The guys are back and it's week four of the divisional breakdowns with the NFC SOUTH! Staley tackles the dog water Carolina Panthers as well as the new and improved Atlanta Falcons after the HUGE signing of Captain Kirk Cousins; and Stoner handles the New Orleans Saints and those pesky Tampa Bay Bucs. Enjoy y'all!
SUPERFANS with Staley & Stoner
SUPERFANS with Staley and Stoner / Episode 217
[Music] Well hello boys and girls. What up? What's up? This is Superfans with Staley and Stoner. We are indeed back for another week of NFL divisional breakdowns. And this one's a little special because we're actually doing this before the Hall of Fame game. Which means that football is officially back. There will be football on TV every week now until February. I think it's got two months. For the next six months baby. Fucking go bro. Next six months we got football on TV. We made it. We made it. We did make it. How are you doing my friend? Oh buddy I'm great. Great great great. Solid really just good things you know feeling positive you know how to do work day and had a little truck issue. That turned out to be a five dollar repair. That's the best kind of truck. Isn't that man? Had a little exhaust muffler hanging loose and it was dragging. And all it needed was a little rubber harness to get it re-secured. And she is purring like a kid. Let me tell you something. So you know my in-laws place out at Sandy Finds. They had this old boat and the first year we went out. The boat died on the water. It was terrible. It was literally like we were leaving and we were like oh let's just take one quick lap around the lake. And then we'll get out of here. And we got half way around the lake and the boat just died and we were stuck out there for like three hours. Oh jeez. No food or water with three little kids. Doubley worst. Yeah so it was awful so I'm like oh my god boat repair is going to be the worst. Yeah. So we had a guy come look at it and he was like yeah you just need a new o-ring. That's $11. I was like oh thank god. An o-ring. That's amazing. So we put an $11 o-ring boat fire to right back up. Worked like a charm. And I was like oh dear god. Cause I was expecting a boat repair. What is that? Like $100,000? No shit dude. That's fantastic. Yeah but we are in week four of our NFL division breakdowns. This is the NFC South this week. So we are half way through. Four down. Well after we get through today but four down. We'll go. So yeah a lot to look forward to but before we get started you know where we are. We are on Facebook and Instagram. Those are the socials. And then yeah listen to us on whatever your favorite podcasting platforms are. We are on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, googleplay, radio.com. All those sites. So without further ado let's get into it. Store it. You know. No bones about it. This is the worst division in football. Facts on facts on facts. It was last year. Correct. It was the year before. It will be this year. And we'll see. You know maybe the future is turning around for this division but I don't see it. So let's start with the defending. Well they've actually been defending the championship. I think this is the fourth straight year now. Cause even you know they had the Brady years. Obviously winning the Super Bowl. And then even after Brady left. They won it last year. So do they repeat as champions for I believe what would be the fourth or fifth straight year? I think they might Mikey. I'll get there. Let's start off. Like I and well you and I are prone to do with the draft class. The Bucks I feel like had a really really solid draft. Really impressive. I could argue that their top five picks could and potentially will be if not day one starters. Immediate impact players. Let's go through it. First round was Graham Barton tackle Duke. Really love that pick. Got to shore up that offensive line. Keep Baker upright. That was weird. He was listed as a tackle in the draft. He's slotted to be the starting center. Which he played a lot. Very versatile. Very versatile. Yeah. So you plug and play guy. You know you love that. Chris Braswell edge out of Alabama can never go wrong with any. I would say deal already really player from Alabama. But especially in defense. They went with a Tyke Smith safety out of Georgia. Same could be said there. Pedigree on defense is fire. Fourth pick really love this one. Jalen McMillan out of Washington. Receiver was second or third to Rome. But still piped up with 559 yards and 12.4 yards a catch. As well as five touchdowns. So he's going to be right there after Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. So I mean that's going to be a pretty fired trio. And then they drafted Bucky or excuse me Bucky Irving. Or Oregon right? Yeah. So running back. This dude was I mean sick last year for in his last year for Oregon. With 186 carries. Played every game. 1180 yards. Rushing average 6.3 on the ground. It had 11 touchdowns. This dude is going to be behind Rashad White. So I mean really really. You could say there was a homerun draft for the box. And then again like just so like all those guys. You know to you know shore up and make this team even tougher. And more explosive. But I mean when you already got an offense that you know you're bringing back. Granted a little bit aging but still I mean Mike Evans. All he does is catch a thousand yards. You know. Every year like every every freaking year. Chris Godwin's back. I feel like the last couple of years it's so it's you feel like always probably gone. They're going to you know get rid of him trade him you know whatever he's still back. Bringing you know a sterling shepherd from the Giants. It's an old wide receiver. It is a little bit old. But you know I still feel like very serviceable. Kay Don is a solid tight end. I really like Rashad White in the backfield who was damn near close to a thousand yards last year. Running had nine hundred ninety yards six touchdowns. Played out every game as well. So very reliable backfield there. And that defense there's a lot of lots of like to. You know with you know you've got Vida Veya. Elijah Kancy he'll be in his what second year like to see a big improvement there. KJ Britt. And then two studs in the secondary and one of the Winfield junior one of the best safeties in the league as well as Jamal Dean. Very serviceable corner. So there are a lot of good pieces here and it's I mean it's. I mean kind of no wonder why they went nine and eight. I mean it wasn't like you know incredible year by any means but they won the division with. Those I would say those those players that were. Just really really important. So the playoffs happened right they made the playoffs and I mean when I looked back and remembered that they didn't just get in the playoffs. Made the wild card but they fucking throttled the Eagles. Yeah. They kicked their ass thirty two to nine. It was never close. Man the way the Eagles were playing at the end of the year. I think the Panthers would have beat them in the playoffs. It's really possible to. I mean yeah the Eagles were just a dumpster fire. But still you know you're everybody's you know back to. Oh and oh so it's like you know best teams going to win and. Bucks were clearly the much much better team. And then even you know and then the division around against the Lions. I mean they gave me the game. They did dude. They've only lost by eight points. But if you remember I mean they had a chance to get back in that and. Either tie it up or they. Well well yeah. They were driving. They had the ball with the two minute under two minutes to go. Correct. And Baker through the the interception. It was to Kirby right. To Kirby Joseph. No it was. Brooks. Or who am I thinking of. It was a middle linebacker. Oh oh. Oh yeah that was. Barnes. Yeah for Purdue. Yeah yeah yeah. Barnes. That's right because Baker said afterwards he was like I never knew this guy was but I'll never forget him. Yeah. I'll never forget about Derek Barnes. Hell yeah that's right. Derek Brooks Derek Barnes. That's where my head was. I feel legendary linebacker there. Bucks. Speaking of. Yeah right. There you go. So you know this was a team that you know. Again overall record wasn't great but when they got to the playoffs man they made some noise and they looked like they. We weren't afraid of anybody and can compete against you know some really solid teams. Gave the lines everything they could handle. So you know it comes off to me. I mean really this is a team in a situation where the quarterback play. Has been at its like I mean since Brady obviously okay whatever. But pre Brady dog water I mean Jamison Winston James Winston like okay yeah those are good days not. Not really. Yeah great. Enter Tom Brady the savior they do their thing but then. Now the fact of Baker's there I don't think he could be in a better situation. Now since his rookie year at Cleveland. This dude has been kind of tossed around and you know kind of like just. You know fuck all this dude he doesn't have it doesn't have it definitely anymore. Just like throw him around you know to other teams you know went to the Panthers went to the Rams. But I think this is the really really a solid situation for him and I think you saw that last year. With 4,000 yards passing 28 touchdowns to only 10 receptions those Mike are all career highs for him. Yeah. Career highs and passing career highs and touchdowns yards and then those interceptions that was a career low for him. So again perfect situation I think that he really feels that in his owning it and I think that with again the additions they made in the draft. I think this is a team that can I mean definitely you know improve not a ton but definitely take this division again just based on the fact that I think they have the most talent on their roster and we'll get the most consistent quarterback quarterback play. And I'm going to be really curious to see how that like where we go with that with Kurt Cousins on the Atlanta. But they finished 9 and 8 like I said I got him improving one game. I got him finishing 10 and 7. Okay I'm I hear you and I agree with a lot of what you're saying. There is a lot to like about this team. Let me focus on a few things here on the defensive side. Obviously you know they they lost a big piece in Carlton Davis who's now correct part of your line. Part of your line. Devin White is now an eagle. That's a big loss. That is huge. They were almost I feel like they were at one point almost going to lose Lavante David too. But they didn't. They didn't. He's still there. Ryan Neal who's currently a free agent after getting a white head back. But you know this team was statistically if you look through the numbers they're just kind of meddling around. They've actually their offense and defense lined up perfectly. They had the 23rd ranked total offense and the 23rd ranked total defense last year. They do some things really well and then there's some things that they are horrid at defensively. They were the fifth ranked rushing defense last year. They only allowed 95 yards a game. And despite having the 23rd ranked defense they were the seventh ranked scoring defense. Which means that their defense bends but they don't break and they kept them in so many games last year only allowing 19 points per game. That's huge. My concern is they were terrible against pass last year 29th. They allowed 250 yards a game passing. Only three teams did it worse. And you lose a guy like Carlton Davis who was your best secondary player. Is it going to be better? I don't know a guy named Christian Izzian. Yeah exactly and Zion McCollum. Those are the guys that are going to be replacing Carlton Davis. We'll see how that does. I do like their safety pairing in Whitehead and Windfield and Jamel Dean has been a solid corner there for a while. But the defense wasn't great last year outside of against the run and against scoring. Offensively same thing. 23rd ranked scoring or 23rd ranked total offense, 20th and scoring. Their offensive line is middle of the road. Now they did obviously with Graham Barton. They added him. They bring in Ben Bredesen at left guard from the Giants. So they did make a few changes there. Here's my big issue with the Bucks and why I think they are very limited in what they can do. Because this wasn't just last year. It's been a few years running now even during the Brady area. And a lot of times I thought okay well it's because Tom Brady you know basically when he stepped in there it's a lot like Aaron Rodgers with the Jets. Like he was given the keys to the franchise and he's probably calling the plays. But even after he left this is the team that is dead last in rushing in the NFL. Have been now for three straight years. 30 second ranked rushing offense they average 89 yards a game on the ground. Only two other teams averaged below 100 yards total on the ground. So that is not good. You look at the running backs. Rashad White they bring in Bucky Irvin Chase Edmonds. They're all like okay we'll see what Bucky Irvin is. Rashad White and Chase Edmonds I think we know what they are and I don't think they're game changers. Now the thing that I love about this offense obviously Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. But Tristan Worfs who just got paid the other day at left tackle. You could make the argument he's the best left tackle in football. And I wouldn't really push back on that. But you're right Baker is in a great spot here. He's made the statement he's a poor man's Brett Favre and what that means is he's a gun slinger and sometimes that works out really well for you and sometimes that means a lot of turnovers. And there was games late in that year last year. I remember they were in a game against the Panthers. They won the game nine to nothing. Three field goals. That's like some exciting football right there. And against the worst team. Probably the score tonight in the whole thing. Yeah against against the worst team in football. If I'm being honest I don't know how much faith I have in this coaching staff. I think Todd Bowles is an excellent defensive coordinator. I don't know that he's a great head coach. Yeah I can see that. They have a new offensive coordinator obviously Liam Cohen. We'll see maybe he makes some fundamental changes and focuses more on the run. And then they have two really three defensive coordinators. Because last year Todd Bowles what they didn't have a defensive coordinator. He was the head coach and the defensive coordinator. This year he's assigned Larry Foote and Casey Rogers as the co-defensive coordinators and assistant defensive coordinators to himself. So they got three defensive coordinators. And when your head coach is basically calling the defensive plays and when your offense is on the field. He's over on the sideline working with the defense. It's just it doesn't line up well. Get too many chefs in the kitchen. Exactly. So there's some things to like. There's some things not to like. This team to me is completely average and they were nine and eight last year. And you know I'm taking a step forward. I got him taking a step back. I'm going to put him at eight and nine this year. There it is. All right. I'm sensing already and we're going to be quite off on these remaining three teams. With our excuse me with our record predictions. We shall see. We shall see. You want to take me to either Atlanta or do I'm talking about the best team in football and the Carolina Panthers. We'll save the best for last. Let's go to the ATL. ATL, I'll talk about it. All right. Well, we got a new head coach for him Morris. Yes, sir. Great defensive mind. If you can tell, you know, this division has some things in mind. And that's the defense. First of all, they are tied with another team in this division for the easiest schedule in the league. Maybe second hardest schedule in the league at 4.53. So Raheem Morris, you know, gets a little bit of a break in his first year there. Obviously you bring in Kirk Cousins. He's the man. So we think because then, you know, the eighth overall pick was my next junior out of Washington. Yeah. Still a little, still a little confused by that. And then second round pick, they went with a defensive tackle out of Clemson who I'm going to totally butcher his name. Rook Aurora, Aurora, Aurora. Something like that. But yeah, I'll be honest, I don't know much about him. I watched Clemson. He never stuck out to me. And I feel like that's a name I would remember. They've got the offensive pieces that you're like, okay, these guys all have so much potential. But, you know, it's not fair because they haven't had the quarterback play to really shine. You know, with the likes of Desmond Ritter and Taylor Heineke at quarterback. Guys like Drake London. Guys like Kyle Pitts at tight end really just haven't had an opportunity to really show, because coming out of college, both those guys, Kyle Pitts out of Florida and Drake London out of USC, they were highly touted. And they were, you know, we were told that these guys were going to be major impactful players on the offense. And the jury's still out. And I'm giving both of those guys a break because they have had some of the worst quarterback play across the league. They bring in Darnell Moody from the Bears. They bring in Rondell Moore from the Cardinals. They draft Casey Washington, a wide receiver out of rookie. They get Kederal Hodge from the Lions and Rayra McCloud from the 49ers. That's, to me, it's a pretty mid wide receiver core. You're pretty much banking on Drake London and Kyle Pitts as your two premier receiving threats in that offense. The rest of the guys are just going to kind of be plug and play. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if all those guys end up with like 25 catches, 250, 300 yards type seasons. And then obviously the backfield. And this is where I think the Falcons are really dangerous. First of all, up front blocking for that backfield and blocking for an old coming off of an Achilles injury quarterback in Kirk Cousins is one of the best offensive lines in the league. PFF had them finished out last year as the fourth ranked offensive line. And they project them to be the third best offensive line going into the season. Nice. They made no changes. It's still Jake Matthews at left tackle. He's been there forever. He's been there so long. Are you talking about his dad? Yeah. How old is this? Is this still the son or talk? Yes. It's the great grandson now. No, but this offensive line is one of the best in the league. And now you have, listen, what's so funny to me, and I remember when the Falcons drafted Beijon, I was like, that's an interesting choice. Given the fact that you had a guy, Tyler Algier, who has a rookie, rushed for 1200 yards and was, I think, the runner up as the offensive rookie of the year. So to the very next year draft, another running back. Yeah. But now, let's be honest, you've got a two-headed monster in Beijon Robinson and Tyler Algier behind that offensive line. And the thing that's hard to predict with this team is what are we getting from Kirk Cousins on the offensive side? If we get anything like what he was pre-injury last year, I mean, he was putting up ridiculous numbers. And it didn't necessarily translate to wins because if you remember, the Vikings started 0-3 and they didn't get their first win until week four, which was against the Panthers. So there it is. You know, now the Vikings defense wasn't good and their running game wasn't good, but Kirk was putting up fantastic numbers. Now you can also say, well, yeah, he had the best wide receiver in the game. And he also had Jordan Addison. And he also had TJ Hawkinson and, you know, KJ Osborn. He was dealing with a lot better weapons than he's going to have here. Was it Madison in the backfield? Yeah. I feel like he actually was... Yeah, because that was decent. Yeah. Well, not like... Yeah, he wasn't fucking... I didn't dive into his numbers yet because we're not to that division. But yeah, Dalvin Cook obviously went on to the Jets to enjoy some time on the sideline there. Mm-hmm. But yeah, so this team is going to go with Kirk Cousins. He is 35 years old, going to be 36 during the season. He's coming off of a torn Achilles, starting in a new system. And one thing that does concern me is, in his time in Washington, he had Kyle Shanahan as the offensive coordinator, offensive genius. And in Minnesota, he had Kevin O'Connell as his head coach who was an offensive guru in this league. And now he's going to a team with a defensive head coach. And I'm imagining as most defensive coaches want to do, it's going to be ground and pound run the ball. So I don't know if Kirk's going to put up crazy numbers. But I trust Kirk more in situations to be smart with the ball, not turn over the ball. So I think this offense is going to be vastly improved from what they were last year. They were middle of the road. They ranked 17 last year. They were the ninth ranked offense, rushing offense. And then as you can imagine with their quarterback play, they were the 22nd passing offense and 26th scoring offense. I think those numbers are going to go up the passing and the scoring. On the defensive side, pretty solid. 11th overall defense, 8th against the pass. They were middle of the road in rushing and scoring defense. But, you know, you look at some of the guys that they lost. Kalei is Campbell. Okay. Well, he's like 98 years old. Bud Dupree, Jeff Okoda. You know, these are guys on the tail end of their career. Well, at least in Buds, Jeff is still young, but actually what's going on with him. He's Jeff Okoda. So he is. Their defense, really, if you look at it, it's all in-house. Now, Jesse Bates, according to Madden, is the best safety in the league. He was the highest score, highest rated safety on Madden. So you like, you like that. You know, Grady Jared up front, you know, Troy Anderson at linebacker. There's some pieces here that you like. I think their defense is probably going to improve with Raheem Morris. I look at their schedule. And like I said, they have the easiest schedule in the NFL. It's a tough start. And this is not me being a homer, but you know, you get the Steelers. Mike Tomlin, he's proven, you know, even with lesser than talent, that they're going to be a tough out. So you get that. That game could go either way. Don't know who's starting a quarterback for the Steelers there. And then you go to Philly and then you're back home for the Chiefs. The best case scenario you're wanting to, you could very easily be 0-3. So you dig yourself into a hole, not much different from the way Kirk did last year with Minnesota as an 0-3 start. After that though, there's a lot of wins on the schedule. I mean, you get Saints, Bucks, Panthers, Seahawks, Bucks, Saints again, Broncos, Vikings, Raiders, Giants, Commanders. There's just a lot of W's on here that I see. And I think Kirk being the veteran that he is and having enough talent around him in a much, much easier division. Because don't forget, I mean, he's always had the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. And then last year, obviously, your Lions emerge. This is the easiest he's ever going to have it as far as divisions go. So they were 7 and 10 last year with Desmond Ritter and with Taylor Heineke. I can't see a world where they have an easier schedule. They improved the roster a little bit, not through the draft, but through free agency. And they bring in Kirk Cousins who say what you want about him. But he is, I think, you know, when healthy, a top 10 quarterback, probably closer to 10 than he is in the top, obviously. But he's still a top 10 quarterback. I don't see a world where there's not improvement with this team. So I'm flipping the record. They were 7 and 10. I'm going to go 10 and 7. There it is. Yeah, I'm locked step, actually, man, with you. I feel like this team is, you said it perfectly. If, because I was actually trying to remember who the quarterback was last year to his priest, is Desmond Ritter the backup now? No, they let him go. Arizona. My God, one year. Chase, pathetic. Yeah, so if you can, like, eat and crawl and scratch and, you know, your way to 7 wins with a Tyler Heineke. Taylor Heineke, excuse me, and a Desmond Ritter, then Kirk alone, I feel like he can get you no less than 3 more wins. I agree that offensive weapons specifically, wide outs are suspect, definitely leaves a lot to be, you know, desired. But Drake's solid with a true, true, like, legit QB, we could see his numbers flourish, his game flourish. I think that we will. Kyle Pitts, you'd love, really would expect to see his game elevated. And I really think M.B. John is going to break out and have a really, really big year this year. And he is a receiving coach. Yeah, he is. He is. I mean, him and, him and Shabir Gibbs games are, are mirror each other very, very similarly. And then, and it's, it's no wonder that the productions, they're based on the fact that they play behind two of the best offensive lines in the league. So, I'm with you. I think this team will definitely improve. And I like the 10 and 7 record, I'm with you. All right. Talk to me about the new Orleans, or excuse me, Nolens. Nolens. Nolens Saints. Nolens Saints. Yeah, you know, this is a team. Man, just, I feel like just kind of a lot of questions and more questions than answers. I'll start again with the draft picks. You know, I like the offensive tackle, Thalese Fewaga. It was Oregon State. Yeah. Like him a lot. Second pick, Cooley McKinstry, Felder than a second round. Love, love what he's going to add to that secondary. And then, you know, your boy Spencer Rattler falls to the third round. So, what do you think in week, week four, maybe week five? I'll tell you what, man, based on this record at the end of the end here, and then their schedule, which I will get to. Oh, man. It's, it's, it's the name pretty. So, yeah. So, we got, you know, reasons for optimism, reasons for optimism. Excuse me. I will say this. I'll start here. You got one of the best young, young, up-and-coming receivers in Chris Alave. I mean, no question about it. 87 receptions last year. Finished with 1,100 yards. Only five touchdowns, but still you saw it every week. Just a dynamic playmaking wide receiver. True, true number one. You add Shaheed, the number two, very, very serviceable. He only had 46 receptions, but he also had five touchdowns and 719 yards receiving. So, that's solid. You know, Elvin Kamara, I feel like, is, it's kind of an enigma because he was so hot, so, so, so solid when it was, you know, his first couple of years. But I feel like it's, there's been a little bit of a decline the last few years, but I still feel like he's dynamic. He's still feel like he's dynamic as fuck, especially because of how versatile he is as a running and passing threat. Between 466 receiving yards and 694 rushing yards. It's well over 1,000 combined. All-purpose yards. So, still has it. There's no question about that. I like the Titan duo in Joanne Johnson and Foster Murrow. Yeah. I think that's a really solid compliment. Complementary? Complementary, yeah. Thank you. That's the word. That's the Titan duo. So, you know, there are pieces here, for sure, for the offense. Hey, don't forget that third Titan. Who's that? Tastes him, Hill. He's still there. Tastes him. That frickin' Swiss army knife. He really is. He had some moments off. He does the ball, man. No, he did. He did. He don't know where he's gonna be on the field. What he's gonna do. I think he had five or six touchdowns last year in all different ways. Passing, receiving, rushing. He is the all-purpose flex. You just love flexing that motherfucker. Yeah. So, defense, you know, really, for me, it's just four pieces. But I would argue with these four pieces, these four players, there's some of the best in the league. With Cam Jordan, you got DiMario Davis, who they got from the Jets. I really like that linebacker. I really like that addition. And then in the secondary, Tara and Matthew, Honey Badger, still there, still doing his thing. And Marshall Lanimer, I could argue, is a top two, top three, easy corner. Love his physical, physical corner. So, and again, in McKinsey, I think he could come in and be an immediate impact. I think he'll absolutely be a day one starter for them. And opposite Marshall Lanimer, I mean, that's a pretty physical scale. Yeah, 'cause right now, it's Latimore and Paulson Adebo, who's the other one. And I'm like, man, Latimore and McKinsey sounds like a better duo. I agree. Completely. So, those are optimistic reasons. Not optimistic reasons. Well, I've got two. First is one, Dennis Allen, the head coach. The dude is, you know, it's a second stint as a head coach. First stint was dog water, didn't work out so well for the Raiders. He finished 4 and 12. And then either the year after that or his final year went 0 and 4 and his ass got fired. So overall coaching record, not good, 24 and 46. So that doesn't speak to you. It's kind of like a Josh McDaniels, I feel like. You're just one of those coaches that should probably stay a coordinator, because that's what he did for like the majority of his career. And he was a fine coordinator. But as a head coach, man, I don't see it. I don't see the juice. I don't see the ability to properly lead and inspire, call the right game plans, whatever. I just don't see what Dennis Allen. And that man, it sucks because I actually really like Derek Carr. I love he's a good dude. Yeah. He's a really good dude. You know, man of faith, great husband, great father, all those things, you know, you've seen him on, was he on a, like a, was he on hard knocks within our knocks? Yeah. The Raiders, yeah. The year Antonio Brown was free. That's right. There you go. Yeah. So if you watch this, you see Derek Carr, he's just a genuinely good person. As far as quarterback, I feel like he's a genuinely okay quarterback, always is hovered around that kind of mid-tier to like the back half of like the top quarterbacks. And I feel like that's exactly where he belongs. You know, he's entering his 11th season. Okay. So he's also probably what he's got to be turning in like, I mean, what do you say Kirk's gonna be 36? Have you like Derek's right right there? He's probably like 33, 34. Okay. Despite age, you know, he, he had an extra of a pretty solid year last year. I mean, throwing, excuse me, 3,800 yards, 25 touchdowns, only eight interceptions. That's impressive. Even a 68 completion percentage. So I mean, that's kind of what you're used to kind of seeing. Yeah. But back to Kirk Cousins, I feel like he's got, he's got Captain Kirk vibes where when it comes to, you know, the big stage, the big moments, the bigger games, he just, he just isn't able to really kind of dial it in and be the dude to help his team, you know, be the dude to get the W. I feel like he's easily rattled. I feel like oftentimes he feels like, and this is quote, unquote, asked to do too much. But it's because he thinks he has to do more because whenever the, the play just remotely starts to break down, it's like just kind of seems to lose his shit a little bit. Yeah. And then he's kind of, you know, kind of scrambles and then just tries to make the play and more often than not, it doesn't work out. This has been the story for Derek, I feel like the majority of his career, especially the last half, you know, and especially when you've got a running game where Elvin Camaro, I feel like is not where the same element we're used to seeing, now maybe that'll change this year. He's going to have to because I think he has to take the pressure off of Derek. But regardless, I feel like Derek's be forced to throw more than he should. And that I feel like, again, the slightest bit of trouble happens and then plays go awry. So look, this is a team that very, very possibly could start off the season one and five. And that is because they start off with the Panthers, no, okay, that should be the win. But then it's at Dallas, home against the Eagles, at Atlanta, at KC, back home against the Bucks. That's a struggle bus right there for me. Now, lucky for them, they've got much, much more winnable games the second half and towards end of the season. That's why I have them finishing eight and nine. But that could very well be more like a seven and 10 or a six and a six and 11. But I feel like they'll find they'll muck their way into, if you will, eight wins. But man, I just, this is a team I just, again, I just don't feel like they have enough yet. They're still kind of just kind of treading water and trying to use the pieces they have, but it's just not enough. It's not enough yet. And then still, I don't believe in the coach and Derek Carr, I feel like, I don't know, I feel like another bad season, I wouldn't be surprised if he just like called it and returned. Yeah, you said it, man. I have no faith in Dennis Allen as a coach. I think this is probably his last year in New Orleans. If he makes it through the season, you talked about the beginning of the schedule is brutal and it is one in four, maybe two and five at best. You know, maybe they, you know, those division games are always close. And even last year, you know, this division was dog water, but all the teams played each other close. So you know, you look at that Falcons game and that Bucks game. Those games could go either way. But yeah, I think, I think, you know, one in five is, is realistic. And once you start one in five, it's so hard to dig yourself out. And there are a lot of games on the back end, but there's also a lot of L's on the back. I mean, you throw in, you know, you're at chargers, you got the Browns, you know, you got the Rams at Packers and that one's in December, you know, a dome team from the South going to go into the frozen tundra in December. Have fun with that. Yep. Yeah, there's, there's still a lot of losses on that back end. Let me touch on a couple of things that you didn't, you talked about some of the defensive additions. I think two that really went under the radar is Willie Gay is their new starting strong sideline backer coming over from the Chiefs. And then quietly, and I don't really know what's happened to this guy, Chase Young signed with him. Really? He's their backup defensive end. Didn't he go west? He was through the 49ers last year. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And now he's on the same. The 49ers traded for him at the deadline last year. And now he's with the Saints as a backup. He is Cameron Jordan's backup. Interesting. Now he'll play plenty, especially, you know, Cameron Jordan, he's, I would still consider him elite, but he is getting older. Yep. So you have to keep that in mind. But yeah, just another team that I look at that's just kind of middle of the road, just, you know, averaging or hovering around average, if you will, offensive line, not good. And doesn't help that Ryan Ramchek is on the populist right now. I don't know if he'll be starting the season. Now, obviously you bring in Tilly Sifawaga through the draft and Trevor Penning, who they drafted last year. So those are the two starting tackles as of right now. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Ryan Ramchek comes back because you've got two young guys that you hope. One's a rookie. One's a second year guy that you hope for the future. Ramchek a little bit older. So I don't know what's going to happen there. But yeah, when it comes down to it, Derek Carr, I'm with you, man. I like him. I think for the majority of his career, he was one of the most underrated, unappreciated quarterbacks in the league. Because if you go back and look at some of the teams he was playing with the Raiders, who he took to the playoffs multiple times, go back and look what he dragged to the playoffs. The talent around him was not good, much like it is now. But I would argue that even now the Raiders have better talent around, you know, at least you've got Max Cross being on the defensive side and Devonta Adams on the offensive side. I mean, at the tail end, he played one year with Devonta, and he had Darren Waller for a couple of years and Josh Jacobs. But for the majority of his career, he was not surrounded by talent, and he carried them to the playoffs a lot. But I think he is obviously on the back half, I would say maybe the back quarter of his career, and I think last year is the best he can do. You talked about it, the numbers actually weren't bad, but if that's the best you're going to get, and they still weren't really relevant, you know, they went 9-8, they had a winning record. I don't think that I see improvements in what they did this off season. You know, I liked a few other draft picks obviously. But I think once they get in that hole early in the season, it's just going to be an uphill battle all year long. What'd you say, 8-9? Yes, sir. I'm going 7-10. Okay. Absolutely plausible. Let's wrap this thing up, man, and talk to me about the most explosive dynamics, Gary AF team, not just in the South, NFC South, but in the league. Yeah. God help us all. Carolina Panthers. What do we got? Undefeated. We're going one loss to us. Not quite. Let's start off by saying I do think this team will improve this year. Okay. It starts with Dave Kanales, who comes over from the box as the new head coach there. You know, if you're a Panthers fan, you're hoping he's one of those young offensive gurus that kind of get plucked from anonymity as an offensive coordinator and become the next McVay or Shanahan or McDaniels with the Dolphins, I don't know if he's that, but I do think that he will be an improvement. Bryce Young, he wasn't really set up for success last year. When your best receiver is a 34-year-old Adam Thelin, doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, does it? No, it doesn't. So they went out this offseason and they got them a little bit more weapons that get the Deontae Johnson from my Steelers. The draft, they really get, you know, they still have Terrace Marshall, Adam Thelin. They drafted Jonathan Mingo last year. So you know, if you're waiting on Marshall and Mingo to hit and obviously, Legett has high hopes, we know what Deontae Johnson is. He's a proven receiver. He's not without his issues. He has a lot of drops. You know, he kind of loses his temper sometimes. Not temper, but gets frustrated and kind of pouts on the field. So you know, that might be an issue, especially if he's playing for a bad team, which the Panthers will be. But then also in the second round, they drafted Jonathan Brooks at running back. They still have Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard. So quietly, I think they've added a little bit of talent around him. They've got a lot of young talent there. Got a running back trio who I think is respectable. They got, you know, five receivers who were serviceable, tight ends, Ian Thomas, Tommy Trembl, okay, whatever. And then, you know, the offensive line, well, to say the least it wasn't good. They had the 29th ranked offensive line last year. So they did, you know, make a few changes. They switched out both their guards. They brought in Robert Hunt from the Dolphins, which is actually a great, he's one of the better right guards in the league. And then they also bring over Damian Lewis from the Seahawks. So the center and tackles stay the same. They change out the guards. You know, it's a step in the right direction. I don't know if it's taken them from the 29th best to maybe a top 10 offensive line. I do think they will be improved. Here's what I found interesting about the Panthers digging into the numbers. Do you know the Panthers had the fourth ranked overall defense last year? Not. I would like to think that a big part of that might have been a one Brian Burns. Now here's, here's what's funny about it. Here's what's funny about it. They're the fourth ranked overall defense, but thanks to their just god awful offense that they had last year, they were the 29th ranked scoring defense. So they allowed the fourth fewest yards, but gave up the almost the most points, 24.5 points against the average. They were the third ranked passing defense in the league, only allowed 172 yards a game through the air. Now their rushing defense wasn't good 23rd in the NFL, but yeah, you, you talked about it. Brian Burns was a big part of that. He's no longer there. My favorite name in the league is no longer there. Yeter Grossman toast. I know it's not. He's gone. I know it's not how you pronounce. He gone. Yeah. He's with the 49ers now. Penn State former. Andy Lyon. Yeah, they lost their, their best cornerback, Dante Jackson, who we, the Steelers received in the trade for Deontay Johnson, Jeremy Chin, gone to the commanders, Vaughn Bell, gone to the Bengals. So the defense lost quite a bit. That's problematic. Yeah. Really the only offensive piece they lost that was of any significance was Hayden Hurst, and he's a middle of the road tight end. So yeah, not much there. So I think the offense improves just based on the pieces and the fact that you bring in Dave Canales, who I think can make some improvements, but I think the defense takes a big step back. I don't think they're a top five defense. Now what is interesting about their schedule, they obviously everyone in this division has one of the easiest schedules in the NFL because they play each other. And this is the worst division. So all four of these teams are 28th, 29th and 32nd for the Saints and Falcons. But the Panthers got one of the biggest breaks as far as scheduling goes that I can see across the league, week nine through week 16. So basically half the season, they leave Carolina once. Damn. Wow. That goes home, home, buy, home, home, away, home, home. Wow. A lot of love in Carolina. That is great for them. Now as far as the opponents go, they'll still lose because it's Chiefs, Eagles, Buccaneers, Saints, but ultimately I do think this team improves. I think they take a big step in the right direction. I still have them finishing last in the division. But when you finished 2 and 15 last year and you didn't hold a lead in any fourth quarter for a single second last year, yes, you heard that right. You're probably asking, how did they win two games if they never held a lead? Both their wins came on last second field goals as time expired. They did not hold a single second of a lead in all 17 fourth quarters they played in last year. So going 2 and 15 was lucky at that because both of them came in the last second. So going 2 and 15 and obviously Bryce was the most sacked quarterback. He had no help last year. I think the pieces are there to take a step in the right direction. This is the long game. You can't expect just an overnight turnaround. I've got them going 5 and 12, which I think for a 2 and 15 team last year, going to 5 and 12 is a step in the right direction. I think Bryce makes a little bit of improvements this year just based on the weapons around him. You know, I've talked about it in the past on this podcast, Deontay, when he was with the Steelers. It was again, not opinion, but a fact, he is the best wide receiver in the NFL as far as getting open. So you're going to have a shifty wide receiver who's always open. Now whether or not he catches the ball, that was the big issue. And in fact, being a Steelers fan, I've already seen some video out of Panthers camp of people making fun of Deontay because there's been multiple videos of him dropping wide open passes. So that has always been an issue for him. He will have some drops, but he is a solid serviceable receiver. He can get you a thousand yards. He can get you eight touchdowns. He's shifty. He's good for yak. So I think there's definitely improvements coming, but it's a long game. They're still going to be lost in the division, but five and twelve is where I have them. Yeah, I think you're overly generous in terms of just one game. I have him going four and thirteen. It's more or less just to do with Rice Young. I feel like he's kind of the poor man's version of like a Kyler Murray just, but hold that. In terms of just overall talent and skill, I think he's a vastly superior leader and much better culture guy, locker room guy. Definitely, I feel like a much better solid teammate, but as far as just like the team he's surrounded with, he's going to be asked to do a lot and even more than last year. And I just don't know that like plugging into Deontay Johnson, Xavier again coming in as a rookie. They're going to need him to be immediately impactful, maybe he will. I don't know that it will be enough. You mentioned that Titans are just super subpar. Miles Sander, I actually forgot that he went there after his really, really solid, what, three, four years for the Eagles. I was stunned that they let him go. Now granted to a much more inferior team and a much more inferior offensive line, but still, there's too many question marks again on this specific team. And with Bryce Young, I still don't know if he's tall enough, bro. Yeah. No, that is a concern. So height is a big concern, but all that to say, yeah, this is a team that will improve, but still not, they're not near at that place where you're right to see them take a dramatic leap. I mean, we're one gave apart. It's not like it's not that big of a job. No, it's not. I do think if you want Bryce to have any future in this league and you want to invest in your number one overall pick, you have to protect them. And the 29th ranked offensive line just doesn't cut it. Bringing in Robert Hunt is a good start at right guard. But yeah, ultimately, you know, the tackles, I think, are the biggest piece that let them down last year, and they're bringing both of those guys back. So I think in order for them to make bigger jumps and in order for Bryce to improve and mature in the league, he's got to have time, man. Like he just has to have time and he didn't have any time last year, again, most sacked quarterback in the league. I mean, I felt for him last year, it was just, you know, oftentimes the number one pick goes to a terrible situation and this was no different. I feel like God, he just, he never had a chance to succeed last year, never via the line, not giving him time and the weapons around him. And so they've made some improvements with the weapons and they've made some improvement with the line. How much? Oh, happy. Is he just around just just thanking his fucking, the gods of all football that they didn't wise up the Panthers go as, I don't know, maybe the better, more qualified, you know, quarterback. Well, and that's where it's interesting, man, because it's like, would CJ have been CJ if he was on the Panthers last year? Would we be talking about Bryce being like, you know, oh, man, the Panthers should have taken Bryce Young instead of CJ Stroud. I, I'm not saying that I think that, you know, I think Bryce Young is better, or excuse me, CJ Stroud. He's better. But a lot of the success for those, you know, top drafted quarterbacks, it's a big game of where you live. It really is. And CJ just landed in such a great situation in Houston. All right. Let's talk about it. Let's wrap this thing up. What are we doing? First round traffic, man. Who's going to make the most impact? Um, the, this draft again, not really much to write home about. Might as well just say Michael Banks and get over with. Skirk's going to tear his other Achilles, and the penics isn't coming to take him to the fucking Super Bowl. Listen, if, if Kurt goes down, then yeah, the obvious answer is Michael Pennics. But, uh, for me, I'll stick with the Panthers. I think it's a regular get, uh, just being a, uh, extra weapon for, for Bryce who, you know, uh, was thrown to, to old men, uh, you know, 34 year old Thelin last year. Yeah. He's got some, uh, some weapons. I think we'll get steps in as the number two behind Deonta Johnson, Thelin slides down to three. And so I think he could have a, you know, six, 600, 700 yard, maybe a rookie. I think that would be solid. I could totally see it. No, I definitely could. I'm going to go against the Grand a little bit and I'm going to go with, with a position that's much, much more, uh, harder to quantify as far as like their, like, you know, contribution. Yeah. But, uh, Grand Barton for the bucks. Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, it's just, it's so hard to quantify an offense. Well, I mean, it's essentially like, you know, sacks allowed, pressures allowed. I mean, you know, or they're lack thereof, right? So, and I think, you know, paired up, you know, with worse on the other side and, um, the dude's a dog, man. I mean, Graham is a fucking dog. And I think, you know, he's going to, uh, be really, really solid, uh, for that offensive line. So there's the dark horse. Grand Barton. All right. So that is the official mark we are halfway through, four down, four to go. We're moving out West next week, uh, going to the AFC West home of the defending two times Super Bowl champion, Kansas City, so a lot to, a lot to get into there. Your boy, the new head coach of the Chargers, obviously, Jimmy. So we'll see, uh, we'll see what we're thinking there. Hey, Mike, who's got, who's got it better than us? No buddy. Oh, yeah. There it is. Thank you guys for listening. Appreciate it. We will be back next week. See you guys then. Football Blacks. [inaudible] [inaudible] [MUSIC PLAYING]