Seahawks Defeat Patriots, Week 1 NFL Preview

Hello.

Welcome to the MMQB NFL podcast.

I'm Connor Roy.

That's Albert Breer.

And if our voices sound hoarse, it's because the NFL season has begun.

We had a great watch party yesterday.

Thanks to all of you who came out and spent the first quarter with us, a little bit of the preamble of it.

And then we got to watch Seahawks, Patriots 2, 13-10, a very strange game, one that, uh, Drake May threw away, and we'll break that down in a second, but Albert, I'll just tell you this.

Props to our producer, Kent.

This is how I knew the football season was back.

Uh, and there are always different indicators, the leaves are changing, everything like that.

Eli Raran scores the first touchdown of the NFL season, and Kent hits us on text and says, bang, Eli Raran anytime touchdown hit, and I was like, yes, there is just that sicko mentality, and I felt, I felt like home.

I felt like I got wrapped in a warm blanket on that one.

So good for Kent winning a couple bucks there.

Yeah, there you go, there you go.

And, and, and it was, it was strange.

It was like, honestly to me.

The definition of the week one is a liar type thing, like I, it's like I, I have a hard time taking a lot from a game.

And we are gonna take plenty, don't get me wrong, but I, I have, I have a hard time taking a lot from a game where Sam Darnold was hurt, where AJ Brown was hurt, where the Seahawks' secondary was a mash unit, like without Nicky Morri, without Ty Okata, without Kobe Bryant and, and, um, and Tariq Wen who left in the offseason, so.

Um, I , I would just put that caveat on everything we're about to say is that everything that happens in week one, You have to take with a grain of salt because a lot of it's gonna wind up being a mirage.

So we're operating under the assumption, what Mike McDonald said last night , which is that the news is encouraging, but reports, as we're taping this in the morning, are not ruling out the poss possibility.

Of a short term stint on the IR for Donald, right?

Like, I think that's within the range of outcomes here.

But when we saw it, like, I mean, all that means is he's gonna be out a month, which like seems to me like a much better result than what we were contemplating when he went down.

And my God.

The amount of Twitter diagnoses there were, I saw PC.

I saw, I mean, it was just someone then when it was announced it was a hip, like one of the doctors then listed like 9 different like hip injuries.

It was like, thanks buddy, I appreciate it.

Like it, I don't know, I, I think it's um.

The Twitter diagnoses are, uh, are, are a little out of control.

Yeah, that was, uh, Chow.

It's week one.

It's week one, so everyone's shot out of a cannon, right ?

We, uh, we predicted it.

I mean, Chow, like, I don't know how many things he knocked over in his house to get to the phone.

And, uh, and, and, and start just blabbering on about Sam Darnold fracturing his hip.

But um, yeah, it was, I don't know what you need because social media like Dejon Love, the fake Forty-Niners receiver, just kept saying he was a Forty-Niners receiver and so everyone believed him.

Is that the same with a lot of Twitter doctors where like, I could just rebrand and be like, yeah, no, I'm an MD, um, and here's what I think about AJ Brown's ankle.

It's, it should be sawed off.

It should be severed, you know, like, uh, like at what point am I able to, to do that?

I don't know.

Like, I, I don't know.

Can you amputate?

How quickly can you go find a lab coat, so, uh, you can update your avatar.

All right, let's start though with Sam Darnold because I I feel like I'm, I'm calling it out.

I feel like I fell into the week one overreaction trap, but just in this way.

If Sam Darnold played 17 really good games this year, he becomes a $65 to $70 million dollar a year player.

There's just no, there's no way around that, right?

He's on the the best deal of a contract that's not a rookie QB deal in the NFL right now.

Um, he was making about the same as Baker Mayfield.

Now Baker Mayfield is in, in the cul-de-sac of elite quarterbacks, uh, in terms of finances.

So, It's an interesting time for John Schneider because John Schneider watched the Legion of Boom kind of peter out.

And a lot of it had to do with the allocation of finances and power, right?

Where are you spending your money and who are you trusting to lead the team?

And maybe taking away some of the gas from that defense and handing it to Russell Wilson was a mistake.

Not comping Russell Wilson and Sam Darnold, but I am saying this.

If Sam Darnold's out a month.

And the Seahawks don't lose a game.

And Drew Locke plays half-decent football.

That's something that, again, Sam Darnold's better than Drew Locke.

I'm not saying that there's a QB competition, but I think that's useful information for John Schneider, is it not?

I, I agree.

I, I had an interesting conversation with him at the owners meeting and did a story about this, like where , you know, I asked him what he learned from the Legion of Boomer that he was gonna apply now.

And his answer was more or less, like, I just, we just have to, you know, be more judicious about the decisions we make on contracts.

And like we have to really be intentional about how we identify our core.

And I think you saw it this offseason.

They've done 4 contracts for core players this calendar year alone.

Charles Cross during the playoffs last year, Jackson Smith and Jig but in March, Devin Witherspoon and Leonard Williams in August, right?

So that's 4 big-time contracts.

At the same time, they let their starting free safety go.

They let to start, let a starting corner go, and they let the Super Bowl MVP go.

So, like, I do think there is a Conscious effort to do this a little bit differently than they have in the past, and to say, what can we do without?

I just don't know .

As well as Sam Darnold's played as much as he means to that team that they're gonna be in that position where it's like we can do without him.

Um, now, the same way Baker Mayfield set the table for the Darnold contract, um, a year ago, right?

Like where two years ago, Mayfield did, I think it was what, 100/3, and then Arnold was like 105/3 or 110/3 the next year.

Um, Mayfield does, I think Baker did kind of like set a path there.

Where, you know, like, if Sam Darnold winds up being really good again, but doesn't like elevate to a top five quarterback, he stays where he is, maybe they make a playoff run, but they don't make it to the Super Bowl, then, like I think you've got a nice little area where Sam would be slotted, um.

If they win another Super Bowl, obviously, we could be talking about something else.

But yeah, of course, all of this could affect uh how, how, how they look at it and how well Drew Locke plays, and it's, I guess that whole baseball thing, right?

The war, the wins over replacement, like, they're gonna get a real look at that over the next month, it sounds like.

I, I'll give Locke credit.

I, he played really well, especially when the Seahawks were in their heavier personnel sets.

Uh, Brian Fleury did a nice job, I think, allowing him to throw on early downs sometimes and, and, and Locke kept him ahead of the sticks.

I mean, it wasn't spectacular, but I think you and I have watched enough football where, you know, uh, uh, on a Sunday afternoon, uh, you know, back when he was with the Giants, all of a sudden, And he makes the 4th quarter of a game very interesting, and you know that it's not sustainable for a long term, but he has that in him.

He has that gear in him, and I, I thought he played well in, in a difficult spot there.

It's not like Locke was getting all these 1st team reps in the offseason, you know what I mean?

What I liked about the way Locke played is he got better as the game went on.

It looked really shaky at first, you know what I mean?

Like, it looked really shaky at first, and it looked like, God, they can't get out of their own way.

And again, like you said, they got a first-time play caller, so that's part of the equation.

I thought they really settled in the second half.

Um, you know, there are little things like, uh, like, I don't know why we didn't see more of Jaarian Price, who I thought looked really good.

Like I was like, man, they really have something here and felt pretty good about my Offensive Rookie of the Year pick there.

Um, so there were little things that you didn't, like, OK, like, where was that?

But I, I I, I, I, I look overall at like they didn't really unlock Shaheed last night, plays, they did a good job of getting the job, the, the ball to JSN, which they did a better job of that last night than they did in the Super Bowl.

Barner was a factor.

Like, I, I.

That's a good offensive group, and I think watching like things over the course of that game, like if you watch just what it looked like in the 2nd quarter versus the 3rd quarter versus the 4th quarter outside of like the delay of game, you know, that, which really wound up, which really could have cost them, uh, I thought they were getting better over the course of the day, which would give you hope that now week 2 against Arizona, you take another slice.

Yeah, um, it's, it's an uncomfortable position.

I, I hate being in this spot because I think all along we knew that Sam Darnold was talented but was just a victim of several different circumstances.

But I think for the world at large, Locke having a good second half, and then you go into the Arizona game.

You know, this team's, you can FedEx them to 2-0 at this point, right?

It, it, it does, it does just complicate the situation a little bit, right?

It just, it just, it leaves that lingering doubt.

And if you're the GM.

You're saying, OK, I'm gonna, you know, if the Lamar deal gets done before this, like I gotta get close to 70 million for this guy, or do I take all that money and just keep feeding that furnace, which is his defense, because that's the other thing, Albert, right?

This is what I thought may have been the truest compliment to John Schneider and to Mike McDonald.

Josh McDaniels walked into that game knowing that this was one of the best defensive lines in football.

What he didn't know was how good the back end was gonna perform when you're missing 4 starters from the Super Bowl.

He chose.

To continually test the, one of the best defensive lines in football, out of fear of what existed on the other side, the unknown, like, these guys that we haven't seen before, right?

And it's, McDaniels turned out to be kind of prophetic in that, right?

Because when May had to drop back, and Romeo Dobbs looked a little lost, I don't, I don't think he quite has his rhythm in this offense yet, but when May dropped back, he, he, he, it was a Hall of Mirs back there again.

It, it looked like the Super Bowl.

Yeah, well, I mean, it's interesting too, and this is kind of like a different topic and maybe another topic for another day, but neither of these teams played their starters at all in the preseason, and you do wonder if that had an effect just in the handling of some of the game situations, you know, um, I I have some concern with May right now.

I wouldn't say it's like overarching concern, but like I, I look at it like it's hard not to look at their schedule last year, and then juxtapose that with what he faced in the playoffs, and then he has the turnover issue in the playoffs, the negative play issue in the playoffs, and now here we are again with another of that level of opponent and you're seeing it again, and I mean, you just like look at like where they were in the regular season versus, OK.

Jesse Minter and the Chargers in the wild card round, Matt Burke, Damio Ryans, and the Texans in the divisional round, Vance Joseph and the Broncos in the, in the championship game, and then McDonald, Durda, Seahawks in the Super Bowl, and then that group again here.

Um, I think it's It's a good reminder that quarterback development isn't always linear because I think with like the four guys that we would look at as kind of like the torchbearers of this era, Lamar, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, with those 4 guys, it really has outside of the injuries kind of been linear, right?

It's like they got really good fast, they stayed really good, and they kept like climbing and This is another reminder, CJ Stroud 2 years ago, Jaden Daniels last year, that one great year doesn't make a career, and that sometimes circumstances can play into you playing really well one year, and then the next year, maybe you show your lack of experience, your age, a little bit when those circumstances change.

I, we can talk a lot about narratives that can get out of control, and like we said with Donald, right?

We're always, you know, I guess as humans wired to anticipate the worst case scenario, and it's like, OK, what if Locke plays well?

What if, what if, what if, what if, what if?

On the flip side of that, Albert, like you said, The May thing.

And the schedule thing.

And having him have his two worst games , and his only 23 interception games against the best defense in the NFL, that's one where you wonder if that gets out of control, right?

Where all of a sudden, are we holding up May in his performances against elite defenses and saying , OK, you know, how, how significant was the schedule thing last year?

You know what I mean?

Because you look at New England's schedule.

And it's not just Seattle this week.

Pittsburgh isn't what it was, but that's still a good defense.

Jacksonville led the league, or it was, I think it was 2nd in the league enforcing turnovers after that.

And then Buffalo with Jimmy Leonard, I, I think that's gonna be a much different look.

Than he saw last year and could be a little bit more of a weaponized version of that Bills defense, and that's something that can get out of control for May.

And again, you don't wanna fall into the trap of the overreaction.

I'm sure Drake May is gonna be fine, but you do think about that a little bit, right?

And, here's the other part, right?

Like the other part is, so, Jaden Daniels and Cliff Kingsbury attack like took the league by storm in 24.

And nobody had any tape on what that was gonna look like.

Nobody had any idea what that, what, what that, what they might be able to do.

That was phenomenal, great.

And then the next year, now everybody's got some tape, and yes, he got hurt, so I'm not ignoring that.

But once everybody had tape, It was a different story.

I think it was the same thing, honestly, if you go back to CJ Stroud's first two years, and, um, you know, like, you now have one of the best offensive minds in football, in Josh McDaniels, who last year had the opportunity to work with a quarterback that he's like.

Like anyone he's ever had before, stylistically, right?

Like I'm not saying Drake's better than Tom Brady or anything like that, but stylistically, he really hadn't had a guy like this.

OK, so like, what does this look like now?

And you do have to some degree, this is an oversim simplification, but you do have the element of surprise to some degree.

And here's the thing, Connor, I You know, I brought this up on Columbus radio actually earlier today, so I'll bring Columbus radio on this radio, my buddy Bobby Carpenter, but I brought it up with those guys and I said, like, I remember watching Justin Fields in college when he was throwing to Jackson Smith and Jigba and Jamison Williams, and Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, right?

Like, and so he has this group of receivers like, and everything looked like it was fast, the ball was coming out quick, and he was making all these unbelievable throws.

And then they played, you know, that there were a couple games in there, where it looked like, I for some reason he just didn't look like himself, and I kind of just chalk it up to like, it's just a bad game, you know, it just didn't go the way that they they they had hoped it would.

And then, like you start to see like that Northwestern game that they played, um, where Pat Fitzgerald really kind of made Justin hold the ball, and now it doesn't look like he's seeing it fast enough, and that became kind of who he was as a pro, and what I came to realize, like, because I really thought highly of Fields coming out, was Like playing quarterback when you like hit when your, your, your back foot hits the grass and plants and the way the play was drawn up, it's just there for you.

It's, yeah, much different than now they have tape on me, now they know what we're doing.

My back, my plant foot hits the ground.

Oh no, that's not there.

Oh no, the second thing's not there and you're You're like, holy crap.

Now this is different, you know what I mean?

Like, and I do wonder if to some degree, for a lot of last year because of how good a coordinator Josh McDaniels is, and this would apply in the case of Daniels and, and, uh, Daniels and, and, and Stroud too, like, how many times was Drake May snapping the ball into a play that was run exactly the way it was drawn up, you know what I mean?

Like it works to perfection, and There's a shelf life on that, you know what I mean?

Like there really is.

And that's something I think people don't look at with quarterback development is there can be a shelf, like, it's gonna look like it looks great, because no one knows what's coming.

But there's only so much you can do, and then you get like 12 weeks into the first season, and there's less of that.

And then they got to the playoffs last year, and now you're playing these brilliant offensive coaches.

And now the down and distance isn't as good, and you're playing from behind sometimes more, and you've got to hold the ball more, and it's just like, I think it's part of the, and I think Drake is a really smart guy, he's gonna make it through it, but I think it would be silly for us to look at that and Not, I think it would be silly for us to look at that and not think, like, this is part of the learning curve, you know, and I think that that could be part of why.

Great stat by my guy, uh, Shil Kapadia.

Uh, the Seahawks are 24-5 in their last 29 games under Mike McDonald.

You know how many times during that span that they've lost a game by more than 4 points?

01.

That's unbelievable.

I don't know who it's to, um, but like, man, when people are talking about going back to like the back half of his first year then, right?

OK, when people are talking about.

I mean, you know, what a swing John Schneider took during a time like this when everyone was like, you got to go play caller, you gotta go play caller.

I mean, this may turn out to be one of the truly, Great coaching hires of, of the last years, unbelievable, yeah, and I, and I think, like, I, you gotta give him credit too, because I thought the defense settled in too, you know what I mean, like you had a lot of like, you had a lot of A lot of role players back there in the secondary that, like, you know, are playing bigger roles than they're used to, whether it's a Pritchett, you know, like some of the guys back there have not played a lot, you know, and, um, you know, like to be able to withstand the offseason losses of of Kobe Bryant and Tariq Wallen, and again, the the injuries to Nicky Minor and Ty Okata, I think.

Like, you saw them get better, you saw them get more effective as the game went on, and I think that's a tribute to the, the guys that are running it on the sidelines.

All right, let's pivot into our preview of Sunday and Monday.

The way that we tape this year, um, we're gonna talk about some of the, like, we may talk about a Monday game on Thursday, because by the time we get around to previewing it on the Monday show, we're also breaking down some.

Um, but let us know, uh, how you guys like it, what time you're listening to it , um, because that's part of it for us too.

Um, we want to be able to give you guys the best experience.

So, as always, ratings, reviews, YouTube comments, hit us up on social media, join our SMS group, which is a great way, uh, to get in front of us at all times.

Um, so if you want the Forty-Niners and Rams preview, uh, just go back to the last episode.

Um, we broke that game down then.

And all that's happened since then is, uh, is the president of the Rams, uh, Kevin Demoff, fighting with a Forty-Niners reporter about how phenomenal it is or not phenomenal it is that they're, uh, arriving, uh, not a week early.

And so if, if you missed that, uh, I, I think, I think you're pretty much caught up.

So the Forty-Niners, there's been some, um, there's been some friction with some of the different reporters and I know this guy's one of the guys that was involved in it, and uh yeah, I think, I think Kevin Demoff was aware of that, which uh was an interesting, an interesting dynamic.

To say that this, and this is my only thing cause we gotta move into our preview, but like, the What's at stake tonight, um, is huge for me as a person because if the, if the Rams go and blow the doors off the Forty-Niners, no team is gonna want to go early ever again, and it will eliminate what I think is my pet peeve, and everyone's always like, Connor, you hate international football fans.

You hate international football fans.

No, I don't.

I hate shipping good games overseas in some sort of an effort to barnstorm, like we need to raise awareness for this game.

It's already the best televised sport in the world.

What more do we need to do?

Why do we need to send a game to Melbourne?

To, to prove that to 100,000 people, like are we change, you know, how is that gonna meaningfully change anybody's mind?

It's not.

And we don't need to send these guys a week early to answer inane questions about like, oh, have you visited the Outback yet, you know, and like, it, like why are we doing that ?

That's a waste of.

Everybody's time.

The Niners seem really pumped about it.

The Niners seemed pretty pumped about being there.

Oh, so Drake Greenlaw was talking to them about how Antarctica wasn't real, OK.

And so do you view that as a good use of anybody's time, anybody's time, right?

Because now the Australian press thinks we're a bunch of nutty conspiracy theorists, which is probably true, um, in America, and then.

You know, that's the story, and then, what, we, we maybe get some clips of some guys hanging out with a kangaroo or something like that.

How does that change football in Australia?

It doesn't, right?

If you're watching those games at 1 o'clock in the morning and you're a diehard, you remain a diehard.

If you're a 12-year-old kid who loves Australian rules football, and your parents take you to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds for this game, maybe it'll change your mind, but what are we talking about here?

10,000 people?

NFL is good.

We don't need it.

Well, this is their conquest though.

I mean, this is like we're done growing up, we have to grow out, we have to add inventory and international is inventory.

So anyway.

Well, all right.

Let's get to the preview, Albert.

Albert and I each picked two games to kind of go deep on in this one, and then we'll get some one-liners, uh, for the rest of them.

Mine, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do the gimme, gimme and start with this one, because I think it, it, it draws on a recent visit that we did together and We can talk about whether games matter or not and whether they will matter in the long term, and I can give you a list of the best games and I think that your list encompasses truly some of the best games, right?

Um.

But I want to talk about Giants and Cowboys, man.

I mean, like, this is going to be to me.

One of the most consequential games of the weekend, Sunday Night Football, uh, in East Rutherford, because we have the Cowboys cresting on legitimate Super Bowl hope with a very different defensive coordinator.

And we have the Giants having gone all in on Harbaugh, and as Harbaugh said to us personally, Is trying to put together an offense that, that doesn't exist, right?

It's Matt Naggy and Greg Roman together.

There's no schematic common ground there.

I'm not being melodramatic.

John Harbaugh said that to us, OK?

What on earth does that look like?

Does it look like the Lamar offense, which kept everybody on their heels, or does it look like a lot of times when you try to smash together two very different ideologies and you end up with a tug of war over who gets to pull the strings?

I think that this game is fascinating.

I think if the Giants get their doors blown off, that is significant in a home opener where people are paying 200 bucks a ticket to get in there against the division rival.

There's a, there's a lot at stake here, Albert.

I mean, this, this is a game that I, I, I think means a great deal.

Yeah, the 9, I mean, I'd say the Cowboys, uh, their depth is already being tested with the injury to Tyler Smith, you know, and Ligan Tomlinson coming in now?

Is it bats?

Is it Tomlinson a guard?

Um, you know, and the fact that they felt the need to bring in reinforcements to the position after one injury, I think kind of gives you an idea of the overall depth of the roster, which I think we've been over this, but, you know, a really strong, I think, group of 22 to start.

And then, you know, a couple of guys go down and there are some key spots where you could be in trouble pretty fast.

Um, so I think for the Cowboys, it's, you know, like being able to build some positive momentum with the group that you have coming out of the year that you had last year.

And then for the, for the Giants, I think it's just proof of concept.

I mean, that's a very difficult training camp that John Harbaugh put him through, um, in a relative sense, you know, like not versus what it was 20 years ago, but um it was uh like a, a demanding camp, and he asked a lot of his guys, and he's trying to callous them and develop an identity.

And I think that proof of concept has to show up, right?

Like, so, where are you at as far as developing what a John Harbaugh team is, and is it going to look like a John Harbaugh team, win or lose on Sunday night?

I think that's a really important piece of the puzzle.

And again, like, you know, there's like that guessing game of what they're gonna look like on offense, and you don't know because it's naggy on the pass game, it's Roman in the run game.

Uh, but, you know, I think you do know, again, what a Harbaugh team looks like, and so, that's the sort of third element into that whole thing and, and, and, and, and how it looks.

I think we have an idea of what the defense is gonna look like.

This is the 13th time that the Cowboys and the Giants will open the season together.

Um, the previous 12 games, Dallas is 11-1.

Is that right?

It's not even in, in the openers.

Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that.

Yeah, it did feel like for a while, like this was like every year, NBC was getting the Sunday night Cowboys, uh, Cowboys Giants opener, so I guess we're back to that now.

I, you know, I think it's, it's nice, and I, here's, here's my hope.

I, I hope it's a game.

I hope that Jackson Dart has the ball in his hands.

With 2 minutes to go and the Giants are down by 8 points or less.

That, that's my hope because, and, and, and I think the biggest thing about this game, um, and just in talking to coaches about the league and what they thought about different teams all all summer was how are the Giants gonna get to 3rd down because they're gonna be great once they get there, right.

But how are they going to get to 3rd down?

And I think that's really the biggest thing that I'm looking for is like, And this is, this can be an imprint of a hardbaugh team, right?

It's physical toughness.

And on 1st and 2nd down, how are you handling a Clayton Adams run game that I think is so underrated.

In terms of, you know, you put the NFL hierarchy of great run guru guys together.

I don't think Clayton gets nearly enough credit.

This is gonna be a banger of a run team.

And I think the way that Clayton sets it up is, is actually really good for the way that defenses are playing right now and probably bad news for a Giants team that's a little bit more light and a little bit more finesse.

This team loves to have a fullback.

This team loves to be a problem for teams.

And so I, I, I don't love the matchup for the Giants, if I'm being honest.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's I think the Cowboys have a chance to make a statement here.

Um, they'll be able to test the Giants' corners with their receivers, um, like you said, the run game, like that's really gonna That could be an issue for the Giants because defensive tackle, I mean, they've told us themselves with the way that they've operated over the last couple of weeks that they're still trying to figure out what they're gonna be doing at defensive tackle.

They've got a couple of veteran players in the interior there and like in Tomlin, or uh, now I'm repeating myself, and, and, and DJ and DJ Raider, and um and Shelby Harris, you know, so, like, what does that all look like?

Um, you know, I think that's an important piece to it.

Yeah, I think the Cowboys do have a chance.

To go out and make a statement because they're gonna give that Giants offense that maybe still figuring things out, um, some unscouted looks, and then, you know, offensively test the, the, the, the, the Giants in key areas.

Yeah, I mean, let's see DJ Reider, right?

Let, let's see him because I love DJ Reider.

And when the Lions signed DJ Reider, I thought this was gonna be a checkmate maneuver for a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.

It's not like he's gotten that much older since then.

Uh, the question is, can you anchor, uh, a defensive line like Dexter Lawrence?

Can you command the same level of double teams?

I don't know, but I think that's probably my player to watch because, again, If the Giants can hang tough in the run game, and the one reason they might, like you said, is because of the injuries, uh, across Dallas's offensive line.

Maybe you're thinking to yourself, OK, they can muddy this up, they can make it a little bit complicated.

We'll see.

Um, you know, Greg Newsom, I thought interesting.

Giants cornerback said that, that we have the best cornerback room in the NFL, Greg.

Um, I don't know if you caught the season opener, uh, between the Seahawks, uh, and, uh, and the Patriots, but, uh, I think there's a couple of teams, uh, the Rams also that, uh, that might have some contention there.

But, What does George Pickens look like?

That's another one too.

I mean, there, this game is rich, and, and, and I really like that.

I like when a game is just like so deep with storylines, and I do, I know I have a New York bias, but I'm addicted to the fallout, uh, of some of these big primetime games.

Do you ever open the fridge and stare at it for like 5 minutes, and have no idea what you're gonna make for dinner?

I feel like that happens to me all too often, and honestly, it's one of the reasons that I like Butcher Box.

I like having something in the freezer, I know I can actually make a good meal with, whether it's burgers, steaks, chicken, salmon, whatever.

It's there, and I don't have to make another trip to the grocery store, or order out.

Butcher Box delivers 100% grass-fed beef, organic chicken, wild caught, seafood, and more, and they've already done the work of figuring out all the sourcing and the quality.

You just pick up the proteins, customize your box, and it shows up at your door.

I found this is especially helpful when I'm trying to meal prep throughout the week.

I can have some of my favorite proteins stocked in the freezer, and just figure out what I wanna make that night.

If you're looking for an easier way to make great meals, try Butcher Box.

Go to butcherbox.

com/MMQB and get $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free rib eye, New York strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year.

I've tried the filet, it's unbelievable.

Go get it.

Free shipping always.

That's butcherbox.

com/MMQB butcherbox.

com/MMQB.

Be sure to use that special link because then they'll know we sent you.

I'll be honest, I used to feel like if I wanted to do a good job taking care of myself, I needed a whole cabinet full of supplements.

You got one bottle for this, another bottle for that, and before you know it, you're taking a handful of pills every morning and trying to remember what to take and when.

That's what I like about IM8.

It simplifies the whole routine.

IM8's daily ultimate Essentials combines 16 supplements into one drink, replacing 90 ingredients across 9 major organ systems, and it's just $2.61 a day.

IM8 was co-founded by David Beckham and built by leading doctors and researchers.

It was designed by some of the best in the field, and clinical trial conducted by the San Francisco Research Institute, 95% of participants who took it for 12 weeks reported that they felt more energy.

And for me, the biggest difference is just how easy it is to make IM8 a part of my day.

I mix it up, I drink it, and then I'm done.

There's no cabinet full of bottles, no complicated routine.

It's become one of those simple things that I can actually stick with.

I use IM8 and I think that you should give it a shot too.

Go to IM8health.

com/MMQB right now, or click the link in the description and use code MMQB for a free welcome kit with 5 free travel satchets plus 10% off your order.

That's code MMQB at IM8health.

com/MMQB.

Code MMQB at IM8health.

com/MMQB.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

All right, Albert, uh, give me yours.

I can't wait for Bill's Texans.

I, um, you know, we all know what that game was.

I think it was a Thursday night, is that right?

And that to me, that game last year was kind of the coming out party for the Texans defense, not that we didn't know they were already really good, but that was like the holy crap that might be like.

2000 Ravens, 2002 Buccaneers, you know, like, it really kind of felt like that sort of 2015 Broncos, like, kind of like, here they come.

And so, I I can't wait for that one, purely because of the matchup of Josh Allen and Joe Brady in his first game as a head coach, and I think it's gonna look different with Brady as the head coach versus what I think is like this generation's version of one of those defenses.

And What's also interesting is the other end of it, and that's how the CJ Stroud look, um, with Nick Haley in year two, and, you know, the Bills' defense obviously bringing Jim Leonard in.

I just think that's like that one is so rich with like just storylines across the board.

I can't wait for it.

I love the stat.

Uh, Josh Allen's career record on the road against the Houston Texans, 0-4.

Um, against the Texans, he has a 52% completion percentage, 68% against all other teams, 6 passing yards per attempt against the Texans, 8 against all other teams, uh, 4.5. What's that?

Is it still, is it still NRG Stadium, or is it back to Reliant or something like that?

Like, wasn't there some names?

It's, it's shifting back.

It's going back to Reliant again, right?

It started as Reliant, then it went to NRG, and now it's going back to Reliant again, or it's the other way around, whatever, House of Horrors for Josh Allen.

Uh, yeah, it's weird, right, because it's not.

Like, like it's not called the old cow palace or anything like that, like it's just like, you know, like corporate copy print stadium, you know, and it's like, ah yes, he's historically struggled in copy paper print stadium.

Um, but this defense is, is excellent.

It got better Um, And I, I, I, I can't wait.

Like, and, and, and I think the cool thing about Mike McDonald is that he made, he, he took that, the base of that Ravens philosophy and made it so fun and made it so turbocharged that we're looking for Forward to defense, again, I think as a collective football-watching society, and you could say the guys that are sitting there, oh, I always loved, shut up.

No, you liked it when it was, you know, uh Chiefs, Rams, 5248, you know, that was your era of football.

But I, I think that Teams like this make defense super fun and super enjoyable.

Yes, it takes away from the fact that Josh Allen may only complete like half of his passes in this game, but I, I, I, I'm looking forward to it.

Well, like, and I obviously, I don't root for, I haven't rooted in an NFL game for, you know, damn near a quarter century now, but there is something that's, I.

I think like, there's something different about rooting for a team that's got a defense like that, that's exhilarating about rooting for a dominant, dominating defense and a smothering defense and uh they are, they are that type of group to watch.

So, um, you know, like, and and and look, like, I don't know how much longer we're gonna be able to see this, this form of it, right?

Because Daniel Hunter is getting older, um, Kamari Lasser was a big part of what they do.

He's a free agent after this year.

Um, and they are getting to the point where I, I think some decisions are gonna have to be made on some guys, you know, um, after paying some of the, the other guys at the top of the roster.

I, I don't know if DJ Moore, and again, it's, you can go back to the offseason and Brandon Beane is in a rock and a hard place, right?

He doesn't draft a receiver.

Everybody's all over him.

He drafts a receiver.

It's not good enough, and then he goes out and gets a receiver via trade like DJ Moore, and it's like, wow, the, you know, the Bears probably were gonna cut him anyway, right?

Um, and, and you had to spend a 2nd round pick for him.

Um, I don't know.

That's, you know, maybe that's conjecture, but Moore is pretty good.

I think he's good too.

I don't, you know, and I think they wouldn't be trading for him unless Joe Brady, who had him in Carolina.

Gave the blessing, which I think is like an underrated piece of that whole thing.

Sure.

And I, I just wonder, because I think what's the, the secret sauce here for Houston's defense is that when you play that wide nine, and you have these athletic ends against Josh Allen, and then you have a guy like Aziz Alhair waiting for you if you decide to break the pocket.

It totally disincentivizes Allen to play like Allen does, right?

You know, you don't want to leave the, the backfield.

You don't want to get out in open space against this team.

And so what you need are matchup breakers because You know, this team can smother you one on one.

They don't need like a lot of these cornerbacks don't need help.

And then, you know, the nickel is also a linebacker, you know what I mean?

And so I, I think that is DJ Moore a matchup breaker is what I think, I think what's, what's fascinating about it is like having DJ Moore, and there's another team like this that I think has fallen a little bit under the radar with their move, and we'll get to them in a minute, but like I.

I think DJ Moore is good enough that when you break the huddle, the the defense is gonna wanna know where they are, and I think that makes a difference for everyone else and so.

Like what can you do with Kincaid now?

What can you do with Shaqir now?

What can you do with James Cook now?

I think the dynamic changes with those guys kind of slotteded into roles, and I think like going wide receiver 2 or wide receiver 3 is way oversimplifying it, but like I think there is some element of that where if you take a guy and knock him down a run, you know, it's like the opposite of, I had a team tell me, um, You know, years ago, the, the Alvin Harper rule, have I, I've told you about the Alvin Harper rule?

Yeah, so the Alvin Harper rule is basically when you're projecting a 2 to be a number, somebody else's 2 to be a number 1, Alvin Harper, you know, really good NFL receiver, played opposite Michael Irvin.

The Buccaneers signed him to be their number 1.

It didn't work out.

We've seen cases like those over the years.

This is the opposite of that, where you're bringing in somebody else's number 1, and now you're able to slot.

Different guys into different roles as a result of it, you know, and so, that piece of it, I think is really interesting.

And I do think like Joe Brady, his offense is going to look different than it did, you know, when he was doing it within the context of Sean McDermott's program.

I wonder, because.

And we always get to the point in the year, the offseason, where we believe things to such a degree of certainty, and one of them is that, well, like the Houston Texans , right?

Like this is the best defense in the NFL, but like, I believe it because I saw it.

I believe it because I was there.

I believe it because I talked to literally every member of that defense.

I talked to their defensive coordinator, I talked to their defensive line, right?

Like, I believe it because I sat in it, right, and steeped in it.

Um, but this league is constantly changing.

All anybody watched this offseason was the Texans defense, right?

And you're already, you're already hearing from some coaches, well, maybe if we run with a little bit more fullback, maybe if we do a little bit more gap scheme stuff instead of going outside, then it lessens their effectiveness, we can get after them a little bit more, and it, it neutralizes the ends.

I'm dying to know if there's something out there that is a little bit of a poison pill for this Texans defense and what we haven't thought of.

And if someone's gotta come up with it, it's Joe Brady because you fired Sean McDermott to get to Joe Brady, and you're unleashing Joe Brady and, and, and theoretically taking the cap off of this entire team and the offense.

I, I wanna see what their answer is because you have to be, well, I think number one, you have to be able to run the ball at them like that, like, and people don't wanna hear that.

Like I said, I think it's part of why, you know, Josh McDaniels took a beating for what happened last night and running the ball the way he did, but you have to do that against those defenses, because if you don't, like, you're giving them license to pin their ears back, you're creating more long yardage situations, uh, because every ball is not gonna be completed in the passing game.

And you're, you know, basically exponentially increasing the amount of big plays.

So, you know what James Cook looks like running the ball is an important piece of it.

I think the other thing is just having guys who can work in space, you know, and like the one thing about like a defense playing the way that they do and as fast as they do.

there is space.

Now they closed down the space really well, you know, but there is space that's created by their aggression.

And so you have to have guys who operate well in space that can, make them pay for their aggression.

Another thing with the Bills, and if you watch the last matchup they had against the Texans, I think what made Houston so effective is Josh Allen likes to get a bunch of guys out, you know, he likes to get a like 5 guys out on a route concept because he likes to be able to see the field, he likes to be able to explore, he likes to be able to make his decisions.

Houston took a lot of that away.

Where it's like you, you can't get those guys out, or if you do, they're not gonna be open because we're so athletic.

And so I, that was sort of that checkmate moment I thought in their last matchup that made that really fascinating.

Um, I'm gonna go to my next one and this game, uh, by all accounts, is a massive clunker.

OK.

Um, this is a game that you're not going to push anything out of your way to get to.

Uh, if, if the bar has Sunday Ticket.

Is this like how, is this, is this like in the Connor loves Bad Football, uh, category?

This is in the Connor loves bad football category, but I don't know that it'll be bad football.

But I do know that it's gonna be insanely consequential football, um, and that's Jets, Titans, OK?

And it's the Robert Sali Bowl, it's the Bobby Salibawl, which we love, um, but it's also, you know, I, I do a spot on, um, on Nashville radio, and I was talking to the guys about this.

There's no such thing as a must-win game in week one, but if you're Cam Ward.

And you have this draft class coming, um, and you have a new head coach who didn't draft you, and a new offensive coordinator who didn't draft you, and you underperformed last season, and you come out and you get swacked by Aaron Glenn and the Jets, which is possible because it's an older defense, but they're healthy right now, right?

Let's say that team comes out and beats the living crap out of you.

That's a tough spot to come back from.

I, you know what I mean?

Like, I, I, I agree.

I think you have to, we have to start, and it, it seems early and it probably is to some degree, but the kid's got a ton of ability, um, physical ability, and, you know, now, you gotta start seeing it.

Now, the good news is I, by all accounts, the work ethics there, um, I think what's around him is getting better.

Alec, I'm, uh, I, I'm gonna mispronounced the name, Alec.

Ayannamore, I think it's how you pronounce it, right, but their, their draft pick from last year is a good player, um, you know, DK is a good player , you know, like, and, and, and what does Carnell Tate look like in his rookie year, you know, um, that's a piece of it.

Tony Pollard, I think is a nice veteran, like presence to have in the backfield with him.

Uh, I'm with you, like I just, I, I think under Brian Dayball, we need to see the progress, um, you know, and we need to see.

I, like, I, I, I, I, I think a , a command against a defense that is susceptible in the back end, you know, and does have some areas that you can exploit and take advantage of, in part because of what they traded away last year.

I think one of the parts that makes this difficult for Ward is that Borganganzi has been hitting on some of the other pieces, right?

Like you, you had a hit in, uh, uh, you know, at the wide receiver position in the middle rounds last year, right ?

Um, you may have another hit again.

I'm sure Albert would say so in, uh, in Carnell Tate.

And you know, Albert's telling me probably that he's the greatest uh Buckeye to come out, I'm just, no, I wouldn't, I wouldn't say he's the greatest, but I think last night was another example of what players that position from that school can do.

That's the worst.

Um, but, you know, the, that is part of it, right?

Because I don't think Ward's offensive line, you could consider as bad anymore.

I don't think that his coaching staff, you can consider bad.

I don't think his wide receivers, you can consider bad .

Uh, and so, I think a lot of it is, do you live up to the Mahomes promise, and obviously, he's not gonna play as well as Mahomes, but like, You have billed yourself as sort of the 2.0 creator type where you're not gonna use your body to run a lot, but you're gonna use your body to evade and to and to get big plays downfield and to use the big arm.

Can you do that against this Jets team, you know?

And, and to be fair, like you said, like, I mean, Mahomes was walking into a team that's coached by Andy Reid that had been to the playoffs for the 5 years before he got there, so it's a different situation.

Um, here's the other thing.

Uh this is.

A question I thought about when I was there.

Is Geno Smith the best quarterback Garrett Wilson has ever had?

Yes, Aaron Rodgers, sorry, Aaron Rodgers was in there, but other than Aaron Rodgers, but, but think about when, think about when he had him, right?

Like Geno Smith is not going to go into a meeting with Garrett Wilson and be like, Uh, here's all my secret hand signals.

I'm gonna show them to you once and you need to memorize them, and then I'm gonna trash you in front of the New York media when you don't pick up on it.

Like, if I'm winking to you and you're supposed to know exactly what I'm thinking at that moment and you don't.

Devonte Adams did, but that was like really the only player that, that was not consistently on board with Rodgers and, and all of his different pre-snap stuff.

And I'm bringing up him specifically, not because of he, where he went to school also, but Um, it's just the, the group around him, I think has actually got a chance to be pretty good.

If AD Mitchell can take a step, if, you know, Omar Cooper, um, like, I think, has a chance to become a reliable slot.

Mason Taylor had a really good camp.

Reece Hall is there.

Their two young tackles are good.

I think they believe the right tackle has a chance to become great, Armand Membo and Olufahano on the left side.

Um, I just, I, like, It's not hard to get yourself to a place where they're pretty functional, pretty fast offensively with Frank Reich, but, you know, running the show.

So, I think that's part of it too.

I don't think this thing is gonna be um.

I don't think this thing is going to be the greatest show on turf, but I think you could score 3 touchdowns, and then it's kind of on your defensive-minded head coach to see if you could shut it down.

That's my thing.

It's like, I, I just think the loser of this game, and it's weird, right, because Jets fans in a way want them to not win this game, right?

I mean, a bunch of like competitive losses would probably be what Jets fans are rooting for this year, right?

And if you're charting a course for a six-win season, like, It's, it's the Trevor Lawrence thing all over again.

Um, all right, give me another one.

But my last one, my last one's gonna be overly obvious.

I think Bill's, uh, Texas was obvious.

This one I think is really obvious too.

And that's the Monday night game between the Broncos and the Chiefs, and Patrick Mahomes return after the ACL.

Uh, what a great game to finish the weekend.

Um, I, I, I, I'm, I'm really excited for that one for a million different reasons.

Um, and it is like it, it is like one of those that you can circle in week one and say like this could determine.

Somewhere someone where where a playoff game is played, you know what I mean?

Or maybe even more than one playoff game is being played, and I always, you know, I, I think I used the example the other day of this like Seahawks, and, um, you know, like last year, the difference between them and the Rams was like that.

The Rams had to go to Carolina, then they had to go to Chicago in the cold.

And then they went to Seattle where Seattle got all three home games, got, got all, uh, got all, got, got their 2 NFC playoff games at home in the bye.

And so, like I, I think it's that sort of matchup, you know, I think both of these teams are gonna be in the playoffs and, you know, there's certainly scenarios where this one could play a hand and, and who winds up being at home in January.

Let's, um, you know, Jaylen Waddle, how does he, Waddle, who is who I was referencing, like I think it's Waddle was who I was referencing earlier with DJ Moore, where I think it's the same sort of scenario if we're looking at what's happened with Tua and we're saying to ourselves, OK, like maybe there's another level in Jalen Waddle we didn't see because of some of the limitations there.

And now he can be a number one, and now you're talking about like Marvin Mimms and Pat Bryant and Cortland Sutton, and Evan Ingram, and RJ Harvey.

Now all of a sudden, all of those guys are complementary weapons.

Doesn't that change the dynamic completely?

Oh, yeah.

I mean, there, there's no question about it.

I, this is less an observation than a prediction.

I think, I think Davis Webb wants to go for the jugular right away in this one, like, and yes, every team wants to be the Cowboy.

Every team wants to be up 21 points at halftime, but the way that the Broncos are built, I wouldn't be surprised if we see them coming out haymaker, haymaker, haymaker, haymaker, right?

The Chiefs have a rookie at a premier corner spot.

And look, they've done a nice job of, of layering talent.

This is not one of those situations where the, the foundation completely crumbled, but the realities of their finances hit, right?

And they had to let some players go, trade some players go.

I don't think it's barren, but I think the, the, the, the format, the landscape is ripe for Davis Webb to take a couple of kill shots really early and turn this thing over to the running game.

That's, that's my thought.

Part of the reason why I took Denver in this one, I think the Chiefs will be in the playoffs.

I think Mahomes is gonna play well, um, but the left tackle thing does worry me.

You know, they got K Chleil Benson, who's an undrafted rookie.

Um, they traded for someone else's rookie and, and bringing in Diego Pounds from Baltimore.

They have Jalen Moore, who's played both right and left, but the Josh Simmons saga continues and, you know, I think it really, it, it's just some, it's just one of those things where with Mahomes coming back from the ACL that, that, that'd be one that I certainly have circled.

I mean, you talk about games that could send a narrative spiraling out of control if Mahomes gets sacked 3 times by Nick Bonito and starts limping a little bit in this game.

I, I think that, uh, I, I think Chiefs Kingdom kind of starts burning itself down there.

Um, let's just shoot through here.

Here's how I want to do this.

Um, I'm gonna surprise you the schedule on my phone, or do you want to just, you don't give them to me?

Yeah, I'll give them to you.

I'll give them to you.

OK, so we'll go every other and just if it's your turn, just give me a, a one line kind of prediction, uh, prediction, yeah, like doesn't have to be necessarily bold, but just like a prediction for each of these games.

I'll start Tampa Bay at Cincinnati.

Um, I'll do 2.

I mean, I, I, I, I think that we're gonna get 2 sacks from the rookie Ruben Bain, but I think the Bengals are gonna hold the Bucks under 100 yards rushing.

I think we're really gonna like what we see out of Dexter Lawrence there.

There you go.

There you go.

OK, so Ben, so the Bengals hold the Bucks under 100 yards, 2 sacks for Bain.

OK, yeah, you got Detroit in New Orleans.

Actually, actually, can, can I steal this one because I have a, I have a decently bold prediction here.

All right, New Orleans or Detroit.

I, I think the Lions are hanging a 40 burger on this one.

Woo.

Let's go.

Come on.

You like that?

Look out, Brandon, Brandon Staley.

Yeah, all right.

That's no disrespect to Staley.

I'm just saying I think that they're gonna come out.

The Lions.

I think the Lions have a chance to be like off the charts offensively.

Go ahead.

I do too.

Um, all right, we did the, uh, Jets and the Titans, uh, Baltimore and Indianapolis.

Hit me with that, Albert.

I think we're going to see a return to dominance of the Ravens defense.

Like, I think the Ravens defense got away from some of the things that they became really good at with Mike McDonald.

Minor is gonna bring that back, some of the more, some of the two high looks, they'll be creative in how they use Kyle Hamilton.

Um, I think it's gonna be a, a rough return for Daniel Jones because of the strength of the Baltimore defense, which I think will allow them to win going away.

Atlanta at Pittsburgh.

I got 120+ rushing yards for Rico Dowd, Steelers debut.

You like that one?

Giving you too many woos here, but, uh.

I mean, this Falcons team is, is threadbare, and I, you know, as good as Jeff Ulbricht is, um, I, you know, they're banged up on the defensive line and who on that front, I mean, Mm Who on that front scares you?

I mean, Mason Smith, that we think is gonna slow down a pretty good offensive line.

I mean, I don't know.

And, and again, Dowdell, Dowdell had a good season without a lot of help in Carolina last year.

So, yeah, and they lose Pittsburgh.

Atlanta without the two rookies from last year .

I got you.

OK, what you got?

What, what's next?

All right, Carolina, um, uh, hosting the Chicago Bears.

OK, I would say.

Colston Loveland has over 100 yards in this game and stamps himself as one of the top 5 tight ends in all of football.

I think he's lips to God's ears, man.

He's gonna have a massive year, and I think Caleb, I think a big part of them using like trying to teach Caleb, take the easy money, take the underneath stuff.

You don't need to make it harder on you.

A big part of that plan is Loveland, and I think we're gonna see.

Ben Johnson, who's so creative in the way he uses his weapons, with some real creativity in the way that he uses Colson Loveland, who's a different player than what he had in Detroit for those years with Sam McPorter and TJ Hawkinson.

Cleveland at Jacksonville, my bold prediction is that Jacksonville doesn't win this game, um, and I did it in my all 272, does not win this game.

And here's the only reason why I wanna know.

What's that, yeah, and here's the reason why.

Nothing makes sense in week one.

Nothing, right?

We're already like, we're so down the road with Shado Sanders, and we're , we know he's gonna start the home opener and like this is something that we believe to be true in our souls.

It's just a weird start.

I have Jacksonville making the playoffs.

I, everything's gonna be fine.

But I think this is weird Todd Monken victory in week one that gets everyone saying, what, what the hell is going on there?

So, I don't know, we'll see what happens.

Um, we did Buffalo and Houston, Miami at Las Vegas, Albert.

Uh.

$212 a ticket, by the way, at Allegiant Stadium.

Really, really?

Who's that?

Malik Benson will make an impact on that game.

Hello, I, I, that isn't the most attractive matchup on the board, but I think.

I think Malik Benson, the rookie out of Oregon, they have a deficiency at receiver.

They need young guys to step up.

I think he's one to watch.

All right, I got Vikings, uh, the, uh, Minnesota Vikings taking on the Green Bay Packers, hosting the Green Bay Packers.

A lot of talk about Kyler Murray, but I think the buzz at the end of this one is going to be a narrow Vikings victory alongside.

150+ rushing yards.

We're gonna like what Kevin O'Connell installed in this new, uh, downhill wide zone system, which I'm very interested to see what that looks like and just kind of poking and prodding at that Green Bay defense, it just never kind of, they, they, Jeff Halley said it two years ago, we need a little bit more beef on the interior.

They just haven't gotten it.

So I think this tests them in a real way.

Uh, Washington at Philly, Albert.

I think Jaden Daniels is gonna throw for over 300 yards.

Let's go.

And I think Stefon Diggs is gonna lead the commanders in receptions.

In this game, every year, but in this game, I think, I just think he's a really good fit for what they need, and I think, you know, between the lines, he's still a good, a really good player, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna take it Diggs to have a big game and Jaden Daniels to go over 300 yards.

Last and most certainly last, um, uh, uh, second cheapest, uh, ticket price of the weekend.

Uh, you can get, uh, you can get in at Soi Stadium for the Chargers and the Cardinals for 28 bucks.

Uh, you can get into Nissan Stadium for Jets and Titans at 19 in the season opener.

Good God, what's going on there?

Um, I, my bold prediction, so I'm not, I'm going to back it up.

I had my all 272, the Chargers just losing this game for no reason.

Um, but I've since replaced that and I'm all in on the weird Cleveland Deshaun Watson week one victory because it's just, it's the least palatable option for me.

So that tends to happen.

Um, but I think, Boy, and I don't want to wish cast this on anybody, but I think we have a learning moment, big spot fumble from, uh, Jeremiah Love in the opener.

How about that?

Oh, I mean like, um.

Was it Kareem Hunt that fumbled on his first carry?

In Foxborough, do you remember that?

It was like, um, is that right?

Because they came and they blew, they blew the Patriots out that night.

That was like when they first unveiled the spread, like the real spread offense that they were gonna run from Mahomes and Alex Smith was still a quarterback.

I Yeah, I'm not sure.

Yeah, Kareem Hunt fumbled his first ever regular season.

Like he like won the rushing title that year too, didn't he?

Or he's close to it, something like that.

I think it was something like that, um, but he, he finished the game as like a monster, right?

Um , uh, and, and.

And had a really good game, if I remember correctly, I mean, my God, this is like, this can be a fantasy or the, the, the Cardinals are gonna be judicious about how they use love this year.

He has an unbelievable talent.

I think it's the right thing to do.

They want to limit his mileage this year to some degree, um, which is why they have Algier there, you know, like, I just think that they're gonna be, they're gonna use him, um, in, they're gonna use, they're, they're gonna use him in a platoon and be careful about what they expose him to, uh.

And yeah, I, I'm surprised that you're, you're gonna wish a fumble upon him, but that's, that's your choice.

You know what, because not, very little that I predict actually comes true.

And so I think in a lot of ways, so that could be a home run.

You're not, you're not swinging for, you're not swinging for a single there.

Because Jeremiah Love, remember, I predicted that Julian Edelman would fumble a punt and Uh , cost the Seahawks or the Patriots the Super Bowl against the Seahawks and then Edelman ended up catching the game-winning touchdown in that game.

So, there you go.

Um, all right, that does it for us.

Uh, we appreciate you guys coming and hanging out.

Again, thank you to those, the diehards who were out last night on the SMS, uh, uh, watch party hanging out with us.

Um, Albert and I will be back.

Boy.

With a true Monday morning quarterbacking, uh, to break down all of Sunday, we're, we're gonna be a little bit sleepy.

I, I'm playing 18 holes on Friday.

Um, I don't know how I'm gonna do it, uh, because I'm gonna be up until 2 o'clock in the morning again.

I'm not physically able right now to do that, um, as.

Anybody can see me on the YouTube here.

I've been squirming a bunch because I injured my hamstring yesterday and sitting hurts.

And so if you notice me moving myself around and everything, that's, uh, that's what that is.

Um, I, I, uh, I'm trying to keep the blood flowing there.

I'm old.

I'm old, as Connor's noted, I'm old.

We're gonna see where Albert ends up, uh, on the injury report.

Enjoy.

Your first weekend, your first full weekend of NFL football.

I can't wait to go along with, for the ride with you guys and, uh, we'll see you after the weekend.