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Teams of Toronto gold to the World Series, playing in the championship round. The NFL continues to march on as we have now moved forward to week number seven. and about well, man, about a little less than an hour from now, We're going to have week seven starting up in Cincinnati. It's the icy hot bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals. 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
We got 40-year-old Joe Flacco, who just got to the Cincinnati Bengals. They're starting us off. And then we have some pretty interesting matchups this upcoming Sunday as well. As Mike Vrabel will be returning to Tennessee, which is a complete dumpster fire. Rashi Rice will be back making his season debut for the Kansas City Chiefs.
There is a lot going on in the NFL to talk about it all. Right now, with someone who covers the league, has been covering the league for Athlon Sports. Welcome to the show, Luke Easterling. Luke, thank you for the time. Hey, my pleasure, J.R.
Thanks for having me. No doubt about it. I mean, when we think about the matchup that's going to start off the week, this isn't the most engaging. Thursday night football matchup, a battle of the old guys. If you're tuning in, there's no Trey Hendrickson.
Flacco is old. The Steelers have been kind of quiet and rolling. What are you looking forward to with this game? Is there anything we should pay attention to? Yeah, I tell you, man, I'm going to turn 40 here in about a month or so, and watching these two cornerbacks go at it.
I don't know if I'm going to be like inspired or just hurt worse when I wake up in the morning. I'm not sure which one's going to be. Maybe a little bit of both. But if you're looking for something to get excited about in this game, I love AFC North rivalries in general.
So there's always going to be some sort of fireworks, whoever's on the field. There's going to be some fisticuffs of some sort, and so it'll the energy of this game should be fun. But in terms of excitement, in terms of the players, I'm looking at the wide receivers, man. I'm looking at the fact that on the Cincinnati side, regardless of who's throwing the ball. You got Jamar Chase and T.
Higgins catching the ball, which is always going to be fun. And I think they'll have a little bit better of a shot with Flacco doing it than they've had with Jake Browning. And then on the other side, I mean, DK Metcalf has been everything that the Steelers were hoping he would be when they traded for him from Seattle and signed him to the new contract. He's absolutely been their number one. They would love to have a secondary target to kind of take the pressure off him, but.
Man, he's been as advertised, and those two pass catchers over in Cincinnati are a lot of fun. I think if anything, either of these teams would love to get the ground game going. I think both teams have been disappointed with the way they've been able to run the ball. Obviously, that starts up front. Both of these offensive lines have been inconsistent at best.
But you're looking at Jalen Warren and the rookie Caleb Johnson, the third rounder out of Iowa on the Pittsburgh side to kind of get something going, and then Chase Brown after the year he had last year. been really slow going for him to live up to the expectations he set for himself last year.
Well, Luke, that's for tonight. And you mentioned the AFC North Grudge matches. This is not an AFC North Grudge match, but On Sunday we got Mike Vrabel, Returning to Tennessee, the stupid team that decided to give him the boot. They just fired their coach on Monday and Callahan. How bad is Tennessee?
Are they screwing up Cam Ward? I mean, well, first of all, if I was a betting man, I'd be putting something di decent down on New England to I don't know what the spread is, but they're going to lay the wood, I think. I don't think Rabel's going to let up on Sunday, so that should be fun. But no, I think Yeah. Listen, a couple of people have said it.
I've talked to my friend Lewis Riddick at ESPN. I've talked to, yeah, I've seen some stuff from Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota that have basically said the same thing, which is that organizations Fail these young quarterbacks way more often than the quarterbacks fail the organizations. And I think. If anything, I'm glad the Titans did what they did with Callahan because if you realize you have something special in your quarterback in Cam Ward, which I believe they do. And you realize that the coaching staff is not the right one to maximize him and to get him to his feeling.
what should what must be done eventually should be done immediately. I've always believed that in terms of team building. And so for them to say, you know what, this isn't the staff. We're going to just cut our losses, do the best we can to get the rest of the way, and then we're going to get an early start on looking for our next coach. And if you look honestly at what happened last year, the last four number one overall picks, by the way, have all gotten their coaches fired.
And obviously that hasn't been on the quarterback, but I think that's teams realizing: listen, if you're not the coach to get the most out of this guy, we just spent the number one pick, we're going to find the right person. And look at what those quarterbacks are doing now. Caleb Williams looks a lot better with Ben Johnson in year two. Trevor Lawrence has looked better with. Liam Cohen, two coaches later, but they figured it out.
And Jacksonville's doing really, really well. Bryce Young is starting to finally come along under Dave Canalis, who's been with him for a year or two now. The advantage to Tennessee is not for this year, but it's to get a head start on finding the right person, the right coach to lead this team into the future and to get the most out of. Cam Ward so they don't waste the talent that he brings to the table. Luke Easterlining is joining us from Athlon Sports.
You talk about being able to turn things around. The Kansas City Chiefs have now moved their record to being even at 3-3. They're going to get Rashi Rice back. They got the Raiders coming into the building in Kansas City. How concerned with all the parity that currently exists in the league should everybody be worried about these Kansas City Chiefs?
I mean, they always should have been worried about him, right? Even even when they started so slow and they had the losing record until this past week. You know, they've all they've got the same Players and all the same reasons to be worried, right? We've seen Patrick Mahomes win a Super Bowl without a ton of weapons outside of Kelsey. He's done it before.
We've seen him lose a Super Bowl with a ton of weapons in Tampa Bay, like maybe the best team they had, and they couldn't get it done in the Super Bowl. But they're always going to be in the conversation, regardless of what's around those pieces. It starts with Andy Reid. at the very, very top in terms of organizationally the tone they set. And the play calling on Sundays, Steve Spagnola was still one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL.
Chris Jones, I know there's been some inconsistency in terms of the effort there on certain plays, but when he's on, he's still one of the most dominant interior pass rushers in the league. And so when you've got All of that going on, and you've already got number 15 taking the snaps, you're always going to be a danger. And so, regardless of what their record was earlier in the season, If they had made the playoffs as a seven seed, if they had been literally the last seed to get in, they're still going to be the team that nobody wants. They're going to be the team that nobody wants to go up against because they're so experienced in those clutch moments. They're so experienced in those big games.
That they were always going to be a problem. They were always going to be in this conversation. Obviously, Rice coming back makes them stronger on offense, but. When they've got those core things, it's Mahomes, it's Reed, it's Spaggs, it's Chris Jones, and all of those things. If those guys are on the field, I would put Trent McDuffie in that conversation as one of the best corners in the league.
They're always going to be a problem. They're going to continue to be, and they're still going to be a contender regardless of what that record is if they get in the playoffs.
Well, Luke, let me ask you about two teams that have amazing records. We know there are no undefeated teams, but we have two that are standing at 5-1. That's the Buccaneers. They're 5-1 despite all their injuries. It looks like they might be getting some help with Mike Evans back.
And then you also have the Indianapolis Colts who are running out Daniel Jones. They're 5-1.
So which one of these teams would you be more confident in as the season continues? Yeah, I think honestly India is the biggest surprise to me just because I didn't see Daniel Jones being this effective. And I didn't see the rest of the team playing as well as they have up to this point.
So kudos to Shane Seichen and his staff. To Daniel Jones for everybody. Hey friends, I'm Sharon McMahon, host of Here's Where It Gets Interesting, where you'll learn about American history, current events, and so much more. Follow and listen to me on Here's Where It Gets Interesting on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Mm.
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Everything he's doing and that team really for stepping up and out playing. Tampa Bay is interesting because if you had told me at the beginning of the year, hey, they're going to start out 5-1, I actually would have been like, yeah, yeah, that actually makes sense because I'm pretty confident in that roster they have. If you'd have told me they'd been 5-1 with all the players they've been missing, now I'm shocked because they, I mean, first three weeks of the season, no Tristan Wurfs, the all-pro left tackle, no Chris Godwin, the Pro Bowl wide receiver. They lose the right tackle, Luke Gedeke, and halfway through, or I think a drive into week two. They lose their best interior pass rusher and Kalijah Cancey at halftime of that same game.
They've been out since then. Meka Abuka just goes down. I mean, Baker Mayfield was throwing touchdowns to his fifth and sixth wide receivers on Sunday against San Francisco. That dude, if he's not at the top of your MVP ballot right now, I don't know what you're doing because there's nobody that's in this league that's done more with less. than what he's working with.
And kudos to Josh Brizard, the 35-year-old first-year offensive coordinator that's getting things done there in Tampa. It just speaks to, in my opinion, what Baker Mayfield has brought to the table, but also Jason Light, who I think is the most underrated general manager in the NFL. the depth that he's built on that roster. The Bucs had an injury on Sunday against San Francisco where they lost their right guard. That's the third one they've lost in six weeks.
And so for them to continue to play through these injuries, I think If your original question, which was which team am I most confident in moving forward, it's Tampa Bay because they've lost so much and they've got so much coming back. It's going to be a little bit at a time, right?
So hopefully Mike gets back this week. But down the road, they're going to start to get some of those guys back. Zion McCollum and the rookie Benjamin Morrison, two of their top three corners, were back at practice this week as well. I mean, for them to be 5-1 and for us still to not have seen that entire starting team, you know, that entire starting lineup on the field yet. when they get down the stretch, not only are they going to get those injuries back, but that's schedule down the stretch, man.
They've got a tough stretch here for a few weeks here with Detroit. They've got Buffalo still. They're going to have a tough few games ahead of them. But down the stretch, man, they play Arizona. They play Miami.
They play Carolina twice. You know, they play the Saints. And so, you know, those last six games are super winnable. If they stay anywhere near the two or three loss range going into those last six games. I I think they they could have a chance to run the table and end up with that one feed.
Luke Easterling is here with us on the JR Sport Brief Show Coast to Coast. We got two teams that are currently on losing streets that are Super Bowl contenders. The Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills, I think their respective fan bases might be ringing alarms on different types of levels. What is your level of concern when it comes down to the Eagles and Bills, if at all? Yeah, I mean, I've got a little bit of concern there just because they're playing so uncharacteristic of what they're capable of.
And I think watching that Buffalo, Atlanta game the other night, It was just like the ineptitude on offense is what concerned me. On defense, you know, they've got some injuries, you know, the secondary's been weak, so you expect.
Some drop-off there with that unit, but it's an offense that's run by Josh Allen that has as many playmakers as they do on that side of the ball, to be as disjointed as they looked the other night was really concerning for me.
So, the talent, I don't think, is the issue. I think schematically they've got to figure out some things and. No offense that has Josh Allen running the show should look as bad as they looked the other night. Which, on the other hand, kudos to Raheem Morris and that Atlanta defense for making them look that way. There's two teams out there that are both getting paid, and so good on their defense for doing that.
You can bet that the teams that have Buffalo on their schedule ahead of them are looking at that tape and saying, hey, how do we replicate that? Easier said than done. But I think that's what it is. If they can figure out their identity and get that figured out on offense and do enough to mitigate what they know they don't have on defense, I think they'll be all right. And then Philly.
It's very, very similar where Their defense is fine. Their defense is getting the job done. But that offense is so boring, man. It's so lifeless, particularly with the passing game. You've got.
Jalen Hurts, who I believe in as a passer, I think he doesn't get enough credit for how good he can be as a passer, but schematically, they are not doing enough to feature what their offense does well. I heard a stat, we were just talking about Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield has as many missed tackles. forced as a runner as Saquon Barkley does this year. Ouch.
So like that that says something about both players, but there's just so much about that offense that isn't up to what we saw last year. And I think it's mostly on the coaching staff. They need to figure out, you look out there and you see Jalen Hurts, you see Devontae Smith, you see A.J. Brown and Barkley, and you can't move the ball because your play calling is so stale and boring. I think that's on them to figure it out.
I trust Philly mostly because that defense is so talented, and I think they're going to continue to hold things together. But that offense has got to figure it out quick. There's no reason to have that much talent at those skill positions in particular and still have one of the better offensive lines in the league and be as boring and stagnant as they've been on that side of the ball.
Well, Luke, you mentioned what took place with the Bills, unfortunately, for them losing to the Atlanta Falcons. And I just got to ask you. Kind of as our final question here. We got a lot of people in Atlanta who are obviously high on what they just did. To the Buffalo Bills.
What are your thoughts on these Falcons? Of course, I think they can compete. for a playoff spot, but I I'm not gonna go super crazy about him at this point, you know? I really love and just full disclosure, I'm a Tampa guy. I was born and raised in Tampa.
I'm a lifelong Bucks fan.
So I'm perfectly honest when I'm telling you that I hate. What the Falcons have done the last couple of years as a Bucs fan. They have built so well and they've made so many bold moves. I'm a huge Raheem Morris fan. I did not think he got a fair shake when he was down in Tampa during his time.
I think they probably should have hired him the first time when Atlanta had the chance to make him the full-time head coach when he was the interim guy before. And so I'm pulling for him as a person. I really like Raw. Um, and and as a Tampa guy too, you know, Michael Pennix Jr. being from Dade City down there just north of Tampa, like I pull for him as well.
So when Atlanta makes him their their quarterback in the future, I'm like, you gotta be kidding me, man. Stop drafting all the guys I like. Same with Xavier Watts, who I was a big fan of coming out of Notre Dame in this draft, but Man, the way they attacked their needs in this draft and in the offseason, trading up to get James Pierce Jr. after drafting Jalen Walker and stealing him at number 15, they've just attacked their needs so well. That side of the ball, the defense, has improved their pass rush, which was obviously their biggest drawback in years past.
Years, yeah, yeah, man. And so that has made such a huge difference. And again, Xavier Watts. Nobody took the ball away more on the back end in college football the last couple years than Xavier Watts.
So the fact that they stole him in the third round was huge. I just, I don't know. I believe in Raheem Morris this time around. I I love that he got another shot and I hope he's able to succeed with it. Kind of hate that it's in Tampa Bay's division because I think Atlanta's going to be a problem for a long time now that you have a guy in Pennex.
who can take full advantage. It's still gonna take a little time, but but all those weapons around him He's the guy to take advantage of it. If they can keep the offensive line strong and healthy, if they can continue to build on the defensive side of the ball, I think Atlanta and Tampa are going to be at each other's throats and it's going to be entertaining to watch down the stretch, and it's going to be that way for a long time because Atlanta is going to be a problem. Yeah, it's a lot of fun to watch. Hey, Luke, thank you so much for your expertise.
Tell everybody where they can follow you, keep up with you, and everything you do with Athlon. Yeah, absolutely. You can find me on Twitter at LukeEasterling on athlonsports.com. All my written work will be there. I have a weekly podcast called Best Podcast available.
It's the Athlon Sports NFL draft show. We drop a new episode every Tuesday.
So we talk about the draft, but we talk about college football. We talk about the NFL, a lot of rookie talk. It's just kind of centered around the draft.
So definitely check all of it out. Hey, Luke, it was a pleasure, man. I look forward to catching you real soon, okay? Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Well, thank you. That Luke Easterling covers all things NFL for Athlon Sports. Hey, friends, I'm Sharon McMahon, host of Here's Where It Gets Interesting, where you'll learn about American history, current events, and so much more. Follow and listen to me on Here's Where It Gets Interesting on the Free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Uh Botox Cosmetic, Autobotulinum Toxin A, FDA approved for over 20 years.
So, talk to your specialist to see if Botox Cosmetic is right for you. For full prescribing information, including boxed warning, visit BotoxCosmetic.com or call 877-351-0300. Remember to ask for Botox Cosmetic by name. To see for yourself and learn more, visit BotoxCosmetic.com. That's BotoxCosmetic.com.
Mm-hmm.
