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FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
Updated NFL Power Rankings for All NFC Teams (Ep. 2017)
01:19:20
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- [00:00]
Joe P. Zapia
This is an iHeart podcast.
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- [00:36]
Joe P. Zapia
Park it right here, everybody. It's time for the tailgate. It's me, Joey P. Joe P. Zapia. And I'm here with my two best friends, Andrew Erickson, Mr. Big Pot Energy, and Debro Derek Brown, the king of bros. But here's the problem. I'm in a toxic relationship with these two yahoos. You know why? Because somehow on the last show in the Powell rankings of the afc, I got caught in a trap defending the honor of Daniel Jones. I mean, it doesn't get any lower than that. I can't believe you two who call yourself my friends force me into that. And I will continue to defend the Colts and their 10 week record scoring 31 points a game. And then Debro also was like, hey, what about these four mediocre games? And I'm like, what? You mean the ones against the Houston Texans defense? The one on the road in Pittsburgh, the one on the road in Kansas City? Yeah, those are tough places.
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Debro Derek Brown
I love how he doesn't throw in the Falcons in there and the fact that they didn't score over 20 points in three of those four games.
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Andrew Erickson
Joe, Joe, I just got.
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Joe P. Zapia
I got.
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Debro Derek Brown
Thanks. It's fine.
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Andrew Erickson
I got one question for you regarding that great stat. They were basically the 2007 New England Patriots. It's a great stat, but is it descriptive or predictive? 31 points per game. What is that going to tell you about 2026? Just answer that question, please, Joe.
- [01:47]
Joe P. Zapia
I like to live in actual reality instead of virtual reality. So it's descriptive. And I'll tell you this much. Not only is it descriptive, you could take your predictions and turn them sideways and you know what to do with them. Because everybody thought the Ravens were going to make it to the Super Bowl. They couldn't even make it to the damn playoffs last year. So so much for predictability of teams and projectability. That's what I say.
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Debro Derek Brown
I love how you just you describe all of this. But basically this Is a trap of your own making. Nobody forced you to cape up for Daniel Jones. Nobody forced you to cap up for Eli Manning.
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Joe P. Zapia
You put baby.
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Debro Derek Brown
Nobody did all this. And baby got your true colors came out. It's not our fault, is it, Ericson?
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Andrew Erickson
I mean, I'm just ready for him to pull the Cam scatter Boo jersey out of his closet.
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Debro Derek Brown
No. Yeah, he's got it. He's got a onesies wearing underneath that, that hoodie. Don't worry.
- [02:34]
Joe P. Zapia
We gotta attack him. Of my favorite things. All right, we're gonna go ahead this time. This is part two of our series of the power ranks. This time we're doing NFC because I can't stand to talk about Daniel Jones anymore. So NFC power rankings that belong to me then once again, very brave. Joe P. Is going to throw out there brave to these two hounds. Like two, like raw meat, just steaks flying out there. And they're just going to devour it and see what happens here. So make sure you subscribe to the tailgate because this is what we do here. We talk football. There's no rules. It's just friends hanging out, talking ball as intelligently as we can with also as much stupidity as we can. Because that's, I think, what friends are supposed to do. So let's start at the bottom, which is always a fun start place to begin. Let's start with my number 16 team. The worst team in the NFC and it is the Arizona Cardinals. Now, the Arizona Cardinals had a very weird off season, but what else is new? Another year, another new head coach for them. We'll see if this Leflore can do anything for this team. This is still the same organization that made players pay for their own lunches. I mean, Arizona historically has just not been good and for good reason, because they make weird decisions. You know, like spending money in the off season on a decent running back in Tyler Arier, when he already had a full running back room, only to turn around and use the third pick on a running back, Jeremiah Love, which was the right decision, but you came
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Debro Derek Brown
to it very late.
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Joe P. Zapia
It's almost like they didn't know that they had the third overall pick and that wasn't available to them while they were discussing what they were going to do in the NFL draft. So one of two things are true. Either there's such bad talent evaluators that they couldn't figure it out for themselves and had to wait for everybody else to tell them around NFL circles how good Jeremiah Love was, or they just look around at each other. And they just are flying by the seat of their pants. Either way, it's not good. And, and Jacoby Brissette was admirable last year at times. Look, they still got Trey McBride. They've got a lot positive there. But to me, they're still the worst team, especially when you consider the division they have to play in, which is arguably one of the best divisions in football in terms of the top three teams. So that's my take. But DBro, that's not your bottom team. The. The Cardinals aren't your bottom. How can this be?
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Debro Derek Brown
No, because it's the Falcons, dude. We could talk about a lot of similarities between these two rosters highlighted by offensive stars. And if we want to talk about. I would much rather have Jacoby Brissette than to a tongue of aloa at this part of their careers. And I would take the Cardinals defense over the Falcons defense. So the Falcons are the bottom team for me. They're 16th. I have the Arizona Cardinals at 15th. They're both garbage teams though.
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Joe P. Zapia
Erickson, would you like to stay with me with the Cardinals being the worst team in the NFC?
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Andrew Erickson
Yes, because they are the worst team in the NFC. Look at the odds. 20,000 plus 20,000 to win the NFC this year. The Arizona Cardinals, they have the hardest schedule in the NFL and they had a top three pick last year. So they're facing a bottom schedule in terms of their strength of opponent. Well, spoiler, the other three teams in the division are the top of my NFC rankings. So that's just the type of uphill battle they have to face. I would rather go with the Falcons quarterbacks. I've seen those guys at least play well recently at some point in their NFL careers versus Jacobe Brissette, who put up counting stats last year. And Carson Beck, is he going to be the answer? He's the answer to. Oh, Archie Manning, Dante Moore, there's your. That's why they drafted Carson Beck, so they could get Dante Moore, they could get Archie Manning in 2027. Because I think that Arizona, if I was making a bet right now who's going to have the number one overall pick, I would not bet the Falcons again. They're still my 15th ranked team in the NFC. I would bet on the Arizona Cardinals being that team that get tons of injuries last year. But even if they're a little bit healthier on defense, I don't know if that matters when I think that they're just so undermanned. And Jacoby Brissette, he has, he's holding out for a team. Jacoby Brissette, he has, he has power on this Arizona Cardinals roster.
- [06:25]
Joe P. Zapia
Good for him. He's a good dude.
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Andrew Erickson
Good dude.
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Joe P. Zapia
I'm happy for Jacoby Brissette. He's a good guy. He's a mid level quarterback and it, and it's a. If you're ever going to get paid if you. Jacoby Brissette, this is now. Yeah, it's now or never. So good on you, Jacoby Brissette. But yeah, the Cardinals stink. So Andrew is right and the Falcons are the 15th team will transition to the Falcons, which are also stinky.
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Andrew Erickson
They're also very stinky.
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Joe P. Zapia
But this one feels worse to me because I look at a team that's got Bijan Robinson, that's got Drake London's got Kyle Pitts, it's got, you know, I think some players on the defensive side here that are intriguing. But man, I think a couple. A couple. But, but I just can't, I can't possibly just go along with the quarterback situation here because it's either Tuatanga Violoa, who is an injury liability and risk, we all know of a high level Michael Penck who really hasn't quite developed as maybe some people might have hoped. So we're either going to go as DBRO makes farting sounds. It's very high class here on the program.
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Debro Derek Brown
That's bring, bring the class to the, to the show here. Bring the class.
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Joe P. Zapia
But you have a situation where it doesn't feel like anything's going to go well here because if one guy struggles, you're going to hear the clamoring for the other guy to take over and vice versa. You have a potential where if Tua does play well and then gets hurt, then Pennix has to take over or it just feels like it's just off to me. And Kevin Stefanski at some point I think has to be held accountable too because I, I think we all gave him a lot of passes because the organization in Cleveland just thrust Deshaun Watson upon him and it was an awful situation for him to be in with cap issues and all the other stuff because of the amount of money they were paying him. But then a certain point too, I think when Deshaun Watson wasn't around, Cleveland didn't perform, I think, up to their capabilities either at times. So I'm going to put them at 15. I already know Andrew, you agree with me. So let's talk about your agreement here before we start going off the rails because I've got a lot of controversial Takes. And I can tell you right now your top three teams are not my top three teams.
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Andrew Erickson
It's weird that the Falcons, to your point about all their offensive playmakers, I mean B John Robinson, you know, arguably the best running back in the NFL. Drake London, a wide receiver that we really like and yet this team is a bottom dweller in the NFC in a division that is usually wide open. But the Falcons didn't even come in last place in the division and their last place in our power rankings looking ahead to 2026. So yeah, I think the quarterback situation is better in Atlanta than Arizona, but that's a very low bar to pass. Right. Like it's not me going out Olympia, like I really have a lot of confidence in these two players. Especially when you look at one of the massive holes on the Falcons offense. Their right tackle right now is Juwan Taylor. You know where it's a big deal to have a bad right tackle when you have two left handed quarterbacks, which is what the Falcons have. So I think that's another big problem that the Falcons, their defense, they did some interesting things last year. I think that their secondary is okay, but edge rusher, right. Last year it seemed like they finally solved it and then what happens? James Pierce Jr. Gets arrested. We don't know if he's going to get suspended, if he's going to get. We don't know exactly what his situation is going to be but it's just more bad in terms of the pass rush which has always been a need for this Falcons defense. Losing Raheem Morris again. He was the head coach, the defensive play caller last year. So new coaching staff, no allegiance to Michael Pennix. What's two going to look like? It just seems like they're another team that when we're looking at who's taking a quarterback in 2027, I think the Falcons are going to be at the top of that list.
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Joe P. Zapia
Yeah, it always sucks to lose your first round pick from the year before to the Atlanta pd. That's always a tough one. It's a tough pill to swallow. D braw, you know you kind of took your shots at the Falcons. Do you have any other in the chamber that you want to fire away? Anything left? And I realize now that's a, that's a difficult metaphor I just made considering I just said. But I'm gonna go with it. I'm gonna go with it because I don't care.
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Debro Derek Brown
Well, I already got the fart noises out earlier so you know.
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Joe P. Zapia
Yeah, highbrow has left this program a long time ago.
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Debro Derek Brown
Exactly. Exactly. But, dude, I think the further and further we get into Kevin Stefanski's career as a head coach in the NFL, can we say that he is trending more and more and more towards massively overrated than a good coach?
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Joe P. Zapia
Yes, I think we can.
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Debro Derek Brown
The longer that we get, like, the longer Runway we get, the more experience we get of the Kevin Stefanski entire. Oh, God. What he brings to an organization, like drafting Zachariah Branch, like, did he not learn the sins of yesteryear with Anthony Schwartz and Malachi Corley? Apparently not. But no, I digress.
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Andrew Erickson
I gotta get to his screen guy. He's got a screen guy now.
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Debro Derek Brown
Bijan Robinson says hi.
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Joe P. Zapia
I was gonna say. Yeah, I was gonna say, I think he's got the screen. I think B.J. robinson might be pretty good at that.
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Andrew Erickson
Makes too much sense.
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Joe P. Zapia
All right, here's where we start to go. I think off the rails. This is my prediction, but I'm gonna. I, I really believe this and I'm going to stick to my guns here. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I have right now at 14, which is going to surprise a lot of people. But here's my case against it, right. Of why the Buccaneers, I think, are kind of lower on the totem pole. I think when you lose a Levante David and you use a Mike Evans and you lose the two big leadership stalwart guys on both sides of the football in one off season, I think that leaves a huge vacuum. And again, this isn't fantasy stuff. We're talking about. We're talking about real football stuff. We're talking about the guys in the locker room that make this team tick. And Baker Mayfield has shown you he can have some leadership qualities. Baker Mayfield also, unfortunately, dealt with a lot of injuries last year. And I think that we're also in a spot, too, in this, you know, post Tom Brady era Buccaneers where we pass things over to Baker Mayfield. We're kind of living off the pass with some of these other talented people that they have to me, I'm looking at the Buccaneers and I feel like this is a team that's primed to be going in the opposite direction, not because they don't have a quarterback that's worthy, but because I think you're in a weird transition mode with this team where, where they're going to have to figure out what their identity is, because I don't know what it is anymore and I don't know if they know. So I get it. I know people are going to come at me for this one. But we're talking about football right now. And I think football, when you lose captains on either side who have been there for a decade, okay, this is not like, oh, it's a good player for a couple years. We're talking a decade plus of these guys. That stuff you don't replace overnight and you certainly don't replace it over one offseason and you don't do it on both sides of the football in the same season. So I'm going to put that out there. I know it's going to be controversial, but I think that's a pretty good defense of it. Dbro, why don't you have out here, am I right or wrong about being so down on the Buccaneers?
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Debro Derek Brown
I don't think you're wrong. I think when you look at the nfc, the total picture of them, like I'm, I'm looking at my power rankings right now, I feel like everybody about from team 6 to team 14, you can make a case for and again you can. I agree, it really, it's tough, man. Like I have the Buccaneers higher, I have them at 10. But I don't disagree with a lot of what you said. The only thing I'll give for context about the Buccaneers for last year, their offensive line, massive amounts of injuries. I think their offensive line is really, really freaking good. When healthy, I think the defense can play better. I think what you talked about with leadership, I think adding somebody like Alex Anzalone is going to help a ton in that as well as addressing Edge. They might finally have a competent pass rusher that can rush the passer boys. If Reuben Bane Jr. Can be that guy they already started adding to the second.
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Joe P. Zapia
If he can open his locker with his tiny arms too. He's got oh God, dude, he's good.
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Andrew Erickson
Twist going to be good.
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Debro Derek Brown
He's going to be very good. He's going to be very, very good.
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Joe P. Zapia
You sure he can do the combination? It's hard.
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Debro Derek Brown
The T Rex might not have big arms, but the T Rex is still ferocious and mighty. That's all.
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Andrew Erickson
I'll say every quarterback he sacks, he's going to tell them how long his arms are.
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Debro Derek Brown
Yeah, he's stand over.
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Joe P. Zapia
Yeah, I got you. He should do the tape measure. That's what he should do. Every time he sacks, somebody should go and just like pull the tape measure.
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Andrew Erickson
That's exactly, that'd be wonderful.
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Debro Derek Brown
Dude, let's go. But yeah, but the Bucks, I think they have a well rounded roster. Like I, I, I see your concerns about the locker room and stuff like that. But I do think they have a lot of veteran presence. If the offensive line can stay healthy and good Lord, if Baker Mayfield can stay healthy, I think the Bucks could go screaming up like, again, I have them 10.
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Joe P. Zapia
So it's a lot of ifs, though.
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Debro Derek Brown
It is a lot of ifs if
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Joe P. Zapia
Chris God wins healthy, which, no, never seems like a thing anymore. You know, reinforcements for wide receiver. You know, look, Andrew, this been. I. I just feel like we're also in a point too, with the head coach, where we're in almost like a fork in the road with him. Like, if things, if they get off to a bad start, you could see things starting to go the other direction here where we're. We can't live off the past anymore. And I think that's just a dangerous place to be. And I think this is one that's going to blindside people, that people won't see the Bucks being bad. And I understand why. Because deeper, like DE said, there's a lot of talent on this roster. Right. I just don't think you could fill those kind of voids in an off season the way they have them.
- [15:05]
Andrew Erickson
So I'm threading the needle between you two. So I have them at 12. So I'm right between. So we're all kind of split on. You can see the upside case for Tampa Bay that Debro laid out. You see the downside case that you laid out. And I land somewhere in the middle because I'm acknowledging both of the points that you guys made. I think one thing to also discuss is it's another new offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers with Zach Robinson coming in. So how. I mean, he was with Atlanta last year. Like, he had good players. Was it great? I mean, they didn't keep him around. So how was that going to be with Baker Mayfield, who last year we saw MVP level during the first half of the year and then he got hurt and then things just totally got off the rails. And I would say the counterpoint to the leadership, I would say that. But they have some guys that could step up and take on those roles. They drafted Egbuka to be. No, you're going to be our number one guy. He talked about this and I think in an interview earlier this week where he's like, yep, Mike Evans is gone, but we have guys who are ready to step up and take on the big role. Now, obviously, that's a projection. Massive shoes to fill when it comes to Levante David. But they brought in a linebacker from Detroit. They drafted another Linebacker Trotter who a lot of people liked. I thought their draft was really good. Getting Ruben Bang where they got it.
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Debro Derek Brown
Agreed.
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Andrew Erickson
Drafting Ted Hurst, Keonte Scott, who I think fits perfectly into this Todd Bowles scheme. So I think personnel wise, if they're healthier on offense, I can see them definitely being top 15, top 10 offense potentially if they're able to do what they did in the beginning of last year. Egbuka looks like the guy the first half of the season. But yes, there are a lot of others, which is why you fall into this. Okay, I'm kind of hedging here between you two, having them at 12.
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Debro Derek Brown
Can we also talk about. Baker Mayfield has grown into like after entering the NFL is like popping his mouth off veterans didn't dislike them in Cleveland and stuff like that. He's grown into a very good leader as well.
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Andrew Erickson
Also too.
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Joe P. Zapia
But also too like he's also like hasn't had to bear the brunt of all of it. Now it's all going to be on.
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Debro Derek Brown
I don't know about that.
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Joe P. Zapia
Like not in that locker room.
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Debro Derek Brown
The was garbage.
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Joe P. Zapia
I watched that six part docu series on the frickin Buccaneers, which I recommend to everybody. It's very good. Raise the flags. It's excellent. But when you start to hear the way that people talk about Mike Evans because they even got into like the end of, you know, the end of the days, it got right up until this year and the way they talk about Levante David, you just go, oh. And I got this feeling like this is gonna be a bad time. This is gonna be like when you walk into school and all your friends that were seniors are gone and now you're looking around, you're kind of like, oh no. Like this is kind of like a whole new thing. And maybe Baker Mayfield responds to it and maybe he takes his game to the next level. But again, I'm not quite sold that we're there yet.
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Andrew Erickson
One last thing on Mayfield is when he's an underdog. I want to bet on Baker Mayfield though. Like we talk about this all the time with betting pro show. So we're going into in the nar.
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Joe P. Zapia
You're right. There is one right now. I think the Bucks are still looked at very favorable.
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Andrew Erickson
Okay. Right. And you don't. But if that, but if that changes though, if it becomes, oh well, Baker Mayfield's in a contract year, why haven't they extended him yet? Well, I mean if there's a fire under Baker Mayfield, I want to be on that side of, of that you
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Joe P. Zapia
want to be roasted marshmallows next to it. We got so many teams to talk about. You don't think that.
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Debro Derek Brown
Hold on, hold up. You don't think that there's a fire under Baker Mayfield? Considering they're early, they probably finished their last season.
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Joe P. Zapia
My problem, Baker Mayfield is not fire. It's the fact that it's a wildfire, and it's hard to contain and control. That's my problem with Baker Mayfield from college till now.
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Debro Derek Brown
But it burns bright.
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Joe P. Zapia
Joe, My God. That was. That was a beautiful metaphor I just dropped there. That makes up for the other one. That was pretty lazy, let's be honest.
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Debro Derek Brown
All right, that's fair.
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Joe P. Zapia
Let's get to number 13 on my list in the power rankings of the NFC. It's Derek Brown's New Orleans Saints. Yeah. Let's go. Okay, I'm. I. I know this sounds low, but I'm actually, like, really cautious, optimistic. It does, but I also want to be realistic.
- [18:51]
Debro Derek Brown
Tough dude.
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Joe P. Zapia
NFC is tough. And it's very tight there now. I like Kellen Moore. I think he did a really impressive job with Tyler Shuck last year. I think the Jordan Tyson selection was really good. I love Travis Hn coming in. I think this is a team that's on the upswing, but I also don't want to put the cart before the horse either. I think they're still. Now your team is starting to deal with a little bit more expectations. Right. And I think people will see them coming now a little bit more, and I think that's going to be a little bit different for them to deal with. So arrows pointing up for New Orleans. I'm. This is. Despite the fact that it's low, this is like the most positive 13 I could possibly give this team because I can see them cracking the top 10, even. Like, I think that is in the range of outcomes, as Derrick Brown likes to say. But I don't want to do that yet because I still think that when you look around the nfc, there's still some teams, I think, structurally and experience wise that are just ahead of them. But I am putting them ahead of the Buccaneers, which I think is a statement. Andrew Erickson, what do you think of my statement?
- [19:48]
Andrew Erickson
I also have them Buccaneers, but I also have them inside my top 10. I have them at number nine in the NSA Saints at number nine, Orland Saints. That is.
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Debro Derek Brown
Let's go.
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Joe P. Zapia
Because the New Orleans Saints that play in the NFL, those are, yes, the
- [20:03]
Andrew Erickson
ones that play in the NFL that are going to continue the streak week of Teams going from worst to first in their division. I think that the Saints are top of that list. When you look at the teams that could potentially make that type of leap, I looked at their schedule, just who the opponents they're playing and Warren Sharp does this every single year where he takes the forecast and win totals. Again, we don't know the order of when they'll play these teams, but we know which teams are going to play. They have the second easiest schedule in the NFL. I, I love that for New Orleans. I think that when you look at teams that take a massive leap in terms of going from worst to first in the division, what are the common like things with that is second year quarterbacks. Look at the two games that did it last year. Chicago Bears, second year quarterback check, where's the first? Patriots, second year quarterback check, where's the first? So they're just checking off a lot of box. I think they're deep.
- [20:49]
Joe P. Zapia
I have played much better. I'm gonna check later, by the way.
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Andrew Erickson
That's fine, but I would rather do that.
- [20:54]
Joe P. Zapia
I've got the same box, different team.
- [20:56]
Andrew Erickson
I would rather do that. Check that boss the NFC south and the NFC east because I think that this division is much, much weaker. The Saints, I thought in the draft I felt like their roster is in a good spot, that they could take kind of a luxury pick at number eight. Getting Jordan Tyson, I thought was a great addition to Tyler Schuck for him to develop. And Kellen Moore's offense, I mean when you look at the Buccaneers and Panthers, who are the teams that were atop this division last year, actually tied with Atlanta, I mean they kind of spiraled down the stretch. The Panthers made the playoffs, but they kind of backed into it because the Buccaneers kept losing all these games. The Saints won four of their last five games. Their defense was one of the best against the run last year and they couldn't run the football at all on offense. So you give Tyler Schuck an effective run game, a defense that showed out can be above average. I like the Saints of the top 10 team. And I think that when it's all said and done, if I'm making a bet on who's gonna win the NFC south, considering the odds as well, I think I'm going with the Saints.
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Debro Derek Brown
I already made that bet, by the way. Erickson, let's go plus 400, baby. Made that bet already.
- [21:52]
Joe P. Zapia
Anything else to add on the Saints here, Drew?
- [21:55]
Andrew Erickson
I.
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Debro Derek Brown
So I'm a little bit more modern, the Saints, and this is not because I'm not extremely high on their outlook right now. Like, I have them and I'll, and I'll just go ahead and give this, I have them in the Carolina Panthers at 13th and 14th. Both of these teams could be massively, massively improved this year. And everything that Erickson said about the Saints, you had a ton more offensive firepower, the, the defense. And they finally got maybe a defensive tackle that actually can help them stop the run and Kristen Miller this year. So I, I, I think the Saints could easily take the division. I think they could take a big step forward. But I could also say the same things for the Carolina Panthers. Like their, their entire roster has been overhauled. They've added a ton of personnel on the defensive side. I think the NFC south is honestly, outside of the Falcons, going to be one hell of a competitive division this year. So I, I don't want to get too far into schedule analysis like Erickson was talking about with the Saints. Like, yeah, like they got some gimmes. They got two games against the Falcons. I think their two matchups against the Panthers and the Buccaneers are going to be really hard fought battles. Like I could see them splitting both of those games or both those series. And then you get into, well, I mean, obviously they're going to beat the Bengals because Joe thinks the Bengals are one of the worst teams in the NFL. I mean, we've already discussed this.
- [23:04]
Joe P. Zapia
So. Yes. So low in double digits.
- [23:08]
Debro Derek Brown
No, you know, we're not ranked. The Bengals, we already know this.
- [23:12]
Andrew Erickson
You're on Colt's money line against the Bengals in week one. We know that.
- [23:15]
Joe P. Zapia
I want, I wore a Bengals shirt yesterday at a football practice and then
- [23:20]
Debro Derek Brown
people called you a pictures.
- [23:23]
Joe P. Zapia
Here's the thing.
- [23:23]
Debro Derek Brown
Nobody's around to see it. There is no proof.
- [23:25]
Joe P. Zapia
There is no proof, you know what I mean, that that shirt's now almost vintage though, because it's so long since they won the afc. Okay, it's vintage.
- [23:33]
Andrew Erickson
It hasn't been that long. There was a couple years ago.
- [23:36]
Debro Derek Brown
It hadn't been that long years ago. To wrap this up, I, I can make a case for the saints starting at 8 right now. And I don't think it's crazy. I think the nfc, it's, you're splitting hairs about what do you forecast for this year versus what did you see last year? And I think pretty much any team from like six or seven down could finish anywhere from six or seven to 14th.
- [23:58]
Joe P. Zapia
Yeah, look, I think we all agree on that, that it's, it's just very tight. One injury or one hot Streak or cold streak, you could see things falling apart or rising up for sure. Which brings me to my number 12 team in the bottom five rankings. But the best of the bottom is the Minnesota Vikings. I believe in the coach. I still like the talent that's on this roster. You have an all worldwide receiver and Justin Jefferson. And I think Kyler Murray with something to prove and play for, basically his career on the line, I think is intriguing. And I'm old enough to remember KYLER MURRAY With DeAndre Hopkins having some pretty good seasons. And I think that Kevin o' Connell will get the best out of him. I know they lost some pieces on the defensive side, but I have faith in the coordinator that he will continue to take what he's got and use it the proper way, because Flores seems to, like, understand how to do that, which is good. He's a little malleable as a defensive coordinator, which I like. So, again, I don't know if this is a stretch for some other people, but I feel like the Vikings, the range of outcomes for them is. I could see them winning the division or finishing last in this division. I think that's where you're at with the Vikings. So I'm going to basically say, like, they're kind of on the outs, but it doesn't mean they can't make the playoffs. And I think that that's in there too. Depending on if Kyler Murray can stay healthy and if he can really get the reins back on his career, like he's a former number one overall pick, Change of scenery is good. And I think going from the Arizona Cardinals, arguably the worst franchise in the NFL, to the Minnesota Vikings and a fan base that's so supportive. No, no. Worse organization, not worst team. The worst organization in football has got to be the Arizona Cardinals. I mean, come on, let's. Let's talk about it. I mean, I mean, all the jets might say, hold my beer. It's possible, but, you know, I just think, I look at the Minnesota Vikings, that I think there's opportunity here for them to get back on track. I mean, everything just deteriorated around them last year with the quarterback play. Debro discuss.
- [25:51]
Debro Derek Brown
I've got the Vikings at nine and again.
- [25:53]
Joe P. Zapia
Okay. Way higher than me.
- [25:55]
Andrew Erickson
Wow.
- [25:55]
Joe P. Zapia
Okay.
- [25:55]
Debro Derek Brown
Well, I mean, again, like, we're splitting hairs.
- [25:57]
Joe P. Zapia
Like, I give. I. I like we don't have a lot to split between the two of us.
- [26:00]
Andrew Erickson
I don't think we don't. We can't split any more hairs on this show.
- [26:03]
Joe P. Zapia
No. Left.
- [26:07]
Debro Derek Brown
But with the Vikings, like, there's A lot of talent on the offensive side. But could things fall apart? Like, could Aaron Jones get hurt again? Could, yes, the quarterback situation fall apart? Could. I mean, I mean, it's rough though, man. Like, I mean, the defensive line, what are they getting out of that? They have a lot of rookies and a lot of unplugged proven or unproven players. And Brian Flores, like you keep saying, like we all talk about, like, okay, can he pull a rabbit out of the hat? Like, can he hap. Can he do that? Sure. But you look at this offensive roster and it's like Andrew Van Geekle, can he stay healthy? The cornerback room isn't amazing. Now, the defensive line is a big question mark. Like I, I'm putting them high here on this list. But again, I, I keep saying it like, you can make a case for any one of these teams and make
- [26:54]
Joe P. Zapia
a downside case too.
- [26:55]
Andrew Erickson
There's just.
- [26:56]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, Erickson, what are your thoughts? Talk to me about the Vikings.
- [26:59]
Andrew Erickson
So I actually have them the lowest of us three. So I have them at 13. And that's because I'm just trying to capture the, the downside too. With Kyler Murray, what if he's just cooked at this point? Like he's coming off another season ending injury.
- [27:13]
Debro Derek Brown
That's a foot injury too, like an overhead sausage.
- [27:15]
Andrew Erickson
So that concerns me about, even if he's in a better offensive infrastructure around him, how effective is he going to be? So that concerns me. And then from the Flores defensive side, the Vikings have obviously been really effective on defense with Flores calling the shots. But last year when the defense was kind of keeping them in games for the most part because the offense was struggling so much, they also had the healthiest defense in the NC last year according to adjusted games loss. So if they're also losing more guys on the defensive side of the ball, are they now playing in shootouts where. Okay, we don't have, with the quarterback play we're getting, maybe we're not matching some of these other top tier teams in the nfc. So you're talking about number one overall picks. Would I rather bet on Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray? I'll take Baker Mayfield.
- [27:59]
Debro Derek Brown
Baker.
- [27:59]
Andrew Erickson
So that's why I have the Buccaneers ranked ahead of the Vikings.
- [28:03]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, so those are the bottom five. And remember, when you're watching here on the channel is a great opportunity for you to win free stuff, including a Jamar Chase signed Bengals jersey for my favorite team, the Cincinnati Bengals. Everybody knows that. So how do you win this? Subscribe to Tailgate NFL Drop your comments below. And that's it. That's all you got to do. So this is way easier than winning stuff in Fantasy Pro. So make sure you drop your comments. Make sure you ring the bell till it goes ding. And of course, you never miss a piece of content here on the channel. And of course, it's from Pristine Auction, the best place to get all of your sports memorabilia. Autographs, footballs, baseballs, helmets, everything. They got it all there over Pristine Auction. And of course, this Jamar Chase jersey, pretty, pretty swanky right there. So we're giving that away. All right, next up on my list here at number 11, the Washington Commanders. I'm pushing them up the list here a little bit because they still have Jaden Daniels, and I still believe in Jaden Daniels. He was hurt last year. Healthy. Jaden Daniels goes a long way. I like the draft that they had. I also think offseason they made some really good moves. They look, they got Sonny Styles right in the draft. Leo Chanel is, is. I love that guy. He's just, he's just a football player, right? He coming over from the Chiefs. A guy just makes tackles. He, he goes out there, he plays with intensity. I think that's something this team lacked last year. Chase on had a great year for the Patriots. He's going to be rushing this year for the Washington Commanders. So to me, like, they went out there, they realized they went in. I, I think they've, they had that moment too, where they figured out, look, we, we did not do a good enough job getting enough talent on this roster last year and everything broke right for them. Jane Daniels, rookie season, I think they did a much better job this year and, and I think the Commanders will be more competitive this season. Andrew Erickson, what are your thoughts on the Commanders? You got them higher or lower than where I have them right now at 11.
- [29:44]
Andrew Erickson
I have them one spot higher at 10. But I think that you alluded to, yes, they have made a lot of good additions, but is it still enough additions where, okay, they're actually going to be contenders again and it's not just J.D. daniels son running right. So I agree with you in terms of, yes, getting Sunny Styles is going to help the defense because the defense couldn't do anything last year. But I look at their secondary specific to like the cornerback position and that's kind of where is Sony Styles going to stop teams from throwing all over the Washington Commanders? Like, I'm not so sure about that. So even if the pass rush is a little bit better, I Still don't know. And then with Jaden Daniels offensively, I like Antonio Williams as a rookie wide receiver. I like Chicaconkwo as a tight end. But these guys aren't like established assets where oh, Jaden Daniels is going to cook with Terry McLaurin also coming off a season where he suffered a lot of injuries and missed a lot of time. So he's the number one. He's also not really young. He's an older player. So how much offensive production are they putting too much on? Jay Nails. You have to do it all. You have to be Superman because they dodged that last year and he got banged up as well. So that's why I have them at 10. I'm trying to capture that with Jaden Daniels. You always have top 10 upside with this type of team and they did make additions I liked on defense, but maybe it's still not enough to really put them over the top.
- [31:01]
Joe P. Zapia
To me deeper. The other deficit of this team is still the running back room. It's like Rashad White. It's jcm, sure is Jerome Ford, K Tron Allen. Like there's guys but it's again, it's a big messy committee. If this team had a true Bell Cow running back, like if you had Derrick Henry on this team, I'm just, you know, throwing it out there. I think I very differently of the Washington commanders because all of a sudden or Jeremiah Love a whole different dynamic on this offensive side where as a defense I got to worry about Jaden Daniels and I got to worry about that guy. Like that's a lot to try to figure out. You got a spy in the, you know, out there at the, you know, the middle tier of the defense. You're trying to figure out how to stop one guy, but then the other guy's gonna run you over.
- [31:39]
Debro Derek Brown
It's a lot.
- [31:40]
Joe P. Zapia
So I think that's still a problem of why I can't get into the top 10 with them.
- [31:44]
Debro Derek Brown
Well, same. And I've got them at 12I for a lot of the high points of this, this roster. I mean their, their running back room is an island misfit toys. Their W room. It's the same thing outside of Tara McLaren. I mean like Luke McCaffrey. We haven't seen anything out of. Outside of him. Like, you know, consistency from him. And then it's Traylon Burks, Diami Brown, Jalen Lane, Van Jefferson. Woof, woof, woof, woof. It's horrible. The offensive line has, has question marks.
- [32:10]
Joe P. Zapia
The.
- [32:10]
Debro Derek Brown
I mean even with the defense like, yeah, the defensive line, they got reinforcements, linebacker room and stuff like that. But you could talk about there's holes in the secondary and what are they going to get out of them. And their safeties aren't like game changers. So secondary is a question. Offensive line is, Is okay, but kind of shaky. The running back room, it's littered with a lot of questions. And mid. And they could say the same thing for the wide receiver room. Even if we're trying to project Brandon Iuk there right now, still, like, what are you getting out of him at this point in his career? So I can't get any higher than 12.
- [32:42]
Joe P. Zapia
Carolina Panthers coming in at number 10 because I want to give him credit for how well they played in the playoffs against the Rams, how well they played in the regular season against the Rams. And they were, they were punchy. Right? Bryce Young still misses things in his game. I think we can all understand that. But I struggle to rank them higher than this because the Aquanu injury to me, I think is massive. And I don't think that's discussed enough. And I, I look at what they're. They have right now. Ted McMillan was terrific. Jalen Coker I think is a nice addition. I'm not a Leggette guy. Like, I, I don't see that. I think defensively, again, you. Things broke well for them last year, but I don't know if we can get it going two years in a row. It does feel like this is the kind of division that will turn over and it could be the Saints, it could be the Bucks, it could be somebody else. But right now I'm going to give the Panthers the benefit of the doubt. I don't know if I'm. That's too much that I'm giving them. Derek, what do you think?
- [33:40]
Debro Derek Brown
I've got them at 14th, but if you were to ask me, that's really low.
- [33:44]
Joe P. Zapia
That's almost worse than the league. Okay.
- [33:46]
Andrew Erickson
I mean, someone, you gotta have picked someone at the bottom of the NFC South. It's not the same.
- [33:49]
Debro Derek Brown
It's. It is. It is legit where we're trying to dice through, like, who goes where. And there's so many of these teams where there's a wide range of what their 20, 26 could look like. And for everything good that the Panthers did, and I'm actually higher on their offensive line, their tackle situation, because I, I look at it as a Quan who is probably not going to play. We're not even going to see him. Like a healthy version of him. No possibly ever again. But Joe, what they did was they signed Rasheed Walker to a one year deal and they drafted Monroe Freeling. So they have tackle outs. Not worried about that spot. It it comes back to me for how high can the Panthers go? This has nothing to do with like what I think about their offensive line or their defense. To be honest, their defense looks awesome right now. Like on paper I think they're going to be the like arguably the most improved defense in the NFL this year. This all comes back to the quarterback position for me and Bryce Young. I I just don't have a lot of faith in him, man. Like they won a lot of games last year, but that was not Bryce Young carried them to wins. It's really like his play is so volatile because of the fact that he cannot see over the offensive line and he is such a limiting quarterback. So it it's like Kyler Murray but worse. So the the if I were to make a case of the NFC version of the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns, those two teams for me would be the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. They could go screaming up the power rankings once, you know, the lights come on and football is being played. Or they could be another year away.
- [35:18]
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- [36:51]
Joe P. Zapia
like the coach Erickson, but at the same time I look at the roster, I also think this is a team that if they don't see stay healthy, things will get real ugly real fast. I don't love the depth on this team and I think that's another red flag to me about all the negative outcomes potentially for the Panthers.
- [37:07]
Andrew Erickson
So as a long time Carolina Panthers fan, yeah, it really, it really pained me not to rank them higher because and I didn't have them as the favorite to win the division here even though that's what they did last year. So I have them at 11, one spot lower than you, Joe. And eventually, I hate to say it, but splitting hairs when I looked at them Compared to the New Orleans Saints, Saints have the second easiest schedule. Why? Because they came in last place in the division last year. The Carolina Panthers, because they won the division last year, what do they get? The 30th ranked schedule. So they're paying all the top teams in the nfc whereas the Saints get to play all the really bad teams in the NFC along with facing their own division. And the other thing with Carolina as well is I kind of feel like we have expectations finally with them where, okay, I think Bryce Young has at least shown improvement. He's shown growth over the last couple seasons. We like Dave Canales to D. Rose point, we've put together some good pieces on defense. Now are we? Because every time I bet on the Carolina Panthers last year when they were favored or expected to do well, they absolutely crap the bed. And that was really fresh and I think really telling for the team. It's like whenever, okay, now we have to rise to the occasion that we do it. But when they're 10 point underdog against the Los Angeles Rams, oh yeah, we can go out and play free because we're just expected to get shellacked. So I think with expectations on them, I think it makes it a little bit tougher for them. Whereas with the Saints I think people are still a little bit, hey, we'll see what we get with Tyler Shuck. Kellen Moore was a good story in year one, but I just see the path for New Orleans much easier and ultimately why I ranked them over the Carolina Panthers. So that's kind of how I. And this. I took. I looked at this for a long time because I'm like, I've been the Panthers guy. Like, this has been my second favorite.
- [38:47]
Joe P. Zapia
You're the OG in the drum, for God's sake.
- [38:50]
Andrew Erickson
I keep pounding, baby.
- [38:51]
Joe P. Zapia
We get Andrew Erickson. I don't know what kind of connections we got, but. But, man, it's something. My dream for this channel that it gets so big that they say. And today banging the drum, starting us off there for the Carolina Panthers pre game, Andrew Erickson. That's. I want to see. I want to live to see that moment. Andrew, let's go.
- [39:09]
Debro Derek Brown
Can we walk their schedule real fast? And we just play a real fast of like W or L. Yes. Because it is rough to Eric, little preview. Yeah, just really quickly and just. Okay, so just tell me, guys, whether the win or loss.
- [39:23]
Joe P. Zapia
We do in schedule shows, by the way, as I tease further shows. Well, we will be talking about the good and the bad with the NFL schedule in the week ahead.
- [39:31]
Debro Derek Brown
We're just talking opponents here. Okay. Seattle Seahawks, win or loss?
- [39:35]
Andrew Erickson
Loss, probably.
- [39:36]
Debro Derek Brown
Denver Broncos, loss. Chicago Bears, loss.
- [39:41]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah.
- [39:42]
Debro Derek Brown
Philadelphia Eagles lost.
- [39:44]
Andrew Erickson
Trolley.
- [39:44]
Joe P. Zapia
You know, sometimes the Eagles play down, but I will say loss. I just want to say the Eagles do that crap, though. You and I both know that.
- [39:52]
Debro Derek Brown
Cincinnati Bengals.
- [39:54]
Andrew Erickson
Oh, well, that's huge. W. Oh, good Lord.
- [39:58]
Joe P. Zapia
Okay.
- [39:59]
Debro Derek Brown
Erickson lost.
- [40:00]
Andrew Erickson
Lost.
- [40:01]
Debro Derek Brown
So that's five losses right now. Detroit Lions, loss, Loss. Six. Pittsburgh Steelers win.
- [40:10]
Andrew Erickson
Yep. I'm gonna give them. Okay.
- [40:12]
Debro Derek Brown
All right. Packers loss.
- [40:15]
Joe P. Zapia
Yeah. But this is the football.
- [40:16]
Andrew Erickson
We all know you have the packers
- [40:19]
Debro Derek Brown
ranked higher than the Panthers three games.
- [40:21]
Joe P. Zapia
I do, but they're not. Yes.
- [40:22]
Andrew Erickson
So in your ranks.
- [40:26]
Joe P. Zapia
Loses to the Panthers. And we all go, how did the Rams lose to the Panthers? And we all sit here the next morning and go, how the hell did this happen? It's the NFL.
- [40:33]
Andrew Erickson
But DeBro's just trying to outline seven losses of how difficult it is on paper for them to overcome this and repeat as the nfc. And also something to mention is too. Who swept the Panthers last year? The Saints.
- [40:46]
Joe P. Zapia
What's their out of. What's their out of conference schedule this year? Who are they?
- [40:49]
Andrew Erickson
They play the afc. What they're playing.
- [40:51]
Debro Derek Brown
They play the Browns, the Bengals.
- [40:53]
Andrew Erickson
AFC north playing the North.
- [40:54]
Debro Derek Brown
Yeah.
- [40:55]
Andrew Erickson
And then all the top teams from the nfc, all the energy I just wanted.
- [40:58]
Debro Derek Brown
And then talking about it, if they split with the Buccaneers, they split with the Saints. That's nine losses. Not even trying hard to get to nine losses. So they're eight and nine.
- [41:08]
Joe P. Zapia
All right.
- [41:08]
Debro Derek Brown
I mean, I don't want to hate
- [41:10]
Andrew Erickson
the Panthers, but I don't either.
- [41:12]
Debro Derek Brown
But that schedule is brutal. Just Erickson's point.
- [41:15]
Joe P. Zapia
All right. At number nine, second year quarterback, a team that was worst that could potentially go to first. This is the one that I am betting to do that. But I'm not ranking there yet because I'm not stupid. I just want to, you know, I want to stupid slow burn. I like the value on them. I'll bet it to happen. But I'm not going to power rank them there yet because I'm not stupid. Football Giants in the last 20 years we've only had this past year was the first time in 20 years where a team won that division. Back to back seasons. Every year these teams leapfrog each other. It's the Washington Commanders or the Washington football team. One year it was the Eagles, it's the Cowboys, it's the Giants, it's the Eagles, it's the Cowboys, it's the Giant. This is what they do. And if Jackson Dart stays on the field, if Cam Scatterbo stays on the field, Isaiah likely does what he's possible, you know, to do. If Malik neighbors can get healthy sooner or later. I like Malachi Fields, I like what they've done. And then they go out there and they add Arville Reese to the defense who I think is a is a game changing kind of player potentially. Now I do not like a couple things in the Giants right now. I do not like that Abdul Carter looks like Russell Wilson wearing number three. It doesn't look like he has seen a weight this off season. I don't know if you've seen this pictures of him yesterday, but I've not seen this. I want you to look it right now. Go right now. I want the live reaction and you tell me is it Russell Wilson or is it Abdul Carter? Because I can't. And I don't mean Russell Wilson now I mean Russell.
- [42:41]
Debro Derek Brown
We're not talking about met gal or met gal.
- [42:43]
Joe P. Zapia
I'm not talking about like Russell Wilson was at the Savannah Banana game a couple weeks ago. Who looks like he ate all the bananas. I'm not talking about that Russell Wilson. I'm talking about Russell Wilson like when he was back in the day playing for Seattle and was in good shape. Okay, I have some concerns.
- [42:57]
Debro Derek Brown
I see Abdul Carter right now. A picture from 21 April. Like what are we talking about here?
- [43:02]
Joe P. Zapia
Oh my God. He looks like he. I don't know what you're looking at. What? He does not look like he has Seen a weight. Okay. He looks tiny. And for a guy that's got all these negative things around him, like this is a big like you got to get right here.
- [43:14]
Debro Derek Brown
Oh, you're talking about. He's like slim and trim.
- [43:17]
Joe P. Zapia
Okay.
- [43:19]
Andrew Erickson
So he can finally get sacks.
- [43:20]
Joe P. Zapia
So he could get knocked over all over the place by Giant offensive linemen. Again, for a guy who has questionable work ethic things, I do not like the way he comes in into this first mini camp looking. But you tell Brian Burns, you still have a lot of talent on on this defensive side and you got a head coach for the first time in a long time that maybe you're kind of flushing things out. So there's a lot of potential for the Giants. I don't want to overrank them, but I'm saying that I'm betting them to win this division because I see the pathway for it and it's a good wager. But in the power rankings, I don't want to put them quite there yet. So Erickson, let's talk about the Giants.
- [43:53]
Andrew Erickson
So I am probably lowest on them. And what do you have? I have them at 14.
- [43:59]
Debro Derek Brown
Okay. I got him at 11.
- [44:00]
Joe P. Zapia
Oh yeah.
- [44:01]
Andrew Erickson
And it's not that I don't like the potential and upside that you kind of outlined.
- [44:06]
Debro Derek Brown
Same Joe.
- [44:07]
Andrew Erickson
But a lot of the stuff you were talking about was, you know, Harbaugh, the defensive pieces that they've added. I still think Dexter Lawrence, yes, a lot of ifs. But that's what you do with some of these teams that could take major leaps because I think agree they check off a lot of those boxes with the second year quarterback. You have a competent head coach. So you see the parallels to the New England Patriots with Drake May and Mike Vrabel. The one thing that's kind of hold me back though about this offense is so we got Matt Nagy as the offensive coordinator. I really, really don't like that because the last three years with him and I know that I don't know exactly how much influence, but the offense didn't necessarily like take off with flying colors when he was there and they didn't really seem to miss him. They're like, we need to get Eric B. Enemy back. Bye bye. Matt Nagy. You look at what Matt Nagy did with the Chicago Bears. One good year the first season, it was great. He won offensive coach of the year and then it all kind of fell apart and was not really, really good. So outside of the top 20 in three of his four years as the Bears head coach, in terms of offensive points and points per game for the Chiefs the last three season. 15th, 15th and 21st as the named offensive coordinator of the Chiefs. So that concerns me. I don't know if I love that pairing between Jackson Dart and Matt Nagy. And then I look at the more of the coaching staff on the offensive side. Again, Harbaugh brought in his players. Brian Callahan, who I was not nice to talking about the Tennessee Titans. He's the quarterback and past game coordinator. I don't love that. Greg Roman is also on the staff as an offensive assistant. And, and any guesses guys, where did the Giants current offensive line coach coach last year? Any guesses?
- [45:40]
Joe P. Zapia
I gotta be somebody with a terrible offensive line.
- [45:43]
Debro Derek Brown
Bengals? I don't know.
- [45:45]
Andrew Erickson
Final answer? Bengals. Joe, you gotta guess.
- [45:48]
Joe P. Zapia
I don't know. I'll say. Gosh, I don't. I have no idea. I don't know. Cardinals. Like where are we going?
- [45:55]
Andrew Erickson
Cleveland Browns.
- [45:56]
Joe P. Zapia
Cleveland Browns.
- [45:57]
Andrew Erickson
Okay, so, so, so that's what we're working with. And I think maybe and to your point about you don't want to rank them this high this quickly, maybe this is a 2027 jump that we see the Giants where hey, we get back to not mediocre. We play really competitive against our really tough division. Again, the NFC east to your point, it's always overlapping. There's always a new team at the top. They're at the bottom right now. I don't think that they're so far behind. But Harbaugh draft and develop type of mindset, maybe it's not 2026, but maybe 2027.
- [46:30]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, next up for me, number eight, Dallas Cowboys. I'm still going to put them ahead of the Giants in the PAL rankings, they did get some defensive pieces. When you have a quarterback like Dak Prescott who is very capable in my opinion, who still takes a lot of shots from the media and everybody else. And I get it, like the Cowboys haven't won a lot of playoff games. It's fair. But you got CD Lamb, you got George Pickens, Ferguson's very capable tight end. The defense was in shambles last year in terms of giving up all the yards that they gave constantly. I mean, no lead was safe for the Dallas Cowboys last year and I feel like they at least started to do a better job of that this off season. So I'm going to give them a little bit of credit. I don't want to give them too much credit either because they are the Cowboys and they will always find ways to lose games. But dbro, I, I Do feel like we are getting to a point where the Cowboys, where I think feel like we're still just kind of sweeping around the middle. Like they're, they could be a playoff team. They could also be the 13th team overall in the NFC. That, that's. Where do you think they are?
- [47:32]
Debro Derek Brown
I'm putting respect on their name. I'm putting them, I'm putting them at fifth.
- [47:36]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, so you're a more, you're on the more positive side. Okay, let's talk about it because I. Surprised by this pleasantly.
- [47:42]
Debro Derek Brown
Yes.
- [47:42]
Joe P. Zapia
You know, Caleb Downs goes a long way. Is that what we're thinking?
- [47:45]
Debro Derek Brown
Well, their offense, I think we all agree, is one of the best in the nfc.
- [47:49]
Joe P. Zapia
That I think.
- [47:50]
Debro Derek Brown
I don't think that's like really, like a.
- [47:52]
Joe P. Zapia
No. It's not a hot take. No, of course not.
- [47:53]
Andrew Erickson
Nope.
- [47:54]
Debro Derek Brown
Their offense is one of the best in the NFC and their defense is going to be massively, massively improved. If, if they get anything out of Siobhan Revel, like if Duron Bland bounces back and he's the guy of yesteryear. Caleb Downs is probably like they're talking about. Kaylin Downs is going to play nickel right now, so if he's their starting nickel, we're looking at a Cooper DeJean type of like impact in his rookie season.
- [48:14]
Joe P. Zapia
I love that for him, by the way.
- [48:16]
Andrew Erickson
Yes.
- [48:16]
Joe P. Zapia
If that's what they decided to do,
- [48:17]
Debro Derek Brown
he could be a chess piece for their defense. And yes, because they do have depth, like with, with adding Caleb Downs, it's not like they don't still have Malik Hooker. It's not like they don't still have parts of pieces. Their defensive line has been totally overhauled. I'm incredibly high on the, on the Cowboys. I think they take the MC east this year.
- [48:33]
Joe P. Zapia
Andrew Erickson, how about them Cowboys?
- [48:35]
Andrew Erickson
I also have them at 5 because
- [48:37]
Joe P. Zapia
I'm just, I'm just, I'm just, I'm
- [48:40]
Andrew Erickson
just a sucker man, because I thought
- [48:43]
Joe P. Zapia
I would be the high guy on the Cowboys. How did this happen?
- [48:47]
Andrew Erickson
It's May and we're just looking at this roster and it's always it. This is the Cowboys. Every year though, you look at the roster like, dude, this team is so good. Like, we know this team can win so many games and then they always find ways to lose. So will they be at this rank all year long?
- [49:03]
Joe P. Zapia
No.
- [49:03]
Andrew Erickson
But when they come out in week one and everybody's healthy and the vibes are at an all time high and they upset some team that's higher ranked in the Power rankings. It's going to be week two on all the talk shows. How about them Dallas Cowboys? Are they going to win the Super bowl in 2026?
- [49:16]
Debro Derek Brown
I can already hear Stephen A. Smith being just going off about it and me hitting mute on the tv, but
- [49:22]
Joe P. Zapia
there's just no denying Cowboys, my friends. Did you see how good the Cowboys are? Did you watch Dak Prescott yesterday throwing the football around the block? George Pickens, my man. Look at good for the Dallas Cowboys.
- [49:41]
Debro Derek Brown
How do you manage to make Stephen A sound kind of like an Italian grandma at the same time?
- [49:44]
Joe P. Zapia
Because he still got that New York thing, which still has a little bit of New York in him. But he worked a lot Philadelphia. And he worked a lot in Philadelphia, which made him run his mouth even more.
- [49:57]
Debro Derek Brown
I hear it. I hear it. Anyway,
- [50:02]
Joe P. Zapia
I was in college, Stephen A. Was a big Philadelphia reporter and he was on like, local cable news all the time and all this stuff.
- [50:09]
Debro Derek Brown
So like, that would produce things that mattered.
- [50:10]
Joe P. Zapia
Philadelphia Inquirer.
- [50:12]
Andrew Erickson
So if, if, if the Dallas Cowboys are the NFC version of the Bengals, that's why I felt, hey, I have to put them inside my top five because I felt the same way. If you get anything out of their defense and their offense does exactly what it did last year, then how are they not a top five team? And I know they're going to find a way to disappoint us and not finish top five, because this is exactly.
- [50:30]
Joe P. Zapia
That's why I have them at 8.
- [50:33]
Debro Derek Brown
That's why Joe hates them, because they're so much like the Bengals here.
- [50:36]
Andrew Erickson
And the thing that's super scary too
- [50:38]
Joe P. Zapia
about the Bengals, isn't it, do I have them?
- [50:41]
Andrew Erickson
I think that's scary about the Cowboys, too is Dak Prescott also has this really weird and bizarre yearly split where in even numbered years his numbers fall off dramatically because he usually gets hurt. So again, I'm not saying that this is predictable, but when you look at his game logs and the Dallas Cowboys every other year, it's like, really, really good. Really, really bad. Really, really good. Really, really bad. And again, not predictive in any way, but it's just something that I kind of always keep in the back of my mind, like, could this go off the rails if Dak Prescott gets banged up? Yeah. And then you could see Dallas. And that's how they disappoint. So just something to keep in mind.
- [51:17]
Joe P. Zapia
Well, I have the Bengals at nine, just. But it's the same thing. It's like, hey, this roster looks really good on paper. And hey, every single year they kick us in the nuts. And when are we gonna start?
- [51:26]
Andrew Erickson
Ready for it, baby.
- [51:27]
Joe P. Zapia
We should wear a cup for the 2026 season and maybe invest in some protection.
- [51:31]
Andrew Erickson
Wow. We just need one thing about the Cowboys all through. We just need one team.
- [51:37]
Joe P. Zapia
Oh, well, Joe Burrow could stay healthy. I'd love that. I love Joe Burrow.
- [51:40]
Debro Derek Brown
So that means we're gonna get A Dallas Cowboys vs. Bengals Super bowl this year. That's what we're gonna get.
- [51:44]
Joe P. Zapia
Third favorite.
- [51:45]
Debro Derek Brown
That's what we're gonna get.
- [51:46]
Andrew Erickson
We're gonna watch that with Joe. It'd be so fun.
- [51:48]
Debro Derek Brown
We are. We're gonna have to do a live watch party with the Bengals vs the Cowboys this year in the super bowl, and it's gonna be.
- [51:53]
Joe P. Zapia
Nothing would amuse me more.
- [51:55]
Debro Derek Brown
It's gonna be beautiful.
- [51:57]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, let's get to number seven here. And it's more because I just don't know what to do with them at this stage. Like, as I think they're good, but I don't think they're great. But I think that they're better than a lot of other teams still. It's the Detroit Lions at seven. Oh, Petsig now coming in. This is the third offensive coordinator now in three years. Right. So we just keep turning and burning that, and we'll see what this one looks like.
- [52:21]
Debro Derek Brown
Now.
- [52:22]
Joe P. Zapia
I do think, you know, you still got Amon Raj, Eric Goff is very capable, all that stuff. But, you know, I think when you. When you watch them last year, especially in that Steelers game at the end of the year, remember that Steelers game in December, too, where it was just like, like, I'm just starting to get this feeling. And I talked about it going into last year. I said, when you. When you lose both coordinators in the season and you're not the team that won the super bowl, that's not good. You know, it's just a difficult slog. And the beginning of the year started off pretty well for the Detroit Lions. And then everything that I was worried about showed its ugly face in the second half. Injuries were definitely an issue. And this is where Andrew's going to tell me that, you know, they were the most injured defense last year, second most injured team over.
- [53:04]
Debro Derek Brown
Wrong.
- [53:05]
Joe P. Zapia
He's not. And he's not wrong. So obviously the injury regression will go on their side again, and I will hear that. But until that, like, I still have this weird feeling where every time I watch Dan Campbell, he does the same thing, which is he overcoaches and he makes bad decisions in big spots that actually end up hindering this power ranking. I think the biggest deficit in some ways is in a lot of ways their best asset, which is they got a good head coach who's a really good football guy, but my God, does he overcoach. And then under coach when it matters the most. And every time they get into any pressurized situation, he finds a way to put them on the outside of it. And he's done it in the playoffs and now he's doing it in regular season games. And I just can't handle Dan Campbell anymore. So I'm putting the Lions at seven and I'm waiting for them to either collapse or figure it out, but I think it's, it's more arrow down for me with the Lions and up. Andrew, what do you think?
- [53:58]
Andrew Erickson
I also have them at seven, but it's a spot that I don't feel super confident in having them here because they're a team that does scare me because of things you outlined where, well, what if this offense gets back to its form? I mean, I get that offense last year was a disappointment, but it's still good. Yeah, like that's the thing. Like you look at the final season numbers, I know, still good. And I know that a lot of it was, you know, they beat up on some really bad teams or they had opportunity to score a lot of points, but still they were, I think they were fourth in points per game. So it was obviously a fall off from the year before when they were number one in points per game. But they're still like a fringe top five offense. And I don't even know you can really apply fringe when you're talking about a team that finishes top five in scoring. Defense, I think is going to be healthier. So I think getting back to an established rushing game, how does this interior offensive line kind of shake out? Right, because that was the biggest thing last year where they weren't as effective running the football. They were able to throw the ball effectively against opposing defenses. And the thing that probably scares me the most about not having them ranked high enough is I looked at the schedule. They have the easiest strength of schedule among every single team in the NFL. So I was staring at them and the team we're going to talk about I think soon as well, the Chicago Bears. And I wasn't confident that I should be ranking the Bears over the Lions. The Bears won the division last year and I didn't feel really great about putting the Lions behind them because look to Dan Campbell's point credit, I mean, this Team has won a lot of games and last year they lost both their coordinators. That's not the case this season necessarily. Like, they've a little bit more experience in that avenue. So, yeah, the lines, I'm not super confident where I have them and I feel like I'm hedging, putting them at seven.
- [55:34]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, D bro, lines talk.
- [55:36]
Debro Derek Brown
They are fourth in my rankings. I'm putting respect on their name. I think that they're gonna. Dude, they were fifth in points and fifth in total yards last year. The offense is totally fine. They're all. Their offensive line is going to be massively improved. Like the addition of Cade Mays at center. They're not going to play Tate Ratledge out of place. You can make an easy conversation of. Tate Ravage played really, really damn good football down the back half of last year once he got his legs under him. The addition of Blake Miller, Penne Sewell kicking over to the other side. They have swing tackle Larry Boreham. They have depth on the offensive line and I think they're going to gel there. If they just can get their freaking defense to stay healthy throughout the entirety of a season, they are going to be never.
- [56:20]
Joe P. Zapia
That's my problem with it.
- [56:21]
Debro Derek Brown
Okay, so you think that that can't happen after the attrition of injuries of the last two years? It will not happen. Straight up.
- [56:27]
Joe P. Zapia
Will not happen. Joe, all I can say is you said it can every year. These guys. You said it can't happen for every year. These guys can't stay healthy. They're another year older in the NFL.
- [56:36]
Debro Derek Brown
Yeah, but they're not.
- [56:37]
Joe P. Zapia
That's my point.
- [56:38]
Debro Derek Brown
That's the problem with that conversation is they're not old. They're not an old roster.
- [56:41]
Joe P. Zapia
They don't.
- [56:42]
Debro Derek Brown
They're not littered with old players.
- [56:46]
Joe P. Zapia
Not old. They just.
- [56:47]
Debro Derek Brown
And they added Derek Moore, they added Jimmy Roller to the. To compensate for losing Alexander Canalone. If D.J. reed, who is not an old player, can stay healthy, then this defense can be massively improved. And I love the fact that they picked up Roger McCreary who played some of the best football of his entire freaking career last year at nickel. Like, if their defense can even be. Not. I'm not even saying top seven, top ten, whatever. If they could be like the 13th ranked defense in the damn NFL and their offense does what they did last year again this year, they're going to be a top five team. They're going to win the division.
- [57:23]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, everybody, we're going to go to the top six here in Just a moment. Shout out to the sponsor of our show, Hard Rock Bet, Florida Sportsbook. NBA action is heating up on the hardwood, and you should be there to tip off. With Hard Rock Bet, you can in game, live bet, you can do same game parlays. You can use the profit boost, you can use it all. All you got to do is bet five bucks, and if you hit, you'll get your winnings and 150 in bonus bets when you download the Hard Rock Bet app. So make sure you do that right now. It's Florida Sportsbook. It's live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado, Michigan. I've been everywhere, man. Hard Rock bit everywhere. All coming to new states every single day. So go check out Hard Rock bet. Download the app today. 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 in physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia play terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1833 play wise in Indiana, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1-809 with it. Gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. All right, here we go, ladies and gentlemen.
- [58:30]
Debro Derek Brown
It's an impressive read. I got to give you props for that. I thought that was very nice, Joe.
- [58:34]
Joe P. Zapia
Well, thank you very much. It's nice when you say nice things. I like the positivity.
- [58:37]
Debro Derek Brown
Okay, my positivity is done now. Let's go.
- [58:39]
Joe P. Zapia
Oh, I'm sure it's gonna go out the window with this next.
- [58:41]
Andrew Erickson
Oh, I will.
- [58:42]
Joe P. Zapia
Number six, San Francisco 49ers. I know people higher. I don't know, maybe you got them lower. I hope so.
- [58:49]
Debro Derek Brown
No, I got him at 6. I'm surprised I got him at 6.
- [58:53]
Joe P. Zapia
The San Francisco 49ers seem to have an annual tradition which is not doing a good job of the NFL draft. This is a trend now for the last couple years for the 49ers, and I think it's showing up now, finally, because this roster is so top heavy. It's like when you're playing Jenga with a bunch of drunken friends. That's how top heavy this roster is right now. And one little piece that you take out of it, if it's Christian McCaffrey or George Kittle for too long, everything comes falling down. And what have they done? They've put another old piece on top with Mike Evans, who I love, he's a Hall of Famer, but he is an older player at this point. At the end of his career, Ricky Piersol hasn't been the thing. You know, I know there's that brazenness of Kyle Shanahan that I could take Mac Jones and win. I could do all this. That's great. That's great. Except for the top heaviness, the age, the Christian McCaffrey coming off the massive workload of last year again and another year older. I just can't get behind it and I can't put them any further now. I'm putting them up where they are because they have the talent they have. But again, it's an older team that is incredibly top heavy. That feels like a stack of cards waiting to fall down. Oh, and last year they had a really easy schedule and oh, this year it's going to be tougher. Debro, what are your thoughts on the 49ers since you and I see eye to eye in the ranking. But I, as you could tell, if you want to make the case for the Lions over them, I'm ready to hear it.
- [60:11]
Debro Derek Brown
I, I, I felt like I had to put respect on their name considering how many games they win every single year and all that kind of stuff. But I have the same concerns you have with the top heavy nature of this roster. Of the how quickly this roster has gotten old as dirt and very injury prone like you talked about. Christian McCaffrey. Okay, well, yeah, and Mike Evans, Ricky Piersol, Christian Kirk. George Kittle's coming off an Achilles. Trent Williams is another year older. Robert Jones has dealt with injuries. I man like Nick Bose has been hurt. Drake Greenlaw's had injury issues. Fred Warner's had injury issues. My Mikel Williams was hurt last year. It's a whole lot of what if and I hope it turns out right. But again, I can only push him so low because if everybody does stay healthy, they're probably fighting for the division and a playoff berth and all that kind of stuff. So I've got a crap ton of concerns. And then the 49ers will go out and win 11 games or 12 games this year and shove it in my face again. Who knows?
- [61:12]
Joe P. Zapia
I don't know. Erickson.
- [61:13]
Debro Derek Brown
I worry about it.
- [61:15]
Joe P. Zapia
They're the really worst thing in this division. Erickson, to me, are they not for you?
- [61:19]
Andrew Erickson
No, they are not. They are the second best team in the division and they're my number two ranked team in the nfc.
- [61:24]
Joe P. Zapia
Wow.
- [61:25]
Andrew Erickson
Because I'm buying old people. I'M buying and Rams and Seahawks, I'm buying the top heaviness of the 49ers in terms of. Look, they have a lot of band aids at these spots. But hey, Mike Evans misses some time, but we have these other guys that we can use instead while he comes back from his injury, we can use Christian Kirk and while Christian Kirk is hurt, we can use Ricky Piercel and we can use triple. So I just think what happens when
- [61:46]
Joe P. Zapia
they're all hard at the same time?
- [61:48]
Debro Derek Brown
What if they all go out at the same time?
- [61:50]
Andrew Erickson
Well, that's where this thing crashes and burns. But I think that their defense has to be healthier. Their defense has to be healthier than it was last year. It's. I don't think it's possible for them to be more injured on defense. They had nobody left last year and losing Sol is obviously a big deal. He got the most out of that defense. I think Raheem Morris as a defensive coordinator, he's no slouch. Like, I don't think that he did.
- [62:11]
Debro Derek Brown
He just sucks as a head coach. He's good as a dc.
- [62:13]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah. So I think that him as a filling in as the dc, I think that the defense is going to be back to average. And frankly, with Kyle Shannon calling the shots, I think this office is going to cook. No matter what. He's going to make it work. That's what he does every single year. When guys miss time, guys get injured. He missed Brock Purdy, his starting quarterback last year, and he made it work with Mac Jones. They beat the Rams on Thursday Night Football with Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne and a bunch of jabronis and they beat the team that we all view, I think as the number one team in the nfc. So he just makes it happen.
- [62:40]
Debro Derek Brown
Those interdivision games get weird though, dude.
- [62:44]
Andrew Erickson
And that means they're battle tested. Battle tests.
- [62:47]
Joe P. Zapia
So, you know, because they've been fighting since the War of 1812 because that's how old this freaking.
- [62:52]
Andrew Erickson
Essentially, yes.
- [62:54]
Joe P. Zapia
My God. All right, let's get to number five here. This one I struggle with a lot, too. The Green Bay packers, which is a team that did not do a lot to make me excited year over year. If Micah Parsons was healthy to start the season, I might feel differently about this and more excited about it. But I do still like Jordan Love. It's another guy that annually seems to miss a couple games, which is not great. I like what the packers do. I look Hargrave Franklin. Those are, those are nice additions, but I'm just kind of At a standstill with the packers because they were kind of at a standstill year over year. Andrew, I don't know where you have the Packers. I feel like they're still very competitive. Very good. I need to take notice of them and give them credit. But at the same time, I can't make them in the top three. I just can't do it.
- [63:35]
Andrew Erickson
I will not put them in the top three. I have them at eight because I don't think they're gonna have Micah Parsons. They didn't win a game after he got hurt last year. Like I think that really explains it
- [63:44]
Joe P. Zapia
all when it comes trade all their future together.
- [63:46]
Debro Derek Brown
When is he 100% this year? That's a real question for Parsons on
- [63:50]
Andrew Erickson
him, especially if he's not 100% or Eve is even playing games to start the year. Well, the packers, when week one comes along, they're not going to be anywhere near the top 10 in my power rankings because they're missing their best player on defense who felt their absence significantly last year. Their other best offensive player, Tucker Kraft, he's also coming off a season ending injury, so not as concerned about his injury long term. I think that he will be back and playing but how effective will he be? So I think that this team just has major pass rush concerns without Parsons. So that's why I have them at 8. And Jonathan Gannon kind of stepping in as a defensive coordinator. Arizona defense last year, the year before that, not good. Nate Hobbs, Devonte White, other guys coming back off their season ending injuries. So that's where I get really concerned about the Green Bay packers and why I have them at 8.
- [64:37]
Joe P. Zapia
So let's talk about it.
- [64:38]
Debro Derek Brown
Yeah, I've got him at 8 too. And I'm concerned because we all collectively looked at the Green Bay packers defense last year and we all said, oh good lord, how are they going to stop anybody outside of Michael Parsons? And we all learn that Jeff Halfley is one of the best DCs in the entire freaking NFL. So I think you look at a defense that played way above its playing weight last year. They fought way above their white, their weight class. I think a lot of that comes back to earth whether you want to talk about who's healthy and then scheme and Jonathan Gannon. Plus their offensive line isn't exactly amazing. Dude. Like we got questions all across the offensive line like, like can Jordan Morgan step in as a good left tackle? Sean Ryan at center, like, so I've got a lot of questions outside of injuries and productivity. Like I'm Actually giving where we have them ranked, I feel like is giving a heavy nod to LaFleur to figure it the hell out. And not a ton of on paper amazingness.
- [65:36]
Joe P. Zapia
Yeah, look, I agree, I don't. Like I said I don't love it, but I couldn't find enough.
- [65:40]
Debro Derek Brown
I couldn't push them lower.
- [65:41]
Joe P. Zapia
Here's the thing though, like you should
- [65:44]
Andrew Erickson
put the 49ers ahead of the Packers.
- [65:45]
Joe P. Zapia
No, no. But here, no, no I won't because they're so freaking old and they're so top heavy and I hate the rest of that roster. If you pull back two layers of that onion, oh my God, does it stink. I'm just, I'm just telling you right now like it is bad and I'm crushing the metaphors on today. I got just like what, what it. What. Let's go the next one here we're going to talk about. All right. You're going to talk about my. Was it the fourth ranked team Chicago Bears. I think belief is a little important and I think the Chicago Bears found a way to believe in themselves. I think Colson Loved one's going to be a problem for the rest of the NFL and Ben Johnson is going to utilize him the right way. I think Burden and A Dunze will be just fine without DJ Moore around there. Caleb Williams. I've been probably the toughest on Caleb Williams of maybe anybody that we work with here. But I have to give credit. Caleb Williams found a lot of ways to win games and I think that stuff gets a little bit kind of, I don't know, winning breeds winning and losing breeds losing. And when you start to win games, you feel like you can win any game. I think that's really interesting. I also think it's really interesting going back to that last point too that you guys are. So many people are bullish about certain guys returns from injuries but you know, like Patrick Mahomes, this guy, this guy will be back. This coming. Everything will be fine. But yet Micah Parsons won't be in week 15. It was. He's got plenty of time to recover from that injury. I think he'll be back sooner than later. I just don't think it's going to be week one. Ish necessarily. But with the Bears, I just think we're in a spot where my big concern with them is did they do enough to replace the guys they lost in the secondary? I don't think they have. So that to me is a big question mark. Other than that, I think I'm just going to Put my faith in Ben Johnson, which scares the crap out of me, Andrew, but I'm going to do it.
- [67:21]
Andrew Erickson
I think that's the only thing you can do if you're going to put them this high is bet on Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams taking another step. Because we all talked about in a lot of our mock drafts, Bears gotta draft an edge rusher. They gotta get more pass rush. The pass rush was non existent last year. What did they not do?
- [67:37]
Joe P. Zapia
They didn't drop the pass rusher.
- [67:39]
Andrew Erickson
There was 31st pass rush win rate last year. They were also 29th in yards allowed. I know they drafted Dylan Feneman, safety that we really like, but he's still a rookie that's taking on a massive role in that secondary. So yeah, this could be an offense that we love for fantasy because it's shootout, shootout, shootout because his defense like last year can't stop anything. And Caleb Williams is just Luther Burton Colson lovely. Like we love it. But how many wins do they get? Especially with last year being all the second half comebacks, all the defensive turnovers that they had. Every close game.
- [68:12]
Debro Derek Brown
So every close game going your way.
- [68:15]
Andrew Erickson
Every close. This was another one I struggled with was the Bears and the Lions. I was very torn on which one I liked more to win this division. I know that Debro said that he likes the Lions. Joe, you obviously like the Bears here but going back to looking at who has a harder path to get through the lines have the number one easiest schedule in the NFL. The Bears have the 27th ranked schedule point. Yeah, so I Debro had kind of convinced me a little bit here that yes, I love the Bears offense but the Lions offense is no slouch either. And defensively if they're both kind of average, I almost kind of lean towards look the lines just gonna have an easier path to get more wins. And if they split when they face each other head to head then I think alliance might be able to come up on top here. So I that's something I might make an adjustment. But I do still have the Bears. Even if I move them down one, they'll be six or seven.
- [69:03]
Joe P. Zapia
I did not make this ranking without the knowledge of the worst. Get out. I did not make this ranking without the acknowledgment of the fact that every single ball bounced their way last year. And I mean every single one.
- [69:15]
Debro Derek Brown
Everyone but.
- [69:17]
Joe P. Zapia
But what I come back to football is a young man's game. And this is a young team, a young explosive team, a young athletic team. And I look at some of These other teams, like the 49ers were old AF and I just go, are they going to hold up for this many weeks? I don't know. I'm going to put my money with the Bears instead. In that youth and inexperience, not knowing that they shouldn't be good two years in a row. Dbro, I know you disagree, so let's talk about it.
- [69:42]
Debro Derek Brown
I'll just begin my rant with this. The 2025 Chicago Bears pull up a chair.
- [69:47]
Joe P. Zapia
Like, good.
- [69:48]
Andrew Erickson
Every single turnover, every second half win.
- [69:52]
Debro Derek Brown
The 2025 Chicago Bears set an NFL record by winning seven games in which they trailed going into the final two minutes.
- [70:00]
Joe P. Zapia
In the regular, that doesn't show you heart. And the playoffs, that doesn't show you a little.
- [70:03]
Debro Derek Brown
That also shows you ton of luck. Dude.
- [70:06]
Andrew Erickson
Predictive or cannot tell me that it doesn't.
- [70:08]
Joe P. Zapia
Yeah, can't predict heart. Come on, guys, you can't, you can't
- [70:13]
Debro Derek Brown
like pulling something out of your butt to sit here and win a game at the very end of the game when you throw up a total YOLO ball into the damn end zone? No, man, like, I, I just can't. Like, so much went right for them. Also, like Erickson talked about, like their defense, man, their defense led the NFL and turnover percentage last year. But they also, if you look at the rest of their stuff, like, they gave up the six most rushing arts, they, they got eviscerated through the air. Their second, like the 11th most passing yards, it was all turnovers and magic at the end of games. If all of that goes, even if half of that goes sideways, this isn't an 11 or 12 win team. This is an eight win team. This year I, I have them at seven. I, I'm putting respect in their name, but I'm also being realistic that all of this magic of. They were the Washington commanders of last season. Some of that, if not all of that can come back to Earth in 2026.
- [71:15]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, there you have it, everybody. We have some disagreements, respectfully, about the Chicago Bears. I believe in heart. I believe in you. Believe in a lot of magic.
- [71:24]
Debro Derek Brown
You believe in a ton of love. You believe in a lucky penny. That's what you believe in.
- [71:28]
Joe P. Zapia
Hey, man. All right, let's get to the top three teams here. I know we're running long here. Top three, you know, to be the man, you got to beat the man. The Philadelphia Eagles are still the man, I think, to a certain degree. But I do think that eventually, when the jettison of A.J. brown happens, it might actually Be really good for everybody. Like, I think that kind of. Now I do think Nick Sirianni is kind of on the hot seat, which I know sounds crazy because it just won a Super Bowl a couple years ago. But it's Philadelphia, and when things going south, they go south fast way into South Philadelphia, where they start getting real upset about, you know, like, you got to go to Wawa and get a hoagie and go there and talk about how bad Nick Sirianni is. And I don't like how he's. What he's doing there. It's terrible. They suck. Freaking Eagles, man. Like, I think you're in a spot right now where there's a lot of good that I could see coming from the Eagles season. But as I mentioned earlier, sometimes the Eagles play down to their competition, and I don't love that about them either. They had a lot of weird games last year where you're like, why aren't the Eagles just crushing this team? And they're not. And that pissed me off. And I will still go with the Eagles at 3. Debro, where do you have them? I assume in your top three still, right?
- [72:36]
Debro Derek Brown
Oh, yeah. They're third and a down season for the Eagles was still 11 games being.
- [72:41]
Joe P. Zapia
Yeah, right, exactly.
- [72:43]
Debro Derek Brown
I. I still think they're one of the best teams in the nfc. Like, obviously, like, I'm put them in the third here. Like, I think they're going to compete with the Dallas Cowboys. It's gonna be them, those two teams for the division. I think both teams have rosters that could win anywhere from 11 to like 13, 14 games. So. So I think the Eagles can be better this year, you know, losing Jalen Phillips, but then they trade for Jonathan Garnard. They still have a stacked defensive rock. Like, even with losing to Kobe Dean, they still got John Campbell, they still got Zach Bond, they still got Nolan Smith. The defensive line is still stacked. Like, their secondary is really freaking good. If they get better offensive output this year, like, if Saquon Barkley, who had pretty much really down season for him, if he can bounce back. And the offensive line can be a little bit healthier this year. Yeah, they're, They're. They're a definitive super bowl contender.
- [73:30]
Joe P. Zapia
Offense has to play better. Erickson, that. That's my thing goes like, you gotta like, reimagine the offense a little bit, and hopefully they can this season.
- [73:37]
Debro Derek Brown
Well, they'll actually have an O.C. hopefully that can call plays outside of Brian Johnson and Kevin Petullo, whoever.
- [73:42]
Joe P. Zapia
Oh, Petulo. God, so bad.
- [73:44]
Debro Derek Brown
Two of the worst OCs in the entire freaking NFL.
- [73:47]
Joe P. Zapia
Do you think we could see that turnaround for the offense for the Eagles?
- [73:49]
Andrew Erickson
I. Maybe at some point. So I don't have them in my top three because I have the 49ers in my top three. So neither of you mentioned again, 49ers, very top heavy. What happens when the Eagles lose Lane Johnson? Right. This is another team that's also very top heavy. Tackle. A rookie tackle. Yeah. Let's throw him into the fire. He'll do great.
- [74:10]
Debro Derek Brown
What ifs? What if he stays healthy?
- [74:13]
Andrew Erickson
What if Trent Williams stays healthy with all the 49ers guys, you are, like, ready to write off, like, there's no way they can ever play.
- [74:19]
Debro Derek Brown
Trent Williams are their only good offensive lineman. The Eagles are regardless.
- [74:24]
Andrew Erickson
We know that the Eagles, when they lose Lane Johnson, they don't play as well. I remember because I bet on them in the playoffs and they lost Lane Johnson. And I was very sad and upset about it because I didn't know until later on after I'd already made my wagers. So I. I'm not really super high on Sean Manion as the opposite coordinator going to Philadelphia. And even if it is better than it's been in past years, does it take some time to gel? Does it take time for the new offense? Okay, they're going to be throwing over the middle of the field. Okay, that's great. Hertz we've seen. Okay. Can he be better throwing over the middle field? Well, this has been something he's been asked to do a lot of. So is it new? How long does this take to gel? And when you look at their health last year, I like pointing this out because the Baltimore Ravens were the healthiest team in the NFL in 2024. What happened in 2025? Things unraveled for them. The Eagles were the second healthiest team in the NFL last year. Second healthiest offense in the NFC last year in terms of adjusted games lost. So if they run into some injury issues on both offense and defense, Defense we know also isn't as sticky from year to year. Their defense goes from elite to just average. Okay, then maybe they are losing a couple more games. What is the transition from A.J. brown to Makai Lemon? A.J. brown, I think, is still the better player right now. You can make the argument, what was his state of mind in the offense? How effective was he actually helping? I get that. But Makai Lemon is still a rookie and they lost their elite offensive line coach, Jeff Stoutland, so those are my concerns. Again, I Have them Four. But there are reasons why I'm pushing a team like the 49ers ahead of them, who also, how many games did the 49ers win last year? Didn't they win, like, 11 games?
- [75:54]
Debro Derek Brown
Easiest schedule in the NFL.
- [75:56]
Joe P. Zapia
And by the way, Brent Williams is 37. Keep that in mind.
- [76:00]
Andrew Erickson
How old is Lane Johnson? 36.
- [76:03]
Joe P. Zapia
I don't know.
- [76:04]
Andrew Erickson
It's gotta be around. It's gotta be around there, too.
- [76:07]
Joe P. Zapia
It's gotta be 36. He's not 37.
- [76:09]
Debro Derek Brown
He's not 37. I win.
- [76:12]
Joe P. Zapia
All right. I win.
- [76:14]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah.
- [76:14]
Joe P. Zapia
All right, let's go to the. The top two teams. The number two. The number one. Number two is the reigning defending super bowl champion, Seattle Seahawks. Look, that defense is still elite. I'm sorry, everybody. Like, we can all pretend like it ain't. It is. I think the Ken Walker lost hurts, that Char is not there. But they drafted Jerry Price. Do I expect Sam Darnold to be brilliant? No, I expect him to be fine. They lose the coordinator, though, Clint Kubiak going on to become a head coach, and they lose Ken Walker. Those are two big losses. But I still think that CL defense is great. Look, this is one of my favorite win totals. Last year they were eight and a half. But I thought it was completely wrong, and I was right about it because the defense is great. And it brings us to our number one team here, the Los Angeles Rams. Boom. Spoiler alert. See, I'm wearing the shirt today. The Rams are the best team in paper, but they've got to start putting on the field. Like, they've got to stop losing these weird games to teams like the Carolina Panthers. And of course, I am worried about devonte Adams being another year older. I am worried about all the Pukinakua stuff, not just what's happening off the field, but even on the field. Like, we know Bukanakua plays all out every play. The problem is sometimes he's in the blue tent too much. Lots of reasons there. But when you talk about the reigning mvp, we're talking about one of the best coaches in the league. If you have coaching quarterback, you have a chance. And, like, I think Vegas agrees with me, too. When you look at the win total for them and you look at the the favorites for the super bowl, the Rams are right up there. So rams won, Seahawks 2. Debro discuss. What do you think here with these two 1 and 2 spots here?
- [77:37]
Debro Derek Brown
Year we're in lockstep. My big problem or my biggest concern with the Rams is going back to a very 49ers esque type of conversation where Staffords had injury concerns, their offensive line has had injury concerns, Pukas had injury concerns, Devonte Adams has injury concerns. This is why I crushed them in the draft because they made all these future moves but they're just like, it's like they pretended like they're not a Super bowl favorite or they lean so heavily on that if they do with, with any type of like injury, the, the injury war of attrition. Like they could be plummeting down there and miss the freaking playoffs this year. Like that wouldn't surprise me either. But like if they stay healthy, hell yeah. They're the best team in the nfc. Like right up there with the Seahawks. Like they're one and two and that, that, that can any be questioned about who is one and two? Like vary your order but these are the two best teams in the nfc. But out of out that when you look at the top two teams, I have way more questions about the Rams than I do the freaking Seahawks. The Seahawks depth is like, it crushes the Rams.
- [78:40]
Joe P. Zapia
It does. But I'll still take the quarterback.
- [78:42]
Debro Derek Brown
No, agreed. That's why I have the right thing.
- [78:45]
Joe P. Zapia
Quarterback over Sam Darnold. And look, Sam Darnold. Yeah. Won a Super Bowl. That's great.
- [78:51]
Debro Derek Brown
Sam Darnold came along for the ride.
- [78:53]
Joe P. Zapia
Well and to that point though, the defense of the Rams. I mean Jared versus a game wrecker. Like there's a lot to like here with the Rams too, the offense. But the Rams defense, defense is a lot better than people give them credit for too, Andrew.
- [79:03]
Andrew Erickson
Yes. And they've added players in their secondary which is one of their biggest weaknesses. Addressing that Trent McDuffie, Jalen Watson, basically
- [79:10]
Debro Derek Brown
taking basically the KC secondary.
- [79:11]
Andrew Erickson
Taking the KC secondary that was very, very great in their scheme. So they're my number one team. And I don't need to talk about the 49ers anymore. I have Seattle one spot behind them at three. Just because losing Clint Kubiak, I think that matters significantly. We've seen teams offensively fall off and when they lose a really influential playmaker or excuse me, play caller like Kubiak and the Seahawks were also the third healthiest offense last year. So if going back to top five defense, yes, that's what they should be viewed at and projected at. But what if they're not? What if they're just more of an average defense and they're not winning games every single week because of their defense? Can the offense pick up the slack? Maybe not without Kubiak Sam Darnold. That's the only thing I have concern but still have them at number three. I just, just, I just, I don't know. I just think I'm betting on the upside of the 49ers. I think that if they just get a bit of better injury luck I think that they can win a lot of games. Look this team was like representing the NFC in the super bowl like year after year. So again the NFC west and this goes back to our original point we started. Why the Arizona Cardinals are going to have the worst record in the NFL because they have to face all of these top teams two times this year.
- [80:19]
Joe P. Zapia
Well all these top teams in that division by the way Vegas has all, all, all three of them have ten and a half wins as their win total over under. So that's three teams in one division with double digit win total that you don't see that very often. Doesn't happen so much. So there you have it. Those are my power rankings and the guys thoughts? I don't know what are your thoughts? Drop your comments below. Who is the best team in the nfc? Who's the worst team in the nfc? And we love to hear from you over here at tailgate. And shout out to everyone's been watching the shows too. We appreciate you. Again share this everywhere. If you love NFL, if you have family, friends, everybody who is big NFL fans. This is a new channel we're launching here. We're going to be here in season every day cranking out content for you, talking football. So subscribe to the channel. We appreciate you. Remember you could win a Jamar Chase jersey if you do and drop your comments below. That'll do it for us. Parking lots telling us to get out. They're closing down. I'll do it for me and Derek Brown and Andrew Erickson. We'll see you next time. Kids. It's time to close the tailgate.
- [81:26]
Andrew Erickson
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- [82:06]
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- [83:15]
Joe P. Zapia
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- [83:48]
Debro Derek Brown
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