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FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
Top 5 NFL Teams Ready to BOUNCE BACK in 2026 (Ep. 2025)
00:25:57
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- [00:00]
Debro Derek Brown
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Joey P. Zapia
Guaranteed Human.
- [00:05]
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- [00:36]
Joey P. Zapia
Park it right here, everybody. It's time for the tailgate. It's me, Joey P. Joe P. Zapia. With me, of course, Andrew Erickson, Mr. Big Pot Energy, and Debro Derek Brown, the king of bros. We're talking about some teams that we think are actually pointing in the right direction for a change, because we had a great discussion on our Power Rank show. So if you like the long deep dive kind of shows, well, you can go listen to them because we've got two of them. They're over an hour long, both. So you could sit down and, you know, light the fire pit outside, whatever you want to do. Grab a cold one and just listen to us yell and scream at each other about the power rankings because, you know, I. I'm very brave. I put myself out there and then let other people pick it apart, you know, and then these two cowards go out there and take their shots at me. But we decided after that that it would be fun to kind of bring some of that conversation over into a shorter form here. So this is a shorter video we're going to do today on the tailgate, where we just talk NFL. It's not really fantasy. It's not really betting. It's just football. We're just talking football and having a good time here. And I would say that there's a couple little pieces here and there from the Power Rank shows that I think it was worth expanding on and some of these teams that we think are finally going in the right direction. So I want to kick things off here with one of those teams being the Tennessee Titans. We've talked about the handsomeness of the coaching staff. We know they're all bald, which we support. Derek Brown and I are very supportive. We turned down offers to be on that coaching staff, which I now regret because now I'm here with you two defending Daniel Jones on a daily basis.
- [01:56]
Debro Derek Brown
Salary just isn't enough, though, Joe.
- [01:58]
Joey P. Zapia
It's not. It's not. But the thing is, we saw progress at a Cam Ward last year. We like the Carnell Tate draft We like the Robert Salah, we like Brian D. We like the fact that he brought Wondell Robinson with him. We think that the defense showed some improvement in year over year and and we think they've got some depth at the running back position. There's a lot to like here. Andrew Erickson, Tennessee Titans I don't think is a I don't see them as being a playoff team, but I definitely see them being a team that we're going to wake up, you know, on Sunday morning we're going to watch NFL and then on Sunday night we're going to go, I can't believe the Titans beat Team X today. I feel like that's the kind of team they're going to be this year and they're going to be more prepared and they're going to be ready to bring it to their opponents on a more regular basis. What do you think about the changes they've made in one off season and how impactful it can be for the Titans, who now might be on the upswing?
- [02:50]
Andrew Erickson
They check off every single box of a team that is going to go from worst to first in their respective division. So I think they're going to be a platinum because I think they're going to win the AFC South. Everything you look at their schedule last year, so we don't talk about this enough. Cam Ward played an absolute brutal schedule. We talked about this on the Rookie Impact show about, oh, who are the Raiders going to play Week 1? Do you think the NFL will do them dirty and send them to the Denver Broncos in Week 1? Well, that's where Cam Ward played his first NFL game last year at Denver, and they still covered the spread. I remember because I talked about it the entire off season and I faded Cam Ward and I was wrong. They covered the spread. So Cam Ward played last year the Texans twice best defense in the NFL Broncos, Rams, Chargers, Seahawks, Jaguars twice, Browns and the Chiefs. That was Cam Ward's schedule as a rookie with a terrible head coach. Guy got fired midway through the year and despite that last seven games of the year, 11 total touchdowns, one interception, he played every single snap until he got banged up in week 18. So I think that he showed in the second half of last year when he had a okay head coach as an interim guy. He gave me the tide that rises all the boats. We already talked about all the skill players that they've added in the draft with Carnell Tate, Wanda Robinson in free agency, Robert Salah is going to get this defense going. He got a 49ers defense that had nobody left to be average. And now he has talent from his day spent in New York. Brought all of his guys over when that jets defense was really good he draft. I just, I just think that this is so setting up perfectly because when we see these teams go from worst to first. I remember talking about this last year when we talked about the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots. What's the most common theme with these teams making that leap Is quarterback breakouts, mostly in their second seasons. C Drake May and Caleb Williams from last year. So I think the Titans, I don't know what their odds are, but this is one that I'm definitely going to be laying some money on for them to win the AFC south and going from worst to first because it happens every single year.
- [04:50]
Joey P. Zapia
All right, last year obviously only three wins for them. Looking at the Vegas win total for them, dbro, what would you set it at? Just out of curiosity in your brain, because I know you probably haven't looked as much as Andrew and I would have.
- [05:02]
Debro Derek Brown
Six and a half.
- [05:03]
Joey P. Zapia
That's exactly what it is. You son of a. Well done.
- [05:06]
Debro Derek Brown
I'm good.
- [05:06]
Joey P. Zapia
Well done.
- [05:07]
Debro Derek Brown
I'm good. You didn't even have to look. I'm good.
- [05:09]
Joey P. Zapia
You're the worst. All right, so six and a half. So do you think the Titans enough this off season to be a team that could get to that over?
- [05:17]
Debro Derek Brown
I think they get to the over. But for them to pay off on, on Erickson's proclamation, they're going to have to crush their division. They're going to have to sweep both the Jacksonville Jaguars, they're going to have to sweep the Colts and probably force a split with the Texans because they're out of division. Schedule is, it's pretty rough, guys like, they get the Ravens, the Bengals, the Cowboys, the Lions. They also get the Eagles, the Steelers and the Commanders. So all of those games, if not we're saying those are going to be losses. At best they're a coin flip. So I think they can eclipse their win total. They're going to have to sweep the Colts and the Jaguars to take the division though, and be in that like 10. And the other thing it's going to have to take like, okay, like put them in that 10 win range to get there because I don't think we're anybody's going to talk about them as being like an 11, 12, 13 win type of team though too.
- [06:13]
Joey P. Zapia
All right, next team on our list we're going to talk about is the New York Football Giants. Now, there's a lot of reasons to like this team. They. We believe that they have a franchise quarterback in Jackson Dart, which again, Dbro and I were on an island last year yelling and screaming about, hey, Jackson Dart's got a lot of town. I feel like I was actually the first guy and Debro was like shipwrecked with me right away after, like he kind of washed the same island.
- [06:33]
Debro Derek Brown
Sunburned together.
- [06:35]
Joey P. Zapia
Yeah. Oh, God. What. What a nightmare. You and me living on a deserted island together. Just. No. Just. No. But let's talk about last year on the fourth quarter collapses of this team, right? You had week seven against the Broncos, which I watched with a bunch of family at my house too. Outside, we were watching football outside, kids were playing and it was. And a bunch of my family's Giants fans and they were so miserable at the end of that game. It was hilarious and painful, but yet entertaining. Week 10, week 11, week 12, all these weeks they had leads. I mean, this should have been a team that won a lot more games. They lost five games in the fourth quarter. Now you bring in a legitimate, you know, hall of Fame head coach and John Harbaugh, we all know he's a Hall of Fame coach. You still got hopefully Scadwell coming back healthy and league neighbors coming back healthy. They drafted Arville Reese. They've addressed some offensive line issues. I do think there's a range of outcomes, as you like to say, Derek, where the Giants could win this division. I could see them also finishing dead last in this division. I think that's the kind of back and forth. I do, however, believe that there's a lot of talent on this roster. It's just whether or not Harbaugh can harness all of it together. But regardless, even if it's not this year, I do think the arrows pointing up for the New York Giants. What do you think?
- [07:50]
Debro Derek Brown
Arrows definitively pointing up. I mean, with them adding and. And the big thing about it is, you know, people could say, well, they didn't add like another big time pass catcher. The supporting Jackson dart. If Andrew Thomas can stay healthy and Francis Malanoa can be everything they want him to be and the acquisition of Isaiah likely, like, can pan out. I mean, the offensive line play we've talked about for years has been atrocious for the Giants. So if they could just keep him upright and keep him on the field. And Harbaugh can also have the impact of saying to dart, look, dude, you need to either dive at times or go out of bounds. This Whole trying to be Cam's cataboo and this whole Bash Brothers thing. You can't win games for us if you're not on the frickin field. So like I think Harbaugh can also make an impact there with Dart but also this offensive line and building to the trenches like Harbaugh has, you know been known to do. Really this comes down for the Giants, for them to to pay off on this is can they win Honestly they're they're out of division games as well as I mean forcing a split with the Cowboys and the Commanders but also win all these AFC south games that they have like they beat the, the Colts, the Jaguars again going back to the Titans. Can they beat the Titans and winning those types of games that like they're probably going to walk in favored and paying off and actually closing out those games with the defense hopefully being improved with all of it's being improved and you know it might not be sexy but you stacking wins they're going to have to do some of the unsexy stuff too.
- [09:16]
Joey P. Zapia
Well I, I know we're going to have the later in the week we're going to do the scheduled release show here on Tailgate. We're going to talk about some of those games and I think the Giants are one of those teams. I'm really curious to see how that schedule lays itself out. Andrew with all the off season changes for the Giants. The interesting thing is that the core seems to be pretty good there and it seemed to be relatively competitive. They just continue to fall apart at the end of games last year and the Harbaugh certainly is kind of that old school football guy where you know, process matters, every game counts. This is a guy that gives a crap about the preseason games for God's sakes. So it's very different universe here in terms of, I don't know, toughness maybe mentally that I think might have been lacking in the coaching staff last year.
- [09:55]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah we feel good, we feel great about the court. The head coach upgrade Brian Dabble not a great head coach. Good offensive mind, good offensive play caller and some guys are like that. Josh McDaniels I think is another perfect example of that. Where he's a head coach, it doesn't play out well. But when he's just focusing on offense and not controlling the game that was something that Dable was really bad at. So I think that bring in Harbaugh, this puts them in a better chance to win these games that they're supposed to win anyway. My only hesitation actually I have two hesitations are the offensive side of the ball here. I don't love Matt Nagy, really don't was not impressed what he did with Kansas City and we talked about this on the power ranking show. But an offensive staff with Matt Nagy, Brian Callahan, Greg Roman and the Browns offensive line coach from last year doesn't create a lot of confidence for me that oh, this team's going to come out firing and be a top 10 locked and loaded offense even as good as Jackson Dart was last year when he was healthy. The other question mark is their best player on the team is currently injured and we don't even know if he's going to be available for week one. So when I look at the Giants I think of them and look at them as a team that this might be a 2027 team, a second half team in 2026, maybe out of the gates again. A lot of new pieces here, a lot of rookies that are going to have big roles. What will they do in Week one? Scottaboo as well. He's also coming off a season ending injury. So I think expecting them to take the leap in week one of the first month of the year when last year they got totally screwed by the schedule, they had the toughest schedule in the NFL and this year it's going to be tough again because their division is just really tough to play in. Even if it's not as tough as last year, I think it's still going to be an uphill battle. So I think this is a team that I think when October comes around and we're talking about the Giants, it's like, hey, we took under the hood. Like the Giants are doing some good things. Maybe they haven't won as many games, but something that I'm going to be monitoring, taking a close eye on throughout the year.
- [11:42]
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- [12:09]
Andrew Erickson
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- [12:12]
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- [12:30]
Andrew Erickson
Where does your group perform?
- [12:32]
Joey P. Zapia
We do some retirement homes.
- [12:33]
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- [12:42]
Joey P. Zapia
Every time I get excited about the Giants, Andrew has to remind me that Matt Nagy is the offensive coordinator and shock me back down there. Thanks a lot. I know, I know, I know, I know it's not. I just, I didn't say it's wrong. I just say I hate it. One thing I love, though, is our latest giveaway here on Tailgate. Jamar Chase signed Bengals jersey from pristine auction.com. how do you win it? Subscribe to our new YouTube channel Tailgate right here, where we just talk football all the time. That's what we do, just open football discussions just like you're sitting around with your friends at the bar hanging out, talking ball. That's what we do here. So subscribe to the channel. Drop your comments below and you could win the Jamar Chase jersey. Very easy to win because we're a new channel. So go check that out and ring the bell till it goes ding. So you never miss a new piece of content here on Tailgate. NFL Next Team, a team that I think we, we love the coaching staff. We love Kevin o', Connell, we like Brian Flores quite a bit as a defensive coordinator. Minnesota Vikings quarterback room was their undoing. Last year they flew a little close to the sun. They said we could do it with Sam Darnold, we could do with anybody. Well, that turned out to be wrong and now we've learned our lesson. And what I like about this team is you've still got all world talent here. You do have some age in the running back room, which I don't love. But at the same time, Erickson, I think that when you have a guy like Kyler Murray who's literally playing for his career, which is a point I made in the NFC show, I like that when you pair him with a good quarterback, a quarterback, mine and Kevin o' Connell and a guy that you've seen get success out of Kirk Cousins and the guy gets success out of Sam Darnold and even Carson Wentz played okay last year at certain times, I think that matters. I don't think he's gotten anything like that before. Previously in his career. So to me this is kind of the nexus where they need each other to succeed and I think that is usually a good recipe for success. What do you think about the Vikings being a turnaround team this year, Andrew?
- [14:25]
Andrew Erickson
I was surprised looking back at some of the betting stuff we did with the Minnesota Vikings that despite all the turmoil of last year with the quarterbacks getting injured, they still hit the win. They still hit the over on their win total at eight and a half because they ended up squeaking out nine wins.
- [14:38]
Joey P. Zapia
So they did. That's right.
- [14:39]
Andrew Erickson
They seem to find a way. Kevin o' Connell has shown and I think the biggest thing with me is it's the veteran quarterbacks that he's had success with, which I think mirrors closer what the situation is in 2026 with Kyler Murray, who is another retread quarterback based on he had success in Arizona but hasn't had success as of late. Can he get back to being a top 10, top 15 quarterback with Kevin Oconnell calling the shots versus Kevin Oconnell now creating a franchise quarterback with JJ McCarthy who missed his entire rookie season with an injury. So I like the optics of that. I like buying the high range of outcomes when it comes to Kyler Murray. Over his career he's averaged about eight wins. He was 2 and 3 last year before his injury. Thing with Kyler too is he always starts out pretty hot. In 2024, the Arizona Cardinals were winning their division. Yeah, I remember Talking about they were 20 to start the year. They win. They won one other game after Kyler Murray got injured. So he has some high highs, obviously some really low lows. But to your point, Joe, if he's motivated, needs to get figure out what his future in the NFL is. I think that you could see the Vikings winning this division.
- [15:46]
Joey P. Zapia
All right, Debra, what are your thoughts on the Vikings and their off season?
- [15:50]
Debro Derek Brown
I this, this team kind of screams like they're a year away from me. Like in the sense of they had to reload their entire defensive line. Basically the secondary is good but not amazing. Maybe if that changes if Harrison Smith comes back for another year. Their offensive line was beaten up and bruised and honestly not great for most of the year. Their inability to run the ball. Can Aaron Jones stay healthy? Jordan Mason is a one trick pony. We know what that trick is. He cannot play on passing downs. Do we get a fully motivated Justin Jefferson this year? Can Jordan Addison not pull his best Rasheed Rice and do stupid stuff every time he's not in the facility?
- [16:25]
Joey P. Zapia
I'm going to say no. We're going to say no.
- [16:28]
Debro Derek Brown
But. But again, these are all the questions and concerns and Kyler Murray, we've seen him play really, really good football. But you got to go in the Wayback Machine where the most recent examples of Kyler Murray playing football hasn't been good. And also, can we also talk about the merriment of Kyler Murray to a Kevin o' Connell system where it's timing, getting the ball out on time and his inability to see the middle of the field access the middle of the field? And it's not just pull your best Russell Wilson, run around in circles and chuck it up deep. Like, how is that going to fit? I got a lot more questions here, guys.
- [16:59]
Joey P. Zapia
All right, all right. So Debro thinks you're a year away. I think they're gonna sneak up on people and surprise people. Either way, I think the arrows pointing up also pointing up is the next thing we're going to talk about. Before we do, just a quick reminder, shout out to our sponsor. I'm going to make you wait for this one here, Debro. Hard Rock Bet Florida Sportsbook NBA playoff time is here. The pressure is high, but that's okay because you can have some fun right now at Hard Rock Bet. From tip off to the blast buzzer, you can go make your bets over at Hard Rock bet. New users bet five bucks. If you win, you get your winnings at 150 in bonus bets only at Hard Rock Bet. It's live right now, so go check it out. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today if you and place your first wager payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In Florida, offered by the Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC and other states must be 21 plus in physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. Play terms and conditions apply. Concern about gambling In Florida, call 1833. Play wise in Indiana, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1809 with it. Gambling problem, call 1-800- GAMBLER in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. All right, let's get to the Cincinnati ban angles here, which again, I, I'm, I'm saying the arrow, the air. The upside for this team is winning the division and going to a Super Bowl. Debro maybe as good as the Colts.
- [18:16]
Andrew Erickson
Maybe it could even be as good
- [18:18]
Debro Derek Brown
as the Colts one day. Might be as good as Daniel Jones.
- [18:23]
Andrew Erickson
I don't know. We're gonna hold her breath.
- [18:25]
Debro Derek Brown
Maybe he might no, but I don't know.
- [18:26]
Andrew Erickson
Here's where.
- [18:27]
Joey P. Zapia
But here's where I'm gonna pump the brakes for you again. Just like I gave you the cold hard truth about quarterbacks who get drafted number one overall starting week one. Because that's what happens in the NFL since 2019. Every single one of them.
- [18:37]
Debro Derek Brown
Yep.
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Joey P. Zapia
Here's my point I'm going to make to you. When you're just turning 30 years old and you've already run comeback player of the year twice, it's hard to get super excited and not feel like you're going to get let down. About Joe Burrow in the Bengals I love Joe Burrow. I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and I just like him personally. Is like I think he's a cool guy. I think he's good for the NFL. I want him to succeed. I do think that there, there is that possibility here where the Bengals really turn things around quickly. I still have a lot of questions about the defense. I know people in the YouTube comments and last show were saying that I was being too harsh on the defense. I'll believe it when I see it. But dbro, talk to me about all the reasons you're excited about the Bengals because I know you guys are. I am too. I'm just a little bit more measured than you two are.
- [19:23]
Debro Derek Brown
The offensive line continuity definitely has to get brought up because we're not going to talk about this offensive line being top 10, top eight, whatever, as far a talent perspective. But the continuity and also they played really well done the back half of last year with Joe Flacco there and their ability to run the ball. And then let's just get to the defensive overhaul. They added Jonathan Allen, Dexter Lawrence, Boya Mafe, Cash's Howell. Okay, pretty much entirely new defensive line as well as Brian Cook, Kyle Duggar and Takario Davis on the back end. And also Joe, I talked about it. We will not be standing for any D.J. turner slander. I'm going to give you the list, the laundry list of D.J. turner. Last year as a shutdown corner, he had 12 wide receivers. He at he faced at least 50% of the routes. Only one of them, Joey one of them surpassed 60 receiving yards in his coverage and only one touchdown in his coverage. So if the defensive line could bring the pressure, if Joe Burrow can stay healthy and the offense does what we think it can do, what we've seen it do, be a top five 10 offense and the defense can at least be middle of the road Cincinnati is Super bowl bound.
- [20:37]
Joey P. Zapia
All right, Andrew Erickson, give me your super bowl take here for the Bengals.
- [20:42]
Andrew Erickson
Third easiest schedule in the NFL this year. Yes, Cincinnati Bengals.
- [20:46]
Joey P. Zapia
Okay, good, let's go.
- [20:48]
Andrew Erickson
Al golden showed promise with this defense in the second half of last year, and although the linebacker room is still really scared to look at, those rookies got cooked. Cooked last year. They also got a lot of experience, so he threw the rookie linebackers into the fire. They got cooked last year. I think that experience will help them in year two. So although they didn't address the linebacker room that much in free agency in the draft, all the other additions they made like Deborah laid out, I think this defense can be average. I think the offense can be the best in the NFL with all the weapons that Joe Burrow has. And another thing to mention too, they started the year two zero because Zach Taylor came out and said last offseason, we're not doing this crap. We're going to start out terribly every year. And it looked like that was working because they started out really, really well. But then obviously Burrow got hurt. So I think that this team is ready to go. So give it.
- [21:35]
Joey P. Zapia
All right. One more team to talk about who we're looking at bouncing back after a disastrous year last year. Now, I think there's only one or two ways here. Either we don't realize that we are in the end of days for the Baltimore Ravens as we know them, or last year was just a circumstance where everything that could have gone wrong went wrong and all the injuries that Lamar Jackson had, and then he came back and was clearly not healthy and tried to play through them. The Ravens last year were the favorites on a lot of boards, including my own. And I feel like it's hard to look at this team, the talent on this roster. I understand it's a different coach now, but, you know, sometimes you need a different voice and sometimes that gives everybody a boost and sometimes it kind of pulls everybody together, too, especially those veteran players that, hey, look, you kind of, you know, last year was a disaster. We gotta like self police ourselves a little bit here sometimes, too, Erickson. I feel like, you know, we're just a year removed basically from LaMar Jackson being MVP, having the best season of his career, throwing for bunch of touchdowns, running amok. I'm not ready to be out on the Ravens yet. I do think they bounce back and I still think they're the class of this division. But clearly you think the Bengals might be regardless. Do you think the Ravens are a team that is ready for A bounce back this year.
- [22:41]
Andrew Erickson
Yes, I do because their defense was completely gutted by injuries and bringing in Jesse Minter who got the most out of I think not the greatest personnel in Los Angeles. That Chargers defense was really, really good. So I think that the Ravens defense getting guys back healthy is going to be a big boost for them because and then with Lamar, look, if he's healthy and on the field, they can be the best team in the NFL. And I do like the offensive coordinator addition they made with Declan Doyle coming from the Chicago Bears where he was under Ben Johnson. And the thing with Todd Monkin with the Ravens, one thing that they didn't play fast. They were a very slow paced offense under Todd Monkin, Declan Doyle with Ben Johnson last year. They're one of the fastest LFFL offenses in the league in 2026, in 2025. So I like the upside here. With a new play caller coming in, I think the defense is going to take significant strides and I like the additions they made in the draft bigger Awane, Zion Young. They still need a center that's kind of like their big deal when it comes to the offensive line, but I like the pieces they added wide receiver tight into the NFL draft and can't forget Trey Hendrickson. Yep, they mixed out a Max Crosby, but hey, they got rusher named Trey Henderson. Hello.
- [23:47]
Joey P. Zapia
A consolation prize. It really is. And look took him away from the Bengals too, which is also, you know, tough in division loss there for Cincinnati. All right, so Ravens D RO talk to me about all the bounce back features because Erickson makes some really good points there and including the coordinators but also the talent that's on this roster is undeniable still and I just don't think it's ready to go quietly into that good night yet.
- [24:08]
Debro Derek Brown
No, I think they can definitely bounce back and for all the reasons that that y' all have laid out to this point, I guess I'll give the flip side. Case scenario here though is that if they don't bounce back, the offensive line issues could be a really big problem. It's Ronnie Stanley, can he stay healthy? Ione is a really good piece, but they don't have like a true starting center. John Simpson's not been good. Rosengarten has been up and down. So what are you going to get out of the offensive line? When we talk about keeping Lamar Jackson healthy, allowing Derek Henry to rumble and if Derek Henry anything, if he were to miss time, we got Justice Hill, Rasheen Ali and Adam Randall behind him. Wolf now did they Add more pass catching options, sure. But devontez Walker, what are you getting out of him? They got a bunch of rookies added to this Mark Andrews, what does he have left in the tank? So a lot of it. I feel a lot better about the defensive side of the of this roster than I do about the offensive side honestly. But and the other thing about Lamar Jackson, like yes the injuries played a part of it. He was running less but as a passer he was God awful last year
- [25:12]
Joey P. Zapia
down the street was but the year before he was very good. I just don't think he was but he was watching the terrible down the back but he, but he couldn't like he just looked completely uncomfortable dbro like I think he was out there on one leg most of the time trying to do the yeoman's work of saying hey I'm going to try to be a warrior and play through all this but I'm really shouldn't be playing at all. So I don't want to take too much out. I just did a whole profile for him in the black book and I went through all the game logs and went through all the tapes and I still feel the same way which is like he just shouldn't have been playing last year and he tried and and the performance was bad. But I'm not going to. It's not enough to make me forget the elite everything and the development that we saw in 2024 from him.
- [25:50]
Debro Derek Brown
No. And and I don't want to say all doom and gloom but I will say with the archetype of quarterback, Lamar is the cliff. When it comes, it comes quickly.
- [25:58]
Joey P. Zapia
You're not wrong. So you're not.
- [26:00]
Debro Derek Brown
The part about that is could we be, could we start. Could that be the beginning of the decline for Lamar Jackson is not being like MVP level but just pretty good even when he's healthy. And the other thing we haven't talked about here is Declan Doyle is a sexy hire on paper he still hasn't been a full time play caller as far as like Ben Johnson was the run running all the things for the Bears. So is Declan Doyle really as good as we all hope or is it a lot of flash and not a lot of substance we don't know well
- [26:28]
Andrew Erickson
to see rather have him than Matt Aggie.
- [26:30]
Joey P. Zapia
No, that's fair. That's fair. We're gonna leave on that note because I'd rather have you two than Matt Nagy at this point but what do you guys think who are watching the show? Drop your comments below here. Let's have a little conversation in the community of the tailgate here. We're all sitting around who is the big Turnaround team in 2026 in your eyes, in your opinion. We love to hear from you. And if you want a deeper dive on all these teams and how we think the AFC and the NFC is going to shake out, go check out the deep dive shows that we just did. Subscribe to the tailgate NFL right now or on YouTube because we've also got the scheduled release reaction show we're going to do as well. So we got a lot of football to talk about here and we want to talk about it with you, but we can't talk about it anymore because they're closing the parking lot. So we're going to get out of here for Andrew Erickson and Derek Brown. That'll do it for us. We'll see you next time. Kids, this has been the tailgate.
- [27:32]
Liberty Mutual Ad Voice
Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance and now we're customizing this rush hour ad to keep you calm, which could help your driving. And science says therapy is great for a healthy mindset. So enjoy this 14 second session on us. I think you've done everything right and absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, anything that hasn't gone your way could probably be blamed on your father not being emotionally available because his father wasn't emotionally available and so on. And now that you're calm and healing, you're probably driving better too.
- [27:59]
Andrew Erickson
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
- [28:02]
Humor Me Podcast Host
Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guests, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter.
- [28:21]
Andrew Erickson
Where does your group perform?
- [28:22]
Joey P. Zapia
We do some retirement homes.
- [28:24]
Humor Me Podcast Host
Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [28:33]
Sleep Number Ad Voice
This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us.
- [28:38]
Andrew Erickson
From iheart Podcasts.
- [28:40]
Joey P. Zapia
Saigon.
- [28:41]
Andrew Erickson
You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country and the war that tore America apart.
- [28:48]
Joey P. Zapia
This is for Vietnam. They're pouring petrol all over him.
- [28:51]
Debro Derek Brown
Freedom for Vietnam.
- [28:53]
Joey P. Zapia
There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn out everything.
- [28:57]
Andrew Erickson
Listen to Saigon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your
- [29:02]
Joey P. Zapia
podcasts what's up, fam?
- [29:03]
Isaiah Thomas
It's Isaiah Thomas, and I'm C.J.
- [29:05]
Joey P. Zapia
toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game the Playoffs.
- [29:09]
Isaiah Thomas
We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was fine.
- [29:17]
Joey P. Zapia
You just understood.
- [29:18]
Isaiah Thomas
That's how personal it gets.
- [29:20]
Andrew Erickson
Wow.
- [29:20]
Isaiah Thomas
Then after that, Game seven, Marquis coming to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.
- [29:27]
Joey P. Zapia
So listen to Point game on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.