out route.
4:11They hit that multiple times. They hit it once on like a really critical, I think third and seven.
4:16And then I think in overtime they hit it again and Kelsey just ends up dropping it.
4:21But like finding those ways to make their tight ends useful, I thought was was really important.
4:26The last thing, too, I would say about the linebacker stuff.
4:29I think playing coverage in this league as a linebacker has kind of always been impossible.
4:33Like it's just an incredibly difficult thing to do.
4:36But I think now the added thing what you're talking about where so many teams are living in too high.
4:41You are even more incentivized to be able to come down and take space back as a linebacker.
4:46A lot of these guys can't do that, man.
4:49Like a lot of these guys just can't do that while also being useful coverage players.
4:53A lot of the guys are either one or the other.
4:56And I would say in the case of the Colts, they're really neither.
5:00And you really feel that over the course of this game.
5:03That's the conflict that I'm talking about when you're in that conflict.
5:06If there are some guys that as soon as they take a step forward, the play is over like there.
5:12It's always lost. And I think the teams that don't have linebackers you feel that way about we're going to notice those
5:18teams over the course of this year. Let's bring it back to the specific.
5:22The first drive of this game, the Chiefs are just ripping across or off play action over the middle of the field.
5:28And the fact that the Chiefs are trying to live that way to me again is such an indication broadly of where the league is going.
5:36And I think that brings me to this the broader conversation I want to have about the Chiefs.
5:41It seems like Andy Reid and Travis Kelsey got their groove back.
5:44Dude, Kelsey looks like, listen, we're never going to get the explosiveness top end speed back, but he looks so smooth again.
5:50Like it is exactly exactly the adjective that I used on the touchdown.
5:54He looks like Travis Kelsey, like the smoothness that we usually attribute to Travis Kelsey is amazing.
5:58I can't remember who made this joke on Twitter yesterday.
6:01I want to give them credit, but I can't remember right now.
6:05He got in wedding shape and then just wrote it into the season, which I just like, you know, I spent a
6:11lot of time with anybody who's gotten married understands that exact process.
6:14So I respect the fact that Andy Reid or Travis Kelsey just any read did not, by the way, just no offense to Andy Reid.
6:21But I respect the fact that Travis Kelsey just got in wedding shape and then wrote it right into the NFL season
6:27because he does look so much smoother than he has probably for the last like two years.
6:32I agree. And again, like how much is he going to run away from people the way that he used to?
6:38I don't know. But there were even a couple of cases in this game where he makes the first guy miss and
6:44squeezes like four or five extra yards out of the play, which like he could still do that a little bit the last handful of years.
6:51But it just felt like the regularity with which he did it in this game.
6:56I was like, OK, if he's actually going to be that reliable of a chain mover for them getting one or two
7:02good plays out of the other guys, like it actually makes the offense a little bit more viable.
7:07I think I still have my questions about whether or not this receiver core is going to be able to do this
7:13consistently, especially with like, I think some of the Colts DBs were just kind of like struggling pretty badly in this game.
7:19How well they're going to the Chiefs are going to be able to uphold that over the course of the season.
7:25I don't know. But this is what the offense is supposed to look like.
7:29It's funny that the Chiefs are now in a place where I wonder what they'll be able to do on third down
7:35it because that's always where my homes has been in his best.
7:38But that those are the moments where you're not going to lean on the run game.
7:43You're not going to be able to lean on play action.
7:46You're going to guys are going to have to get open in one on one man covered situations and the Colts played
7:52a decent amount of man coverage yesterday. Not a crazy amount that we've gotten used to them playing essentially since they traded for sauce Gardner.
7:59There was the one third down play where rice just got totally caught up against man coverage.
8:04But for the most part that the Chiefs did a lot of their damage against zone coverage on early downs, which or
8:10against weird funky cover to looks on third and long.
8:13That was the other that's both of the Thornton plays.
8:16I think came against like funky cover to looks, but the Chiefs can still with this receiving core with Kelsey with this
8:22run game with playing this type of offense. I think they'll still be able to hurt teams playing soft zone against them even on third and extra long.
8:30It's going to be those third and seven moments against man coverage.
8:33Do you have a guy that can win? That to me is still like the last question.
8:38I'll probably need answered about this team. It still concerns me as well, but I do feel better just about because I
8:44think last year they were still getting into those scenarios more often than you wanted and weren't able to be explosive to just flip the field.
8:51And I do it does to me feel like they have a little bit more of that now.
8:56Like I thought honestly, one of the which of the Thornton plays was it?
9:00Oh, the one where it puts them like on the goal line.
9:03Basically, that too was just like catching the Colts in a bad look where they have trips to the left hand side,
9:10but the Colts like rotate their weak safety down.
9:12And so that Thornton running that deep over like he already crosses the face of the deep safety on the other side
9:18and it's like that's just an incredible throw to go back to a little bit to the point that you were making
9:24about really making these linebackers earn it. There was a play early in the second quarter where they shuffle Rashi Rice into
9:31the left hand side and it looks like that duo insert and he like runs just in between the tight end and the tackle.
9:37They actually play fake the other way and get the back out.
9:41So now one the linebackers reading run that way and then he stays down because he's like, oh, the backs out.
9:47I've got to take him to the flat. But now because Rice is so tight to the formation to the left hand
9:53side him running that crosser and getting right into that hook window.
9:56It happened so fast and the Chiefs being able to access that stuff a little bit more and get explosives.
10:02That's the way that this thing is going to need to function.
10:05That's a good point. The concerns about what it's going to look like when they have to be in those man cover
10:11situations on third and medium third and long. That was true last year.
10:15That the fact that that's carried over you can live with that if that's the only big lingering question about the offense
10:21because the big lingering questions about the offense last year were can you run the ball?
10:25Can you be explosive running ball and can you be explosive down the field throwing the football and the fact that they've
10:32answered all of those questions over the first two weeks.
10:34I'm willing to live with having one relative weakness with the offense compared to the three or four that we had to
10:41be living with over the last couple seasons. Exactly.
10:43No offense is going to be perfect. And honestly, if Patrick Mahomes can just look a little bit healthier by Halloween and
10:49he's just able to scramble, he already looks fairly good as a scrambler.
10:53But if he is like back closer to 100%, I think that solves again some of your third down issues.
10:58And so I'm it's only been two weeks. I don't think they've played anybody super insane, but like the way that this is starting to look.
11:06I mean, obviously, Denver was supposed to be good, but week one, I'm willing to like throw out a little bit.
11:12And then this Colts defense is not great, but I think everything you would have wanted from the Chiefs offense you got.
11:18And the last point I would say to that, I mentioned it on the Sunday show.
11:22This was as good as Patrick Mahomes has looked throwing down the field in a long time.
11:27Like the throws to Thornton were incredible. The deep pylon route he throws to Xavier Worthy that doesn't get caught.
11:33That throw is insane to have that kind of RPMs and like lead him up the field that way.
11:38That is like an unbelievable throw. And so just the fact that he looks good, the offense is opening up throws in
11:44a way that I just kind of think that they had struggled to do the last couple of years.
11:49And now Ken Walker can just seemingly bounce off four people and rip off 20 yard runs.
11:54You kind of got all of what you would want.
11:57The throw that he had to Kelsey on the corner at the Kelsey drops was also an incredible throw.
12:02It's not an egregious drop. It hits off his fingertips, but it's still a beautiful throw down the field.
12:08And he had a handful of those yesterday. So you have the deep ball accuracy looks like it's better than it's been over the last couple of years.
12:15Their ability to run the ball, their ability to be explosive.
12:19And then you still have those just incredible feel awareness moments from Patrick Mahomes.
12:22There was a second and four play in the second quarter where the culture and a pressure look and Arden key just comes completely untouched.
12:29And Mahomes buys just a little bit of time to find Kelsey in the flat for 11 yards.
12:34That stuff is always going to be there. And again, now when you're combining with all the other positives they're bringing to
12:41the table, it's just so nice to feel this way about the Chiefs offense again.
12:45It's just so nice to watch them and not feel like I'm in the dentist's office.
12:49Like that's what it felt like over the last two years.
12:52It was just such a supremely unenjoyable experience. And so to be back here, it's so nice.
12:57Like you can hear it in my voice. I'm so happy that I don't actively hate watching this team again.
13:03Well, and don't you remember last year you had brought this up maybe by like week three, week four.
13:08Patrick Mahomes, it's not that he was playing poorly.
13:11It just felt a little like tense. Like it just didn't seem like he was super comfortable back there.
13:16The Giants game. I remember when we did the Giants game on the hangover last year.
13:20It was so hard to ignore that feeling when you were watching them.
13:24And in this game, didn't he just feel as calm as he's ever felt in the pocket?
13:29Like some of just the sliding buying himself a half second when he's got to not being freaked out when he's going to get hit.
13:36Like he just looked as calm as he's ever looked.
13:39And it was like, again, okay, if he's going to look like the quarterback, I think he is.
13:44And the offense is going to help him enough.
13:46They can be like a really, really damn good offense again.
13:49I think it's important to provide some context to the enthusiasm in this conversation.
13:53The Colts defense. I'm really worried about the Colts defense.
13:56I'm extremely worried. Just like everything, all three levels.
13:58I mean, you look at what the edges were doing against the run and just how many.
14:03The first play of the game. The first play of the game.
14:07Arden Key just gets completely lost. And Michael Cummins did it later in the game.
14:11There are multiple different plays like that. We've already talked about the linebackers and what they were the safeties as tacklers in this game, too.
14:18I mean, like what they were making A.J. Hulsey do in the alley.
14:21That's not the game he wants to be playing.
14:24Overall, in this game, the Chiefs missed 19 tackles.
14:26Okay. Excuse me. The Colts. The Colts missed 19 tackles in this game.
14:30That is the second most in a single game this season.
14:33The most? The Broncos in week one last week.
14:36So the Chiefs have the two highest miss tackle force games in the NFL so far this year, which is another element
14:42of their offense that they did not have over the last couple years.
14:45I think that's a little obviously what Walker is doing contributes to those numbers.
14:49But I also think when you look at the second and third level for the Colts defense, I am genuinely very concerned
14:56about what that group is going to look like over the course of the season.
15:00It was something to be worried about coming into the year.
15:03And I think your worst fears are being realized when you're watching that group right now.
15:07I mean, it was a defense where outside of the defensive tackles and sauce Gardner, you could you could see how it would be good.
15:14But you had to tell yourself a little bit of a story to get themselves there.
15:19And at least through two weeks, none of it really looks like it's delivering on what you would have wanted in an optimistic case.
15:25I think part of the story you had to tell yourself was that CJ Allen would be good right away.
15:31And he's not even playing. Mm hmm. He like he missed.
15:34Well, he missed some of like the preseason. And then yeah, he's like the fact that he can't get on the field,
15:40I think is deeply concerning, which that like. They were going to look tough even if CJ Allen was like a perfectly average rookie linebacker.
15:47This was going to be tough. I think what they're getting out of their linebackers right now is even worse than that.
15:53And then again, like you mentioned the positions that they've put Halsey in as a one on one tackler in the last
16:00handful of games, which like on some level, it's like it's the NFL.
16:03You've got to make those plays at some point, but having to do it two weeks in a row now against Derrick
16:09Henry, who is maybe the scariest person to meet in the alley or down the field and Kenneth Walker, who's been incredible at it.
16:16Like it's just it's he's been put in a difficult position and I think has not played well.
16:21And I don't think Bynum has played as well as we've seen him play before.
16:25And so like this is a defense where again, outside of the defensive tackles, it doesn't really feel like many of them are playing at their best level.
16:33Yeah, there it looks like a lot of guys who are swimming on the back end.
16:38And that's a problem. We knew the defense might be an issue.
16:41I think the optimistic case for the Colts, the best case scenario is that the defense is passable and the offense can
16:47carry them over the course of the year. And you look at what the offense did last night against the Chiefs.
16:53There are plenty of things to like, like on zone runs and on some of those pin pulls like the offensive line moves so well.
17:00I thought Taylor was exceptional for a good portion of that game last night.
17:04Like you just feel the difference he's making every time he touches the ball, but you compare his runs to McLaughlin runs
17:10and just how different they look at. It's he's so good and the line is a really well constructed group.
17:16The movement skills are so good. I thought Downs was fantastic when they really kind of put him to work in some of those one on one situations.
17:24But that's it. Like you got Josh Downs in one on one situations from the slot and you've got that offensive line
17:30and Jonathan Taylor being able to do some work on the perimeter on some of those zone runs.
17:35But when you've removed Alec Pierce from the equation, which we'll see how long he's out.
17:39We could talk about that if you want to.
17:42The offense is just so limited in the things that it can do well that even if it can do those things
17:48well that can only take you so far. And I think that's kind of what that group felt like last night.
17:54I think that's what I'm worried about. And that's why I think it is worth bringing up the fact that Pierce is
18:00going to miss time potentially because he's he's the create space for everybody else in the passing offense guy like he can take the top off.
18:07He can run some of those dig routes. He can do some of that stuff.
18:11I struggle to see who that's supposed to be other than him like Downs can win down the field.
18:17But again, you're mostly having to do it him being from the slot.
18:20It's a lot of like these out breaking routes to the sideline like you can only really use him in a particular way.
18:27And I thought a lot of their other one on one winners like Daniel Jones consistently trying to throw the one on
18:33one slant to Keenan Allen versus like press man inside leverage.
18:36You can't do it. He threw the pick to Fulton and then threw another incompletion inside the two minute trying to do the same thing.
18:43And so if they're not going to have these guys who can win some one on one balls when a slant went
18:49on went down the field a little bit offense starts to feel a little bit more constipated than I think you would
18:55have hoped for going into the season. And Downs they're not even trying to use him as anything.
19:00They're using him as more of a vertical player from the slot than they have over the last couple years, but they're
19:07still almost exclusively using him as a slot player like that's where almost all of his targets came from last night is when he's working.
19:14From the inside and that's just a very different sort of player than Alec Pierce is even if there is a little
19:20bit more verticality to Downs his game right now than there has been over the last couple years.
19:25So you're removing Pierce from the equation to changes how many threats you have on offense that changes the geometry of the offense.
19:31And if Keenan Allen is going to be getting a decent amount of those snaps like you said it's it's just a
19:37non-starter like what he what he looked like in that game players like that.
19:41We always say well their games will age gracefully they'll be able to do this forever.
19:46And then when they stop being able to do it, it's extremely ugly.
19:49And as much as it pains me to say this, I think we might be approaching that place with Keenan Allen, which
19:55is very sad because he's one of my favorite players the last like 15 years.
20:00I mean, I speak he was incredible, but it's a good point.
20:03Like especially those guys where it's like, oh, they're smooth and it'll age and they know how to get into zones and
20:09they know how to run routes and all that stuff.
20:12And it's like, sure, that can work when they drop to 90 percent of their athleticism.
20:16It can work at 85 percent. It can work at 80.
20:20Once you get to like 70, 65 percent of what they were, it's like you just can't beat people the same way that you could before.
20:27Do you think it's too early to have the what comes next for the Colts conversation?
20:31Because I think we're trending in that direction. I actually we have three months to have it, but I'm already going there in my head.
20:38I think the offense does have enough glimmers of hope that I'm willing to like play this out a little bit more
20:44before I like fully put the brakes on like, holy shit, this team has a problem.
20:49What if Pierce misses like a month? Would you still feel that way?
20:53I do think that the run game looks good enough and you can maybe start to piece this together enough with downs.
20:59Like if they go into games knowing they don't have Pierce, the game plan probably looks a little bit different.
21:04I'm not saying that like I necessarily believe in that version of the Colts, but I do think the offensive line and run game is good enough.
21:12And we've seen Stike can be a really good play caller at enough times that I'm willing to hold off for like
21:18another couple of weeks before I'm like, oh, no, this is fully done.
21:22The defense I'm more in like this is panic mode.
21:24The offense, I think, has enough to it. You're probably right.
21:28I mean, they took that game into overtime yesterday.
21:30I mean, we talked about it. They're one fourth and eight decision away from potentially winning that game.
21:35And we maybe don't need to be in panic mode quite yet.
21:38But like I said, like I think even if you're optimistic about some elements of the offense, I think the offense needed
21:45to be humming on if not all cylinders, then most of them.
21:48If the defense is going to look like this.
21:51And I just wonder how possible that even is.
21:53If Pierce isn't playing and you're trying to build this entire plane out of the run game and Josh Downs.
21:59Two things I love, by the way, I love Josh Downs in the Colts run game.
22:03But even for me, I'm not sure that's enough considering the quality of the defense right now.
22:08Well, that's the thing. In the best case scenario, it was the Colts run game and Josh Downs and this and that and that.
22:15And they just don't have all of those other things right now.
22:18It's just those two things. They next week, by the way, they get the Houston Texans.
22:22And I know the Texans like 0-2 had a weird game against week one against Josh Allen.
22:27That is still a defense that especially I think without the Colts having Alec Pierce, there's a chance that they just get their shit kicked in.
22:34And if it happens in that game, and I know the Texans are great, but then you're 0-3 and haven't really looked alive in enough of these games.
22:42And then I would start to be like pretty concerned.
22:45And that's again when we can start having that conversation because the Colts don't make the playoffs.
22:50It's over. We're cleaning house. We're starting over. And I think that maybe it's unfair to start having that conversation two weeks
22:56into the year, but we're not very far away from having it.
22:59That being said, three weeks in a row. I mean, we talked about it last night.
23:04In the first two weeks of the season, the Texans have played against two of the inner circle force of nature players
23:10in the NFL and Josh Allen and Jamar Chase.
23:13And then next week, they get another one in Josh Downs.
23:16I couldn't tell if you were going to be a little closer to Sirius and say Jonathan Taylor or if you were going to do Josh Downs.
23:23I appreciate the bit though. All right, before we get to Seahawks Cardinals, let's take our first quick break.
23:28Let's get to our next one here. Seahawks and Cardinals.
23:31I had such a blast going back and rewatching this game.
23:34And for a blowout, the Seahawks are awesome. The Seahawks are so, so good.
23:38And the two guys that really crystallized it for me as I was going back to rewatch this, JSN is such a special player.
23:45Just such a special player. I was joking about Josh Downs being like a singular force.
23:49Some of the things that JSN does, no one else in the league does them with quite the same verve as he does.
23:56And to me, the thing, the one specific thing that jumped out yesterday, the way that he floats in the end zone
24:02on some of these in breakers and the way that he can just watch the ball all the way in, almost float
24:08in midair, and then just gracefully come down, get two feet down.
24:12He did it a lot last year. But the fact that two of the touchdowns came on that exact sort of play,
24:18and the first one, it's good coverage by Max Melton.
24:21It's good coverage. He's in really good position. And JSN just elevates to make that play over him.
24:26And so we've got a guy who is so clearly the most, and Justin Jefferson is phenomenal, but I think that JSN
24:32is pretty clearly the best route runner in the NFL in terms of what he's bringing to the table.
24:37You saw it on the first touchdown, which we can talk about.
24:40So you have a guy that does that, but also is making physicality-based plays in the red zone when he's doing things
24:47with his body that no one else is doing.
24:49Just such an incredibly cool player. And all of it was on display yesterday.
24:53Like every element of what makes him special was right there in front of you last night.
24:58And that was like, he's obviously played a handful of incredible games.
25:01But again, some of the plays that he made in the red zone were just his.
25:06It's like what you said. He can go up and float for it, and he just has like incredible hand-eye coordination and
25:12just like calmness when the ball is in the air.
25:15And he is, I think what's so fascinating about him is most of the truly elite receivers, like the special guys, are
25:21bigger than JSN is and like more physically imposing than he is.
25:24And this is not to say that he's like a badass.
25:27He's obviously an incredible athlete. And he's not small.
25:30He's like 6'2". But usually it's guys that look like Julio Jones or Mike Evans or Andre Johnson or obviously in the
25:36league now like a Jamar Chase, where he is like a truly force of nature physical presence.
25:41The fact that JSN is not that, but still feels like those guys because of how well he navigates space and is
25:47able to just get in the air the way that he does.
25:50And also, he won Offensive Player of the Year last year, and he feels like he might be better, which is almost
25:56like when Miles Garrett won Defensive Player of the Year and then got better again.
26:00What he's doing right now is special. The only person I can really compare it to in terms of play style and impact is prime Antonio Brown.
26:08Yeah, that's probably it. He was like another guy who was not like physically imposing, but he just the way that he was able to navigate.
26:15It's not just navigate space in between zones or as a route runner or whatever.
26:19It's like in the air, like the way that Antonio Brown and now JSN can like negotiate space in the air and
26:26fight through contact for guys who are not particularly large is unbelievably impressive.
26:29I want to go back and watch a little bit more prime Antonio Brown just to kind of get the nuances right
26:35of what is similar and what is different. But what it feels like to watch these guys, how they impact the game,
26:42the dominance they have at their size, like that's really the only comparison that I can make.
26:46But with JSN, I think when I picture Antonio Brown, it's on like more vertical routes, more like big sail routes.
26:52And with JSN, it's the inbreakers over the middle of the field and just the smoothness that those happen with.
26:58And I talked about this last year going into the season.
27:01When I was talking to Sam Darnold during training camp, he said it's almost like he's ice skating.
27:06Like when you watch him play, like his feet just never leave the ground.
27:10And I just think about that every single time I watch him and there's really nobody that moves like that.
27:15And so you have that on offense where he's every bit as good as he was last year and he's doing the same exact shit.
27:22And then for me, the player on defense, when I went back and rewatched this game, that I'm like, what just an
27:29incredibly cool player that there's no one else really in the league like him.
27:32He to me really embodies what the defense is supposed to be.
27:36Leonard Williams was insane in this game, like absolutely insane.
27:39He is an incredible player. It blows my mind that this is a guy who was like a former top 10 pick,
27:45had like made multiple Pro Bowls early in his career.
27:48And he's now 33, 32, 33. And he's playing the best ball of his career.
27:52The best that he's ever played. He is a truly dominant player.
27:55Every single play that is against him is just like he just manhandles everybody that he's going against.
28:00I mean, there was a play early in this game where he gets they try to run like I think it was
28:06like a third and one or fourth and one at him.
28:09And he's third and one. It was third and one on the opening drive.
28:13Completely, completely nukes the play by himself. And it's like he can just do that, man, because he has he has like
28:19truly like mid 30s, like old man strength. But he's still phenomenally quick and like agile for a guy his size.
28:25And like the way that he sees it, like he is one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the league right now.
28:32He's unbelievable. He makes that play on third and one on the opening drive.
28:36It's him and Byron Murphy, which Byron Murphy also you could say a lot of the same shit about Byron Murphy.
28:42The way that they're using him in pass rush situations right now where he's like a spinner and they're slanting him across the center.
28:48Yeah, they are. They are truly weaponizing him on like third and seven in a way that they were not last year.
28:54They're treating him like Micah Parsons in passing situations, which is hilarious.
28:58And it's fun. Like he is. He can be that sort of force.
29:01He is super explosive. And so them being like, we think you're our best pass rusher right now with our current group.
29:08We're going to unleash you in these ways is really cool to watch.
29:11But so that happens on third and one in the first drive on the second drive.
29:16He makes a run stuff on one play and then makes a tackle like six yards down the field on the next play, chasing it on the backside.
29:24On the second drive, he nukes a third down on a stunt where he gets a sack.
29:28There's a third and four at some point in the second quarter where to him, a twist with him and Fowler that almost gets home.
29:35And then one of my favorite plays in the entire game is the interception where Derek Hall gets the pressure.
29:41So they're hitting this stunt over and over and over again over the course of this game where you have Williams in
29:47like a wide, wide sort of three technique. He pins the defense, pins the defense, the offensive tackle and then loops around just very simple stuff, right?
29:55It's like normal T.E. type stuff. So they're hitting this over and over and over again.
29:59And then on this play, Paris Johnson feels inside as the play is happening, thinking that stunt is going to happen.
30:05And that tiny little split second of indecision is enough for Derek Hall to get the edge.
30:10He hits Jacoby Brissett as he's throwing the ball.
30:12It gets intercepted. And that to me just speaks to what it's what it's like to play against this defense over the course of the game.
30:20They're in your head. You are worried about the shit that they are doing to you.
30:24And the fact that that stunt is hitting over and over and over again, and you're so concerned about them getting you with it again.
30:31And then they do the they just play it normally one time.
30:34And that leads to one of the biggest plays of the game.
30:38It just speaks to schematically, but also just the play style and what that does to the guys that they're playing against,
30:44where they're just trying to keep their heads above water over the course of these games.
30:48And that's what the Seattle defense does to you.
30:51Like they're drowning you into the deep. They're bringing you into the deep end of the pool and they are going to
30:57drown you over the course of the game. And it's incredible to watch.
31:01All of the movement they use in every way is just phenomenal.
31:04Like obviously in the passing game, some of the twists and stunts that they're doing, putting Byron Murphy, like standing him up and using him as that piece.
31:12And then in the run game, a lot of the stuff that they do, like in this game, they were getting into
31:18a lot of those like three down lineman fronts.
31:21And then they would move the B gap player and it just opens up like a wide hole for Drake Thomas.
31:26Or there was one where they fired Spoon into that and he gets like a TFL, like them just creating an open
31:33B gap for some sort of hitter in the run game.
31:36The consistency at which they do that is is kind of unbelievable.
31:39And then the other play that I want to bring up.
31:42So they have that element of like they're always moving.
31:45They're always kind of in your head. You don't know what exactly they're going to do.
31:49So you don't trust yourself. There's that element. But then there's also the element of sometimes even when you're right against this
31:56team, they make you wrong because they're so good.
31:58There's a third down in the late third quarter where Jacoby Brissett is trying to throw the inbreaker to Michael Wilson right behind Ernest Jones.
32:05And that is the throw that you have to make if you're going to beat this offense.
32:10But Ernest Jones does like at the very last second, like squeezes it just enough and like throws back his hand and
32:16like kind of punches Michael Wilson just a little bit that he's not able to wrap around it just enough.
32:22And Brissett, it looks like it's a bad throw, but it's not.
32:25But Jones just did a good job of rerouting the receiver.
32:28And it's just like even on the plays where you're like, we think we have them.
32:32They make you wrong because they know all the little details.
32:36It's unbelievable. I love this because I wrote down the exact same play and just the way they squeeze space and zone coverage.
32:42The play before that to me is another really good example of this.
32:46So the play before that on second down, it's second and nine.
32:49And the Cardinals are trying to run a concept where number one goes vertical.
32:53And then they have McBride in the slot running like a little reverse pivot whip.
32:57And what should happen there is that if you're holding the hook defender, there should be space in like the getting toward
33:03the flat based on the route distribution because they have a player in the flat.
33:07I think it was Jeremiah Love. And so you're trying to tie down the flat defender there and create that space for
33:14McBride to loop back into that space. But Spoon just doesn't acknowledge the route in the flat like he gets depth underneath McBride's route.
33:20And that's what's so cool about this is that they break the rules like the rules that the defensive players should be
33:26following their sense of down and distance situational football, how I should be playing this based on how you want me to play it.
33:33They really with those expectations. And so on that play, McBride should be open like the base of the way the routes are distributed.
33:40They're trying to get at McBride. He should be open.
33:43But instead, Spoon sits underneath it. They're forced to check it down.
33:46And then you have three guys rallying to the ball at the same time.
33:50It's like a three yard gain. And it's third and six.
33:53And that play happens that you're talking about with Ernest Jones.
33:56And it's just such a pretty simple and kind of subtle reminder of how hard it is to play against this defense for four quarters.
34:03But there's just no space. It feels like there are 12 guys out there at all times.
34:08And I left this game not feeling that much worse about the Cardinals offense over the course of the year.
34:13I truly think that they're a pretty put together unit.
34:16And it's just this is what that defense can do to you.
34:20I completely felt the same way. I was like, you know what, man?
34:23I kind of think the Cardinals called a perfectly fine game.
34:26The Seahawks are just that good. Like sometimes they're just going to kick your ass.
34:31But it wasn't like I wasn't like, oh, man, the Cardinals keep calling this thing and it keeps getting stopped.
34:36And the Seahawks are just all over their stuff.
34:39It's like they kind of have answers here. It's just that like the Seahawks guys are a little faster.
34:44And like, honestly, the last play I would bring up what ended up being one of the quote worst plays for the Seahawks defense.
34:51The Rodney Thomas pass interference that he gets where he's driving on that over route.
34:55It's actually such a good play by Rodney Thomas.
34:57And he gets there so fast that because the quarterback's late, he ends up getting a pass interference.
35:02But like he makes the perfect play as a defender.
35:05It's like just all the little stuff with this defense.
35:08Like and that's the other thing. Rodney last year, Ty Okada comes off the bench to play really, really well for this team.
35:15And then they expect him to be the week one starter going into this season.
35:19Okada does not come into this season healthy. Rodney Thomas now has to play.
35:23And he's looked pretty good for them. Like their just ability to get this out of whoever the 10th or 11th starter on the defense is is unbelievable.
35:30Even Wari played nine snaps in this game. They're working him back.
35:34He played nine snaps. You don't even notice it.
35:36And again, it's against an offense that I think over the course of this year is going to be competent.
35:42It's going to be an offense that we kind of enjoy watching.
35:45I think I'm going to like I like a lot of the stuff they're trying to do.
35:50And this defense is just a buzzsaw. And I think they're going to continue to feel that way.
35:55The one other play I wanted to point out.
35:58I can't remember exactly when it happened. I can try to find it in my notes, but it honestly doesn't really matter.
36:04The Cardinals ran a play. It was early. It was late in the first quarter.
36:08And it's 13 personnel. And Michael Wilson motions into the formation like he's going to insert on duo.
36:13But instead, he flashes all the way across the formation and kind of like a slice action.
36:18And the Cardinals run zone to the side that he originally came from.
36:21And it goes through like nine yards. That motion and him slicing back across freezes Drake Thomas for just like a split
36:28second and allows the Cardinals offensive line to get out of the second level.
36:31And that's a good example of like, that's good stuff.
36:34That's a cool play. Like I like a lot of the things that they're doing.
36:38So they try to do it later in the game.
36:41Wilson slices across. There's a little window of space.
36:44And instead of sitting and waiting and being short circuited for a second, Thomas takes the grass immediately and drops the running back for a three yard loss.
36:52And so even if there is a moment in the game where you have a half step ahead, where you're a half
36:58step ahead of these guys and you've got the upper hand for a second.
37:02At some point, if you try to do it again, they're probably going to take it back from you.
37:07Yeah, that's the other. You're not going to get them twice.
37:10There are some defenses that like, oh, we found something we can pick on this game.
37:15We'll keep getting them that that's just not really going to happen against the defense like this.
37:19The other the other person I wanted to mention before we moved on.
37:23I'm really impressed with Drew Locke. I'm really impressed with some of the stuff Drew Locke is doing.
37:28And he had a couple of throws in this game where he's buying just a little bit more time.
37:33I mean, there's a play. It was the third down.
37:36I want to say where he hits JSN on an outbreaker to the left side in the red zone.
37:41And the Cardinals run overload blitz to the offense's right side.
37:44And they've got too many bodies to block. And Locke understands that.
37:48And immediately as the play is happening, starts drifting to his left to buy himself just a little bit more time and space.
37:54And he hits that throw to JSN on the left sideline.
37:57And I just think he's playing really well. I think it's a sign of an offense that's being well communicated to him.
38:04He's making good decisions. He can always sling it.
38:06I mean, the guy's got an arm. And so it's been I've enjoyed watching him.
38:10Like, it's I think the when we knew Donald was going to be hurt for a little bit.
38:15The thought was, could they survive for a while?
38:18And the offense has looked even better than I could have hoped with a backup quarterback.
38:22I've enjoyed watching it. It's it's it's surprising, but fun.
38:25Well, because like he drew like almost is like a very perfect backup for Sam Darnold, where a lot of the Sam
38:31Darnold offense is like, it's like, can you make four or five like sick tight window throws for us?
38:37And like, I don't know how much overall Drew Locke can do for you, but he can make like four sick tight window throws.
38:43I mean, the first the first touchdown to JSN against Max Melton.
38:47That's a really good ball. The other one that he throws in the back of the end zone near near the goalpost is another really good ball.
38:54They have like trips to the right side and he hits JSN on that like that fake corner into the seam route.
39:00And then there was one that he had early on in the third quarter.
39:04They have Elijah Arroyo like on a tight split to the right hand side.
39:08And he just runs that little like bang eight skinny post.
39:11And Drew Locke is like, all right, it's supposed to be there.
39:15I'm going to throw it. And he pins it right on him.
39:18I'm like, if you could do that four times a game, man, and the run games are going to look fine.
39:24That's kind of all that this needs to be.
39:26If your defense is going to be the best in the league.
39:30And a couple of those chunk plays that they hit, I thought the pass protection was excellent.
39:34Zabel in particular had multiple one on one moments in pass protection in this game where I was like, all right, man.
39:41But tip of the cap, that looks really good.
39:43So just a fantastic performance all around. And there's some games where it's kind of all going your way.
39:48Like the fact that they had a fumble on a kickoff returner and it turned into a positive play.
39:54Good things happen to find this team. But I think that's what happens when you're consistently putting yourself in good positions over and over again.
40:01It's one of those things where luck is always chance, but there's a way to make your own luck.
40:06And they do find ways to consistently keep themselves in good positions.
40:09All right, before we get to Patriot Steelers, let's take one more quick break.
40:13All right, let's go from a team I really enjoyed going back to rewatch this morning to a team that I did
40:20not enjoy going back to rewatch this morning. What are we going to do with the Pittsburgh Steelers if the offense is
40:26going to look like this over the course of the year?
40:29They are disgusting. They are worse than last year.
40:31This is honestly like justice for Arthur Smith, man.
40:34The Arthur Smith offense was totally functional and fine.
40:36What they're trying to do right now is gross.
40:39There are so many different ways that we can go about this and we can talk about Aaron Rodgers already trying to
40:45throw the coach under the bus and how he played and all that stuff.
40:49But I also, and I do think that this ties into Rodgers, their pass protection plan in this game was horrific.
40:55Multiple moments where they're just getting completely picked apart.
40:57You look at it since the start of last season.
41:00I look this up because I had the exact same thought when I'm watching them over the course of this game.
41:06The only team since the start of 2025 with a worse success rate against the Blitz than the Steelers is the Tennessee Titans.
41:12Who had last year a rookie quarterback and is now still only a second year quarterback in offensive lines that is not that good.
41:19And Rodgers is a 42-year-old Hall of Famer. Yes.
41:22Like, I just don't, I just don't even understand fully what they're trying to accomplish on a lot of these.
41:27Like, there was late in the first quarter, there was a third and six where the Patriots put both of their defensive tackles to the left-hand side.
41:35So you've got a slide there. That's totally fine.
41:37But then they've got a B-gap rusher, like stood up over there, another linebacker kind of standing behind him.
41:43And then you've got the edge rusher to the right.
41:45So you've got theoretically three over two. Both of the linebackers come.
41:49So, like, you end up, like, both of the linebackers come.
41:52The guard takes the off-ball, like, inside, the guy who was a little bit deeper.
41:56And then the right tackle is trying to squeeze the B-gap player.
41:59But, like, then the edge pops off and he's right there for the flat player, the running back coming out.
42:05And so, like, you just don't end up picking this up.
42:08Rodgers tries to throw to the flat player who peels off and that's incomplete.
42:12And then there's another sack that they take where it's kind of a similar situation.
42:16And Spillane was untouched on that play on the other side.
42:19Yes. Spillane just came completely untouched. Like, it's just their plan.
42:22They had the bodies and they slid the right way.
42:25Yes. That's what I don't understand. It's, like, the fact that they are still theoretically sliding the right way and, like, getting guys still unblocked.
42:32I did multiple times in this game where I did not understand how that happened for them.
42:37I land in a very similar place when I watch what they're doing and I'm like, what is this supposed to be?
42:43Like, the couple different third down plays in this game where he's trying to throw a one-on-one slant to DK Metcalf against
42:49Christian Gonzalez just completely gloved up the entire way.
42:52Like, the little bender he's trying to throw to Bernard on that one-third down that's just a complete non-starter.
42:57Like, I, when I was thinking about the Rodgers-McCarthy pairing in 2026 and the worst-case scenario for it, like, the ugliest possible version, this is it.
43:04This is it. Where you're sitting there watching them play this static, lifeless version of offense that it would be hard for
43:11anyone to play in the modern NFL. It would be hard for anyone to play this way, let alone a quarterback of Rodgers' age and limitations.
43:18And it's been disgusting. Like, right now, through two games, the Pittsburgh Steelers are dead last in offensive success rate.
43:23Worse than the Falcons. They have been worse than the Cooper Rush Falcons over the first two weeks.
43:28And they haven't played any buzz saws here. They played the Falcons and the Patriots.
43:33And the Patriots defense might be, like, fine. But, like, they're not played.
43:36Yeah, they're fine. Yes, you should not look like the worst offense in the league against a fine defense.
43:42And, like, it was everything. Like, we're talking about some of the pass protection stuff.
43:46Like, they gave up a sack in the middle of the second quarter where, again, they slide to the left and they
43:52allow a free rusher off the edge on the left-hand side.
43:55Like, just shit like that happening constantly. And then there was actually a sequence earlier in the second quarter that I thought summarized, like, all of their issues.
44:03And even actually goes into kind of what Rodgers was saying where he was like, I got to be a little bit
44:09better about telling the coaches when we're in the wrong place and that sort of thing.
44:13Early in the second quarter, there's about 13 and a half minutes left.
44:17The corner route to Friermuth that they have on the left side is going to come open.
44:22Like, it's one-on-one coverage and it's going to be open.
44:25And he doesn't want to hold that ball that long and he checks it down.
44:29And so they don't get a great play. It's impossible to play offense this way.
44:33Yeah, you can't do stuff like that. And then on the next play, they naked boot him out to the right.
44:39And if he was a quarterback with any ounce of athleticism in his body left, you can, like, run off and go
44:45get four or five yards against like that. You have so much space between where he was and where the second level
44:51defender was trying to crash on him. But he can't move at this stage.
44:55And so he just kind of runs out for a little bit and throws it away.
45:00And so it's like the fact that, like, that little two-play sequence happens, you are not going to be able to function
45:06as an offense if that is happening to you every other drive.
45:09There was a completion he had to Jeremy Bernard at some point.
45:13I think it was in the first half. It was a third and eight.
45:16And the Steelers popped—the Patriots popped back into, like, some version of cover two.
45:20And so they clouded DK's side. He wanted to go there first.
45:24Shocking. He was trying to go to DK first.
45:26They cloud that side. There's a little bit of space for him to step up to the right, and so he does.
45:32And by virtue of him stepping up and running that direction, his eyes just, by default, clicked back to the right side.
45:39And he hit Jeremy Bernard on the backside of the play.
45:42But it's only because he tried to start scrambling that his eyes went to the backside to make that throw.
45:47It was like seeing a unicorn. Mm-hmm. I remember that exact play where I was like, that doesn't feel like he was trying to get there.
45:55And he just kind of did by accident, which, like, it's just so frustrating because, like, earlier in his career, he could do this.
46:01And so it's just kind of bizarre seeing him not operate.
46:04And I think he was always a little bit more of, like, a pick-what-I-want-to-do pre-snap kind of quarterback.
46:09But still, earlier in his career, he was better at, like, cycling and getting to stuff late in the down, but he
46:15just doesn't do it as consistently anymore. And so if the passing offense is going to be so, like, I still want
46:22to get the ball out of my hands. I still want to win pre-snap.
46:26I still want to throw some of these one-on-ones.
46:28They're still not talented enough to do that, especially without Michael Pittman really playing in this game.
46:33Like, I just, I don't understand how it's supposed to look good.
46:36I thought that this had, I thought maybe they would have enough pass-catching talent to, like, make this stupid offense work, but it doesn't seem like they do.
46:44It can't. You can't make this offense work if it's not 2019 and you don't have Devontae Adams.
46:49It's just impossible to play this way. And I think people are going to hear the way that we're talking about Rodgers,
46:55that I'm talking about Rodgers, that I've talked about Rodgers for the last two years, and take it the wrong way.
47:01I think it's almost, the place that I've reached with all of this is that it's just sad.
47:06Like, I think back to, Aaron Rodgers was my favorite player in professional football for a multi-year period.
47:11And I think that's part Stockholm syndrome from being a Bears fan and watching what he would do to this team twice a year for an extended stretch.
47:19But I loved watching him play. When he was at his best and you were watching him in 2010 when he really
47:25came on the scene and then into 2011 and over that entire stretch, like the 2014 season, there was no one like him.
47:32He was playing the position unlike I had ever seen anyone play the position.
47:36And there are guys that were dynamic forces and think back to what Steve Young was and what Michael Vick was.
47:41But the plays that Rodgers would make extending from the pocket.
47:44And I remember his little signature thing that he would do is that slightly on the move, whether it was extending a
47:51little bit or stepping up in the pocket, he would plant on his front leg almost like a kickstand.
47:56And the torque that he could create while doing that, it was just unlike anything I'd ever seen.
48:01Like, what he was physically bringing to the position.
48:04If we're doing it like Pokemon, he was like Mahomes evolved from Rodgers.
48:07Like, that was, he was the first glimpse we saw of that sort of player.
48:11And it was exhilarating. It was the coolest thing about the NFL every Sunday for a multi-year period was getting to see what shit Aaron Rodgers would do.
48:19And the fact that now we're in this place where the almost, the offensive ceases to function and I actively hate watching it.
48:26My main emotion as I watch him at this stage is just disappointment and sadness.
48:30It's not bitterness. I just hate the fact that we've arrived in this place considering what he was for so long.
48:36He, he, he up until Mahomes and I think maybe even Josh Allen was like the most talented thrower of the football I'd ever seen.
48:43And I think that might even still be true.
48:45Like, I think those guys are arguably better for different reasons.
48:48You know, Josh Allen is a complete force of nature as an athlete.
48:52Patrick Mahomes has a very special way to maneuver around the pocket.
48:55Now, obviously Aaron Rodgers did too, but some of Mahomes' playmaking is incredible.
48:59But purely in terms of, can that guy put the football where he wants to put it from anywhere to anywhere on the field?
49:06I don't know if I've ever seen anybody like him at his peak.
49:09And so the fact that, it's funny, I was even actually saying this to our producers before we went on.
49:15I really hope that in 20 years, this stretch of his career, the last five years, I kind of just forget it.
49:21Because like you said, like 2011, 2014, the back-to-back MVPs with Matt LaFleur where it looked, different than any other point in his career.
49:28He had so many of these special peaks. And to watch it be like such a limited version of what it had
49:34been at his past, is, it is a little bit, yeah, it's not even, like, I feel like other bad quarterbacks, I
49:40get frustrated because I'm just like, what's wrong with you?
49:43At this point, I'm just like, with Rodgers, it's just, I'm kind of just tired of seeing it.
49:48It's really frustrating. And here's the problem with this.
49:50We knew this was going to happen. If you watched them play last year, I don't know how you could talk yourself
49:57into there being any other outcome than what we're watching right now.
50:00It's probably worse than even people who were skeptical about this would have thought.
50:04Like the fact that they've been the worst offense in the league through two years.
50:08And I understand it's a new coaching staff, right?
50:11Ish. Yes, sort of. You got a 42-year-old quarterback with a guy that he played under for like 10 years.
50:16So maybe some of the other players are new to this, but I'm not giving them the same leeway that I'm giving
50:22a lot of these other first-year staffs in terms of the ramp-up period that it should require for you to walk and
50:28shoot gum at the same time offensively. And so I just don't know how much better this gets if he's going to play like this.
50:35And that sabotages the entire point of the season where you have all these young guys that in theory you can get excited about.
50:42And that's going to be so, so hard to do because of what you're having to fight through watching the quarterback and watching this style of offense.
50:50I think that's such a great point because last year for as gross as it looked, they were like an average, slightly below average offense.
50:57Like they weren't bad. They could kind of move.
50:59The way they look right now is bad. Like outright going to tank the season sort of bad.
51:04And so I think like in terms of like what he's doing and what they're trying to do, it probably looks like exactly what you would have expected.
51:12I just think so far the execution and the results look degrees worse than I think it was even supposed to.
51:18The other sad I wanted to throw out just because, again, I think it's so telling for where he is.
51:24Nate used this term when we were watching him play in probably 23, whatever his last year in Green Bay was.
51:29But all the performative deep balls where he's just chucking it down there with no hopes of it being completed.
51:35On throws of 20 plus air yards this season, he's 0 for 9.
51:39They're averaging negative 0.94 EPA per drop back. So they lose a point every time he throws the ball 20 or more yards down the field.
51:46That sounds about right. And, you know, it's somewhat before somebody else mentions it.
51:50I know he had the one drop by DK Metcalf on week one.
51:54I don't care that that is not good. That is extremely bad because.
51:57That's the other problem with this, though, is that, like I said, it has to be 2019 with Devontae Adams trying to
52:03build this sort of offense through DK Metcalf. You are asking to have the most frustrating experience you can possibly imagine trying to play this way.
52:11Like he is. 100%. He is talented enough to trick you into thinking you might be able to do this.
52:16And then as you try to do it, you're going to be filled with nothing but regret.
52:21Yes, 100%. And like DK Metcalf always worked because there were always other like solidifying factors around him where some of the
52:27up and downs with him didn't matter. If like Michael Pittman is not going to be what they want and some of
52:33the tight ends maybe aren't going to be what they want, they're not going to have that.
52:38And so the other thing I want to mention, too, with like them just being such a frustrating passing offense, especially when they want to go pure pass.
52:46You mentioned the performative deep balls on this season when they're passing on third down.
52:50They are five for 25. That is horrendous. And again, these are not like juggernaut defenses they're playing.
52:55These are the Falcons who have a lot of like young players in the back seven.
53:00And then you have the Patriots who like Christian Gonzalez is great.
53:03But otherwise, it's like a DB unit that like you could probably get some of your matchups if you wanted, especially like
53:09Carlton Davis didn't play in this game. Like this should have been a unit you could get some stuff on and they still could not find them.
53:17Yeah, I think, you know, Michael Pittman didn't play in this game.
53:20But you shouldn't look like this just because Michael Pittman is not playing in the game like that.
53:25That should not happen. And so I'm looking at it right now.
53:28You mentioned the third down numbers. On third down so far this season, the league average motion at the snap rate is 30.4%.
53:35What do you think the Steelers are at? Eight.
53:37That's exactly right. Wow. I was just going to guess.
53:40I'm like maybe one or two plays. Eight percent.
53:43They've done it twice on third down. And again, it's not some magic wand where it instantly makes everything better.
53:48But when you watch them play, it's just so incredibly static.
53:51The only other team that is down at that range in motion at the snap rate is the Bengals.
53:57The Bengals are allowed to play this way. And they can do this.
54:00If you're going to be static, you need at least one of these two things.
54:05You need someone who is a force of nature freak receiver.
54:08The Bengals have two, really, in Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins.
54:11And then you need a quarterback who in those situations can see it and is going to be right and on time.
54:17Joe Burrow can do that right now. Aaron Rodgers could do that eight years ago, but it's not currently doing that at
54:23the rate that you would need him to to make this work.
54:26Let's get to the other side of the ball.
54:29What are your impressions of the Patriots offense from this game?
54:32I, so I have a couple of, I mean, I thought they ran the ball well.
54:36I mentioned actually at the top of the show, I think that mostly came down to the Steelers linebackers in a couple
54:43of these situations, especially when they needed to take on blocks was horrendous.
54:46The passing game worries me a little bit. I feel like Drake May is a little bit more gun shy this year.
54:52And I'm a little bit curious as to when to see that's going to get fixed.
54:57Because I thought that there were a handful of moments in this game where he either could have been aggressive or like
55:03would have last year and didn't take it. Like early on in the game, I forget if it was like the first
55:09or second drive, but he had a whole shot against cover two if he wanted it.
55:14But he got burned on that in week one and really got burned on that for like the last five NFL games
55:20that he's played and didn't want to throw it.
55:22And I'm not saying it was the most wide open thing that I've ever seen.
55:27But that's a throw that like when you have the arm talent that he has and when I've seen you do it,
55:33I get to come to an expectation where I expect you to try and make that throw.
55:37And he just kind of turned it down and ran for like seven yards or something like that.
55:42Watching him for most of last season, the thing I was most impressed with is just the shot selection.
55:48Like his shot selection for such a good chunk of last season was so impressive where he knew exactly when to take those chances, when not to.
55:55He was taking a lot of stuff underneath there.
55:58The it wasn't just explosive plays like this was an offense that was just consistently stacking up completions or positive plays on
56:04scrambles over and over and over and over again.
56:07Some of that is competition based. We've talked ad nauseum about the schedule.
56:10Like you have to acknowledge that. But it just feels like the shot selection just isn't there right now.
56:15Like when he should be checking it down, he's not when he should be taking chances.
56:20He's not that he's not trusting the pass protection.
56:22Like the offense overall just feels so unsettled compared to what it felt like for a good majority of last season.
56:28And I can't pinpoint exactly why it feels that way.
56:31But that's the general sense I get watching them right now.
56:34Yeah. I mean, I feel the same way again.
56:37He just feels a little bit like he's. I do think, like you said, like the shot selection is a little bit up and down.
56:44I mean, even the interception that he throws where they're in like two by two.
56:48They have open field to the left side, two tight ends to the right side.
56:52They run Hunter Henry from the right side and run that crosser over into the left hand side.
56:57The Steelers bring this like pressure, but they still have the weak hook player, Patrick Queen, who in theory, they're trying to
57:03tie him down with I think the fullback coming out of the backfield.
57:07It's Gilliam. It's Gilliam. Yeah. From from also the right side, he's attached.
57:11But they're trying to run him under to hold that guy there.
57:14And I think Drake is just assuming that the hook player is going to see that and like sit and then he
57:20can throw the over out on top of it.
57:23But he doesn't. Like Queen actually gets up under and floats under and takes it high and gets under the interception.
57:29He's under it the whole time. Yes. And I will say, I think this is the other element that I would say.
57:35Drake may is sped up there because the right side of the line loses and he kind of has to make that
57:41throw at the very top of his drop. And so he's making the assumption hook player is not going to get under that.
57:47He's not going to see it, but he does and he takes it.
57:51So I do think that that's another thing where especially over the middle of the field, I feel like defenses are kind
57:57of realizing that he wants to take those throws a lot of the time and maybe we're seeing teams like squeeze that
58:03a little bit better than they had for most of last season, I would say.
58:07Yeah, you may lose Mike on when you in this game and there were a couple moments where you felt the fact
58:14that there was a backup right guard in there.
58:16Derek Harmon just I don't even know who the backup right guard was.
58:20Apologies for that. Greg Van Roten. Oh, it's right.
58:22Van Roten. He's walks him right back into Drake May's lap at some point.
58:26And so I do think I can understand being a little bit apprehensive about what the pass protection would look like on the right side of the line.
58:34But overall, again, it just the offense feels really unsettled.
58:37And I don't know if that something that will change over the course of the year, if that's something that we should be worried about.
58:44It's two weeks in. I don't want to overreact too much to two games against the Seahawks and a Steelers defense that
58:50over the course of the year, I do think is going to be pretty good.
58:54But it just feels so much different than it felt last year when this offense really did seem so in command.
59:00Yeah, I mean, even some of their best plays in the passing game, like early on, they hit a couple of plays
59:06against man coverage against not their corners. Like they hit Hunter Henry on a corner out against Jaquan Brisker, I think.
59:12And then Peyton Wilson lost on like a deep corner out to Eli Raritan.
59:16So they hit a couple of those. But otherwise, it was like that.
59:20And then the big play that Drake May gets when he's rolling out to his right and it's a little bit of
59:26a busted coverage and Dobbs is open deep. Which is an incredible throw, by the way.
59:30I mean, those are going to keep you coming back.
59:33That's the one where I'm like, why did we stop being as aggressive as we can?
59:38Because like, again, the arm talent is phenomenal. And I don't think Drake May was like bad in this game, by the way.
59:44It's just that I think that there were if he was operating at the level that I think that he was at
59:50his peak last season, this game would have looked and felt a little bit cleaner for the Patriots overall.
59:55I think that that's the way that I would put it.
59:59All right. That is all we've got for the week two hangover.
60:02We will be back tomorrow with Dave and Dane building the beast talking about the week that was in college football.
60:08Some good stuff coming over the course of the week on the athletic football show.
60:12Got a good midweek show. Bill Barnwell is going to join us.
60:15We're going to play a little Is This Real?
60:18Which has been a show we've done, I think, every year that Beller's been on the show at the very least.
60:24Two weeks into the season, we always like to play what is real and what is not about the NFL season.
60:30This year, I think it's going to be particularly difficult because there aren't a lot of things that stayed consistent over the first two weeks of the year.
60:37So I feel like it's a more muddled picture than it even normally is at this stage.
60:42But looking forward to that conversation and a lot of the other stuff we've got coming on the feed over the course of the week.
60:49For now, that's all we got. Appreciate you guys listening.
60:52We'll talk to you very soon. Thanks for tuning in.
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60:59If you enjoyed what you heard, please like, comment, and leave a rating.
61:03We'll see you next time.
