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Yeah, Wembenyama might be putting up ridiculous numbers with the Spurs. Shohiotani may have had a ridiculous season. The Dodgers certainly need him and everybody to be ridiculous here in the World Series. But here we are. The NFL is still continuing on.
We're about halfway through the season. We're approaching the trade deadline. We got some teams that are out. We got some teams that might be in. We got quarterbacks hurt.
We got guys who are going on injured reserve. There's always something new day-to-day going on in the NFL. And joining us right now is someone who writes, talks, covers the NFL for NFL media in every which way possible. Welcome back to the show, Eric at home. Eric, how are you, man?
Evening man, what's going on? I'm good. Good to have you here.
So much to discuss. Let's talk about a couple of Florida teams first. Travis Hunter goes down? We don't know details. He's on injured reserve.
What do you know or not know? This kind of sucks. Yeah, it really does. I mean, especially when It felt like he was kind of turning the corner a little bit. It felt like maybe he could even take that number one receiver job.
From Bion Thomas Jr. has had a disappointing season after. I mean, he and Trevor have just not really found that groove. Thomas did a little bit better with Mac Jones last year.
So Yeah, this is a tough development happening in a practice.
Sounds like a knee injury. I don't know if it's an ACL, but it sounds like. his knee has been compromised and, you know, they're just trying to you know, hope that it's uh The kind of thing where you can come back this year, and yeah, I mean, they're all of a sudden reeling. You know, that Chiefs game had such a lift. for them.
And now we're we're kind of wondering where they're at as a as a as a squad. When it comes to Travis, and we know his defensive usage hasn't been where we thought it would be. We've heard Deion Sanders, not a shock, be critical of his usage up until now or a couple of weeks ago. Is this season just kind of a An L for Travis? Are we just going to have to wait until next year to see what he can really do?
I mean that More likely than not at this point. Again, we're not knowing the severity of the injury and all that. I mean, that's. You know. probably the the most likely scenario.
You're right. I mean, we've seen um 15, 20, 30 snaps a game on defense, and then a little bit more on offense. And he's still doing things that. ninety nine point nine percent of the NFL couldn't do if they wanted to.
So You know, it's it's impressive that he's able to do part time both ways. Um but again, it felt like he was Kind of rounding into form as a receiver a little bit and making some downfield plays and adding a new dimension to that offense. But yeah, I mean, considering what they paid for him in the draft, It's tough to just write off a rookie year. You know what I mean? Like, you don't spend an extra first-round pick on a non-quarterback, in my opinion, at least.
and not have big immediate plans for that player right away. They clearly did. But obviously, he's been held back a little bit by sort of the wear and tear and then obviously the injury on top of it. Not the wear and tear, but just the the demands of playing two different positions. Yeah, most definitely.
Eric Edderholm is here with us from NFL Media. If we go further south, right down the coast in Florida from Jacksonville to Miami, we see Chris Greer gone. Mike McDaniel still has his job. Are you surprised they pulled the cord right now on Greer and that they still holding on to McDaniel probably until the end of the season? Yeah, it's it's an interesting way to go about it too, right?
I mean, you know, obviously We are right up against the trade deadline here the next Four days are going to be really interesting, and the Dolphins are certainly a team that could be in the middle of that.
So, is it? You know, is it was Greer pushing back on a fire sale? Like, did he not want to be the one pulling the trigger? You know, it's Hard to know exactly what prompted it, but it also was a game where The Dolphins were moving the ball, and had they had they converted on a couple of key plays. They have a chance to be up at halftime and who knows, maybe even win the game.
But there were so many self-inflicted errors. It was one of those games where you felt like.
Someone's gonna lose their job, right?
Someone's gonna get get gonna g be the scapegoat for this thing. I mean, did Chris Greer cause them to lose last night? No, not directly, but Uh you know it A little strange for a guy who's been in the organization a long time, right? I mean, he's. He's been their GM for a number of years, but was also a director before that.
That's right. kind of been made a little bit of a scapegoat here and Yeah, and just everyone else is left to clean up the mess.
Well, what does this mean? And this is assuming Mike McDaniel will be gone at the end of the year. What does this mean for Tuatango Valo who's sitting around making fifty mil a season? He's got a big contract. You know, there are limitations to his game.
There are things he does really well. Um but you'd have to think, especially given his injury history, remember the concussion, the big story about should he just Not play anymore, right? Is that a consideration? It was a very emotional thing for him. It was a very.
Uh cacting thing I would imagine mentally and physically as well.
So You know, there there are a lot of That and the contract. has Him I don't want to say boxed into Miami, but I don't think the list of potential suitors in the offseason, if he were to be made available, would be very long. I don't think you'd have a lot of teams lining up. It obviously would depend on what evaluators thought of the draft class. any potential veterans or free agents or whatever trade targets Those all factor in, but you know, at this stage there's some some He's flying into the wind a little bit as a player.
So It's possible that this Dolphins team is at a flashpoint here. We're going to see a very different version of it next year from the top down, right? uh could change by third you know by the trade deadline too And there's going to be some moves this week, I suspect, that has Miami involved. The big one the big, big ones probably l at the end of the year. Eric at home is here with us from NFL Media.
You talk about the trade deadline. We got to wait until Tuesday, November 4th. A lot of names, Tricky. Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it. even in cold.
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I'm Dr. Mary Claire Haver, and my new podcast, Unpaused, is the place for bold, unfiltered conversations about what it takes for women to thrive in the second half of life. Listen to and follow Unpaused, available now wherever you get your podcasts. It's football season and you gotta keep up with the action. Listen in to Pushing the Pile, part of CBS Sports Podcast Network with Mike Renner, Kyle Long, and now me, JP Acosta, for smart analysis of everything between the lines.
With four episodes a week, Sunday night recaps, film review, power tiers, and weekly previews, you will know ball. Stick with us until 1 team lists the Lombards. Follow and listen to Push in the Pile on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Ray Hendrickson, we know he's going to be an unrestricted free agent. We got Brees Hall, he's been in the news.
We got some names and quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson. Crosby allegedly has been told that he ain't going anywhere. What have you heard? What do you expect to happen or not happen? What's likely, unlikely?
Yeah, I mean a couple weeks ago when I was sort of making calls around the teams about other things and you'd say, hey, what do you think about the trade deadline? Is there it seemed like there was going to be some activity. And we've already seen a couple of little ripples. You know, the Patriots have made a couple of moves. The Rams got a corner, et cetera.
Nothing shocking to this point. Those are just the. The little pre-tremmers, we'll see how big it's gonna be. I don't think it's gonna be quite as big. Big as I thought it might have been a couple of weeks ago.
It's a supply and demand thing, and there may be one or two positions where. You get a little bit of a bidding war, you know? And I think the three potential positions would be like. Fast rusher. corner Maybe a wide receiver.
You know, I just teams just don't trade offensive linemen typically unless they're lower on the totem pole or. you know, have an expiring contract and, you know, quarterbacks usually exempt. Maybe running back is one where you see a couple of guys move to. You mentioned Hall. There could be some other ones.
Zemir White is somebody who could you know, possibly move.
So there's a few other guys out there at that spot, but I would say pass rusher, pass catcher, and then D B would be some positions. The watch. How active can a team like the Bills be when they're so cap-stricken right now? There are a handful of teams that have all kinds of flexibility like the Patriots. Niners are in pretty good shape, I think.
But I would say there are more that are up against the cap and that have some real restrictions and limitations.
Well, is there? You mentioned the Buffalo Bills and the difficulty in them to bring on legitimate salary, Eric. But is there a team that you see out here right now? That they they need to make that one big swing if they want to kind of bolster their chances of taking the next step and being real contenders. Yeah, they're one of them.
And and the Bills almost have to ask themselves, like, What do we need most there? You know, do we trust that Maxwell Harrison is going to help this team down the stretch of corner? Does that give us a little more confidence there? Is that still? too cloudy or too unknown for us to count on that.
Do they is a receiver the difference? I mean, really, like. I know they're coming off a 40-point game, but there have been times this year where you felt like Josh is just waiting for somebody to uncover. They're having to go kind of station to station and not be that big play offense as readily as they have been. Can they get somebody like on the Rashid Shaheed level?
Is that a doable thing? If you do, then maybe defense gets put to the side and you're hoping that That unit just gets better and from within. But Yeah, I mean, you'll see like the usual suspects. It wouldn't shock me to see the Chiefs and Eagles active. They're always active, they're always listening and looking and making calls and.
You know, even nominal upgrades, they're willing to pull the trigger, whereas other teams are a little more passive. You know, obviously, those teams that find themselves right on that kind of 500 line. They have to ask themselves how legitimate a contender are we this year? You know, the Ravens are certainly back in it now, and there's other teams below 500, but. That's kind of the question is do we do we want to give up?
long-term assets for a potential short-term gain that could help us win a ring. Feels pretty wide open this year.
So Maybe that lends to a little more activity.
Well, Eric, I want to ask you this. We had this conversation earlier on in the show. We saw what the Ravens did last night against the Dolphins that we discussed. They now have a record of three and five.
Now based on the division that they play in, do you find it realistic that they may push themselves back into being legitimate contenders? Absolutely. Yeah, I really do think they I mean, I think the You know, what looked like a hammer lock on the division has really gone away for the Steelers. I mean, they. We're in great shape not too long ago, and they're not those two teams, Ravens and Steelers, don't face until week 14, I believe, but.
You know, the next few games at Minnesota, we don't know where J.J. McCarthy's at, no, you know, no clear backup at this point. At Cleveland, they've had their share of issues. Jet, same thing after that. Bengals.
I mean, this is not a tough schedule. They could be above 500 by the end of this the month of November.
So Yeah, I mean, given how the division is laying out this year with the you know, the Bengals struggling, the Browns struggling. They absolutely have a chance and They're the betting favorites. You know, that's how. People still know that even before Lamar took the field Thursday night, The Ravens were considered kind of the favorite, and even with the Steelers, a game and a half up. Eric at home here with us from NFL Media.
This is a team that has seven wins and one loss and not turning the football over. Daniel Jones looks like a freed man from New York. What are your thoughts on these Colts? Are they real? Can they go on a run or is this fool's goal?
Yeah, I mean, their offense is real. I mean, they're. their return on investment so far on drives is unbelievable. Um, you know, the one game they were held below like twenty eight points this season was at LA. And they had a touchdown callback because the guy fumbled as he's Adenai Mitchell fumbles as he's going into the end zone.
that another touchdown callback by penalty that which is been out of character. Every other game they played Discipline you know, productive football on the offensive side. And Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren, Jones has been great. Mitchell's helped out. Obviously, Pittman's a mainstay there.
They have so many guys they can go to downs. You know, lots of options. O-line's been great. Watch Tanner Bordellini. That guy's a blast right next to Nelson and You know, all the Bernard Raymond at left tackle, good group.
The question for me is defense and the coverage specifically. I think they have enough pass rush to. cover some of their worsts, but That's another team that looks, Chris Ballard has never been a deadline dealer. I think they traded Naheem Hines when he requested a trade a couple of years back. I don't remember them ever making a trade debt at the deadline.
If there's ever a time, if there's ever a year where it's like, okay. you legitimately have a chance to go to the Super Bowl this year. and put a lot of demons post manning demons behind you as a franchise, especially with Jim Merce passing this year. Maybe this is the time to strike. I'd be fascinated.
I think they'd want a corner or a safety, but. you know, it just would be another piece for a team that's been very tough to stop this year. Yeah, what a what a surprise. You got the Colts here at at seven and one and Not surprised what Jonathan Taylor is doing, but just think about Daniel Jones as. is certainly impressive.
Hey, Eric, we certainly appreciate the time. Where can people keep up follow you and all your work with the NFL? Yeah, NFL.com, easy to remember. Yeah, I did my thoughts on last night's game, and we'll have some thoughts on Sunday's three of Sunday's games. And then we've got Power Rankings on Tuesday.
And check out the Power Rankings show with my buddy Mikey Am, and we have a good time with that. Yeah, it's uh it's been a fun season so far. It's kept me on my toes. Every NFL season, every day, every week, the NFL has certainly made things busy all season round, Eric.
So we appreciate you, man. All right. Have a good Halloween man. See you soon. I'm Dr.
Mary Claire Haver, and my new podcast, Unpaused, is the place for bold, unfiltered conversations about what it takes for women to thrive in the second half of life. Listen to and follow Unpaused, available now wherever you get your podcasts. It's football season and you gotta keep up with the action. Listen in to Pushing the Pile, part of CBS Sports Podcast Network with Mike Renner, Kyle Long, and now me, JP Acosta, for smart analysis of everything between the lines. with four episodes a week Sunday night recaps.
film review, power tiers, and weekly previews, you will know ball. Stick with us until one team lists the Lombards. Follow and listen to Push in the Pile on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean and cold water? Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it.
even in cold. Butter? Yep. Chocolate ice cream? Sure thing.
Barbecue sauce? tides got you covered. You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new ColdZheim technology. Just remember.
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