PODCAST16

The Last Down Podcast discusses their overall thoughts on the recent preseason games. They talk about the Texans' offensive line struggles and the standout performance of rookie receiver Tink Dell. They also discuss the Patriots' defense and the potential of rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez. They mention Malik Cunningham's touchdown for the Patriots and the Seahawks' rookie wide receiver Jackson Smith-Najeeba. Finally, they discuss the performances of Deontae Banks for the Giants and Julian O'Quarr for the Lions. All right, hold on. You're like, hold up. Adjust it, all right. Welcome to the Last Down Podcast. We got episode 16 today. Finally some football was played and I'm your boy Anguiano. I'm your boy Lopez. Preseason week one, down the books. There's a lot of things we gotta talk about and I feel like, you know, overall it was a lot of interesting things and what was your overall take, though, before we really get into it? For starters, preseason was pretty fun from the highlights that I got to see the game. I didn't get to see much, well, I mean, I didn't get to see any games other than the Packers one, but from what I saw across the league, it was really fun and we got to see a lot of stars, a lot of, you know, shining, but rising stars, you know. I was actually, like, a little surprised because I feel like, realistically, half the teams were actually starting their starters, which, I mean, in the years past, I mean, there's always a few teams, but I feel like it was a little more than usual, I feel. Yeah, I think so. No, yeah, agreed. I mean, one that I can think of right now is Russell Wilson. He got to play two quarters and that's really, I mean, that shows a lot that these teams are actually taking preseason seriously and, you know, they're trying to showcase what they got and really see how the team coexists. Yeah, but we'll start with some actual news real quick, with Philip Rivers and the Niners, that he was pretty much on call if the Niners had the Super Bowl, which I find smart because Brock Berry's inexperienced, but what's your thoughts on that? I'm very surprised because of all quarterbacks that they could bring back, possibly Philip Rivers was maybe the last option. One option that I could have probably, would have considered and had the phone call ready for is Drew Brees, because I know Drew Brees was very hesitant on retiring. He kind of was lingering there last year with him possibly going to the Dolphins. So I just feel like Drew Brees would have been a better call there, especially a quarterback that actually has the Super Bowl under his belt. I feel like Drew Brees would have been the better option there, but nonetheless, the 49ers actually had a decent, it's a decent plan. I feel like it's a decent plan that maybe other teams will consider because you have a rookie quarterback that is shaky and is hurt. I mean, what better way than to bring a veteran? I mean, in that context, I agree because obviously Brock Curry was hurt, but if he was healthy, I don't know. I mean, I feel like Brock Curry was very sharp, very solid. And as a Rams fan, I hated seeing that, but nevertheless, we'll dive into preseason and we're just gonna go in order, starting with the Texans and the Patriots. Those are some things we could talk about. I feel like the main thing is that Tia showed his O-line was building on him and it was not a pretty debut, it was not a pretty debut at all. No, and it's the story of the Texans. You know, the Texans have great quarterbacks, but just don't have the offensive line to help them out. And CJ Stratton is no different. He looked pretty, you know, rustled up with all the pressures coming at him and the dropbacks. I hope that it can be fixed as the season goes by, but it's a strong indicator that the Texans might not be the team just yet. Yeah, I agree. And the only positive thing I feel like can come out of what happened Thursday was Tink Dell. Five catches, 65 yards, and had a spectacular catch. What'd you think about his performance? Who was it? Tink Dell. Tink Dell, oh yeah, Tink Dell, my bad. I received the text, important text, but Tink Dell really showed up, in my opinion. Just cut it, just cut it right there. Just stop it, and then, go ahead. So what'd you think about Tink Dell's performance? Five catches, 65 yards. Ah, solid, dude. I didn't take, I'm believing the hype more and more. I know you had, like, the most hype around him. You knew that he was obviously gonna be a top five receiver. For the rookies. For the rookies, yes, for the rookies. And he showcased, he showcased what he has, and I mean, the hype is real. He made that unreal catch in preseason. Yeah, I mean, I think he's set for a good, solid campaign, honestly. I have him, actually, I have him still, like, second or third overall, in terms of rookies for receivers year one. But, who knows? Because at the end of the day, CJ Strauss would be the one throwing to him, and now Davis Mills. So, for sure, he actually looked very good, though, given the fact that it was Davis Mills. And that catch, that catch was phenomenal. Yeah, yeah. But to go on to Patriots, I feel like mainly what stood out to me is that Christian Gonzalez had an impactful fumble. He did very well. He did what he was supposed to do. Yeah, and Chris Gonzalez obviously slid down in the draft, and according to many, he was easily a top 10 pick. But he fell down to, I believe, the 17th pick to the Patriots. And I just feel like this is a guy to watch for. If Christian Gonzalez is, if he's a steal, then, you know, watch out, because he could be the next good corner for the Patriots. Who knows? Maybe the next Stephon Gilmore. But another thing about the Patriots is, I don't know if you noticed, but one of their quarterbacks was actually not a quarterback in the NBA game. He was a receiver, Malik Cunningham, and he had a nice touchdown. They're saying out here that he's gonna be in the next Julian Edelman, but I don't know. What'd you think about that statement? I don't think he's the next Julian Edelman, to be honest. I feel like, obviously, he's mainly gonna play the quarterback position. But if they switch him over to the wide receiver position, then I could see some success. But I just don't think throwing out the label of him being the next Edelman makes sense. I think the Patriots, though, they need to be creative. They don't have much to offer. Their defense is very good, but their offense, easily the worst in the division. They have to be creative. Like, last year, I still remember, specifically, their corner, Marcus Jones, was playing offense for one snap, and it was Buffalo, and he scored a touchdown. Yeah, they were very creative. They have to stay creative, because if they wanna compete, like I said, in the NBA, Bill Belichick just has to really be in his bag, just think outside the box. And if Malik Cunningham can provide that, like he did in preseason, then who knows? Maybe they'll actually be better just because of that alone. Yep. But on to the next game, I mean, the Seahawks-Vikings. I mean, I know you have some stuff to say. Jackson Smith-Najibba is a guy to watch for. I have here that he had three for four catches with 25 yards. It's not a lot, but from what people have seen, what I saw from the highlights is a guy that can get separation, a guy that can route run really well. And we'll see in the next preseason game how he shows, but I feel like it's a great glimpse of what's to come. And obviously, they're gonna restrict him because they know he's gonna be in the bigger picture. He's not just a rookie that, oh, that he's fighting for a spot. No, this is a rookie that's gonna straight up get targets, get yardage. And this is just a small glimpse, but just watch for him, watch for him. At minimum, he's gonna be the wide receiver, too, at minimum, later on, because DK's still kinda young. I wouldn't be surprised though if there's a center where he's the one and DK's the two, but I feel like that's a little bit down the road. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure, right now, I do believe the Seahawks have one of the best trios in the NFL now. Thanks to that, because I do see him looking close to that Ohio State JSN. If he even gets near that, even in the NFL level, he's gonna be elite wide receiver three. And I piggyback on that. We had a comment in one of the TikToks, I believe, saying that when I said that Higgins and Chase were the best duo in the NFL, someone said, oh, what about Devonta Smith and AJ Brown? To be honest, they're both great duos, and I have them below by one spot. Number one's obviously gonna be Chase Higgins, but number two for me is Brown and Devonta Smith. So I don't get why, I mean, I guess, but if you look at the statistics, Chase was killing it last year. So you can't really blame me for picking them first than Devonta Smith and AJ Brown. Devonta Smith had a pretty slow season. First half was okay, you see the writing on the, not the writing on the wall, but you see that he's kind of boosting and going up, up, up, up. It wasn't until the second half where it was like, okay, this guy's for real, this guy is a good complement to AJ Brown. But don't come at me, check the statistics. I think Dolphins fans might want to say something to us. Yeah, maybe, that is true. But we'll find out, I mean, that is true. They were the best wide receiver duo last year, but I just think for this upcoming season, they won't be. I don't know. I feel like they're the second or third best wide receiving duo, the Dolphins. If Tua just is better, then we'll be wrong, because if he's better, that means he'll do better. If he stays healthy, Tua, then by all means, we can still consider them the best duo. But I feel like Tua's a very high injury risk, so I don't know. But to go on to Friday's games, I feel like there's, in terms of the Lions and the Giants, I really want to talk about how specifically two players on the defensive sides of both teams, Deontay Banks for the Giants, he was very good in his limited time share, the first rounder, really could possibly be a very good starting corner. I mean, three targets, no receptions. And then, not to mention, Detroit had a Julian O'Quarr? O'Quarr, yes. He had three sacks and three tackles for a long time. That's very good. I mean, it's preseason, but three sacks against minimum backups. I didn't even watch the game, so I can't be honest. I mean, I'll be honest, I don't know if it was against starters or backups, but it was likely backups. I mean, he still left a clear impact on the defense for Detroit. Yeah, for sure. The Lions need those type of players if they want to compete in the NFC North, and Julian provided that boost. That's his name, right, Julian? Yes, Julian. Julian definitely showed a lot of, he's not a rookie, you know? He's been in the league for at least three years now, so him doing these type of performances will keep him on the field and will keep him in the starting contention. I feel like the Lions for sure need that, though, like you said, because right now the NFC North is completely wide open. But another thing I actually want to talk about is the AFC North, specifically the Steelers. Friday, that first drive, I mean, maybe it's obviously because it's preseason, but Kenny Pickett, George Pickett, Deontay Johnson, that whole offense just looked very good, very strong. Najee? Najee. Najee didn't do crazy, but you know, everything was still efficient overall, and it was just one drive, so I mean, but overall, seriously, the Steelers, they may be a playoff team. Their offense, their defense is very good, but the offense, they continue to look a little bit more like that. We're talking about playoffs for sure, I think, at that point, even though the Bengals and the Ravens are still there. I think that whole division could be crazy. Yeah, and one guy that really stood out to me, and is the reason why I'm sweating my ass off, now I'm playing, but this guy that's super hot right now, and that a lot of people are kind of taking a glimpse at, like, who is this guy? Tyson Anderson of the Cincinnati Bengals. He had two picks against my team, and he had one go for 43 yards for a pick six. This is a guy that, like, out of nowhere, just came out and stood out, and I feel like could be a potential starter for the Bengals. After they lost a lot of good pieces of their secondary, they need people to step up, and Tyson Anderson really stood out to me, and is a player to watch for, honestly, to watch for. I agree, I mean, even though it was against the mediocre Packers, I feel like, you know, you're still performing, you're still doing some stuff. Like, two interceptions in one game is still pretty good. Even though, I think it was on Stan Clifford, right? Yes, it was Clifford, so I don't, if it was Love, I would say mediocre, but it's not Love. Love, balled out. That's all I gotta say. Love, balled out. So, let's go into more detail. So, how do you feel about your potential franchise QB? How do you feel about what you saw? Because I only saw a TD, the TD was nice, but how do you feel about what you saw? Because I know you watched the highlight. From what I saw was that he had a lot of composure. Compared to, like, his start against the Philadelphia Eagles, where, obviously, the Packers were losing, he showed a lot of nervousness and stuff like that, but then kind of, you know, kind of, like, calmed himself down. But in this preseason game, Jordan Love showed a lot of, you know, a lot of understanding of the game, a lot of mental toughness, and I feel like he's gonna be ready. He's gonna be ready. He was making smart throws, and that touchdown pass was great. So, I, generally speaking, I think Jordan Love will be okay. It's just, it's really just dependent on, and another thing that we saw, that you sent me a statistics of dropbacks, Jordan Love had 0% dropbacks. That offensive line was helping the heck out of Jordan Love. If that's the case throughout the whole season, we're looking at a solid campaign from Love. I'm not trying to hype it up. I'm, like I said, I'm a diehard Packer fan, but I'm not trying to, and I'm not trying to hype up that, oh, we're gonna make it all the way, but if Jordan Love has the same offensive line that Aaron Rodgers has, you know, it could make any quarterback look good, honestly. As long as you have a good offensive line and good pieces, I think Jordan Love will be straight. Yeah, I think, and he has, I feel like Christian Watson, at least, it's clear that he's an above average receiver already, even though we haven't seen too much from him. It's clear he already has that weapon right there, and Romeo Dobbs looked very good that day. I know he was the one that cut the TD. If he starts looking at the wide receiver, too, that he was starting to look like last year, then we're talking about two good receivers, and then all of a sudden you have a decent offense, and not to mention the running backs are one of the best cores in the league. I mean, the Packers can definitely compete. I think regardless, they'll be fine in NSE North in terms of competing. I'm not really concerned about them just being bad or something. I don't expect them to just go off the cliff. Yeah, I don't think the Packers will be instantly horrendous. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't make the playoffs, but I just think that the way Jordan Love showcased himself in this one preseason game and the ability of the offensive line to avoid all the pressure, it's a sign of good things to come, you know? And I'm hopeful as a Packers fan. I'm really hopeful. And then another game I feel like was of interest is the Browns and the Commanders. I mean, Deshaun Watson, he actually played this time. He won three for three, 12 passing yards. He made more of an effect on rushing, rushed 20 rushing yards. Did you see how he performed, or did you just? I kind of just didn't want to look at it. I mean, three for three, 20, how many yards? 12. I'll say, I mean, it was conservative, for sure. Yeah, they don't want to hurt him. The guy that I'm looking at is DTR. DTR went crazy in his preseason game. And just like what happened at the Hall of Fame game, he bowled out and showed why he should be a number two option in Cleveland and could easily be a starter in other teams. I'll say it here. Yeah, I agree. I'll say it here. He could easily be a quarterback, a starting quarterback, you know? Because he showed a lot of glimpses of, it's crazy to me. I've never, I don't think I've seen a guy do this good in a preseason game. Yeah, he did it two times in a row, and DTR, and he can block, too. I feel like DTR should have been a starter somewhere else. I don't know how he fell that late. I could have sworn it was because of injury. But UCLA, for sure, developed him well. I knew when I saw him battle against Caleb Williams, I'm like, at that time, I'm like, I don't know how he's not getting real hype. Because I was like, he's for sure capable of putting up points. And he has raw talent, a lot of athleticism. He can throw the ball with it. I mean, I just really think that DTR needs to get traded at some point. Maybe not now, just because he's a rookie and DeSean Watson might not pan out. But if DeSean Watson pans out, he probably legit needs to be traded, because he looks too good right now. He looks like a person, I feel like he's for sure better than at least five starting quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Yeah, no, yeah, but speaking on Watson, I want to touch upon that the Bengals, I mean, the Browns and the Eagles are having joint practices and the Eagles' quarterback, Reid Blankenship, has picked off Watson three times already in joint practices. So if it tells you something, it's that DeSean Watson is not doing that great in the joint practices. So just to keep an eye out, I just feel like this is a boom or bust year for Watson, for sure. I agree, I agree. And I feel like another thing I actually want to talk about from the Browns, though, is that Ronnie Hickman, he got undrafted, he's a rookie. Yeah, I mean, they need secondary still, and he did very well. He had two interceptions, two passes defended. I mean, he was low-key a baller this weekend, and even though probably not many people are talking about it, but he really made an impact on this game. And what do you think about the two interceptions? Yeah, another player like Tyson Anderson, it's another player that's going to be a guy to look at and a guy that could be easily in the starting position soon. These teams need secondary. In a conference that's full of good wide receivers, you got the Chases, you got the Pickens, you got Odell. These are guys, you need to have secondary in this division. So great standing out for him, great opportunity for him to come out of nowhere, be undrafted, and possibly become a starter one day. So I think these guys balled out and showed why this division specifically needs those cornerbacks. You need these safeties. And then I actually want to touch base on the Washington Commanders. Sam Howell looked pretty good, pretty sharp, actually. Nine for 12, over 70 passing yards. My main takeaway, though, is I think Dodson's for sure a wide receiver, too, because he had a nice grab. He Howell overthrew it a little bit, and then he had a nice grab for the TD. I generally think the Commanders possibly can be a competent offense, especially with Eric Bien-Aimé now being the offensive coordinator. What's your thoughts on all this? I think Sam Howell, for sure, is gonna be a great starter for the Commanders. I think he's an upgrade from last year when they had Haneke. Yeah, I respect Haneke, I respect his grind, I respect that he got them to the playoffs before, but I just think that Sam Howell probably has a bit more potential to himself. And as for Dodson, Dodson has been, for the last two years, been like, oh, the next star for the Commanders, you know, the guy that's gonna compliment McLaurin. But I'm still on Curtis Samuel. I love that dude. Because he had a mighty fantastic team. I did have him on my fantasy team, and he would, you know, he had great games, and then he had horrendous games, but I just feel like- The loyalty stone is on him? Because last year, Johan Dodson didn't do as much as... He, is it Johan? It's Johan Dodson. Johan Dodson. Johan Dodson. Yeah, Dodson didn't perform as great as we thought, and I remember he would miss a lot of catches, so it's really gonna be, again, the story of who's wide receiver two, and I think Samuel still has it in the bag. I disagree, but we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens, dude. On the flip side, Russell Wilson played until the second quarter, like you said. Honestly, I feel like it's concerning that he barely got a touchdown, and it took like almost 10 minutes into the second quarter to get it. I feel like, I wouldn't blame everything on him, because I clearly was able to tell instantly. That whole line is bad. It's horrible. I wouldn't want to play it all on him, but for sure, I'm already writing off the Broncos, I don't care if Sean Payton's the coach. If it takes you over 20 minutes to score a touchdown against the Cardinals, and they're supposedly not even their starters, that's already an alarm to me. Yeah, the Broncos situation is very hard to tell. Again, we're left with more questions than answers. Russell Wilson didn't do as expected, and 7-for-13 is not bad in the ideal quarterback world, in the ideal NFL world, but for a guy that has the weapons just to not really showcase more, really leaves Broncos fans wondering, is this it? Is this really all we're going to get? A mediocre quarterback that has all the tools, but is lacking that offensive line, is lacking that drive that he had in Seattle. So it's really sad for them. It's a really sad situation for the Broncos. Yeah, and they paid a couple of old linemen, and I don't think they played that game though, so I guess that's a little bit of slack right there. And one was injured. I heard that was the last injury. Yeah, but I know it wasn't full force, but I know some of the stars are still playing it. No, it's horrible down there. I feel like I would be very shocked if we're here in a few months from now, and they're in the playoffs. You know, I really do think it's not looking good at all, and things can change, but I'm not optimistic at all. So going on to Saturday, you know, I feel like I got to start off with the arrival, the Bears, specifically Justin Fields. You know, I'll cut to the chase. I feel like the weapons are for sure better this year than last year. I mean, the two touchdowns on two plays speaks for itself. What do you think about the Justin Fields' performance and the weapons? I hate it. Playing it simple. I hate it. Why the hell are the Bears playing good? They should be worse than this. No, it's true, man. Justin Fields and DJ Moore, they have that connection. They have that connection, and Justin was doing video game stuff, and now that I'm thinking, my freaking rankings are looking more and more bleak than I thought. They're looking worse and worse. I mean, then again, it is preseason, so not everyone's full force, but still. But maybe I should tell you another thing. You know, obviously the Bears had D-line last year, but this time around, I mean, like I said, it's preseason, but they have two guys that Terrell Lewis gets two sacks, and then Jalen Harris gets 1.5 sacks. I mean, it seems like there's some guys that clearly are feeding for defense, and it's beginning to be an impact on that defense for sure, and maybe they're legit. I don't... On to the next question, man. I'm done with the next question. Okay, we'll go on to the next game. I feel like we should talk about a feel-good moment right here. DeMar Hamlin finally played. The craziest part is that he got some tackles. Look, if I'm gonna be honest, that's probably the most feel-good story in the NFL for sure, and, you know, when that happened to him, I was like, I almost felt like I knew him. Like, I don't know how to explain it. I felt like nervous. I felt like, oh my gosh, like what the heck happened. Yeah. You know, I was like thinking about it for like days, like nonstop. I was like, I really, I was freaking out. It's something we've never seen before, really, on that level. On any sport, honestly. Yeah, and I mean, it just kind of sucks that that happened, but it's kind of remarkable to really think about. He recorded a few tackles, played a game. Like, what do you think about all this? I mean, it's surreal, man, because if we would have said when it happened, like after it happened, we would have thought he was done, his career was over, that he shouldn't play another year down, but here we are, you know? He's playing here. He did good, solid for the preseason, and I mean, if anything, it's like a learning lesson that although, you know, they give you the hardest challenges in life, you can always just get back up and, you know, do better, you know, and do great things. Because not only on the field, off the field, you know, he has his charity, he goes and does events and stuff like that. So, I mean, it's a, it's so much a... I think I have to start it, so I'll do three, two, one. All right. Yeah, so he does his charities and events outside of the football field, so props to him for coming back and really just standing out, one of the best players that stood out to me. 100%. I mean, it's a good story overall, and it just shows, you know, you just gotta keep fighting, you're something that you think, you know, in life, you know? But on to more things, Anthony Richardson, I feel like the debut was all right. You know, I feel like, given the context of his whole history, lack of experience, it was pretty good. Outside of one horrible interception, I mean, he should have had a touchdown. Alec Pierce dropped it, but seven for 13, like 60 yards, it's not that bad, it's competent. And given that, I can tell, like, you know, he was facing some pressure, too. Because I think the Bills did start their starters on defense at first. So, because I for sure saw Milano, I for sure saw Milano. Yeah. So I think, given all that, and he's already named a starter, by the way, he's already named a starter when we were filming this there, he said it, so it's pretty clear that Anthony Richardson, the inexperience, it's not as bad as we think. I feel like, overall, he might be a top 10 fan of CQB. I don't know. I mean, that's a wild, wild, wild take. I just feel like, you know, with the Jonathan Taylor situation, it really limits that type of progression. But, I mean, just him already being announced as the number one starter should give him a confidence boost, but also kind of, I mean, his first preseason game was kind of tough, but still, he showed glimpses and showed why he's still gonna be the moving, the starting quarterback moving forward. But, I mean, we'll just gotta see the second game, see how he rolls, and if he does good, then, I mean, it's a good indicator of what's gonna come. Yeah, I mean, and then, you know, he already has the dual-threat ability. So, you know, and that's the move now. I feel like that's kind of what every team wants. And, I mean, with that being said, I feel like moving on to the next team, Douchebond, I want to talk to him, Douchebond, because, you know, everyone knows who he is by now. Little, probably the smallest running back in the NFL right now, but he balled out eight rushes, 50 yards, TD. You know, I feel like people are saying that he's probably gonna be the RB2 for the Dallas Cowboys, and I feel like I can agree. I saw him in K-State, you know. He was a huge reason why they went as far as they did. He runs the ball with poise. He's small, but he's definitely, he definitely runs downhill pretty good. Yeah, he reminds me of Terrence Sproles. I don't know if you ever got to see him play, but Terrence Sproles was also 5'6", and he also went to K-State. So, you know, there's a lot of glimpses with Terrence Sproles and Douchebond, and I think Douchebond has already said that, like, he likes to, the comparison that he likes to pick out whatever Terrence Sproles has, you know. And Terrence Sproles was never the, you know, all the top elite running back, but he was always that shifty guy that, you know, he'd break tackles, he was fast, you know. So, if anything, having that type of, you know, comparison is really good for him, really good for Douchebond, and I feel like, you know, given the fact that they do know each other, Sproles probably would give him a lot of deep tips and stuff, so, and he showed up, you know. I have it here, he had eight carries for 50 yards and a touchdown. Hey, man, that's solid for a running back, or for a rookie running back, it's solid. So, congrats to him on having a good showing. And yeah, it's something he is gonna be running back to behind Pallard. Pallard, but, you know, we'll see. I bet you, if you hear the announcer, he says Pallard, but nevertheless, let's go on to the next game. I feel like there's something else that I wanna talk about, and it's my team against the Chargers. I'll first start it off with the fact that Quentin Johnston had a nice TD, as you're being a main Packers fan. The best LA team won. Ah, plus Super Bowl. Just continue, continue. Quentin Johnston had a nice TD. If he does pan out, as expected, I think we're looking at the Chargers being Super Bowl contenders. Yes, Super Bowl contenders. I feel like Justin Herbert is pretty much already there. He's right there in the homes. I mean, I just don't, I know he doesn't have the freaking awards, but the eye test says something else. And not to mention, if Quentin Johnston just looks good, he has a top five, Robert C. Ruchero, undoubtedly. And this will all for sure be the case. I would not be surprised at all if the Chargers are 12 or 13, a 12 or 13 win team if they stay healthy. That's a very bold take on saying that they're Super Bowl contenders, but based off of preseason games. But yeah, the Rams obviously didn't really do much. But one standout that I don't know if you're gonna refer to it or you're gonna talk about is Stetson Bennett. Stetson Bennett actually did okay. He actually did pretty, he did pretty okay. I didn't see the fact that their corner dropped four interceptions. But I mean, outside of that four interceptions, outside of that, he was fine. But I will give him a little bit of slack, I guess. But you guys have your guys' quarterback of the future. You guys don't need Caleb Bloom. Stetson Bennett, two time defending national champion. Sucks that Caleb Bloom will never. He's not gonna be a Ram. Never gonna be a Ram. But another player that I'm gonna mention from our team, and I hope that this isn't just a preseason you know, performance, Kiera Thomas, 1.5 sacks. We definitely need someone to rush because if it's just Donald, we're not getting many sacks. I feel like everyone would just prefer for Donald and he's getting older. We're not getting any sacks. We lost Floyd. So I mean, I feel like that alone just already puts us at a deficit. And not to mention, you know, we lost Ramsey too. So I don't have high hopes anyway. But I feel like, you know, Stetson Bennett is not our answer though. I don't know what he's on. I don't feel like Stetson Bennett showed me enough. And not to mention he's already like 25, 26. But he should be in the family's career like forever. And he shouldn't be out here in a preseason game, you know. So nevertheless, I feel like it's time to move on to another team and it's the Eagles. I want to talk about just one player and it's Eli Ricks. Given that the Eagles lost in secondary, aka CJ Garner Johnson, Eli Ricks for sure had a little standout right there with the big six. What do you think about, you know, Eli Ricks? Well, yeah, it's another like, you know, how Tyson Anderson and the Bengals quarterback, they both stood out. This is another standout that, you know, it's another division that you need the defensive backs with dealers like McLaurin and Samuel Dodson. And then you got, you know, CeeDee Lamb. Like there's guys there that, you know, you gotta avoid at all costs. And as long as you have good solid defensive backs, yeah, the ice cream machine is back here behind us. But anyways, that's because it's hot outside. Yes, it's hot outside. If you can't tell, we're sweating our asses off. I'm not sweating. I'm sweating my ass off. To be honest, yes, the Eagles corners seem to come out and over. They have a corner machine. They have a safety machine. They have everything there. So, I mean, yeah, I mean. They have a sack machine. They have a sack machine. Like the Eagles always tend to get good defensive pieces. And this is just one more to their addition. Yeah, I mean, I pretty much agree. I feel like the Eagles are the team to be in NFC. I just, I don't even think the Niners can compete right now, if I'm being honest. But on to the Sunday game, Zach, like there's really two, like a couple of things I want to tell you about. I just want to start it off though, real quickly. I just want to say, I'm surprised that Mahomes played. That's all I got to say. I'm just going to cut to the chase. I'm just surprised he played. I mean, I know Andy Reid typically starts the starters, but after the year he just had, I'm just surprised because of the injury he had. He even ran. But what do you think about that little, that little performance that Mahomes did in terms of the type that he just played? I mean, it's not rare for us, for any team to start their starters. And Mahomes is no different. You know, he is the starting quarterback and what better way to start the season than by throwing him in the preseason. And even if it's a four or fourth span, it's still, it's a great way to warm up and you know, get yourself adjusted with new teammates and stuff like that. And I'm pretty sure Tom Brady did it in his career too. So like, it's not a rare appearance that all a team just won the Super Bowl and their starting quarterback is in the preseason. No, I mean, you obviously want to get everyone on the field and get everyone in that zone, get everyone ready, that mentality. All right, this is day one, you know, this is day one of, you know, the road to the Super Bowl. So, I mean, I don't mind it. You know, I'm pretty sure Mahomes probably wanted to do it. You know, I feel like Mahomes probably was like, all right, let me, coach, coach. Coach, put me on the field. I guess it's fair to say that because I remember, I was watching, I watched the whole drive he was on. When they, he, like I said, he freaking ran. Yeah. And I was just surprised because he ran for like six yards. He barely missed the first down. And it was fourth and one in like the middle of the field. And they went for it. They went for it. He didn't, he didn't get the ball. They were trying to sneak it in, but they went for it. Well, if that shows you anything, the Chiefs are all in again, you know? Pat Mahomes and Andy Reid have that, you know, mentality, you know, go bold or go home, you know? So, I'm not surprised at all that that team is, you know, wants to defend it. They want that championship. They want that franchise. So, or that dynasty. So, I'm not surprised. And Mahomes, go at it, man. Go eat. We'll see. But now on to the flip side, the main part of 1-5-0 is, Derek Carr was very, very solid. I know it's just one drive, but they were missing Chris Jones on the defense side. So, maybe the pressure was not really there, obviously. So, but I mean, I like what Derek Carr did. I feel like we're looking at a top 12 offense right here. We're looking at a top 12 offense. Plus five. If they stay healthy. Because MT and Olabe, you have a nice one, too. And then the tight ends, Rowan Johnson, you know, I feel like he's low-key a sleeper. I feel like he can, for sure, at least get 500. For sure. I mean, if Derek Carr performs to his usual, like where he does good with the receivers, then yeah. He's getting 500 out of them. Yeah, I mean, Derek Carr tends to like other weapons. Like he had, you know, he had- Waller. And Renfro. And Renfro. Yeah. And he even performed with Rugs before all that stuff. Exactly. I mean, as long as he keeps being consistent and is smart with the ball, then yeah, I think the Raiders are, I mean, the Saints are up to something. You know, they're up to something. And Michael Thomas stayed healthy again. And for all, you know, I can see this team being a possible sleeper in contention. You know, a sleeper in contention. Not, I think they'll make the playoffs. Undeniably, I think they will. But if the team stays healthy and Derek Carr comes back to 2016 form, by all means, I can see Derek- I even think 2021, he was pretty good. Yeah, yeah, no, 2021, he was also pretty solid. But 2016 was like his MVP campaign or where he was supposed to be an MVP. But I just think that Derek Carr does have that potential. And with a team that's, you know, pretty solid all around defensively, offensively. I mean, he's the X Factor, in my opinion. I agree. I feel like, no, I feel like more, he's the X Factor, but MT, if he stays healthy, like I said, we're looking, I do think we're looking at a top 12 option. Yeah, yeah. Top 12, I'm not even lying. Yeah, no. Because I see, like, two very good receivers. I feel like even whoever, whatever receiver three could be, whoever receiver three is for the Saints won't be too bad. And like I said, the tight end, I feel like he's not too much of a sleeper to the Saints fans, but to other fans, you know, you need to see how Johnson, how Johnson Lee plays, because he's, He's a tight end? He's a tight end. Well, speaking of the Saints, they signed Jimmy Graham. They did too, and he's a fan favorite. I mean, he's a fan favorite, and he's a Saints legend, in my opinion. I mean, just bringing that, I mean, just bringing guys like that, with that bit, like that veteran presence, really tells me that the Saints want to, you know, win. You know, they don't want to be the lacking stock of the NFL, and lacking stock division. But, I mean, I, the Saints are all in, man. I think the Saints are all in, and they want to compete. They want to win, and so, we'll see. We'll see. Because, I mean, I feel like Bryson didn't show much. I feel like the weapons are problematic there. But, I mean, well, Bryson showed poise, but I think the weapons are bad. Yeah. And then, you know, the Falcons, I didn't really feel like I saw that much. And the Buccaneers are, I feel like Baker played all right, but, I don't think, I mean, I don't have hope. So, I feel like the Saints are the best. Yeah, they're the best option. So, I feel like another thing, another quick thing is, I feel like, given that Kamara played the first drive, it's clear that he's probably the 1A, still. Jamal Williams obviously played some drives, but I didn't really see much to make me say, like, oh, Jamal Williams could really take it over. I really do think, at this point, Kamara still has that 1A. And, now on to the best part, the best part, which is the Niners. I feel like Trey Lance, Trey Lance is the main thing I honestly want to talk about, because it looks pretty clear that he is in a situation where he's not built for it right now. Stacked, like, three times in the first quarter. Stacked, like, four or five times overall. So, the Raiders, Raiders, passed the squad. So, it looks pretty clear, and he was pump-picking like crazy. And his touchdown was, like, the luckiest touchdown that we're probably gonna see this year. I don't know if you saw that touchdown, but it was, like, for sure. Yeah, that Raiders ice cream truck passed by, and they're telling us that, yeah, the Niners aren't shit right now. Nah, I'm just kidding. The thing is that the way that Lance looked at the game, you know, looked during this game, he looked shaky. He looked, you know, like a player that just came out of an injury. Yeah. Which is the case. Yeah. You know, when you come back from an injury, you're not 100%, you're kind of, there's still, it's a mental game. Yeah. Because you're like, oh my God, you know, I just had a gruesome injury, and now I'm back on the field. You have to get readjusted to things, you know? And I am not surprised at all, but I do kind of sense that something's gonna happen in the future where a trade comes around. I was very hard on the trade happening. Oh, the Raiders. Well, yeah, I was saying, to the Raiders. And I mean, I think that could still hold some value, maybe, if the Jimmy G experiment doesn't happen. But it's just, I think that now that Shanahan announced Purdy to be the starter, the starter no matter what, it's a clear indicator that they're gonna move on from Lance. Yeah. I feel like he ruined the value, some value for sure, because, you know, if you're an NFL team, you're gonna watch what he did, and you're gonna be able to tell that, right now, he's not there. He's not there. I don't even know why the Niners did what they did. I don't know what they saw in him. I'm thankful, in a sense, because since their arrival, I'm thankful that they're stupid when it comes to drafting. I mean, they drafted the kicker in the third round, and he did horrible, too. So I feel like, you know, not every team can be perfect, and it's pretty clear that the Niners don't have a perfect front office. I don't know about that one, my friend. That's a lot of bias right there, because I think John Lynch is one of the best front businessmen that's, you know, in charge of the, obviously, the- Then why can't he get the right quarterback? Well, I, you gotta be kidding me, man, because, you know, Brock Purdy kind of took him, you know, pretty far. But we gotta see it, then. We gotta see it. Brock Purdy took us pretty far, you know? We gotta see it long-term. I don't wanna tell you, I don't know how to break it to you. How did he get to CMC? You know? He still makes these trades that are, in our imagination, wouldn't happen, but it happened. So, for you to call out the quarterback, then, he messed up. Okay, he messed up that pick, but, I mean, Lance was a top five quarterback in that class, top two quarterback in that class. Top two, bro, get out of here. No, he was not top two. Lawrence and, Fields, right? Fields, yeah. But, what I'm trying to say is that Trey Lance was a, not a sleeper, but he was a rising pick. Yeah, okay, I will agree. He was starting to get some hype. Yes, I agree with that. So, the 49ers had no option. They had to get Lance. I mean, I think they- They did a pinout. I know it's crazy, but I think they, it would've been a little better if they would've done Matt Jones. A little better, a little better. And, it'd be a Jimmy D situation all over again. I just feel like they're system quarterbacks. It's- Okay, actually, I couldn't see that. Yeah, and Lance is, obviously, has the way better skill set than Matt Jones. I feel like we just need to see a lot more of Trey Lance. We probably can't. Yes, we do, but that plug is slowly coming out. Yeah. And, honestly, after that, it could be, I mean, Purdy is the starter of the quarterback. He's the starting quarterback, so, yeah. But, I realize, I feel like the Niners, it'll all come down to Purdy. You know, I feel like that reaffirmed it on Sunday with Lance's performance. And, overall, I just think the overall preseason did tell us some things for sure already. Especially the Niners and the Broncos. Those two stood out to me the most because, obviously, Wilson's one of those, I think. And, now, to the news portion that's happened since. Obviously, there's two main running backs, and they're just like this fly that's on me. They could be pests to the RB1s of those teams, aka, Breece Hall and Ramadre Stevenson. I feel like, just like these pests, Dalvin Cook is gonna be a pest and fantasy for Breece Hall. I haven't released the video yet, but Breece Hall, for sure, is not gonna be a top 15 running back, nor is Dalvin Cook. I feel like it's fair to say that because Breece Hall just came off a gruesome injury, and it's pretty fair to assume that they wanna ease him back in. Obviously, he's the future. Obviously, he's bound to be better. But, obviously, like I said, torn ACL is a very, very serious thing. So, I view Breece Hall as like a RB20-ish. In other words, low-end RB2, high-end RB3. And Dalvin Cook more as like a bench RB, just outside the top 30 overall, in my personal opinion. And, well, I do think the Kurtz-Ramadre's value, I don't think it'll be too much. I feel like, before the trade, I viewed Ramadre as like a low-end RB1, high-end RB2. But, after the trade, I viewed him as a solid RB2, who's gonna lose some rushing and some rushing TDs. But, given that he's more known to be a past catching back anyway, I just don't see him not being involved. What's your overall take on everything I said? Yeah, I was starting to fall asleep there. No, I'm just kidding. It's logical. You get these solid backups that were starters, that were superstars. They're obviously gonna take a lot of those carries, a lot of those attempts. And I'm not surprised that Breece Hall is gonna be pretty much, not downgraded to probably a 1B kind of running back, just because after the injury, coming off a big injury, risking a chance of happening again. Having a guy like Dalvin Cook, who has been one of the best running backs these last couple seasons, it just tells me that the Jets are obviously playing with Hall, but are also all in on a Super Bowl. Bringing in a good running back like Cook on a one-year, eight-million deal, that's pretty reasonable. It's pretty much a sign of like, okay, we're not playing anymore. We're here, we're going all in. And in the Patriots situation, getting Ezekiel Elliott, it was because of the depth. They had no one else but Stevenson. They don't have the depth that other teams have. And so having that one-two punch with Ezekiel Elliott and Stevenson, it helps, it helps. But yeah, if I were to say which one's gonna lose more stock, I would say that, I mean, it's hard to tell, but I would say Brees Hall. Yeah, I would say Brees Hall. I feel like Latif would be more of a clear two, but not one A, one B, like I think Dalvin and Hall. I don't really think he's a big clear two. I mean, he's clearly not the same anymore. He's a good goal linebacker. So I mean, like I said, he will take some stuff away from Stevenson. Yeah. Overall, I feel like this actually leads onto the fact that given that D-Hawk, Cook, Elliott finally got their places, we're finally gonna adjust our rankings accordingly. And finally, we're gonna, based on what we saw in preseason, have a final ranking coming to you guys very, very soon. Very, very soon. And I've been updating it as much as I can. And it's close. It's close. It's almost here. Yeah, it is. Obviously, we still got the preseason going on, but once that finalizes, we'll have pretty much a good, rough rankings of what we have, you know? We're saying, I'm saying rough as like anything could happen still, you know? Yeah. There's still a lot of training camps going on. But I mean, after preseason, you kind of get a good indication of like who's gonna be the good stars, who's gonna be the floppers, the sleepers. So yeah, the rankings are gonna come sooner than later, and we'll have inputs from both of us on every position, or I mean, most of all the offensive positions. So I mean, just, yeah, just wait for that. It should be a good one. There should be some good statistics. There's some good projections in general. But these next few weeks, you know, it'll be good. We'll redo record predictions. We'll expose more fantasy rankings. We're gonna get more news. We already know, you know, there's still some holdouts, aka JT and Jacobs. We'll see what happens there. But overall, you know, thank you guys for watching. You know, like, comment, subscribe. We're only gonna keep pushing in. It's about to be season, so, you know, there'll be a lot of good stuff coming out, a lot of good stuff. Yep, the good times are about to roll in. You know, can't wait for NFL season, and hey, college football's around the corner too, so. Less than two weeks. Less than two weeks. We're gonna keep an eye out on that. But, you know, thank you guys for watching, and yeah, that's it, we're out.