Benjamin Allbright (00:00)

Hey everybody, welcome into the huddle. Benjamin Albright. We've got Jake Arians here as well. We look forward to being able to do in this podcast with you guys right here at the813 .tv. This will be the initial one. We're kicking it off here. Gonna have some fun right off the bat. Jake, why don't you tell them a little bit about yourself so they know who you are. I'm sure that last name is probably somebody every Tampa fan's familiar with.

Jake (00:22)

Probably a little bit. I mean this guy sitting right here probably gives it away a lot of them Probably don't know I played in NFL 2000 2001 for the Falcons and the Bills was a kicker been around the game my whole life Had a podcast for years excited to do this one with you I love this this inside news try to give a different spin on what's going on the NFL man college football It's got me fired up for the NFL to kick off here in a couple days. So I'm ready to dive right in man

Benjamin Allbright (00:46)

Same here. For those that don't know me, you may know me from Twitter. I'm sorry for your Twitter timeline if that's the case. You know, I do the game day broadcast here for the Denver Broncos, but on the game for a long time. I used to live down there in Tampa for a couple of years. As a matter of fact, it was pretty prior to that regime. But you know, and I just love the game of football. Always have loved the game of football. So always love getting the chance to still work in it. Sure beats some of the other things I could be doing right now. So let's get into it. We got the season kicking off.

here in just a few days. Obviously we got Baltimore, we got Kansas City. You look around at these divisions. I see a little bit more parity maybe in the league this year than perhaps last year. What do you think about that? And maybe let's go around and who we think is at the top of these divisions, who these possible division winners are.

Jake (01:32)

I definitely do. I think the Chiefs actually could be better than they've been the last two or three years. I didn't think they were that good the last two years and they go back to back. Mahomes play as the best cast of characters he's ever had to play with on offense. I think that offense can look very different. They had to learn how to run the ball the last couple of years. I think they're going to take more shots. Defensively, they're probably not as good, but that's a damn good team. So is Baltimore Thursday night should be really interesting with that one. I think Chiefs win that division. Then the rest of it's interesting, man.

I'm buying into hardball a little bit just because his teams are tough. They run the ball. I love Justin Herbert. It really mattered to me who the head coach was. If anybody brought toughness and somebody some way to stay healthy on defense, I'd have bought into them. I think they probably finished second followed by the, you know, the Raiders and the Broncos, you know, bringing in the end. I, we talked about Bo Nicks a little bit, you and I off the air, big fan. got a lot of starts, a lot of experience. I love him with Sean. I just don't think it's going to be year one. I think there are ways to go.

I'd love to get into some of that one of these weeks. You're hearing rumors already of Courtland Sutton and then moving some pieces. And the Raiders are a ways to go. I mean, I'm a huge Men's Dash fan, but that's not getting it done in that division for sure.

Benjamin Allbright (02:39)

Yeah, I think I see it the same way. mean, I, Kansas City is the cream of the crop until somebody knocks him off and they have a 10 day. I'm with you. They have the opportunity to be better this year. They were a team that was largely carried by the defense last year. If you, if you were watching the offense, yeah, right. The offense did enough to get it done. But with you, have Pat Mahomes at the quarterback. That's an interesting phenomenon when you've got a defense that's carrying you.

Jake (02:52)

Nine games of under 20 points.

Benjamin Allbright (03:01)

As for the Chargers, I think they've had the wrong coaches the last couple of years. I you go back and look at Herbert's rookie season, Shane Steichen had that guy on fire. And then you come in, Kellen Moore, it wasn't quite the same. mean, excuse me, Joe Lombardi, wasn't quite the same. Then you had Kellen Moore, and it certainly wasn't the same at that point. And I look forward to seeing Justin Herbert get back on track. I do believe in hardball as a coach. I think they had the wrong coaching staff there. They the wrong personnel for that defense too. You know, they were trying to run a...

a tight front and bend don't break and know, quarters match stuff. They're trying to the Fangio defense, which Brandon Staley obviously a disciple of. And it just felt like they had a defense that was built to attack and, you know, Fangio's is more, a bit more read and react. And so I, you know, I felt like they had the wrong coaches for the wrong personnel. I do believe in the Chargers. It may not be this year, but they're going to be, they're going to be a force under hardball. Same thing with, you know, you talked about the Broncos. I think the defense would be a little bit better this year as, Vance Joseph is pivoting from what Fangio and Averro had run to what he.

traditionally runs, is a Wade Phillips variant. That'll be interesting to see. And then you've got a rookie quarterback. So who knows? Although Bo looked pretty good in the preseason. And then we've got the Raiders and I, again, I'm with you. I'm a huge fan of the, men's stash. love the, mountain mad personality. He's an outsized personality. You can't have a root for the guy. I just don't think that that's a, that's a playoff caliber football team, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. They're starting to get some pieces over there on the defense. Nate Hobbs might be the most underrated corner in the league. Obviously you've got Crosby over there. You know, they've, they've got some pieces, but I just don't feel like they're.

They're prime for it. The one that the division that probably fascinates me the most is the AFC North because I feel like this is the one with the most power. You've got Baltimore and I think everybody's probably picking them to win, but they've forgotten about the Bengals without Joe Burrow. You look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now they've got Russ there. They feel to be at least a little more competent on offense. not, you know, not certainly not blowing the doors off. It's not prime Russ.

Jake (04:47)

Maybe, maybe, I don't know, I'll jump in on that one in a second.

Benjamin Allbright (04:50)

Yeah, and then you get the, and then get the Browns. mean, Deshaun Watson looks like a guy who was built specifically to run what Bill O 'Brien had been running for him down in Houston and hasn't adapted to sort of this, this zone run West coast that they've run with Drew Petsing. And now is Stefanski's run the run of the whole show. Petsing, the way, down there in Arizona might be one of these short name for a head coach job in this next cycle. Keep your eye on that. But what do you think of the AFC North?

Jake (05:12)

Man, it's tough. think the Pittsburgh Steelers are the basement in that one for sure. I don't care if it's Justin Fields or Wilson. To me, they were mediocre at best and finished 500. That's the new standard in Pittsburgh. It's not, let's go win Super Bowls. Let's keep finishing 500. They've won one playoff game in 13 years. They're not the standard in that division anymore. I think the Browns have the best defense, maybe the best defense in the league if they can stay healthy. If Deshaun Watson can play...

As good as Joe Flacco last year, they can win the division. mean, as crazy as that is, they really can't. I exactly. I think Baltimore is probably the class of it until they get knocked off. But Joe bro coming back. If Jamar chase gets signed, that's like the one guy since we've been talking off the air, getting ready to do this show is like Trent Williams is now signed CD's sign, a IUC sign Jamar chase up in the air. If that goes into the season, it's just a locker room killer.

Benjamin Allbright (05:46)

Things we never thought we'd say.

Jake (06:08)

They don't need anything else. They haven't started good the last two or three years even with Joe because he hasn't had a preseason. I'm excited to see what happens with that. I think that's probably the most competitive division of football.

Benjamin Allbright (06:19)

Yeah, I would tend to agree. And that would be interesting since it gets off to a hot start relative to the way they've done those. Zach Taylor teams have been a little slow getting the wheels going, but then when they do look out, so that'd be something scary for the league. Over in the AFC East, you've got a retooling Bills team. You've got a rebuilding New England Patriots team. And then you've got a Miami team that started hot and fell off, kind of the anti -bangles, I guess, as it were, last year. Started hot, fell off last year. Vic Fangio moves on to bring in a defensive coordinator, I think,

fits a little bit more with what they want to do. And then of course you've got the, the New York Jets, which can Rogers stay healthy, I guess is the big question there. A lot of money coming in on the jets in that division. Love the defense there. Love what Rob Bricell has done, but they've got to get something going on offense. And if Rogers is not able to be healthy, I struggle to see where that comes from.

Jake (07:05)

If he's not healthy, they're a dumpster fire. Man, defense is legit. They're going to be in a lot of games with adequate quarterback play, but I'm going to go with he is going to be out. They're going to start four and one. They're going to lose to San Francisco on Monday night. And then they've got four pretty much cakewalks. So you're starting four and one. I'm going to pick them to win the division. I don't like it at all. I'm not banking on the fact that Aaron has to stay healthy, but if Aaron Rogers is 80 % of the Aaron Rogers we've seen for the last 20 years, they're pretty damn good. Breece Hall is going to run the ball.

Benjamin Allbright (07:35)

Mm -hmm.

Jake (07:35)

I think Garrett Wilson breaks out. They've got some other pieces. Aaron Rogers makes everybody around him better. I like the bills having the pressure on them. I like it being all on Josh Allen. No more diva receiver. You got to move it around. think Curtis Samuel was an awesome addition that they can use as a gadget guy and not offense. think they finished second. I think them in Miami are both kind of fighting it out for second. Miami's pass rushers are all still dinged up. They all got hurt last year. They're all coming off major injuries. To me that, they're going to try and do some different stuff than Vic did last year, but.

I don't know that they have the personnel to do it yet. They're going to put up a ton of points on offense. They're to put up a ton of yards. the HN most are combo in the backfield HN apparently playing in the slot some, mean, that's going to be exciting to watch. love what McDaniels is building down there. I just don't know that it's there yet. That's a tough division. And then I don't even want to talk about what's going on in New England, man. That's going to be bad. You're so bad. You can't start your rookie. drafted.

Benjamin Allbright (08:23)

Yeah, that's going to be smugly.

Right. That's, yeah. You're putting Berset out there as a sacrificial lamb. that corner sort of looks bad. Buffalo, I liked it. I liked, I do like that idea. The pressure being on Buffalo and Josh Allen and Sean McDermott too. mean, congratulations for rebuilding the Bills and making them back into a brand. But now it's time to take that step into being, you know, into being Superbowl contender and not just good football team. Well, and that's the thing. You're rebuilding, you know.

Jake (08:48)

And I don't know that they have the pieces though, right? Can they get a shootout with Miami and can they score 24 against the Jets defense?

Benjamin Allbright (08:59)

And those are the questions. We'll find that out. Find that at the season over in the AFC South. It's kind of in anybody's division. I know a lot of people, a of money in on the Texans. There's some people, myself included, that expect a little bit of a regression there with Houston this year. Not because they're going to get worse or bad or anything like that, but just because they caught a lot of people napping last year. They got some lucky breaks playing against backup quarterbacks. It'll be a little bit tougher this season. You're not sneaking up on anybody. You've got the Colts now. Anthony Richardson, supposedly healthy, Steichen does a wonderful job.

quarterbacks. I love to see what he could cook up for him. I sneaky like the idea of the Callahans down there in Tennessee too. They kind of went out there and bought a defense. You look at some of the players they went out there and got and seeing them on offense with all that offensive line coaching between the two of them. Sneaky, kind of got my eye on Tennessee and then you got Jacksonville started red hot last year and faded down a stretch. We'll see if Trevor Lawrence could stay healthy and if that team and Doug Peterson, Pres Taylor and them could keep that together.

Jake (09:56)

Shad Khan coming out this week, talking about it's Super Bowl or bust. It's the best team we've ever put on paper, best coaching staff we've ever had. And they got the pressure on them. They coming out and saying it again, he said like three times his off season. I think that works in their favor. I think they have a quarterback that can handle that. I think that's the best roster in this division. I agree with you on Tennessee. think they have to, the Texans have to take a step back. The quarterback played out of his mind last year with no expectations.

No pressure. He's got pressure now. He has expectations. They've added some nice pieces. He also added a Diva receiver. We'll see how that goes to that young team that was just kind of next man up last year. Let's just all go out and wing it. Love D 'Amico Ryan's love what he's doing. I like the team. I just think adding all those expectations comes back. I love Indianapolis. I love the Colts franchise. I am a big Jim Ursay guy. I am not sold on Anthony Richardson and I'm not going to be until he proves to me that he can play from the pocket when he has to and be an accurate quarterback.

I don't think you can win that division with him running the read option all over. As much as I love Stike and he does some phenomenal stuff, you still have to be able to hit open receivers in small windows in the NFL to win. You just have to.

Benjamin Allbright (10:59)

Yeah. Yeah. You're going to have to be able to throw the ball on third and eight plus, and you're going to be in third and eight plus at times. So you're to have to figure it out. I'm a hundred percent with you there. Yeah. Yeah.

Jake (11:06)

And I love that Titans defensive line. I Jeffrey Simmons monster, like I agree with you, like they're sneaky good on defense. If we'll, they got some weapons, but though Calvin Ridley with the Deandre Hopkins that people forget about who played pretty good last year for them. You know, it's a, it's a matter of how good Will Levesque can play. I think that division is going to be kind of up for grabs. think a lot of them could be good and they like beating up on each other.

Benjamin Allbright (11:17)

Mm -hmm.

Yeah, they do. They always get up for those games, even if the rest of us hadn't traditionally been paying attention to that division as much. Let's start over in the NFC with the NFC West. You've got a brand new head coach in Seattle, Michael McDonald. His defense is sort of what is becoming Vogue. It was the Fangio era. He's sort of built on that a little bit. That's sort of becoming the Vogue defense in the league. You bring in Ryan Grubb. Grubb ran the offense University of Washington last year. That's the Michael Penick's offense, for those of not familiar.

This is gonna be interesting. I don't know what to expect out of this football team.

Jake (12:02)

I expect the defense to be better. I expect fireworks from the offense. mean, Charbonneau Walker, the third offensive lines better. As you know, been okay. He wasn't as good last year as he was two years ago, but I mean, Jackson Smith and Jigba is a one a and now Tyler locket your three on offense. If he can get back healthy, he's getting old, but DK Metcalf still a star like that. And you're going to take shots. I mean, if he does anything he did in Washington and take some shots down the field, play action off of that.

That's a team I don't think you want to play defensively. not sure what to expect, but I think they'll be better. I think they'll be more aggressive than that Pete Carroll. You know, cover to plan zone all the time with long corners. I just think you're going to see a lot more multiple stuff from them on defense. It'll be interesting. That division is tough.

Benjamin Allbright (12:47)

Yeah, I mean, yeah, that is the thing. And then you're pivoting from an entrenched coaching staff and style to like this new thing. So I wonder how quickly that'll gel. It's a tough division. I mean, you've got the Rams, always a threat over there, even though they don't have Aaron Donald anymore and Stafford's getting older. You've got the Arizona Cardinals who I thought played out of their minds relative to the talent level that they had, you know, last year. Then of course you get the 49ers, cream of the division. Yeah.

Jake (13:11)

You can't name five guys on the team. Yeah, I mean, they played Jonathan Gannon had those guys playing their asses off for him last year. I was really impressed with how hard they played. And they were in every game and they literally had five guys that the most casual fan could name.

Benjamin Allbright (13:26)

Yeah, it was funny because, you know, all the preseason stuff and you get these videos out there and then you get the media jumping on them and you got media jumping on Gannon. he's goofy. He's too goofy to coach and all this kind of stuff. And then the season starts. I'm like, yeah, you don't know what he's like behind closed doors. You know, you see that you see the some of these videos and he's got some guys come across as a dork and but they resonate in the locker room. And those guys went to war for that guy. And of course, you get the San Francisco 49ers.

in that division as well. Cream of the Crop, top to bottom, they got everything done. They got the IUC deal done, sorry, pretty Ricky. They got the Trent Williams deal re -signed. They've got the Brock Perti contract coming up. have full faith they'll get that done. They are the cream of the crop in this division. They just keep losing coaches and trucking forward. Can they win the Super Bowl? Can Kyle Shanahan win the big one?

Jake (13:51)

Yeah.

That's the question. think they're the, I think they're the favorite for me for the come out of the NFC. I think they're going to win that division. I think the Rams are probably second. Seahawks third, maybe they can be a playoff team. I think they're on the verge. think the Cardinals are a year away, but the Cardinals are a team you're not going to want to play. Especially if you're a decent team and you've got a couple injuries in like November and that offense is kind of starting to find its footing. I don't think that's a team you're going to want to play late. I don't know how many games they win, but I think they're going be fun to watch. But yeah, the Niners, they're the Niners.

Benjamin Allbright (14:28)

Mm

Jake (14:43)

Can Kyle win the big one? I love what they're building. I can't believe they got everybody signed. They're going to lose a bunch of guys when they sign the quarterback. You know, that's the way to win anymore. Draft one that or find one that you could play quarterback on that rookie deal until you got to give them the $350, $400 million he's looking at, you know, when they sign him and then you lose five or six starters to go along with.

Benjamin Allbright (15:03)

Yeah. And that, you know, for Broncos fans, I think that's the thing with Knicks. You're setting the table this year and you're hoping you got that three to four year window to spend money afterwards. Looking at the NFC North, this is a division that used to be a powerhouse and now it's in flux. You've got a Detroit Lions team, think everybody would say is the consensus favorite. And what a great job that Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes have done rebuilding that. Rebuilding that. But you got a Packers team that's very young. I saw... Well, that's what I saying. Yeah. You got a, yeah, fair. You got a Packers team that...

Jake (15:27)

Hell, not rebuilding, just building. Yeah.

Benjamin Allbright (15:33)

I watched them come out here for joint practices with the Denver Broncos. And this was, it was fascinating to me because it looked like they were not interested in being there at all. Like that was the most lopsided joint practice I've ever seen. And I've been doing this for 15 years, going to joint practices across the, across the country. was the most lopsided then the game was lopsided as well. I, know, looking at the back half of the season last year, the Packers looked like a team that could, could be playing and can be, could be a playoff contender.

But what I saw this time didn't really resonate. It'll be interesting to see how quick they turn the switch on now that Jordan Love's got paid and all that going into this season. And then you've got the Vikings. I don't think they're a factor. They're scrapping that thing down rebuilding. Then you've got the Bears who are going to be interesting. That offense figures like it could put some points up. And that defense is what carried them back half of last year. So look out for the Bears as a sleeper team.

Jake (16:21)

I 100 % agree. The Bears are another team you do not want to play. You're definitely not going to want to play them after week five or six. Yeah, they're going to have four weeks on tape, but my God, the firepower, they got an offense quarterback look phenomenal and pretty soon. Yeah. He's going to make some mistakes. He's going to around. He's going to, he's going to throw some, picks, whatever. I think the Packers are another team. I expect to take a little step back. I see all over ESPN, some other stuff like Superbowl favorites. could win the soup. Josh Jacobs is a big addition, I think, but I'm a huge Aaron Jones fan.

AJ Dillon's on IR for the year. So you lost that one, two punch that you had. Yeah, Josh Jacobs can take a lot of that. You had a bunch of young receivers, but none of them have really come on to be the guy. They expect Christian Watson to do that. I don't know. Can he stay healthy? He's still a young, unproven thing. Defensively, they were pretty good. The Lions, man, I got a bunch of buddies on that staff and I just love what they got going. I love that they've lost a playoff game after a hell of a year for the Lions. And he goes, that shit ain't going to cut it.

He's on their ass in the locker room about this year and taking another step. There was no like, hey, nice job guys. You won two playoff games. was no, we're going to, and then they add, I love the corners they added. They had a good draft. I think the lions could be right there in the NFC.

Benjamin Allbright (17:34)

It's fascinating. I flew up with the team to the Broncos Lions game last year. And you think of Dan Campbell and you look at the Lions and you sort of think this is a tough, gritty, smash mouth football team, but the speed will blow you away. They got wheels on that team. They added Tim Patrick from the Broncos and what was a de facto swap for Josh Reynolds. gives them a more sure -handed guy on third down. I keep an eye on them. think that they're the cream of the crop in the north there. Switching over to the...

Jake (18:00)

I think Jamison Williams could be a breakout star in that offense as well. Monter Saint Brown got paid. He's a superstar. He's going to have his, you led the NFL in like 900 yard games, wherever it was last year that he's going to draw a double coverage. But Jamison Williams being two years removed. I think he breaks out. I just, I loved him coming out of Alabama. The kid is a freaking star. You taught him on speed. And then I loved Tim Patrick. Big body, sure handed like that's a great addition. And then by the way, we didn't even mention the number one tight end in the league now. It's not Travis Kelsey, it's Sam Laporta.

Benjamin Allbright (18:06)

Right.

Mm -hmm. Yep.

Sam Ford.

Jake (18:28)

And I think their defense could be better. I mean, they're gonna be really good.

Benjamin Allbright (18:31)

Yeah, I think is the secondary goes so well that football team, but they'll be ready to play each week. The NFC East is another is this is a division that's a bit in flux. You know, you've got a Philadelphia Eagles team that that stays at the top. How he rolls many is the smartest GM in football and they keep finding ways to you know, to acquire talent and squeeze guys and they added Vic Fangio is the defensive coordinator. That's going to be an interesting to see how that personnel matches up there, but I think it'll be more competent defensive coordinating than they had last year on the offensive side. They hired Kellenmore.

I'm not personally a big Killamore fan, but we'll see what that's able to do. That's got to be more competence than what they had last year running the show on offense. And then you added the big piece, I think, with Saquon Barkley, who's motivated. You know, it's a guy who was trying to get paid by the Giants forever, didn't get it, felt a little disrespected. Now he goes to division rival. You look, you go down the roster of the NFC East and I don't think anybody compares to the Eagles.

Jake (19:23)

No, mean, the Cowboys are okay. I think they take a step back. not going to, they won 12 games, won the last three years. I don't think they can get to 12. I think they're on the edge of the playoffs and I think they're okay, but they've got some holes and they got drama. Yeah, they signed CD and whatever that's still out there. To me, Philly got better. I think they're going to play more complimentary football with Vic on defense. You know, they're not, it's going to be like you were talking about, but the more bend don't break, don't give up a lot. Offensively they can fix that.

I think the one thing with Kellen too is they're be able to fix those protection issues they were getting with his own blitz stuff late in the year they just had no answer for they didn't offensively have it built in. And Kelsey being gone, yes, but they're replacing him with a really good player. Jayler Hurt's taking more control of the offense. As long as Kellen will run the ball with a beast, Saquon Barkley now being healthy. I'm not a big running back guy the year after ACL, but two years later.

Benjamin Allbright (20:08)

A GIF.

Jake (20:13)

when a guy works out that hard, if he stays healthy, man, think Saquon could have a monster year. And then Jahan Dotson being added as a slot guy, but can also move around. You can then bring AJ Brown in the slot, which is a matchup nightmare. You can move Devontae Smith or Ike. They've got a lot of pieces on that offense. I think they're going to be a problem. The commanders are going to be fun. New coaching staff, defensively, think they'll be solid.

Benjamin Allbright (20:33)

Mm

Jake (20:38)

Offensively, they're going to make some mistakes, but they got some pieces on offense too. That's like another team with a young quarterback. If he gets hot, you don't want to play. and then then you've got the giants who I think are going to be the giants. mean, Daniel Jones, all the talent in the freaking world. Like if you had a combine with all the guys and you didn't have names on it, Daniel Jones is to be like one of the top seven or eight guys that you have on your list. The way he spins it, the way it runs, the size, the smarts, but he doesn't play like that. And he never has like, can he go back to where he was?

Benjamin Allbright (20:49)

Yeah.

Jake (21:07)

Couple years ago, maybe, I don't know, I don't expect a whole lot from the Giants.

Benjamin Allbright (21:11)

Yeah, I'm with you there. Cowboys to me feel like a team that's just riding the wave until Jerry decides to blow it up and bring Bill Belichick in. see. The Giants. Yeah. The Giants. Yeah, I mean, I Brian Dable. I've known Brian for quite a few years, but it's not, I mean, that offense is just fractured. You you've got neighbors, which is a great piece, but Ken Jones put it together and get him to ball.

Jake (21:21)

And apparently, it have been Sanders. That was the news today.

Benjamin Allbright (21:41)

that protections has been problems for years. Yeah. I think if you watch

Jake (21:43)

Can Jaylin Hyatt step up and be a pro? Right? If you have neighbors and Jaylin Hyatt steps up, the offensive line stays healthy. Still goes back to Daniel Jones. think defensively they could be better. I just don't expect them to do a whole lot.

Benjamin Allbright (21:57)

Yeah, I'm with you there. Did you watch the hard knocks at all? Because it felt to me like that Joe Shane might have been out of touch with where his roster actually is versus where he was saying it was.

Jake (22:06)

I don't know if that's how he really feels, it sure looked that way. Yeah.

Benjamin Allbright (22:08)

Yeah, for the cameras. Fair enough. then of course you got the commanders, you know, I got some friends on that staff. They expect to be competitive this year. know, Quinn's re -changing the culture. There's a bit of a reputation about being a slogan guy around the league and all that kind of stuff, but he does, his defenses do produce and he does, he does get the most out of guys who change the cultures. The guys will run through a wall for him. You get, you bring in Kingsbury to run the offense. We saw what he could do with Kyler rookie year. I Kyler was putting up eye popping numbers. I think Jayden's got better tools. We'll see.

At the end of the day, what they're able to do with that. So I think the commanders are other sneaky team over there. And then of course we've got the NFC South. You've got a Saints team that looks like they're spiraling into the abyss and headed for new coaching. The Falcons, man, I love what they did on defense. They bought a defense and they're trying to put one together there. Justin Simmons got plenty left in the tank. Don't be fooled. Just because he's 30 years old, he's got plenty left in the tank. He got Judon, who's going to be motivated. They're going to be a good football team. got the Panthers who are still building.

Jake (23:03)

And then you had Jesse Bates, added Jesse Bates. mean, I mean, that's that's freaking yeah. Back end, Torell got signed. They scared the shit out of me. Be honest with you. I got the books return everybody and you could not have had a better off season. If you're the bucks, everybody got signed. Everybody got signed for the right number. You're sitting pretty at the cap. Jason light and company, Mike Green, they did a hell of a job. You return a team that I think could be one or two games better. I still think the bucks.

Benjamin Allbright (23:05)

What's up? Yeah, Bates.

Mm

Jake (23:33)

are better than the Falcons, but man, the Falcons got, they added enough to really scare me. Like that offense, Kirk Cousins is never gonna get the credit he deserves. For 10 years, Kirk Cousins has played four or five weeks at MVP level. Take away the prime time games, he wins a lot of games. Like a lot of games. They have two running backs, Algier's still not a joke, he's 240. The change of pace would be John who can move around. mean, they just.

Benjamin Allbright (23:55)

Mm

Jake (24:00)

I think the Bucks can play a little bit more complimentary football than them. And I don't think we have to go try to score. I still say we, so apparently, apparently, unbiased here when it comes to this, I agree with you on the saints. I think the saints are, they're old, they're heading downhill. don't, I don't expect that to be much. And then Carolina, don't, I don't.

Benjamin Allbright (24:22)

Yeah, it's also rad.

Jake (24:23)

There's, there's still, there's still a lot. wish David, I got a bunch of buddies on that staff now too, the best of luck, but I think they're just a long way. And you have owners that metal man. It gets so hard when the owner is in there. There's no clue what he's talking about telling you what to do with changing coaches, changing GMs, that whole new regime. think they're a long way off. I think it's the bucks and the Falcons and the can the Falcons stay healthy? Like I love PENIX, but I hate that pick for them. When you give Kirk $140 million guaranteed. Yeah. Okay. So Kirk's there for two years and PENIX sits your one.

Benjamin Allbright (24:43)

Mm

Yeah.

Jake (24:52)

All the pass rushes were on the board. Can you imagine if they took the first corner at what six or eight, whatever was the pair with Terrell? Now you got Jesse Bates and Simmons. You had a secondary in a room.

Benjamin Allbright (24:54)

Mm

Yeah. You add up front, add a lot to or a Dallas Turner and all of sudden that pass rush makes that back end even better too. I was shaking my head on that one. I was like, I get it, but I don't like it. It feels like a bit of a waste to me. Then of course, what's that? I take Tampa in this division. I think they win it. I like what the Falcons did, but I still feel there's going to be some ups and downs and growing pains there. Again, I

Jake (25:15)

Who you picking? Who you picking?

lot of hype, lot of hype.

Benjamin Allbright (25:29)

Yeah, that's a lot of pressure early on. Baker in year two, getting some continuity. I always loved Baker Mayfield. And when he got continuity and proper coaching, he looked good. Yeah, when he was in the bad spots, know, bad with Freddie Kitchens running the show there and in Cleveland, that was terrible. Then you had that Carolina situation, which was a joke, but when he had competent coaching, he looks really good. And so I think that if you can keep him upright, keep him healthy. And I think this off season from people I talked to, and I'm sure you can.

Jake (25:39)

Stay healthy. Maybe you just need to be healthy. Yeah.

Benjamin Allbright (25:58)

echo this. is the healthiest he's ever come into a season. And I'm talking about that belly, you know, that beer belly's trimmed down a little bit. He's, you know, he's got himself a playing shape.

Jake (26:06)

Yeah, healthiest, happiest, I think most comfortable, offensive line is really good. He loves those guys. He jelled with those guys, same weapons all the way around. I think their biggest thing is staying healthy. Like I said, off season Antoine re -signed, Tristan Wirf signed. Like you couldn't have done better. mean, when Jason came out and said, if we can get all these guys signed, it'll be a miracle. And they pulled it off. Like I just, they just have to stay healthy to me. They're better. They're better coached. Raheem I like, but second time around a lot with like.

Quinn, great defense coordinator. I know the defense will be better there, but how is he as the head coach a second time around? There's a lot of questions with these guys. Kirk knows that offense, so I think that he won't have the learning curve that some of those guys will have. But yeah, to me, it's still the Bucs in that division.

Benjamin Allbright (26:54)

Yeah, I think so. I think so too. It'll be fun. It's going to be a fascinating season. Obviously, we kick off with Baltimore, Kansas City on Thursday. Bouncing around the league and anything is jumping out at you. We do have a couple of rookies starting. Everybody's, think, eyes are going to be on Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels and Bo Nix. Is there any other storylines that just scream, hey, I got to keep an eye on this this year?

Jake (27:16)

Running backs. I want to bring this up to you just that I didn't want to put it down on paper. Just like hit you off top of your head. Like the running back position is insane to me. Stake one new place, Derek Henry, new place, Josh Jacobs, new place. The list goes on and on. Joe Mixon, new place. I for those people that play fantasy football, that's mind -boggling. They're all still top 12 picks, but they're all on new teams. They all took the money where they could get it. Those teams didn't want to pay them.

Aaron Jones, new team, like that you just keep going down the list. Like it's crazy to me. Like, what do you think of the, to me, you gotta pay attention to all those guys. They're all, they're all home run hitters. They're all big time players. Say Quan, think, and Derek Henry to me really jump off the page. Like Derek Henry, if he has anything left, which I think he does the way that he trains with that offense, with, with the Marjacks. Like to me that those two, how do you let those guys leave? Like I get Derek Ed run his course and they signed the two year guaranteed deal a while ago. They didn't want to pay him. They were, they're moving on. Like it makes sense, but like.

Saquon made no sense to me in the, in the science and division, like the running back position, state of the running back position is kind of crazy. But it, to me, is Mustang TV to see what happens with these guys.

Benjamin Allbright (28:24)

Yeah, think running backs and safeties have been artificially devalued in terms of the money that's given out to them and the impact that they do provide. You mentioned Derrick Henry, and I think he's one of those slept on fantasy players this year because you're going to have a mobile quarterback up back there opening lanes for him. You didn't have that last year. Will Levis is a decent quarterback, but you're not accusing him of being highly mobile anytime soon. Lamar Jackson out there, he'll open those lanes. You go back and you look at the history of mobile quarterbacks, open up lanes for these guys. We don't have to go back that far. can go back to Thibaut.

You know, T -Bow couldn't throw the ball with a darn, but he was opening up lanes for guys like Willis McGahey to get five yards to carry, even though everyone knew they were running the football. You get a guy like Derrick Henry back there with Lamar Jackson to me that I'm salivating, looking at the, you know, looking at the opportunities those are, you know, having to put a spy on Lamar and that's going to, that's just kind of open things up. It's going to change the way those run fits work. So I'm with you on that. Yeah. Yeah. Right.

Jake (29:13)

And they've added more things on the outside, right? mean, Mark Andrews hasn't gone anywhere. Love flowers came on last year, run after the catch abilities out of this world. Like they've added some pieces on the outside. So you can't just stack the box and assume it's going to be read option, RPO, whatever. Like you got to play them pretty straight up. And you say, you better waste a guy with a spy on the market, which you better. I mean, I think Derek Henry could just be a monster.

Benjamin Allbright (29:22)

Bye -bye.

Jake (29:38)

And they were ball control. Like that defense got beat up last year. The defense always good, but that they can control the ball a little bit more, not have to try to go out, score people and really play, keep that defense off the field, control the ball and put up, you know, 26, 27, 30 points. They could be dangerous. They got to stay healthy though.

Benjamin Allbright (29:52)

I'm with you on that. There's another running back that got moved this year. Samajay P. Ryan went from the Denver Broncos to Kansas City Chiefs. That's going to cut in. you're a fantasy person, that's going to cut in at Pajeco a little bit because he'll be the third down guy. The thing about P. Ryan, think a lot of people don't realize is how good a receiver he is. And I think with Andy Reid, man, that makes that team even more dangerous. Just having one more option that can catch a ball in an already loaded football team is going to be tough.

Jake (30:17)

And a pass blocking monster. The reason he plays on third down is yeah, he's a good receiver, but he's an absolute beast picking up the blitz, protecting Patrick Malm's like that is invaluable, especially for a guy like Malm's to know. Okay. I've had some young guys over there on the other side, McKinnon I love, but he's not stepping up and taking all linebackers. Like P Ryan is a bowling ball that will knock you out. I love that piece. That's another great piece that just happened recently.

Benjamin Allbright (30:22)

Yep.

Best story about P Ryan, we'll get you all out of here on this one. Best story about P Ryan, when he signed on with the Denver Broncos a while back, I talked to some people and apparently he was down there in Oklahoma, somebody, some lady whose car on the side of the road, she didn't have a jack. So he went and held the car up while she changed the tire. And so I'm asking him about this story and he's all trying to play it off. Cause he's like one of the most humble guys you'll ever meet. And he's trying to play, it was just one those little electric cars. Those way more.

They weigh more because the batteries, instead I was just sitting there, hold the car up so the lady could change. That's how strong that guy is. I just, you know, I love little stories like that. So that was one that, you know, it couldn't take for me.

Jake (31:16)

Yeah, no, that's, those are the under the radar things. I think that allow you to be a better football team. That's one of those guys that. You know, wasn't going to fit with the younger team turning it over, but you add a veteran piece that knows his role to a team. That's already really good. And nobody's talking about that in Kansas city. They're talking about Hollywood Brown. They're talking about worthy. They're going to be better, but that's, I'm glad you brought that up. Cause that is a, that's an awesome piece that they added.

Benjamin Allbright (31:22)

Mm

Yeah, and savvy coaches know to do that. You bring those little pieces. It doesn't move the needle with the sports books and all that kind of stuff. But in reality, it does move the needle, not only in the locker room, but on the field as well. Jake, we're about up against it, but we look forward to doing this with you guys every week. We're going to add some fun segments to it. We got a two minute drill we're going to start adding in here and some other stuff we want to do. we wanted to get you guys used to sort of what it is that we bring to the table with some of this stuff and a little overview. And look forward to hitting these topics next week after we got some games under our belt.

Jake (32:11)

You got it, brother. Looking forward to it.

Benjamin Allbright (32:13)

Absolutely. Guys, we'll see you at 813.tv

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