Baker Mayfield: The NFL MVP nobody saw coming + Sterling Shepard Interview

Summary

Scoop City: Inside The NFL

Episode: Baker Mayfield: The NFL MVP Nobody Saw Coming + Sterling Shepard Interview
Date: October 10, 2025
Hosts: James Palmer, Dianna Russini, Chase Daniel (The Athletic)

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Main Theme & Episode Purpose

This episode dives deep into the NFL’s surprising storylines of the 2025 season, including a focus on Baker Mayfield’s shock turn as an MVP candidate with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The hosts travel around the league, speaking with team insiders and bringing in Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard for an in-depth conversation on team culture, Baker’s mindset, and the evolution of star players. The episode also breaks down major games, quarterback controversies (including the Browns' Shador Sanders situation), and provides key fantasy football tips.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. 49ers Check-In with Vic Tafur

[02:59 – 08:57]

• Mac Jones’ Development:

  • Mac was eased into the Niners’ complex offense, showing significant improvement in processing and accuracy.
    Quote – Vic Tafur [03:37]:
    “The reason Kyle liked Mac way back was he’s a smart guy… he knows how to get the ball where Kyle wants it, when he wants it.”
  • His toughness and locker room presence have stood out.

• Run Game Challenges:

  • The run game has underperformed—partially due to injuries on the interior O-line and Kittle being out. Christian McCaffrey remains a “security blanket,” catching everything.
    Quote – Vic Tafur [05:04]:
    “McCaffrey’s probably 90% of what he was, which is still among the best guys in the league.”

• Defensive Finishing Issues:

  • With injuries, the team is seeking a late-game pass rush presence to finish games as Nick Bosa did; Bryce Huff is the main stopgap, but a trade could be in the works soon.

• Team Outlook:

  • The Niners are considered definite playoff contenders if they get healthy. Their resilience with “B team” lineups is praised, and leadership (Fred Warner, etc.) is a team strength.

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2. Lions at Chiefs Preview with Colton Pouncey

[08:57 – 16:32]

• Detroit’s Defensive Injuries:

  • Losing three top cornerbacks (DJ Reed, Taron Arnold, Enes Rakeshaw) makes stopping the Chiefs’ pass attack a major challenge.
  • Getting DT Alim McNeill back could help versus the run.

• Offensive Gameplan:

  • Expect a heavy reliance on the run (David Montgomery and Jameer Gibbs, a.k.a. “Sonic and Knuckles”) to control the clock and keep Mahomes off the field. Quote – Colton Pouncey [11:16]:
    “With the thunder and lightning aspect...having that one-two punch in a game like this is going to be huge.”

• John Morton’s OC Adjustment:

  • New OC Morton balances innovation with maintaining an already prolific offense. His “all business” approach keeps the unit humming.

• Jared Goff’s Overlooked Brilliance:

  • Leads NFL in completion percentage and passing TDs but gets little MVP buzz. Given freedom at the line, Goff is thriving mentally, running the offense as a true field general. Quote – Colton Pouncey [15:01]:
    “His football mind is his superpower…in Detroit he has full freedom to do whatever he wants.”

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3. Bears’ Outlook with Kevin Fishbane

[16:35 – 24:10]

• Offensive Focus from Bye Week:

  • The coaching staff is prioritizing fixing the run game to lighten the load on rookie QB Caleb Williams. Undrafted OT Theo Benedict—praised for athleticism—gets a start to help the ground attack.

• O-Line Turnover:

  • The left tackle situation is emblematic: Benedict has gone from 4th string to starter (over failed draft picks), raising both praise and concerns about Bears scouting.

• Defensive Struggles vs. the Run:

  • Chicago is allowing a historic 6.1 yards per carry.
    Quote – James Palmer [22:06]:
    “Last time a team gave up over six yards a carry for a season…the 1934 Cincinnati Reds.”
  • Getting LB TJ Edwards and CB Kyler Gordon back for Monday is key, but fundamentals (shedding blocks) must improve to contain Washington’s league-best rush attack.

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4. Browns QB Controversy with Jason Lloyd

[24:22 – 38:42]

• Shador Sanders Distraction:

  • The handling of third-stringer Shador Sanders is consuming outsized attention and potentially harming rookie Dylan Gabriel’s development.
  • The Browns keep Shador active but not ready, possibly due to owner Jimmy Haslam’s influence and fear of repeating the Baker Mayfield situation. Quote – Jason Lloyd [26:55]:
    “He just casts this shadow over everything…you’re stunting the one that you really like with whatever is going on over here.”
  • Comparisons made to other teams managing young/developmental QBs—the Browns’ approach is unique and not seen as logical.

• Whose Decision and Why?:

  • Debate over who keeps Shador on the roster—the owner, the front office, or just organizational fear.

• Cleveland’s Quarterback Curse:

  • The Mayfield and DeShaun Watson legacies loom: Is the fear of losing another breakout QB elsewhere stalling progress?

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5. Interview: Sterling Shepard, Buccaneers WR

[41:25 – 52:58]

Red River Rivalry & Locker Room Culture

• Sterling and Baker Mayfield reminisce about their Oklahoma days; still tightly linked and root for OU.
  “Me and Baker team up on them.” —Sterling Shepard [41:51]

• On Tampa’s WR Room:

  • A unique blend of seasoned vets and “beyond his years” rookies like Emeka. Shepard highlights Emeka’s complex questions and professionalism. Quote – Shepard [44:40]:
    “His questions are so complex. Sometimes even us older guys will look at each other like, man, that is a really good question.”

On Baker Mayfield’s MVP Candidacy

• Shepard sees “nothing different” in clutch-time Baker from his college days; says Mayfield’s fire and leadership cascades throughout the locker room. Quote – Shepard [46:53]:
  “There is nothing different with the Baker Mayfield in college versus now in that situation.”

• Locker room energy is palpable. Shepard confirms he controls the tunes post-win; Coach Bowles keeps it cool (only joining celebrations on rare occasions).

Baker’s Unique Traits & MVP Candidacy

• Baker’s toughness and willingness to run adds to his value; Sterling presses him to slide more. Quote – Shepard [49:14]:
  “He’s going to play every single play like it’s his last…if he keeps it up, you dang right he’s in that conversation.”

• Allen Iverson comparisons: Sterling agrees both are undersized, fearless, and electrifying.

Sterling’s Personal Journey

• After a tough departure from the Giants and time on a practice squad, Shepard credits Mayfield’s call with rejuvenating his career, calling this Bucks stint “such a blessing.”

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6. Fantasy Football Tips with Jake Seeley

[54:44 – End]

• QB Play:

  • Justin Herbert’s pass protection struggles are catching up—consider other options after the Dolphins game. Some sneaky options: Sam Darnold, Justin Fields (for rollercoaster upside).

• RB Stash Advice:

  • Crosby Merritt is now leading Washington’s top run game—worth RB2 status in fantasy.
  • Rookie RBs like Trayvon Henderson/RJ Harvey may bloom in the season’s second half; don’t drop them yet.

• Denver WR Alert:

  • Troy Franklin is emerging as the Broncos’ true WR2 in a soft schedule stretch (Jets, Giants, Cowboys). Worth a waiver add.

• Quick Hit:

  • Cortland Sutton praised for consistent TD production, comparable in reliability to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Mac Jones:
  “He has a nice personality—easygoing, funny guy. Even as a backup, he’s definitely a presence…” —Vic Tafur [03:37]

• On Goff’s MVP Snub:
  “His football mind is his superpower…for some reason he just really doesn’t get the attention.” —Colton Pouncey [15:01]

• On Baker Mayfield:
  “There is nothing different with the Baker Mayfield in college versus now in that [clutch] situation…he lives for situations like this.” —Sterling Shepard [46:53]

• On Shador Sanders:
  “No other team in the league is talking about the third-string quarterback…what are we doing here?” —Jason Lloyd [24:48]

• On Fantasy Patience:
  “If you were patient, you’ve been rewarded.” —Jake Seeley [61:41]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 49ers Update with Vic Tafur – 02:59
• Lions Offensive/Defensive Analysis with Colton Pouncey – 08:57
• Bears Self-Scouting, O-Line Shakeup with Kevin Fishbane – 16:35
• Browns Quarterback Drama with Jason Lloyd – 24:22
• Sterling Shepard Full Interview (Bucs, Baker, Locker Room) – 41:25
• Fantasy Football Advice with Jake Seeley – 54:44

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Conclusion

This episode expertly weaves league-wide analysis with behind-the-scenes narratives, drawing out what makes the 2025 NFL season unpredictable and compelling—from Baker Mayfield’s MVP surge and Jared Goff’s overlooked competence to the Browns' ongoing quarterback circus and Sterling Shepard’s personal renaissance. The insider interviews add depth beyond box scores, and the fantasy segment closes out a rich discussion for listeners craving both storylines and strategy.

Transcript

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I never looked so good.

[Sterling Shepard]

You look the same.

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But with this camera, everything looks better. Especially me.

[Sterling Shepard]

You haven't changed your hair in 15 years. Selfies check please.

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[James Palmer]

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[Colton Pouncey]

Ooh, who's there?

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[James Palmer]

You called that a knock knock joke.

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And set up your phone at home or work.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Okay.

[James Palmer]

It's just that when people say knock knock, there's usually a joke to go with it. Like I said, this isn't a joke. So the knock knock was just you knocking? Yeah, that's how doors work.

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[James Palmer]

Delivery available for select devices purchased at boostmobile.com, terms apply. Got a question for you. We're sitting here having a conversation about a tweet of Joe Flacco riding commercial from Cleveland to Cincinnati. Do you think that's real? I think it's photoshopped. He wouldn't fly.

[Sterling Shepard]

It was a commercial.

[James Palmer]

He's. Dude, somebody snapped it from their seat and he's walking down like the aisle with all these people around him in Cincinnati gear and. Come on.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Come on.

[Jason Lloyd]

This is.

[James Palmer]

This is. This is. This is doctored. Come on. I know. I mean, I know Cincinnati has a reputation, but come on. Oh, welcome into scoop city on a Thursday. I'm James Palmer. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Follow us everywhere you can because we have a lot to drop on you today. We have a monster week six in the NFL. We're going to take our scoop city road trip around to some of these facilities. Talk to Colton Pouncey with the Lions. We're going to talk to Vic Taffer with the 49ers, Kevin Fishbane with the Chicago Bears. Huge games across the league. We also have from one of the hottest teams in the NFL, Sterling shepherd, wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We're going to talk about that Red river rivalry. It's hard to say, but I just did it. He's a big OU guy through and through. But what is working down in Tampa and why is Baker playing like an mvp? Well, he has all of that for us and much, much more. So let's kick off this scoop city road trip, right?

[Jason Lloyd]

All right.

[James Palmer]

Then we kick things off with Vic Taffer joining us covering the Niners. Got the game of the week, Vic. I'm not going to lie. 4 and 1. 4 and 1. Only 4 and 1 matchup between the Niners and the Bucks going on this week. I know. I read your mailbag. It was a very Vic Taffer type mailbag. We don't have a quarterback controversy, so I won't go there. But what have we seen in Mac Jones? What has Kyle done right? I mean, I know we know he can process well. We always thought he was a fit for a Kyle Shanahan system, but accuracy, certain things have improved. What have they done right with Mac Jones that we're seeing him play this way?

[Vic Tafur]

I think the key thing was it kind of brought him along slowly. Back at training camp in the off season, he wasn't looking that sharp, and he figured it was a lot to take in. There's a pretty involved system as far as, you know what you have to look for and the reads and the progressions you make. But the reason Kyle, like Mac way back when was he's a smart guy. He knows how to, you know, he has a good accuracy and he knows how to get the ball where Kyle wants it, when he wants it. I think that was something you saw quickly. I think. I think the surprising thing has been the toughness. Obviously, we saw it on Thursday night, but just the resolve to kind of like not, you know, to not take any back steps and to kind of keep going and plodding forward. And the teammates love him. He definitely has a nice personality of easygoing, funny guy, which even as a backup is kind of. He's definitely a presence in the locker room, which is more than most backups are. But I think that was definitely helped him as far as taking that step, and it came time to take them to the first team snaps, and so it's been a really smooth transition. I think he and Brock get along great. I think there's no threat, like I mentioned, so I think it's just the best case scenario for everyone involved right now.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, he's a. He's a good goofy Vic. He's like a good goofy. Like, you know, you see the toughness on the field. You're right. And a big part of this offense that has to get going to me is the run game. Are we just going to see Christian McCaffrey with 1300 receiving yards this year, or are we going to run the football? Like, what's going to. What's going to happen here? Is it Kittle being out? Is that playing part of it? Interior line, like, what do you see as some of the issues and then what do you see coming out on the other side, maybe, and then fixing this?

[Vic Tafur]

Yeah, I think Kittle's a big part of it. I think also you mentioned the interior line. It's not been that good. I think both Dominic Puni, the one guard, and the other guard is Connor Colby, a rookie kind of stepping in for Ben Barts, who was hurt. And Colby's also been hurt, so has Pune. So I think that may be part of it. I think you look at these guys, what they have to do every week, and this week's a tough test. The Buccaneers have a great run defense. Vita Vea is a freaking beast. So I'm not sure this is the week you're going to see a huge step up, but they say they're making progress. Who am I to say they're not? But I think McCaffrey's a great guy to have because. Because if all else fails, you dump it off to him and he gets, you know, seven yards. So it's just. They call it a security blanket, but it really is. I mean, he's just. I don't know if he is what he was, you know, three or four years ago, but he's still really freaking good. He's probably 90% of what he was, which is still among the best guys in the league. So you have to believe with him and Shanahan's, you know, determination to get the run game going that it will at some point. I don't see it being this weekend, but I think there's still some confidence that, hey, we're going to run the ball at some point.

[Jason Lloyd]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

And with his versatility, Vic, and his creative, as Kyle is, you can find the run game, other ways, like you mentioned, in the way that they use. The way they use CMC to flip it to the other side. You saw, and this is nothing new, but you saw Nick Bosa close out a couple games at the start of this season and you know that's what he does. And you know this. You've covered the league forever. You need closers specifically at the end of games and specifically in the postseason. Right. Like, and you look at the way the Bucs have, have finished their games, it's coming down to the final couple minutes and if you want to beat them, you're going to probably have to close them. Who steps in? Who steps up? Or is this going to be something they're going to be searching for in terms of somebody that not only can sack the quarterback, but just get pressure in these late game situations where you rely on somebody like Nick Bosa?

[Vic Tafur]

In the short term, it's going to be Bryce Huff. There's a nice pickup they made from the Eagles. He was pretty miserable last year despite them winning. He really didn't care. We had a story where the super bowl ring is still in his locker. He hasn't opened it at once to look at it because he didn't have a role in that team. So he's kind of determined to show he's the guy. I think it's a good spot for him there for it. Mikel Williams, also, also the rookie's been good and he's more of a run stopping guy at this point, kind of set the edge and he is a real true pass rusher, but still a very good player. I think the good news for 49ers fans is that John lynch is going to get somebody at some point. He'll make a trade. They've shown all offseason, the first part of the season, they'll fill holes by being aggressive. He's on the phones right now trying to find someone and right now it's kind of early. Teams aren't really giving up on the season at this point, but we've seen some trades already trickle in. There'll be more trades next few weeks and I definitely think the 49ers will add someone at the end that can help them make this push going forward.

[James Palmer]

Do you think if they can get healthy? Vic, this push does happen. This is a playoff super bowl contender out of the NFC when they get healthy. Because if you look at the way they're winning games, there's a lot of guys that are not participating in those games that they're planning on counting on this year?

[Vic Tafur]

Yeah, it's hard to say that. I mean, I think they're definitely a playoff team. I mean, NFC and the Eagles and Packers are pretty freaking good. So I don't know if they're at that level if they get someone. Bosa's a hard guy to replace, even if you have someone else come in. But the thing you have to give this team credit for and kind of give them, you know, a chance is that they've shown great grit and great heart. I mean, they definitely. This last win Thursday night was like you mentioned the B team guys that receiver got off the street at receiver, you know. No Bosa, defensive guy, real life rookies on both sides of the ball. So really a great win Thursday night and it shows you the resolve of this team and the leadership they have. I mean, Fred Warner is an incredible leader on this defense and just guys follow him. There's other guys like that around the Calgary, so there's a lot of guys on his team who are definitely there to types who kind of push this team forward.

[James Palmer]

Well, you can always tell everybody that that Thursday night. Vic, you covered the Kendrick Bourne game. You covered it.

[Kevin Fishbane]

You were there.

[Vic Tafur]

Yeah, me and Sofi, man. I also covered that Baker Mayfield game way back when Baker came off the bench for the Rams. They beat the Thursday last drive. So I've seen some Thursday night metric hit so far in my life.

[James Palmer]

There it is. And then you got Baker this weekend. Enjoy it, brother. Oh, we got a monster on Sunday night. Lions, Chiefs, and we got to bring in Colton Pouncey to talk about this one covers Lions for us. And I. The first thing that jumps out at me is team speed for this offense in Kansas City, right. Even though Rashid Rice isn't back, they can move. And then I look at the cornerback situation right now in Detroit. They throw the ball a ton. How do they. How do they find a way to slow down this passing offense? And specifically, even though they lost Colton, like they play really well against Jacksonville offensively with over seven yards a game, you know, play.

[Colton Pouncey]

Yeah, man, it's going to be tough. The lines are without DJ Reed, who's placed on IR last week with a hamstring injury. It looks like he might come back sometime in November maybe. And then Taron Arnold went out in the last game with the shoulder injury. They haven't put him on IR just yet. But you know, Dan Campbell said he's probably going to miss some time, probably a long time. So they're not sure when they're going to get him back. That's tough, man. Those are your two starting cornerbacks. Yeah, that's. That's some tough depth that you lost. They already lost Enes Rakeshaw, second round pick in 2024, before the season started. So that's three corners that could be playing that won't be out there. And when you're going up against a guy like Pat Mahomes, that's a tall task, I'll say that for sure. I think if you're the Lions, you know, it sounds like they might get Ali McNeil back this week. He tore his ACL last year, last December. He's one of the best, you know, do it all defensive tackles in this league. He can rush the passer, he can defend the run at a high level. So I think getting him back, if he does play this Sunday night, that'll be a big boost for them. But really, I kind of put more of a focus on the offense. I think they're going to need a game plan like we saw against Baltimore, which was we got to sustain long drives, keep Pat Mahomes, this offense, off the field, and when we get down to the red zone, we got to capitalize and score touchdowns and just make the most of our opportunities on offense just to help out our defense, which is a little shorthanded right now.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, that's what I was looking at. You know, you look at the way this defense is played in Kansas City in the early portion of the season, and they're getting gashed. I mean, they're giving up 120, what is it, 123 yards a game on the ground? Is this a game where you do see you lean on both your backs and biggest thing you can do to stop Patrick Mahomes is keep him off the field and you have these drives go. Do we think we're going to have a heavy dose of David Montgomery and Jameer Gibbs?

[Colton Pouncey]

I really do. And I think, you know, the way this Lions offense is cooking right now, you know, they scored 30 or more points in four straight games. They've done a lot of it with the ground game, with David Montgomery, with Jameer Gibbs kind of taking turns kind of leading this backfield. I think this can be a game that they certainly lean on those guys. David Montgomery in particular, he is kind of one of the best underrated backs in the league. I know he's a guy that kind of thinks highly of himself and as he should, but when he gets those opportunities, the limited ones, he does get in this Detroit offense because there's so many mouths to feed. When he does get the ball, he makes the most of it. He can run between the tackles, he can keep defenses off the field. And that's what you want a guy that can kind of sustain those, those long drives for you. And a guy like Jameer Gibbs, he's sort of the opposite. He's a quick hitter guy. The guy that can, you know, take a ball and take it 80 yards if you need him to. So I think with the thunder and lightning aspect of those guys, they call them Sonic and knuckles out here in Detroit, I think having that one, two punch in a game like this is going to be huge. I think really running behind a guy like Panay Sewell on that offensive line. We'll see if Taylor Decker plays on the left side, but I do think they have the dudes up front to kind of dominate a game like that in the trenches if needed.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, and it could be telling for Kansas City of is this getting fixed on that side of the ball or not? We usually see it get fixed and this is a big test for them because of how good Detroit is. You mentioned all the mouths to feed and you look at a new offensive coordinator coming in. We're seeing it in Philadelphia, ton of mouths to feed there. Kevin Petula comes in and it's like, what's our identity? Who gets the ball? How do we find a flow? When you walk into an offense that is just so well run over the last several years like it has been in Detroit and now you want to a put your stamp on it as the play caller, but at the same time you don't want to fix anything that isn't broken. I feel like it's a delicate line for John Morton to kind of walk. How has he done it so far? When you mentioned the points putting on.

[Colton Pouncey]

The board, yeah, in some ways it's an easy job. When Morton first got here, he said he's like a kid in the candy store looking at all the weapons he has on offense. In some ways there's a lot of pressure to kind of live up to what Ben Johnson did here for so long, for so many years, leading this offense to, you know, top scoring units. Really since he's taken over top five scoring units since 2022. So those are big shoes to fill. But a guy like Morton is not phased at all. You know, just knowing him, the limited time I spent with him, he's just all business, all ball. He just wants to go out there, drop plays and watch this guy score touchdowns and when you got the playmakers that this Lions offense does and Amaranth St. Brown, Jameer Gibbs, Dave Montgomery, Sam Laporta and even Jameson Williams who hasn't been involved. But I imagine they're going to try to work him in more in this game. That's, that's a recipe for success any week. And so really for him, it's just about locking himself in a closet in his office. That's what John Morton is. He's a guy that grinds tapes, look for weaknesses in an opposing defense and tries to exploit that on Sundays. So he's done a great job with this offense so far. I do think you see a lot of Dan's influence on this offense as well. Just what they do with the two backs. And you know, last week they had Dave Montgomery throw a touchdown against the Bengals in his hometown. That was a play that, that Dan actually installed. So you still see his sprinkles and his touches on this Lions offense, even with John Morton doing his thing. But it's a well oiled machine. I think a lot of people thought this offense would fall off when Ben Johnson did leave. And as we're saying, that's not the case.

[James Palmer]

No, it's not. That was an awesome moment, by the way. And David's sister getting to be there. Pretty, pretty cool. One of the more powerful moments I think of this NFL season thus far. You mentioned all the talent on this offense. You didn't mention one guy, Jared Goff, running the show for this group. Can you tell everybody at home this guy leads the NFL in completion percentage? He leads in passing touchdowns. He only has two picks. He's second impasser rating. Please tell everyone listening or watching. Why does he get no MVP love?

[Colton Pouncey]

I really don't know, honestly. He is playing the best football of his career and he has for a few years now in Detroit with what he's done with this Lions offense. And I think the thing that I kind of give the most credit to with Jared in the scheme is that he's given about three play calls at the line of scrimmage and it's his job to get this Lions offense in and out of the right play no matter what the defense is putting in front of him. And that sounds easier than it is. A lot of quarterbacks, you know, have the athletic guys. His, his football mind is his superpower, his football iq. And I think you're seeing that the older he gets in this league. You know, when he was in L. A, it was really Sean, Sean McVay saying all right, here's what we're going to run. Go out and do it. He didn't have a lot of freedom to make those calls at the line of scrimmage in Detroit. He has full range, full freedom to do whatever he wants based on what the defense is giving him. So a lot of coaches really credit his. His ability to kind of get those looks, get this offense and all these pieces and all these moving parts and as working as one. And I think that's been the most impressive thing I've seen from him. He's got 12 touchdowns so far this year, two interceptions. He's playing some really good football. And for some reason he just really doesn't get the attention. I don't know if it's because he can't run. His 40 times wasn't the fastest. I really don't know. But I wonder that myself. And I'm wondering like, am I just in a bubble here in Detroit or what's going on? Why do people really not give him the respect? But. But in my opinion, he's one of the best quarterbacks in football and he's been playing like it for a few years now.

[James Palmer]

All right, let's give him the respect. First his coach is too good. Now his team is too good. Maybe Jared Goff is too good. How about that? That's maybe the argument. Colton, we should start making. Enjoy the game on Sunday. I think you're on one of the best ones of the week. Have fun.

[Colton Pouncey]

Yeah, thanks for having me on.

[James Palmer]

All right, moving right along. We know what happened when these two teams faced each other a season ago in Week 8. It was the hail Mary that changed the course of Jaden Daniels season and the Bears season. I guess they went 1 in 10 after that. Kevin Fishbane joins us from the athletic covers the Bears for us and it's interesting, Kevin, that like 14 wins since that game. 14 wins for Jayden Daniels in his career so far. 14 losses for Caleb Williams in his career so far. Now he gets a chance to face Jayn Daniels once again and again coming off a bye. I think they were coming off a bye in that previous matchup. What happened during the bye week? If you know anything with. With Caleb, this offense, a lot of self scouting happens there. What went on in. In your mind that you've gathered?

[Kevin Fishbane]

You know, I think they want to figure out the run game. It seems like that's been an emphasis. Ben Johnson said this week he's taken it personally because he said he's actually been spending more time with the run than the pass and the run game has been so poor and he's putting that on himself. So I think you had. It's one of those things, James, when it's so bad, it's everything, right? It's, it's the running backs not hitting the right holes at the right time, it's the free runners getting through is something that Johnson mentioned. And you talk about what is going to help Caleb Williams. Well, if you get an 8 yard gain on 1st and 10, that opens the playbook for Caleb Williams. So you look at their runs and most of the most critical rushes have been Caleb scrambling. And DeAndre Swift, to his credit, has had a couple key ones certainly at the end of that Raiders game. But I think when you're looking at self scouting what the offense needs to do better, it kind of starts there and trying to get that run game going. We're expecting a new starting left tackle on Monday night and Theo Benedict, an undrafted guy out of Canada. But one of the things they like about him is his run blocking. So I think the hope is that can be part of helping get this thing back on track.

[James Palmer]

I had that right here. I read your piece. Can you tell us a little bit about Theo? I mean, this is a big switch and you also, you know, switch mid game, I want to say in their, in their, in their last game and moves over to the left side. I was going to ask you one, does that help the run game? But two, protecting Calum's blindside, obviously a big deal. What should Bears fans see in Theo on the left side? Because I know you've done some digging about him as a player.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Yeah. Well, for one thing, James, Theo Benedict entered this summer as the number four left tackle.

[James Palmer]

Okay.

[Kevin Fishbane]

And now it looks like he's going to be starting on Monday Night Football against the Washington Commanders. So it is, you know, depending how you view the Bears personnel department, I certainly know how many fans do. You could look at it on the one hand and the coaching staff helped develop a guide. The personnel staff identified and turned this again, undrafted guy who did not play last year, who came from Canada into somebody good enough to start a left tackle. The flip side is it means your second round pick, Ozzie Tropillo hasn't been able to win that job. Your third round pick from a year ago, Karan Amogaji is on ir. And your fifth rounder, who's been your starter, Left tackle, Braxton Jones, he's the one that got benched in Vegas. So again, it's just kind of like how you're going to spin it. I think Theo's great story. I think you could also have fair criticisms about this team's ability to identify lineman. I should note that we're talking on Thursday. We didn't see Darnell Wright at practice the last two days. So Azzie Chiprola might be starting at right tackle in his first career start. But back to Theo. He's, he's extremely athletic and that's something that the Bears are really hoping for in terms of their run blocking and their pass protection. He's a very smart player. The other thing about him that's going to be interesting, as you mentioned, he moved right to left mid game against Max Crosby and Tyree Wilson. I mean that is like two and this is somebody who only played right tackle in college. So this whole thing, you know, from training camp, he was the, he was the, he worked at left tackle a lot. He was in the competition then. He starts the season as the backup swing, plays right tackle, moves over left to do that mid game. Have to remind yourself which hand to throw all those things. Really impressive. And you'd like to think, James, it can't get harder than that for Theo. And you're going against Durance Armstrong, who's got five sacks already this season in Washington. So that's going to be a major storyline watching Benedict and if it is Tropillo and how they do because the pass protection has been generally better. I mean Caleb Williams sacrate is down a ton from last year and Caleb gets some credit for that as well. But yeah, it's going to be a major storyline in Washington.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, fewer sacks on third down too is a big deal, I think in terms of sustaining these drives. Ken wrote a really good piece on the Athletic about that and I'm glad you pointed it out because people just think, oh, just slide them over to the other side. Everything is in reverse. Everything is the opposite. It is not an easy thing to do for offensive linemen. So we'll find all about it on Monday night run game. You're talking about it. Let's talk about it. The other reverse side. This defense in Chicago giving up 6, 6.1 yards a carry last time a team gave up over six yards of carry for a season. I know you remember this well, the 1934 Cincinnati Reds. So it's been a minute that somebody has struggled against the run like this and you're going against an offense that runs the football at a better clip for a carry than anybody else in football. What did they do during the bye week to go, this is what's wrong. This is how we identify it, this is how we fix it. Or are we still a work in progress?

[Verizon Spokesperson]

There's.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Yeah. Ben Johnson mentioned shedding blocks. That is something that they've seen on tape, that the linemen, linebackers just aren't doing a good enough job of shedding blocks. And I'm going to sound like a coach here, James. That comes down to fundamentals and technique, right? Yeah. You know, to get that done. So I think it's something that they've identified. The other hope that the Bears have is they're going to get two starters back on Monday night. TJ Edwards, their linebacker and Kyler Gordon, their nickel corner. And Kyler Gordon is one of the best run defending corners in the league. He will stick his nose in there. If you go look at just some of the metrics of run stuffs, tackles for loss among corners, he's up there with some of the best in the business. And you know, you think about a guy who's playing inside like that. So I think getting those two guys back is going to be critical. But there's only so much you can do right. Like it's been, it's been really brutal and you saw Ash and Genti take advantage. I will note best third down defense in football. So it's. I don't want to call. It's not like a bend but don't break defense per se. But like they were brutal against genty, but when they needed to get those stops on third and short, fourth and short, they did. So there's something to be said about Dennis Allen finding ways to be opportunistic. But yeah, you're going against Jaden Daniels, you're going against that rushing offense and what they've done through five games, like it's one of those things. James, when someone asked me about this matchup, I kind of go, well, if you, it's your classic. If you can't stop the run, nothing else matters. Yeah, like you could talk about Caleb and Jaden and you could talk about Deandre Swift and Roma Dunes and you can talk about the pass, all these different things. You could talk about every factor. If the Bears can't stop the run, it's going to be very difficult to win. They already pulled it off two weeks ago. It was the first time they won a game giving up 240 yards on the ground since 1979. So like you're playing with fire a little bit. They need a blocked field goal to get that stat. So yeah, the hope is T.J. edwards, Kyler Gordon. Some refined technique can make it better, but it's just hard to see it making some massive jump in this specific matchup.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, I see that too. I feel like we're going to see Kevin roaming the sideline, whistle visor, the whole nine yards. Little coach speak. I love it. We got it on a Thursday. Enjoy the game on Monday, man.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Take care.

[James Palmer]

All right, we press on. I love this conversation. I read this piece by Jason Lloyd, senior columnist for the Athletic about Shador Sanders. And Jason, thank you for joining us. I appreciate you coming on because you wrote a piece Shador Sanders saga needs to end for the Browns to move on. Give everybody a quick synopsis of maybe why this piece came about. I'm assuming the Joe Flacco news had something to do with it.

[Jason Lloyd]

Yeah, it's just, it's. He's more of a distraction right now than he is a help. It seems like from all accounts, if you know when you trade Joe Flacco and you create a spot at your backup quarterback spot, from all indications, this isn't official yet, obviously, but the way Kevin Stefanski was sort of hinting around yesterday talking about you want to protect your players and player development and all that, it certainly feels as if Bailey Zappi is going to be promoted from the practice squad over Shador into the backup spot. That's what that tracks with all of Zach Jackson's reporting on this, our Browns beat writer. It's everything sort of that's been indicated to me. No one says it directly, but that's just certainly been the way that it's felt for a while. That's the whole reason Bailey was here. Why else would you sign a fourth quarterback? You already have three quarterbacks on your 53 and then you go at a quarterback on the practice squad. The only logical reason to do that is if you fall into a situation like this where you need to insert a backup quarterback and they clearly don't feel comfortable yet with Shador. And if I'm being totally honest, I'm, I am so tired of talking about the third string quarterback. Like I'm just, I'm done. I'm over it. What other team in the league is talking about the third string quarterback? So I've actually, I've written a couple pieces on it, but I've tried to avoid it as much as I can. But when you make a move like this, when you trade Joe Flacco, when you create a spot and then you still refuse to move him up, if and when they do decide to do that. At that point, I think we have to have a conversation about it. And the conversation is, what is going on? Like, what are we doing here?

[James Palmer]

Yeah, we've. Listen, we've come full circle here, Jason. We are writing about the coverage. We're covering the coverage. Like, that's how. How wild this has gotten in terms of the nexus of the universe here in the way this is now. What I'm fascinated about is this. I was at the CU showcase. I was there. I know Jimmy Haslam was there. I saw the whole Browns contingent, had a long conversation with Kev. They went out to dinner with Shador. They know he drives a Bentley around the campus in Boulder. Didn't they know this was coming with Shador?

[Jason Lloyd]

Yes, yes, of course they knew. I remember talking to people with the Browns prior to the draft, and they were like. And basically the messaging to me was, yes, he had special privileges. It's Prime's kid. What do you expect? But he's not a bad kid. Like, they really liked the person of Shador. And by the way, I have to agree with that. Not that I've spent a ton of time around him. I haven't. It's been very limited. But he comes off as extremely likable, and he went right to work, like, visiting kids in the inner city. He goes to high school football games on Friday nights and takes pictures with the kids and signs autographs. He loves to joke around like he's. He's extremely likable, but he just cast this shadow over everything that is just like what they've done, in essence. They took a quarterback in the third round who they actually like in Dylan Gabriel, and it sort of cut the legs out from under Dylan because Dylan is answering all these nonsensical questions about Shador, and everything Dylan says gets twisted. And what was that? A shot at Shador? He makes a flippant comment on the sidelines in the preseason about there are entertainers and there are competitors, and everyone sort of runs like, oh, well, you must be talking about Shador. It's like, guys, he's a rookie NFL quarterback trying to find his way in the league, and he has to put up with this, like, what are you doing? You're stunting the one that you really like with whatever is going on over here. And that's why I wrote. I honestly, like, I'm not trying to be dramatic with this. I don't see any other alternative. Either ownership is pushing this on them, which is not entirely out of the question, or they are so afraid of having another Baker Mayfield situation blow up on him. He's not good enough to promote, but they're scared of what he may become two or three years from now. So they're just going to hold on to him and keep him on the 53. 3. Who else does this? Like, look at the Philadelphia Eagles draft. Kyle McCord in the sixth round cut them at the end of camp, which is very logical for fifth and sixth round picks, and they put them on the practice squad. That's the logical way to handle a quarterback you're trying to develop for the long term. But the Browns are eating up a spot on their 53 with them, but they won't promote them yet. They're promoting the practice squad quarterback over top of them. So it just. There's a lot that's going on and not a whole lot of it makes a whole lot of sense.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, it is fascinating because you look at it, the number of quarterbacks that were taken towards that bottom couple of rounds of the draft. You mentioned Kyle McCourt, who set all sorts of records after he left Ohio State and went to Syracuse. You have Quinn, yours, who was drafted down there, who was good enough to hold off Arch Manning. At least the perception of Arch Manning for a while there at.

[Jason Lloyd]

Now we know why he held off Arch Manning.

[James Palmer]

Exactly. Don't ruin my narrative here, Jason. But listen. Yeah, both of those guys. You also have Will Howard, who's coming off winning a national championship at Ohio State, who's sitting there, you know, down there. You know, I know he's on ir, but he's with the Steelers. And the one that's getting talked about out of all of this is Shador Sanders. Now, I do understand from what I've gathered from talking to people is he's not ready yet. We'd like to develop him. We'd like him to be in a situation, and this is what I'm told to be, where the week of practice is designed for him. Designed specifically for him and set him up to succeed when he goes out and plays. Same thing as Dylan Gabriel, I guess. But Gabriel was the backup, so I guess they thought he was further along in his development.

[Jason Lloyd]

Now think about that for a second. Think about the logic of that. Because they had no problem making Dylan Gabriel the backup.

[James Palmer]

Yes.

[Jason Lloyd]

To Joe Flacco, knowing if Joe goes down, Dylan would have to go in and run Joe's plays or whatever it is.

[James Palmer]

I think it's a telltale section of how they view each player.

[Jason Lloyd]

Are you. How much more are you Saying you have to strip down this offense to make it friendly enough for shadow. That's what they're saying. And by the way, what Dylan was running last week wasn't all that complicated. They had the guardrails up and the safety belts on. For Dylan in his first start against Minnesota, it's understandable why he's a third round rookie making his first start. Yeah, yeah. You're going overseas, so it's not a normal practice week. You're going against a defensive coordinator who by the way, was the backup to the job. The. I'm sorry, the runner up to the job here when you hired Jim Schwartz a couple years ago. So there was a lot working against him. I understand why. It was sort of a rudimentary playbook and you would think that they would build on it from week to week. But if you're telling me you don't have faith in Shador to run a fairly rudimentary offense right now, again, what are we doing here? I totally get the idea of like you have a developmental quarterback you're trying to bring along. The Browns haven't had a quarterback in 25 years and they're probably going to take another in the first round next year with two first round picks. So he's just getting buried further and further down the depth chart. Again, a situation not to keep going back to the Eagles, but it makes sense why you would have Kyle Carter, the practice squad if he takes two or three years to develop. Okay. You have a Super Bowl MVP in the, in the role right now. It makes perfect sense to bring a guy along slowly in this situation. It doesn't make any sense to me. If he's not good enough to even be the backup, he shouldn't be on the team.

[Sterling Shepard]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

I think the situation obviously matters. You're right. You look at the two teams that we're interested in, that we know of in Philadelphia and Baltimore. What are those locker rooms and organizations entrenched in stability like nobody's business in terms of the way that those rooms are built and the way those organizations are built. So I get it. And they probably thought they could withstand. So that leads me to this question, who's to blame? Is it why? Is he available to talk? Should he be available to talk? Most third string quarterbacks are not asked questions. But also, and I don't want to lump all of these players together because their situations are very different, but it's why Colin Kaepernick had a difficult time being a backup in the NFL and landing a job. It's a difficult reason why Tim Tebow had a difficult time being a backup in the NFL. When there's extenuating circumstances surrounding the player and a player that doesn't play, do you have to insulate them? Where does the some of the blame in this saga around the group fall? Jason?

[Jason Lloyd]

It's a great question. I actually probably enraged many of my media brethren last week. I went on the radio here last week and was yelling stop talking to the third string quarterback. What are we doing? Why is the media continuing to talk to the third string quarterback? And I put that on on us. But at the same time, the Browns, I said it's 45 minutes that reporters are in the locker room. Tell them to go sit in the hot tub for 45 minutes, lock the doors, gag them, tie them to a chair, whatever you have to do, like keep them out of the locker room and help yourself. And yes, I know that's a horrible thing to say as reporter because we're constantly fighting for more access. But obviously this is a very different situation that we're talking about. If he's a starting quarterback, even if he's the number two quarterback, it's a different conversation. He's the number three quarterback. And I did find it interesting yesterday he was not to be found in the locker room during open availability. Dylan talked, it's quarterback day on Wednesday. So the Dylan talked like the starter always does. Bailey Zappy was nowhere to be found. He's normally in there in that open session and, and Shador was missing as well. And it for the Browns, like that's smart, like keep them out of there for right now until things settle down. It's just, it's such a strange. But this is the Browns. This is what they do. They invite car crashes all the time. I wrote before the at the draft, they still owe to Sean Watson like 130 million. They just wrapped one sports car around the tree and here they go run into the lot to buy another one. This is, this is how they operate. They operate in dysfunction. Like they don't, they aren't comfortable unless there's chaos going on around them. It's unbelievable that they just raced from one situation to the next like this. I, I, I don't know. Like, I had people text me who used to work in that building, who no longer do. The night of the draft when Shador was taken, that obviously it wasn't day one, it was what day? Day two. Yeah. This was a Jimmy Pick. 100. This was a Jimmy pick. Now the Browns fight back on that very loudly they push back this. They insist this was Andrew's pick. Andrew Barry wanted them. They loved the value of finding him in the fifth round. Well, it certainly doesn't look like it at this point because. And I'm not saying that he needs to be a starting quarterback. I'm not saying that at all. He's a project, clearly. But if you can't trust him enough with the quarterback room that looks like this, if you can't trust him enough to be the number two quarterback, then I'm not sure what we're doing here.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, I get the value. I certainly do, honestly, with the way that he played at cu. And I also understand that nobody is openly going to say our owner made this pick. That just doesn't happen within an organization. It just cannot happen. So you're right. You're spot on on that. Before we go. And I could talk to you about this forever. This is fascinating. Maybe that's why so many column inches are getting filled. But listen, is there a part of the desean Watson situation here at play? You made a massive trade and a massive contract for, let's just be frank, a very unlikable quarterback. Yeah, right. And it hurt your fan base in. In a lot of metrics. You mentioned it. Shador is very likable. There's a lot to like. Is there a counter to keeping him there that you don't want to get rid of? Now, another quarterback that is polarizing. But. But maybe in a very different way.

[Jason Lloyd]

I. If they just need a quarterback who will win and they will be beloved. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. He could shove a nun in front of a bus, but if he wins, Cleveland will love him. It's just where. It's just where the city is at right now and how desperate they are. I honestly, I don't think it's desean as much as it is Baker. If it's not owner, if it's not ownership forcing him on the roster, then it's. It's the Baker situation. The fact that. And of course, that's tied to desean. But. And the revisionist history on the Baker saga is fairly incredible around here. And people are up in arms and they're irate and rightfully like, I get it. Baker could win the MVP this year. And he was in Cleveland and they ran him. They ran him out. There was a lot more behind the scenes to that. He was incredibly immature at the time. There was just a lot going on. They weren't sure. They want to invest all that money in a franchise quarterback, DeSean becomes available at the time, he's a top whatever number you want to put on it, Certainly five, top eight, top ten, whatever it is. They see that as their opportunity to finally get this right. They had a team that they felt was ready to contend except at the most important position. And so Baker goes off, hits rock bottom, gets released from Carolina, leaves the Rams, and finally starts to grow up a little bit, mature a little bit, gets his life together, gets his career together, and he takes off. And I think it's fear of that more so than the desean debacle. And it is a total debacle at this point. Yeah, I think it's just a fear of could this guy develop elsewhere? And then three years from now, we're having the exact same conversation we are with Baker.

[James Palmer]

That that is a fear of general managers across the league. I think you and I would agree on that. That's why Anthony Richardson is still sitting there in a Colts uniform, because they are terrified of him going somewhere else after they had that raw talent and somebody else to be develops him. And that could be a part of the issue. Well, I don't know if this is the last time you write about it. I'm not sure if you have one after a movie. We'll see. I'm sure it's not. Jason, this was awesome chatting with you about this. This is a fascinating topic, and maybe you're right. There is an aspect of that fear of, let's see if he develops, because what does the NFL lack? Patience. Nobody has it, and everybody seems to forget that it could exist. And right now this is screaming, cut.

[Jason Lloyd]

Him and move on. So I guess I fall into that category of no patience either, but it's not. It's all of just the nonsense that comes with it, more so than anything that's on the field is why I'm saying it this time.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, this is a. This is a different situation. It certainly is. And we're following it whether we like it or not. We are. Jason, thank you for joining me. Coming up on Scoop City, ironically enough. Stay right there. We have Sterling Shepard joining the show from the Bucs, buddies with Baker Mayfield since they played at ou Together, we're going to get the latest on Baker in his table take on potentially being the mvp. Have you heard of Gold's Belly? It's this amazing site that I order from all the time where you can get the most iconic, famous foods from restaurants all across the US and they will ship it anywhere across the country. See, covering the NFL for years and years and years, I go to all these different cities. When I'm covering the super bowl in Miami, I go to Joe's. When I'm at a pro day in Austin, Texas, I get Franklin's Barbecue. Because these places, places are so iconic. But the problem when I go back home to Denver, I am now miles and miles away from all of my favorite restaurants. Well, with Gold Belly, I had the opportunity to then get them shipped to my house. This has happened multiple times, and it's outstanding. The biggest part of this for me is I grew up in Philadelphia. It is home for me. And if you want a taste of home, I have an opportunity to get a Pat's cheesesteak straight from South Philly right there. Whiz wit, get it sent to my house, and I get it exactly as it was when I was growing up. It brings back memories. It makes me feel closer to my family. It makes me feel closer to home. So if you're looking for the perfect gift or want to impress your friends and family with an epic meal, the next time you Host, go to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code SCOOP. That's goldbelly.com code SCOOP for 20% off your first order.

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I never look so good.

[Sterling Shepard]

You look the same.

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[Sterling Shepard]

You haven't changed your hair in 15 years. Selfies check please.

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[James Palmer]

Welcome back to Scoop City on a Thursday. James Palmer with you. We have a special guest now. Bucs wide receiver Sterling shepherd joins us. Sterling, we'll get to NFL talk, but it's Red river rivalry here. It's hard for me to even say, but you are OU through and through. Dad played there, uncles played, their mom went there, sisters went there. You grew up at the facility, essentially. Does it bother you that there's nobody that went to Texas on your roster that you can mess with this week?

[Sterling Shepard]

You know what, it does make me a bit upset. I can't get any. Any bets going, but I have buddies around the league that, you know, call me and try to make a bet here and there, so I'll get it that way. But, yeah, I like to bug people on the teams. Me and Baker team up on them.

[James Palmer]

So that's what I would figure. I mean, and this is a wild game. Every year you've played it, obviously something strange happens. Is there a fear with you and Baker? And I'm curious if you're going to watch the game together on Saturday. But there's a fear that, like, Arch Manning breaks out of this little funk he's in and it happens in this game. I hate to say it, but strange things happen in this game all the time.

[Sterling Shepard]

You are right about that. And you can never go to sleep on them. I mean, that's the thing. That's what makes the beauty of the game. Because every year, no matter what, they're going to give us their best shot and we're going to give them ours. So hopefully he doesn't come out of that little funk that he's in and we can pull away with the win. But, yeah, Baker and I would. We usually just go up to our rooms and watch the game, and then we'll come back down for meetings and start talking about it. And if it's still on, we'll watch it down in the meeting room.

[James Palmer]

Okay, Perfect.

[Sterling Shepard]

Perfect.

[Jason Lloyd]

Well, good luck. Good luck.

[James Palmer]

You are five now, so six in the country. I like it. You mentioned these meetings. What is the meeting room of your wide receiver group like? I'm looking at the talent that you guys have in this room, and you've been in this league for a long time. Can you kind of just describe it to people about maybe the conversations that go on in there? Because this is as talented as a position group. I think there is maybe in the NFL.

[Sterling Shepard]

Yeah. I mean, it's been so good for us because we have a healthy mix of younger guys and then experienced older guys, and I feel like that helps the younger guys a lot. And we have younger guys that don't act like younger guys either. Like, Emeka is way beyond his years. He prepares like no other. There's not too much that you have to say to him, but it is. It is good to just pick his brain and see what he's thinking on certain things. And if we have. If he. If he needs any help anywhere, we got three guys that can. That can help him out with that. But it's definitely one of the best rooms that I've been in myself, personally. And it's a lot of fun, man. We have a lot of fun in there.

[James Palmer]

Yeah. And we still haven't even seen everybody healthy together yet, and you're still putting up these points. I mean, I'm excited to see everybody get on the field at the same time. It's going to be wild. You mentioned Emeka and you mentioned his preparation. I remember going to his pro day and covering it there and everything that he's made up of in terms of how polished he is coming into this league. You were a rookie coming into a room with some vets, and so I guess my question is, are his questions just different? You know what I'm saying? All rookies ask questions, but because he's so polished, what are his questions like?

[Sterling Shepard]

No, his. His questions are so complex. Sometimes even us older guys will look at each other like, man, that is a really good question. And coaches even looking like sometimes, like, you know what? I don't have that right now, but I can get that answer for you. You know what I mean? Coach B, he answers most questions, but sometimes Mecca asks one. That's a. That's a really good one. But he even had one today. Everybody was looking like, there we go again.

[James Palmer]

What was it? Can you say?

[Sterling Shepard]

He was talking about some coverage, and I don't want to give too much away, but yeah, it was. It was a pretty good question, man. That's all I say about it.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, it's cool. I mentioned guys getting back healthy. I think he has a special trait to where he was like, the guy Jeremiah Smith comes in. He's cool.

[Sterling Shepard]

Cool playing.

[James Palmer]

Compliment to Jeremiah at Ohio State. It's exciting to see when everybody gets healthy, how he can even move around and adapt within the way you guys play offensive football. And with that said, you're creating explosive plays as a unit in a league right now that is just so steadfast on making sure those plays don't happen. Right. With the way coverages are. How are you guys able to do this right now and create explosive plays when that's the number one thing teams are trying to stop?

[Sterling Shepard]

Yeah, I think it starts with the run game and up Front. If we can get that run game going, then we can start hitting some of those big shots. And, you know, that's something that we just practice continuously. Like we're always practicing those deep shots because we understand the importance of explosive plays. You know, we give ourselves a pretty good percentage chance to win the game if we're hitting those big long ones. So that's something that we rep all the time. And it's been, it's been great to see it just show up on game day. So we got to keep doing that.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, it's been, it's been fun to watch you guys find ways to get open and you have a quarterback that is not scared to, to unleash it, man, by any stretch and rip it downfield. I want to talk about end of game. I mean, you guys have been unbelievable. I think you've been trailing in the Last minute of 4, 4 wins now. Can you compare Baker Mayfield in these final drives now compared to The Baker Mayfield 2015 College? Is it the same guy? Is he different? What is he like in these huddles? Because you guys put up a lot of points about you too.

[Sterling Shepard]

Yeah, I've been getting that question a lot over the past few weeks, and there is nothing different with the Baker Mayfield in college versus now in that situation. Yeah, in this situation, especially like he, he lives for situations like this. And you know, whenever you have a quarterback and a leader like that, it's going to spill off to everybody else. So literally, I've been in a lot of huddles and I have so much confidence in this group of men in a situation like that. And I think it's just great that we're being put in that position early on in the season so we can be battle tested when meaningful football starts to happen. And you know, we've done it before and nobody bats an eye. Whenever we get in that situation, it's just like, okay, let's hone in, do our jobs and take it one play at a time. Time. And that's what we do.

[James Palmer]

Yeah. And your, your locker room has the identity of your quarterback. You bring a lot of energy.

[Jason Lloyd]

I'm.

[James Palmer]

I'm assuming the locker room is just insane after a lot of these wins. I think you're controlling the music, if I, if I heard correctly.

[Jason Lloyd]

Right. Yeah.

[James Palmer]

Okay, so. And I know Bowles for a long time. Do we get a Todd Bowles? That's bringing some energy in there because you have a very even keeled coach most times. Is he in there with you guys?

[Sterling Shepard]

He doesn't get in there too much. It's been one game game this season where he got in there and he, he kind of let it loose. But you know, Coach Bowles, he's pretty calm, cool and collected, and he's like, on to the next one pretty quick. So we'll get him in there. Sometimes I have to push him around a bit and get him going, but yeah, yeah, he's pretty calm, cool.

[James Palmer]

Okay, well, listen, it's fine to have coach that way in the locker room that way, right?

[Jason Lloyd]

It works.

[James Palmer]

It works for you guys. Well, Baker did this past week. We with 379 on 2933. I went back and looked at a game that you two played together against Kansas. Do you remember this? He went 27 of 32 for 382, four touchdowns. You had 11 for 183. Do you. Against Kansas.

[Sterling Shepard]

How many tugs did I have? Did I have two that game?

[James Palmer]

You only had one, though. Of his four.

[Sterling Shepard]

It was supposed to be two, though, because they, they said my shin was down on one. But yeah, I remember which game you talk about.

[James Palmer]

So what you saw, what you saw against Seattle is nothing new to you in terms of being able to go out and play that way. Is he in the MVP conversation?

[Sterling Shepard]

You know what? I think so. I think his play speaks for itself. And, you know, he's a guy that's going to bring a lot of energy. He's a guy that is going to play every single play like it's his last play. And that's what we've been seeing over these, over the beginning of the season. And I think if he keeps it up, you dang right, he's in that conversation.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

Another MVP from another sport brought Baker up the other day. I don't know if you heard AI talking about. Talking about Baker. Just saying. And I see the similarity, don't you? In the way that they play?

[Sterling Shepard]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, Baker has some sneaky juke moves. People don't really see him as, as a runner like that, but when he gets out there, man, he's breaking people off. And I try to tell him all the time, like, man, when he tucks that ball, he means business.

[Jason Lloyd]

Business.

[Sterling Shepard]

And he will run through you, too. I've been telling him he needs to slide a bit more, but he don't listen.

[James Palmer]

No, he does. By the way, go back and watch Allen Iverson football. Highlight films from, from high school. They're insane. One game at safety, he had seven interceptions. I'm just throwing that out there. One game he won High school player of the year in Virginia for football.

[Sterling Shepard]

I didn't know that.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, go Google that app when we're done. I got two more for you. Sterling. I love this chat, man.

[Verizon/Boost Mobile Announcer]

You.

[James Palmer]

You spent some time with Daniel Jones. Your offensive coordinator spent some time with Daniel Jones at Duke. He's in the nfc, he's in the afc. So we can kind of just kind of, you know, talk about. Are you. Are you both. Have you had a conversation about kind of what you're seeing from your old quarterback and maybe some excitement for the way he's turned his career around right now?

[Sterling Shepard]

Yeah, man, I've talked to him a bunch. Like, that's one of my best buddies. We go on golfing trips every offseason and stuff, so I've gotten to talk to him a bunch. But I'm just so happy to see him. Him be able to blossom the way that he has. And I was telling him after last season, I was like, man, you gonna have like a Sam Darnold type situation. And he's doing it. But I've been so happy to see it. And I've always said, like, you give Daniel time back there, he'll carve you up, man. He's got an arm on him. And just to see that coming to light for him has been great to see and just so happy for him.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, it's fun to watch that offense play, man. They're so balanced, they're so efficient. They got stuff everywhere. You guys do, too. Before. Before we go, how much fun are you having? Like, you thought maybe, you know, two years ago it was. It was possibly over. What is this, like, this. This early season journey in this Bucks team. For you personally, how much fun is this?

[Sterling Shepard]

Man, it's so much fun. And, like, I thank God every day for it. I've been extremely blessed. And especially, like you said, being in that position where it's like, ah, do I hang this thing up after. After leaving New York and then getting that call from Baker and just seeing how everything has done a complete 180 even just like the. Even like the beginning parts of being here and having to go to practice squad, which was. Which was different for me for sure. Where I am now, it's like, it's such a blessing, man, and I'm having a lot of fun. Like, it brought that joy back for me and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I wouldn't want to play with any other quarterback. That's my guy. So it's been a blessing. Like I said, that's awesome.

[James Palmer]

I can picture him rubbing it in. By the way, you catching that touchdown last week in the locker room. Hey, you're pretty happy you picked up the phone, huh?

[Sterling Shepard]

That man talks non stop.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, well, I'm glad you picked up the phone. I'm glad you took the call. I'm glad the Bucks signed you and it's been fun to watch all of you guys play, man. Good luck. Stay healthy. Huge one against the Niners, so enjoy it. It'll probably come down to the last possession like it has every single day.

[Sterling Shepard]

I hope not.

[James Palmer]

I hope we get for your well being, right? For your mental health. Yeah, of course. Oh, Sterling, appreciate it man. Thank you so much.

[Sterling Shepard]

Thank you.

[James Palmer]

I could talk to Sterling all day, but we had to stop it at some point because we have to get to our fantasy football expert, Jake Seeley. He's coming up next on Scoop City. On a Thursday. We're going to talk about that. And soda.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Soda.

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[Kevin Fishbane]

Never look so good.

[Sterling Shepard]

You look the same.

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But with this camera, everything looks better. Especially me.

[Sterling Shepard]

You haven't changed your hair in 15 years. Selfies. Check please.

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[James Palmer]

Stay tuned. Welcome back to Scoop City on a Thursday. James Palmer here with you. And I said Thursday, so that means Jake Seeley's with us Once again, we're chatting fantasy. We beefed with each other throughout the week because we argued about Kendrick Bourne. Should we gock at him? Should we get him? It was, I guess, semantics, Jake. It was something that just got lost in translation. Maybe I forgive you. You're back. How are you? How are things?

[Verizon Spokesperson]

I'm doing well. Wait, but you got Waller out of it. And did you get the win? That's. That's really all that matters. I did not.

[James Palmer]

I did not get the win. I did not get the win. But I'm still leading the league in points, which is weird. I have a losing record, yet I have more total points than anybody else in. In the entire league, which is bode.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

Well, you don't play double headers. That's you. You have to play double headers against the median score, everybody. And that's coming from somebody that's in an industry league that should have an extra loss. If that was the case, you got to play double headers against the media.

[James Palmer]

Well, thanks for making me feel even worse. Before we get to fantasy, you have a list every single week. This one. I got no input. I do not drink soda. I want to live. This is a wild list. And I just. This tells me a lot more about you than your previous list.

[Colton Pouncey]

How so?

[Verizon Spokesperson]

It doesn't tell. Wait, can it possibly tell you more about me than what's sitting behind me? If people watch these videos.

[James Palmer]

Well, yeah, but I can picture, like, in college, a lot of these Mountain Dews were slammed post midnight. Like, just hanging out, drinking the Dew. There's a lot of. Bro.

[Vic Tafur]

So.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

Well, we had this conversation briefly before I actually broke it down. Even in the comments over at the Athletic is like. The point being is that I don't want overpowered fruitiness. Like, you go straight, like Strawberry Fanta or whatever flavor that is. It's kind of overkill, which sounds crazy because people are like, have you tried Cheerwine? And I was like, it's gonna sound insane coming from me after you see my list, but it's too sweet. Like, I like the balance. Like, the Dew offsets it. So it's kind of Dew.

[James Palmer]

The Dew.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

The Dew offsets. I'm hopped up a Mountain Dew. I'm coming for you like a spider monkey, James.

[James Palmer]

That's right, man. That's right. Hopped up like. Like a spider monkey. It's almost like, I feel like this is an X game show, and you talk about soda like somebody talks about wine, which is pretty fascinating, I'm not gonna lie. Let's get into these And a kick flip mc.

[Colton Pouncey]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

Oh, yeah, bro. All right. I'm joined now by Rabid Kikai. No Jake Sealy. Still. Listen, Justin Herbert's been fascinating. Obviously, the quick start that this offense has had. I think if you have Quinton Johnston, you're, you're, you're, you're over the moon where you got him, lad. McConkey. Maybe some people are going, when's he going to be the focal points again? But it all centers around Justin Herbert and it really centers around him getting the protection he needs to make these plays. Are. Are we kind of falling off a cliff here with these injuries around Justin Herbert? Are we going to maybe get back on the right track this week?

[Verizon Spokesperson]

I think this week might be your week where you ride through it and then potentially sell if you're at active league where you can get a trade done. Because after this it gets a little bit more fearsome. It's not like, oh my God, they're facing the best defense in the league, like the Browns pass rush every single week. But it's definitely a lot stronger than the Dolphins. And the biggest thing is, I talked about it in the waiver column this week. No quarterbacks getting hit at a higher percentage on drop backs than Herbert over the last three games. You throw Joe Flacco on the season, he would, he would leap in front of him. Now that Flacco and the Bengals, he's probably going to stay in front of them. But the biggest thing is the sack percentage. I'm sure you saw the tweet. Somebody in the industry tweeted out two days ago that he's on pace to be the highest hit quarterback in the first five years of their career, surpassing anybody else in the history of the NFL. And it's just the fact that we kind of expected the offensive line to be pretty good, obviously the loss of alt and the injuries that they've had. But you look at the fact that they're not even getting production even with him on a regular basis, that being all, if he's out there. So, yes, the Dolphins present a really good opportunity. Yeah. You want Quentin Johnston. Yeah. You want the wide receivers and Justin Herbert in your lineup, trying to figure out that backfield's a whole nother issue. But like I said, if he's your quarterback, I would be potentially looking for other options after the Dolphins game.

[James Palmer]

Is there a sneaky one that you've seen out there available in a lot of leagues that, that maybe is making you scratch your head going, this one, this guy should be on some teams and maybe this could be your option if you just want to pick somebody up off the street.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

So off the street. I wouldn't say this is tough because like, you say that like Sam Darnold's been sneaky because nobody wants Sam Darnold. Nobody respects that Sam Darnold's to do what he did last year. And after week one, he's kind of been pretty close to his Vikings ways. And I'm not saying I would swap immediately Herbert for Darnold, because you're kind of in that same boat where you're going to get QB15 for the year. Like me, I'm shooting for upside. I know it's been a roller coaster and I know it makes people want to bang their heads against the wall, but Justin Fields is the answer. Like, if you took the 90% of that game last week and eliminated the 10%, it would have been one of the worst quarterback performances in the entire week. But this is the roller coaster of Justin Fields. Similarly, if you want to go deeper because he's probably on a lot of roster, but a similar player, I wouldn't want him this week, tonight. Well, depending on when people are watching this. But Jackson Dart is kind of getting into that conversation of Daniel Jones and Justin Fields.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, that Justin Fields roller coaster. I experienced it this past week. I'm like, I'm cruising this, man. My opponent's got nothing and then the game finishes and I'm like, oh, come on, man. Like, let's go. That is. That's Justin Fields for you. That's.

[Jason Lloyd]

That's.

[James Palmer]

That's where he's at. To the running backs spot. Jacori, Koski, Merritt. Bill, let's just. Just say it how it's supposed to be said. Is this something that is going to continue? This is the number one rushing offense in football right now and he's the leader of it.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

Yeah. And the bigger thing here is of course like where he's leading the league right now at 6.6 yards per carry. We know that's not sustainable, but you brought up it's because of this offense. They're actually giving him of any. So the. The only two running backs there in front of him and yards before contact act are part timers. Miles Sanders and Blake Corum were the two that were in front of him. He's the only lead running back that I put in quotes. I say lead because that's the big part here is he finally got the lead. He finally got the start. The scripted first two series. The commanders have been doing this entire season, you know, this is. They finally gave them to Crosby Merritt instead of Chris Rodriguez. So it's the offensive line is doing their job. It's always going to be tough, as you know, for any defense when you have a quarterback like Jaden Daniels back there and it's just opening up the situation where the reason I wanted to talk about Crosby Merit is because you were patient. Patient. This is what we were waiting for. There was a lot of talk by people that cover the team that said, hey, remember this is a guy that played one game since 2023. They love this player. They love Crosby Merritt, but they want him for the entire season. So it could be a slow process. I talked to some people that said it might be week eight or nine. Well, we're already here in week six and he's got the lead option here, so he's going to be an RB2 and fancy going forward. If you were patient, you've been rewarded. And the reason I wanted to bring him up too is to bring into two other names games. Trayvon Henderson, RG Harvey. Super frustrating and disappointing so far, but rookie running back sometimes if they're not the clear lead out of the gate, it's the second half of the season. So don't drop guys like that for some random. Like I want to drop them for Kamani Vidal. I would just hold on to the lottery ticket that it could potentially be in the second half of the year.

[Vic Tafur]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

And you see Gibson go down with the ACL up there in New England and you know the way Sean Payton loves to run things with both backs, you just don't know when those explosive runs are going to come from. From RJ Harvey. I also think with. With Merit, honestly, Jake, it's kind of like, hey, quietly guys, they're also telling you we're not going to have Jaden Daniels be our leading rusher. Like we need to protect this guy. He went down. Let's try to run the football a little bit more.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

Smart move.

[James Palmer]

Maybe a little bit more. Traditionally. Yeah, that knee brace just didn't look right on my man out there. But how about we just touched on. On. On RJ Harvey. Let's stick with the Denver Broncos who are across the pond right now. Troy Franklin, it appears going into the season, Sean Payton was going. Who's going to be the compliment to Cortland Sutton? Is it going to be Marvin Mims? It was originally. Is it going to be Devon Vale part of that. They end up trading him away. Who was their second leading receiver a season ago? And it looks like it's become kind of Troy Franklin's job to be that other number two. Where do you see Troy right now?

[Verizon Spokesperson]

In.

[James Palmer]

In where, where. Where he's at in leagues and maybe what, what you're going to see moving forward.

[Jason Lloyd]

Forward, Yeah.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

I think that he's somebody to kind of go to your quarterback question that is available in quite a few leagues if you're looking for wide receiver help or maybe go buy low from somebody that's been frustrated because you just brought it up. It's Sean Payton. He does this with his running backs, he does this with his wide receivers. He used Pat Bryant last week, the rookie. And it's just because this is what Sean Payton does. I almost feel like he purposely trolls us in fantasy. Maybe he really hates fantasy football.

[James Palmer]

But I wouldn't be surprised honestly, knowing Sean.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

You know, he loves candy, by the way. He's a candy guy like me. That's actually how we ended up following each other on. On Twitter. So you go, so anyway, he's probably got me muted now at this point, but anyway, Franklin, it was the question. I know the Marvin Mims as the number two was what like we thought through the preseason by the usage. And then as you mentioned, the season starts and Marvin Mims is back to being out there 40, 50% of the time and Troy Franklin is the clear number two. But as seen in this offense and Bo Nix's play this year hasn't helped things much. But Troy Franklin has been the number two the entire year. As in routes and opportunities. He has that one big week so far.

[Jason Lloyd]

Far.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

But what we got coming up is why you should get on Franklin now is that he gets the jets, which we just saw that Sauce Gardner is obviously going to be on Cortland Sutton, which I saw your video earlier this week and I couldn't agree more that Cortland Sutton deserves more respect. But sauce is going to be on him for most of the game. And then the number two, as we see against the jets, boom. That's where you make your hay. That's why Flora was a thing last week. So Troy Franklin getting deep and then especially after that, oh, what are the next two games? The Giants and the Cowboys. Troy Franklin's got one of the best three game schedules, including Cortland Sutton that you could find at the wide receiver position.

[James Palmer]

Thank you for the love, bro. Appreciate it. I did put a video out there that Cortland Sutton has been overlooked for the last several years and right now he is a bonafide number one. The Way he's playing and in fantasy, man, he just gets a touchdown every game. It seems like it's just dating back to last year. I think it's. I think the only player with more touchdowns dating back to last year to now in like, not total touchdowns, but games with touchdowns, I think is Amon Ross. St. Brown, I think that might be the end.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

I was going to say, I think it's Saint Brown. Brown. Yeah. And the thing is, you know, you know this as much as NFL you've watched, like, sometimes these things. Like, it goes to the St. Brown and Jared Goff, it goes back to Tyler Lockett and Russell Wilson. Sometimes these quarterbacks and wide receivers, they know where to be for each other and where to look, especially as in this case, the red in the end. In the end zone.

[James Palmer]

Certainly true. Certainly true. Jake, Appreciate the time, brother. Go. If you were ending the segment right now, which, like, when you get off this camera. Camera, which Mountain Dew are you going to go grab, or is it too early for it?

[Verizon Spokesperson]

I already got.

[Colton Pouncey]

I've already got.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

No, I like. I already got one. Again, it's a. It's a mixed drink in here. So, like, it's actually half power.

[James Palmer]

You have a fountain machine at your house? Do you have a fountain machine at your house? You can fill that up with.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

If I could to get the Mr. Pib in it. Like, I, I actually. We went to the movies and saw the Smashing Machine last night. Nicole and I did. Great movie, by the way. One of the, like, the best acting job I've ever seen by Rock. It's a tough one.

[James Palmer]

Tell everybody. Failing brilliantly at the bottom box office. Yeah. Tell everybody.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

I think that just nobody understands what they're gonna go see. It's a tough story.

[James Palmer]

It's.

[Verizon Spokesperson]

It's a heavy dramatic watch. I'll give Everybody that. But pip0, they had it in the machine and we got it at the. I spent the $7 on a stupid soda at the movies just because they had it.

[Kevin Fishbane]

Whoa.

[James Palmer]

I'll tell you why. Nobody's seeing it. He's a movie star and you see the Rock's face and that's why you go to the movie. Well, he doesn't look like the Rock in the movie. That's the problem. No, he's not a character actor. He did a great superstar. I'll see it. I'm not gonna lie. I'll see it. All right, we're wrapping things up here on Scoop City. Appreciate your time, Jake. Appreciate the time. Let me see it go down the list here. We got Vic Taffer. We have Colton Pouncy. We had Kevin Fishbane. We had Jason Lloyd. We had Sterling shepherd from the Bucks. Also join us. And Jake, as always, closing things out on a Thursday. Everybody, enjoy your weekend of football.

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Thanks for watching Scoop City. Don't forget to like subscribe and feel free to leave a comment. New episodes of Scoop City drop Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

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Here to let you know that this podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

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