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Scoop City: Inside The NFL
Brian Baldinger on why DK Metcalf vs Sauce Gardner is a marquee Week 1 matchup
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- [00:01]
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- [01:14]
James Palmer
When you're a forward thinker, you don't just bring your A game, you bring your AI game. Workday is the AI platform that transforms the way you manage your people, money and agents so you can transform tomorrow Workday, moving business forever forward. You know how many times users searched football on eBay.com last season? Try 12,000 per hour. That's because ebay has been the home of collectibles since 1995, with unrivaled selections of trading cards and memorabilia. Premium Singles Unreal Live Card Breaks Truly unique game Used gear. All the epic finds you need are right here on ebay. Collect with confidence by downloading the ebay app on the App Store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's eBay.com TheAthletiC get busy building your collection today. My Nintendo still works from 1988 and it only works if the game is put into Game Genie and then the Game genie goes into my system, and then I play through that. I don't use the. I mean, I don't really use it. Remember, you used to, like, have the arrow and it goes. And you'd smash when you, like, put in the wrong code on game Genie. But, like, yeah, it works with it. You just skip the game genie part. And actually it's the only way that holds the. The cartridge in play. All right. On a Thursday. Welcome into Scoop City, presented by ebay. I'm James Palmer. Make sure you like and subscribe. I have to say that that's what you do on the Internet here. I am very excited to have my friend Brian Baldinger. The greater, the great think breakdown of NFL film out there. Baldy. We've worked together for a long, long time. We haven't had a chance to do this. Man, I'm excited. Are you as jacked as I am? We were just talking ball forever here before we got started.
- [03:10]
Brian Baldinger
Yeah, I was wondering why the cameras were rolling when we were just talking, James. It's kind of like what we do. We get right into it. And so we could really go anywhere around the league. I know you've been to your share of stops, but, yeah, I'm excited because honestly, as much as we get fired up, James, to the start of the season and training camp and, you know, who's the new people, and the off season is behind us. I mean, we still have to get through these games. And so now, you know, we get to. And everybody's speculating on, you know, do. Should you play? Shouldn't you play, how much? Now we get to, you know, keep score. So, you know, and, you know, I think there's a good stat going on around there, James, that For the last 25 straight years or 35 straight years, at least four new teams have made the playoffs every year. So whatever that stat is, James, you probably know it better than I do.
- [04:00]
James Palmer
No, you're right, actually.
- [04:02]
Brian Baldinger
Yeah. So the thing is, is that it gives.
- [04:05]
James Palmer
When.
- [04:05]
Brian Baldinger
When somebody in Carolina or somebody with the New York Giants or, you know, whatever sees a stat like that, they're like. It gives them optimism. And so, you know, nobody could have predicted what the commanders became last year, and they did. And so all the way to the NFC championship game. So, you know, who could be that? We always ask that question, you know, in June and July. Who could be that team? I don't. I don't really know, but, you know, but it. But it's fun. It's fun to see who's going to Emerge.
- [04:32]
James Palmer
Yeah, that's the fun part of playing these games. Throughout today's show, we're going to talk a little fantasy a little bit later on with Jake Seeley. We're going to talk about some sleepers, some people to avoid in week one. Well, I'm going to give you the recipe for Jalen hurts to win the MVP. And we're going to talk a lot of Week 1 games. And what we're thinking is going to happen this season with Brian Baldinger, that is what we are hearing around the league now, Baldy, I want to mention what happened this morning on Thursday. It was Nick Benito getting a new contract in Denver. Well deserved for what he did last year in the way that he played. But when I look at that defensive front that Denver returns, and I think one of the biggest reasons we're talking about Denver so much is everybody returns pretty much in the trenches on both sides of the ball. But who would you double on that defensive line when you have Nick Benito, you have Zach Allen, you have Jonathan Franklin Myers, you have Jonathan Cooper on the other side, who I think is one of the more underrated players in football up front, or you have, you know, Roach comes in or you have D.J. jones. It's, it's just the middle has gotten so much more physical that I think it's helped guys like Benito on the outside and Zach Allen and Jonathan Cooper. What, what would you, how would you, how do you approach that group?
- [05:38]
Brian Baldinger
Well, here's the thing, is that Vance Joseph probably has as much as many five man rushes as any defensive football. And so they're a big five man rush team where if you're a four man rush team, you can, you can go double Zach Allen or you can chip on Nick Bonito and you could do those kinds of things. But when you're a five man rush team, you're basically hitting five on ones. So you know, if anybody wins and the quarterback gets flushed or has to hold the ball, I mean everybody else is now chasing. So. And then if you add the speed of Greenlaw and Hanga to the defense, like it becomes even, you know, more peril for the quarterback. So I think part of it is a scheme. And then look, if you're going to rush five, you're going to play some level of man coverage behind that. And so when you have the defensive player of the year and you bring in Jade Baron, like they can hold up better than other teams can. That's why they're, they feel like they could get after you with five and it's benefited all those guys. Zach Allen, I, he probably led the league in quarterback hits last year at the top of the leaderboard. So those guys are all eating right now. John Franklin Myers, I mean, I knew him when he came with the Rams and he went to the jets and, and I did a lot of stuff with him with the jets. And he's just a, he's just a great football player. You know, he's got a great first step and he's a kid that really came up, you know, kind of the hard way and, you know, and he's really earned his keep and now he's, he's a real threat up front.
- [07:02]
James Palmer
Yeah, he really one of the sneakier signings that happened a year ago. I think when he came into Denver. It was, it was outstanding. Change the middle of that defense. And I talked to VJ recently, Baldy, who told me I have now Telenoa Hufanga with me. And I saw and watched every clip and every, every snap he had in San Francisco. Now that I have him, I feel like there's some things that they didn't use him in that I can use him in. Like, I think he can do some more things. Versatility, wise of the athlete he's in. See? So let's see how that kind of evolves for him too. That's, it's an interesting spat. We always talk about, you know, breaking down matchups. You and I like what we want to see on a given week. And I, I, I find this one fascinating to start, start in week one. When you look at that front that the Giants have and you look at what the commanders have done to try to protect Jaden Daniels, who was sacked, what, 46 times a season ago, you don't want that to happen. This 45 times. You don't want that to happen to your quarterback in year two. Do you think they did enough? What are you looking for between these two now that you have, you know, Tunsil, you have a new right tackle that's young. Do you think they've done enough in Washington? Is this probably the test you want to see out of the gate?
- [08:08]
Brian Baldinger
They've done a lot. Bobby Johnson is a great coach. He's the offensive line coach. He was in Buffalo. He was with the New York Giants. He's in. I feel like Dan Quinn feels lucky that he got him, that the Giants, you know, push him out the door. But Bobby Johnson, a great coach. And, you know, it was interesting. I was out there in Ashburn, Virginia this summer, and one of the things I saw was he took a lot of players and just started cross training him. I saw Andrew Wiley at left tackle, you know and you know they got a young kid in Chris Paul who they love. They're trying to find a place for him on the field. But Allegretti's been really good and Beatish has been excellent and better than I think they thought he was going to be coming out of Dallas. They've got real versatility there right now. But look, Laramie, the only knock on Tunsil, it's just the penalties, especially the pre snap penalties, it's just too many. But he is a, he is a.
- [09:00]
James Palmer
Like when he came out, you love his hands Balder.
- [09:02]
Brian Baldinger
Well, I mean just the feet and hands. James, like his sets are so you could like literally blindfold yourself and you could take any set from any year. It's, it's identical like his get off and how, how in the world look for consistency with these guys? Like he just has all of that. And if you're looking for a blindside protector to, to Jaden Daniels, I mean there's a couple guys out there, but Laramie is as good as anyone. And so I think it's a big upgrade right now. And he's, he's a physical tough guy and so I think him and Allegretti will be a good left side over there right now.
- [09:38]
James Palmer
Yeah, I'm interested to see, see how they work in front of him in front of Jaden Daniels. And then with this being week one, like is this the best defensive line in football? I can't think of a better situation for a player like Abdul Carter to walk into. Right where you have so much other talent there. You don't need to be the guy. You can have some favorable matchups. I look at the group and you just go down the list and you're like, good grief.
- [10:03]
Brian Baldinger
Yeah. Well, I mean if you just mention the names Abdul Carter, obviously, you know, to go with Brian Burns, Spider man to go with Kayvon Thibodeau and then sexy Dexi Lawrence in the middle. I mean that, that group is as good as there is now what I watched a bunch in watching their scrimmages and some practices this summer is how they use Abdul. They'll go to a four man front and then basically put him anywhere, put him at linebacker, line him up over the guard, wherever they think he can win to fit in. And so he beat just about every single position I saw across.
- [10:38]
James Palmer
Standing up a lot, baldy?
- [10:39]
Brian Baldinger
Yeah, standing up a lot. Yep. No, they got him they got him off the ball inside, much like, you know, Michael Parsons did for a couple of years of Dallas there. They kind of move them around and look at matchups, whether it's, you know, whoever they think the weak link is, they're going to put him over there and let him go one on one, isolate them. So there's going to be some isolation rushes for him. But I think, you know, the, the really, when you watch Brian Burns this summer, he played much of the year last year, the bad shoulder and played through it. He looks as good as I've ever seen him. And he's an electrifying player. Like, I, I think he's going to have his best season and, and then, you know how they play together. Obviously Denver led the league in sacks last year. You know, I think the Giants have a chance to, to get into that, you know, that territory of, you know, 50 plus, maybe even 60 with the group. They all stay healthy this year.
- [11:30]
James Palmer
Yeah, seriously. And the other thing I would look for in this game, Baldy, and the rest of the season is I want to know how Washington runs the ball. I don't think you can have Jaden Daniels lead your team in rushing again. You know, we'll see what happens out of that revamped kind of, kind of backfield you mentioned if you count to.
- [11:43]
Brian Baldinger
Three postseason games last year. So they played 20 games. He ran the ball 183 times. Now, some of them were design runs, some of them were scrambles, whatever, but still 100. And we've all know Jaden Daniels.
- [11:56]
James Palmer
Yes.
- [11:57]
Brian Baldinger
Like, we all love him, but there's not many quarterbacks. Josh Allen, I mean, go down the list of them that can survive 183 hits. And he's not built like Josh or Lamar or some of these other guys. So, like, I think there's got to be a little bit of a curtailment from that department.
- [12:14]
James Palmer
Yeah, I think I agree with you. You mentioned moving Abdul Carter around the same way that Micah does. It reminded me, baldy, back when Romeo Cornell used to have Jadevian Clowney down in Houston, line up over the center. Remember those days?
- [12:24]
Brian Baldinger
Oh, yeah.
- [12:25]
James Palmer
And so Micah Parsons and winding up in Green Bay, and you look at the defense he's joining, which is not a bad defense by any stretch. What do you think the plan is for him? Because he's such a unique player. You make that trade, you spend that money, you give up that capital. You have to have a plan what is. And he's unique. So what do you think is.
- [12:46]
Brian Baldinger
Well, I Mean, Jeff Heffley, Jeff Heffley came in last year and he came from Boston College, but he had coach, he was a head coach there and, but he had coached defensive backs in the league and a couple of different spots he came in. His plan was so simple. James, he was like, look, we're going to be a four man rush team. We're going to press the receivers and challenge the quarterback and we're going to rob the middle of the field. We need a free safety. They got Xavier McKinney at eight interceptions. They have speed at linebacker with Quay Walker and Edron Cooper really came on halfway through the season last year. They got speed there. But I, I, I think he's going to rush mostly opposite Rashawn Gary. They've got guys in the middle now that are young and, and could push the pocket. But I, I think they'll also like if, you know, Micah Parsons just lines up at, you know, over the right tackle and Rashawn Garrett was the other side or vice versa. Like, I think that's pretty easy to game plan how to chip. Like, it's like Max Crosby, like you have to, you have to move some of these guys around. And so I think there'll be some movement with Mike. I'm interested to see because there was no running back in the league that when he got isolated on him that he wouldn't beat just because of his balance and his bend and his quickness. And so I would think that they will have a package where he will line up, you know, in the A gaps coming from the inside linebacker position. I think there'll be some certain down and distances where they'll move him around.
- [14:10]
James Palmer
Yeah, and you could see that baldy in this week one game, honestly going against Detroit and you look at how different that interior is than it was a year ago in Detroit, you could see him maybe lining up there and let's, let's jump to the lines real quick. Just which side of the ball do you think is most impacted that we may see the biggest difference? They've been preparing for the loss of Ben Johnson for some time, but losing him and Aaron Glenn. Which side of the ball should I be watching more so about where there might be the most change?
- [14:39]
Brian Baldinger
Well, you know, the last game they played, you know, it was a playoff loss to Washington and they scored 45 points. And so you lose Aaron Glenn, you lose a bunch of assisting coaches with them. And then, you know, I, yes, they had, you know, quite a few starters out that day. True.
- [14:56]
James Palmer
Yes.
- [14:56]
Brian Baldinger
But you know, you do Get Hutch back. But I do think that that's the biggest concern right now is defensively, how good are they and do they have a password? I know Ty Lee Williams was the first round pick at defense tackle. I want to see what the pass rush looks like. I want to see what their pressure packages look like and can they stop teams. Because offensively, when you have Jameson Williams and you have Jameer Gibbs, like, you can literally score from anywhere on the field. And then if you add a Monroe St. Brown, if you add Sam Laporta, if you have this, you know, look at this rookie, Isaac Tislaw, he looks phenomenal. They look like they can go up and down the field on you and score from anywhere. So my biggest concern right now really is on the defensive side.
- [15:38]
James Palmer
Makes sense. It makes sense. We talk matchups. We love matchups. I love when it's, you know, a big body receiver versus a big physical corner. And we're going to get that. When you got Sauce Gardner going against DK Metcalf, I've heard some rumblings early on. Boy, it might take a minute to get going in Pittsburgh with what they want to do offensively. What do you like about this matchup other than our eyes should just be glued to it on Sunday?
- [16:04]
Brian Baldinger
Well, I mean, last year these two teams, the Seattle and dk, you know, came to New York to play and Sauce did line up on him quite a few times. Now, it wasn't always, you know, DK had four catches, 64 yards. He was kept out of the end zone on two occasions by Sauce. He had a big catch against D.J. reed on the other side. Sauce did go to the other side with him a couple of times, so he did travel a little bit. But I feel like Aaron Glenn is going to say, look, Sauce, this is your game. He had an off season last year. He had one interception, nine passes, defense, he had a bunch of penalties. He did not have a good year. He needs to rebound. They just rewarded him with a big contract. I feel like this is how you sort of get a player to bounce back and get his confidence back, go up against an elite player, throw a blanket over him as much as you can. And I don't know that anybody could just shut DK down, but we believe that he's going to be the number one option down the field from, you know, from Aaron Rodgers now maybe Calvin Austin or Roman Wilson or some of these other guys and some of these tight ends become that guy, you know, Janu Smith or, you know, Frank Luther, Ronell Washington, whatever. But I believe that tk, you know, third downs, red zone, you need to play. They're going to stretch it with dk and I would think that in those situations they have worked out a plan where Sauce is going to travel. So I think it could be, you know, that ultimate game within a game in this matchup.
- [17:35]
James Palmer
I love that not as many guys travel as they're used to Baldy. And I love when they do certain still does it, but not a whole ton of them go out there and travel. And for all of this to work before we move on to our final game, for this to work in Pittsburgh, I my opinion is it falls on this offensive line. Can Aaron Rodgers stay healthy? Can he stay protected? And the one that I have my eye on the most, and this is where I love talking to you about this. Broderick Jones at the left tackle spot, sliding over there. I feel like that's the one that needs to hold that group together. Out of all of them, I like a lot of them, honestly on that line. What's your take on Broderick Jones protecting the blind side of Aaron Rodgers?
- [18:10]
Brian Baldinger
Well, I mean, he's been primarily the right tackle his first two years and he wasn't very good. And now he's over to left side replace Dan Moore. And that was the plan when they drafted Troy Fatano was going to move Broderick to left tackle. And so you know, he's, he's got a. He's got to improve. He's got. He, you know, he's now is his third year. You can't use his youth or lack of starts at Georgia or whatever like this is his role now. They've, they've let Dan Moore go for your free agency who struggled as well at that position. They need him to be great. I mean, Aaron Rodgers is not going to be able to move around like the way he once was to avoid pressure. He's got a. He's got to know that if he starts moving too soon because he feels like his blind side isn't protected or if they start getting penalties out there, he's going to see Will McDonald, you know, on Sunday, he's going to see Jermaine Johnson. He's going to see two really good pass rushers on the outside. And is he up to task to be able to stop it? Because he's, he has struggled at times. You struggle with penalties and with technique and with strength like in a lot of areas. And that's not what he is supposed to be. He's supposed to be a lockdown athletic, top flight guy. And so your preseason analysis is spot on here, James. Like I'm watching that position in this game quite the same.
- [19:34]
James Palmer
Yeah. Yeah. Well, that makes me feel good about that. You gave me a compliment there. Listen, before we get to this final, we get to this final game and then I'll let you go. We all, we've heard, I mean, we have two major storylines. I think this entire off season it's been Micah Parsons, what's going to happen. And it's going to be what's happening between Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams.
- [19:50]
Jake Seeley
Right.
- [19:50]
James Palmer
That really has dominated the headlines. And you go and you open up against Brian Flores. You know, I mean, talk about a way to open things up. What could we see from Caleb Williams that makes you go the light bulb maybe has gone on, right? Or Ben has found something or there is a connection here in how this offense could work because he has weapons. I think the new interior part of the offensive line is, is vital. What do, what do you think we could see from Caleb that would make you go bends onto something? The struggles we saw during camp, you know, maybe, maybe that got us somewhere.
- [20:26]
Brian Baldinger
Well, in the two preseason games he played, it's a, it's a small sample. James, very much so. He, he, he was very disciplined and really stayed in the pocket. And then look, it's a disciplined and well designed offense, but the quarterback has to make it work and there's things that have to be done on time. And I thought he worked really hard at doing that. And so he's. I think Caleb's just one of these guys and I've known him since high school. James, really, I just think he's one of these guys that need the type of coaching from Ben Johnson. Like this whole thing with Tyson Beijing getting a contract extension, to me it was, all he did was rave about Tyson Bajan. Like, he didn't, I didn't hear him raving about Caleb. Like, I felt like he's lighting a fire every way that he can. Like this has to work. But if you want to make it work, just watch what the other guy's doing. Watch with the young kid that we just gave a new contract to. He's doing it the right way. And while taste. Tyson doesn't have the talent that Caleb has. Like, he's doing it the way Ben wants it done, the way Jared Goff did it. And so it's, it's extremely disciplined. I think he's working really hard at it. I don't know that he's ever been coached this hard before. And so I look. But. But Brian Flores is. Basically has a defense right now that everybody wants a piece of. And it's not just third down and third long. This defense gives you looks and fronts on every down and distance in the first quarter. That challenges your protection and challenges your scheme. The thing that's interesting about the defense, James, last year was as much as they give you all those different looks and. And have all those players at different positions, and as multiple as it is, they were number two in the league against the run. So it wasn't like it was just. They sold out to get to the quarterback. The fundamentals of. Okay, the first, you know, part of business here is we got to stop the run and get him to throw the ball. They did that, and then they upgraded. You know, they. You know, they. They let Williams go to New York, and they feel like Javon Hargrave and, you know, and Jonathan Allen were the upgrades that they were looking for inside right now.
- [22:33]
James Palmer
It's going to be fun. It's going to be. It's the ultimate test, I think, for what we've seen. And it is just week one, but it's still, I think, going to be kind of telling for this. Before I let you go. You travel the world, baldy. You go everywhere. I love to travel, and I feel like there hasn't been a place that I've told you I've gone that you haven't been. Okay, so I'm going to give you where my travels took me this summer, and then I guarantee you're going to say, james, I went there in blank. And I did this and this and this. Okay, so this summer we did Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan. Baldi, when did you go to Japan?
- [23:03]
Brian Baldinger
I was there in July this year.
- [23:07]
James Palmer
I knew it.
- [23:09]
Brian Baldinger
I saw Fuji. Fuji was, like, shining bright. I like everybody that visits, like, the 37 million people that live there and everybody that visits Japan. I didn't see a piece of paper on the ground.
- [23:21]
James Palmer
Nope.
- [23:21]
Brian Baldinger
Zero in six days. You know, when I had a rapper from a 711 and there was a 711 every corner in Tokyo. And there when I had a raffle, I put it in my pocket until I found a place to deposit it. I was going to be that one ugly American that dropped a piece of paper on the ground because I couldn't find a wastebasket. And then we left Tokyo. We went to Seoul, Korea. And Seoul, Korea, it makes New York City look like a little village. The city just goes on forever and ever and ever. And like Japan, the Service and the food and the people are phenomenal. Just phenomenal. I mean, you can't, you can't. You can't rave enough about any of those qualities in either one of those cities.
- [24:06]
James Palmer
No, you can't. It's unbelievable. I went to the top of that sky tree or whatever is in the middle of Tokyo. I feel like I couldn't see anything other than buildings as far as I could see in every direction.
- [24:16]
Brian Baldinger
If you drive down any street you like, at least if you drive down fifth avenue and you look to the left or to the right, you could see a river at the end. You can't see anything. When you, all you do is see endless city streets. It never ends.
- [24:29]
James Palmer
It's unbelievable. And I feel like what you see is you see like a basketball court or a soccer court or a soccer field on top of a building. That's essentially where they are in Tokyo.
- [24:41]
Brian Baldinger
No, they build up. They build up. They've run out of space. Phenomenal. Good for you, jb. That was a good trip. Honestly, I can't wait to go back to Korea. I loved it.
- [24:49]
James Palmer
I'm going to put it on the list. I'm putting on the list. Baldi, you're the greatest, most interesting man in the world. I appreciate the time. Coming up, we're going to have Jake Seeley talking to us about a couple of fantasy sleepers. Maybe some people you should avoid. Next on scoop city, presented by ebay. You saw that play when your quarterback dropped back, looked off the safety and threw a dime deep for the go ahead touchdown. Well, that's not just hall worthy, that's wall worthy. And you can own a piece of it when you shop. The unrivaled selection of trading cards and memorabilia on ebay, the home of collectibles since 1995. Huddle up. With 132 million users around the world to find that rookie autograph you can't find anywhere else. Premium trading cards, singles and sealed boxes. Unreal. Live card breaks. Truly unique game use memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on eBay. Plus, with the eBay authenticity guarantee for trading cards, you know what you buy is the real deal. Collect with confidence by downloading the ebay app on the app store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's right, your collection journey kicks off right here, right now@ebay.com theathletic come through and collect with us today. New products to launch, new people to develop, new goals to crush. Workday Go is designed for small and mid sized businesses. By bringing HR and finance together on one AI platform, you'll have everything you need to think big, go big and grow big. And activation is fast. It takes just 30 to 60 business days to get you up and running. Simplify your SMB on an AI platform, you'll never outgrow Workday. Go.
- [26:38]
Brian Baldinger
Ready to order?
- [26:39]
James Palmer
Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver Card. So let's just get one of everything.
- [26:46]
Brian Baldinger
Everything. Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27 and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back.
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James Palmer
Yes, chef. This is so nice.
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Brian Baldinger
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- [27:06]
James Palmer
Terms apply.
- [27:07]
Jake Seeley
See capital1.com for details.
- [27:11]
James Palmer
Welcome back to Scoop City, presented by ebay. I'm James Palmer. It is a Thursday. It is the second block. So we have Jake Seeley with us, senior fantasy writer from the Athletic. First off, before we get to some. Some. Some fantasy discussion, in your ranking article, we have your 25 favorite or best movies of 2025. Which one is it?
- [27:37]
Jake Seeley
According to my opinion.
- [27:39]
James Palmer
So they're probably your favorites, too. I've seen the list. I've seen well over half of these. Would you like my opinion on a couple before we get into some fantasy?
- [27:49]
Jake Seeley
Yeah. I want to know what you have a problem with. That's usually what most people want to bring up, is where I went wrong.
- [27:55]
James Palmer
Why is. It's not wrong. It's art. I live in an art household. My son painted this. There is nothing wrong with art. It's all opinionated. Why do you have Superman number one?
- [28:07]
Jake Seeley
So it was amazing and fun and everything we've wanted. I actually kind of feel like it gets boosted by how bad Superman has been. Like, if we had never seen it and this was the first Superman since the classics, maybe a little bit lower. But because we were so disappointed for years, it'd be like if Trevor Lawrence was finally the generational talent that we thought he was this year. He'd be like, yeah, see, it's kind of like we finally got what we wanted. Just an enjoyable superhero Superman movie that you smiled from beginning to end.
- [28:37]
James Palmer
I get that. And I could see Trevor Lawrence flying, by the way, with that hair going backwards. And in a Superman thing, he'd be great. I just, I wanted Superman to do more Superman things. Oftentimes Superman was Getting helped out by everybody around him. My favorite thing about Superman is when Superman does things that no obviously other being can do. And so there's a part of that. I do think you are right about the fun factor. And I equate this with thunderbolts as well. They brought back the Marvel. It felt like Iron Man 1. It felt like other Marvels I've seen where it's just Ragnarok, where it's just fun. Like, it's just thunderbolts was fun. Like, I loved that Pick Sinners. I think it's four on your list. I want to say. Yes, that might be one on my list. Man, how creative do you love when films are made? And it's just something you've never seen before because there's so many remakes. I think we're having like the 18th installment of Parent Trap this year. Like, don't you just love when something's so different? And that was Sinners. It was unbelievable.
- [29:35]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, well, actually, I saw that's why I have weapons at 3 and sinners at 4. I liked weapons just a smidge more. Like, if you want to say sinners, I'm not going to like. This is a coin flip situation. The only reason they're not one and two is because I just dock them a little bit. It's like now it would take me another 10 years before I watch them again because I know everything that happens. It's hard to rewatch thrillers when you know the outcome. But I will say the originality for that. And then I mentioned this in the rankings, the weapons. I could see why he fired his management staff when they didn't. That being Jordan Peele. He fired his staff because he wanted that movie so bad.
- [30:05]
James Palmer
I love it. I love Jordan Peele. I gotta hit real quick. The Gorge was a very fun watch. Did not know what I was getting into. I love when I just put something on and have no idea where it's going. That was a. That was a good time. Miles Teller, big Phillies fan. Go, go, go, Philadelphia. I loved Lilo and Stitch. I actually, really, really did. My son did not like it. He's a massive fan of the animated version and I'm upset that he didn't like it. But I mentioning him, Jake, he walked out of the first five minutes of Happy Gilmore 2. He said, this movie's terrible and he's 12. Well, he's 12.
- [30:37]
Jake Seeley
I feel like the movie was made for him.
- [30:39]
James Palmer
I thought it was made for him. That's the thing. That's the thing. He loves the first one. Oh, I. I was let down. I'm not gonna lie. I was let down by Happy Gilmore 2.
- [30:48]
Jake Seeley
First half of Happy Gilmore was like a 7. The second half of Happy Gilmore was like a 3.
- [30:53]
Brian Baldinger
And.
- [30:53]
James Palmer
But.
- [30:54]
Jake Seeley
But I will say if that was a real golf thing, whatever you want to call it, I would actually watch that on a Saturday afternoon just like throw it on for 10 minutes.
- [31:01]
James Palmer
Why? Why would you not? I have a movie that was on my list that's not on yours and that was companion. Make sure you watch Heard.
- [31:09]
Jake Seeley
I need to watch that canyon.
- [31:11]
James Palmer
Okay. That's the one I'm throwing on there. But I Love the list. F1. Salt in the theater. Ass was rumbling in the seat. It was. It was unbelievable. And the lengths they went to to make that movie was. Was really, really awesome. And I. And I'm a massive days of thunderstorm. Okay, let's get into fantasy. Yes. Sleeper upsides. I just had my draft. I'm hoping somebody I picked is on this list. Can I get some sleeper upsides for week one?
- [31:35]
Jake Seeley
I'll start with the running back for one and I will say Tyrone Tracy for the Giants. And that's somebody that wasn't a huge fan of Tracy for this year because I thought that Scatter Boo was a real threat to his job both in the passing game and just overall. But Scatter Boo missing the majority of the preseason coming out of the gate, this sounds like it's going to be mostly Tracy in a game that we expect the Giants to do their best to contain the commanders. But I don't know how good of a job they're going to do. And you like the passing game upside of Tracy again, That's why I thought Scottaboo was a threat, that he's a good pass catcher. But out of the gate, I think Tracy's a potential starter for you week one if you're looking for a running back.
- [32:09]
James Palmer
Okay, anybody else on this list?
- [32:11]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, I got some wide receivers. I'm going to bring up one that we talked about last week, but I'll save him for a second. Matthew Golden. Really big on Matthew Golden. I actually thought that peak, if he hits his peak, he's Jeremy Macklin. But I thought that even like 90% Jeremy Macklin would be really exciting for the fact that, hey, we finally have a number one for the packers. Not is it this guy? Is it this guy? They're only out there 65% of the time. Jaden Reed has the foot issue. Romeo Dobbs, big play, drops a little too much. I think that if you're looking for the number one, it's going to be the rookie Matthew golden. And then the one that I brought up last week, I'm going right back to them.
- [32:45]
James Palmer
Go back to the one they were.
- [32:47]
Jake Seeley
Going Browns, Joe Flacco and Cedric Tillman. If you need a quarterback, hey, he has to do it all with his arm. But that's the same conversation we have with Jared Goff. And if you're looking for a wide receiver again, I'm not saying you have to start them, but if you're shooting for ceiling, the Bengals are going to make the Browns pass. And I think a lot of people think of Browns from two years ago when they were run heavy. They weren't last year, and I don't expect a lot of run heaviness in this matchup. But also with Joe Flacco a quarterback, I think Cedric Tillman has the upside to potentially get into the end zone and have a top 30 of the week this week.
- [33:15]
James Palmer
I agree with that. I might have to dress for the Browns in the backfield. They're going to have to throw the ball. They're going to have to throw the ball to keep up with Joe Burrow and company. I really like the Matthew golden look because honestly, I look at what they're playing the Lions, right, what the Lions bring to the table offensively. And if you talk to people around the league, they'll tell you, I don't think Jared Goff takes a step back without Ben Johnson. So if that's the case, you're going to have to keep up a little bit. Even though they got a good defense, how about some risky guys, some concerns, some risks? Week one that I might want to avoid or anybody else listening or maybe just myself.
- [33:50]
Jake Seeley
I'll give you a running back and a wide receiver here, rookie Caleb Johnson for the Steelers. This one was a little weird to me because knowing Mike Tomlin in the past and knowing the fact that Caleb Johnson was brought in likely to be the Naja Harris replacement, it's interesting also, and maybe this is a little bit of my own opinion that I was a little bit lower than most people on Caleb Johnson. But everything reported wise and everything we've seen in the preseason has been the Steelers aren't ready to just give him the Najee Harris role and Jalen Warren contract or not. We've been saying for the past two or three seasons, objectively at times and subjectively, whichever way, if it's your opinion or the metrics or the stats or whatever it is he's looked better half the time than Najee Harris has and they finally are going to trust him. I don't know. That's going to be 75% of the workload, but at least leaves the question of who's next up and if Kenneth Gainwell is going to be involved, then you're going to have a mismatch behind him. I'm not ready to trust Caleb Johnson in week one, and it might be a few weeks before we can in fantasy. And then at wide receiver. I brought up Joshua Palmer before is that I think there's a chance that he's the number two for the Bills. We've seen him be productive. I like Keon Coleman. I do think he's a good chance to produce more in a second year. But also now he's a little bit banged up in practice and I would rather wait a couple weeks, at least week one before finding out, hey, Keon Coleman might not even be the two for the Bills. It might be Joshua Palmer. And we're still waiting for Coleman to come through. On that upside we saw in college.
- [35:10]
James Palmer
I think there's still a cross your fingers type of situation going on with Joe Brady and company there in Buffalo about Keon Coleman going. Can we have a threat outside the numbers? We have been searching for one. We thought Keon would be it. Year one was a little bit difficult, maybe came on a little bit better in the second half of it. But at the same time, you're right. I think that is a big question mark. And you look at the secondary they're going against, which I don't know if anybody said it this week, right. They're all first rounders. I'm the first one who said it. I think I'm the first one who said it this week about the Ravens secondary. And then also I, I, I would say if anybody in Pittsburgh wants to yell across the Keystone State to anybody in Philadelphia and go, how good is Kenneth Gainwell as a complimentary back? I think everybody in Philadelphia will tell you how much they loved him in the spurts, that they needed to give Saquon a breather and maybe that is what ends up happening. So I do get the, the concern there. How about like a, like a, like a headache, Something that's going to make you kind of go like, I like, you know, you're sitting there with your team going like, I don't know what, like, they haven't given me any reason to what are we doing? Type of, type of feel.
- [36:14]
Jake Seeley
And I know the people who just recently Drafted within the last week. Probably are going to hate to hear this because they took Jacori, Bill Crosby, Merritt, who now has four names, they took him probably in those middle rounds being like, oh, the excitement. They traded away Brian Robinson. But here's the thing, people I talked to close to this team that I trust. Let's also realize Crosby Merritt, as you know, sore stuff here. You know this, he's played one game since 2023. People with the team have said they do love Krosky Merritt, but because they love him, they want him healthy and productive in the second half of the season. This is going to be a full blown committee out of the gate and I'm not going to throw the name out there just in case he's wrong. But he said, don't be surprised if Krosky Merritt only has five or six touches in week one and they are using Chris Rodriguez in the short game. But even let's all circle this back. If you're trying to keep the defense for the Giants off like what their game plan is and from Carter and Thibodeau and Lawrence and all the rest, what are you going to do? You're going to dump off some passes to Austin Eckler, who is still the clear answer there. So I would wait a week on Crosby Merritt and try to avoid this. This might be. We're waiting till six or seven weeks into the season before crossing Merritt's like, yeah, I need to put him in my lineup.
- [37:22]
James Palmer
Yeah, we had a little discussion, Byron Baldinger and I, about this run game and how kind of much of a mystery it is for the Commanders when, you know, carry after carry, it seemed like Jaden Daniels and you got to find some other way to carry the football. And it looked like just talking to people there and you got. It's just kind of like once the trade happened, you got to put Austin Eckler at the top. It's just kind of the way it was going to fall. As soon as the trade ended up happening, then we'll see, right how this entire thing plays out. I got one kind of question that we weren't slated to do, but I was thinking about this. When you heard Mike McDaniel this week talk about Ollie and go like, he could have all the carries, he could have no carries, he could have all the yards, he could have no yards. Does that just drive people in fantasy just completely insane?
- [38:04]
Jake Seeley
Oh, 100%. They go baddy over it. Especially like when we heard just Morton just recently earlier today was saying, hey, were you going to Use the same backfield as you did last year or you didn't, but they used the Lions did last year under Ben Johnson. Is Gibson Montgomery going to be used the same? And he was like, I don't know. We'll see. Wink, wink, like it's just like. Just give us an. Somewhat of an inclu. An answer. But I don't think that the Dolphins, you and I talked last week. I don't think they're going to go too much away from the hn with complimentary piece who sees about 10 to 12 touches per game.
- [38:34]
James Palmer
Yeah, I totally get it. I totally get it. Jake, this was outstanding as always. We'll be back chatting again on Thursday. Make sure everybody goes and checks this top 25 movie list. I've been going over it all morning, by the way, also the accountant too. In the beginning I was like, I don't know. And as it went on I was like, my wife looks at me, she's like, I'm starting to really like this movie. And I was about to kind of write it off and it went really, really, really well.
- [38:58]
Jake Seeley
It's so funny you say that. Nicole and I were doing the same thing. We're actually on our phones like playing games for the first 15 minutes and then all of a sud like third halfway through, we're like, oh, put the phones down and really lock in on this.
- [39:09]
James Palmer
Yeah, it was worthy of a lock in. I appreciate it, Jake. See you on Thursday. Appreciate you. Join us. Read everything he has on the athletic. Please do. It'll help your team and helps mine. Coming up, we have one final block here on Scoop city presented by ebay. I'm going to tell you the recipe it will take for Jalen hurts to win the mvp. Yes, I said it and I got receipts. Chase, Daniel, I got receipts. They're coming. You saw that play when your quarterback dropped back, looked off the safety and threw a dime deep for the go ahead touchdown. Well, that's not just hall worthy, that's wall worthy. And you can own a piece of it when you shop the unrivaled selection of trading cards and memorabilia on ebay. The home of collectibles since 1995. Huddle up with the 132 million users around the world to find that rookie autograph you can't find anywhere else. Premium trading cards, singles and sealed boxes. Unreal Live card breaks. Truly unique game used memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on ebay. Plus, with the ebay authenticity guarantee for trading cards, you know what you buy is the real deal. Collect with confidence by downloading the eBay app on the App Store or by going straight straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's right, your collection journey kicks off right here, right now@ebay.com theathletic come through and collect with us today.
- [40:38]
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- [41:51]
Brian Baldinger
Ready to order?
- [41:52]
James Palmer
Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver card. So let's just get one of everything.
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Brian Baldinger
Everything. Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27 and they're earning UN unlimited 3% cash back.
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James Palmer
Yes, Chef. This is so nice.
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Brian Baldinger
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert. Oh, tiramisu. Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with the Capital One Saver Card. Capital One what's in your wallet?
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James Palmer
Terms apply.
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Jake Seeley
See capital1.com for details.
- [42:24]
James Palmer
All right, welcome back to Scoop city presented by eBay on a Thursday. I'm James Palmer. We're going to close things out here with something that we're going to do each and every Thursday. It's called the extra point. Yes, I was a kicker in high school. No big deal. I was outstanding. Our holder was trash, but I was really good. We're going to give one final point before we go on a Thursday. And if you watched or listened to our show on Monday, we gave a lot of our predictions for the season. It's Diana's favorite segment. It's whether it's our dark horse or our pretender. Possibly it's our super bowl predictions. It's also our MVP picks. I picked Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen hurts, as my MVP for 2025. When I made that select, my esteemed colleague Chase Daniel had this to say. I just want to make sure I got this right. You're picking your MVP this year for a guy who threw for 2,900 yards and 17 touchdowns last year? Okay. Yeah. Just making sure. Okay. Then the week goes on. My buddy Kyle Brandt over at Good Morning Football goes like only he can on the show and says Jalen Hurts is going to win the MVP. Then Yahoo Sports says Jalen Hurts maybe winning the MVP. Then we see Joe Matt Montana on Pat McAfee talking about he'd use Jalen Hurts to build his franchise. And then Chase Daniel puts up a little dandy on his social media. I was scrolling through the Gram on Wednesday night, watching Dateline with my wife when this little beauty pops up. If Patrick Mahomes doesn't win mvp, I think it's Jalen Hurts Award. If the Eagles do the things we think they're going to do, a lot changed in 72 hours. Apparently, a lot of opinions about Jalen Hurts changed very quickly. Quickly for Chase Daniel. Now, I want to make an argument here about why Jalen Hurts should be in the MVP conversation and never is and why we continuously dog Lamar Jackson inappropriately. Now, with Jalen Hurts, we understand that, yes, maybe he's limited in terms of talent and he sits outside the four horsemen of the apocalypse, we call them. Whether it's Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, the Margin Jackson, or Joe Burrow, I get it. But you can't argue that, Lamar. You can't argue that. Jalen Hurts has not been dominant throughout the course of his career as a starter. He's got four straight seasons of 10 rushing touchdowns or more. No quarterback's ever done that in history. They tried to change the rules of the game because of how Dominant he was. They say you can't win with him throwing the football, yet he has the fifth highest win loss percent in games where he's thrown 30 or more passes in the history of the NFL. Only Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow had higher passer ratings on balls thrown downfield in 2024 than Jalen Hurts. And they could throw the ball more this season with teams keying on Saquon Barkley. He's coming off a season where he had his highest completion percentage and his highest passer rating and he was sixth in the NFL against the blitz. So he plays the quarterback position as much as as people want to argue. But here's where I think things are hypocritical. When you look at Lamar Jackson and you look at Jalen Hurts, I know LaMar Jackson has two MVPs and they're very warranted. He could quite possibly have three. If he won the MVP this past season, I don't think anybody would have scoffed at it. He played brilliantly. He's incredible. But we continue to knock Lamar Jackson and his legacy because he can't get over the hump in the postseason. And again, I know the MVP is a regular season award, but in terms of legacy and greatness, we continue to knock knock Lamar Jackson because he can't get past Patrick Mahomes. He's only been to the AFC title game once. He's never been to a Super bowl, let alone win a Super Bowl. We continue to hold it against him each and every off season when we debate the greatness of all these quarterbacks. But at the same time, when we talk about the greatness of all these quarterbacks, it's always devalued. The wins, the winning on the biggest stage, winning a Super bowl, going to two Super Bowls for Jalen Hurts. Hurts. Why is it that it's so detrimental to the legacy of Lamar Jackson not winning on the big stage? And it's really not valued enough when you're equating the greatness of Jalen Hurts. It doesn't add up to me because quarterback wins matter. Quarterback wins is an actual stat we keep track of. And guess what? Since he became a starter in 2021, only one quarterback has a better win loss record than Jalen Hurts, and it's Patrick Tyler Mahomes. Since he became the starter in 2021, he's got 19 wins against teams with winning records. Nobody else has more since he became the starter. If wins didn't matter so much, Joe Burrow would have been the MVP this past season. And don't argue with me that he wouldn't have been. He played unbelievably well, but his team didn't win. It's not the most talented player. That's not the name of the award. The name of the award is most valuable player. And I think we need to start putting more value into what Jalen Hurts brings to the table. I'm not comparing him to Tom Brady. I'm not comparing him to Patrick Mahomes. But they're the only three players in the history of this league that have multiple super bowl appearances where They've had over 275 total yards and three touchdowns. That's it. That's the end of the list. And the way he's wired like Brady from when I've talked to Bill o' Brien or Bill Belichick about the years of Brady, it was Brady cared about winning more than anything. Whether he handed the ball off 40 times and relied on his defense or he threw it 50 times. Whatever they wanted to do to win, he was willing to do it. That's part of Brady's greatness. And I'm not comparing Jalen Hurts to Tom Brady, but that's part of Jalen's greatness. He understood they had Saquon Barkley. He understood they had the best defense in football. And he went out and he won a Super bowl and dismantled the Chiefs and one super bowl mvp. Maybe it's time we start putting all of this together and think about a regular season mvp. That's my two cents. All right, thanks to Brian Baldinger for joining us. Hopefully Baldy's back. I love talking ball with him more than anything. Jake Seely joined us to give us tons of fantasy information. Also at the same time we were like Siskel and Ebert, the two of us breaking down a couple of films on his 24. Five favorite films of 25. Check that out in his rankings article. I'm James Palmer. This was another scoop City on a Thursday presented by ebay. Have a good weekend everybody. It's week one. 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- [49:23]
Brian Baldinger
Ready to order?
- [49:24]
James Palmer
Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver Card. So let's just get one of everything.
- [49:31]
Brian Baldinger
Everything. Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27, and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back.
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James Palmer
Yes, Chef. This is so nice.
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Brian Baldinger
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert. Ooh, tiramisu. Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with the Capital One saver card. Capital One what's in your wallet?
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James Palmer
Terms apply.
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Jake Seeley
See capitalone.com for details. Hey, it's Marc Maron from WTF here to let you know that this podcast.
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Brian Baldinger
Is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.
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Jake Seeley
And I'm sure the reason you're listening.
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Brian Baldinger
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Jake Seeley
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