We're joined now by Shawn Merriman. You can hear him on the Lights Out podcast breaking down a lot of the NFL action that happened yesterday as we get ready for the completion of NFL Week seven tonight. But first question for you, Shawn Merriman, Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the best team in the NFC based on what you've seen right now? Not record, we know they don't have the best record in the NFC, but with their combination of defense and now adding Antonio Brown to Godwin and Evans, with the legendary status of Tom Brady seeming to be pretty still in solid stend standing, are they the best? Well, I think they're the most dangerous right because this is a team that, if you look at them, the built for long term success. And even though they had a rocky, rocky start, you know, the all the additions with Antonio Brown and guys are getting back healthy, they look like they're going to be the most dangerous team. So, um, the best It's hard to say, but definitely them is dangerous, Okay. And the flip side of the Tom Brady's team looking great being five and two is the New England Patriots. Look done. Cam Newton was bad. They got dominated by Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco forty Niners. Are the Patriots in any way a playoff team this year? Can they fix what is wrong with this team? Yes? Somehow, some way, I think they'll end up end up in the playoff. They'll squeak their way in. I think they're starting off extremely slow because they're never They're not used to what they're going through right now. They've had Tom Brady there for you know, two decades, and now they're trying to figure out a new way of life. So you know, yes, I think they always have opportunity because their division. Obviously, Buffalo is playing great, Miamis came on strong, but you got a weaker division. When you're seeing guys like the Jet, you always have a chance. So if they if they find a way to get high only towards the middle of the season, towards the end, then yeah, the Patriots. You can't count them out. How many times we come to Patriots out and they just find a way to to squeak in. Oh a ton, but at least then they had Brady. I just don't know what exactly is going on with cam uh in the biggest game of the weekend. I felt like we learned a lot about the Titans and the Steelers, and it was that both teams were for real. They basically played to an even tie. If if you get a made field goal at the end of regulation, like you should have from Stephen Gotskowski. The Steelers came out and dominated the first half. The Titans really dominated the second half. What, if anything, did you learn about these two teams? Well, they were both undefeated, But one thing I did learn is the Steelers is the better undefeated cham Right. They did a magnificent job early on stopping Derek Hamery in the first half, making them change his speed, slow down, change directions in the backfield, didn't let them get going downhill, and that was really the key for them, and they did it. They came out, they showed better emotionally, they showed up that they was more hype and ready for the game. Uh maybe they was here to talk of Derrick Hembry all week. I remember when I was playing, if you heard the running back was coming in and he had a lot of hype. I mean, we we we basically put that up on our on our Lockers was putting it up in the locker room as the guy that they gotta beat. You know, it was more like, less, we need to beat this team, but we need to stop this guy. And they came out the first half showing the venue to stop this guy. And they did that. So, you know, it was surprising to me to to let them all to hook the second half and it was. It was a different ball game. How do you assess that going forward? Do you think the Steelers are the best team in the a f C. I do? I do, because they're they're the most balanced. Alright, we we know the Typans do well. They run the ball, Uh, they blocked well, um and they played solid defense. They don't have stars, but they played solid defense. The Steels on the hand, they got guys that can put the ball in the ends on it and they're getting play. They gotta running back. James Corners catching the ball at the back kill He's doing marshall things great. Hiven don't have that. They have a great running game. They have guys that's front to the blocking for him. Don't get me wrong, Brown, I love him. I think he's uh provide us some explosive plays for them, but he's not as consistent as this Steeler offenses. What is that? What's gonna happen going forward with the Cowboys? Is Mike McCarthy gonna last more than a year? I mean, this team, it seems like the wheels have completely come off. And I know the NFC East is so bad that anybody could still find a way to win it, but the Cowboys team looks completely done. Yeah, normally you would look up to move coaches and fire coachings halfway during the season with McCarthy, But the fact of the matter is that the position is so bad that you always have a chance now opportunity, so you don't fire coaches that way. Also, you've got a bunch of injuries offensive line, uh you know, Zeke fumble three times last game. You've got a bunch of un characteristic things going on, So you don't fire coaches when the type of things are happening. But let me tell you this, if they don't want a division and they don't go to the playoffs, he will be fired. He will not make it through a whole year. It is kind of wild to think about because Cowboy fans kind of had this idea. Jason Garrett is the reason we can't take the next step. If they end up bringing Mike McCarthy in and the Wheels continue to stay off of this team and they flounder like they're floundering, Now, what do you do. Do you go back to the drawing board and say, well, we don't really want to commit long term to Dock. Do you go back into the rebuild mode? Or do you think the Cowboys believe this is just a series of injuries. Maybe we need to clean out the entire coaching staff, but we're not that far away. How do they assess the talent on this roster? Yeah, first of foremost, in my personal opinion, I think they kept Jason Garrett two years too long. Um, you've got guys who are retiring with Smith offensive lineman, You've got guys who, um, we're valuable assets and now they're older or injured and they don't have the same team. I almost feel bad Mandy Dalton because you know he's coming into a situation where you know, you look at the Dallas Cowblays and they're wanted the best offensive line groups in there. You've got a good wife, Stephen Cory and Mary Cooper. You've got a good tight end is playing well. You got uh, DeMarcus Lawrence, a hundred million dollars defensive enders going to plans. It looks like on paper, when his first sign is the team to go to, you can back up and look good. Now he's faced with a team that's riddle with injuries. Executively, it's not playing the same way he's playing, and the coaches are not coaching a good game. So he's almost in the situation when he's he's set up to fail. And I feel very bad for him because he spent so many years in a bad organization with Cincinnati and now he has to deal with a bad situation with Dallas. We got we're talking to Sean Maryman. Encourage you to go listen to the Lights Out podcast that he has. One of the things that I think is is interesting Sean, as you kind of look up look ahead, is a lot of teams are bad and maybe Trevor Lawrence is, you know, sort of the light on the horizon for them. How many teams do you think legitimately are going to end up in the mix? Maybe not taking for Tevor Trevor, but at least thinking about trying to put together a package deal to get him right. I mean, because I think there's gonna be a lot of teams that, let's say, finish in the four and twelve range, and they may not be as bad as the Jets. But what are the Jets gonna do? They want multiple picks for that number one overall? Are they gonna take Trevor Lawrence? How much attention do you think starts to pivot as we come up on the halfway point and so many teams already have been eliminated looking toward that brass ring, that difference maker that Trevor Lawrence could potentially represent. You know, back when Eli Manning elected not to come to the same the ego charged at time, I look at him as a guy that, uh, you know, not confident, someone who is weaker and uh, you know, not a trustworthy person. Now that I look at the business of the NFL, if I was Trevor Lawrence, uh in the draft and the Jets tried to draft me, I would opt out. I would do everything I cannot to go And for the simple fact of they're not trying to do anything in that organization to win. They're doing They're making all the wrong moves, they're having the wrong people. Adam Gates needs to go, the GM needs to go. Multiple things need to happen the organization. And as someone like Trevor Lawrence who's coming in, don't waste your career on the organization that don't want to win and don't want to put you in the best situation to win, so you opt out not to go to them. So if he if the Jets elect to draft him, I would hold out and not go. Now Barrow, Joe Barrow is a is the case we're seeing prime example, right, I mean, they're throwing sixty plus times a game. They're putting a rookie in a bad situation. A good organization don't do things like that. A good organization don't put your rookie, a guy that you look to be there five plus years, in a bast situation to throw sixty plus times a game. That's a horrible thing to do. So if I was Trevor Lawrence, I would absolutely elect not to be there to the chet that they were a drafting. And then that creates and that's an interesting perspective that you have now as an NFL veteran, that would then create a lot of trade drama, right, because there are a lot of teams if the Jets end up with the number one overall pick, if Trevor Lawrence is saying, hey, I'll sit out for a year, I can sign endorsement deals, I can make a lot of money. I can go back maybe even play it Clemson another year. If he did that, there would be a lot of teams, much like what happened with Eli Manning and the Chargers, that would try to do whatever they could to get that pick, to be able to acquire him as a talent. Yeah, and if you really look at it, um Eli did it for a situation. He didn't want to be in in a market that was smaller. It wasn't necessarily organization, it was they're smaller market. The Jets are a bad organization. They don't treat players well. They don't put guys in uh in in in great possessitions to win. And for that reason, you don't want to go to n B O waste And I know you don't want to be looked at as a problem child or a guy that's coming in and think he's uh the best linked things in slice bread. But at the same time, when you're the number one's draft pick. You want to be in a situation to win. You want to be able to look at the ownership and say, you know what, these guys are trying to put me in the best situation to win. Look at what's happening in Cincinnati period. If you look at Joe Barrow, he elected to go there. He didn't make a big deal about it. People wondered if he was gonna go there, and not to complain or anything. He went there. But they're not doing the right things with Joe Barrow. They're treating him as if he's a guy who's going to be there for a year or two, a couple of years, and not there guy that's gonna be there five attempt pluge years. So if if the Jets, if I'm Trevor Lawrence and the Jets elect to draft me, I wouldn't I go Outstanding stuff is always a man at Shawn Merriman. You can hear him at the Lights Out Podcast. We'll talk to you next week. Thanks guys, Thanks thanks for having me on

We're joined now by Shawn Merriman. You can hear him on the Lights Out podcast breaking down a lot of the NFL action that happened yesterday as we get ready for the completion of NFL Week seven tonight. But first question for you, Shawn Merriman, Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the best team in the NFC based on what you've seen right now? Not record, we know they don't have the best record in the NFC, but with their combination of defense and now adding Antonio Brown to Godwin and Evans, with the legendary status of Tom Brady seeming to be pretty still in solid stend standing, are they the best? Well, I think they're the most dangerous right because this is a team that, if you look at them, the built for long term success. And even though they had a rocky, rocky start, you know, the all the additions with Antonio Brown and guys are getting back healthy, they look like they're going to be the most dangerous team. So, um, the best It's hard to say, but definitely them is dangerous, Okay. And the flip side of the Tom Brady's team looking great being five and two is the New England Patriots. Look done. Cam Newton was bad. They got dominated by Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco forty Niners. Are the Patriots in any way a playoff team this year? Can they fix what is wrong with this team? Yes? Somehow, some way, I think they'll end up end up in the playoff. They'll squeak their way in. I think they're starting off extremely slow because they're never They're not used to what they're going through right now. They've had Tom Brady there for you know, two decades, and now they're trying to figure out a new way of life. So you know, yes, I think they always have opportunity because their division. Obviously, Buffalo is playing great, Miamis came on strong, but you got a weaker division. When you're seeing guys like the Jet, you always have a chance. So if they if they find a way to get high only towards the middle of the season, towards the end, then yeah, the Patriots. You can't count them out. How many times we come to Patriots out and they just find a way to to squeak in. Oh a ton, but at least then they had Brady. I just don't know what exactly is going on with cam uh in the biggest game of the weekend. I felt like we learned a lot about the Titans and the Steelers, and it was that both teams were for real. They basically played to an even tie. If if you get a made field goal at the end of regulation, like you should have from Stephen Gotskowski. The Steelers came out and dominated the first half. The Titans really dominated the second half. What, if anything, did you learn about these two teams? Well, they were both undefeated, But one thing I did learn is the Steelers is the better undefeated cham Right. They did a magnificent job early on stopping Derek Hamery in the first half, making them change his speed, slow down, change directions in the backfield, didn't let them get going downhill, and that was really the key for them, and they did it. They came out, they showed better emotionally, they showed up that they was more hype and ready for the game. Uh maybe they was here to talk of Derrick Hembry all week. I remember when I was playing, if you heard the running back was coming in and he had a lot of hype. I mean, we we we basically put that up on our on our Lockers was putting it up in the locker room as the guy that they gotta beat. You know, it was more like, less, we need to beat this team, but we need to stop this guy. And they came out the first half showing the venue to stop this guy. And they did that. So, you know, it was surprising to me to to let them all to hook the second half and it was. It was a different ball game. How do you assess that going forward? Do you think the Steelers are the best team in the a f C. I do? I do, because they're they're the most balanced. Alright, we we know the Typans do well. They run the ball, Uh, they blocked well, um and they played solid defense. They don't have stars, but they played solid defense. The Steels on the hand, they got guys that can put the ball in the ends on it and they're getting play. They gotta running back. James Corners catching the ball at the back kill He's doing marshall things great. Hiven don't have that. They have a great running game. They have guys that's front to the blocking for him. Don't get me wrong, Brown, I love him. I think he's uh provide us some explosive plays for them, but he's not as consistent as this Steeler offenses. What is that? What's gonna happen going forward with the Cowboys? Is Mike McCarthy gonna last more than a year? I mean, this team, it seems like the wheels have completely come off. And I know the NFC East is so bad that anybody could still find a way to win it, but the Cowboys team looks completely done. Yeah, normally you would look up to move coaches and fire coachings halfway during the season with McCarthy, But the fact of the matter is that the position is so bad that you always have a chance now opportunity, so you don't fire coaches that way. Also, you've got a bunch of injuries offensive line, uh you know, Zeke fumble three times last game. You've got a bunch of un characteristic things going on, So you don't fire coaches when the type of things are happening. But let me tell you this, if they don't want a division and they don't go to the playoffs, he will be fired. He will not make it through a whole year. It is kind of wild to think about because Cowboy fans kind of had this idea. Jason Garrett is the reason we can't take the next step. If they end up bringing Mike McCarthy in and the Wheels continue to stay off of this team and they flounder like they're floundering, Now, what do you do. Do you go back to the drawing board and say, well, we don't really want to commit long term to Dock. Do you go back into the rebuild mode? Or do you think the Cowboys believe this is just a series of injuries. Maybe we need to clean out the entire coaching staff, but we're not that far away. How do they assess the talent on this roster? Yeah, first of foremost, in my personal opinion, I think they kept Jason Garrett two years too long. Um, you've got guys who are retiring with Smith offensive lineman, You've got guys who, um, we're valuable assets and now they're older or injured and they don't have the same team. I almost feel bad Mandy Dalton because you know he's coming into a situation where you know, you look at the Dallas Cowblays and they're wanted the best offensive line groups in there. You've got a good wife, Stephen Cory and Mary Cooper. You've got a good tight end is playing well. You got uh, DeMarcus Lawrence, a hundred million dollars defensive enders going to plans. It looks like on paper, when his first sign is the team to go to, you can back up and look good. Now he's faced with a team that's riddle with injuries. Executively, it's not playing the same way he's playing, and the coaches are not coaching a good game. So he's almost in the situation when he's he's set up to fail. And I feel very bad for him because he spent so many years in a bad organization with Cincinnati and now he has to deal with a bad situation with Dallas. We got we're talking to Sean Maryman. Encourage you to go listen to the Lights Out podcast that he has. One of the things that I think is is interesting Sean, as you kind of look up look ahead, is a lot of teams are bad and maybe Trevor Lawrence is, you know, sort of the light on the horizon for them. How many teams do you think legitimately are going to end up in the mix? Maybe not taking for Tevor Trevor, but at least thinking about trying to put together a package deal to get him right. I mean, because I think there's gonna be a lot of teams that, let's say, finish in the four and twelve range, and they may not be as bad as the Jets. But what are the Jets gonna do? They want multiple picks for that number one overall? Are they gonna take Trevor Lawrence? How much attention do you think starts to pivot as we come up on the halfway point and so many teams already have been eliminated looking toward that brass ring, that difference maker that Trevor Lawrence could potentially represent. You know, back when Eli Manning elected not to come to the same the ego charged at time, I look at him as a guy that, uh, you know, not confident, someone who is weaker and uh, you know, not a trustworthy person. Now that I look at the business of the NFL, if I was Trevor Lawrence, uh in the draft and the Jets tried to draft me, I would opt out. I would do everything I cannot to go And for the simple fact of they're not trying to do anything in that organization to win. They're doing They're making all the wrong moves, they're having the wrong people. Adam Gates needs to go, the GM needs to go. Multiple things need to happen the organization. And as someone like Trevor Lawrence who's coming in, don't waste your career on the organization that don't want to win and don't want to put you in the best situation to win, so you opt out not to go to them. So if he if the Jets elect to draft him, I would hold out and not go. Now Barrow, Joe Barrow is a is the case we're seeing prime example, right, I mean, they're throwing sixty plus times a game. They're putting a rookie in a bad situation. A good organization don't do things like that. A good organization don't put your rookie, a guy that you look to be there five plus years, in a bast situation to throw sixty plus times a game. That's a horrible thing to do. So if I was Trevor Lawrence, I would absolutely elect not to be there to the chet that they were a drafting. And then that creates and that's an interesting perspective that you have now as an NFL veteran, that would then create a lot of trade drama, right, because there are a lot of teams if the Jets end up with the number one overall pick, if Trevor Lawrence is saying, hey, I'll sit out for a year, I can sign endorsement deals, I can make a lot of money. I can go back maybe even play it Clemson another year. If he did that, there would be a lot of teams, much like what happened with Eli Manning and the Chargers, that would try to do whatever they could to get that pick, to be able to acquire him as a talent. Yeah, and if you really look at it, um Eli did it for a situation. He didn't want to be in in a market that was smaller. It wasn't necessarily organization, it was they're smaller market. The Jets are a bad organization. They don't treat players well. They don't put guys in uh in in in great possessitions to win. And for that reason, you don't want to go to n B O waste And I know you don't want to be looked at as a problem child or a guy that's coming in and think he's uh the best linked things in slice bread. But at the same time, when you're the number one's draft pick. You want to be in a situation to win. You want to be able to look at the ownership and say, you know what, these guys are trying to put me in the best situation to win. Look at what's happening in Cincinnati period. If you look at Joe Barrow, he elected to go there. He didn't make a big deal about it. People wondered if he was gonna go there, and not to complain or anything. He went there. But they're not doing the right things with Joe Barrow. They're treating him as if he's a guy who's going to be there for a year or two, a couple of years, and not there guy that's gonna be there five attempt pluge years. So if if the Jets, if I'm Trevor Lawrence and the Jets elect to draft me, I wouldn't I go Outstanding stuff is always a man at Shawn Merriman. You can hear him at the Lights Out Podcast. We'll talk to you next week. Thanks guys, Thanks thanks for having me on