The Fumblerooski Podcast
Tackling The Problems -Ep 278 The Fumblerooski Podcast
10. Continuing our 2024 season preview with our player rankings, top 5 linebackers and a preview of the AFC North Outlook. I'm Adam Wright and you're listening to the Fumble Ruski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back to back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that 6 or 7 spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a loose, loose scenario for both sides. Welcome to the Fumble Ruski podcast by Power Radiate and Secret Weapon Consulting. I'm Adam Wright with C.J. Madeeros. We have a great show for you guys today. So we're going to do our continuation of the player rankings or fourth annual player rankings if you could believe it with top five linebackers going into the 2024 NFL season as well as a preview of the AFC North. How is that division going to stack up? This division preview I'm actually particularly excited for because it is widely regarded as the best division in football for the past, what, five years? Maybe more than that? Basically. Somebody said the AFC North is the hood of the NFL. Who said that? I saw it in the comments section once and I'm like, dude, their fan bases actually hate each other. Even if the team just straight up sucks, like the Cleveland Browns, they just hate each other's guts. And it's actually insane. I hate the Bills. I hate Bills Mafia. I respect them. I respect the rivalry. We build up our enemies so that when we beat them, it's more bragging rights. If you say this team sucks and then you brag about them after beating them, well, you just said they suck. What kind of a brag is that? I don't respect the Jets. They need to earn some respect, but the best team in your division. What's that? I said, the only reason I never liked the Jets is just because of Rex Ryan. I was like, I'm not going to kiss the rings like, Oh, well, and look where that got you, bud. Yeah, but they, it was fun for a couple of years. They made back to back AFC championships. We went 14 and two in 2010, but it's nothing compared to the AFC North. Oh, it's an unbelievable division. And we'll get to that soon. But we're going to start off with our next week of our player rankings, which is the top five linebackers headed into 2024. Just to be clear, we're talking off ball linebackers because we also do edge rushers. And a lot of the best edge rushers are technically listed as outside linebackers. Michael Parsons, most notably, there's a couple of, and isn't hasn't Khalil Mack always been an outside linebacker as well? For most purposes, yeah. Right. So, and you can even if you want to talk about Aaron Donald's, even though he's retired, I'm just talking about in years past, right? He's an interior lineman, but you know, you know what I'm saying? Like he's still like, he's one of the best at getting to the quarterback. So top five linebackers off ball. CJ, kick us off. So we're going through just five through one, right? Yes. Okay, good. Just want to make sure. All right. So I really had to stop to think about this, right? But my number five plays on the Jets. I know what you're thinking. Oh, CJ Mosley. Wrong. It's Quincy Williams, who I believe has earned the right to cast off the title as Quinn and Williams, his brother. No, he's so much more than that. He's undersized for linebacker at 5'11", 225 pounds. But oh my God, this man 139 tackles, 95 of them being solo tackles, primarily playing off ball with 15 tackles for loss, along with an interception, 10 passes broken up, and a fumble recovery to sacks. Like this guy, he's he's only entering his sixth season. And you note the sky's limit for him now that the Jets should be firing all cylinders now that hopefully, for them at least, everybody stays healthy. Moving out of my number four is a guy who doesn't get talked about a lot, but we got to end that disrespect right now. It's Bobby O'Kara key of the New York Giants. Yeah, that's right. We're staying in MetLife Stadium. And this man had 149 tackles, 92 solo tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six QB hits, two and a half sacks, 10 passes broken up, two interceptions and four forced fumbles. And this is more impressive when you take an acceleration, he started all 17 games and played over like 95% of their snaps. This man just does not rest. And it's just just the way he just conducts himself on the field is absolutely just scary for a lot of teams. And he has a missed tackle percentage below 10, which is also good. And he just, he just has to get enough respect. And we all know why, right? Because he's on the Giants, right? And you know, anyone who's on the Colts, the culture is kind of middling. So yeah, that doesn't make sense. And for one more thing, I want to correct myself. O'Kara key played 100% of the defensive snaps for the Giants last season. He was on the field every time they were on the field. That is, I don't know what to tell you that that's just great. So moving on to my number three is come from the Baltimore Ravens, Rokwan Smith. And I can already hear Justin Tucker fuming in the distance, but there's a method of my madness here. So 158 tackles, right? That's good. But 84 solo tackles, which if you crunch the numbers meaning that 74 were assists, that's darn near 50/50. That you can't let that slide. Only five tackles for loss, one and a half sacks. You know, and when you look at the fact that he's allowed like a 76% completion percentage as well, and at 103 quarterback rating when targeted, that's not great. But on the flip side, it is Rokwan Smith. And he is a top three linebacker. And one thing that we do know for sure is that I actually think he's going to improve next season because he had a handcuff in Patrick Queen, did he not? Well, I got news for you. Patrick Queen is now suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers next season. And that puts more of the load on Rokwan Smith, meaning that his numbers should react accordingly. Because once again, this is going into 2024. And all these guys, I think should stand at this level if you step up next season. Moving on to number two. And this guy, Adam and I were talking off camera. And this man is horrifically overrated. And let's make right here at the time of this recording, June 11th of 2024, the time where the disrespect stops. Foy Oluakone or Foysada? Are you saying under? Excuse me, are you saying underrated or overrated? You said he's overrated. Yeah, no, yeah, underrated. He's okay. A little whom or Foy Oluakone is horribly underrated. I don't know how they let this happen. But just look at this man's numbers, 173 tackles with 111 solo tackles, 10 QB hits, feet tackles for loss, a forced fumble, six passes broken up, an interception, two and a half sacks. This man is everywhere. And once again, he's just going to keep getting better. And his 111 solo tackles, I might add leads the league. And so many people leave him off their top five. And it's disgraceful, not to mention he allowed. By the way, I just want to point out that linebackers usually allow a high passer rating, but he only allowed an 88 passer rating. That's pretty good. With quarterback completing under three pairs of passes thrown at him. So once again, you got to give him some credit there. And Oluakone, by the way, Jacksonville played 100% of the snaps as well. This man is a machine. And then we got number one. And stop me if you've heard of this one before. But who else is it going to be other than Fred Warner? 132 tackles, a two solo tackles, you know, that's a good and all. But this guy, this man, all, it's the coverage ability for interceptions, for forced fumbles, 11 passes broken up. And two and a half sacks. He's just a leader. He came in sixth place for a defensive player of the year, first team, all pro and a pro bowler. This guy just burst onto the scene and continues to just kick ass and take names. And once again, allowed a sub three quarters, a complete percentage when targeted and quarterbacks only had a 76.6 pass the rating when targeted him. He can tackle. He can apply pressure. He's got six tackles for loss. He's got five QB hits. And he's a ball hog. He's everything you would want in a linebacker. And he has just be earned the number one, the spot on my linebacker top five. Adam, what about you? I like your list. I really do. No, I think there's so many off ball linebackers who don't get a lot of love because linebackers in general, especially the off ball ones, they don't get a lot of credit because they're not the guys who get to the quarterback typically. They're the guys who rack up the tackles. They can stop the run. They can make tackles for loss. They do a lot of important things, but they're more of an afterthought when we're talking about all the flashy abilities that some of these skilled position players have. But linebackers, my top five that I have here, I'm going to round it out, I'm going to start with TJ Edwards. Find yourself a linebacker who had a great year in a contract season. That was with a Philadelphia Eagles. Then he breaks the bank getting paid for the to play for the Chicago Bears goes and have as an even better season with the Bears in a defensive system that was okay. They played better later in the season, but their offense wasn't keeping them off the field. That defense was getting exhausted week in, week out. And this kid still had a good season. And now the offense has become more fortified. It's gotten much better. That's going to make this defense a lot more well rested. They have a really good surrounding defense now. This makes for a much better environment for TJ Edwards. He's been among the best linebackers in the league. I wouldn't be surprised if we're talking about him higher than top five going it going into next year. After that, it's Foyer. Excuse me, not foot. I'm going with Patrick Queen at number four. So Patrick Queen, he had an electric season and he's been pretty good. He's always been among the best linebackers in the league since he's been drafted by the Ravens. He's always been stuck in Rokwan Smith's. He's been stuck in Rokwan Smith's shadow since they've since the Ravens have acquired him. But now he is not a Raven anymore. He is now a Pittsburgh stealer. And the Steelers have one of the better defensive systems in football. The steel, the Ravens did too, but now he's kind of alone. He's going to be racking up those tackles. The Steelers have historically been known for their defense. So this is a great system for Patrick Queen to continue his resurgence, whereas he's always been one of the best in a career year this past season. So I like Patrick Queen at number four at number three. I kind of slightly pulled back the curtain by miss speaking. Yeah, Foyesade Aloakan. This guy. So CJ, you put it very eloquently here. He is one of the most criminally underrated linebackers in the league. And I think I think people talk more about Devin Lloyd than they do Aloakan, which is not fair because this guy, if you don't even have to just look at the statistics, give it the eye test. This guy has sideline to sideline speed. He can get to the quarterback. He doesn't, it doesn't show in the sacks, but it does show in the quarterback hits and the tackles for loss. It shows in the solo tackles. He doesn't miss. This guy does not miss and Aloakan, he deserves his flowers. And I think I strongly believe he doesn't get them because he's playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And it sucks, but it looks like that's how it is. My number two is Rokwan Smith. Rokwan Smith at number two. So you had him at three, I had him at two, simply because he's the most reliable guy on this list here. He doesn't get hurt. He's always going to put up numbers and he's a good leader. So Rokwan Smith at number two, we know what he is going to give you week in and week out and he can do pretty much all, he can do it all, which brings me to number one, another guy who's a Swiss army knife can do everything and also do it effectively. Fred Warner. This guy can not only get to the quarterback, he can also get the tackles. He's an incredible leader and he can play in coverage. Get yourself a linebacker who can do it all. This guy can do everything. Fred Warner has been unanimously has been widely considered one of the best linebackers, if not the best linebacker in the league, he is the gold standard. That guy over in San Francisco, Fred Warner, he is my number one. And I believe I had him as my number one last year, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, I'll have to go back and double check that. But he at least made my top five. He made my top three. I'm pretty sure. But we talk about linebackers, off ball guys who may not be these edge rushers who rack up double digit tackles every year. But he still gets his flowers because he makes his presence known as an off ball linebacker. And you're off ball, you're an inside linebacker, you are is in your name that you are not going to be your presence won't be felt. But Fred Warner does that. He does just that. And you talk about a guy who got paid a couple of years ago, who has continued to produce as if he is on a contract. He's in a contract year. That's exactly what you want from a linebacker. So that's my top five. But I mean, we kind of had a lot of the same players in our top three, I would say. Yeah, you know, between Smith and Warner and a little, yeah, they're just a little a little bit is he was going to be four for me. But I mean, like we said, he's criminally underrated. We can't do that. Yeah, this respect has got to stop for him. You know, and just a quick note for the people listening at home, linebackers are probably even worse than the safety just the toughest position of rank just because as a linebacker, you're expected to have some sort of pass rush ability and some sort of coverage ability, some sort of ball hocking ability just to be a playmaker in general. And well, that's tough. Would you have some guys who can do things better than others and just yeah, it's just it's a real just craps you. And it's a hard position to just see in statistics. Like, yeah, you get a lot of tackles. But what if those tackles are when they already gained 10 yards looking at you, Kenneth Murray. Right, like you're getting the tackles, but sometimes you just have to give it the eye test. It's there are some there that's the I think the most annoying thing about football is some in some players you just can't tell by statistics, you have to kind of see them play and see how dominant they are just by the eye test. Because you just don't see it in the statistics. But a lot of these players are just so they're so gifted that it does show in the in the stats like for a low can this. I mean, with what he does, it's actually insane. All right, we're going to move on, get to our AFC North preview. How is that division going to stack up? There's going to be, I mean, any one of these teams can make the playoffs. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I state that. That's next. You're listening to the Fumbarooski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stats sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws back to back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spots. He's an elite wide receivers or a beef truly a loose, loose scenario for both sides. Welcome back to the Fumbarooski podcast, Adam right with CJ Madeeros. So we are on to the AFC North in our division previews. So just going over this in a quick discussion. The Ravens won the division last year. How do we feel about them doing it again this year, CJ? It's not out of the question, but I think it's going to be tougher because look Lamar Jackson and MVP campaign won't deserve MVP. But when you and it's just the dynamics have changed because the Browns, which we could probably argue could come in last place, had that weird Joe Flacco win sanity run, you know, and all of a sudden Flacco turned back the clock and was his 2012 self, which, you know, nobody saw coming after they lost to Sean Watson. And they did it without Nick Chub as well, which I made it more impressive. But the big headline was, you know, Joe Burrow, who was widely considered a top three quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, obviously went down. Right. And as soon as they pulled the plug on him, it's like, well, there goes your season, you know, just like how it always tastes that one guy getting hurt to derail your season. Obviously, it's a quarterback's going to hurt 10 times more. And that's another thing. And then there's Pittsburgh who, you know, they oh boy, wave the flags. They got there slightly above 500 record. It's so good. It's just, you know, we all we knew what they were. And they were promptly shown the door as soon as they made it into the playoffs. You know, they're just another one and done. Because I guess that's the real standard. Isn't it, Mr. Tomlin? But I just, I feel like it's doable, but it's going to be a lot tougher, especially now that Burrow's back and healthy. And Pittsburgh improved. Because you went from baby hands picket to now Russell Wilson, who can at least be capable. And and they took your boy and Patrick Queen as well on the defense. And then there's the Brown. So maybe they get a game on you. I don't know. Yeah, the Ravens are an interesting one, because they still have good talent. They lost some players and they also gained some. A lot of people are pointing at Patrick Queen, his loss being the most notable. But I think it's the fact that they lost so many pieces on that offensive line. And like, yes, they lost Patrick Queen, but they also gained some good young pieces in their in the draft in their secondary. And they also were they managed to hold on to Justin Matabique, which is something that I think is more important than Patrick Queen, that inside presence, who's able to get to the quarterback, that's rare. You don't see that very often from an inside, an interior defensive lineman. So the Ravens feel like that one team that is probably going to stay relatively the same, maybe take a little bit of a step back, because they also like, yes, they lost a couple pieces, they gained some, but they still have Derek Henry. They brought him in. And even with their losses on that offensive line, I still think that's a better offensive line than the Titans had. So Derek Henry's in an improved situation where they're actually the Ravens, the other teams are going to be forced to respect both aspects of the game through the air and through the ground, which is something that Derek Henry has not had the luxury of in quite a while. The only thing is I think the Bengals are a team that is the biggest threat right now to the Ravens. As long as as long as Joe Burrow is healthy, they have a chance and Joe Burrow looks healthy. Let's hope that stays the we'll see if that stays the same way, but the Joe Burrow looks healthy and their offensive line has improved a lot more. So I think that's a much bigger factor than losing your interior run stuffer and DJ reader. I think that's more important than losing your number three option in T, not T Higgins Tyler Boyd. So that's the biggest threat. And I think the Steelers are honestly a slam dunk to finish last. The Cleveland Browns, I would call the wild card because that's a team where they have Deshawn Watson. Deshawn Watson is capable of doing much better than he has in recent years. We know that. And they also have a pretty good roster, a good defense mind you as well. So that's a team I could see finishing closer to the top. They could also finish towards the bottom. So I'm not sure where the Browns will stack up, but I believe they'll be competitive. I think it's the Steelers that are the team that's, yeah, maybe they go nine and eight. But what does that mean in the in this division? Nine and eight in the AFC North could be good for last place. So I think it's between the Bengals and the Ravens. I think it's between those two teams. I think I know the Bengals lost a couple players, but they also gained some and they kept the pieces that are important, that are the most important. So it's between those. I just, I feel like whether you like, you know, what the Steelers do to this offseason or anything to Browns or a wild card barring cataclysmic injuries again to Joe Burrow and then to Lamar Jackson, it's hard to justify the Steelers or the Browns winning the division. No, I mean, we all know this, this is like probably the most talented division. I mean, even the Browns and Steelers, you could say are wild cards, but we all know who two favorites are to win. It's literally going to come down to Cincinnati and Baltimore. And I just, if you had to twist my arm and make me choose, I would probably say Cincinnati just because with Burrow coming back, you know, and you know, you at least get one more year of T. Higgins, you already have Jamal Chase, and you've got that really exciting guy, Jermaine Burton out of Alabama, who was like a third round pick, but trust me, he's not anyone to sleep on, I assure you. I like that not to mention you plugged up the offensive line with getting that big tackle from Georgia, Ameriys Mims, and Trent Brown from New England, who should care now that he's on like an actual contender. I mean, the defense did take a hit, but at the same time, the Ravens defense, you know, that also took a bit of a hit. And another reason why I would put them slowly over the Ravens is because Lamar just, you don't get me wrong, Zay Flowers is good, but the Ravens just don't really have weapons, if that makes sense. I mean, they have Mark Andrews, but, you know, they don't have that gamebreaker like Jamar Chase, you know what I mean? Yeah. And, yeah, okay, but Lamar Jackson is in Patrick Mahomes now, is he? Could Lamar Jackson want to do a role with that Chiefs team, even with Kelsey? I don't think he could. Probably not. But you lost, he did lose. He did lose O'Dell. I don't think he still has Agalor. Well, the dish and bicep action, but yeah, kind of, yeah. So yeah, you have Zay Flowers, and you have Mark Andrews. And I didn't, I know Zach, I know Zay Flowers was a productive piece. I'm not saying he's not going to be become better. All I'm saying is for what he was expected to be, if he stays the same, like the same level of productivity that he had last year for the rest of his career, I'd say he's a little, I wouldn't say a boss because he's still good. A little bit underperforming, I would say. Eight yards for a wide receiver of one, I don't think that's, that's not good enough. You need better. As a rookie. Yeah, I really get that. However, that's what I'm saying. Like if he's, if he ends up being better, if he ends up getting better in his, from your one, your two, then that's fine. All I'm saying is if he stays the same, if he doesn't improve a little bit, that's a little troublesome. Just a little bit because they've been looking for that wide receiver one for years. They didn't get it in Marquis Brown. I say Rashad Bateman, but I don't know where to stand on him because he has all the tools to succeed. It's just, he gets buried on the depth chart when he's not injured. So he's okay. The biggest, the biggest advantage, three hundred sixty seven yards in a touchdown, the door might be shot. The biggest advantage the Ravens have had in the past couple of years over the Bengals is the offensive line. And now I don't, I'm not quite sure if it's any better. They lost Morgan Moses and they also lost Kevin Zaitler. Well, yes, they, they lost, they lost one of their guards as well. And they really don't have to worry. Ronnie Stanley can't stay healthy. Let's like not forget that he plays like eight games a year. Exactly. Ronnie Stanley has a hard time staying healthy and all they did during the draft was improve the defense. So I don't, is it a hot take to suggest that the Ravens offensive line might be a little worse? Just a little worse than the then the Bengals this year? No, personnel wise. The Bengals, the Bengals have had good personnel on the offensive line past couple of years and it is severely underperformed. It has been bad. But if they play up to snuff, which is a big, which is a big if they should be a better offensive line than the better offensive line than the Ravens have. They don't have, they don't have a right tackle right now. Yeah, no, no, they, they really don't. And when you look at the Ravens draft class, right, it was just, it was okay. They drafted chromium from Rome. Okay, here we go. They drafted, yeah, I was gonna say Nate Wiggins, the Clemson corner of the first round. That's good, right? Then they took offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten with the, with their second round pick, which once again, that's good. But I felt like round two was a little high for Rosengarten. Round three was Ed Druscher, Adisa Isaac from Penn State, which okay. Then round four, Devontes Walker, wide receiver, North Carolina. He's a, one of those guys that if he hits, he's going to be like a perennial thousand yard guy. But oh, there's a lot of risk there too. And then they also took TJ Tampa, another corner in the first round, good steel, running back Cristina Lee, round five, which let's face it. For some reason, they actually, I do know why because they, they're always going to need running backs because none of their running backs stay healthy. I don't know if they're cursed or whatever, have you noticed that team just choose through running backs like it's nothing? I don't know how or why that is, but whatever. Then round six, they got Devon Leary, a quarterback from Kentucky, non-factor. Round seven, Center Nick Samek from Michigan State, once again, non-factor. And then round seven, safety, I think it's San Jose Kane from Purdue, who I don't see him starting. So, once again, just that draft, it was, don't get it wrong, it was overall a decent class, but for all the wrong positions. And even the positions like of need like tackle they reached on and they waited way too long to address receiver. So I don't know. Okay. So what's your, give me real quick, quick answer before we, before we conclude the show, who's winning the division? Probably Cincinnati, barring like another injury, but if we predict injuries, then why even bother, you know? I want to pick Cincinnati, but I'm going to go a different answer with you than, uh, than you. I'm going to go the Ravens. I think the Ravens, they didn't lose enough to lose the division. And to say, yeah, if Joe Burrough stays healthy, it's a reasonably big F. And yeah, Lamar Jackson, Lamar Jackson is big F as well. Lamar, yes, but I think Lamar Jackson has a better bet, probably the best rushing offense that he's ever had. And also, I think he hasn't had, I feel like Lamar's injury issues haven't been as bad as Burroughs. When Burrough gets hurt, it's a season ending injury. When Lamar is out, he's out a few games, and then he's back. Well, really though, because like, not this season, but the two seasons before last, he gets hurt. And then, then it's like, oh, he's going to come back, then he never does, right? And the media plays this big game of will he won't he come back? And then what happens? He never does. And I can set my watch to them, petering out and either missing the playoffs, or just complete or just making it, and then getting shown the door. Right. So if that ends up happening, then it ends up happening. But it's hard to just predict injuries. And to predict this division is kind of hinges on, on health. Will it be Lamar Jackson, or will it be Joe Burrough? Or they both stay healthy, and this is a division battle? Let's let's play that game actually. I hope if both are healthy, which one has the advantage here? If both stay completely healthy, I'm tilting tilting towards Cincinnati. I'm tilting Baltimore. I think when when Lamar Jackson is healthy, he has a hard time losing to the bill to the Bengals. So I'll go with them. It's a it's a tough one because they are when they're both at their best. It is a good rivalry. Just as we said, as these division rivalries are in the AFC North, they are always zero to 100. It's either zero or 100. There's no in between. All right. That's all the scheduled content we have for today. But do you have any other thoughts before we end the show today? Ah, no, I don't. Yeah. Well, that was that's probably our best division preview. I'd say that was that's a pretty solid division. I think we can do that. How many of these divisions can we actually say that one of them that all of them could finish above 500? There's not many that you can say that. In fact, how many are these now? Maybe the South. Yeah, that's kind of it, isn't it? Maybe if the chips align and the stars align, the chips fall well. Perhaps the NFC West, you know, depending on how big of a step the Cardinals take as they improved. And you know, it's not like Kyler's a bum, but we'll see. But then again, that maybe that I guess that's a massive maybe. Yeah, sure. Yeah. Maybe the Cardinals. Yeah. That's their everything else. I don't know. The AFC North feels like it's almost likely that they all finish above 500. So all right. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. We have new episodes out on Tuesdays at 7 30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, and so much more. Also, be sure to follow our Instagram @FumbleRuskey_podcast in our TikTok @FumbleRuskeyPod to keep up with our podcast and the latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, we will see you next week over now. [BLANK_AUDIO]