Edholm: Lions Are The Team To Beat

Eric, thank you for the time. Hey what's up man, how are you?

I'm very well. I want to take a look back before we look forward to last night. We all saw what happened with Devondre Campbell. It has dominated the NFL news cycle for the past 24 hours. We know he is not gonna play for those Niners anymore. Are they gonna punish him and hold that money in a suspension? They just gonna tell him hit the bricks? What are they gonna do? Yeah, it sounds like they're gonna move on from him and they may have already done it by the time we've spoken here. But yeah, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion. I think just from hearing the reaction in the locker room where now maybe they don't all have the full picture. Maybe there's something we don't know.

That's all possible, right? But hearing George Kittle talk about it, hearing Kyle Shanahan talk about it, hearing other players as well, they didn't appreciate it. They felt like they got walked out on and they felt like they got left behind by one of their guys. So yeah, I can't move on with that, especially in this season. The Eagles last week, a little strife with Hurts and AJ Brown. I'm sure if they win Sunday, we move on, right? But when it's happening during a season like the Niners are having with the injuries and everything else, just essentially being out of the playoffs, then yeah, that's where we're at right now. It's gonna be a bigger deal and like you said, dominate the headlines. Well, Eric, knowing that the 49ers are probably too deep into the hole with injuries and what have you to legitimately compete, forget about making the playoffs, even if they do, just to legitimately compete, what should we look forward to for next year? Because Brock Purdy is gonna get the bag.

He's gonna get a lot of money. We got a couple of their stars coming off of major injuries. Are the Niners, should they still be in that space of, oh, will this return in the same group so they should be good? Yeah, that's gonna be a huge question this off season.

What direction do they head? Are there major changes at all? You mentioned Purdy's extension and it's believed to be obviously something they've worked on and talked about. I think it's something everybody expects to happen and probably will. But what if there's some kind of change in leadership?

I don't know. It feels like it may not be as quiet an off season in San Francisco as you'd assume. Like you pointed out, you have a nucleus of talent and if you assume the injuries are gonna be okay by the start of next season, you run it back once more, you work around your cap issues and you find a way to get a legitimate chance that you missed out on this year.

Or are you forced to make big changes or are there other things coming? I mean, there's a potential for a lot of noise in San Francisco this off season. Eric Edholm is joining us from NFL.com. When you look at the NFC, we see that Detroit is head and shoulders above everybody else, even though Minnesota is not that far behind them. You had mentioned the Eagles, they're not too far behind them. Do they really have competition? Who is their closest competition for these lines? Yeah, in the NFC, I mean, specifically- Yes, yes.

Yeah. I mean, we can't forget about the Vikings. I mean, like, I think people are kind of dismissing them all the Sam Darnold factor, you know, maybe they weren't that good and, you know, their couple losses may have exposed them a little bit against better to, you know, whatever excuse people were coming up with, you know, they're still hanging around. Philly obviously has been terrific. If Detroit's defensive injuries keep piling up, it's going to be really hard for them to keep plugging holes, you know, you only have so many thumbs and toes and whatnot. I mean, they've really had to dig deep on that depth chart. It feels like they've lost a starter or two every single week for about five, six weeks now. So, some of them are coming back, you know, obviously this weekend is going to be a fascinating look, like you said, kind of a Super Bowl preview, but I still think they're built to last. I really do. I mean, maybe I'm, you know, getting caught up in the whole thing, but I, even if they get knocked down a peg or two, I don't think you can write the Lions off, but these Eagles are really tough.

Vikings aren't going away. It's Sam Darnold, Comeback Player of the Year, Eric? I completely lost what the definition of that award is, and I know they had to, like, clarify. Do we have to, do we have to break his legs for a week or two for him to win? Right. Exactly. Is there like an injury clause in there somewhere where we can automatically qualify him? Yeah.

However you define that award, I mean, he's obviously improved his stance in league circles probably more than any player in the league, I would say this year, or one of the, you know, two or three. And, you know, it's gone from the point of, hey, Sam's going to make a lot of money in the off season to, do the Vikings just let him walk? Or do they franchise them?

Or what do they do here? You know, do they, are they so sure that JJ McCarthy's going to be ready next year? Yeah, I guess it depends on how the rest of the season plays out, but so far he's, he's doing himself a lot of favors and kind of having that, that Geno Smith moment, essentially the second career in a different location. Eric Edholm is here with us from NFL.com. Hey, the former quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, who's now here in Atlanta. We saw what he did. Kirk Cousins went to Minnesota, threw a couple more INTs.

We had to wait until Monday night football to see him take on the Raiders. At what point do you believe the Falcons will pull the plug? Yeah. I mean, obviously they've they've seen this, this division slip away, you know, their chance of getting in the playoffs. I mean, you know, obviously Rahim's kind of said that, you know, like we'll know, or like when it's time we'll, we'll make that switch. Well, people are getting pretty antsy, right? We've seen the results on the field. They've mirrored the team's success, which has been nil, you know, the last four games.

So, do you wait till you're out of it to, to make the switch? It doesn't seem very fruitful to me, but there's also the veteran factor, the trust factor. I mean, you spent all this money on Kirk to get it done and it for a while was looking okay. But too many of those Frisbee throws, DBs are squatting on that stuff and ready to pounce. And, you know, it just, it's been too many in harm's way the last, the last four games.

And I'm a little surprised they haven't done it yet. Well, one team that doesn't have that problem year to year, the Kansas City Chiefs did 12-1. They, they winning every game by the skin of their teeth, field goals, missed field goals, doinks, dinks, blacks, you name it. They're winning it. What are your thoughts on these Chiefs as it relates to the AFC? Are they just going to luck their way and maybe get a little healthier into the postseason?

What do you expect from them? Yeah, I mean, it's so fascinating, obviously, you know, we've watched them win back-to-back Super Bowl championships. And then, and last year was sort of a, I mean, I guess like a starter course for what we're going through now in the sense that, you know, they lost on Christmas to the Raiders and they were not looking great heading into the playoffs. They were not the favorites, right? The Ravens were, and they found a way. And I think that in the back of everyone's mind, you have to remember like this, this team is absolutely capable of that. So I think on one hand, they're kind of loving it in the sense that they have this built-in motivational factor like, oh, okay, just keep doubting this, you know, we'll, we'll, we'll crank it up come January like we always do.

But on the other hand, our eyes aren't lying either. We've seen that, like you said, there've been some pretty fortunate turns as clutch as they are in those, you know, those key moments. They win those moments nine times out of 10 and win those games every time this season pretty much.

So yeah, it just, it's been fascinating to watch and I will never doubt my home, but the fact that we're not even, you know, discussing them among the handful of favorites is still pretty wild. The Buffalo Bills, we saw that loss to the Rams this past Sunday. What do you expect from them? It seems like the same old, same old Bills every year. You have Josh Allen who continues to become more efficient. What do you think about the Bills? Is this the year to get over the hump or they're going to run into a buzzsaw with these Lions on Sunday?

Yeah, right. I mean, that could be two straight weeks where their defense is exposed or humbled or whatever, you know, and, and, you know, I think to this point or prior to last week, you'd say that they, the defense had kind of held its own and then really done a nice job given the losses in the, I would say the holes. I mean, personnel wise, I don't think they're blowing people away talent wise. I think it's been obviously the offense stressing a lot of people, the defense being timely and key in the, in the red zone, turnovers, things like that. But yeah, I mean, you can only live with that for so long and this will be a, a really interesting test case.

Are they dangerous? Absolutely. Can they win it all?

I think so. But you know, Sunday was a reminder that on their worst day, you know, even a nuclear hot Josh Allen can be beat. And that's, that's a little bit sobering for a team that's been, oh, so close and, and missed out.

Eric, you got to push everything to the table, right? Is what team would you go all in on? Who would it be for this Superbowl? I mean, I, I kind of hit my hand earlier with the lions and I do, I do worry about that defense cause Aaron Klein had done such a really nice, still has done a terrific job this season and, you know, at the peak of their powers, you know, anything can happen in one game situation, but I don't know that they would have been beaten this year.

Now they've been weakened a little bit, but I'm telling you that seems to just be like the fuels for their fire, man. I mean, I, I think they'll, they'll throw the kitchen sink at everybody and it may not be pretty every single week, but if I had to pick one team, I would say Detroit's got a shot to win their first Superbowl. Well, listen, Dan Campbell will certainly keep it interesting all the way through. Eric at home is here with us from nfl.com. Eric, I know you do a lot of work as relates to the NFL draft as well. We know that Heisman is going to be giving away tomorrow. We know guys like Travis Hunter, he's going to get drafted, Cam Ward, et cetera. Who do you think is going to walk away with the Heisman in Manhattan tomorrow?

I think it's going to be Travis Hunter. You know, I mean, I, he's been winning pretty much every other award. He's, he's eligible for the bulleted copy of the receiver and, you know, I mean, in, in NFL circles, I think there's maybe a little bit more intrigued about him at the corner as a defensive back. Um, but you know, still could be viewed as an offensive player, but obviously in the college football realm, to me, he's just been the best football player in the country this year. We, we really haven't seen this kind of a two-way player, you know, even with Charles Woodson doing what he did in 97, look, it wasn't to the same degree.

Maybe it wasn't as good a team, but still, I think that carries a lot of weight. I think it's cool that we've had some non-quarterbacks in the last decade or so going back to start with like Derrick Henry. And then obviously, um, you know, Devante Smith was a kind of an outlier too. And, you know, this is, uh, this is an outlier pick for sure.

And a generational one, I think too, if that ends up happening. As we go through bowl season and the championship as well, the playoff, there are a lot of quarterbacks, some who are going to be playing in different games or to have you, Shidor, Cam Ward, uh, you know, Dylan Gabriel. How do you think things are going to line up in regards to the quarterbacks taken? Yeah, I kind of wish that we had a little better playoff luck with the quarterbacks. That would really have been, you know, had we gotten Cam Ward in or had we gotten Shidor in because both teams were, you know, kind of right on the outskirts.

And so that's a, that's a disappointment, I think, from that standpoint. But, you know, obviously it's, we're still going to get Quinn Ewers who is now declared for the, for the draft. And he's a fascinating test case. I don't know that he's a first round pick, but you know, he's, there's something there.

There's something to work with. And so his stock has some volatility to it. I would say, uh, Shidor, I think we kind of know what we have with him, but again, it's still wanting to see him against as many top competition teams as possible. Same with Ward. I don't think I would normally say that they would be considered among the top quarterbacks in a draft class, like last year, for instance. But this year, I think they're, you know, they're, they're going high and, uh, we'll see. I mean, this is, uh, this is Dow kind of turning the corner into draft season and there's always room for change, but that's where we are now. I would say Ward and Sanders are kind of the ones who are getting the most buzz at this point, especially with Carson Beck's injury.

That's another bad luck turn that we have. Well, last question for you, Eric, uh, and speaking of Carson Beck, we saw the Bulldogs get ETN back, get a little bit of a boost with the running back position. What do you think things look like for Gentsy when he turns pro? You know, people are talking about his size and yes, he's unlikely to win the Heisman.

He might win, but probably not tomorrow. How does he fit in the new NFL where they're airing the ball out? Yeah. I mean, there has been a gradual regression to the mean as far as the run game. And I say that in air quotes because I think it includes quarterbacks too. And a lot of that yardage comes from QB scrambling, but there has been a, a gentle backswing in the last couple of years towards the run game, which I appreciate, you know, as a, as a run game guy, um, you know, and, and I think you've seen, obviously you guys had to be John, uh, very high in the draft. That was a, you know, a controversial pick, I guess there, you know, in terms of, you know, running back draft value and all that. And I think Gentsy has a chance to, you know, that might be the ceiling right about where, what did he go?

Eight? I want to say something like that. Yeah. So, you know, early projections, that's sort of what I would think is that there's still a little bit of suspicion. You're not going to get a Saquon going number two, as great as Saquon has been, he's amazing, but I think those days aren't quite here again yet. Um, and that may have been an out of left field pick anyway at the time.

So I would say somewhere in the late, you know, top 10 to the mid-teens. Okay. Well, let's see, maybe we can get, uh, Gettleman back to select the running back that high. Hey Eric. I set myself up on that one. Yeah, you did. You did. Hey Eric, where can we follow you and all your work as we get through the NFL stretch run, the playoffs, the super bowl, the draft, the combine. Tell us, man.

Yeah. NFL.com and, uh, I run the power rankings. We've got the, uh, my cam and I do the power rankings podcast and show, check it out on, uh, on the website, on the, uh, the fat channel, YouTube, you got it. So, uh, any of that works and, uh, yeah, we'll be cranking up in the draft mode pretty soon here.

And Tom, Tom flies. Let's not rush it too much, Eric. Thank you so much and enjoy the weekend. Okay. We'll catch you down the line. You too. Thank you.