Week 6 Recap: Aaron Rogers Miserable in Tampa, Steelers Hammer Browns | NFL Deep Dive

Published Oct 19, 2020, 5:24 PM

Conor and Gary break down a Week 6 that might have been short on in-game drama, but had plenty of implications going forward. The Bucs slow Aaron Rodgers's Packers offense and then some, the Steelers crush the Browns in every sense of the word, the Patriots can't find the answers on offense, Derrick Henry runs wild to beat Houston, the 49ers find their offensive identity again, and much more.

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Hello, and welcome to the m m QB Monday Morning NFL Podcast. I am your host Gary Grambling. He is Connor, or of the week Side Podcast, which, by the way, you should be subscribing to you on its new feed. Uh, Connor, it was a week six Sunday that was I'm gonna say it was short on drama but long on injury. Yeah. I found myself like even sticking to the bitter end of Jets Dolphins because even that game was just, uh it was like marinated in in controversy and plot lines and and that was by far the worst game of the week. So yeah, there was I would say that's a fair assessment of of of this week. It was a lot of things to contemplate late in some of these blowouts that the futures of some of these things. But let's start. Let's start with the Bucks Packers. Two teams at frankly are are are probably going to be very good this year and I'm probably going to be playing in January. But this was a disaster for Aaron Rodgers. This was the worst Rogers has looked in quite a while, and a lot of it was pressure. Todd Bowles certainly, Uh was was one of the stars of this game here. Uh. The thing with Rogers this year is he's been playing on schedule, which is not something he did in the past. It's something he did occasionally last year, but not that often. Uh, he's very much doing so this year and it's working. And the Bucks basically made him play off schedule, whether it was pressure or whether it was just just good coverage designs. And uh, Rodgers didn't have answers in this one. Yeah, And I mean it's one of those things where you hate to say it because it sounds so I don't know, it's such a platitude, but it's almost the same thing that we had said about Tom Brady for years, right, And that's the only thing that really works against him as pressure. Um, but it's so hard to to define that and to create it. But enter Todd Bowles, who you know, I think I've been saying and I think a lot of people have been saying, I mean, this guy should still be a head coach in the NFL. He's maybe the best defensive coordinator, if not one of the two or three best defensive coordinators in the NFL, and he can generate pressure. He's got great pieces and domin con Sue comes alive for every every once, every couple of weeks now and and we saw that happen, especially when it's Aaron Rodgers involved on the other side. So you know, if you can create pressure, you can disrupt this. And it's not you know, yes, it's an Aaron Rodgers thing. It's also a Shanahan system thing. I mean, you know, pressure is the one sort of disrupting element of all this. Yeah, it was, uh, this one turned around quickly. It was tending nothing at one point, and Aaron Rodgers was doing his uh his mild pelvic thrust in the in the end zone to celebrate that touchdown, and then it just it unraveled so quickly, and Brady didn't Brady wasn't on the field for you know, basically the Buck's defense set him up for two defensive touchdowns. Here. When Brady was on the field, you saw some you saw some Rob Gronkowski if you're into that kind thing. It was a it was a nice day for you. Yeah, it was weird. And you know, he's still like, he does not look like Rob Gronkowski to me, I would venture to guess that he's still playing. Maybe ten pounds below his his peak playing weight, and when that happens, I think you you do see the genius in what Belichick did with him and the way that he used him. It's it's different, it's very different. But that said, you know, he still can make athletic catches, he can still beat coverage, and so yeah, I mean, now he starts getting involved in another wrinkle to this Tampa Bay offense, which we thought was gonna be unstoppable, but now they're just you know, they're moderately hard to defend, which I think is is as good as you you would hope for at this time of year. Yeah. Yeah, Gronk did have some sort of i'll say high degree of difficulty catches. They were, uh, there were some nice plays here he does, though he lost the weight, and it's kind of like, oh, a light or Gronk like he's gonna be uh, you know, he's gonna be faster, he's gonna look like it's or something and no, no, no, he's just basically lose the best part of him, which was the dominant blocker. Like he's he's just a skinnier version of the of the guy who kind of limped through the season exactly. Uh, And we did have some Rodgers and Dominicong Sue drama here. I I didn't I I had no idea. They just don't like each other, and I don't know what they said to each other. I don't have any real insight to add to that. Sue hit Rogers with a with a late hit, roughing the passer penalty. It was not really a violent hit. Uh, it was kind of a I don't know what to think that sack at the end of the first half. I mean, that's not really a violent hit, I guess, but Sue just sort of Sue just sort of shoved him down like a like a a very large man like shoving a child to the ground or something that that's a horrible image, but it's kind of what it uh, what it felt like. Yeah, And what's weird about Sue is like I think that he can turn that on. Um, you know, he can turn that on so quickly. And I do think that, like he reminds me of a lot of these pass rushers that age really well, but you know, are good situationally, and you know, this is this is what they keep him around for. He's an agitator. He knows how to get in people's heads. He knows how to bother people, and clearly, you know that was one of those things where he was in Roger's head. Yesterday, Rogers had said that this goes back a long time, that you know, they don't like each other, and you know it's, uh, it's one of those things. I mean, it's it's an ingredient in in all this. I mean, if you're Tampa Bay, does having a Dominican sue on your roster for that one game almost justify as existence a little bit? I mean, you know, you've beat a four note Packers team and really kind of got your season back on uneven footing. Yeah, yeah, this is a This is a nice win for the Bucks here, who are sort of re established after that just really weird Thursday night lost in Chicago where they were shorthanded and uh, no penalties this game that that's been a that's been a big deal. And obviously, if this team does not get penalized for I don't know, four hundred yards every week like they had been coming up to this point, they are going to be quite good in the NFC. Yeah, let's let's let's go out to Steelers Browns here. This was one that I don't I mean, I think everyone was really looking forward to this one. See, you know, it really gauged not only where the Browns were, but where Ben Roethlisberger is because, um, it is a different Steelers offense this year, and you know, it hasn't been a high, uh high degree of difficulty with the schedule so far, and it was kind of worth seeing what Roethlisberger was going to be, especially against the Brown's defense that I mean, Myles Garrett had had been dominant to this point, but this was just an absolute blowout, uh And it kind of started with the Steelers defense did to that Brown's offensive line. Yeah, I mean, for me, it was all emblematic of that fourth and one that the Browns went for in the third quarter when they're down like two and a half scores. I think it was like they're down like seventeen points I think at that point. And if you look at what Pittsburgh did, you know they walked T. J. Watt up to the line, so they have five guys on seven blockers for Cleveland because Brown's had a tackle eligible and the tight end on the other side, and it wasn't even close. I mean, the five Steeler defenders just destroyed that Brown's offensive line. Um, you know, I think Kareem Hunt got tackled three or four yards in the backfield. It was so fast that neither of the two linebackers on that play actually had time to get into the play. Like the defensive line blew it up that quickly. And if you're looking for one thing that sums it up, I mean, here's your best run offense in the league versus your best past your best run defense. And so that's what happens. And Uh, I think Pittsburgh showed just how much stronger they are, maybe than some of the other teams in the league with with something like that. Yeah, I do want to highlight Bud Dupree in this game, who was who was dominant. He had two sacks, He had two more tackles for loss on this one. He had one play. Look, every time you hear an NFL coach talk about like, oh, we want to be more physical teams stuff like that, just kind of roll your eyes. And that's something that Mike Tomlin says a lot. Uh sometimes there's something to that though, And and I mean Bud Dupree how to play. And I still can't really wrap my head around it. It was like a second and twenty. It was a second along for the Browns, and it was a little you know, a little slip screen type thing to Austin Hooper and Hooper's running downfield and Bud Dupree came up from behind and like decleted him. Usually, you know, if it's like a head on you know, head on collision, you know, a guy gets knocked over a type of thing. But it just must be so sucky to like be Austin Hooper at that point where you're you're running down field and someone comes from behind you and and again it's just you know, it's like one of those videos of like, uh, the when the dog knocks over the toddler or something like that. Uh, and just get to get and I apologize that I have so many children getting the second time. I've got I gotta figure out who else can can hurt kids around the rest of the show. Uh. But yeah, it just suck to be like heading down field and not a blindside hit. Just I don't know, just a very large strong man just just violently puts you on the ground. And this is. Uh. The Pittsburgh defense now, right is one of those things where you know, I think we have to get careful and you know, especially the way that we have described the forty Niners defense, the Seahawks defense, like this is gonna be good forever. No, but it's good right now. And it's good because everybody is operating at their peak and everybody is healthy and you know Bush's injury aside um. You know, I think that you know, every the contract situations are right, the money is right, Like these are one of these things where if you're Keith Butler, like this comes around once every ten years where you know you have the talent, this is a super Bowl caliber defense, and you know it just shows. I mean, his early down blitz is I mean, Pittsburgh blitz is more in early downs than any team in football because they just don't care. They know they can get home, they know that the coverage is going to back them up, and it's just a fun team to watch right now. Yeah. Yeah, And and like you said, they are blitz happy. They're blitz happy on early downs. Their m O is that they typically rushed four on third down and play coverage and usually some sort of disguised exotic looking coverage, and uh, I was scarious to see how Baker Mayfield would react to this. And you know, you you know, you can say he had the he had the rib injury that he was dealing with in this one. Obviously, the Steelers are very good offensively anyway, but uh, like the two interceptions especially, I mean, that was a formula for a guy who's not seeing the field. And maybe later in the season we'll get into, uh some some of baker struggles playing from within the pocket on some of these past obvious situations, but I mean, this was I wanted to see where Baker was at this point. And again, you know, it's it's not the end of the world, but uh, I mean he was he was not up to he was done up to the task in this game now, and he was drifting again. I mean, you know, he was doing what he did last season when when trouble arises. And I don't know, you know, I still think that some of the route concepts are still just a little bit elongated, like maybe they're trying to pull off more double moves and stuff like that, stuff that they had success with in the middle weeks. But this was one of those games where you had to design everything to get the ball out quickly, almost what they did against Baltimore, you know, and even though that wasn't successful, but just to get the ball out of his hands so he's not taking shots in the ribs every uh, every couple of snaps, and and that was certainly in a you know, that had an effect on everything. That's why we saw case keenum at the end of this game. But you know, it's weird. I mean, you know, I just thought that this this time, this offense was going to be a little bit more on a on a stop watch and a little bit more on a schedule, but especially against Pittsburgh, Like I don't know why. You know, you weren't as regimented more so than than you had been previously in other games. And Ben Roethlisberger did start this game a little bit slow with some of the quick stright stuff. Then they sort of opened things up as as a game went along. And uh, the numbers weren't huge, didn't have to be huge because they were playing with a lead pretty much the entire way. But I mean, he just he threw the ball really well. And I know that sounds like a sort of throwaway line. But I feel like you have to go back to almost like early twenty eighteen or even seventeen, because I even think the last year of the Antonio Brown season, uh, I think there were a lot of prayers being thrown up that their receivers were just winning on uh. In this one, I mean, rotheris Worker was just putting the ball wherever he wanted to put it. And there were also I mean, look, there were some difficult throws the intermediate level. There was, you know, a throw over the top to Chase Claypool. I mean, this was just incredibly encouraging if you are if you had any sort of worry about this Steeler's offense. Yes, So those three big throws that he made to Chase Claypool this season, like the three that everyone would remember as Steelers fans, none of them occurred on a play where he had more than a yard one point two yards a separation. So that's what next Gen stat said. Um, so they all had about chance of being completed. That's pretty incredible for Roethlisberger. And it's really interesting because at the beginning of that game, it almost looked like there was something wrong with his shoulder again, like he was kind of throwing from like a weird arm slot a little bit, and I was like, oh no, What's what's going on here? And then he just uncorks these things like in the second and third quarter, and you're like, okay, he's just you know, it's it's like when you're a runner and you're just aware of your pace and you know, you know how much gas you need to use. At this point, He's just like, yeah, I'm not I'm not going to go all out right now. I'm I'm an old dad and and this is what I have to do, um for the first quarter of the season. And we're five and O, like, you know, I'll bring out the old stuff when I have to. You know, I'll make myself tired when I need to. But I don't need to do that right now. All right, let's uh, let's go out to the surprise of the day and that was in Foxburg where the Broncos and and the Patriots, who we haven't seen either of these teams and I don't know months, but they go out there and the Bronch those pretty much control this one. You know, they went through defense and through uh, you know, through through a run game in this one. Uh, this is what you worry about a little bit if you're the Patriots, or this is what I worry about at this point. So the Patriots are playing from behind, Cam through two interceptions. They were deflected interceptions. So I don't want to go nuts here and and and and say that there was a you know, some sort of meltdown. Ryan Iszo had a downfield fumble on one of their better offensive plays, which is just unfortunate. But Cam as the two deflected interceptions, and the Patriots are forced to play behind. And we saw them play from behind in Seattle, or at least that was a back and forth game earlier this year, and you would have said, uh, like okay, yeah, they'll they'll be fine if they if they kept themselves in these kinds of situations. Josh McDaniels ended up resorting to a lot of gadget type stuff. And and when McDaniels has done that in the past, it's been those games where like, you know, oh, Gronkowski and Edelmen are both out, so now they're you know, just throwing to a bunch of dudes. And look, the skill position guys are not good in New England. Uh it's Edelman and really a bunch of guys who maybe would not start anywhere else around the league. And kill Harry does things every once in a a while. But uh, I I guess the fact that McDaniels didn't trust uh what would sort of be a traditional offense to get a go in this game, I think was a bit of a red flag here. Yeah, it was interesting. I mean, you know, we've never been in this situation before with the Patriots. We don't know what to think because there is no baseline for something like this. You know, are they getting desperate, are they shuffling through things? Or is this a Patriots team that then emerges in November with something that's twice as hard to defend is what they showed in September. And you know, we just don't know. But I think that for sure, the skill position, um, the depletion of talent there is real. I would be shocked if they didn't go above and beyond at the trade deadline to try to rectify that. You know, this is still a team that I think can make the play office, can win that division. I mean, I don't think, um, the Bills are necessarily going to run away with it from here, but who knows. I mean, it's it's really interesting again we you know, it destroys my narrative right that Bill Belichick was the mastermind because Tom Brady beat the Packers on Sunday, So we have to stop stop talking like that. I will say, you can stick to that take for now. Belichick made the point afterwards and someone asking about it, so I don't want to say like Belichick showed up with with excuse as ready, but you know, they haven't practiced in person very often over the last week and a half here, so, uh, they were up against some things and again the interceptions were deflected past is. One of them was kind of ugly. It was just sort of a uh, you know, they're they're trying to uh get it to James White on little jet sweep type of screen type thing and it just got snuffed out. But uh, this also could have been uglier, though Broncos end up settling for six field goals for the points in this one to them uh deep red zone where they just couldn't punch it in. Oh uh it might have been also if Drew lock isn't throwing interceptions throughout the fourth quarter when they're playing with the lead. It might have been a lot uglier here, but uh, yeah, Drew Lock was. Drew Lock was back, um and you you occasionally saw the arm talent all the stuff, and and obviously there's a tough matchup for any quarterback going to to Foxboro, but um, Drew Lock was was a little bit shaky in this one. Yeah, and you know, I think that's gonna it's gonna take some time. But this offense, to me, just doesn't meet him halfway. Um, like we saw the Broncos offense down the stretch last year, meet him halfway. I think we're trying to shove him into a box that I don't know if he necessarily fits in. But it's frustrating because the arm talent is certainly there. Um, you know, he's got that short term memory that a lot of people valuing quarterbacks, he's not afraid to go deep and uh but I don't know. I would like to see a little bit more of an effort put into to get him in a system that is going to accentuate his ollance a little bit more and and something just a little bit more unique outside of the Pat Shermer sort of bubble that we saw over the last couple of years. Brandon McManus six or six megal leg that's what we used to call him when he was at UH. I covered the Giants when he lost the training camp kicking battle too. Ah. That was his rookie year out of Temple. But he would just like he would show up at practice and just like rock like seventy yard field goals and so we would call him megal leg and uh, we would make jokes about him kicking it from MetLife Stadium, like over over the Hudson River into New York City and then he just like and then he they cut him and we were like, what the what the hell? And then he ended up making the making the Broncos. But it was it was Josh Brown. I think that he uh, he couldn't beat out that that training camp. I bet the Giants would like to have him back there. But I thought you were about to say you covered him at Temple, and I would I would have been shocked that you covered Temple football when you were at the starlect the Owl's baby. Al Golden was the head coach there and he was a Jersey guy. So at the Star Ledge you covered everybody from New Jersey. Here you go, all right, Connor, hang on one second, you go away because time for the SI Fantasy segment, presented by Draft Kings every Monday. I am joined by Michael Fabriano. We are going to run through the early, the very early way for a while. We're dodn't be done with a week, but that's okay because you need to know this stuff as soon as possible. So uh fabs, what's going on? Man? Uh we uh? We're week six here. I mean they're still guys out there though, And let's start with the running backs. Yeah, there are. It's a little bit thin at running back. The biggest and most popular claim this week will probably be Boston Scott because Miles Sanders got banged up and Philadelphia has a short week, and he was in this position earlier in the season and he was a bum. He was an absolute dud. But you've got buys, you've got injuries. Boston Scott is gonna end up being a flex starter this week against the Giants to match up his right and volume should be on his side of Sanders is out this week. Jay McKissick is also worth rostering fourteen touches eighty four yards over fourteen points against the Giants. He has twenty two targets and nineteen catches in his last three games. That's a bunch. And he faces the Cowboys in Week seven, so that is also a favorable matchup. Jerick McKinnon's probably owned in most leagues, but if somebody dropped him, you may have to pick him back up because Raheney Mostard hurt his ankle against the Rams and his status for the upcoming game against the Patriots is uncertain at this point early in the week, I J. K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards both have buys, but mark Ingram was injured, so those guys are worth a stash at this point if you're desperate. Frank Gore and Michael p Ryan, but the Jets stink and those are just warm bodies. Honestly. Damian Harris should be owned, uh in more than forty three percent of leagues, which is his sundage right now on ESPN. And then you know Jiovanni Bernard. If you have Joe Mixon, he's been a little bit dangged up this season. This should be a reminder that you should probably go out and grab him as a handcuff in case Mixing is injured badly enough where he's gonna be forced to this time. I said, Bernard is nice to have it Mixings out. I mean, Bengals are gonna be trailing in plenty of games. Berne can catch the ball. You got something going there? Yeah, absolutely, Let's let's go receivers. Travis Fuldum is a thing, folks. Last week I spent all of my fab budget on him in the scott Fish Bowl, and I'm pretty happy that I did. I didn't like the matchup against Baltimore. How can you write? I mean Travis fuldom against Baltimore, I have again, and he wasn't doing much right and then Philadelphia had to just throw it and throw it and throw it. And WinCE ended up having a nice game from a fantasy standpoint, and so did fold him. Ten targets, seventy five yards, a touchdown in almost twenty fantasy points. He's got twenty three targets over the last two weeks. That's a lot, all right. And his next three games Giants Thursday night, Cowboys by Giants again, that is a great matchup line up there for a full of him. Now, I know, like de Sean Jackson supposed to come back this week and has on Jeffrey will be back to but he's become the number one guy in Philadelphia, which is crazy considering all of the options we had going in in the preseason, including uh Jalen Reagor who's now no longer on the fantasy radar. Te Higgins still owned in only forcent of leagues on an ESPN, which is crazy. Eight targets, six catches hunted twenty five yards over eighteen fantasy points against the Colts. He has six targets in five straight games. He's had thirty two targets in the last four weeks. Hey, guys, go out and pick this guy up. I mean, I know A. J. Green had a good game, but this is the number one wide receiver in Cincinnati. At least he's a very close second if you consider Tyler Boyd the number one guy, and he's been better than Boyd over the last few weeks, and other wide receivers to go out and grab. Tim Patrick had a nice game against the Patriots, and you've got the Chiefs up next. Not a great matchup, but could be a high scoring game. Adam hum Freeze six targets, six catches in the touchdown against Houston, James Washington. Hell, anybody in Pittsburgh right now except for I guess ju Ju because he's been an absolute disappointment. But James why Washington as well as Deante Johnson being out, claypol has got to be long gone, Chase Claypol's better be long gone. But if you're looking for a wide receiver, James Washington and then the Colts have a bye this week. But Marcus Johnson has been pretty good. Zach Pascal is also in the mix, but those guys are less likely to be added because they're not playing in Week seven. Not fair enough, how about let's go Let's go quarterback now. So the number one ad for me among players who is probably available is Teddy Bridgewater and you but wait, Fabs, he sucked against the Bears, Like, yeah, well, most quarterbacks sucked against the Bears. This is all about Week seven. The NFL is a week to week league. Bridgewater's got the Saints and then he's got in Atlanta after that. So Bridgewater should be owned across the board, especially if you're looking for BI week replacements or if your stream quarterbacks. Here's quarterbacks that are probably already owned, and if they're not, they should be. Gardner made you Uh they got the Chargers this week. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who's got to buy this week? But still he's been great. Ryan Tannehill. I don't get how he's not owned in a hundred percent of leagues fifty three point four percent of leaves on ESPN. This guy is owned. Does not want to win a lot of zero quarterback leagues out there. I mean, people must not want to win. I don't know, but today it's gonna be able to cross up. This guy should be studying every week for somebody, justin Herbert coming off of buy maybe Fantasy Owners by he's on a buy, I'm not gonna pick him up. He should be owned. And then if you're if you're hurting for a quarterback and it's staying on the waiver wire, Derek Carr has been pretty good. He's got the buck. So that's not a great matchup, but who knows that maybe it ends up into a turning into a shootout there. But Derek car is on the lower end of the quarterback so that you can target and if you really want to go deep, and I don't think this is gonna happen. But I mean you could also stash Jalen Hurts because Carson went hasn't been playing all that great, but he's giving you a lot of fantasy points. And also keep in mind that Offen some Lenni is just a mess right now. And how about how did the tight end position? Another situation where the number one AD is not playing next week, which is Trey Burton. Five targets, fifty eight yards, had two touchdowns, almost twenty two points against Cincinnati. UH. Burton had six targets last week as well, so he's getting more opportunities. MOI. Cox is banged up, but again they have a buy if you need something this upcoming week. Darren Fells is a touchdown in two straight games. They've got the Packers coming up, Anthony first skirt who stole all the Johnny Smith points, and Johnno has banged up in this game, so Johnno can't go. This is a very intriguing ad off the waiver wire. He had nine targets, nine catches, thirteen minute the touchdown Ryan fan Hills turn in even the UH the least known players into fantasy stars at least for one week and then Richard Rogers in Philadelphia. So zachar Itz got hurt right against Baltimore Dallas. Gottart's on, I are not sure if he's gonna be at this week, and the Eagles have that short week against the Giants. So if Urds can't play and Goddard can't come off, I are Richard Rodgers is going to be in playing some fantasy leagues. This is how bad the tight end positions we all thought coming into the season. It might get better because there's been a lot of young talent. Well, Johnny Smith has emerged. T J. Hockenson has been pretty good, no of fans been pretty good, but he's banged up right now. But there's been a bunch of other guys, you know, like Chris Herndon. I mean, what the hell's happened to him? I guess Jack's right, Adam Gates. There's been a bunch of other guys that we thought could potentially make an impact to who really haven't. So nothing from that rookie class either, no, well, I mean the rookie Titans typically don't do anything. Although Cole Commet was one of a whole bunch of no name tight ends who scored a bunch of fantasy points this weekend, while our superstars like Mark Andrews, m and John who got hurt. But Andrews was a bit of a disappointment with with boil getting an Indian zone uh this past week. Alright, Fabs, thanks for the vice. As always, you're with us every Monday, but you're here all the time. You just have to go to st dot com Slash Fantasy or even better or at least equally good, just subscribe to the SI Fantasy podcast wherever you get your podcast fast. We'll talk to you next week. Are all right, Connor, welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your eight minute break. Uh. We are going down to Nashville for Titans Texas probably the best game of the day here. I mean it went to overtime. So that's not that bold to take by by me, but this was anyone who sort of questioned, you know, uh, you know, Derrick Henry is great, but don't pay the running back type of thing. Uh. This is kind of why they paid the running back because Derrick Henry took this game over in the fourth quarter, and I mean he runs for a ninety four yard touchdown. Uh. You know he on a third and goal in overtime where a touchdown can win it. Uh, it's Henry out of the wildcat rather than the quarterback in the game from the five yard line. I mean this, this is still very much built around Derrick Henry. And he's a he's just a he's a unique talent. Yeah. I I was so wrong about him in so many different levels. I mean, I was vocal about the Titans not signing him to a long term deal because of the fear that everybody has when a running back has a four touch season like he did last year and what that does to the body. But he's just he's built differently and it's incredible. It's just he's involved in the passing game despite that size, and it's like nothing about this makes sense and it's just working. It's working really well. Yeah. The uh, the big touchdown run is what sort of brought him back in him because the Texans had uh made a big comeback on them, had taken the lead, and I don't I mean, who gets a ninety four yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter when you when you've just blown a big lead. I So I I wrote this and I took some heat for it, and I'll give a quick explainer. Uh, there's been lot of like Tannehill m VP candidate chatter. Uh. I really like Ryan Tannehill. I think he's great for the system. I I you know, there's no way you can say otherwise at this point. But the m v P stuff, they don't we saw it last January. They don't really want to put the ball in his hands and have him try to win games and and that sort of thing. And I just thought it, you know, when when Derrick Henry out of the wildcat from the five yard line, is your play on third and goal where you gotta have it? I think that says a little bit about what you think about your running back and what do you think about your quarterback. And I don't think they hate their quarterback. I just don't think they want to put their quarterback in a position where he has to, uh make that play to win the game if it's not something they can really specifically design out for him. You know, it's weird. I was thinking about this a lot um, you know, with Adam Gaze and the Dolphins game and all that, and you know, if you're the owner of the Dolphins, sitting there thinking did he just not know? Did A and Gates just not know that Ryan Tannehill would be perfect in this system? Or like like, if you're a coach, are you supposed to look at a guy and say, this is the offense that we have to run or is it just like a screw it will sign Ryan Tannehill and then he ends up being great and then you look smart, you know what I mean? Like, I just wonder how some of that stuff works sometimes. I mean, obviously, like in Baltimore the system is perfect for the quarterback and that was by design, But like with some of this other stuff, is it just like, yeah, it'd be great if it works out. I mean, you know, the Titans did start Marcus Mariotta over him for eight games, so it's not like they knew this was like going to be the perfect fit or else they probably would have played him since the beginning of the season. I think the fact that he has very defined reads and and a very defined role in this offense is is what he needed and it's what he's thriving with. And I think it's unfair to say a lot of guys could thrive this way. It is a quarterback friend of the offense, but I think it is especially perfect for for Tannel. I think the Miami thing. I mean, look, I'm not gonna uh, I'm not going to defend Adam Gaze because I just can't take the taunts and barbs that it would get me. But you know, Adam Gaze wants his quarterbacks to play at a very advanced veteran level as far as processing the game, and he does not give them a lot of help. And we've seen that's been the problem with Sam Donald to an extent. Sam Donald might have might have struggled regardless of where he landed, but um, that has been an issue there. So uh, you know, Tannehill. My criticism and Tannehill, and I was very critical of of Tannehill when he played in Miami was you know, pocket presence was not very good. Uh. He just didn't really look like a guy who is comfortable playing playing from the pocket, and that you know, that's an issue like a lot of offenses, Yeah, exactly, like and now he just he has a team where this this just fits what he does. And and yes, Derrick Henry does open up those uh you know, he he sucks up those linebackers just a little bit more than anyone else. And and it is uh a nice place to be for a quarterback. But good on Ryan Tannehill is my point. He's not an m v P though you can't have m v P who has such a defined role uh in an offense. And now everyone can send me their hate mail. And if I will accept your take if they throught all the Steelers, or I will I will uh yeah, well no I will. I will shoot down to take if they throe. Yeah, that's either way. There's going to be some drama. We're going to scream at each other. It's gonna be like whatever show. Skip Bayless is on the uh real quick before we move on to fours rams though Romeo Cornell takes a seven point lead, goes for two to try and put the game away. Obviously didn't work. But were you pro or con on the call? Yeah? I mean who cares at this point now? And my take is gonna be completely different when we talk about the Washington game there, even though the teams are similarly um, you know, uh out of it. But I would say that, you know, if you're the Texans, it's almost like yeah, I mean you're the interim coach, so what do you care You're not going to be there next year. Uh, you're really just living in the moments, So why not create uh as Russell Brand or was it Russell Brand's character in UH Forgetting? Sarah Marshall said, just do the most interesting thing you can do in the moment. You know. Good for you, Romeo Cornell. You're you're doing what we're supposed to be doing here. You're living, You're living minute to minute. All right. The Sunday Night game. Sunday Night game. Coming deep into the show here, I feel like we've really offended the forty Niners and Rams at this point. But this game was a bit of a I don't want to call it dud. If you're a forty Niners fan, it was incredibly encouraging, not only because you win the game, uh, in which your home underdog, but uh, they finally just kind of did what they want to do offensively in the first half of a game, which I can't remember the last time we said that about this team. And they went out and they just they they held on the ball, They they had sustained drives. Kyle Shanahan dial up basically two routes that were not thrown behind the line of scrimmas, you dig routes off of play at and they both worked beautifully and Jimmy Garoppolo made the throws. And uh, other than that, their guys just you know, they got the ball into the hands of whether it was Raheem Mostard or Deebo Samuel or uh or George Kittle, they got into their hands early and they just broke tackles and they just kept the ball away from the Rams. Brandon, I you two getting getting involved here over the last few weeks, which was inevitable when I released him from my fantasy team. But um, you know, I think that they benefited. Uh, this was one of these games where Jimmy Garoppolo did throw some bad passes, like pick six worthy passes that were not taking advantage of um and you know, but it's weird. I mean, the Rams just can look so light speed and then just just slow down to a crawl at some points against some of their opponents. But this is good on good on the forty Niners. This was a classic forty Niners game from last year that we recognized and uh, they kind of showed off how deep they were weapon wise, how hard they are to tackle, how good they are creating yards after the catch for the eavers, and and maybe maybe all is not lost right there right now. Now, Look, they had an answer for Aaron Donald, which most people don't have. Lots of double teams for Donald, but largely neutralized in this one. So it's it's probably worth the investment. Yeah, I mean that's something that uh, you know, not a lot of people can say they did this year. So and uh, the Rams just kind of you know, this is the second time this year we've seen the Rams play from behind. Uh, they came back in Buffalo, they sort of stuck with their thing. They still ran the ball, they still use to play action. Uh, you saw the same thing. But they just they just kind of ran out of time and then they had they got deep red zone, Cooper cup drops a touchdown and they getting intercepted on the next play. Uh, they just you know, I don't know, In the Bills game, it's like, oh, good, they stuck to what they do, and in this game, it's like, ah, they had no urgency. So yeah, I guess it depends on the alcohol. And they were you know, there were like certain segments of the game where they were moving fast and I thought getting some headweight there. Um. I think there is that one drive that everything got blown up because of the holding penalty where they kind of picked up and they started going into the uh into the no huddle, and I just don't know why they're doing that not doing that more and UH. To further that point, I think that I don't know why every team didn't do that coming right out to start the season, like, because the one thing that you could contribue you could have controlled during the pandemic offseason was conditioning, right, you could have gotten your offense into better shape. You knew that the defense didn't have time to play together, was gonna have a harder time aligning. And so he's come out and you just play faster than everybody else. And I talked to some people who had expected that to be sort of a large portion of of the season this year, and we're just not seeing it. I was, I was really surprised. Let's let's go down to Carolina where the Bears moved to five and one, Uh, Look, this offense is bad and we'll probably say that all year. We'll probably say say that in the lead up to Super Bowl fifty five and postgame Super Bowl fifty five and Nick Foles is lifting along party trophy again. But uh, defensively, the difference between for this defense was the fact that they took the ball away a ton in eighteen. They didn't take the ball away much in twenty nineteen. Uh, they really hadn't taken the ball away much this season, so that made it even more. Uh, let's call it unusual. Some might say absurdly flukey that there were four in one coming in this game. But this game was different. They they had three takeaways. Uh. Two of them were interceptions. One of them was kind of a more giveaway by Mike Davis who seemingly just forgot he was carrying a football in the open field. But uh, they get three takeaways, they get four sacks. If the defense does this, then yes, it makes sense that they're going to win a lot of games in spite of the fact that the offense is I don't want to say league worst because the Jets are still out there, but uh, it's certainly bottom five in the NFL. Give me your bottom three right now. It has to be the Jets. Uh, as the worst. The Giant. I think what the Giants are doing offensively puts them in the bottom fire. I like Daniel Jones. I really do think Daniel Jones is going to work in a long term. It's just it's it's a it's it's an offense that doesn't really provide many answers for him. Uh And so yeah, I guess in that way, I would put Giants down there. Uh is anyone else worse than the Bears besides those two New York teams? Though? Who am I forgetting? Am I forgetting someone obvious? I think the Jaguars are better offensively than uh, certainly more enjoyable to watch. Yeah, I'm gonna put them at thirty in my offensive power rankings. Yeah, but you know your point, Your point is valid. I mean I like the fact that they're tough. I mean, you know, this is like, this is such a ridiculous dusty old platitude, But they are tough. I mean, this this team is good. You know, with Joe Judge, it's a Dave Gettleman problem. I think everybody can recognize that, right there are talent deficiencies throughout the roster, and they're just getting beat because they're not good enough, you know. And it's not because they aren't fired up to play. It's not because they're not technically sound, you know, any of that kind of stuff. It's just right now they're losing games because other teams have better players. But you know, this was one of those games where everything kind of just you know, came together and defensively, I mean, some of that stuff that um that worked really well against Washington was installed um like two or three days before the game, I think Joe Judge was saying afterwards. So I mean it seems like they're they're good things happening there. If you can install something like that like two days before a game, shut down an opponent play that well cause all those turnovers, I think you're in good shape. Kyle Allen almost redeemed himself. And by the way, we did transition to two giants versus football team very uh, very stealthily there. But yeah, Kyle Allen almost redeem himself a this one after after a meltdown. Yeah, uh, let's pause right here. Wait, did I miss something? Where were we started on Bears Panthers and anyone? It's oh man, you know what, maybe let's do it again, because when you when you started talking about like, you know they're they're tough, but they're winning, but you know they're losing it. I was like, I'm talking about the Bears or five in one, Connor. I know, I got lost because then you had you had talked about the Giants in your rankings, and then I was like, wait, what are we're talking I thought we were talking about the Bears, but we're talking about all right. Sorry, yeah, let's just go go back to that. I'm sorry, right, I mean, I'll set up I'll i'll finish my rankings. I'll announce the Bears is thirtieth. I'll count it back in three two one. Yeah, I think the Bears. I'm gonna put him thirty in my my offensive team power rankings. Here. They just don't make any sense to me. And that's what I love about this team. Like, if I had to pick one major regression candidate for the second half of the year, right, it's Chicago, and how many games have we watched? And uh, maybe this one not as obviously as some of the other ones, but Nick Foles is just masterful throwing pick worthy balls that just don't get picked off. I've never seen it happen before where a guy like it's almost like his football's go through defensive backs to the intended wide receivers. So I do think he's Uh, I do think they've been fortunate to this point. Dude, Am I ready to pennsylvan In? Is the division winners? Not even close? Yeah, Panthers kind of a bummer in this one. Uh nice story so far. They're still sitting at three and three. Nice overachieving team there, but you can't, uh, you can't give it away three times if you are this Panther's team and win a game like this. Let's uh, let's go, I don't know, let's go to the thirty first team in my imaginary offensive power rankings, and that's the Giants. Joe Judge gets on the board here, and uh, I don't know, they're they're they're kind of kind of doing a defense of There's been two good defensive performances in in the last three weeks, so let's say they're doing it defensively. Yeah, you know, and I think Patrick Graham has done a nice job, is their defensive coordinator. There. I think that Joe Judge that they inserted some stuff late in the week there that that really helped them. Um, if I was Ron Rivera, would I have not gone for the win and assumed that I could roll right back down the field and score on that game? Probably? But um, at the same time, you know, the Giants, I think everybody knows that this isn't a Joe Judge problem. This is just a talent deficiency problem. And I think that there are um that's they're just two different routes there. And so I think Joe Judges is playing as well as he can given the circumstances, the injuries, the talent um. But they're they're gonna have some work to do in order to sort of make this into a long term sustainable franchise. Yeah, Kyle Allen, uh look too bad giveaways in this one. I guess he looked a little more functional throughout this game though, So you know we I won't go nuts about the Dwayne Haskins thing this week, at least for one week. No, But it doesn't it seem to you to be a little bit of a of defeating your own point if you say that you're trying to stay alive in the NFC East by not playing Dwayne Haskins. But that you're trying to go for it to win the game. Um, because you're trying to teach the guys how to win. And that's how you teach guys how to win. So like, on one hand, you're doing a learning thing and on the other you're not doing a learning thing. You know, if does that make sense? Like it seems like he's defeating his own point there a little bit. My My problem with the whole Kyle Allen thing is uh. I mean, one, I just think Dwayne Haskins is better. I guess that's the that's really the core of the problem. But um, there's there's your point. There's also the fact that this offense overall just does not look functional with Kyle Allen back there for the most part. Uh. And there are a lot of guys on this team who will be uh trying to put out tape to get jobs next offseason, and and a lot of them will be on the fringe of the NFL. And when you're going out there and playing with the guy who uh just doesn't make you look very good, it's it's a problem. And Dwayne Haskins might have been more prone to mistakes. I again, I don't know if I buy that, But you could say he doesn't know the system as well and therefore he is maybe more prone to mistakes. But I don't think that affects uh your team the same way it does a guy who just isn't as capable as as the guy you just benched. Yeah, no, I agree, But I don't know. The NFC East is weird. I mean, it's it's gonna be strange when the Giants end up winning this whole thing and going to the playoffs. So it's I'm saying right now, the Eagles are are a absolute lock to in this division. I'll proclaim it right now. Uh, Eagles will win this They'll be playing in January. Uh they went to Baltimore. Sorry, they didn't go to Baltimore. They hosted Baltimore. Uh, fell behind early and then just scratching Claude their way back in again. Travis fulgum zach Ertz actually got hurt in this one. All the earth has been really struggling the last couple of weeks. Uh. You know, the fact that they got back into this game is just absurd because it is Carson Wentz and it is basically a practice squad around him. Right now, yeah, and I think that gets lost in the conversation. I think so much of it is, you know, putting pressure on him and talking about the development and what he's not doing. But you're right, I mean there's just there's nothing there. And I don't know how we got to this point. I mean this team was so deep, um you know, maybe two or three weeks ago um or in especially at the beginning of the season, like if you would have looked at every position, you would have said, man down the line, down the road, like this is one of the deeper rosters in the league. And you know, just for some reason, they just cannot stop getting bit by the injury bug. I don't know what what it is. Yeah, I mean this is going to be their chance coming up here. They have some guys come back, Alcon Jeffrey, DeShawn Jackson are almost back, and uh, Travis Fulgum has obviously emerged as the I don't know the reincarnation of Jerry Rice, who hasn't passed away yet, but somehow he was reincarnated as as Travis Fulgum. But they get Giants Thursday night, and then they get Cowboys with the extra rest, and then they get Giants again. I mean, this is their chance. Their offense has been making it work against really good teams the last couple of weeks, and now they have a chance to maybe pick on some teams that aren't so good. Yeah, noah, I I am. I'm eager for this renaissance that you've been promising for so long. Gary. I guess this is what I'm saying. Seventy percent chance to win the division for the Philadelphia Eagles is what I've calculated. I was gonna say, I thought you were reading off like five thirty eight or something like that. I was like, Oh, I strangely feel better about this now. Just the Gary calculation. It's on my It's on my t I graphic calculator. Got it. Uh, Atlanta first game without Dan Quinn in forever. They go to Minnesota and they get a They get a real easy win. Kirk Cousins a bit of a meltdown early in this one, but uh uh, yes, they took advantage of of Kirk Cousins struggling and the Vikings, as we say all the time, are not really built to play from behind. Certainly. I mean, no one in the league is built to play from behind. By like three touchdowns, but uh, Falcons jump on them. They take advantage. Julio Jones is back, and Julio Jones made a couple of big plays in this one, so uh kind of you know, just a sense of what the Falcons were supposed to be this year. Yeah, which is a shame. You know, you you're really kind of hoping that we would have seen that happen and and come alive before all this happened. But um, yeah, I mean I think that they will now be the classic pain in the butt um from here on out towards the end of the season. So we'll see what happens there. But uh yeah, I mean Matt Ryan four touchdowns, Julio Jones, everybody looks great again, and uh poor Dan Coy and you know, you just would have hoped it would have happened for him while while he was still there. I just mentioned that nobody comes back from three touchdowns, but that's what the what the Colts did. Uh this one was. I mean, look, I'm big on the Colts. I do think the Colts are really good. Uh, they were getting pushed around by the Bengals in the first quarter of this game. It was just kind of like, what is what is going on here? Uh? Bengals take a twenty one nothing lead. Colts. Uh they come back. Look, Philip Rivers, you kind of wondered if at this stage of his career he can he can put together this kind of comeback. And granted the Bengals, the Bengals are just not very good offensively, and it did make a big difference having Anthony Costanzo back in the lineup and having that offensive line at full strength of the Colts. But they did it, and they even did it with the Rivers, you know, forcing a downfield interception for a good measure in the second half. But they end up coming back and and and winning this one, and the defense just sort of shut down Joe Burrow going forward once they gave up three early touchdowns. Yeah, but I still think, you know, if I'm if I'm gauging Cincinnatium saying that they're trending upward, and if I'm gauging Indianapolis, I still say that they're making me perpetually nervous. And you know, it's one of those things where if you're a Chargers fan, you're sort of looking over and you're saying, oh, like there's a reason why all of our games were chaotic and hectic. Because now all of the Colts games are chaotic and hectic, and they're behind, and there's just this weird ebb and flow to it, And I think that that has something to do with the with the quarterback. I will be cautiously optimistic about the about the Colts going forward at this point, but it is it is cautious. Uh, Dolphins Jets, I don't know. I don't know, man. This game was pretty much what we expected, except for the fact that the Dolphins had dolas, had no third down conversions until Tua came in for for mop up duty. At the end, they lose the turnover battle and they win the game by twenty four points, which is, Um, it's just fun. Two is face mask is awesome. Uh, It's like I've never seen that face mask before. That's sort of my my first takeaway. My second takeaway, um, is if you're Adam Gaze, like you cannot be trying harder to get fired at this point, Like this is office space level, like just not chilling up for work or gutting a fish at your desk because you don't feel like filling out your papers, Like I I it's wild to me, um that uh, this is being tolerated at this point. The the thing that drives me nuts about this team, and frankly it's it's been the thing that has driven me nuts. Uh And I've been uh probably Adam Gaye's biggest supporter over the years. UH hadn't winning record coming into this year with the starting quarterback healthy, despite having bottom five rosters everywhere he's been. But they get into like third and long situations and they will run like one receiver past the sticks and everyone else sits down like five yards in front of the sticks, and like that's that. It's like what what? What's the plan here? Because you don't have anyone who breaks tackles on this team. It's just like in in these surrender field goals, like I don't understand. You know, it's all very bad. And I understand the talent on the roster was at a certain point, Um, you know when you took over and you knew this was gonna be a rebuild. But if you're the at this point, you can't you can't legitimize keeping him around because a Trevor Lawrence isn't gonna play for him. You know, he's not gonna want to come there um and and be. I just think that this roster is so bad that I don't think another quarterback fixes anything. Now. I mean, they need, they legitimately need seventeen starters, seventeen new starters. Uh, and they're not going to be able to do that in one offseason. I feel like Gaye is gonna be poison to the to the point where he's gonna be coaching the XFL next time. Next time we see him, Yeah, the revamped XFL baby, and they'll take him. Uh. Final one Lions Jaguars. Lions get pretty easy win down in Jacksonville. I don't have a whole lot to say about the Gardner Minshew attempted a couple of throws that just sort of it was like like, this is, uh, this is not what you want in your your you know, potential franchise quarterback. I don't think he is the guy their long term. But uh, now other than that, I don't know. Lions go down and take care of business against a team that they should take air of business against, and uh, I don't know if the Jaguars are really equipped to take advantage of anyone. Yeah, it was fun. Well a lasted the wild Anonymous Jaguars just like coming out and and playing with their hair on fire. But you know it was cool that their field goal kicker had literally never attempted a field goal before um and and drilled one in this game. So that's that's something that can hang their hat on, you know. Yeah, the the other John Brown John without the age. All right, Uh, Connor, I will be listening to you later this week on the week Side podcast with Jenny Rernis. Go subscribe to that now if you haven't already, but that's gonna do it. Otherwise we'll not talk until week seven games have been lead. I literally just got a text from my wife in the other room that said, there's no line at the d m V. You need to leave right now and go because my license has been My license has been expired since the beginning of the pandemic. So that's what I'll be doing for the next few hours. Nice, I can't think of a better way to spend your money. All right, Connor, I'll talk to you man. The MMQB Monday Morning NFL podcast is Connor Or and me Gary Gramling. We are produced by Shelby Royston s Eys executive producer of Podcast of Scott Brody. Ben Eagle is director of Editorial Project and Product. Mark Ravick is Emeritus editor of the MMQB. Andy Benoit is the founder of the MMQB NFL podcast. Be sure to subscribe to this feed, as well as all the feeds for the MmpB podcast, as the week Side Podcast, the Albert Breer Show. They're all for free on Apple Podcasts, and after you do subscribe, since you love the shows, leave a rating and review for all of them. It really does help other people find them, which are also available on Spotify Radio dot com, Stitcher, si dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

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