0:00

The Around the NFL Podcast.

0:04

That's a great point, Mark

0:08

Surprice. Welcome

0:10

to the Around the NFL Podcast. I'm

0:12

Greg Rosenthal alongside QB Index

0:15

guru Mark Sessler,

0:17

and yeah, this is a surprise drop. This

0:20

is your favorite, uh musical

0:23

artist just releasing an album

0:25

like a mix tape on a Friday,

0:27

and you're just happy to get the extra content. Hopefully.

0:30

Mark, we hinted at it on our Tuesday

0:32

show and now we are doing more than

0:34

hinting at it, and we thought that we would

0:36

just take a breeze through a trip

0:38

through the QB Index where we stand. Of course, I'm

0:41

uh doing this with the

0:43

creator of the QB Index, so it's sort

0:45

of like there's an interesting dynamic at

0:47

there. Well, I do miss it. I

0:49

have to admit I do miss watching

0:52

the quarterbacks extra close and

0:54

then ranking them. And that's why this

0:56

week we thought it would be fun just get give a little

0:59

extra episode would try something different,

1:02

largely because Mark's concept

1:04

for this week's article,

1:06

which I implore everyone to check out at

1:09

NFL dot com slash QB Index

1:12

is amazing. You wrote high coups

1:15

for all thirty two players. So we're gonna go

1:17

through a good junk of them. We're

1:19

gonna hear your high coups and

1:21

um, and I'm also gonna maybe

1:24

push around about these rankings and see

1:26

see what I would expect you to. How how have

1:28

you enjoyed it? We you're now six seven

1:30

weeks in. It's a lot of work. The thing I love about

1:33

it is we are already

1:35

taking game notes and what, trying to watch

1:37

everything for our Thursday preview show and

1:39

just overall gaining ideas

1:41

of who these teams are. And it marries right

1:44

away on Monday writing it um

1:46

with the project that's due essentially to say

1:49

that's fair. Now hands this is looking for

1:51

us. He was like Mark, Mark and Greg show

1:53

that could be spicy. He wants us to have a

1:55

confrontation. I

1:57

think that Dan often um uh

2:00

silently, not even maybe intentionally creates

2:04

um the environment where you and I get into the conflict.

2:06

I feel like we're pretty polite with each other,

2:08

but we'll try to we'll try to. Yeah, we're pretty

2:11

into it in this in format. I

2:13

think you're ranking of two A Togo volo

2:15

is terrible. Mark. Now uh, let's

2:17

start near someone near

2:19

the top. Um, Let's start with

2:22

Justin Herbert I don't know why, just because I

2:24

find him interesting. Right now you have him number

2:26

five the top five right now, Josh

2:28

Allen moved up to one. Patrick Mahomes

2:31

is at too. I feel like those

2:34

have to be the top two in some order. You could

2:36

argue either way. You got Hurts in Lamar

2:39

three and four. I don't have

2:41

any argument there, although it's interesting that

2:43

Lamar struggled the last few weeks

2:46

and yet there's not anyone logical to pass them.

2:48

And then Herbert here at five.

2:51

Go for your high coup, my high

2:53

coup for justin Herbert human tornado

2:55

trapped inside hyper Milk Toast Bolts

2:58

offensive scheme sit. I

3:00

would point to Monday Night Football as a

3:02

kind of case in point I, just because I so

3:04

Herbert is I want to sit with that haiku

3:06

a little more. There's a certain

3:09

amount of syllables each time. Yes, it's

3:11

gotta be um five seven five,

3:13

And I would say, like the reading of the hikup

3:16

is important too, so don't don't rush

3:18

through it. Okay, That's all I'm saying, because that was great.

3:20

Trapped inside hyper Milk Toast Bolts.

3:23

I mean I was in the newsroom, like counting on my

3:25

fingers one through five and then one through

3:27

five and seven, and there are various like television

3:29

executives looking at me like I would just done a bag

3:31

of cocaine, so you know, after

3:34

the pilocybin. It feels like,

3:36

yeah, Joe Lombardi could

3:39

use some psilocybin maybe to live

3:41

in up this uh mind going yes,

3:43

it's story, Vanilla, It's

3:46

it's weird. It's almost like they've got this the

3:48

stallion of a of a horse here, but

3:51

they're just they're they're

3:53

just uh, you know, letting kids

3:55

ride them for birthday parties instead of taking

3:58

them out into the field. I was trying to really know. I

4:00

love what you said though, you and Grave Digger

4:02

on the Monday Night recap that he's sort of a deodorant

4:05

for the rest of that operation on some level.

4:08

And it's like they're not using him even. I mean,

4:10

they already had unlocked him in years

4:12

prior, and it's like we're getting a lesser

4:14

version of him now, a safer version. The whole offense

4:17

doesn't seem to be uh equipped

4:19

with any daring do I know, we hit Brady

4:21

hard on the Tuesday show so we

4:24

can keep it quick, But I just love the hiku so much

4:26

that I want you to go, well, this highko has been asked

4:28

to um this is a this is an Easter

4:30

eggor because this high coo will not be appearing in print,

4:33

but um it is two Seltzer's

4:36

at the wedding of Robert Kraft

4:39

and people freaking out. I

4:43

I love that we're giving an exclusive

4:47

hiku to our podcast listeners because

4:49

you guys deserve it. Like too hot for NFL,

4:52

I guess hot com. I hope that doesn't make you

4:54

uncomfortable, but yeah, I just I

4:56

have a hard time feeling that him

4:58

him going out on and I had much to do with.

5:01

So I think that's why I pointed to it, because it's

5:03

I feel like everything around the Tom Brady

5:05

experienced this season, because we can tell

5:07

he's a little unsettled emotionally.

5:09

I mean, he was just going off on his lineman

5:12

in the Steeler's loss, and it's like,

5:14

oh, what can we blame it on his personal life?

5:16

The fact that he went to a wedding, which he's like, these

5:18

guys do all sorts of things all the time. I mean,

5:21

I just didn't find that to be a factor in his play. He's

5:23

throwing the ball really well. I think

5:25

it's gotten underrated. He had

5:27

three or four great throws

5:30

in that game. The problem is everything

5:32

in between. Yeah, he's had a few more misses,

5:34

I would say than normal, But I think it's more

5:36

he's just getting rid of the ball quickly

5:38

because he doesn't trust what's going to happen, and

5:40

it makes them a little boring to watch two.

5:43

But he's still got that arm. All of these KOs

5:45

are so good, Mark that I actually

5:48

feel like we're losing I'm

5:50

losing something by not having all of them. Like I

5:52

didn't even want to discuss Jaylon Nerds, but I just want

5:54

you. I do want to hear that, yeah

5:57

is so good. They built a statue for

6:00

owls four months away from

6:02

a jail in Carving. That

6:04

would be great, and it's Super Bowl they

6:06

that is it was your super Bowl runner

6:09

up picks, so we could both be feeling

6:11

great during Super Bowl Week and then

6:14

you just root for the other team, and then

6:16

you would be right and root

6:18

for the Eagles, and I will be right. They've set

6:20

a precedent here, like if if

6:22

they win the Super Bowl, Sirianni

6:25

and Hurts have to have one next year. They

6:27

have to also run a Philly special in

6:29

that game if they get there. He's

6:32

very steady. He's not um,

6:35

gonna kill you from the pocket all

6:37

the time. But I think his improvement

6:39

as a passer has

6:42

been notable, Like he makes some

6:44

really nice throws where he buys time

6:47

in the pocket to throw instead of

6:50

running. It's certainly not all R P

6:52

O stuff. And he's a good decision maker. Like how

6:55

many times does he have been like, oh, why did you do

6:57

that? Jail hurts? No? I mean it's

6:59

it's it's on a inn full like the bad thros he's

7:01

made too, And like I I I

7:03

feel like I can't find another quarterback on this

7:05

list that made a bigger leap from where we

7:07

ended with him last year and what that offense

7:10

was to what it can do now. And I mean he's

7:12

at three, and I guess in another season maybe he wouldn't

7:14

be be at three. But it's been a

7:16

tough year to be like, oh, this guy's coming

7:18

from the wilderness and sweeping up the list. There

7:20

aren't a lot of guys doing that right now. It's a great point,

7:23

justin Graver, who's here with us, Hey,

7:26

just then, and how many times have

7:28

we um that's

7:31

how you do. I thought I could get away with it without Dan

7:33

No. I mean I like this. I like the whole

7:36

bit, and you know, feel free to do do drops

7:38

in here all of your normal stuff.

7:41

You just looked like a man who had something to say.

7:43

Well, I was gonna bring it up, and Mark just mentioned it. The

7:45

leap that Jalen Hurts has made. I feel like

7:47

it's underrated and often not talked

7:49

about. Like everyone talks about Josh Allen being

7:51

this guy who improved so

7:53

much and that it's so rare to see someone do that.

7:55

But Jalen Hurts, I mean his last year at

7:57

Alabama before he went to Oklahoma, he

8:00

was a terrible passer of the football

8:02

and he's just improved so much. And I

8:04

think people kind of mocked Nick

8:06

Sirianni for some press conference things that he

8:08

said when he first got hired, but

8:11

he deserves a lot of credit for under

8:13

the radar as a coach. I feel like there should be more

8:15

like Nick Sirianni think pieces out there.

8:18

That's a good point. I mean, the people have just sort

8:20

of accepted them as a superpower, awfully

8:22

quick, and you're right, like

8:24

what I did you know, that's a badman own back here.

8:26

But I did a sandwich prop He's

8:28

gonna make the Pro Bowl team. Jalen Hurts as

8:30

like the first time in a in a pretty loaded NFC

8:33

for quarterbacks that he would be one of the top

8:35

three, And I and everyone at least

8:38

took the sandwich on that. It's

8:40

it's been really impressive. I remember moved

8:42

the sticks. Our friend Daniel Jeremiah,

8:45

who I'm excited to announce is

8:47

going to start a podcast.

8:50

Daniel, Yeah, yeah,

8:52

like talk about the draft. Have read Bucky

8:55

Brooks. I think it's gonna be good. It's got a

8:57

lot of knowledge. I remember during the draft

8:59

process him wrestling with Jalen

9:01

Hurts because he said he

9:04

clearly isn't there as a passer. But

9:06

we're seeing these sort of athletes do

9:08

well at quarterback. And there's something

9:11

that everyone who's ever met Jalen Hurts

9:13

says is so special about him that

9:15

I just have to put him in my top fifty, which

9:17

was higher than most people had him. I just have

9:19

to put him there just because even

9:21

if it doesn't make sense, he hasn't shown it on

9:23

tape. He's just like such an amazing individual.

9:27

And wants it so bad that he thinks like there's a

9:29

good he could get there some day. I mean there's there's

9:31

locker room clips of him weekly talking to the team.

9:33

That's sort of been the unanimous thing. You know, we're a year

9:36

removed from It's like this whole thing Jalen Hurts

9:38

is simply on a tryout to see if the

9:40

Eagles can't find something better. Now it's like, uh,

9:42

that tryout worked right, And also,

9:44

can we hold off on the like Jalen Hurts

9:47

contract extension talk,

9:49

Just let's just enjoy the season. Just

9:51

just let this season play out and then

9:53

we can get to that. The defect ball is more

9:56

interesting and the rest of this season

9:58

will greatly in form the contract,

10:01

you know, So just we don't need to talk about

10:03

it now. It's just

10:04

it's just

10:06

like, enjoy it. There you go, Sean Kelly,

10:09

I love it. He's in the back cheering our

10:12

resident Eagles fan. We've got so many Eagles

10:14

fans everywhere, it's it's ridiculous.

10:16

The rest of the top ten Gino Smith, Joe Burrow,

10:19

Aaron Rodgers at nine and

10:22

to a who Yeah, it's tough to know

10:24

what to do with injured guys, I might add him a little

10:26

tough to know what to do with a Rogers. Yeah,

10:31

I think you're I

10:35

would say, you're being generous. But it comes

10:37

back to what we're dealing with in the

10:39

NFL, which Justin and I talked about on Monday

10:41

night, to of like just offenses are down yards

10:44

per attempt is way down in terms

10:46

of quarterbacks, and so once

10:48

you go through the rest of the list, Actually, I don't have

10:50

anyone that like screams they

10:52

have to be ahead of Aaron Rodgers.

10:55

I personally would have Tanno Hire, but we'll we'll get

10:57

to have a question for Mark. Yes, what

10:59

does Gino Smith have to do to climb

11:02

higher than he is? He's seventh? Um,

11:05

I mean that he's seventh. The guys

11:07

he's behind, other

11:09

than Hurts might all be Hall of Famers. Yeah,

11:11

I think it's I think it's that. I think it's just like we're

11:14

you're getting closer and closer where it should be. Based

11:16

almost entirely on this season. I think

11:18

you're there after four or five weeks, I would say,

11:21

but I also like, look at the last game he had, it's like

11:23

he's been good, he's been great. I mean,

11:25

I guess I could go put him at three or four, but I

11:27

and I see that, you know, also like I'll

11:29

go check like pff or something after I

11:32

do it. And I mean all season long, he's

11:34

been riding the top. PFF. He's he's doing,

11:36

he's qbr darling. But

11:38

it's like I just don't I look at the overall person

11:41

and body of work to some degree, still here

11:43

in week six and and he's seven. Is fine

11:45

for MEAs like is he a better quarterback than Tom

11:47

Brady?

11:49

I guess, But part of it is like Tom Brady

11:51

has been in a rough environment, but he but he has

11:54

been he If you didn't know their names, you could

11:56

you could make a case for Gino Smith being high. I think

11:58

you gotta go purely on this year. And

12:01

uh, I don't think it's crazy to have him,

12:04

That's what I mean. I don't think it's crazy to have him at seven

12:06

purely on this year. Yes, all the numbers,

12:09

UH would say higher, They

12:11

would say yeah, fourth, probably

12:14

behind Hurts Mahomes. And I did, at least

12:16

in the high coup for Geno Smith take

12:18

a shot here myself, let's hear it. The

12:20

author of this column giggled at

12:23

me in August. Now he's hushed. M

12:25

hmm. I mean, I'm taking a huge dirt

12:27

nap on the Geno front, and I've accepted it,

12:29

you and many others. I mean, it's Ryan

12:34

Dan, Dan, a lot of a

12:36

lot of a lot of Geno daughters, a lot

12:38

of Jets fans out there. It is outrageous.

12:40

I weirdly liked

12:44

last week as a Geno fan because the heights

12:46

he was reaching, we're getting a little outrageous.

12:49

And what I liked was the defense won

12:51

them a game and that he just had like a

12:53

normal mediocre game. Because

12:56

if that's his baseline of like his

12:58

lower games, that's it. Yeah, you like

13:00

the floor because he reminds

13:02

me a little bit of a more athletic

13:05

now Dalton. And

13:08

I know that's a weird thing to say, but it

13:10

prime Dalton. Whereas I just think he makes

13:13

the right decisions, and I think he's ahead

13:15

of the Dalton scale certainly right now. He's certainly

13:17

flasher, he makes better at throws. I just mean

13:19

that he kind of gives what the defense,

13:22

He takes what the defense gives him, and he doesn't make a lot

13:24

of bad decisions. And maybe he holds the ball a little too

13:26

long, so that all reminds me, and he's accurate, and that reminds

13:29

me of Andy Dalton, but like a better version of

13:31

it. I think it's an incredible case study because

13:33

I remember like watching football when I was

13:36

young and was like, oh, Phil Simms finally

13:38

turns a corner in his career in year five,

13:41

or like Joe thiseman had like years

13:43

in a row where he wasn't even a starter. It's like, you didn't just give

13:45

up on these guys and draft someone new right away. And

13:47

she knows a case where like I'm not saying

13:49

he created a lot of his own issues. He wasn't. It wasn't

13:52

excellent on tape when he

13:54

was playing back in the day. But it's

13:56

like these careers go through such bi

13:58

rhythms and like give up on these dudes. It's

14:01

like who else is sitting out there? That could be

14:03

this version of Gino where you've just learned to bathe

14:05

in the league for long enough, you feel more comfortable

14:07

and your skill set takes over. I think that's that's

14:10

a great point. Mark, And Uh,

14:12

it reminds me a little bit of Fitzpatrick because

14:14

people think of Ryan Fitzpatrick in a

14:16

certain way now, but until

14:18

he got that chance in Tampa,

14:21

really, I don't think they,

14:24

like anyone would have thought he could have had a late career

14:27

renaissance like he did, and he just

14:29

got it through injury. And then you have this three

14:31

or four years where actually he played at a

14:33

higher level for those three or four years than really any

14:35

other point except for that one Buffalo. This

14:37

happens to quarterbacks throughout their career. I mean, quarterbacks

14:40

hit their prime in their thirties. Matt

14:42

Ryan didn't win his first m v p N till he was in

14:44

that range. Matthew Stafford got so

14:46

much better than Ryan Tannehill. I mean that was that

14:48

wasn't he didn't go into the wilderness for four

14:50

years, but I mean he was ridden out of

14:52

town and then comeback

14:55

Player of the Year and looking like it. And I think it's for similar

14:57

reasons to Gino, because I

15:00

think you look at the way Gina

15:02

wins and his experience is

15:04

his most valuable asset right now. I think

15:06

he's just like a smart he He always showed

15:08

an ability to go through his reads and stay calm, and

15:11

that was the thing I liked about him. Was like he

15:13

was a real quarterback, quarterback like

15:15

and that usually means success. But

15:17

I think the fact that when your mind catches

15:19

up to your physical skills, and I think that happened

15:21

with Tannehill. I think that happened with Ben Roethlisberger

15:24

late in his career and that's why he got better. And

15:26

now I'm struggling to find your list

15:28

again. Uh give me, uh

15:30

give me Rogers is hiku just because

15:32

it's good. Sorry, I'm just like commanding you.

15:35

Like no, I I like how this is operated.

15:38

Give me a hiku. Aaron Rodgers?

15:40

Uh agitated peeved?

15:43

Wait is that New York Jet skuy wearing a cheesehead?

15:46

Just the way that game ended, just you know, so bizarre.

15:50

Oh that's amazing. Uh to a like

15:52

you said his temper and that's a tough one. He I,

15:54

I didn't count. You can't please anyone. I don't

15:56

mean you, but anyone with wherever you put to a, you're

15:58

gonna anyone's going an off on something.

16:01

To me, i'd have him a little

16:03

slightly lower, maybe based off his play, but not because

16:05

he was hurt. I do how I thought of it

16:07

was after about five weeks, it was just like, what

16:10

is the average start from this guy? Like

16:13

and then whatever that and then rank it that way. That's

16:15

a good with my own little head, good way to do it. Cousins

16:18

eleventh. You know he's he's

16:21

been eleventh forever. Uh.

16:23

Kyler twelfth actually higher

16:25

than I would expect. Uh do you sort?

16:28

We did talk about him a lot Tuesday. I think we part

16:30

of the reason is we put a little more

16:32

on maybe his coach than than him. And

16:35

then Tannehill thirteen, let's hear

16:37

Tannehills. Uh,

16:39

Ryan Tannehills high cup is for those thinking

16:42

he'd be bounced by now from Leak Willis

16:45

Tanny lives. I don't

16:47

know if many people thought he would be by now, but it was got

16:49

kind of dark there when they drafted him, and it

16:51

was like he talked about his offseason and how disconnected

16:54

he felt. They trade A. J. Brown away. It was like they were starting

16:56

over. See sometimes the line breaks

16:59

um are surprising

17:01

and and I like that. And so this is my reading

17:04

of Guyan Tan Hills for

17:06

those thinking he'd be

17:08

bounced by now. For Malik Willis

17:12

Tanny, I think are more

17:14

of the visual when you read it on page Okay,

17:17

that's just my t I thought there

17:20

was like a whole I could be wrong with the

17:22

culture of like how people read

17:26

would wink the listener there by not having them

17:28

not know what I mean. It does have that element to

17:30

it, but sometimes you get the musicality for

17:33

those thinking he'd I like that

17:35

pause be bounced by now for maleik,

17:38

I like that pause, and then willis

17:41

Tanny lives. I don't know, it's just like erratic

17:43

and fun. I would have him higher, and I

17:46

know he doesn't probably rate incredibly

17:49

high in the advanced metrics. Actually

17:52

he has been. He has been ranking high in the

17:54

completion percentage over expectation plus

17:56

e p A per pass attempt there just don't

17:58

throw the ball. I think he was second US and I saw

18:01

the Titans just don't throw the ball very much. And

18:03

yeah in QBR and I think PFF,

18:06

he's mediocre this year, and he had like a two

18:08

year run where they were on top of the world, where he would

18:10

always rank like third in PFF and they'd have

18:12

to defend it. I just watched him every

18:14

week and kind of like Gino, I

18:17

think he just makes good decisions, like he's a guy

18:19

that you know what you're gonna get and there's a lot to that,

18:21

and he makes more big throws than

18:23

people realize. It's one of my favorite quarterbacks to

18:25

watch, and I felt away for a couple of years, but I think there's

18:27

a toughness to his game. He's willing to take

18:30

a shot and fire it down field.

18:32

I could see his teammates love him for all that business

18:34

and like that's my kind of dude. Okay, Yeah,

18:36

that the raw numbers are are weird,

18:38

Like he has thrown half as many passes as

18:40

Joe Burrow, so yeah, he doesn't miss the

18:43

ball. Yeah. They also had a bye week, but heading into

18:46

last week when Titans didn't play, Tannehill

18:48

was tied for the league leading games

18:50

with a QB rating over one hundred

18:52

for this season with five out of They've

18:55

had like the streak

18:58

of good halfs in a good way, and he's been sent sational

19:00

for like chunks of time in a row. Here here's why

19:02

I think he deserves to be even higher. I

19:04

would probably have him eight

19:07

or nine. I just think all

19:09

the reasons that we give as excuses

19:11

for all these other quarterbacks, he's got

19:13

those in spades, and people don't

19:15

think of Ryan Tannell as a guy who improves

19:18

his teammates, like lifts them. But I

19:21

think he's at that level now. He's no longer

19:24

close to the Dalton line to meet his offensive

19:26

line in the past. Protection has been terrible the

19:28

last two years, and he like makes it work.

19:30

And his receivers aren't really that good and he makes it

19:32

work like that. I I give him a lot

19:34

of credit. Car and Stafford

19:36

are next Garoppolo goff. Wow.

19:39

That to me, those are all like in the from the same

19:41

generation of players too. I guess Stafford's

19:44

a little older. Let's do Stafford

19:46

at a T

19:48

and t ads should

19:50

be fewer. Pick sixes

19:53

should be fewer too. Oh that's it. That

19:57

might be the winner so far. That's a good

19:59

one. What about uh little Caesar's

20:01

ads? Well, you know, when you're dealing

20:03

with a five seven five syllable count

20:05

like there's limited space to uh, It's

20:08

like it's like a less um open

20:10

field tweet. I think he's getting a little bit

20:12

of credit for what he did a

20:15

year ago. Uh. And the situation

20:17

is tough because he struggled.

20:19

He has not looked good. I think it's with some of these

20:21

guys like the floor is about to

20:23

fall out. If if what we see is what we're gonna get,

20:26

we'll talk about them when they come off the by. But

20:28

they were under center a lot more against

20:31

the Panthers, and it really worked well. The numbers

20:33

were great for Stafford under center. That

20:36

was sort of more of the old basic

20:39

Jared Goff offense. Our friend

20:41

Maurice Jones Drew who does their broadcast, was

20:43

saying mcveigh's gotta stop

20:45

being stubborn and realized like, kind of go back

20:48

to use that trope again, simplify,

20:51

go back to the basics. But he said,

20:53

but they were doing that, I think against the Panthers,

20:56

and it worked all right. Jared Goff,

21:00

Daniel Jones, Mariota and

21:02

Dalton. I've

21:04

really cracked up checking the PFUH

21:06

numbers the last couple of weeks because Andy

21:09

Dalton is fourth right now among their

21:11

qualifying quartotas. That it's

21:14

funny because I think it's because they look they

21:16

grade in such a way that made me like

21:18

Tannehill and Gino two in that they

21:20

just grade like pluses

21:23

and minuses, and like he just has so

21:25

few minuses that you're just like, oh, he pretty

21:27

much does the right thing, and he doesn't hurt you. It's been

21:29

a good version of Daltons. I also I think

21:31

that you know, but he's not not a lot of flash, not

21:34

a flash. I mean. Also the most exciting

21:36

um performance uh in the

21:38

backfield came from Taysom Hill. Recently he's

21:40

sort of like got a sidecar doing stuff he

21:42

could do and throwing a touchdown in that game. But Dalton's

21:45

been really clean. But like I do think there's an

21:47

human element where it's like I can't put

21:49

Dalton at number four or five, like come

21:51

on, I mean that's preposterous and there's no way

21:53

he's even played at that level

21:56

anyway. So if you wanted to give him some love,

21:58

you could maybe put him ahead

22:00

of Daniel Jones. I

22:03

know he hasn't won mini games. I don't know. I think

22:05

you've got him in just the right spot. And I was too hard

22:07

on you last week with your Jimmy g at sixteen.

22:09

He's been steady too, he played well. I had him

22:11

higher last week because he had had to I

22:14

thought promising performances in

22:16

a row, but then he came back to earth a little bit. The start

22:18

of the show here though, is your high Cuz, let's

22:21

go with you're gonna

22:23

rip him off in a row. We're

22:25

gonna do something different. Three quarterbacks

22:27

in a row, Jared Goff, Daniel Jones,

22:30

and Mariota. Okay, Jared Goff

22:32

off adequate golf. Lucky

22:35

there aren't thirty other Belichicks

22:37

just because Belichick just owns them.

22:40

Daniel Jones operating

22:42

as a s Quan handoff robot

22:45

who does just enough. It

22:47

doesn't maybe a little harsh on Daniel Jones handoff

22:50

robot is just a very uh

22:52

poetic image. You know that's

22:55

what Pops? Do you want me to do? Mariota?

22:57

Was that the third one here? Um? I flung

22:59

a t D to Kyle Pitts.

23:02

Time to chill fantasy nimrods. Although

23:06

I think from a real football angle that was a nice development

23:09

too, I mean it was, But you're right, I

23:11

am getting I've gotten annoyed by the

23:15

whole like fantasy community because

23:17

I follow enough of them on Twitter. Are like really

23:20

mad at the Falcons and the Jets.

23:22

They're just like really mad at Arthur Smith

23:25

and uh Mike la

23:27

Fleur for running efficient offenses that are

23:30

back in there. They're

23:32

not. It's not resulting in

23:35

good fantasy numbers for anyone, but

23:37

get over yourself. They're actually good offenses

23:40

for what they need to be. Did you see Elijah

23:42

Moore's tweet after the game one

23:44

that was unfortunate? Yeah? He

23:47

said, like if I said what I really wanted to say,

23:49

It's like if you say that, you might as well just say it because

23:51

you've already said it. But he's like, I'm happy we're winning,

23:53

but yeah, this sucks. Uh

23:56

you might want to say, like, uh,

23:59

yeah that Flacco we were throwing it for like three

24:01

d and sixty yards and like three inter se is

24:04

a different of it. Can we get some like music

24:07

or sound accompaniment to when Mark reads

24:09

this? I, uh, I'm gonna

24:11

read Andy Dalton's How about that? Andy Dalton

24:15

glowing red ginger Man

24:18

average skills, a key back

24:22

tastes them to start. Not that was

24:24

it was a bad reading. I mean, have it changed

24:26

that too? Because I think we're getting closer to Dalton

24:29

starting. It looks like he's gonna start on Thursday night.

24:31

All right, your next uh five, we'll we'll

24:33

say. Trevor, Lawrence Russell, Wilson, Matt

24:35

Ryan moving up this week, Carson Wentz

24:38

moving down he has that injury four? Can

24:40

he pickets at five? I gotta

24:42

say the single most surprising

24:45

ranking you had to me was

24:49

Russell Wilson. I thought he would

24:51

be even lower.

24:53

Let's hear that sad music for the for the Russell

24:56

WILSONI depressing

25:00

yards after halftime is not what

25:03

Denver paid for. I

25:05

think that was good because it's stripped

25:08

away the artifice, like the

25:10

poetry, you know what I mean, Like something needs to

25:12

be flowery, have that image. In this case,

25:14

everything is dark and you just gave

25:17

us like the simple plain words

25:20

of darkness. Yeah, I mean, so you're you

25:22

would like to see him?

25:24

Well, you mentioned on our other show that you felt he

25:26

was at the very bottom of the league. Who

25:28

has played worse at quarterback than

25:31

and then Russell Wilson this year. I'm gonna

25:33

go through your list. P J. Walker is on the

25:35

list right now. And whoever is the Panthers guy? Yes,

25:39

Davis Mills. I

25:41

think I'd put Mills ahead of him. Cooper Rush.

25:44

I'd put Cooper Rush ahead him. I would say

25:46

Cooper Russia's average game was better. Justin

25:49

field. We love Akholder back. I

25:53

put dustin fields behind him. So that's thirty.

25:55

So that's two. Bailey's Appy, I

25:58

got it. Bailey's Appy's definitely had a rustle. Well

26:00

I just want but

26:02

just right now, Bailey Zappy's average

26:04

game has absolutely been better. Zack Wilson

26:08

I put ahead of him, not by a ton and then yeah,

26:14

so yeah, I think i'd have him thirty. Wow.

26:16

I mean, I just I guess with Russell will

26:18

I mean, he's looked terrible. He's seen

26:21

yards after it's

26:24

the whole thing seems so broken that I don't

26:26

hate what you're saying. I um, I mean, he's

26:28

gonna sink like a stone if this is what is what he

26:30

is right now, because I don't know how you go

26:33

through another off season if this is Russell Wilson all

26:35

season saying we're gonna roll this whole thing out again.

26:37

Now. Uh. You

26:39

know, some of the numbers are closer to you.

26:43

The e p A completion

26:45

percentage over expected composite

26:47

has him twenty six out of thirty three,

26:49

so a little closer to you.

26:53

Completion percentage over expected

26:56

similar, He's ahead of about five

26:59

or six guys QB are similar, and

27:01

just the eye test in PFF, which

27:03

to me is sometimes kind of similar has

27:06

him about. Yeah, I had a five or six guys.

27:08

So either way though, it's somewhere

27:10

between our two. Right, it's surprising, no matter

27:12

what I mean, it's crazy. I

27:15

can you think of any example, And

27:17

this is tough. It's putting you on the spot. I

27:19

couldn't come up with anything in the history,

27:22

at least in the last twenty years when we're covering

27:24

the NFL, like, has there ever been like something

27:26

like this, a dramatic fall off

27:29

for a great you know, potentially Hall

27:31

of Fame quarterback this fast?

27:33

Certainly not while changing teams, because that like

27:35

has hasn't really happened. That hasn't happened.

27:37

I can't come up with anything. I mean not not if you look at

27:40

Russell Wilson's age, because he's not forty

27:42

two. Um, I would point to

27:44

like a startling fall off. A cliff was

27:46

Brett Farve in two thousand and ten, but not surprising.

27:48

It just was hard to watch. I mean maybe even

27:50

then he had kind of fallen. He had declined

27:53

pretty hard before that two thousand nine

27:55

season, and that was like his resurgence. So it's sort

27:57

of made sense. I mean, I guess, like you know, it

27:59

was to pressing to watch another Bronco

28:02

Peyton Manning during that Super Bowl season. His

28:04

exit like you know, be replaced

28:06

by Brocks. That was like a neck

28:08

injury and age too

28:10

true, but it was truly shocking because

28:13

he had shown no signs the year before

28:16

he was still like that's

28:19

also I would say that there was natural

28:22

age going on there, and Roethlisberger

28:24

is a guy who age was like purely

28:26

the reason he fell off a claiming

28:29

if anybody Wilson's still young, Wilson's

28:31

not not in that group where he

28:34

was at the age. Raethlisberger was a guy

28:36

everyone said would age poorly, and the reality

28:38

was he didn't. That didn't happen until he

28:40

was thirty eight thirty nine. He was maybe

28:43

playing the best football of his career at

28:46

Russell Wilson's age. And they're pretty similar

28:48

players. I think if you had to come up with I

28:51

know that the size is so different, but

28:53

in the in the running ability, but I think in

28:55

some ways they're they're about as similar as anyone

28:58

I can come up with for Ben, and but it's like it's

29:00

a unique case. And I also think this season, especially

29:03

like it's been if they had been tucked away

29:05

at one pm Eastern, six games in

29:07

a row, A lot less people would be talking about it, but

29:09

like it's been so visual and so island

29:11

gaming and so in our face. Yeah,

29:14

I'm not sure what to do with Trevor Lawrence. I think you have him

29:16

in in the exact right spot at

29:20

I don't know if he's hot and cold so much as

29:23

just um, not there

29:25

yet, and that's fine. He's in the second

29:28

year, some progress

29:30

this year, certainly. I think you've got him

29:32

in the perfect spot, which would be it's weird

29:34

because he'd be a Dalton right now at

29:37

twenty is kind of the Dalton scale.

29:39

He's the Dalton. Is the Dalton line

29:41

right now? Maybe on this list, and Lawrence,

29:43

I would say, is like right at it, right

29:46

at it. Maybe he's one above it, maybe he's one below.

29:49

Uh. You want to do matt Ryan's hiku

29:54

where they all said sad autumn

29:56

brighter after Mattie

29:58

ice flings and third throws.

30:02

We'll get to it on Thursday, but Mattie

30:04

I showed something that was a great game.

30:07

It was a nice change for them. This just feels like poetry

30:10

music to me. And yeah, not necessarily sad.

30:12

I mean it is sad, But yeah, I

30:14

think you're a little hard on, uh, your

30:16

guy, Jacoby Brissette. I think you're showing

30:18

some of your yeah,

30:21

some of your feelings

30:23

there. It's like you're you're harder

30:25

on him. I think he played so great

30:28

until last week. I know, I

30:30

know he had some big time misses and that's why, a

30:33

big time mistakes and key spots, and

30:35

that's why you couldn't put him in

30:37

the top ten where all the advanced

30:39

stats would have had him before last week.

30:43

But to me, he would He would have been closer to like

30:45

fifteen going into last week and six

30:48

and it was a bad game out of him, there was no question

30:50

about. I just kind of think that might be like what

30:52

we just saw is like more the Jacoby

30:54

Brissette we're going to see um,

30:57

But he also had three killer

30:59

miss stakes that prevented them from winning

31:01

games. It kind of bothers me. But can we

31:04

get the haiku for him to Jacoby

31:10

passes times?

31:14

Chubb carries twelve,

31:16

Pat's a bomb Browns. That's

31:21

amazing. Trying out some new music there. I

31:23

like that. I like that fit. You

31:26

know, I was very basic. I don't know

31:28

if Dan would have you know, spiced

31:30

it up. I just went straight through the list. We're hitting

31:32

the bottom five Zack

31:35

Wilson. Pretty

31:37

low for Zack, but I guess it makes sense. Hasn't played that

31:39

much and hasn't done that much. Bailey Zappy,

31:42

he's gotten better each week. Justin Fields,

31:45

Cooper Rush, Davis

31:48

Mills, and then P. J. Walker,

31:50

who believe only completed

31:53

one pass past the line of scrimmage, which

31:55

is like sixty yards when he was taken out of the

31:57

game. That was a tough situation.

31:59

I think of his completions were behind the line of

32:01

scrimmage. Um, all right, our final two

32:03

high coups we're gonna do for

32:06

the day. Let's end. Uh strong love

32:08

these two. Cooper Rush at thirty and Davis

32:11

Mills at third. All right, here's Cooper Rush,

32:16

Cooper Rush. Time for Jara to

32:19

leave a suitcase full of green bills

32:21

in my locker. Davis

32:25

Mills, Mills

32:28

wondering if Easter but will return

32:30

his R. E. M C D. That's

32:36

another Easter Egg, one that's been exclusive

32:38

to the pods, been asked to be edited.

32:41

I don't even want to go deeper into that joke.

32:44

Um, I just love uh

32:46

that image just

32:49

strange. Team Jack borrow that

32:51

reckoning c D. He's like, yeah, they have

32:53

that reckon, you have reckoning love that hour from Davis

32:55

Mills, who's like very

32:58

little of an r M fan. I'm an Davis

33:00

will has been uh like a little

33:02

disappointing to me this year. He's just

33:04

not accurate, uh deeper

33:07

down the field and you just haven't seen the

33:09

flash plays. He's played

33:11

like a perfectly competent

33:14

backup at worst, but he hasn't.

33:17

He's I think shown less than a year. He

33:20

hasn't been bad. It has been bad, but he's not

33:22

good. I was expecting him to kind

33:24

of be Um a favorite of mine, in a

33:26

nice surprise, and it's not really held

33:29

true. The ball just doesn't go where he intended

33:31

to go, which is like the number one thing um

33:34

that bothers me when you're watching them each and every

33:36

week, because you you can never overcome

33:38

that unless you're Josh Allen and then you become the

33:41

greatest chord back in the world. Uh. And yeah,

33:43

Cooper Rush was on the practice squad and

33:45

it's only making a million dollars. Give me a break for

33:47

all the overpaid cowboys that

33:49

they have over the year, they better give him like an

33:52

assistant vice president, uh

33:55

job to like you know, charity and

33:57

in the off season, and like I I went to

34:00

are the Cap to look at where he ranked, and

34:02

it's like there are some absurd human beings

34:04

making more than he is from what he's done this year. But

34:06

right, some of them probably are not playing football.

34:08

They're they're out of the league and they have guaranteed

34:10

money. Uh yeah, Cooper, rusty of their season.

34:13

And I think we've saved um

34:15

this podcast and not that it

34:17

needed it. Um, I mean the the

34:20

hole around the NFL, this individual

34:22

spinoff show,

34:24

I mean the whole enterprise. We

34:26

needed an injection of surprise

34:30

and um daring do and haiku.

34:32

And we've done it. We've done it this Wednesday.

34:35

We've done it. Thank you, Grave Digger. We credit you

34:37

for that. Oh no, don't

34:39

do that. Yes, fabulous,

34:42

fabulous uh producing

34:44

and just a little something extra for the listeners.

34:46

I hope you guys liked it. Uh, let

34:49

us know. And if you don't like it, don't let

34:51

us know. That's how I don't get into

34:53

our headspace with complaints. We

34:56

will be back on Thursday and

34:58

Friday with our regularly

35:00

scheduled preview show and

35:03

uh Friday Fun Show. It's fun Mark. I

35:05

had fun for Mark Sassler, grave

35:07

digger. He'd the call M