Bain of Terror: Preseason Week 2 Recap
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
1 hr 7 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 25, 2026
Published
Tue, August 25, 2026
21
Player insights
19
Players mentioned
Topics
Stetson BennettTy SimpsonBo NixBrock BowersBryce YoungDeshaun WatsonFernando MendozaGarrett WilsonGeno SmithJack StrandJayden DanielsJaylen WaddleJonathon BrooksKyle Williams
Player analysis
Player insights
Bo Nix
NegativeProjection34:29
Mina Kimes notes that Bo Nix has proven he is good at throwing outside the numbers, but the question remains whether he can become a productive intermediate thrower between the numbers. While a seam pass to Jalen Waddle was slightly underthrown, Kimes emphasizes that Nix attempting these throws is the best way for him to improve.
Insight pageBrock Bowers
PositiveUsage31:52
Brock Bowers is expected to be the primary target in the Raiders' offense, potentially seeing a massive target share due to the lack of reliable wide receivers. He is considered the only consistent option in the passing game.
Insight pageBryce Young
PositiveProjection44:24
Bryce Young had a comfortable preseason outing, showing improvement in the pocket and effective connection with his receivers, particularly on a crosser to T-Mac.
Insight pageDeshaun Watson
NegativeProjection4:01
Deshaun Watson has been objectively bad in the preseason, showing a lack of conviction in downfield throws and struggling significantly against pressure. He has completed only one pass over 10 air yards, and his mobility appears zapped. Mina Kimes notes that he is no longer a viable starting quarterback, and his poor performance is compounded by mental factors and a lack of arm talent compared to his earlier career.
Insight pageFernando Mendoza
PositiveProjection26:46
Fernando Mendoza has shown promising process and toughness in preseason, displaying NFL-quality arm talent and the ability to hang in the pocket under pressure. While he has had rookie moments, his decision-making and ability to execute the offense are viewed as positive indicators for his development.
Insight pageGarrett Wilson
PositiveUsage41:47
Mina Kimes praises Garrett Wilson's performance, specifically noting his ability to escape pressure and execute on an out route during the Jets' preseason drive.
Insight pageGeno Smith
PositiveProjection40:36
Mina Kimes notes that Geno Smith looked like a capable veteran in his preseason drive, effectively placing the ball in the hands of his playmakers. While there were some minor timing issues with routes, Kimes views the performance as an encouraging sign of competent quarterback play for the Jets.
Insight pageJack Strand
PositiveSleeper54:47
Undrafted quarterback Jack Strand is showing promise as a developmental prospect for the Falcons, displaying a big arm, athleticism, and good decision-making in a simplified offense.
Insight pageJayden Daniels
NegativeUsage37:10
Mina Kimes expresses concern regarding the Washington offensive line's ability to support Jayden Daniels, specifically noting that center issues and tight end blocking failures may force the team to abandon under-center play-action schemes and revert to a shotgun-heavy offense by midseason.
Insight pageJaylen Waddle
PositiveUsage35:11
Mina Kimes highlights Jalen Waddle's unique ability to adjust to underthrown balls and gain yards after the catch, which increases the margin for error for his quarterback. Waddle's physical strength and speed make him a special player who opens up the Broncos' offense in ways they lacked last year.
Insight pageJonathon Brooks
PositiveBreakout44:24
Jonathan Brooks has looked fantastic in the preseason after recovering from early injuries, showing promise as a key contributor for the Panthers.
Insight pageKyle Williams
PositiveBreakout62:02
Kyle Williams is demonstrating unmatched speed and field-stretching ability for the Patriots, creating significant space despite needing refinement in his underneath routes.
Insight pageMalachi Corley
NegativeUsage21:44
Malachi Corley is being utilized in the Browns' passing game, though he is hampered by poor quarterback play. He made a difficult catch on a low, behind-the-target dig route from Deshaun Watson, highlighting his ability to make plays despite inaccurate delivery.
Insight pageMatthew Golden
PositiveBreakout31:54
Mina Kimes believes Matthew Golden will be a significant part of the Packers' offense this season. After a slow rookie start, Golden has shown strong utilization in training camp and preseason, including equal snaps in the slot and out wide, and demonstrated easy separation on a crosser against the Broncos.
Insight pageMichael Penix Jr.
NegativeDepth Chart58:10
Michael Penix Jr. is returning to practice, presenting a critical make-or-break opportunity to compete for the starting job given the preseason performance of other quarterbacks.
Insight pageMike Washington Jr.
PositiveBreakout26:43
Mike Washington has looked impressive in preseason action, providing depth and potential value for the Raiders' backfield following the injury scare to Ashton Gentey.
Insight pageStetson Bennett
PositiveRole21:41
Mina Kimes notes that Stetson Bennett has been the leader for the Rams' QB2 role all summer, which is surprising given Ty Simpson's status as a 13th overall pick. While Bennett is a known quantity as a pocket passer, he played well in the preseason game, including a viral 'gorgeous touch crosser' and three deep outs, leading Kimes to conclude that if you evaluate purely on this game, it is comprehensible why he is currently QB2.
Insight pagePositiveDepth Chart35:41
Stetson Bennett has been the leader for the QB2 role for the Rams throughout the summer, a development that has been somewhat overlooked given the draft capital invested in Ty Simpson.
Insight pageTommy Tremble
PositiveUsage44:24
Tommy Tremble is being utilized effectively in the Panthers' offense, highlighted by a key block on a Jonathan Brooks run and a reception from Bryce Young.
Insight pageTy Simpson
NegativeRole21:59
Mina Kimes expresses concern over Ty Simpson's usage, noting that the 13th overall pick is not being treated as a serious contender for the backup job. Simpson's preseason performance featured a pared-down offense with a 4.4-yard average depth of completion, and Kimes observed jumbled footwork and missed throws, suggesting he is not yet ready to be the primary backup.
Insight pageNegativeDepth Chart35:55
Ty Simpson, despite being a 13th overall draft pick, is currently not the clear QB2 for the Rams, with Stetson Bennett holding that role. There is surprise that a first-round pick is not immediately securing the backup position.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:27Welcome back to the Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.
0:29Preseason Week 2 is in the books. I'm joined by my friend, frequent guest Dan Pizzuta to talk about some of the preseason action.
0:37And Dan, it's been a hell of a morning for the NFL.
0:41I promise we're going to talk about good things that happened in the preseason.
0:46We're spotlighting some fun performances. We got a look at some starting offenses and quarterbacks actually played.
0:51We're going to talk about, you know, the playoff.
0:54The Broncos and the Packers and whatnot. We're going to talk about the young rookie quarterbacks, Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson.
1:01But before we start, there's two pieces of major NFL news.
1:04One is the announcement of Deshaun Watson as the Browns starting quarterback, which we will discuss at length.
1:10And the other, I'm like, I'm trying to get an actual foothold on this story.
1:15But this morning it also broke. I'm citing ABC Eyewitness News that San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York was arrested in Ohio for prostitution.
1:23Courts documents show. I'm just reading the headline. Dan, there's going to be a lot more details that come out on this
1:30before the season, but not exactly the headline. I'm sure the league wants two weeks before the opener.
1:36Dan, no, no, no, probably not. And in the way where it happened in a small town of Ohio at 930 in
1:43the morning, the optics probably not great. So yeah, I guess we'll probably definitely get more concrete information as that comes out.
1:50But yeah, not a great look for the 49ers.
1:53Yeah, the obvious comparison that arises here is the Robert Kraft.
1:57Yeah. And so I think that'll be held up in terms of like the how it's handled by the league.
2:03And but yeah, it's obviously a bad look. I just this just came out guys.
2:08So I just don't know. I like I wish I had more to say other than that.
2:13It's obviously a bad look for an NFL owner and a horrible look potentially.
2:18And yeah, the other thing I alluded to was the Watson news.
2:22So let's just jump right in. So the Browns for some reason they just didn't announce it on Sunday.
2:28They waited until Monday morning to announce that Deshaun Watson will be their starting quarterback week one decision met with widespread derision and anger from Browns fans.
2:37This coming off of the heels of another bad two preseason performance by Watson.
2:41And we can get into that and what we actually see from him as a player, perhaps more importantly than that, a
2:48week in which he kind of went to war with the Browns own fan base in the lead up to the game.
2:56He was asked about possibility that he might be booed at home.
2:59He said, I don't care. Then after the game, he was asked about the fact that he was booed and he called
3:07it disrespectful and said that it to him was more about personal things.
3:11Of course, he didn't actually say what that was as opposed to what was happening on the field.
3:17So there's so many different ways to go about this, but I want to talk about him and Sanders and what we saw from them on the field.
3:26But I think the thing I want to talk about with you first or discuss is the actual decision itself and why we think Cleveland did this.
3:34Now, the obvious explanation is they're paying him a zillion dollars still because of the worst contract in NFL history.
3:41Sure. And the fact that they had to keep extending it or they didn't have to, but they did.
3:47Yeah, I think that's part of it. But, you know, I also genuinely part of me thinks that as bad as Watson was.
3:55Organizationally, I suspect they do think he is a more predictable quarterback.
3:58Do you agree with that? I don't even know.
4:01Like, it's hard to say who made this call.
4:04Munkin versus ownership versus whatnot. And I'm not saying there I would have picked Sanders and we'll talk about that in a second.
4:12But it feels to me like this was born of like Munkin being like, well, I know what I'm going to get with him.
4:19Keep the offense on time. We can bench him before we get to play at home in week three.
4:26Like, what do you think went into this decision?
4:29Which, you know, obviously was incredibly poorly received. Mina, what's the record for the longest sigh that's ever been made on this podcast?
4:36Because I feel like I'm about to do it.
4:39Okay, so I think this entire thing just kind of reflects poorly on the entire organization, to be honest.
4:45To even be in this spot to where Watson is still on the roster.
4:50Like you said, the continued restructure of this contract that really never needed to be done.
4:55But the contract was so bad to begin with.
4:58They kept restructuring it like it was a normal contract.
5:01And he's still on the roster right now because he's uncuttable.
5:04Like, you just can't do that. They would have $83 million in dead money next year if they cut him right now.
5:12And if you're trying to build up in 2027, you just can't do that.
5:16So just having him be here, not having any actual competition.
5:20I think this also reflects poorly on, like, the quarterback Shador is.
5:24That this wasn't even an undeniable thing. That there was another quarterback who could have made Watson.
5:29Who has been objectively bad also in the postseason.
5:32And I guess there are some reports that he's been the better quarterback in practice.
5:37But then when we see actual competition, Watson has also been bad.
5:41So I just think in every turn here, this is reflected poorly on all the decisions this franchise has made to get to this spot.
5:49Yeah. From the jump, right? I mean, this is a team that, to revisit history, gave this quarterback an unprecedented guaranteed money
5:56deal despite the fact that he was accused by not one, but dozens of women of sexual harassment and assault.
6:02Now, the Browns were not the only team that was interested in Deshaun Watson.
6:07And I want to say, too, you know, Watson was like, this was not about football.
6:12I think it was about football. I think some fans have never gotten over it and were never on board to begin with.
6:20And my heart goes out to them because imagine giving, you know, like growing up with this team and just being absolutely
6:27slapped in the face by them over and over.
6:30But I like, as, you know, not to revisit history, as somebody who covered this trade saw after his first season with
6:37Cleveland, the NFL media world already say, but what if he's good?
6:41I genuinely believe if he had played well, it would have been cheered.
6:45It would have been turned into a comeback story by both fans and the media.
6:50So, you know, I think the fact that he didn't was something of a moral bailout, if we're going to call it that.
6:57But anyways, this organization, like you said, they've completely, they've basically been in a disaster of their own making for four years now, which is so long.
7:06And even with all of this money, like they had the opportunity.
7:10No one thinks the ground's going to be good this season, but you could be good and at least not reprehensible at the same time.
7:18Or bad, pardon me, bad and not reprehensible, that's what I meant to say.
7:22And I think if we're going to blame them for a football thing here, it's not necessarily on its face choosing him over Sanders.
7:30We'll talk about his preseason performance in a minute.
7:33I would have gone with him, whatever. But the fact that they went into this offseason with a washed, clearly washed veteran
7:40who everybody despises and a fifth round draft pick.
7:43That was their competition at quarterback. And that's what they deserve the most heat for here is how they went into this offseason.
7:51And also having a third round pick from last year who didn't even factor into this competition.
7:56Yes. So just all over where this was a very unserious competition that it seemed like even going back to like December
8:03of last year, the way ownership kind of tried talking about what Watson was like started sowing the seeds that this was a possibility.
8:11And again, this is just, it feels like a sunk cost that they refuse to accept.
8:16And I think you can still have Watson on the roster, make him like the inactive third quarterback and just ride this
8:23out until the post June first cut that you do next year when the contract finally comes up and you could just rid yourself.
8:31But the fact that they want to do this where most of the reports are still pointing out the fact that the first two games are road games.
8:40So if they don't go well, you still have a chance to.
8:44If you are saying that we might bench this guy by week three as part of the reasoning of why he's starting
8:51the season, like that's absolutely insane to me too.
8:54It just, it reaches just bad decision-making just all around.
8:57The performances have been abysmal. I mean, he's only thrown completed rather one pass over 10 air yards watching him.
9:04I'm just looking at my notes. You know, it's not all like his full per se, like, you know, backup Browns offensive
9:11line to back receivers are not very good. But I see a quarterback who has completely lost conviction in his ability to throw downfield.
9:19When he does throw downfield, it doesn't look good.
9:22It's poor decisions. He looks, and when I hear that he's been better in practice, that makes me think of how, like,
9:29how much of this is probably mental. And him, you know, and he, when you watch his pressers, it's obvious he is
9:36fully aware of how disliked he is. And perhaps that is affecting, like sports psychology is real.
9:41Perhaps that's affecting him as well, in addition to not having the throw power and athleticism that he had earlier in his career when he was unbelievable.
9:50You know what your ceiling is with him. It's bad.
9:53He's not a good quarterback anymore. So Sanders is interesting because, you know, he, I thought, definitely outplayed Watson this last week.
10:01I actually think he's been more, like, even in the previous week, he had the bad interception.
10:06But at least he was pushing the ball downfield.
10:09And, you know, I watched him. I went back and watched him pretty closely.
10:14And, like, there's, I feel this way. He clearly has more upside than Deshaun Watson at this point, like, in his career.
10:21He will actually, like, he will attempt more difficult throws.
10:24He's got an okay arm. He's accurate, honestly. Like, when I watch him, I don't see an inaccurate quarterback.
10:30He's not generally missing throws. He just still holds on to the ball way too long.
10:35And he just doesn't throw with anticipation. And the hope, I think, was that coming into this off scene, that would be an area of growth for him.
10:44Because if he was, I think, like, the vision of him as a prospect, Dan, was, like, as a Brock Purdy-ish type player, right?
10:52Like, where, oh, he's got a little bit of athleticism.
10:55He throws with touch. He throws an accurate, catchable football.
10:59I believe all that's true. But he's going to have to learn to play fast because he does not have one of
11:06those cannon arms where you can, you know, throw it into tight windows.
11:10And he just hasn't sped up his game. And I have to think that factored into this as well.
11:16Right, yeah. That's where I came down on this.
11:19And that feels like where that's the biggest indictment of him and his place in this competition.
11:24Where he just, he seems like the exact same quarterback that he was last year.
11:29And that's also not a playable quarterback, which it gets into how bad this competition was to begin with.
11:35Where if he is going to hold onto the ball as long as he has, he's still averaging over three seconds to
11:43throw in his preseason snaps, which is one of the things that was last year.
11:47He had the longest time to throw in the league, just holding the ball, try to wait for something to happen.
11:54And he does have a little bit of that athleticism, but not enough to be an entirely off-script type of quarterback.
12:01And he does not have the just kind of overall ability and arm talent to make those types of plays work.
12:08So he's playing against himself. It would make sense, a lot more sense for him to be this kind of quick hitting,
12:15spread the ball out type of quarterback. That's just not the way he wants to play.
12:20And if he's never going to lean into that, then he's not going to be a viable quarterback either.
12:26Which is, again, if you're just kind of looking at it in that way, that we don't want to waste our time
12:33with Shador, then it makes sense you would go in another direction.
12:37But the fact that the other direction is Deshaun Watson, who I think has also had similar things.
12:43He does get the ball out a little quicker.
12:46But also, if there's any type of, not even pressure, just a body around him, his operation completely just falls apart.
12:53And I think we saw that a lot against Buffalo.
12:56His mobility is kind of zapped. He doesn't move well either.
13:00I don't think he has the same arm talent that he used to either.
13:04And even Watson's best throw against the Bills was this dig to Malachi Corley that he leaves short and Corley had to dive for it.
13:12It would have been a huge game. If he puts it where it should be, that could have been a touchdown with so much open field.
13:21So there's no right answer here because I don't think either quarterback blows you away with how they've played.
13:27But I'd still feel like Watson was the more wrong answer, if that makes sense.
13:32Well, at least with Sanders, there's the potential for improvement.
13:35Although I understand that there's skepticism about that because he had an entire season, offseason, whatever.
13:40With Watson, we know what this is at this point.
13:43And your point, I'm glad you mentioned the Corley.
13:46I mean, I'm looking at his notes. I mean, he attempted a bad tight window throw downfield on his first drive.
13:53Second one was blown up by pressure. The Browns attempted so many field screens in this game, by the way.
14:00I wrote, yeah, like Corley throw. Clean pocket, throws the dig low and behind.
14:04Great catch by Malachi Corley is what I wrote down.
14:07On that same drive, drops his eyes versus pressure instead of hitting the crosser.
14:12It was a terrible throw, the interception. Clearly, he does not respond well to pressure at this point in his career.
14:19Final drive, he throws a goal ball. That was actually decent, but then followed by another fourth down throw.
14:25I was way behind. I mean, he's just not good throwing the ball downfield anymore.
14:30Yeah, and it would be one thing if he turned into Aaron Rodgers, which as much as we hate kind of watching
14:37this version of Aaron Rodgers, that would at least be something.
14:40But he also doesn't play that way either. Yeah.
14:43So, yeah, like you said, it's about the money, but also, you know, we have seen teams in the NFL move on
14:50from viable starting quarterbacks and take a gigantic cap hits.
14:54This is not a viable starting quarterback. What the hell are you doing?
14:58And also, you know, like, yeah, just because something is expensive doesn't mean you have to stick with it five years after the fact.
15:06Four, rather, sorry. It's just absurd and insulting to fans.
15:09So anyways, yeah. It's funny because Andrew Barry has drafted every other position extremely well over the last few years, but he's
15:16been a disaster at the quarterback position. And don't miss me with the, oh, the orders made him do it.
15:23It's collecting millions, please. All right. Let's move on to happier news, or at least more compelling stuff.
15:28Let's talk about the rookie quarterbacks, and let's talk about the Raiders and the Rams.
15:33Let's start with the Raiders. First of all, scary news over the weekend.
15:37Ashton Gentey, never good when you get the news report that a player's gone down and players are praying.
15:44And then it turns out it's an ankle injury.
15:47I'm not, it's still an injury, but whenever they throw out the players are praying at practice, you assume he's like basically dead.
15:54He's fine. Right. Not fine, but he's okay. Yeah.
15:57So anyways, obviously relevant for fancy reasons, mitigated to agree by how cool Mike Washington has looked in preseason action.
16:03Who's the speedy, tall running back that they drafted.
16:06But I want to talk about Mendoza. And, you know, we got another big outing from him, more tape, several drives.
16:13And, you know, I, my general take watching him again, sort of similar to week one.
16:18There's rookie moments. There's rookie moments. I mean, he's like, I think he's going to play.
16:23He's going to play a lot of defense. And, you know, the first drive in this game, he does the back shoulder
16:31and Naylor is not caught, which I want to put a pin in that.
16:35That is a miscommunication. Like he's, he's getting to the right spot, maybe a little late.
16:40And that's what gets some of the mix up, but it just feels like he is someone who just kind of understands what he's supposed to be doing.
16:49And I think it's funny that he was kind of going against the second team of the Houston, but it's just like,
16:57oh, Davian Clowney is part of Houston's second team.
16:59And yeah. And Katie Donald comes through with the sack, just like completely quick first step untouched.
17:05So a sliding scale on second team. But I think in all of that, he played well.
17:10The Naylor throw you said was really good later in the game.
17:14He had a deep throw to Malik Benson that was also dropped, but I think that was a really good throw.
17:21So I just feel like there were a lot of plays where you see what he was thinking.
17:27It all made sense. And the process was there, which I think is as much as you can ask for someone in his position right now.
17:35Yeah. I think you're just seeing a lot of the qualities that we liked about him as a prospect, the arm, the
17:43throw power, you know, I'm not saying he's Josh Allen or whatever, but it's absolutely NFL quality caliber.
17:48However, I think you saw the toughness too, and not just the mental toughness of bouncing back for the pick six and
17:55the sacks or whatever, but there was a play on the second drive where he gets the Raider, the Texans, pardon me,
18:03send a blitz and he gets whopped and he gets that thing off.
18:07And that was one of the things I liked most about him in college.
18:11That was a little Jared Goff coded, right? Which is he will hang in there and throw that thing.
18:17And, um, you know, that, that toughness is gonna serve him well against when he comes time to actually play against starters.
18:25Um, I do came a riff in this worried about the receiving group and I'm not alone.
18:30Clint Kubiak gave a quote. Uh, this was actually after they were practicing with Houston.
18:35So I understand that a lot of starters like mayor and powers obviously didn't play and neither did, um, Trey Tucker, but
18:42Kubiak said, learned a lot about the receiving room.
18:45They got to get a lot better. They took a step back.
18:49I bring this up because this has been my worry about this Raiders team and its construction since the jump, Dan.
18:56And, you know, it wasn't alleviated in this game by watching Benson drop the out or like the, the bachelor of the
19:03nailer wasn't Tyler Nailers fault, but I'm like, that was his best throw in college.
19:08And I continue to wonder who's going to catch those on this Raiders team.
19:12Uh, yeah, it's going to be, uh, 200 targets to Brock Bowers, which that, makes a lot of sense, which I like,
19:19I would like to see Mendoza throw into Bowers just to kind of see what it looks like.
19:25But it's also again, tough. The Raiders certainly do not have a good wide receiver group.
19:30It's hard to go against the Houston secondary and try to be judging whether this group is, is good or not, because
19:37again, the Houston secondary is just full of a bunch of monsters.
19:41But yeah, the, the wide receiver group has been an issue.
19:45You obviously like Trey Tucker, if you're banking on Trey Tucker being like your best receiver, I think it says something that
19:52Jalen Naylor was their big, uh, free agent signing.
19:55And he was the one playing in this preseason game.
19:58And I guess you want to get them some, some more reps in this offense, but probably not the greatest sign.
20:05Uh, so I do think this is again, going to be a big tight end, heavy offense.
20:11Everyone has used the Brock Bowers is the JSN kind of stand in and one, it makes sense because of the offense,
20:18but also it makes sense because he's probably the only reliable piece that you can think is going to get open on every play.
20:25So if there's a lot of attention on Bowers, maybe that helps open up some other things for this receiving group, but
20:33yeah, they're going to need some of that help either from the focus on Bowers or schematically, because not a lot of
20:40these guys are going to be winning one-on-one on their own.
20:43I think the thing that is still an unknown and will largely determine whether or not this is like a passable group
20:50and whether or not the offense as a whole is good enough to support Mendoza whenever he does start is the offensive line, which I don't know.
20:59We haven't seen the starting group together, right? Right.
21:02And you, we know that Clint Kubiak is going to run the ball.
21:06He's going to put big bodies on the field, but if they're incredibly inefficient running the ball in early downs, I don't
21:13have a lot of faith in this receiving group.
21:16However, if they're able to live in that Seattle world where it's enough, especially in the second half of the Seattle season
21:23and they get a lot of base defense, you start to feel good where you can get decent matchups for the tight ends.
21:31I think it's enough. So I think that's kind of my big X factor here is, is this offensive line good enough
21:38to, to run block, frankly, as much as pass protect.
21:41Um, all right. So the Rams game was interesting because, uh, all summer long, we've been hearing that Stetson Bennett is the
21:48leader for QB two, which I think kind of has gotten a little bit slept on as a story given that Tyson
21:55was the 13th overall draft pick and no one expected Ty Simpson.
21:59Obviously no one expected him to come in and like compete for QB one, but one would think right.
22:06That QB two would at least be on the table for a first round draft pick.
22:11And I know everyone's saying, well, you know, like it's a young quarterback and you gotta, I know I am saying backup quarterback.
22:18Like, like, like it's a Dan, I was trying to think of examples, like in NFL history, a first round picks who
22:25are not only not being told they want to start year one, but not even being given the opportunity or, but like not talked about as a backup.
22:34And it's a pretty non-existent quite frankly. Yeah, it is strange, uh, especially because it's not as if the Stetson Bennett was
22:41a second or third round pick that they were high on when, when they came in.
22:47So the fact that he is still sitting in there and they're kind of looking at him as the backup is, is strange.
22:54Um, especially just given, you know, what we know Stetson Bennett is, it's not like there's a lot of untapped potential in Stetson Bennett too.
23:02I think we just kind of know what Bennett is, is going to be, uh, he's not some, you know, develop raw
23:09developmental super arm talent, uh, type of, of player that you might look for that could potentially be like a change up.
23:16If Matthew Stafford gets hurt and you have to have a backup quarterback, uh, we just kind of know he's very much
23:24just kind of like that pocket passer type of guy.
23:27So, uh, yeah, the fact that he does seem to have the lead in that QB two is, is certainly interesting.
23:34He played fine and pretty well, actually. I thought in this game, you know, it starts off and it's like boot stick
23:41quick kit, you know what I'm thinking? Like, all right, like, what are we really learning?
23:46Um, but then they kind of let he, he started making some actually high talking about Stetson Bennett, by the, some higher degree of difficulty throws.
23:54There's one that has gone viral. Cause it's like this crazy.
23:58Like beautiful. What happened in the game? I gasped.
24:01He, I, I didn't know he had that in his bag.
24:04I don't know if Stetson Bennett knew he had that throw in his bag until he got it off.
24:11Gorgeous touch crosser layering it over the defenders rolling to his right.
24:14Um, but in addition to that, I want to mention he, he hit like three deep outs, um, on both sides of
24:22the field that I thought were again, good throws.
24:25And I'm not saying this to say Stetson Bennett should be computing for a starting job anywhere necessarily.
24:30But, um, I will say, I thought he outplayed Simpson in this game who came in at some point in the second half.
24:38And, you know, I, I thought they gave him again, like a pretty simplified offense and you know, he looked a little bit less.
24:46The coverage was a little bit less. It was a little bit better than the first time around.
24:51And he missed some throws. Honestly, I, I didn't like just, I know I sound like I'm sacking out of both sides of my mouth.
24:59Cause I started myself by saying it's weird that Bennett has a starting job, but if you were, if you took both
25:07of their draft picks out of the conversation and purely evaluate these two quarterbacks based on this one game, it would be very comprehensible.
25:14Why Stetson Bennett is QB two. Yeah. And, uh, I think one thing with, with Bennett, there was absolutely no pressure on him at all.
25:22I think, uh, it was charged like 12.5%. So he was working with a lot of clean pockets, but then Simpson was,
25:30it felt like it was an even more pared down version of the offense that he ran last week when it was
25:37still a lot of boots, like short passes between the both of them.
25:41There were a lot of just like tight ends to the flat that they were throwing.
25:46It was like, that was a big majority of a lot of what both of them were doing, but Stimps Simpson, again,
25:53a 4.7 yard, a dot, uh, 4.4 yard average death of completion.
25:57I like, I don't feel like I learned a lot about him.
26:01I think there were some passes where his, it seemed like his head knew where he was going, but the footwork was
26:08still just a little like jumbled and he wasn't completely ready to release it.
26:13And that's what led to some of the misses.
26:16Um, so yeah, I, I don't, I don't know.
26:19It is, I would have liked to see more, like I would have liked to see a little more of an unleashed offense from him.
26:27The fact that it felt it was even more pared down from last week when a lot of people were giving him
26:34credit, but it was still a lot of the boots and off the play action and short passes.
26:40Uh, so I, I just, I want to see more from him just in general, whether he's QB two or not.
26:46So let me ask you this. If you were the Rams, would you consider trading Bennett?
26:52If that was on the table? Because I think I am of the belief, and this is not based on any information
26:59that if something were actually to happen for Jimmy or, uh, well, I just hit my hand for Matthew Stafford for more
27:06than one game, Jimmy grapple, they'd be on the phone.
27:09And like, I don't think this is the, this is obviously a team that is all in on this season that views itself correctly as a contender.
27:18I don't think either of these guys would be the starting.
27:21I could be wrong. So with that in mind, if that's true, I feel like if you get a, I kind of
27:28depends on the offer, but if some team is looking for backup death and likes what they've seen from Bennett, they would probably pull the trigger.
27:37Yeah. I like what I have in my notes here.
27:40It feels like either way, if something happens to Stafford, this is going to be a vastly different offense than what they're running out in general.
27:49Uh, but yeah, if someone is going to offer you anything of value for Stetson Bennett, I think you absolutely take that.
27:56Cause I don't think the, there's that much of a difference.
27:59And I think I have enough trust in Sean McVay that if you need to put Ty Simpson out there, even though
28:06we haven't really seen that much from him while we've seen him be able to do what he's been asked to do,
28:14obviously you won't be able to get away with that for multiple games this year.
28:18If you need to do that, uh, with, you know, so much of the training wheels and short passes off play action.
28:26But I have enough faith that if he would need to go in, you, you can do that.
28:31And you, I think you can, if you pick them 13th overall, you should trust him to be the backup quarterback.
28:38Uh, if he does need to play. So yeah, if anyone's giving you anything of value, uh, for Stetson Bennett, that absolutely pulled the trigger.
28:46I think if this team, it all depend, it would depend on like the injury and the opponent.
28:52Like if, if they were, I don't have the schedule in front of me, but if it was like one or two
28:59games against bad teams, I think McVay would say, F it, let's see what I can do.
29:05Let me do it. But if it was any kind of length of time, I'm suspicious of their comfort level, certainly based
29:12on how they've handled Simpson this off season, which I'm just saying it's, it's, I feel like begs a little bit more scrutiny than it's been given.
29:21Um, all right. Uh, let's take a quick break, come back and talk about a bunch of the starting offenses that we saw.
29:28We'll rip through them. As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy, but for the ones who always rise
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30:00And so is the official Hard Knocks podcast. This year, the award-winning HBO original Hard Knocks training camp heads to Seattle to follow the Superbowl champion Seahawks.
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30:58Built for you. All right, we're back. So we've seen a few drives from a lot of starting quarterbacks.
31:04And let's just rip through them. It's preseason. There's only so much you can learn.
31:09But there's actually been some interesting tells. Last week, we talked about Joe Burrow and how the Bengals were clearly trying to rep under center.
31:17So the Packers. Let's start here. Jordan Love, still sick.
31:20I mean, it's so funny watching some of these quarterbacks, these backups, and young guys who are just like, like we said,
31:28it's a lot of boot and little quick throws to the flat and stick.
31:32And then watch Jordan Love just come in and just rip it.
31:36The throw to Golden this week. It's fourth and one.
31:39He kind of steps to his left a little bit to reset.
31:43Threads in the crosser. The tight window. You know, it's just, you're like, oh, right.
31:48The starters are different. But that was actually my takeaway here, which was, I just wrote down, Matthew Golden.
31:54Going to be a thing. Because we already know about a love.
31:58You know, I, this week he had equal snaps in the slot and out wide.
32:03I've been interested in his utilization, although Jaden Reed hasn't been in there.
32:07But all summer we've been hearing, like, this is Matthew Golden, first round draft pick from last year.
32:13Didn't get going until the very, very end of the season.
32:16And judging by these early returns, Stan, I'm of the belief that he will be a big part of their offense.
32:23Yeah. And he kind of has to, right? Because they got rid of the other wide receivers where they were going, you
32:30know, four or five deep last year at times.
32:33But they need Golden and Watson to be, like, kind of those outside receivers.
32:38Because they still ran a bunch of 12 personnel in that game.
32:42And it was, you know, they were moving around Golden and Watson.
32:46But those were the two guys who were out there most of the time.
32:50So, I've always liked Golden. I liked him as a prospect.
32:54I thought he would get a little more. I thought he would jumpstart a little more during his rookie year.
33:00But the fact that what we thought was going to be there is starting to show up.
33:06And kind of the drumbeat through training camp is that he's been playing well and is going to be a big part of the offense.
33:14And to see how he was able to win on that crosser, just kind of the way he moved, like, that was fun too.
33:22So, between those two guys, I think this is going to continue to be a fun offense as long as, like we
33:29hope, that they're going to throw a little more.
33:32Because the run game still worried me a little bit.
33:35So, if they can rely on throwing the ball because they have a good quarterback, good wide receivers, good tight end when Tucker Craft comes back.
33:43I think this is really going to be a fun offense.
33:47He went, little sort of went run, run, pass before.
33:50And I just, I wrote down, this isn't over between us, LeFleur.
33:54But yeah, Golden had the big, the crosser that was, he was lined up wide, but it was out of a condensed formation.
34:01Pulls away, easy separation. There was a, I think it was after the run run pass, it was maybe the pass.
34:08He was in, he was, I think, facing press out of the slot, got open for like a tough catch.
34:15So, you know, I just, it was against the linebacker, but point is like, I think we're seeing a little bit more out of him already.
34:23And so, I'm intrigued by this. On the flip side, Denver, Bo Nix, we get a drive.
34:29So, first I want to say the wheel route to Harvey was beautiful ball from Bo.
34:34So, we already knew he had, he's really good throwing outside the numbers.
34:38I feel comfortable saying that. The question has been whether Jalen Waddle, in arriving at this offense, can turn him into a better thrower.
34:46Between the numbers, can generate, can make them productive, intermediate as well, but particularly the middle of the field.
34:52The ball to Waddle, in the seams, it's not a good ball.
34:56I'm not saying this is not a judgment on Knicks in the season and whatever, it's one throw.
35:02What I will say is, what Waddle did there was exactly what you want to see as a Broncos fan, which is, the ball's a little under thrown.
35:11It's not horrible, but it's just a little under thrown.
35:14The ability he has to adjust, slow down, and continue to pick up yards after the catch is what makes Jalen Waddle so special.
35:22It's that rare combination of contact balance, or just balance.
35:25The physical strength plus the speed is why he is such a unique and special player, and you saw it in that single rep.
35:33Yeah, and he's the type of player that can just increase the margin for error on plays like that.
35:39And when you look at the play as a whole, it just shows what Waddle can bring.
35:44They have the tight trips to the right side.
35:47Evan Ingram is the isolated receiver on the left.
35:50And then they have the Waddle's the three inside.
35:53They have the switch release, and that puts Waddle on Xavier McKinney.
35:57And I love Xavier McKinney. He's not the guy that you want to be having covered Jalen Waddle one-on-one.
36:03So you already have a mismatching coverage there. Then you have Waddle just running past him to get wide open gives you
36:10the margin for error on that throw where it doesn't have to be pinpoint accurate for it to be a catch and a big play.
36:18And I think that's just the type of stuff that they're going to have for Waddle.
36:24That's what he allows to open up this offense.
36:27It's just an element that they did not have last year.
36:30And I'm really excited to see what more they're going to continue to add on to it because I just think he's
36:37an awesome player that really just gives them something that they were really missing last year.
36:42And again, the fact that Nix is going to start attempting more of those throws is his best shot at improving at them.
36:50You know what I mean? So I don't mean to be like, oh, it was kind of underthrown.
36:56Point is, that's why Jalen Waddle is there. So just I'm so excited for him.
37:01I think it's Broncos offense has a potential to be significantly better this season.
37:05The commanders, we only saw one series and it was a big womp womp.
37:10Jane Daniels comes in and he has three plays on the first one.
37:14The center, Julian Good Jones, unfortunately does not live up to his name because he struggles to pick up plates.
37:20Then they try play action, which we are hearing we're going to get more center play action on the second one.
37:27But the tight ends F it up this time and it completely gets blown up.
37:32And then the third place is just a surrender draw.
37:35None of this has to do with Jane Daniels.
37:38But and it's just one drive. But I guess I ask you this.
37:42Do you worry about this new offense and perhaps more significantly the offensive line or the blocking ability?
37:48Because, you know, again, it's not like it. Like I said, the first play was the center.
37:54The second because they let Biotish walk the second and Alec Reddy has had injuries.
37:59And then the second play was the tight ends.
38:01But do you feel concerned or do you just not want to overreact to one series?
38:07Well, I'm going to side with Dan Quinn here, who after the game said we got work to do to figure out
38:14where we want to get to at center. So and I think Ben standing at his sub stack has been kind of
38:21I think he showed the progression of how they've talked about center.
38:25They were like, we we like what we have.
38:28We'll see how they develop. And it's just like continually just kind of gotten Morgan negative until we got to that play in that quote after the game.
38:37So, yeah, I am a little worried. I do think there's enough at the rest of the offensive line.
38:43They talked about how Sam Cosme is playing awesome at guard.
38:46So I don't think this is going to be something where it completely blows up what this Washington offense is going to be.
38:54But I do worry that it might not be able to lean into the under center play action stuff because of that
39:01second snap where your DJ Wanham just blows right past John Bates.
39:05And then you're asking Chica Conquo to come all the way across the formation.
39:09And that he does OK, but doesn't give Jane Daniels any room to run away from the actual pressure that's coming.
39:16So when you're asking your tight ends to block that often like that, it's I'm kind of worried that by midseason, this
39:23is just going to become a shotgun heavy offense again because that's all they can manage.
39:29Yeah, I think one of the I'm going to talk about this later this week with Robert Mays, but one of the
39:36obviously biggest plot lines of the season is all these offensive coordinators from that world changing these offenses and who's going to stick with it.
39:44And where is it going to work? And Washington is one where I've mentioned this continuously talking about this team.
39:50Do they have the capability, not just the quarterback, but everything else?
39:54I think is kind of what that was kind of what I came away thinking this like, oh, it's not.
40:01We talk so much about Daniels. What do you play under center?
40:05What does it look like? You know, I was watching this thinking like, I don't know about everyone else around Jane Daniels
40:12and whether or not this will work. It's an offensive line that was so promising, but then you lose Laramie Tunzel center suddenly an issue.
40:20And now two of the five positions you start to worry about pretty big way.
40:25So that was my takeaway. I'm not panicking, but that is the one area of significant concern I have for Washington.
40:31Yeah, I'm there too. For the Jets, I'm going to read a post.
40:36We got to see one starting one drive from Gino Smith, who went seven for seven touchdown.
40:41This is from at triple boogie. It's a Jets fan.
40:44Hey, Jets. I'm confused. You said Gino Smith was starting tonight, but instead I saw prime Joe Montana with the best opening Joe Montana.
40:52Sorry, I don't say that word with the best opening drive of all time.
40:57Please respond. All right. So, like, you know, I'm joking.
41:00He's joking. I'm joking. We're all joking about the Gino comeback.
41:04But I think you saw what you would hope to see if you're a Jets fan, which is a capable veteran quarterback
41:11who is capable of placing the ball in the hands of his playmakers.
41:15A couple of throws were actually behind early on, but then you saw some good stuff.
41:20One where he hung in there under pressure. One, there was a, who were they playing?
41:25Now I forget. It was, I can't remember. Colts, I think.
41:29Oh, no, it was the Steelers. Steelers, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
41:32It was kind of a busted coverage, and he hits A.D.
41:36Mitchell, who's absolutely going to be a thing this year, by the way, on the corner.
41:41It was like a play action. And then there was one where he escaped pressure and Garrett Wilson.
41:47Yeah. So good, by the way. Hit him on the out.
41:50And then there was a wide open touchdown to Jelani Woods.
41:54Okay. We're not overreacting. I will say the Steelers did have some starters in, but it was a lot of backups.
42:01But I think if you hope to at least witness competent offense from the Jets, this was an encouraging start.
42:07I think what I came away with, and I'm scared to say this, was I was more impressed with Frank Reich than
42:14I thought I was going to be. Just in terms of how things opened up and the way the offense looked and
42:21some of the schemed openings that were there. I think there were also, I think if Gino wanted to hang in the
42:28pocket a little more on some of those plays where he didn't have pressure, there were some downfield shots that he probably could have taken.
42:36Didn't need to at all. But there was still some things that there was more there that could have been taken, which was promising.
42:44I think the fact that Gino did have some good protection for most of the game and on those plays where he
42:51looked pretty comfortable stepping up and finding someone. So, yeah, it's definitely promising.
42:56I think on the one play that got batted down and I think Dylan Parham caught it, I think Jeremy Ruckert and
43:03Aidy Mitchell run this exact same hitch route to the same spot.
43:07So, I think there might be some issues that still need to be cleaned up a little bit, but for the most
43:14part, I mean, if that's what your negative coming away from this is, it's so much better than anything we've seen from
43:21the Jets over the past couple years anyway. Also, David Bailey on the other side of the ball, second overall pick, blows through Roderick Jones for a sack.
43:30It's a little bit on Howard for not stepping up, but he cooked him thus far.
43:35Looks good. Looks the part. Low key, all of the first round defensive players have kind of looked good.
43:41You know, it's pretty easy, whatever. But Roderick Jones, I know Steelers fans are like, he stinks and, you know, he's not
43:48our actual starter, but he has been a starter.
43:51So, that's not no one for him to beat that way thus far.
43:56You know, just looks like he has the juice as a pass rusher they were searching for.
44:01All right. Last starting team we'll talk about before we get to preseason standouts is the Carolina Panthers.
44:07So, we got a drive, a couple drives, out of Bryce Young.
44:11The first one got blown up by pressure and a run stop.
44:15By the way, so weird to see Rook Aroro on the other side there as a jag.
44:20I'm just like, what? He's a jag. But the second drive was great.
44:24You had great Jonathan Brooks run, great block from Tommy Tremble, Monroe Freeling, who I think has looked really good for them at right tackle.
44:32You had Bryce stepping up in the pocket and hitting Tremble after that.
44:37And then the crosser to T-Mac from the slot, notably.
44:40So, that connection appears to continue to pick up right where they left off last year.
44:45Generally, just, you know, I thought, again, Jags didn't have a lot of starters in, but pretty comfortable outing from Bryce Young.
44:52You know, I think my big takeaways were Brooks and Freeling look good.
44:56And T-Mac, I'm very interested in his utilization moving forward.
45:00Because thus far, nine of his 22 snaps in the preseason have been in the slot, which is something that a lot
45:07of folks have been wanting to see. What was your general takeaway from watching the Carolina Panthers?
45:12Yeah, that was pretty much it, how they've been structuring this offense.
45:16And it's interesting with T-Mac, like the limit is now, but 60-40 outside split on early downs.
45:22But then you're going 40-60 the other way on third down.
45:25He was 80%, 85% wide in 2025. So, they are getting him more in the slot.
45:30Like you said, that big crosser came from the slot.
45:34And then on the next pass, there's late motion that puts T-Mac in the slot.
45:39And it could have been a touchdown. He like goes down at the one.
45:43So, they are figuring out ways to get him into more space.
45:47Because that put him like with space against a safety.
45:50So, that's fun. And I think that's just more creativity that they weren't using quite as much last year.
45:56But I think with moving Coker and McMillan around, I think it's cool to see.
46:01And I would like to see how that continues to go through the regular season.
46:06Of note, too, from a creativity and deployment standpoint, that the Carolina Panthers have a new play caller.
46:12Which kind of flew under the radar a little bit.
46:15But now, it's giving play calling duties to Brad Idzik.
46:18It was kind of a little bit of a head-scratcher.
46:22But like you said, it did look good early on.
46:25And it would be really cool if Jonathan Brooks comes to sing, by the way, at bat.
46:30Because I did like him a lot as a prospect.
46:34Obviously, suffered through injuries early on. But I think he's looked fantastic so far.
46:38And Freeling, again, also very important. Because it's a team that Taylor Moten's status is very unclear.
46:44They lost a Quan who's hurt. So, you know, it was like they went from having too many offensive tackles to being grateful for the depth.
46:52And the fact that they took one in the first round.
46:56And early on, it looks pretty damn good. So, optimistic.
46:59I'm going to talk more about Bryce Young later this week, by the way, on my second podcast.
47:05So, put a pin in that, Carolina Panthers fans.
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48:40All right, standouts. I've been looking forward to this.
48:43Getting to talk about some of the guys who we think have really impressed early on in the preseason.
48:49I will go first. Ruben Bain Jr. Oh. Played two drives this last game.
48:54And looking at my notes. The first one, it's so funny, by the way.
48:58Because, okay, so on the first drive, you saw good play against the run, good athleticism.
49:04After Cancy gets some early penetration to stick with it.
49:07Then, on that, I think the next step, he gets doubled and Diaby wins.
49:11He's a one-on-one against left tackle. Then on the second drive, we got him, first of all, dropping a coverage twice.
49:18Todd Bowles. Yeah. Just demolishing Chiefs Tide. I can't remember which one.
49:22Rerouting him. And then on third down, this glorious moment where both Diaby and Bain Jr.
49:27win. Bain Jr. with the hump move that we've seen.
49:30And I think just watching it as a Bucs fan, this is everything you hoped for when they got Rippin Bain Jr.,
49:38which is to say, Diaby's always been an underrated good player.
49:41But he has not had a running partner over the last few years.
49:45And with Bain Jr., now you have someone who can eat double teams, create opportunities for other players, but also, if given
49:52an opportunity, can win on his own. And suddenly, you feel way better about this.
49:57I had the Bucs as a top-10 defense in my top-10 defenses pod.
50:02This was the premise of it, which is now we have a legit pass rush, a versatile pass rush, and guys in Bain Jr.
50:09who will create opportunities for other players, as you saw with Diaby.
50:13So I'd be feeling pretty good if I was a Bucs fan after watching what that defensive line looked like on those two drives.
50:21Yeah, defensive line was definitely fun. And I think anything that you might have dinged Bain for with the short arms, and
50:28we talked about this after the combine. That hump move is like his best move.
50:33He's not new to the short arms. So he's learned to play like this.
50:38He knows what he's doing. So when he gets in there, he's already mastered that.
50:42And he's throwing offensive linemen back and getting in there.
50:46And then when you add that to just the guys that they have going in the secondary, two guys that stood out
50:53for me, Tyreek Smith, their safety, who would have been my second team all-pro safety on if I had a hypothetical ballot last year.
51:01And then Keon J. Scott, the rookie corner, plays in the slot.
51:04He played a little more around the line of scrimmage.
51:08Those are two guys that are just going to run as fast as they can toward the line of scrimmage.
51:14So when you have those guys behind that pass rush, I think the potential to be a lot of chaotic fun for this Buccaneers defense this year.
51:23Yeah. Tyreek, like the fact that when you have him on the field and you have Kante Saad, then Winfield Jr.
51:30could just play the post. Yeah. A lot of opportunities on the back end created by the front end.
51:36And also the possibility that Todd Bowles doesn't have to blitz as much as he has if he has like a legit
51:43front four, which appears that he does. And of course, they kept Vita Vea, which I didn't talk about when it happened,
51:50but was hoping would happen if you're Tampa. Yeah.
51:53With the way things are going with the rest of the NFC South too and some of the injuries, it does feel
52:00like the Bucs are once again ascending back to being the favorites in the NFC South.
52:05All right. All right. You give me one of yours next.
52:09I would just go to stick with the same game, other side of the ball, the R.
52:14Mason Thomas. Man, he was fun in this game too.
52:18The first pass play they have is third and 23.
52:21They run a screen at him and he just kind of isn't really there.
52:25The next play or the next time they run it later in the game, he's all over it and like almost Van Gingles it.
52:33Yeah. So the fact that he was, they ran it once, he saw it.
52:38And then the next time was already there. That's awesome to see.
52:42I think he already had a couple of really fun pass rush snaps.
52:46And then just kind of to throw off of it, like mentor Delaney to read the screen.
52:51The receiver like has to dive at him and then that clears the way for the other corner to make a tackle for loss.
52:59So, and then the next play was the Thomas screen that he breaks up.
53:04So there's just a lot of just fun, energetic pieces coming on this Kansas City defense too that I think they really
53:11needed to step up, especially at edge, which we just kind of wondered if they were going to get that type of guy.
53:18And if our Mason Thomas can be on the field and get some of that pass rush, just be in lane disrupting things.
53:26He's going to be a real fun player. Yeah.
53:29And the first pick Woods hasn't really done a ton.
53:32Peter Woods in the preseason thus far, but not the first pick or master Delaney was first pick, but our Mason Thomas
53:39has absolutely looked like the juice guy that they helped hoped he would be so explosive off the line of screaming.
53:46It's like you just watching it. I just felt like, damn, I haven't seen this on Kansas City in a long time.
53:53Yeah. Right. Like it's been a while since they've had legitimate juice off the line of scrimmage.
53:58I think he's held up decently versus the run as well, which is kind of was one question I had, like how much can he play?
54:07FAU, who was the first round draft pick who hasn't done much for them.
54:11He's been injured as well, but I thought he looked pretty sharp, pretty exciting in this game.
54:17And, you know, this is all pivotal for Kansas City.
54:20Like this offseason was about rebuilding the secondary or this defense, pardon me, with a youth movement.
54:26And thus far, the early returns are pretty, pretty good, honestly, especially with our Mason Thomas and Delaney, who is as advertised.
54:33So definitely agree with our Mason. Yeah. That when he blew up that screen, it really was very reminiscent of Van Ginkle in a way that I enjoyed.
54:42All right. I'm going to go to offense now and I'm going to talk about a quarterback.
54:47Jack Strand. Yeah. Falcons. Thus far, the story of the Falcons preseason.
54:51So, all right. I got to start with this caveat.
54:54Like, so I watched him a little bit later.
54:57It's, you know, we can't say that other young quarterbacks like Simpson or whatever are getting a simplified offense and not mention
55:04here, start by saying, you know, it's a lot of boots.
55:08It's a lot of cutting the field in half.
55:11And, you know, like there weren't many, there aren't like high degree of difficulty NFL throws happening here.
55:17Right. But we're talking about an undrafted quarterback from, I forgot the school, Minnesota.
55:21Minnesota State Moorhead. Minnesota State Moorhead. D2, not even FCS.
55:25I think what you're excited about if you're a Falcons fan is he looks the part of a developmental prospect, which is
55:32to say he has a big arm and he's athletic.
55:35And the game, simplified game does not look too fast for him.
55:39I thought he made good decisions for the most part.
55:42You know, he's missed a couple of opportunities, a little off here and there.
55:47But already shows a decent level of accuracy throwing downfield coupled with, of course, like the athleticism, the scramble touchdown legitimately impressive.
55:54Like he isn't a legit athlete. He's big as well.
55:57So, you know, I'm not saying again, he should be the Falcons starting quarterback per se or whatever.
56:03But if you're talking about an undrafted quarterback who gives you some excitement to develop, I think it was a pretty impressive performance from him.
56:11And like, like given that bar, he's absolutely cleared it.
56:14Yeah. And like you said, it was my notes are like he looked in control the whole time.
56:20It really didn't look like there were a lot of things that were just too much for him.
56:26But then there were a couple of really nice throws that slot, the deep slot fade he throws from empty to Anton
56:33Wells was, that was, that was a nice throw.
56:36And then it comes back later, like a straight seven step drop from under center.
56:41And he has the throw just to go right down the sideline, which was, it was nicely placed.
56:46So he does have those throws in his arsenal, which, which was nice to go on top of, you know, the, the
56:54boots and some of the shorter throws that he was doing just to get him in rhythm.
56:59Yeah. It's a lot of fun. And I, it's an interesting situation because he is the type of developmental quarterback you'd like,
57:06but do you keep him as the quarterback three because of the injuries and play of Tua and Michael Penix, where you
57:13just might need like that Cooper rush. Who's currently on the team to stick around because you might need him sooner rather than later.
57:21So what, what do you do with, do you have four quarterbacks that I think that's an interesting roster thing, but the
57:28fact that strand a guy out of D2. Uh, has made that an interesting thought, uh, that they will need to figure out, uh, is fun.
57:37Yeah. He was definitely fun to watch and would like, he's the type of preseason guy.
57:42Like when you, we talk about the developing quarterbacks in the NFL, like he's the type of guy we, we should be
57:49trying to develop in some way, uh, because it fun.
57:52And there were a lot of flashes that you feel like can build on something.
57:57It's funny. Cause he, if he was backing up Penix, he actually has some similarities to him.
58:03I think in like, you mentioned the beautiful, the placement, he actually threw another really nice goal ball that wasn't caught, but yeah.
58:10Um, yeah. You know, the ability to throw downfield and the power is legit.
58:15I, uh, I think like, you know, I, it's one thing to do this extremely well protected against backups.
58:21Escalating this to week one is quite an escalation.
58:24Right. I'm just saying, you know, and also Penix, by the way, finally back at practice could not be better timing.
58:30I don't think there'll be a time for week one, but given what we saw from Tua in the preseason and what
58:38we've seen from him or heard about him in camp, this is a real opportunity for Michael Penix Jr.
58:44to come back and take this job. Falcons fans are probably clamoring for it.
58:48So this is it, man. I feel like this is, you know, Penix is kind of make or break chance this season.
58:55It'll never be better than this. All right. Who do you have next as a standout?
59:01All right. I mean, how can we have a preseason podcast without talking about DeSean Stribling?
59:06I got him a dynasty and boy, I celebrated.
59:09Yeah, as you should, I'm going to catch like 900 balls this year.
59:13It's just insane. Five targets on seven routes this past week.
59:16It's basically a 50-50 split between wide and slot snaps so far this preseason.
59:21He looks like a juiced up Juwan Jennings. And that's someone who loves Juwan Jennings.
59:26The fact that he has just more smoothness and explosive ability is just, it just feels like the perfect type of Kyle
59:33Shanahan wide receiver who's going to be able to win tough off the line, but also get into space for some of these explosive plays they can draw.
59:42I think that's my big question with him is like, is he just replacing Jennings or what is the potential to do more beyond that?
59:50And Jennings was incredibly productive and important on money downs.
59:53Especially third down. In his offense, very good blocker.
59:56You know, when they drafted Stribling, that was my thought.
60:00Like, okay, cool. He can do the Jennings stuff.
60:02They need someone to fill this role. But now we're seeing there might be a little bit more to his, a little bit.
60:10There might be more to his game, like you alluded to.
60:13And maybe can he replicate some of the production they had anticipated from getting out of Ricky Pearsall at the Z?
60:20I think that's what I'm interested in saying is, do they use him at all three levels?
60:26Do they use him downfield? Because Brock Purdy does want to push the ball downfield.
60:31We've seen that. And outside of, you know, Evans, who's not a lead separator at this point, but will still win downfield.
60:38Right. Is there anyone else on this roster who can do that?
60:42Can he do that? I think that's going to be one of the interesting things to watch with San Francisco.
60:48Yeah. And I, I think he can. And especially when there's like, if, when, when Kittle comes back, you're going to have
60:55more of that, just the focus in the middle of the field and you're going to have a lot of focus on Evans.
61:03So he's going to have a lot of opportunities, I think to, you know, just be one-on-one and whatever level of the
61:10field that is, I think he's, he's going to be a big part of this offense.
61:15And from what he's shown already, I'm pretty excited to see what that kind of adds into a Kyle Shanahan offense too.
61:22All right. My last standout is Kyle Williams in this last game playing with Tommy DeVito.
61:27So he had, I think like 75 yards, he had one 69 yard touchdown.
61:32Beautiful, by the way, rep from him. He has this gorgeous release and beats, it was Ambie Thomas, right?
61:38Yeah. But then upon rewatching it, he could have had like 150 plus in this game.
61:43Holy mackerel. I mean, he was open downfield like multiple times.
61:47And again, like this receiving group, they're deep, they're stacked, but his ability to stretch the field is unmatched.
61:53Like he has a different level of speed and separation.
61:56He's still not perfect in terms of some of his routes underneath, but it's hard.
62:01Like it's hard for me to not imagine him being useful for this Patriots team because of the space he creates.
62:08Right. Okay. Your final spotlight player is one I've been excited to talk about because I haven't, and I just love him.
62:15Yeah. Arvel Reese. Yeah. He just, he knows what he's doing out there, which is, I think just like when you watch
62:22him, it's just, he's always in the right spot.
62:25The first run play, I charged in blows up the fullback.
62:29He's the lead blocker. Rocks in play and then still gets in for half a tackle on the actual play.
62:35There was a fumble later where he's up on the line of scrimmage.
62:39He moves a couple gaps over and he would have been in for a tackle for loss, but the ball was like already hit out.
62:47He just, when he's so smooth, when he looks like he's dropping back into coverage, also it's just always in the right spot.
62:55He has yet to look lost on the field, which is awesome for a guy that some people thought he would play
63:02edge because the giants have all the edges. He's going to play linebacker here.
63:06Like I'm, I'm surprised he's not higher in defensive rookie of the year odds.
63:11Like just based on. Yeah. If he has linebacker tackles and some edge sacks, like I think like that's, he's going to
63:18have a numerical case and I think he's just going to be awesome too.
63:23It's just been such a reminder early on in his 20 plus snaps or whatever that like, he is a very good off the ball linebacker.
63:31And like you said, that was kind of lost in the conversation around him ahead of the draft.
63:37But you alluded to it. I think the thing that's also jumped out, there's been a few moments where he's just been really quick to diagnose misdirection, right?
63:46Like on rollouts and whatnot, or you're like, oh, this guy knows what he's looking at.
63:51Like not only is an incredible athlete, not only is incredibly strong and fast, but he's a smart player.
63:57And it's exactly kind of what New York needed or looks like it because, you know, I've talked about this certainly when
64:04they made the pick, but all off season, this was a team that was absolutely abysmal against the run last year, despite having an incredible pass rush.
64:13I expect him to continue to have incredible pass rush, but they needed backers who could protect their edges who are on the smaller side.
64:21Burns, Abdel Carter, who are awesome at getting after the quarterback.
64:25And they didn't have that last year. And now it looks like they do.
64:29I mean, that's, that's literally like just wouldn't his ability, his performance against the run in these two preseason games has been so encouraging for me to watch.
64:38Um, it's exactly what you would hope to see if you're a Giants fan.
64:43So yeah, Arville Reese looks awesome. Looks as advertised and looks entirely worthy of where he was picked.
64:49I'd be pretty excited about it if I was a fan of New York.
64:53Um, yeah, absolutely. It's, it's a real fun front seven.
64:57I think right now. And, uh, um, I'm excited to see you like, and we haven't really seen, we saw a little
65:04bit with him like up at the line of scrimmage, but I still think there's more that they're going to be able to do disguising what he does.
65:13He's going to be one of those guys like you mugging up in the a gap and things like that.
65:19And what Denard Wilson's going to do with him during the regular season and seeing that he's already kind of just got
65:26it mentally, uh, in these preseason games, uh, is projecting what that can turn into, uh, could be really fun.
65:33All right. That's it for this week. Um, later this week, as I mentioned, gonna have Robert Maison talk about work through
65:40things I still haven't figured out about the NFL season.
65:43And, um, also going to be joined by the fantasy footballers to do the same thing, but for fantasy, which is we're
65:50doing a little bit more fantasy, not ton. Um, but excited to have them on, uh, Dan, where can folks find your work?
65:58Right now. All right. Just, uh, follow me on, uh, Blue Sky.
66:02Uh, we'll be doing some more Instagram stuff too.
66:05Just Dan Pizzuta everywhere. It's easy. I'm the only one.
66:08So if you're just looking for something, you can, you can find it there.
66:12Dan Pizzuta everywhere. Uh, you also can read his work in the FTN Almanac joined by Aaron Schatz later to talk about that.
66:20It's always a must read. Um, but, uh, Dan is available to continue writing about football anywhere.
66:25So if you're listening to this and you're looking for incredible football writers, one of the best in the biz hit him
66:32up or hit me up and I'll connect you to him.
66:36Uh, thank you as always to everyone at Omaha productions.
66:39Uh, Kirsten Zbecki, Owen Saylor, Jack Foster, Tucker Tashin, and we'll be back later this week.
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