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Get 20% off your first two orders with code APRON20. Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com/slash terms for more. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity. Sports Network.
We're about an hour away from the start of the NFL season. The Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys. We talked about that game. We know tomorrow down in Brazil we have the Chiefs and the Chargers to break down not just this week. but what we can expect into the future.
Wh who's not being talked about? What do the numbers show us? What does the data show us? Joining us right now is someone who used to crack some skulls on a football field.
Now you can catch him covering all things NFL for Sumer Sports. It's Sam Bruckhouse. Sam, how are you? Good, man. Y'all playing me in with some shook ones.
They call me Sammy B, but maybe I'm Sammy B rabbit today. You you might be. You might be. I know you used to you used to keep people shook on the football field and now you talk about it, Sam.
Well, let's talk about some of the things. You tried, well, you did, you did, and you still do. Let's talk about some things that we should expect to see this weekend. We know we got some big matchups tonight and tomorrow as well. We got some comeback matches.
Aaron Rodgers back in New York. We got the primetime matchup with the Ravens and the Bills. What's really capturing your attention here in week one of the season? I think I got to say it's this Thursday night game that's starting. There's two things that I really want to figure out in this game.
The first is the Cowboys defense, obviously. Micah Parsons no longer in the team. Last year, he was basically the only bright spot on their defense. They were one of the worst defenses in the league. And Really, really atrocious against the run.
Basically, the shining light was their sack rate. That sack rate was led by Micah Parsons.
So I'm very interested in that against an excellent Eagles' offensive front. But what I'm more interested in, and what I really think the X factor in this game is, is what's going on in the back end of the Eagles' defense. If you recall, Two years ago, the Eagles' defense was not very good despite the win total. It led to basically Vic Fangio being brought on. It led to Cooper DeGene and Quinyon Mitchell being drafted.
They had similar problems in camp. It was expected that Keely Ringo would be starting. It was announced that Adori Jackson would be playing. Andrew Makuba, the rookie safety, he won't be playing today. He's dealing with some injuries.
And so it's really interesting to note who's starting in that back end. And when you're facing CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, that's a major issue. I'm actually wondering if this Cowboys offense isn't going to kind of end up looking like Bingles South this year with a poor defense on the other side. Hmm. What do you think that lends towards a Jerry Jones saying at the end of the year that I was right?
What do you think this means for the Cowboys in the long term?
Well, look, I'm not the biggest on not having a great defense as a former linebacker, but I think the George Pickens move was really a prescient one, regardless of what happened on the defensive side of the ball. There's two great stats that are pretty sticky that we did a lot of research on this offseason when it comes to wide receivers. That is yards per route run and target share. And George Pickens was actually pretty much a certified bottom-end wide receiver one in this league at target share and at yards per route run.
Now that he's in a wide receiver two role with a pretty good deep ball throwing, Quarterback and Dak Prescott. I'm really wondering if this pairing couldn't end up looking like T. Higgins and Jamar Chase up there in Cincinnati. And I'm really wondering if it's going to open up Dak Prescott post-injury to really be able to make a lot of plays. I'm really interested in the Cowboys.
I think, well, prior to the season with Micah Parsons, I was comfortable with saying that they were going to win 10 or 11 games. I think they should go solidly above their win total of seven and a half. uh this year regardless of the defensive situation due to that power offense. Sam Brookhaus is joining us here from Sumer Sports. You talk about offense.
We know the Kansas City Chiefs a few seasons ago, they were known for having one of the most explosive offenses. We know that the line is kind of tipped on that team a little bit more towards defense with some of the departures. We know for this season, Kelsey is older. Rashee Rice is going to be suspended to start, Xavier Worthy moving into year number two. What are your thoughts on what this Chiefs' offense will look like?
So, in terms of the explosive plays last year, they weren't there. You're 100% correct. But this was an elite success rate team. Basically they kept the chains moving on every single play where Ebo Ro They were able to convert third and shorts, and that's what led them to the Super Bowl last year. I think the key for this team, both in the success rate and the explosive play factory, is the left side of their offensive line.
They drafted left tackles, they brought in Kingsley Sue-Matia last year. There's kind of a turnstile of guys who I think they'll be swapping in in the early season. If they're able to figure that out, it'll open up the run game and thus open up the pass game. But the real crux. Through all 17 games will be Rashi Rice.
Suspended in the beginning of the season, as you mentioned, he's another one of those yards per route run. Target share guys. If he can come and be the guy who he was very, very early on in the season before his injury last year, I think that completely changes the face of this Chiefs' offense. All of a sudden, they have an excellent weapon at wide receiver one. If you pair that with the line, I think we see old school Patrick Mahomes from the last couple of years.
Well, Sam, before you joined us, we talked about a lot going on in that division: the Broncos and Knicks and Bonito getting his new contract, the Raiders, their situation, the Chargers. What are your thoughts on what things could look like in that AFC? Why does every recipe I try need 18 ingredients, including a jar of something paste I'll never use again, but will sit in my fridge for nine months? I just want dinner in the oven fast. That's why I love Blue Aprons' new one-pan assemble and bake meals.
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Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com/slash terms for more. I think it's going to be real tough. I currently have three teams slotted to go over 10 wins. That's the Broncos and the Chargers.
I think a lot of people are overlooking the Chargers just because they didn't make any flashy moves, and Rashawn Slater is now injured. But I think that's just a solid team. And when you have a top six, top seven quarterback, Life is a lot easier. On the flip side, with the Broncos, they have a top six, top seven, virtually every single position, except quarterback. You look at that defense, you got.
Potential all-pros at defensive tackle, defensive end, cornerback, linebacker, safety. You look at the offensive line, Garrett Bowles, potential all-pro at tackle. Quinn Miners, all-pro at guard last year. The question is: can Bo Nicks go above and beyond? Last year, he wasn't the most efficient quarterback, but he avoided negative plays at all costs and was able to use his mobility.
To really take advantage of other teams. If he can go above and beyond, become an efficient player, this becomes a really excellent team that launches itself from 10 wins to maybe 13 wins.
Well, we know that we can expect that division to be very competitive. Over the years, the AFC North has pretty much been the same. I mean, we got Cincinnati, whose defense was horrific last year. It took them to the end of the season to try to still get into the postseason, still with a positive record. What are your thoughts on what the AFC North will look like now that Aaron Rodgers is in the mix with the Steelers?
I just don't see it being as competitive as expected, or at least as it has been in the past years. The Ravens are absolutely loaded. The weakness of that team last year was the secondary. They've invested a ton of resources into not only getting new fresh players who can potentially start, like Malachi Starks, who they picked up in the draft, but also adding depth at core positions. You think of picking up veterans, Chidobia Wuzier.
You think of adding Jair Alexander at the cornerback position. That's all depth pieces for them, especially given Ardarius Washington is injured right now. And I think when you Construct all that, they are going to be a dominant team. They are my favorite for the Super Bowl. They are Vegas' favorite for the Super Bowl.
The Steelers, I think they're going to have to be a defensively led team again. The numbers did like what Darius Slay did last year. They didn't so much like what Jalen Ramsey did last year. I think an aging defensive backfield is not the biggest sign for contention. And I'm worried about that team making the playoffs as they typically have done in the past.
I think the offense, it looks like it's going to be a certified Arthur Smith offense. It's a little strange to me that the draft pick Caleb Johnson is not going to play. It seemed like that was what they were going to lean into. I don't know what the offense is going to look like as compared to what I thought it was going to be in the offseason. I think the Bengal, you're probably going to get some regression from the offense.
It's doing line, record-breaking year from near last year, but you'll also probably get some reversion in the mead from the defense. They're probably not going to be as bad as they were last year. I still project them to be around a 500 team. And the Browns, I think, are just figuring it out. They're trying to keep their good players.
And Miles Garrett figure out all the other positions. As a result, I'm a lock for the Ravens on this one. It's Sam Brookhouse joining us from Sumer Sports. Is there a team that you think no one is paying attention to that can actually elevate? in a positive way from last year.
I got to be honest, as I was going through my prep for the Sumer Sports Show this week, where we did all these predictions of awards and win totals and et cetera. I can't just take my eyes off the New York Giants, man. Wow, at first, I recognized that they had a great front seven last year. They were really great at generating pressure, even when Dexter Lawrence was hurt. They really have certified four pressure generators on their defensive front at this point: in Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kavan Thibodeau, and the draft pick, Abdul Carter.
I think that's a recipe for success on that defense. But the offense was really the issue last year. Daniel Jones could not get the ball to Malik Neighbors, even though he did have a lot of catches. Explosivity just wasn't there, wasn't able to hit him on the deep ball. They tried to figure that out as many times as possible.
You add Russell Wilson, despite seeing some regression as he's gotten older. He's still good at hitting those deep balls. And I think he was a major part of why the Steelers were able to even get close to the playoffs last year, much less win 10 games. You add Jameis Winston as the backup, an excellent deep ball thrower, even though sometimes it comes with some interceptions. And you add the rookie Jackson Dart.
As well. And I think that is really a recipe for success. If they can figure out something along the offensive line, I think they may surprise some people despite being in a tough division in the NFC East.
Well, let's see what the the the Giants do. I know uh Day Bowl and Shane and the Giant fans would be happy with that. I know you mentioned feeling good about the Ravens finally getting over the hump and going to the Super Bowl. Uh are you looking at an all birds type Super Bowl? What what are your thoughts on the NFC side?
I think it's going to be from the NFC North. I think it's either going to be the Packers or the Lions. I could definitely see one of those teams winning the NFC North and another team making it to the Super Bowl. But I just think those two teams are more. complete at this point.
Than the Eagles. I think you're getting Aiden Hutchinson back, a primo pass rusher. The likes of the Eagles don't necessarily have. You now have Micah Parsons for the Packers. That's another Primo pass rusher.
And both of those teams were very efficient. On defense last year, the Packers weren't great in terms of success rate, but both of them were really great at limiting big plays from the other team and generating turnovers. The Lions were able to keep it up even when their entire team was injured. I think both of those offenses are going to look great adding some pieces in while also keeping the cores together. And I think another year of progression for both of those teams.
Lines it up right now. If you hadn't had to put me to it, I think I got to go with the Packers. I think the Micah Parsons edition just pushes it over the top. They've invested a lot. With the wide receivers.
And then I think Jordan Love will end up being a top six, seven quarterback this year. By the advanced metrics. I know a lot of people looking forward to seeing what he does with Matt Golden now on the spot, on the squad. Hey, Sam, we appreciate the time and you sharing your expertise. Where can people listen, hear you, and follow you, and all the numbers that you guys crunch and information that you share?
Yeah, so check us out at sumersports.com. We got a lot of advanced numbers. We've started seeing in the data that a lot of people are getting a lot of good usage out of our defensive statistics for last year.
So sumersports.com, you can get advanced numbers. May help you pick a fancy defense this week. Amazing, Sam.
Well, thank you so much. We're going to catch you soon down the line, okay? Yep, my pleasure. Thank y'all. Why does every recipe I try need 18 ingredients, including a jar of something paste I'll never use again, but will sit in my fridge for nine months?
I just want dinner in the oven fast. That's why I love Blue Aprons New One Pan Assemble and Bake Meals. They send you fresh ingredients that are already chopped. All you do is put it all together and bake. That's it.
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