Takeaways from Every Preseason Week 2 Game

Published Aug 19, 2024, 7:20 AM

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Nick Shook to take a look at every Week 2 preseason game. The guys start the show with a discussion about the Raiders naming Gardner Minshew the starting quarterback for the Raiders (02:30) before running through Commanders at Dolphins (09:52), Jets at Panthers (14:40), Giants at Texans (17:20) and Falcons at Ravens (23:38). After the break, Gregg and Nick talk about another great start by Caleb Williams against the Bengals (26:11) and then discuss Rams at Chargers (32:42), Vikings at Browns (38:10), Seahawks at Titans (42:20), Bills at Steelers (46:03), and Buccaneers at Jaguars (55:02), The show is wrapped up with Packers at Broncos (58:16), Cardinals at Colts (1:05:18), Saints at 49ers (1:07:10), and Lions at Chiefs (1:12:20).

Note: time codes approximate. 

Welcome to NFL Daily, where we are officially in football shape. I'm Greg Rosenthal and beyond lucky today to be joined by my friend Nick Shook Jokie. We have fifteen preseason games, thirty teams to talk about, and we're almost done with the preseason.

I'm excited for this one.

I actually had to remind myself that Week two is the important week in preseason this week because it used to be Week three back in the day when we had four preseason games. And I'm sitting there watching some of these games last night, going, oh man, the whole bill starting defenses out there for a considerable amount of time. Oh yeah, Week two does matter, So we do have some good things to talk about it.

Lets be real, though, it used to be every team having the same playbook, and now it's different. Some teams take Week one seriously. A couple teams are gonna throw some starters out there in Week three. I think the Titans are on that bandwagon. The Jets might be. We'll see, but it's a grab back and half of these games, not a lot happened, and so what we're gonna do is go through all the preseason stuff that did matter we're gonna hit all fifteen games, but for the games, whereas backups playing will also hit news from those teams, and so you can feel up to date with thirty teams in the league. Sorry, you know, Eagles and Patriots, you got your treatment on Friday Show. Although we have heard that Drake Bay is practicing better since that performance, that he's eased up, he's got confidence. So there's some Patriots for you. You look surprised, shook.

I mean, I'd just like to hear a rookie quarterback gaining confidence, especially a rookie quarterback that has drawn the consternation of the media assemble that covers them so good.

Yes, yes, it is a trend that these rookies who the first couple weeks of training camp seem like they're struggling. Eighty Mitchell is another one we'll get to with the Colts that towards the end of training camp in the middle of the preseason, they kind of get their legs underneath them. They get the confidence that they belong at this level. We belong at this level.

Show.

Yeah, I mean when I said football shape, I just mean it like I'm ready to go.

This is the seventh week of NFL Daily.

We love everyone that has been with us every day on this journey. And yeah, with this week of the preseason now wrapped up, I just feel like it's time. The season could start tomorrow and it would not be soon enough. But let's get to some of the fun stuff. And because it's the last item of news that happened, I want to start with Raiders and Cowboys from Saturday night. Because the news that came out on Sunday that Gardner Minshew will be the Week one starter of the Raiders, I gotta say, Nick, this is the worst game in NFL history by a quarterback. I think that ever clinched a starting job, Gardner Minshew like he played so bad in this game and that was enough to win the starting job. I hate to start so negative, but it really stands out to me.

Yeah, I had the assignment of covering this game, which, by the way, thanks to thank you to the schedule makers, the preseason schedule makers who decided that ten pm kick ten pm Eastern would be ideal really stuck it to me on that one. But are sitting back watching this game and I'm just thinking, my god, If anything, I'm losing confidence in Gardner Minshew's viability as a starter in this offense. I mean, I know that the Luke Getsy offense, you know, frustrate a lot of people in Chicago. I know it's preseason, it's going to be fairly vanilla and everything else.

But there was no flow. He did not seem comfortable.

It was either a shot play, a big run by Zamir White, or nothing in between. Missing guys not looking comfortable. And I was sitting there just thinking, there's no way he's clinched this job. In fact, play them into week three because I need to see more.

And then Aidan O'Connell went out.

There and threw a pick six in the second half, and that just kind of blew everything up.

Yes, when I went back and watched the game and or at least their dropbacks, you know that pick six, I was like, oh, well, that's the moment where this quarterback competition ended because oh Connell, I was at the practice. I've talked to people who have been there, not look comfortable in this offense at all. Has been very hesitating, and so at least Minshew you kind of know what you're getting. But yeah, it was tough for Antonio Pierce coming out of this game to have to announce that Minshew was the guy because he was sick.

He didn't want it to go another week.

He wants to be sure, he wants to prep that guy for Week one against the Chargers. But yet, like I said, the worst game that's ever Clinch's starting job in the history of QB battles, Minshew under fifty percent completion. Minshew five drives for three points in this game under five yards per attempt, and the tape was just as bad as the number is.

Just not pulling the trigger.

There was a couple of times I saw open receivers on the All twenty two and he just plays.

It's just vibes, baby.

With Minshew, it's just kind of running around and making some plays and a couple of times he'll make some. But it did make me think, like, yeah, it looked okay in the Shane Steichen offense for a while last year, but it might look a little different in a Raiders offense. But he's at least played a lit in the NFL. He's been a Week one starter before, and I think this was just more about a O'Connell losing this job.

And you could hear it Antonia Pierce.

They might have announced that Minshew had the job on Sunday, but Pierce sounded different on Saturday after the game.

Push it well for both gentlemen, right, and it just didn't and we'll look at it, will evaluate. They both had opportunities. Aiden had twenty attempts and Minshew had twenty one. So Bob's balancing as we can get it, and we'll look at it. Obviously, you saw what our plan was and I throw the ball around at these guys, showcase what they can do, and boo, we'll talk about it.

Not good, it's not good.

Here's the thing, Greg like, when you put that pressure on two guys in week two of a preseason game and nobody's really separated themselves, you're kind of setting yourself for failure when you're dealing with Gardner, Minshew and Aid and O'Connell.

And that's essentially what we got.

And then you add in the mix that you know, maybe this offense isn't really hitting a rhythm yet with Luke Getzi, who's a new OC.

In Vegas, and this is the product that you get.

I feel bad for Ap because you know, now he's the permanent head coach. He's not just the interim head coach. And you can hear the frustration and really just well, this is what we got by default. Gardner Minshew's our starter. We'll go check it out. But they both had an opportunity and neither really seized it. We'll go with the more experienced guy, right.

I will always believe that they wanted Michael Pennix. It didn't happen. O'Connell's just been frantic and he said, why are you spending so much time on the Raiders to start? So the Raiders aren't relevant? Hey, the Raiders are one of the most popular teams in the NFL, and all these teams are relevant before week one, and that's why I love them. Like everyone's a beautiful baby that you just don't know how the season's gonna go. A couple other notes from this game in these two teams. Tyree Wilson, the top ten pick of the Raiders from a year ago, who just reportedly has not shown much at training camp.

Just looks like a guy.

I'm going to talk about some players that could change teams or free agents on our next show with Jordan Rodrig. Tyrie Wilson is one I could see just getting dealt for like a seventh round pick or something just because it's not working. And then for the Cowboys, they played all their backups. I wanted to point that out that these were the Raiders' starters versus the Cowboy backups, and it still was going this poorly. But the big news this week to me with the Cowboys was they've elevated two rookies to the starting lineup on the offensive line. One by necessity because of injury. That's Tyler Geyton, but again, he looked good in this game. They've he's a talented kid. He's gonna be out there Week one against the Browns and Miles Garrett, so that's fascinating. And then Cooper Bebee, a rookie guard center, is playing center for them now. So it does look like they've pushed these two rookies into the starting lineup and that's exciting.

It's just we'll see if they hit it.

But they also have a rookie edge you know, named Marshaon Neelan who who's made some good plays too in run defense.

So the youth movement in Dallas.

I would also like to give a tip of the cap to Trey Lancer, putting on a better show in week two than he did in week one. Picked up some yards with his feet, put together a couple of nice drives, looked a little more confident, still a little you know, hey wire from here to there, you know, and every once in a while, hit the throw, you don't know where it's going. It's not like he's going to compete for a starting job, but it's fine. He looked better than he did before, so that's good.

Honestly, that's great, because it felt pretty dark at the end of last week in Dallas. He started wondering, like, it's even gonna be on this team for sure. And I know they'd like to develop at least him through another season. And I have to mention, I know it doesn't matter it's the preseason, but it mattered to Brandon Aubrey that he hit a sixty six.

Yarder in this game.

Let's listen to the call, because I thought this was kind of wasted on the preseason. But gotta say the Cowboys enjoyed the hell out of this one.

This is officially a sixty six yard field goal.

He trills, it doesn't have enough.

Sixty six Tbrey.

That's the end of the first half.

Holy cow, that is awesome.

If you watch us on YouTube, you can see all these highlights. Please do you know, like subscribe even if you're just audio people you're old like me, just go to the YouTube like it and subscribe it, and you know, help help Shook and myself out here. But I love how much they celebrated at sixty six yards. He might be coming for Tucker's crown, not just the record, because that would have tied it. It was a regular season maybe the title of the best kicker in the league.

Who knows.

Look, that would have been good from sixty nine, maybe seventy, maybe seventy. And it was the most electric moment of the preseason in my opinion. I just happened to glance over as I was writing my notes off of the whole Minshew O'Connell disaster, and I'm like, he is he spotted behind the midfield logo and then he kicks it and I'm like, oh my god.

And I checked the you know the stats, I'm like, let's good from sixty six. That's why I tweeted all caps A kicker just made a sixty six yard field go.

I know it's in a Doman preseason, but let's celebrate this even if it doesn't matter the record book.

I mean, Mike McCarthy was celebrating it. He was loving it. And let's move on to our next game. We can't spend that much time on each game here. Shugar will be here for two hours. Let's go to Washington Miami. So it's it's take two for j and Daniels. I did go back and watch, you know, all of his dropbacks. Uh, what you get with him was just calm and poise. He had two long field goal drives, nothing fancy, but a lot of throws to the outside. He's just so comfortable even going to his second third read through the outside, and I know they were mostly short throws, but he just looks like that dude. And he's just one of the stories to me of the last month of just everyone who's watched Daniels at practice, everyone that was at the Dolphins Washington joint practice said how well he did too, and he just he's had a level of comfort, frankly, that.

I think exceeds on the at least on.

The practice field and in a way in the preseason any of the other rookie quarterbacks. I don't know how much that means, but I think it's a good thing if you're a Commanders fan.

I mean, it justifies what he did LSU and winning the Heisman Trophy. You know, he traveled along road just to get to the NFL. He was at two different schools. He had a ton of playing experience in college, and it's kind of showing right now not to mention the athletic gifts that he has translate to the modern game of football. This is the type of quarterback that a lot of teams seek, and I think Washington's got one. And as long as they can stay he can stay healthy, and they can protect him and kind of surround him with an offense that will insulate him properly with you know, talent and not putting too much on his shoulders, then I think they're in a great spot. It's really encouraging to see a kid like that step into a preseason environment and handle it with poise. I haven't seen a quarterback, and this is going to sound like I'm making a crazy comparison, but I haven't seen a quarterback handle live bullets like that that comfortably since Joe Burrow did.

When he was a rookie with the WHO rules, So very good start for him.

Well, I will point out it's a limited sample size, but he has not played as much as the others.

He's played what three drives. They were all good drives.

Though, so thinking of which, there's a quick note on preseason games and how many guys can get on the field. Nineteen different commanders were targeted at least once in the passing game in that game nineteen that's wild.

The funniest moment you said Daniels has to stay healthy, But the best moment in that game to me was when he did not slide and get down quick enough on one of his runs and he took a hit. Wasn't a massive hit like some of the ones he took in the SEC, but he took a hit and he was on the sideline and he immediately turned to dan Quinn who was right there and started apologizing. Now, after the game, we heard from dan Quinn and Daniels that he probably turned because Daniels was barking at him, like upset about him not getting down, and they they laughed about it. But Daniels has reportedly been put on double secret probation from dan Quinn, which is an animal house reference, so he's definitely like your uncle dan Quinn. He's made a top gun and animal animal house reference in back to back weeks, which.

I like, well, I mean it fits the way he looks, you know, bald guy, got that go tee going No, it.

Fits, okay.

One thing to keep an eye on with Washington, Johan Dotson seems like he's really battling for the second receiver job, maybe the third. That's something to watch as a potential trade.

You know.

I listened to Ben ben Standings podcast and he said there's just something a little off with Dotson all off season and how last year ended new coaching staff. So that's just something to watch. And then for the Dolphins, a couple good signs this week. U Tua looked great in his one drive. No surprise, but he looks like Tua, which is cool to see comes out five for five. H Jalen Phillips came off the pup list this week, and it wasn't one of those like hey, I'm gonna do some individuals and slowly ramp up like he was practicing a lot. That's huge for them if he can actually contribute in week one and then Obj still not practicing, still on the pup list. I just like mentioning this because I keep seeing people insert Obj. It's like, oh, this three receiver set and Obj. It's like, I don't know, is he gonna be a factor on this team? Like if you gave me over under five hundred yards, I would say under because I just don't expect him to necessarily play football that consistently just hasn't happened enough.

It's gonna open the opportunity for a guy by the name of River Creycraft, who had made a nice play in this game.

So you know, yes, that was a beautiful throw and catch, especially the catch by Craik Craft on the touchdown. Braxton Barrios is on this team fighting for a spot. Who do they have Washington as like a younger receiver. We hit the Dolphins a little bit last show, but the very exciting offense to look forward to for week one. Nate Tye, our friend noted just how crazy their shifts are getting and their motions already in the preseason. Some of their really short ones with the tight ends and you know Mike's cooking up some stuff in the lab that the reporters can't quite report on until it starts. So I'm excited to see them. Let's talk a little Jets Panthers, all right, Jets Panthers was a game we don't need to really go over backups versus backups, So I will mention just what I read about them this week in the joint practices that everyone who watched them said the Panthers offense actually kind of got it done against the Jets defense. So if you're looking for positives, they're not playing Bryce Young in the preseason, which is a little surprising them having a nice day, Tis Marshall, Jonathan Mingo having some big gains against the Jets defense, and Young by all accounts, Jets reporters, Panthers reporters kind of.

Maybe winning the day.

If you had to decide, Okay, that's something that's something that wasn't happening last year.

Well it's good for Mingo too, because he had a really rough rookie year. He had about as rough of a rookie year as Quintin Johnston did, and if he can get back on track, that would be a big boost for them. You know, they spent some time revamping their receiving corp. They went and got Deante Johnson the offseason. But if you can get Mingo to produce alongside Bryce Young, with Dave Canalis overseeing the whole operation, then they could finally get out of this nightmare that they were in under Frank Reich last year, where they had no direction offense, will be no creativity, no chance of really moving the football very often. That would be a huge step forward in the first year of Dave Canalis being there.

But we'll see.

And now I'm sorry.

I know you've tried to go back and watch as much as this as you can. I went more like notes on some of these because Adrian Martinez and Pasley versus plumber Jack, Plumber and Luton that's peak preseason.

I felt like I didn't need to see that.

I had a buddy at the game. He lives in Charlotte, and he goes ah.

I left the Panthers game before I got to see Tino Martinez playing like, you know, making a reference to the old baseball player, and I go, you mean the former Nebraska corn Husker.

You bite your.

Tongue right there.

Look, these are all players who are better at playing football than I will be anything I ever do in my life. But in terms of application to our job, didn't feel as relevant. Tac McKinley had a moment in this game. He's supposedly gonna make the Jets team. He's on the Jets, by the way, Malachi Corley, which I think a lot of people were excited about, third round pick for the Jets, maybe being their slot guy. He is clearly behind Xavier Gibson on their depth chart, so that's a guy that you know on drafting you're like, oh yeah, slot them right in, but sounds like you might take a little while to get going. And then Olufshanu, their first round pick. They're kind of cross training him at left tackle and right tackle. But that's a good thing. It shows their offensive line is actually healthy right now. So he's been a left tackle, that's what he's going to be as a pro, but he's playing a little right tackle right now to be ready in case there's any injury. So those are good things. I think the Jets have had overall a really nice training camp and stayed healthy on offense. Let's get to the other New York team, Texans Giants. This one was interesting because both starters played CJ. Stroud versus Daniel Jones. The Giants played their starters the whole first half. What were your takeaways here, Nick? From Daniel Jones's first action off in ACL.

Well, it's a little rough. I mean, two interceptions is never something that you're happy about. And this is a year in which the Giants kind of need to produce. They need to be much better than they were last year because of how far they took a step backward last year.

It's not a good start, but it's also shaking off some rust.

He hasn't played in a long time and he had a long road of recovery to get back on the football field. So I'm not going to sound the alarm bells yet. But then again, I'm not a Daniel Jones believer, so this does not surprise me very much at all. And if you look, you know what else they have behind him. We don't need to be, you know, back in a Tommy DeVito situation again here.

So right he is hurt right now and should be back before the start of the season, but right now, yeah, it's Tommy Devio. So this is one where I am glad I went back to watch his drop back because I saw the highlights. I mean, you couldn't have scripted a bigger freaking disaster to come off ac in acl His first throw goes right into Derek string Stingley, the Houston cornerbacks bread basket. Stingley can't bring it down, but it could have been an interception, and he has a screen pass. His next throw, I believe maybe it was two throws later, is just one of the worst pick sixes you'll ever see, falling down in the end zone, just can't be thrown.

He just throws it up. It's a gift wrap pick six.

And then later in the first quarter he underthrows a deep ball, which was just a bad throw, so he said it afterwards, one bad decision, one bad throw, and that's intercepted too, this time by Stingley, who might be ready for an All Pro year, Like he just it looks awesome. But I did watch the rest of the first half, and granted it came against the Texans backups, but he had some dimes the rest of the game. Actually, he had a long, nice throw to Darius Slayton, and he had a beautiful out route that everyone noticed. How insane the catch, how acrobatic it was from Molik Neighbors. And we're gonna watch it here, but if you're watch it on YouTube, I want you to look at, you know, an opposite hash throw and Daniel Jones had about three of these in this game.

And that was a nice, nice ball by Daniel Jones.

Jones down the sideline, Neighbors, I'll want to think, grab but a tiptoe to get his feet in.

That's a first down and that to tip your cap play if you're a Texan, you just tip your cap to a go.

I make it a great play.

You just sip your cat.

And you see why they talked about Miliite Neighbors.

The way they do that is just a six side, like Malak Neighbors is so good.

He looked so good in this game.

But yeah, they protected Daniel Jones in the second quarter and he was way more aggressive than he had been the last couple of years, which is kind of like the younger Danie Jones is the one I wanted to see. So considering how completely awful his start was, I actually thought it showed a little something that he came back and spun it like a quarterback should when they're protected that well against backups. But he did it, you know.

Yeah, that's the frustrating thing with Daniel Jones is that he has those flashes and you see the arm talent and you see the potential.

It's just not consistent. But I will say, I don't know what it is about the Texans.

They played an extra preseason game because they played the Hall of Fame game, and in the Hall of Fame game, Colin Johnson was making the same catches down the sideline, almost identical to what Milie Neighbors did there. So Texans, I don't know what it is about attempts along the boundary, but stop getting lost.

Yeah, of course.

There are some rookies that come in and you want to say, oh, the preseasons doesn't matter. It's like it matters if every single practice report says Malik Neighbors is dominating everyone across from him and dominating the target share, and then you can just see him pop. You're like, Okay, he pops in the same way on an NFL field like you expect. I'm not saying he's gonna have fifteen hundred yards, but it's not. I think he might have a chance to have a Jamar Chase like rookie year, just because of all the targets that he's gonna have and he's so talented. His worst play, he was killing himself, whereas he didn't come down with an acrobatic catch early from Jones. That was Jones's second past But on that play, like he dusted Stingley, who's so good, and even that, I was like, that's impressive. This kid's gonna be awesome.

Yeah. And the Giants, they haven't had a big time receiver like this Ince Odell, So like if you can actually slot that into their depth chart and count on that, that's a huge step forward from a roster development standpoint, even if everything around them is still pretty.

Flaw and watchability. So let's just wait a little bit on Jones. I'm not pushing the panic button. Jalen Peachree was everywhere in this game. It was nice to see c. J. Stroud just play football. You just it was just all class, all calm.

He was good. That was about it.

Like he got a little bit to Stephan Diggs, a little bit to Nico Collins, like everyone got involved in this game.

So I've looked at this depth chart and watching these Texans games and I'm trying to figure out what their receiving room is going to look like. And I look at the stats and I see John Metchi had six catches for sixty eight yards in a touchdown. And I've been worried about John Metchi a little bit. I know, his career got off to a rough start. Obviously, had the cancer diagnosis and it kept him out of football the first year, but it seemed like he's never really gotten back on track, especially with his pedigree where he came from in college. And if you look at their top six right now, I mean you're looking at Tank del Stefond Diggs, Nico Collins, Robert Woods, Noah Brown, and then John Metchi six is like, that's right on the bubble there. But having a game like this could go a long way toward him, you know, getting back on track and proving that he deserves a roster spot.

Yeah.

I've heard the same thing in Houston too, because some of their other younger receivers also have been, you know, making a push. You know, maybe Robert Words or Noah Brown aren't locks for this team, they could be a maybe their guys. I'm going to write this down right now because we're doing a show about potential guys that could change, and like, those are two guys that, like maybe another team throws a conditional six to four because they want to keep Mechi that that was a big game for him. You're right, he's been through a lot, also a huge injury obviously that he was coming back from when he got drafted before the leukemia. So it is nice to see he dominated. He had an entire drive all to himself. Mike McFadden, the Giants linebacker who's a good player, got carted off in this game, so that is something to watch. Let's wrap with one of the games I think will be more quick before our first break. Let's just do Ravens Falcons backups of plenty. No Michael Pennix. They said they've seen enough for Michael Pennix. Yes, they're just one of those teams that don't want to play guys. In the preseason. The Ravens, the only starters they played, and I thought this was telling, were three of their starters on the offensive line. It looks like they've settled in on Andrew Vorhes Daniel Foulllele, who will be the biggest offensive lineman or guard maybe I believe in the history of the sport. And Roger Rosengarden and they were playing and they haven't maybe stood out. And Jeff Zizzerback, I don't know how to say his last name, of the athletic I said, they haven't really played that well in camps. That's just something to watch with the Ravens. But it looks like those are your three guys.

Yeah, I'm tracking for He's just because he was a guy that came out with a tunnel potential out of USC and then he shredded his knee at the combine and missed his entire rookie year. It felt like a value pick, a long term play, kind of a David Ajabo type play, and that hasn't really panned out either, but I'm hoping that it does for him, just because he had so much potential coming out of college. I would love to see him get back to where he was supposed to be and the ascend from there.

Well, it looks like.

He's going to be starting Week one for one of the best offense in the league, So he's got a chance.

You mentioned a Java.

I'm glad he did, devastating his injury history as a pro. He was a pick that the Ravens had and is coming off another season ending injury, and he played his first snaps in this game in a long time and reportedly looked okay, so he is on the men and then yeah, just it's kind of settled with me. Just how sick a safety tandem Justin Simmons and Jesse Bates could be. I know, Justin Simmons wasn't quite himself in a decent different system last year, and so we'll see if he's really lost the step. But man, that's a lot of smarts in the back end of this defense here for.

The I gotta give a lot of credit to the Falcons and Terry Fonto for acknowledging their weakness or being aggressive in the market. You know, they go make the Matthew Judon trade, they go sign Justin Simmons, they had already gotten bats a year prior, and heat balled out in his first year there. I mean, look, oftentimes fans sit back and say we need to go get that guy, even if it doesn't make sense like systematically. So good on Terry for going out there and saying, look, we're gonna accrue talent, as much talent as we can to fill the needs we have.

Yeah, I think there are other teams out there. The Colts stand out where their fans are like, why.

Didn't we get Justin Simmons? But they didn't. You know what we gotta do.

Let's take a break and we'll come back and let's hit Haleb Williams' second preseason effort.

After the break, Oh yeah, we're back in NFL daily. Some of these shows are short, like Friday Show with Silva.

Some of these are long, but we're like packing it with so much goodness, chalk chalkull, so much information.

Uh.

In this way, you didn't have to watch the preseason if you're out.

There, at least you know, be on unless you're a sickle like us.

Yeah, unless you're no.

I mean there are plenty of sickos, but preseasons for like your own team. Although I have a feeling people were tuning in to check out Caleb Williams. That game was on NFL Network, I believe live and he's just must see TV.

He did it again. I know.

It was three straight three and outs to start the game, like one or two, you know, missthrows and some bad runs from their running game. But then he got going and just had a bunch of sick plays in the last two drive. Which one should we start with Eric behind the glass?

How he just pails out of the pocket here and this is the toughest s throw.

You can do, throwing your left away from.

The armside right, and he doesn't.

I mean that is that is in the bucket all the platform away from the arm side. That's the type of stuff at USC that was dropping jaws of scouts across the punch.

And he does it effortlessly, and he's done it so many times where it's just surrounded.

The place that is absolutely ridiculous.

Him rolling to the left, throwing up the left sideline, contorting his body so that his shoulders are square enough to get that ball.

But that's just a ball that you know.

I went to a game with East and sticking Stetson Bennett this weekend and they're just playing a different sport, no slight to them, but just to see that ball fly out of the hand and go that far and it was a nice catch by a duneesday, it just makes you realize what's possible for a quarterback like Caleb Williams.

Yeah, it actually gives a lot of credence to the whole offseason hype machine that has surrounded the Bears, because look, I was in the camp that, you know, keep riding with fields and trade the pick and add talent. Well they said, no, We're going with this guy who's superior. And I've seen enough through preseason games, like he hasn't even played the full game, and I know he'll run to the bumps that Brookies running too. But like that kind of stuff right there is special. Like I'm not saying he's generational. I'm gonna avoid that term, but that type of stuff is special and can change your franchise, so to pass I.

Will I think he did more in college the games I watched when I went back to what like, he did more than anyone I've seen since luck. So whatever you want to call it, Like it's gonna translate. Now, does it translate to being multiple pro bowler? Does it translate to like a Philip Rivers level of achievement? Do the translate to all time great? Like there's different levels to it, but it's going to translate somewhere on that continuum. It's not gonna not translate like, it's just not how long and how much can he rely on the improv because he is holding the ball a long time? Is he made some quicker decisions. But look, that was a question people were asking about Aaron Rodgers through like the first six or seven years of his careers, while he was winning MVPs and having some ups and downs actually and having some downstretches too, So there are different ways to do it. Let's look at a play where Adunze did not keep his feet in bounds. But this was actually my favorite play by Caleb of the game.

It was close to being a touchdown.

Big run by Purport. Now the big pass seven Williams run.

To improve with those speed keep the play, al Williams told Duns. But it's led incomplete.

Oh oh my god, Greg, Greg, I mean along the sideline, finds a guy open in the back corner the end.

Zoneyees his foot was.

Out of bounds, But wow, that and that's our talent right there, just ripping it down the sideline through the traffic.

Beautiful stuff.

I mean, it's just crazy because those are plays that Mahomes pulls off. Just not many people in the history of the game have made plays like that and just the absolute and utter confidence. And you saw this in the college you weren't sure how and we'll see in regular season play how much it translates. Like he is not even worried about the first guy coming through tackling him. He's dancing with these pass rushers three feet in front of him and thinking what am I gonna do? Not even thinking, oh, this guy could actually sack me. He's just making them look bad. And then make a throw like that and yeah, two plays later. If you know, if you watch highlights, you would have seen the ridiculous scramble touchdown that he had. So it's just play after play. It's exciting. I'm not crowning him. I don't know what is with Like Twitter, people are like not what, like.

Don't enjoy this?

Caleb Williams like thing, Just enjoy it's fun. It's football. Like this is how I felt watching Patrick Mahomes start play, and I was like, this is going to be great for the next fifteen years.

I was right, yeah, and it's panned out now I'm not going to be a bucket of cold water.

But you did make a good note there that he does hold on the ball.

A little long, and I do worry about what that's going to look like when the pressure increases, because I don't think this line's going to hold up quite as well in a regular season environment as it has against a vanilla defense in the preseason. He does it's not that he's processing slow, but the hitching like he's doing a lot of pocket hitching, and I'm worried about what that's going to do. But if he can evade and extend plays like that, we're thinking not only Patrick Mahomes. I'm thinking a little bit of early Russell Wilson and the way that he used to extend plays.

Sure, I like that, And yeah, I'm not expecting it all to be easy. This was against the Bengals backups. It took a while for their starting group to get going, so that that's all worth noting. But the plays are the plays, and there's only so many people that I've ever seen that could make those plays. So you can see it with your eyes, it doesn't matter who's it's against. Kyler Gordon was back in this game, just very active for the Bears. Keep an eye, you know, with all these backups in the game for the Bengals, there wasn't a lot to take out of it, but keep an eye on Jamar Chase's situation. It's just been sitting around like it's about time. This is actually the week that it's kind of like it's about time to fix that. So we'll see Yoshivash I've mentioned on the show many times under you he's really locked in as their wide receiver three. And then with a Marius Mims' injury, the spotlights on Trent Brown. And Trent Brown just has not been a reliable player throughout his career and just from what we've heard, he has not been on the field at Bengals training camp. He finally got back on then had another injury, and it's just if it's a lot is going to be riding on Trent Brown and a Marius Mims to stay healthy. We'll see if they can. Let's go to the rams in Chargers of the game. I went to Nick Shook. I got to start with like how the game presentation started. I went, I enjoyed the walker and I had fun. He really likes he still loves it even though it's the preseason, and like thirty minute, maybe fifteen minutes before the team was going to come out. They had already done their warm ups, but they were going to come out for you know, the real warm ups.

The last time, they were like.

About fifteen minutes till Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers come out, and I was like, Okay, well that's different. I've never heard a team kind of announced that way. But maybe it's just the PA guy just you know, kind of having some fun. It's the first game. And then when they came out onto the field, when they introduced them, they welcomed them as Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, Like, I don't know why that really got me. It was like Alvin and the Chipmunks, like I'm the I'm the like the lead singer of the band. Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, Like that's how big a deal is. And I kind of liked how weird it is cut to immediately on the big screen at sofar it's a letter from Jim Harbaugh to all his players about being in the locker room and what it means to be a Charger in This is kind of like a pump up speech that that sometimes they'll play in games like this, but usually it's not the head coach of the team. And it's this long letter written and read by Jim Harbaugh, and I'm just thinking, like, this is weird. This is a lot. This is like the culture personality. But I'm also kind of into it because it's Jim Harbaugh and it's different, but I like it.

I just think about the Temptations movie.

Anybody come to see you otis They're all here to see Jim Harbaugh and him wearing cleats on the field before games, like yes, and they need they needed it though, like they had no identity prior, they didn't and they needed a change.

And if they're gonna go all in night, we'll see what happened.

Maybe it's their pr like them trying to push the Harbaugh thing, but I tend to think because I just went like, how did this all happen? I tend to think it if I had to just guess, and it's just a guess that Jim Harbaugh was like I want I want it to be said Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers when they call.

Me very two thousand and one Super Bowl, I want to announced as a team. Rams it's like the.

Opposite of that.

Yeah, yeah, I love it.

There was they did show there wasn't a ton in this game. They played their starters, which doesn't include Justin Herbert right now. They set a couple guys that are banged up, but pretty much played their starts, very creative with their run game and Joe Alt like you know, double team blocks and the power and the duo and he's on the move and.

They stuck to it. Easton Stick was was bad. He is not it.

Anytime there was anything positive going, he just threw a hope ball, or he fumbled a snap on the goal line or through a bad interception. And I just I don't know, man, I don't I don't know how you can go to Week one with him as your starter if Justin Herbert doesn't get back. Justin Harber watching him during pregame warm ups, though no Limp throwing the ball around. It was him, Harbaugh and another one of the quarterbacks who were kind of warming up the receivers. Harbor's arm is not as strong as what it used to be, like a lot more zip on the NFL quarterbacks, but it was decent, much better than mine would be.

But it was hanging up there a little.

I think it is tell that they went and signed Louis Prez, former UFL and XFL hero. He didn't look really great, didn't look good, but the fact that they went and grabbed him tells me that they realize, oh, this might be bad behind Justin.

We better hope Justin stays healthy.

Yeah, they're a team to watch.

I think at the quarterback position in the next week. Just who could shake loose? I don't know, Tyler Huntley maybe from Cleveland. Yeah, like that would be better. Like there's just some there's some guys out there that would be better than what they have. They were playing DJ Shark and Quintin Johnston pretty late into the third quarter of this game. You wanted to read into that. That was pretty interesting to me, you know, with Louis Prez, you know, playing after Brandon Rice and Darius Davis.

Just that's a weird situation.

And then I think it hasn't gotten a lot of attention that Matthew Stafford has a hamstring injury and just continues to miss practice and is going to continue to miss practice. Sean mcva says he'll be fine for Week one, but a little concerned about my thirty six year old quarterback with a soft tissue injury rams fans.

Yeah, I mean I'd be concerned. Hamstrings can be tricky because they don't heal quickly. They can be nagging. You rush back too soon, you're gonna get a bigger issue. And he's not young, so fair valid, but I'm not going to panic until it starts to limit him on the field. And then at that point, No, they put their announcers. They have like one of the best announcing teams with Mina Chimes and Andrew Siciliano, our friend.

Both of them are our friends.

Of course, they're both so good, and Andrew Whitworth, and then they have Sean mcvagh in the booth during the game.

Did you catch any of that? I did not.

I actually don't want to go back and watch it, but I was trying to catch up with all these games.

I have not seen that.

Yeah, and I was in the same boat.

But I did see Aubrey Pleasant on the sideline fire and his team up really embracing being the head coach for a day.

It was nice.

I like that.

I like what he did putting a spotlight on Aubrey Pleasant, which if you hear people around the league like kind of talk about young rising talents. He has such a great reputation. Jordan Whittington I think is a real receiver. Now they have really good depth. He has looked like their best offensive player through two weeks of the preseason for the Rams. All right, let's move on to your Browns. They played the Vikings. Let's go with the biggest news between these two teams that have happened since we started, which is a Stephan Gilmore is on the Vikings. So that was the team that to me made all the sense in the world. The Panthers, I think wanted him. They needed they needed a cornerback. I think Gilmore chose the team that's better, and he chose a defensive coordinator he knows well.

And Brian Flores.

Yeah.

You know, look, we saw two veterans get signed this week, right, the other one being Justin Simmons. It kind of reaks of the old like Michael Strahan sitting at a practice thing, but sitting at a training camp.

Well that is it because it's this portion too, because training camp officially ended like this week. Now it just goes into regular season prep.

Mode, right, so you can just step on a field and be like, all right, I'm here I'm ready to prepare for the season. I didn't need camp and I'm gonna ball out. It's a nice reinforcement for them, a team that on paper like is a bit in flux, but could use some help at that position. So I like the signing for them. It's kind of a no brainer.

Yeah, they've been really injured, and I think they needed a cornerback before they were injured, and then they got injured.

I think that's a big move for them.

I know that playoff game is in everyone's mind, at least Packers fans. When I threw out the possibility of Gilmore joining the Packers at one point, Yeah, he got smoked a few times in the it was the end of a long season, and he's a veteran. He played really well for the Cowboys for most of the last year.

Yeah.

I'm also the speaking of corners with the Vikings. They made that trade and a Sean Wright from Dallas. Andrew Booth goes to Dallas. Andrew Booth had a hell of a game in that Raiders game. By the way, I know I didn't touch on it.

Earlier for the Cowboys.

Fantastic, Yes, a great open field tackler. Well, that's where the.

Preseason, that's not what he's known for either, by the way, I know in the preseason, that's what it's for. Like that, dude was not a lot to make that team, I think when that trade was happened. But a game like that, then you make the team. Yeah, and that's what the preseasons for. The Browns are in a bit of a crisis with their tackles. YEP, I didn't realize Jedrick Wills. I knew he started camp on the pup list, but he's still there, and then his backup got hurt, and then his backup's backup got hurt, and they're starting right tackle Jock Conklin is still on an injury list. So that's that's count of one. That's four tackles that are hurt. That's not good.

I would expect them to make an addition if any of those are serious. Obviously if Dwan Jones on the right side, so that's kind of a fail safe for them on that side. But on the left side, Jed Wills and you and I have talked about this, but Jed Wills is a guy who has never lived up to his first round billing. But still not having him is concerning, and then losing his backups is even more concerning. I mean, I've never been a hichemidentity guy, but I've also never really been a James Hudson guy. But I would like to have either of them on the field as opposed to not. So we'll see.

So they Hudson was a backup, and then his backup also got hurt, we'll see, ye. Just a team that's been really injured in general, like Jerry Judy's barely practice for this team, Newsome a couple other starters. On the pup listic, they're quietly top five most injured teams in the league without a doubt, maybe top three.

They lost center Luke Whippler in the game against the Packers and had to go trade for to bring Nick Harris back from Seattle, a guy that they had drafted who suffered his own injury in preseason a few years ago.

So they've made moves already. They probably gon have to make more that I.

Think they've had a bad camp in general just because of the injuries. That's the worst thing that can happen. And then some offield stuff. We hadn't addressed this on the on the show. But Michael Hall, their second round pick defensive lineman, arrested for a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. He continued practicing with the team and actually played in this game, so they are continuing to employ him and play them. And they said they're gonna wait for the legal process to run its course with that. But that's just another thing for the Browns and a decision that you know, they didn't have to make. Some players who are lower on the depth chart, they have a domestic violence charge and there was you know, some of the details that came out on the police report. They get cut and it didn't happen in this case. All right, let's move to Titans Seahawks, another backups a plenty game. I know you watch some of it, shuck, So what do you got for me? What was interesting from Titans Seahawks.

Slinging Sammy Halle Baby Okay, okay. We back on the Around the NFL podcast about a year ago. At this time, I was flabbergasted that Ron Rivera was going to proceed with Sam Hall as the starting quarterback going to twenty twenty three, And there were glimpses at times where I was like I see why he went with them and ultimately the wheels fell off.

We know what happened in Washington.

Well, he seems to have taken a small step forward with Seattle or he just doesn't care in his letting it rip, because.

He had a heck of a game in Nashville.

He's throwing passes on the scene down the sideline, dropping dimes all over the issue.

He lets it rip, that's for sure.

But even navigating the pocket, he threw a beautiful touchdown pass eastob Winston. I mean, dropped it in the bucket. You couldn't you couldn't run it up there and put it in the guy's hand better than he placed it. Overall, just a great game for him, and it excites me to have, you know, Sam Howe getting an opportunity to get those reps while Gino Smith is not playing during the preseason. Not saying every want to see them go to him, but you know, for somebody who has already been through a lot in his short career, it was cool.

It was nice to see and by all accounts, really struggled to start training camp that Yeah, the idea that there was going to be a competition was laughable because Gino came out hot and there wasn't going to be a competition anyways, and he Howell was struggling, So that's good to hear. And I did go back because I wanted to find what happened during this week because they had joint practices and Titans and Seahawks played all their starters obviously in those joint practices, and that's where they got their work.

Just a couple of little notes there.

Michael Sean Dugar, who does a really great job with the Athletic has noticed that like the Geno JSN, you know, Jackson Smith and Jigwab, just the chemistry he just believes has been off the charts, the anticipation, the timing, the post practice, you know, kudos that Gino is giving to JSN, just something to watch their Lockett getting a little older. Also, there's been reports there just really making a point to like throw it to DK even when sometimes the coverage dictates not to, like he can still make those catches in. DK is reportedly having a good camp and so you just might see a little more of the target share I think for those two guys, and maybe a little less of Tyler Lockett, who's getting a little older and in the last year of his contract.

But either way, that's a good problem to have.

Like they they are deep at wide receiver, and I think they were lighting up the Titans because the Titans never have their cornerbacks practice. Lagerius sneed like never practices, just like when he was in Kansas City because of his knee, and Shadobi a Wuzi has still been out with this calf injury, so that they are a little short handed in the secondary.

Yeah, I'm curious in this depth chart. I would love to see if Jake Bobo makes this team.

Oh yeah, yeah, I think he's locked in at four, four or five.

And that's a fun group. If you add him in that mix, that's a really fun group for Gino to throw too.

He might have a real you know, if he's four, he's only going to play if someone's hurt. But it wouldn't surprise that he'll have a real chance to have a real role, like maybe replacing Locket next year. I mean, that's a way to save some money if you if you think a guy like that can can step up. Also, just little housekeeping note, arden Key, the pass rusher for the Titans six game deed suspension was overturned. You don't see that too often. No, you know, the guys always say I didn't do it. Here's why, here's how. In this case, the league found the evidence compelling. According to ESPN reported it. They actually weren't the first to report it, though Jeffrey Simmons, the Titans defensive lineman, put it out there first, but ESPN confirmed it, and good news for the Titans there.

All right, Let's let's talk.

One of the games that I think was most interesting, Steelers Bills. Let's talk Justin Fields. Okay, Justin Fields replaced Russell Wilson, who really struggled in this game.

And I get it.

I'm I'm driving that Justin Fields should start bandwagon here. But I gotta say I went to watch this game after seeing everyone say that Nick, and I expected like a good fields game, and I didn't see it. I did have what you had, some good fields and some bad field that's every field.

Let's start with the good fields.

Let's listen to and watch one of the nice plays from Justin Fields in this game.

Seven instead of a thirty two fields, some pressure up there then trying to get away from me and he does We're moving to his left throwing manpu reception along the sidelines.

That is a sick play. He's about to get tackled.

He gets out of it just because he's so strong, and then almost Caleb Williams like throws to the left with a lot of heat on a sideline route and gets it to his receivers. And yes, there were a few plays like that. But I saw you shaking your head, you know, so I think you're on the same page as me that it's still he had a chance. When Russell Wilson went out of that game to really say this is my job, I don't think he quite went that far.

Yeah, so that play specifically, when I watched that live, I immediately got in the slack and let the guys in the desk know I just saw the dumbest and most thrilling play of the preseason, which is justin Field's pulling his best Eli Manning impression to break a sack and then get away and throw almost directly into coverage. It gets tipped and he gets caught in the sideline. But like I saw graphics being shared on social media after the game comparing his and Russell Wilson's stats and then at the bottom was like Steeler's mustard, just three points, and that really tells you the story of what happened in this game. I know it's a preseason game, but it was a lot of what we saw in Chicago, and it was justin holding on the ball too long, pulling his eyes down too quickly, getting panicked, acting frantically in the pocket, trying to make the best out of nothing, and not really trusting his progressions, and it became pretty frustrating because he did miss an open touchdown throw at one point.

He's still a supreme athlete.

He still can extend plays and make plays with his legs, which is a big part of his production in this game.

But it's not consistent.

It's not reliable enough to think that this guy can go out there and do that on a weekly basis. It's more of the lightning in a bottle style of football that you never build your team around. And I was hoping that coming into Atlanta, or not coming into Pittsburgh, excuse me, after being in Chicago, that he would be able to kind of take a next step with Arthur Smith as a ZOCI and instead I think it's it might be a bad fit, and I'm worried about long term how it's going to play out.

Okay, let's let's come down. We're in the pre sale, right.

Yeah, I know, I know.

But on Russ's side, he doesn't have he didn't have any time to throw in that game. So it wasn't a good sample size for him either, because that line doesn't look very good.

No, although it protected fields, I thought fine because once you hit the right point there, which is he was running from clean pockets some of his best plays. And I get it that he is exciting and he is the better option I think for a bad offense. And I also just think the offense itself looks like a total mess, and so the quarterbacks are part of it, but the protection like the number two receivers Van Jefferson Jalen Warren left this game with a hamstring injury.

He might miss Week one. That's really a bummer.

He you know, he's I would say, if he's not their best skill posession player, he's their second best behind George Pickens.

Like that's a huge problem for them.

But you know, he left clean pockets and so even his some of his best scrambles were plays that when you watch the All twenty two, he had open receivers. Yeah, and he didn't pull the trigger and that was well. I think was similar between him and Russell Wilson, that neither one of them were pulling the trigger. The difference was Russell Wilson just had very little protection. But the times that he did, he didn't look good. Before we move on from fields, we showed the good fields. I am going to show kind of my example of the bad field, and.

It is an option playing Peels has nowhere to go, and I think Buffalo knew it was coming and he's trapped and of the go for a significant loss and a change of possession. Joe M. Dreesen, the kid out of Buffalo, I'm drafted free agent number forty four, led the way. But nobody was fooled on that play.

So it's six to three at that point.

Bill's late in the third and they call a read option and doesn't.

Feel maybe the wrong read.

It was a touchdown if he just handed the ball off, and that that had just happened a couple of times. They wanted that score so desperately. I don't know if you watched to the very end, but they just kept going for it on fourth down in the red zone. They got there a couple times, and whether it was dropbacks, whether it was him running like he was just sort of freezing, like they wanted to leave with something positive at the end. That wasn't even the last time that he got close and they didn't get it. And I think part of the reason Tomlin maybe wanted it because maybe he wanted it feels to just go win this job, do so than positive because of the stink on the field after the Russell Wilson start. I mean, I get the offensive line was so bad PROGERC. Jones could be a real problem with him. He got absolutely roasted a couple times at right tackle, so that hurt Russell Wilson, but a couple times he did have a chance. Nick I thought in this game when you slow it down, he just wouldn't let go of the ball, no anticipation on his throws, just waiting to see a guy open. And then he holds it on these two third and longs and ends up just dumping it down, which is not the old Russell Wilson, just playing it almost Sean Payton like just overly safe just dumping it down and not really going for it.

Yeah, the only time he ever got the ball out, even relatively on time, was when he dumped it down and the arm's still there and everything.

But like, it's just he doesn't look comfortable.

Another thing I have an issue with, and I know Troy Fatana not being able to play had a role in this, but Roger Jones is in his second year in the NFL and he's playing on the left side, and then suddenly they're playing him on the right side. Like I don't know if you remember the old Tristan Worst quote, but playing right tack as opposed to playing left tackles like trying to wipe your butt with the opposite hand. Like it's a little foreign and awkward, and yeah, that's not fair to do to a young tackle. I felt bad for him as soon as I saw him at right tackle to start the game, because I'm like, this is not gonna go and Dan Moore has been graded poorly by PFF for years, so like they're not going to be in a good situation against that Bill's defense. I wanted to write about how the Bill's defense looks so good, and then I'm thinking that's the starters against an offensive line that's kind of passwork and doesn't look very good. So I'm gonna, you know, pump the brakes on that. It's just it wasn't a good situation for Russell to show off anything because he didn't have time to throw. But then going back to fields too real quick on that play that we just showed. This was the play that made me worried because this is a play that tells me this is a quarterback who's trying to go win a game or score on his own and not actually following the structure of the offense.

It's a reason I've seen in the field, so he never committed to see the field as a runner. Yeah, and the passer because there were the other fourth down play that they got stopped. He had time and and just froze a little bit. So they're just not comfortable right now in Pittsburgh. No, it doesn't look like they're getting Brandon at Yuk by the way, you know, it just I think it's disappointing. They also lost their center, one of the Herberg brothers. I can't I don't know which Herberg is, which there's two Herbigs. It's Nate and Nick. They're both on the Steelers. One's a pass rusher. One was the starting center, but it sounds like he had a pretty serious innate the linebacker, and they drafted Kid Frazier to kind of probably take that job anyways, and now he will be starting. So they're gonna be young. We'll see, maybe they'll they'll get it all together. For the Bills, they didn't play their starters too long in this game, right, They had Mitchell Trubisky, they sat Josh Allen, but they played a lot of the other starters. Trubisky struggled and got hurt in the game, so that's a bad combination.

Yeah, Trubisky looked bad.

He actually was greeted by a Steelers fans with the chorus of boosts when they announced his name as the quarterback for them.

It was like a backup that was fine.

He was that he was bad enough to get replaced by Mason Rudolph, and they realized how bad he was because Mason suddenly helped led them to win lay Down down the stretch of the season. The defensively, the Bills did play a decent amount of starters for a little bit of time, but offensively, it wasn't much. The only bright spot in this game was Ray Davis. Ray Davis is a dog.

Greg. We talked about this last week.

Yeah, a nice little late round handcuff or just pick up if you're if you're not into drafting your running backs early, just take a shot on Reda.

It's like what you said West used to say preseason. You can always tell when running backs are legit or not. Ray Davis is legit. Keep an eye on him.

I thought it was interesting. I read Joe Basalia from the Athletics his roster breakdown. Lyle Collins might not make this team for the Bills, just just a name out there that his career has bit on the downslope. But I would have expected him to make this Bills team. And yeah, Greg Russeau, who was the guy who was abusing Proderc. Jones, you know, could be in line for a breakout season. He's been a steadily rising good player. But reports are that he's been dominant at camp and so I'm looking to him. Jags and Bucks played another backups game. Mac Jones looks like he locked up the backup job, which kind of was up for grabs because he reportedly hasn't looked that good in training camp with CJ. Bethard, but he played pretty well in this game and Bethard didn't and Bethard got hurt, so that pretty much ended that tank. Bigsby's a second year running back who struggled as a rookie, who's had some nice preseason moments.

And then I'm gonna go to the.

Joint practices and the reports out of that from Pewter Report and then John Shipley on SA dot com, who you know, everyone just said Brian Thomas had a really strong joint practice showing just people just could not cover him. And so the combination of Brian Thomas going deep and then Gave Davis actually being used kind of on intermediate routes has borne some fruit in the last week or two or so at Jaguars camp.

I think that's Gabe Davis's great strength when he was finding success in Buffalo, he was doing that. It wasn't him trying to stretch. So I think it's a good complimentary duo there. Greig mac Jones, we know what mac Jones is, and the duality of a mac Jones football game is still wildly entertaining.

Both good and bad reasons.

He's stumbling over himself in the pocket, but then he just rips a dime de Parker Washington, who, by the way, had a really good game, and I love the way that he's been playing this preseason and carving out a role for himself on this roster as well, because they got some talent at receiver. But my god, it's just it was so fun to watch him play and actually just having fun with football. Again, he's not in New England anymore. He doesn't have the weight of a franchise on his shoulders. He can just go play football and enjoy it. So it was really nice to watch.

Yeah, he is the ultimate case. And I think Daniel Jones is another good one.

To me.

The number one test of are you an NFL quarterback is can you deliver all the time if you're protected, because basically all of them can. If you protect an NFL quarterback, like they're gonna be pretty good. Now they'll just be like Dalton Scale, like right at the line good. Maybe if there are a Mac Jones or Daniel Jones type of guy, but like, if you protect Mac Jones, he's actually he's gonna play well and that's Those are the guys that have long careers and can be at least in the league for a long time.

And mac Jones can do that.

Now if you give him pressure, all bets are off and watch out like he also might lose his mind a little bit. The Buccaneers are going to release Randy Gregory. That was weird, that entire saga. I don't know what happened. They reportedly don't know what happened either, why he never showed up.

I've heard some whispers that there's a.

Team or two that want to bring him in, and maybe he knows that a team you'd rather go to. And so we'll see. Rookie Chris Braswell reportedly had four sacks in a joint practice and they're counting on him to make some noise, and I think they're going to start him at this point. And they're probably also going to start Tyke Smith at nickelback, so a little bit of a youth movement. So those are two players to watch for the Bucks. We're going to take one more break. We still have a few more games to get through. Nick, we have one more starting quarterback decided.

On Sunday night. I bet you can figure out who it was.

Back on NFL Daily during the break, I learned our hard working producer Eric has a baby in his arms while he's producing. This is the type of extra effort that helps you make a team. Eric Roberts, I mean, you know, let's go. I mean, we're putting this show out on Sunday nights. We're trying to be unique by doing this even in the preseason, almost treating it like a regular season, because look, we have live football.

We've been waiting for it all off season.

And these questions that we had Nick back in May and June, and maybe we could have guessed the answer, who is the Denver's starting quarterback? We probably would have guessed it right back in June, but we didn't actually know for sure until Sunday night, August eighteenth. Who is our starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Nick bo Nicks.

Here we go. He's bawling, baby. He's doing everything I thought he would do coming out of Oregon.

He had another really nice game on Sunday night and kind of confirmed not that's did almost terrible, but just kind of confirmed that he's ready for the job and he's gonna fit.

What Sean Payton.

Wants and perhaps will support Denver's decision to spend a first round pick on him. We'll see, but good start for him.

Now we're taping this at a dangerous moment here. I don't actually know that they're naming him the starting quarterback. I'm just assuming it because that's where it was headed. It was set up that way. He started this game. And I don't know this for sure, but I bet Sean Payton did everything possible. Just break out the good stuff. Make sure bo Nicks is comfortable at he had the starters. He's going against the Packers backups. The Packers sat like thirty guys and call all the best plays. Not that you shouldn't try to do that, but maybe game plan just like a little bit more in the preseason that you wouldn't to make your rookie play well. Give him confidence because he's gonna be your guy. And he delivered eight for nine eighty yards, touchdown, ten points in his two drives and then they just took him out. Would have been two touchdowns, but the first touchdown throw he had that he was about a yard past the line of scrimmage. It's actually a pretty impressive improv improvisational play where he just lost track of just where he was on the field.

So you know that was a mistake.

But otherwise he got out of pressure and they diced them up. I mean, you can say it's against the backups, but a lot of times we don't see starters dice up the backups.

They diced up the backups.

Yeah, I mean, this is the right step for a Sean Payton tenure that has been.

Fraught with issues since he arrived.

He showed up to a team that he did not but the quarterback that he didn't want, that he didn't choose, and tried to make the best of it and then realized this was not a work let's maybe him down the stretch.

No, well, also letting everyone know this was not his guy.

Yeah, and we're going to bench him because of money, and it's going to cause a whole thing.

And now they're on the you know, clear Skys and.

New beginnings with mister bo Nicks, who actually you got to feel good for the kid because he started his career at Auburn and then ended up transferring to Oregon and had all this playtime in college to really develop because he never really developed at Auburn and now you look at him the NFL and you're like, oh, that kid's seen a lot of action and he looks more prepared than most guys at his age.

Well, that's the benefit of him and Jayde Daniels being so old and playing so much college football that they can come into the league and they're just way more experienced. It's it's almost like the four year college basketball players versus the guys who are just one and done that. Yeah, maybe they have a lower long term ceiling, but a lot of times they can come in the league, in in the NBA and like be.

A valuable role player right off the bat.

And that's what in Bonix's case, I think the role he's trying to fill not be a role player, but be just a solid, steady quarterback.

We'll see.

I'm I'm way more interested in this Seahawks Broncos Week one game than I was like a month ago.

I don't know why.

I guess I'm just curious about both these teams. I want to see what it looks like. Bonick's very very solid camp. DeVante Williams very nice camp, has had some juice. He's their starter at running back, Tim Patrick. There was some question whether he would even make this team. He's made some plays in the preseason. Riley Moss is gonna lock down the job at cornerback, I believe, opposite Patrick Sartan, so he'll be, believe, the first White starting cornerback in a long time, because Cooper Dejine's been hurt, so everyone expected he's going to be the guy, but it's going to be Riley Moss, who was beaten on a play deep at one point, but for the most part played well in this game. I'm not going to take much out of the Packers because they didn't play any of their starters. But this actually has made me more optimistic nick about the Broncos than anything. Is that all the Packers and Broncos reporters that were there at the training camp practice was like, oh yeah, Denver kind of put it on them on both sides, especially the defense that the Packers defense, which has reportedly struggled throughout camp, Like Packers defense has been given it to him pretty good, and now the Broncos defense gave it to him pretty good. And reportedly bo Nicks held his own and did pretty well in the joint practices too. Now maybe that's it's the mile High err or maybe the Broncos are just like a little more ready right now than we expect.

Who knows. I don't want to draw too much from it, but if I'm a Packers fan, I'm like, like a mildly concerned.

Well, yeah, because they're going in the season with so many expectations after how they ended last year, and we don't take too much away from camp in preseason and everything else. But I just think from a Broncos perspective, it's really nice to see what Sean Payton could potentially do because last year there were times where I was like, man, he's halfway to the country club, Like this is the Mike Ditka in the Saints job for him. And yet now they look like they're in a better position. So I'm very excited to watch them. And also a tradition, unlike any other Seahawks Broncos Week one, we're just gonna make that an annual thing, now, Okay, I like that.

Look, Sean Payton's a Hall of Famer. He's one of the best offensive coaches ever period.

Yeah.

I've been doing this for you know, since two thousand and four. He might still be my you know him and Kyle Shanahany would be my number one, number one, and number two, and Andy Reid number one, two, three in some order. Even last year, I think you could see that he could coach offense like he just just had. He gets his teams to focus on the details. So well, he's he's just a special coach. It's everything else that was going on, So we'll see.

I'm my guy.

Michael Pratt didn't didn't really take advantage of his chance to become the backup quarterback. Both him and Sean Clifford have both been struggling, but Pratt, with a fumble in this game, couldn't really move the ball. Final score Broncos twenty seven, Packers too. I usually don't even give this final score, but that one is just a you know, objectively funny final score twenty seven to two Cardinals Colts. This was the game I have the hardest time taking anything from, just because there's not a ton of reports from either his teams during the week.

There wasn't a lot of starters in this game.

Trey Benson, the rookie running back of the Cardinals, I thought, had a bunch of really good runs a really great touchdown run. That was like, Wow, this guy can cut laterally while really moving fast.

So that was impressive.

James Boyd of the Athletics says the eighty Mitchell's really been playing better of late in that this wide receiver three job. When Josh Downs gets healthy again, maybe it will be Mitchell over Alec Pierce, who knows has kind of gone back and forth.

Maybe they'll split it.

I'm telling you, Mitchell, if you give him the runway, you give him the length of time he needs zactly made. The kid is so talented, he's gonna make himself a role. It's just you have to have patience with him. And the good thing about the Colts is that what we learned last year is that they have plenty of patients because they lost their quarterback after a month and found a way to still stay competitive with Gardner Minshew. So keep an eye on ad Mitchell in the long run. I think he's gonna end up being a productive player and all the criticism going to the draft is just going to be, you know, an afterthought.

I thought it was interesting Odingbo was playing in the fourth quarter of this game. I had him on my top fifty free Agents of twenty twenty five. Maybe I had him too high. If he's playing in the fourth quarter of this game. Good pass rusher for the Colts, but a little further down the depth chart maybe than I thought. Layout to Lotsu, by all accounts, has just been awesome at their training camp. I want, I want to say more about the Cardinals. I need, I need, I need more data I'm not hearing enough about like Marvin Harrison Junior. I don't you know I could hit you with their backup quarterback battle. It doesn't seem like it's Desmond Ritter. But there's there's not a lot right now. So give me more Cardinals reporters. I know you're out there. I'm missing it. I'm not seeing it, so give it to me. I need more in the right end. The fans like, let me know what's going on. What's interesting there?

Uh?

Jade.

Lonnie Woods is a name at tight end of the Colts, just again playing in this game to a lot to make this team. Just a name that I used to be pretty high on and hasn't been working out for him.

I don't think.

I think he's in his tough spot because that tight end group also has mo Ali Cox not the same.

Island Rayson was also sat in this game, which means that that's their tight two tight ends. But yeah, I guess yeah, but he's yeah, he's down the he's down the list Saints forty nine ers was our other Sunday Night game, forty nine or sixteen Saints ten.

Taysom Hill.

They're really using him at running back, like for real, for real and it looks good like and I'm digging it. Who would have thought that Sean Payton leaves in Taysom Hill gets better? Because I thought Taysom Hill maybe had his best year ever last year, and now that he's like a real running back along with everything else he is, I don't think he's a tight end anymore. But you could still use him as a receiver a little bit like.

Into it the best use of him in this game that I saw tonight lead blocking for Jamal Williams around the left side and just getting into his assignment and clearing a path for Jamal to get a first down. I was like, Yeah, we know he loves contact, we know he loves to do a little bit of everything, so why not throw him out in front lead the way?

Yeah, some talk about. Is Jamal Williams definitely making this team even though Alvin Kamara has been hurt five for thirty two tonight, so had a good night that should help his case. And yeah, Taysom Hill actually scored a touchdown as a lead blocker as a full back on a fourth and fourth and goal. Derek Carr started this game seven for nine, forty seven yards.

You know they did have a scoring drive.

I asked my friend Adam West from the Saints block party poadcast, who is at the game at that nice in person twenty two like me and Walker did, And I said, if you send me some notes, I was just gonna read him on the show.

We'll get his live reporting. So here we go.

I'm gonna edit this somewhat because he's he's a little too anti Derek Carr. The offensive line was was better. It was mostly against forty nine ers backups. But yeah, Rattler had a shaky game. Someone was on him, someone was on his teammates. But I think the Rattler agenda of him potentially at some point challenging Derek Carr that I was put on hold. Right now, Jay Cayner has a chance to still be the backup.

We don't know. They're pretty deep at linebacker the Saints. That's a good thing to have.

Adam says, no clue who the starting safety is opposite Tyron Matthew.

That's interesting. And then I did want to highlight this last point.

Chase Young looks good and Brian Briscy is going to make the leap, And yeah, there has been like a steady drumbeat of Chase Young really reckon shop and Brian Brisci, I think is a really good second year player. So if you're looking for the strength, maybe the most interesting thing about what the Saints is that defensive line actually could be quite good. Carl Granderson, you still have Cam Jordan in a little bit of a different role.

That's a good group.

I like Brici because he doesn't fit the traditional mold of a dtackle, but he's so fast that you can win with that. He's not Aaron Donald, But what made Aaron Donald so good? Quickness? Power?

Right, Bercy's quick, so to hear that is good.

I cannot wait to see him operate as part of that defensive front for this team because their offense still isn't very good. Like I know, it's the preseason, but they have a hard time scoring. They had a hard time getting the end zone today when they got to the doorstep. So if they need to lean on their defense more, it's gonna start up front. Always starts up front, so that's exciting for them.

Then again, sometimes you see starters out there and they really struggle and you're like, you know, brock Purty went two for six for eleven yards and through one of the more curious passes of the week that almost got picked off across his body, and I don't think anything differently of Black Party after that performance. It's just like, yeah, it's okay, I've seen enough. He was also playing with backups. I'm sure the forty nine ers wanted him to get some good work in and he didn't. So that's disappointing. But their big issue is who's not there. Brandon Ayuk, we'll see at this point. I think the big expectation is he will sign. And then I did think it was interesting. Christina Pink, the Fox sideline reporter who spoke I believe it was with Shanahan and said said, as much as like they're not worried about Trent Williams, that you know that that's going to be taken care of in time. And you were saying about the veterans skipping camp. Basically, I think there is a little bit of that going on with Trent Williams, that he's going to get some sort of raise, and I think this week is probably the week that he shows up. Whether it's early in the week, late week, I don't know. Don't hold me to it, but I think this is a week and if it's not this week, it'll be early next week. I also want to just note quickly the Saints, they would be on that list of the most injured teams too. Marshaw and Latimore. Where are you like is this He went out with an injury right at the start of trading camp, hasn't been seen since. They've had a bunch of other players in and out. Rashid Shaheid Alvin Kamara been hurt from Waga's hurt right now, although I don't think that's serious to just a lot of key players. If you look at their starters, they're just been hurt so that that's worrisome for them. We are gonna wrap up took the only way we know how. With the World Champions Chiefs Lions. A little rematch, a little revenge game for the Chiefs from the opener last year. I watched the Chiefs starters because they left Mahomes in for what three was it three drives?

No?

Two drives, and you know, and then Wentz came in and with some more starters, and they racked up a thirteen to nothing lead.

But the never say die Lions came back.

Let's go.

Let's see. Jake Bates had four field goals.

Yeah, he's got to be there, dude, he's got to be their guy. The UFL story had a fifty five yarder, he did miss an extra point, but hit a bunch of field goals. Ken then Hooker is maybe the Lions QB two. Let's start on the Lions because I have less to takeaway from there. He's played well in the preseason and it's a battle between him and Nate Sudfeld. So you like to see that with the young quarterback. And then something that caught my eye this week with Dan Campbell was he said, we're dying quote, We're dying for someone to step up as a third receiver on this team.

So hmm.

Donovan Peoples Jones had four targets for five yards. I don't I don't know who their third receiver is. Maybe he's not on the roster right now.

I mean, I as much as I like Khaliff Raymond, I don't see that being the option.

Yeah.

I mean you look at this, actually look with the depth chart and Daris Fountain like it.

Tom Kennedy on this death chart.

Yeah, yeah.

I see Raymond as like a guy who's gonna be active. He's a special teamer, but.

He's not gonna be the three look DPJ.

Once got to Cleveland, it had a lot of hype around him, and then suddenly the Browns just dumped him and he went back to Michigan where he's from, where he went to college, all that stuff. Then nothing's really come of it. So I'm concerned in terms of depth, because if you lose a guy, you're gonna be pretty short handed all of a sudden out of nowhere.

Yeah, they missed, They're gonna miss They missed. Josh Reynolds.

Right now, who's in the Broncos, And let's mention the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. We'll get to what everyone was talking about first. But my biggest takeaway right now, is that Xavier Worthy is their wide receiver one and he's always open and Patrick Mahomes found him open early in this game.

It may have jumped, could be a free play here, Mahomes going down the field, Worthy's wide open, cave, you're Worthy get it to the Lions thirty sixth.

In yard line.

I just love that throw and catch because just haven't seen enough of those in the Chiefs offense the last few years. And Worthy also got behind the defense for a thirty nine yard touchdown from Wentz. And the commonality with those two places he's so open, and that first one's against zone coverage too, And I went back to watch it and he just does a little stutter step. And these guys they're Sora, they're just afraid of this dude, and he's just buy him. And I think he's their wide receiver one. Maybe not in the Tyreek Hill sense, but in the he's gonna outgain Raci Rice in Travis Kelcey in my mind if he stays healthy.

Yeah, And I don't want to sound like too cliche, but the stutter step description that reminds me of Tyreek Hill. Like I'm not saying he's the same guy. But that reminds me of what helps him get open. Like, yeah, he's fast, he's speedy, he's hard to bring down.

Let's not get carried away. Let's take a carryalls.

That's what fits in this offense.

That's what makes it go down the field, which they've lacked for the last couple of years and why they become a shorter and shorter passing game and why guys like MVS struggled there last year.

So you got that element back in there. Watch out.

Yes, And obviously he doesn't have the physicality that Tyreek Hill does.

He is going to have to avoid hits. He's just a smaller guy.

But I said it in the draft process, he played like a one because the attension was all on him and he would get open at the at a at the college level, at the highest level, Adie Mitchell was the two. And why can't that work? So so far, so good for Xavier Worthy. Chiefs fans have to be like, really excited about him. They also have to be excited about the behind the back pass heard around the world. Let's listen to Patrick Mahomes talk about, Yeah, him him throwing that around behind the back pass to Travis Kelsey.

So we'll see when we get on film. But it's uh, not something that I'm going to try to major in. It might be something that just kind of happens every once in a while.

Where you let it go. Where did it feel like?

You know?

I knew it was low.

I was just hoping Travis it got the Travis, and I knew it was kind of on target.

It just was low.

But like I said, it wasn't like I didn't do it to like look cool. I literally did it as I was like pissed. I was like, why didn't you run that route like that? And then it just worked out.

Major in behind the oneh one taught by Patrick Mahomes, I tend to trust Mahomes. He just seems like a reliable narrator.

Look, we're in the preseason where you can just test out a sixty six yard field goal just because just for the hell of it, why not test out the behind the back pass and then pretend like it wasn't intentional win a way.

I mean, I believe Mahomes that it has to be a very specific situation that I don't think it's like a play call that you were planning to do that before it happened, and that I think he just was in a situation where it was gonna work. And he does it at practice apparently all the time. Maybe not all the time, but he's done it before, including last week and in like a team session and it worked, so it's part of his game.

I can't wait till that's like in the regular season.

That'd be awesome.

I'm thinking about when he wants through that pass when he was basically parallel to the ground in the Super Bowl and then they added to Madden and everybody was upset about it being in Madden for two years. When's the behind the back pass going to show that the NFL street stuff. Baby, we're going back to like two thousand and four. You better watch out video gamers here.

I can't wait for it.

And yeah, I can't wait for the rest of this week on NFL Daily. Thank you Nick Schuck for breaking down all these games. These Sunday nights have been fun. We're gonna do it again next week. It'll be more notes probably on every team than just on the preseason games because next week less starters will be playing. But yeah, it's gonna be a fun week. I have Jordan Rodrigue in the studio for our next show, and we're gonna talk about some possible player movement coming up. We've got Patrick Claybond and Colleen Wolf the day after that. Mina Chimes and Kevin Clark are joining the show this week to do some over unders. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Thank you.

We are off and running. We are on football shape. Nick Chok's always in shape.

But I'm got that right.

See you next time.

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen  
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