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James Palmer (1:48)

How many hours are in your day? Because I have 24. And the fact that you somehow consume all of this content we talk about with these lists. You read thousands of comments. You got your fantasy on lock. Like how are you accomplishing all of this that we're discussing here?

Jake Seeley (2:07)

I sleep in February.

James Palmer (2:15)

Welcome in to Scoop City on a Thursday. I'm James Palmer. We're going to be talking about all of the top quarterbacks heading into week eight. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Please friends do so. It would be wonderful. I am going to be joined by Chase Daniel throughout all of that because he breaks down quarterbacks. Let's just say it far better than I do. We're going to talk about all of those. We're also going to go inside the locker room of the Pittsburgh Steelers and get a report there from Boots on the Ground as well as the Kansas City Chiefs. Big Sunday night and Monday night matchups for both Those teams. Let's get right into it. Bring Chase Daniel in, and we're going to talk about the stock report of these quarterbacks. Chase, these are the ones that you've had your eye on. You've been breaking down all of the film. I'm going to start at the top with many people, and I would say almost unanimously inside the Dallas Cowboys building. Believe Dak Prescott is playing at an MVP right now. When you watch the film.

Chase Daniel (3:07)

Yeah.

James Palmer (3:07)

The first thing that jumps out to you is what?

Chase Daniel (3:10)

Well, James, I think the thing that stands out most to me is just his poise and control within the pocket, and you just really watch the game, and he's just able to handle situations that maybe a lot of different quarterbacks couldn't handle. And look, going into the season, a lot of people in the media, including myself, were like, hey, you don't have enough receivers, but they went out and got George Piggs. You don't have a run game. That old line. You're losing some people. You know, that defense is enough. None of us expected Dallas to even be remotely where they are at right now offensively. A couple things that has to deal with is, one, Dak's playing at a crazy level. But two, Brian Schottenheimer, the new head coach, he's calling plays. They're motioning more than they have. They're doing a lot of different things. That is, like, really good for Dak. But when you look at him physically, like, just the way he sort of changed his body. And I think that matters because I do think, like, he looks in better shape than he ever has been. He's always taking care of his body. But usually as quarterbacks get older, right, they try to. They try to fine tune certain things, whether it's, hey, my diet, or I need a customized vitamin plan, or I need, like, I remember when I was at Drew Brees and Drew was at the top of the game, he was the first 25 or $30 million quarterback, whatever it was, he constantly found ways to get better and improve himself. Like, after leading league and passing one year, he comes in the next year, he's like, I gotta get better at this, I gotta get better at that.

Jesse Newell (4:36)

But.

Chase Daniel (4:36)

And with elite quarterbacks, right, there's a big gap between good and elite, but there's an even, like, really small gap from elite to, like, hall of Fame. I'm not saying Dax a Hall of Fame, but he's elite right now in the way he's playing. And so he's trying to fine tune small little details in his game to do that. And it's just, look, they're, they're. Their defense is last in the NFL in yards. They're having to score 35 points a game to even be remotely in stuff. If their defense can turn the corner just a little bit, and I know they have a hard schedule coming up, they got a chance.

James Palmer (5:13)

Yeah, yeah, I'm excited. I was talking to defense coordinator the other day, Chase, and he was like, he is certainly in the small MVP conversation in his mind of the couple of guys that are up there right now. And if you talk to anybody in Dallas, it's the complete command he has right now. And the thing that was mentioned to me I thought was interesting is that he's using his football IQ at another level than compared to years past, using everything that he has at his disposal. And with both these guys on the field, it sure helping the run game as well. When you got two borderline number ones really out there, and one's definitely a number one. George Pickens playing right.

Chase Daniel (5:44)

George Pickens, unbelievable, dude.

James Palmer (5:45)

He's having a breakout year for sure. It's been unreal. And that certainly helps Javante Williams, who's run the ball really well, and it helps Dax stay balanced in terms of what he sees from defenses and what he can do. How about Jalen Hurts? I'm not sure how we. How we can improve on perfection, but that was his passer rating this past week, a perfect passer rating. Jalen Hurts in this. Eagles offense scrutinized heavily though. Chase, what did you see that was maybe different coming out of their little mini buy that they had after their Thursday night game and came out and played pretty well offensively.

Chase Daniel (6:16)

Yeah, look, I think there's been a lot of different scenarios and different opinions about Jalen Hurts. For one, the dude is. Is playing the last game. I thought it was probably the best game I've seen him throwing the football and it was a lot of different things. One, the offense wasn't as predictable. Two, they were under center. I know, I know. Jalen Hurts does not like to get under center. I know there's been some stuff like, hey, I want to be in the shotgun, I want to do this RPO type stuff. But when he was under center, that play action bomb to Smitty, I mean, you're throwing the ball to A.J. brown. You have two of the best receivers in the game. Like they are one of the top three or four duos. Top three duos in the game. You just got to find ways to get on the Ball. You can't just line up. You can't run these little five yard in routes and then just Jalen hurts at the line of scrimmage. I thought was really, really good against a really good Vikings team. And everyone knows. And if you haven't seen the clip of him, hey, hey, pointing like A.J. brown, you're hot. And then it's an actual double move. They've been setting that up all game. And look, I think I, you know, people say I'm one of Jalen hurts biggest critics. I just call it as it is. If it's not good, then I'm going to say it. If it's good, you're going to get credit. And I just think he is. Now, now here's the thing. And here's the thing about this Eagles offense. Can you get Saquon Barkley going? Can you get the run game going? They're one of the worst teams in the league with that offensive line and that run. How in the world do you go from like the very best, one of the best seasons we've ever seen from a running back to really not being able to run the football at all? And it's just putting more on Jalen hurts plate. And I think that at times has exposed. I say exposed. Has. Has looked into some of the we of Jalen hurts game. But not this past game against a really good Vikings defense.

James Palmer (8:07)

Yeah, you're exactly right. 20 snaps under center, the most they've had in the game since week nine of last year. And you, you mentioned it there, so I wanted to point it out. Also when you talk to defensive coaches and I know you know this chase, but really quickly, where does his vertical ball rank? Because I, I keep hearing just as a vertical thrower, that is maybe one of his biggest strengths.

Chase Daniel (8:27)

Yeah, it is. And I do think like even the whole time I've been breaking him down and since he's been starting at such an A level at the NFL, really, and even going back to his college days, he does throw like one of the better deep balls in the game. I mean, it's just the, the, the, the fourth down to, to A.J.

James Palmer (8:48)

Brown on the Dollman.

Chase Daniel (8:50)

Yeah. And the. It was like one of those where the ball seemed to be in the.

James Palmer (8:53)

Air forever, but it was like it.

Chase Daniel (8:54)

Was on a, it was on a, like a line, but it was also had like a nice little arc to it and just hit him in stride. And I think that's the biggest thing on these deep balls that a lot of college quarterbacks struggle going to the next level is like a lot of these college quarterbacks, like, they just. They throw the ball up and it's completed, but then they get tackled. Throwing your guy open on these deep post routes or these deep go balls, that's what's the most important thing about it.

James Palmer (9:17)

Yeah, it's a pretty one to see. I won't deny that somebody that's. I don't know how this isn't a perfect passer rating, but when you're Drake Maine, you have two incompletions in a game. You go 21 of 23. And I heard Kurt Warner the other day saying, it's funny he did that and he still left some plays out there. How good he was playing and that's how good this offense is working right now. What specifically is working with what Josh McDaniels is asking Drake May to do and how you're seeing him respond to them? Kind of. It seems like each week open up more and more for him to do with this offense.

Chase Daniel (9:51)

Yeah, and that's exactly right, James.

Jake Seeley (9:53)

The.

Chase Daniel (9:54)

The more I watch this offense, the more it does open up for Drake May. It's almost like Josh Mc really didn't give him the full offense. The last couple of weeks we've seen the full offense because he's been able to show that he can handle it. The one thing though, like, obviously, like everyone's going to talk about, hey, his completion percentage, 75%. Three out of every four balls he's completing, which is absurd in the NFL. Like 12. Yeah, of course. You're really accurate. I like that. The one thing that's probably stood out to me more than anything is his ability to get hit in the pocket and to still be able to deliver footballs. Danielski called him Ben Roethlisberger. I don't know if he's that, but.

James Palmer (10:34)

What I do know, that's a big dude right there.

Chase Daniel (10:36)

That's a big dude. What I do know with Drake May is like the creativity in the pocket. That's what stands out. He's not taking a ton of sacks. He's able to move around in the pocket and find new platforms and new places to throw. And then here's the thing. He is completing 75% of his passes, right? But he is throwing the football down the field. I saw some crazy stat on throws over like 30 yards. I mean, a good completion percentage on throws over 30 yards would be 30, 40%. I think he's completing like 65, 75% of those throws, which is absurd. And they're hitting Their deep shots.

James Palmer (11:15)

I love it. I love it. And you ask Mike Frable or Josh Miller, say, the arm angles from different spots. He's moved. They're moving him a little bit more. Right. The play action game. Because you know this with. With young quarterbacks, there's a fear of turning your back to the defense, running the play action. But then now they're moving them and running the bootlegs. And I love kind of the way this has evol with Josh McDaniels and Drake May from a young quarterback to an older quarterback. But he's playing like age is just a number in Matthew Stafford. 5:2. He is that game in London against a good defense that has played well and specifically has forced a lot of turnovers. It didn't matter to Matthew Stafford. Is this the best we have seen him play in recent memory?

Chase Daniel (12:01)

I. I do. I think it. I think it is. And look, everyone remembers those Lions days of him not winning a lot of games and rightfully so because they were just bad overall. Amazing. What offensive guru and a play caller. And then these receivers that he has this year in Devonte Adams and Puka Nukua, and then also that Kyron Williams is probably one of the most underrated backs in the game. They ask him to do so much, and then Tutu Atwell, he's like, this is like one of the more underrated receiver trios in the game. And I just think that they are. They're finally. I say finally, here's the thing. The last two years, they've started really, really slow, and they've had to sort of claw their way back, and they've got. They've been really streaky here. And this year I just feel like they're just like demolishing folks. Like, I just feel like offensively they're healthy. On the offensive line, for the most part, Matthew Stafford looks healthy, and he's always ended up up being banged up at some point in the year. But those receivers, man, to me, it's one of those things where it's just fun to watch. And then here's the thing that a lot of people understand but maybe don't think about. Sean McVeigh's offense is like, next level, like, smart. Like, you have to be an extreme brainiac genius. And that is Matthew Stafford. There's been no quarterback I've been around, including Drew Brees, including Justin Herbert, that is as smart and processes as well as Matthew Stafford does.

James Palmer (13:25)

Yeah, that's a great point. And he's always made plays. There's always Been the big arm. There's always been the explosiveness, there's always been the no look, passes thrown across his body, things like that. Doesn't it have a feel right now where it's like the ball's not even getting put in harm's way while he's.

Chase Daniel (13:38)

Doing all of that?

James Palmer (13:39)

I mean, you know, it used to be you got all those exclusive ways and there'd be maybe be a turnover or two. And also in Detroit, he was always forced to make plays because they were probably playing from behind. But right now it's just like the ball is safe, he's making creative plays, he's accurate. It's been unbelievable to watch and that division is outstanding. Three teams at five and two to finish things out. The red hot. I don't know if that's a sentence a lot of people have said in recent memory. The red hot Chicago Bears, 4, 2, 4 straight they're going to face the Ravens. We know that this run game has been better. We know that that came out of the bye. And now They've had what, 145 and 222 in their two rushing games since the bye, something that Ben Johnson wanted to do. And so they're two highs for the season. Obviously that helps a young quarterback, but how are you seeing Caleb Williams come along? Because I know everybody's fascinated by this one chase because the stats are almost through six games identical to last year, but you see him as a better player than he was last year.

Chase Daniel (14:35)

Oh, it's not even close in my opinion. Like the stats might be the same, but if you just, if you watch and you break down what this offense is trying to do, one, make no mistake about it, they are a run first team and they have been scheming up things left and right for like their like Swift and all these guys to get rolling. And I do think it's, it's one of those things where you watch the Bears and there's a physicality about them offensively. James off, not defensively, offensively. And it finally looks like a Detroit Lions run game scheme. They've sort of figured out, hey, this is our identity. And when you look at Caleb Wright, like less than 60% of his passes in three consecutive games have been completed. But he's not making the big mistake. And people out there have to understand that progress isn't, isn't always just like, oh, we're going up. It can be linear, it can go down, it can go, yeah, it's not linear. It can go up, it can go down it can go. Up it can go. It's not like, oh, you're just going to be here the whole time. And. And I probably see it a little bit different, but, you know, these. These Chicago Bear fans are like, hey, you know this. I mean, dude, you're four and two.

Jesse Newell (15:50)

You're four and two.

James Palmer (15:50)

One.

Chase Daniel (15:51)

Four straight games.

James Palmer (15:51)

Shut up.

Chase Daniel (15:53)

Like, it'll be fine. I do think that. That this is a good. It's a good problem to have when you feel, and I'm sure Caleb feels, and Ben Johnson feels, that your quarterback's not playing up to the way he can play. And you're still four. No, in the last four. And you still got this run game, and your defense still leads the league and takeaways. So that is a good thing because Caleb is just going to continue to get better. And if they do, you know, it's a very tough division, but, I mean, things are getting spicy and crazy in Chicago. Man, it's impressive.

James Palmer (16:29)

I love it. I mean, it seems like the offensive line has come and gelled together specifically in that run game. You look at the yards before contact. I mean, the last two games, it's over four yards before contact. I mean, that's. That's impressive. Of the big boys up front. He has been. He has been good against. He has been good against the blitz. I would say that that's something Caleb has done pretty well. It's been pretty good against the blitz, and I think that's a crap out of him.

Chase Daniel (16:51)

And it was impressive to, like, he really was. Yeah, there were free runners left and right, and it was like, all right, man, you got it.

James Palmer (16:58)

Yeah, there it is behind the set. You know, you got to go past these stats. Chase will give you this. The real goods, guys, don't just look at the box score. Come on. We're going to go inside. A couple of facilities. Coming up with some boots on the ground. Reports from both the Steelers and the the Chiefs coming up to scoop city on a Thursday with Chase Daniel and James Paul.

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James Palmer (17:24)

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James Palmer (18:56)

Welcome back to Scoop City on a Thursday. James Palmer here with the athletics. Mike DeFebo covers the Steelers for us. Mike, I'm not sure if you know this, but Aaron Rodgers is playing the Green Bay Packer packers this week. This is a big deal. I just want to start with Aaron, though, and aside from this week, so many eyeballs were on. What were him and Arthur Smith going to put together as an offense? What was Art going to take from the previous guys he's played with? And it's been a number of different skill sets those guys have had and marry it with what Aaron does best. What have you seen from this offense with the two of them kind of piecing this together? And how would you describe what they've built offensive?

Mike DeFebo (19:34)

Well, I think you have to give Arthur Smith credit because he's worked with three very different quarterbacks in his short time in Pittsburgh. I mean, with Russell Wilson, it was moon ball or nothing. With Justin Fields, they were trying to capitalize on his mobility and his elite athleticism. Now you get a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who still can definitely throw the football. He has the arm talent, but at least early in the season, his mobility wasn't what it once was. So what they designed was an offense that was predicated upon short, quick passes. And through the first three weeks, I would say that's kind of all the offense had, was get the ball out of Rodgers hands, get it to DK Metcalf, create a ton of yards after the catch. But beginning week four in Dublin, we started to see the next evolution where they went to some heavier personnel groupings and were able to run the ball more effectively. And then when they were, that's when some of those teams started going to more single high defenses and Aaron Rodgers was able to take his shots downfield.

Jesse Newell (20:28)

So.

Mike DeFebo (20:28)

So I think you've seen a continual evolution from a short, quick passing game to one supported by a running game and now sprinkling in those timely deep shots.

James Palmer (20:37)

Yeah, and you're starting to see him move around a little bit in the red zone. Right. The old Aaron Rodgers we're used to seeing maybe buying a little time, throwing across his body. We're all curious if that was going to still be there at this age. And that's why I bring up the age. Do you think he comes back next year and what has the locker room been like with Aaron Rodgers? Because I believe you're writing about that on the Athletic. Make sure everybody checks that out about kind of the behind the scenes aspect of Aaron in this locker room.

Mike DeFebo (21:03)

Yeah, I think that with each passing week you're seeing Aaron Rodgers get more mobile and more comfortable within this offense. And I mean when he had his Achilles injury initially he was very optimistic about that time frame and I think in some sense is it created unrealistic expectations for most players. This is really a two year recovery before they start really feeling like themselves, no matter what age they are. So I think now that he's further removed from that Achilles injury, you're starting to see some of that mobility return. And that's important because the Steelers like to play under center with some of their heavy packages. And within that you're going to need a quarterback who can bootleg out of the pocket on some of those keepers. And he's throwing a couple touchdowns in those instances. Now to your second point about the locker room. You know, I don't think that you could find a guy that really has a negative thing to say about Rodgers. You know, when you watch him on tv, probably when you watch him on primetime on Sunday Night Football, there's going to be an instance where you see him running down the field and getting in the face of one of his wide receivers or one of his running backs. But if you talk to the guys in the locker room, to them, that's really a good thing. This is a pretty young Steelers offense. Four of the five starters on the offensive line are in their rookie Contracts, you've got wide receiver Calvin Austin, his rookie contract. Roman Wilson is in his second year. Dorno Washington, the big tight end, he's still in his rookie contract, only in his third season. And so I think that when Rodgers came in as a four time mvp, as a Super bowl champion and he demands perfection and precision, maybe if he was in a different situation, it wouldn't be accepted the same way, but because he is Aaron Rodgers, guys realize, hey, I don't want to be the reason why we're messing up. Rodgers is going to know what he's doing. And so you're seeing a very hands on approach from Rodgers. I mean, I think the best example was during training camp. He literally walked Roman Wilson through. Exactly. This is how you run an out route. This is exactly where I want you to be when I want you to be there. And because of that, I think it's kind of raising the bar for the whole offense as a whole.

James Palmer (23:08)

I love that. Just don't tackle him after a touchdown. You just can't do that when you're heading towards the sideline. That's the one thing you can't do with Aaron Rodgers. You mentioned the receiving core and Roman Wilson and we know that Austin's out. Do you think they make a move before the deadline at helping find a complement maybe to dk?

Mike DeFebo (23:26)

Well, coming into the season, you know, some things that I was hearing within the organization was that they really wanted to give Aaron Rodgers the best chance to make a legitimate run this year. And doing so, they want to surround him with as many weapons as possible. So Omar Khan, the general manager, has built this reputation in his short time running the Steelers as a very aggressive wheeling and dealing type of general manager. And so, I mean, and that was highlighted by the blockbuster trades, plural, that he pulled off this offseason with DK Metcalf, with Jalen Ramsey, with Johnny Smith. So I think he's definitely going to work the phones and he's definitely going to be listening to all the options. And really what the Steelers have to decide is, is the receiver that's available a clear upgrade over Calvin Austin? Because right now he's settled into that wide receiver two role. He is a speedster, he could take the top off the defense, but he also has some size limitations at about 5 foot 9. So you're looking for maybe either stylistically a different type of wide receiver or one that's an obvious upgrade. But, but I think that, you know, the Steelers over the last maybe year and a half have been connected to virtually Every receiver imaginable. And I think they're only going to continue to be the betting favorite for a lot of these receivers and for good reason, because I think Omar is listening.

James Palmer (24:43)

Yeah, everybody, Jalen Waddles coming to the Steelers. You know, I mean, like I said, that's what you're hearing non stop and I know you're dealing with it. I know you the phones to figure it all out. I just wanted to see what the latest was there before you go on the other side of the ball. I think I covered a couple of Steelers games, the back end of last year, the playoff game in Baltimore, and I felt like you kind of saw a defense that was maybe leaking a little bit and you saw the move, you know, with Mike, with Mika Fitzpatrick, and you saw oftentimes that a lot of turnovers can mask some of your injuries or issues that you have on, on a defensive side of the ball. We saw last week, was that maybe just a game or are we, you know, going back to the way we saw them maybe in the first two weeks where we had some question marks about this defense. Where do you stand on that unit? Because Jordan Love has a lot of weapons and he's playing well.

Mike DeFebo (25:30)

It was an extremely disappointing defensive performance. And really, because the Steelers more or less built this defense or the secondary to beat the Bengals, they knew that ja' Marr Chase and T. Higgins, that is a unique challenge for a defense. But they felt like with Joey Porter Jr. Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey, they would be much better positioned to handle that unique challenge. And they really basically flunked it. I mean, they knew they were going to score points against a bad Bengals defense. So you really just couldn't have a disaster defensively. And that's what it was. You couldn't allow Jamar Chase to set a franchise record with 16 receptions like he did. You can't allow T. Higgins to catch a big explosive play in the waning minutes like he did. And the problem for the Steelers is it wasn't just the secondary that got beat. They actually here in Pittsburgh this week have been talking more so about the run defense because, you know, they were going against one of the worst, if not the worst rushing team in the NFL. They gave up two explosive runs and ended up giving 142 rushing yards in total. The pass rush did very little when they were, you know, they basically were in nickel the entire game and their four man rush was not getting home. So it would be hard to find a single area in which the defense played well. And you know, this is a defense that for the fourth consecutive year is the highest paid in the league. And in a world where expectations are tied to compensation, the Steelers have not yet met their standard.

James Palmer (26:59)

Yeah, that's perfectly put, perfectly said. I don't root for anybody in the NFL, Mike. I don't pick winners. But in your game, I do want to see the Steelers win solely for you and everybody else in that post game press conference with Aaron Rodgers to see what could possibly transpire if he beats this packers team. I know you'll be in there. Do you think he'll say something very quickly? Do you think he will stay the way he's been this week or do you think it will be maybe a little different postgame?

Mike DeFebo (27:29)

I think he has respect and he wants to be remembered as a legend in Green Bay. So I don't think that he'll say anything that's really insulting. But. But I think it was very different the way that he going into the jets game, he said it's week one, it's week one, acted like it was no big deal. Then when he won, his tune changed and he said, I was happy to beat everyone associated with the Jets. So we will have to see if there's a change in tone depending on the result of the game.

James Palmer (27:52)

It's going to be fun. You'll be there. Everybody read Mike stuff at the Athletic. It's outstanding. Covering the Steelers better than anyone. Mike, thank you for stopping by, man.

Mike DeFebo (28:01)

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me here.

James Palmer (28:05)

All right, moving right along from Sunday night to Monday night, it's going to be the Chiefs and the Commanders. No Jaden Daniels for Washington, but we do have. He is participating in the game on Monday. Jesse Newell joining us from the Athletic covers the Chiefs, Chase, we wanted to talk Chiefs. Actually Jesse Chase wanted to talk Chiefs for an extended period of time here. He lost himself some Patrick Mahomes. I listen, I just want this perspective because you're the one in the building, you're the one in the locker room. Is there a vibe switch with Patrick the last couple weeks knowing that, you know, you saw the way they played with Worthy back and now he has Rashi back. Is there a different just vibe to the guy who I don't know might be the front runner for the MVP now?

Jesse Newell (28:48)

Yeah, he is front runner for the MVP right now and interesting to get Chase's take on this since he's been so close with Patrick. But we actually just talked to Patrick earlier this week about it and he gave some of the obvious reasons for this comfort level you're talking about, James, which was the offensive line, is playing better, so he feels comfortable in the pocket. And obviously all the weapons are back, which he hasn't had here for a couple years. But I thought the interesting thing he said, he actually pointed back to a throw he made against Jacksonville, which was he went back in the offseason and kind of self evaluated himself. And he talked about he wanted to play perfect football pre snap. And so a lot of times when he had an alert route or a third read, he would just basically not read that. And if you got to your first route, first read, second read, he would just either scramble or throw the check down. But when he rewatched film, he's like, wait a minute. Sometimes even if they're playing cover two or whatever, and this route isn't supposed to be open, it ends up open because these other defenders do weird things after the snap, just like Patrick Mahomes does weird things after the snap. So this particular one against the Jaguars, it was interesting. He finds Tyquan Thornton down the field for a 34 yard gain. It actually was an alert read. But he gets back to it on his third read here. And so he actually talked about. About not overthinking, not not wanting to be so perfect with every part of his game plan. And so I'd be interested to hear what Chase says, just because he's been around Pat so often and watches the same film that we do. But he's credited that a lot too, as well. He's letting the game play out and not thinking as much or not overthinking, not trying to play perfect. Because of that, we're seeing a very high level from him.

Chase Daniel (30:10)

Yeah, I mean, that's sort of fascinating insight because when I think back on my time with Andy Reid, right. And I think back on every situation that I've had with him, and I go back to these alert reads. You're talking about it when you say that, it makes sense because I'm watching the film. Like, Andy Reid's very much a, hey, cover two, you're gonna throw here. Cover three, you're gonna throw here. Cover four, you're gonna throw here. And we're gonna build it into the play. But there's all these alternative alert routes that are either going through the middle of the field or maybe a go ball on the outside. And a lot of times I remember, like, even Alex Smith, it's just like, okay, hey, pure progression. Hey, all right, cover two, I'm working here. One to two to Run to cover four. Hey, it's. It's the corner route to the flat route here. Go to run. But what's interesting is the longer you get into that scheme, it's become more of a pure progression scheme. Meaning like, hey, hey. In cover two, I never expect a deep cross route, which they run a lot of, whether it be with Kelsey or Worthy or they're. They're just streaking across the field. That shouldn't be open in cover two because that corner should be sitting there. But in reality it's really, hey, if it's open, throw it to him. And I feel like that's sort of what Mahomes has sort of started getting to. Obviously, for me, it's that offensive line. But Jesse, can you talk a little bit more about having all three of their stud receivers together finally?

Jake Seeley (31:38)

Right.

Chase Daniel (31:38)

Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, Rasheed Rice makes a huge deal. And then all three of those guys are opening it up for Travis Kelsey, who's having probably a little bit better year than some people thought when they were like, oh, hey, he's washed. He's all this. He's that. Right. But how has that been in the locker room and in practice? I mean, it's been a long time coming. They really hadn't put them all together.

Jesse Newell (32:00)

Yeah. I think the most fascinating thing about this and Patrick has talked to it as well. I asked Matt Nagy and Andy Reid about. They basically all to a man will talk about this, which is this receiver group is close and it's not something you always get in an NFL locker room. You have different personalities, but they're like cheering for each other. They want each other to do well. And that's so important now because Rashid Rice is back and he's going to take a huge target share. I know Next gen stats. He had 10 targets last week. Rashee Rice did. He ran 16 routes according to Next gen stats. I mean, you cannot target a guy basically more than that. But if you go in the locker room, I'm learning some things. I actually asked my daughter about it so she could help me with the story. Like, they do some shadow boxing, which I guess is like the Gen Z version of Rock Paper Scissors. You know, they're in there always hanging out and doing that sort of thing. They play video games together, but they all are cheering for each other. And like a guy like Taekwond Thornton, he was so big for them early in the season. Now his snap count is really low. But it was so interesting, you know, in the locker room a couple weeks ago. After they won, he's the one cheering off. We're talking to Xavier Worthy. He's cheering him on from, like, behind and giving comments like, everybody's got to eat. That's kind of their motto this year. And so this group getting along so well, I think is so important. But to your point, Chase, I think what it does for them so well, you know the Chiefs and how they scheme with Matt Nagy and Andy Reid and passing coordinator Joe Blaymire. Not only do they test you vertically now with some of the weapons they have and with the scheme that they have, but now with Rasheed Rice, it's also horizontally. So it's really difficult to cover the whole field with the Chiefs now because of the weapons they have. And I think that's why you saw so many open receivers running against the Raiders last week.

Chase Daniel (33:29)

Yeah.

James Palmer (33:29)

And you got a quarterback that can pretty much touch every blade of that grass. And I would say Chase, also, I think Rasheed underneath also benefits along with Travis. Right. With the way that those other two receivers play downfield, the layers to the passing game is, is. Is really good. I want to do. I want to ask a question on the other side of the ball. We can get back to Patrick. But I am curious because I hear a lot of things about the defensive front, the defensive line, the interior portion. There's some young guys there, right, Jesse? But like, do you think they make a move before November 4th? It was backfield, backfield. Are they going to get a running back? I think it's more. Do you need to beef up any part of your front seven on the defensive line before November 4th?

Jesse Newell (34:05)

Yeah. And our Diana Rossini from the Athletic, you know, has reported that as well, that the Chiefs defensive lines, where they're looking at it becomes more of a priority now because Omar Norman Lott, their second round pick who had been coming on, he'd battled some injuries. Now he's out for this season with a torn acl. So, yeah, I would think so. The tough part about the Chiefs, and we all know this from covering them and knowing about them, is Steve Spagnolo loves continuity. He loves guys he knows that he can trust. And that's why they traded for Derek Naughty earlier in the season. He's been filling a role for them. But to your point, James, I mean, I think the biggest concern you have to have for the Chiefs is Chris Jones plays so many snaps and he has such an oversized role to what they do. How thin can you be there and still allow Chris Jones to be really good in the third quarter, in the fourth quarter, down the end of the season. And so, yeah, I mean, I think it makes sense to go out and get somebody now. How quickly they can fit him in the scheme is a question. But there's also always former guys out there that have played for the Chiefs that potentially they can bring back like a Derek Naughty. So I know the one that comes to fans mind a lot is like Colin Saunders or the Jaguars. Who knows if the Jaguars want to help out the Chiefs in this instance, that sort of thing. But they could use another body there. And I think the biggest reason is just right now, the biggest concern I think defensively you'd have to have is what if Chris Jones went down or what if he's just getting too many snaps out there. You want him healthy, productive, and obviously productive at any of the games. And right now that depth is sort of testing that.

Chase Daniel (35:23)

Yeah. And look with Steve Sagnola, I mean the dude is unbelievable and he's going to blitz from every type of situation and what he does and, and we all know that. But I just feel like, I don't know. James, you're following along too. We're not there every day. I just feel like the Chiefs have like, sort of just like, I know, kicked it into gear maybe is not the right word, but they found something maybe like on offense like two years ago in 2022. Because I'm breaking down Mahomes film and I'm like, hey, this is like, this is easily the best he's played since the 2022 season. And, and you said something Jesse, about like pre snap. And I think that that's what Mahomes had to do in 2023 and 2024, that you weren't seeing these big plays down the field. But I'm curious to you and when you talk to your other reporter friends around the league, are they, they got to be scared like about the Chiefs and just the way they're. I mean truly, like I've been trying to say, and everyone's like, oh, you know, this and that.

Jake Seeley (36:24)

Another.

Chase Daniel (36:24)

But like there's got to be some issues, right? Like. Like that the Chiefs are choosing to get to people, right?

Jesse Newell (36:33)

Yeah. I think here's what brings it up to me most is if you look at the numbers I've been going through some of the true media numbers for the Chiefs, how often they've scored this year on their possessions and how often they've scored touchdowns on their possessions. And we think back, we remember the Chiefs the first two weeks they were Struggling. Mahomes was scrambling all the time. They didn't have their weapons. Xavier Worthy was out. You know, they were trying to get pieces back in there. Rasheed Rice wasn't in there. So consider all that. Remember those first two, two and a half games were pretty shaky when it came offensively. Score percentage. They're scoring on 53% of their possessions this year. It's their best mark since 2018, which is Mahomes first year. And then touchdown percentage, I think it was up to 34% of their touchdown percentage. It was somewhere in the 34 to 36% range. Again, best mark since 2018, which. That was when Mahomes, you know, was on the scene his first year. And everyone's like, what kind of offense is this? They led the, you know, you led the NF on offense, points per game, all, everything. And so that, to me that crystallizes it, which is like even through a really difficult stretch where we know they were trying to kind of figure out what they could work on. What, what, what works? What can they get consistently going even with that stretch? Their offense right now is on pace to be like a Mahomes first year as a starter level and now should be ascending more with Rashid Rice in the lineup. So to me, yeah, that, that's what you're talking about here is like this Chief's offense is just getting started and already it's pacing towards an offense we really hadn't seen up until that point in history when Patrick Mahomes became the starter. So that should be scary for a lot of teams around the league.

James Palmer (38:01)

Man, I was there regularly in 2018. It was wild. I do want to ask you this Chase before we say goodbye to Jesse. Him and I would probably both like to hear this. Patrick at the line of scrimmage with the fake call, the dummy call that we all heard Tony Romo talking over. I know Jesse and everybody had a good time with with Patrick talking about it. It's a State Farm commercials. Got my acting chops are going. Can you kind of take us behind the scenes in terms of practice? How Andy let some of these things go? I know there's a lot tried there as opposed to maybe some other buildings on the practice field that maybe all of it doesn't reach Sunday. But he lets his players try these things and him and the staff come up with them.

Chase Daniel (38:41)

Yeah, I mean even 2013, 2014, 2015, when I was there the first three years of his like the Andy Reid regime, it was something where like, hey, hey, no idea is A bad idea. It just better work in the game. And that's what he would tell us. And it's just like, all right, so it just empowers your players a little bit. And just go into the Mahomes one. Like, I'd completely forgotten about it, but that's just so genius. Like, you're faking out a faker. Like, it's just one of those things where you're just like, all right. Like, you know, screw this. It doesn't. And then they get him, and he's constantly. And I say he. Andy Reid's constantly on, like, the precipice of, like, just continually getting to that next thing that works or this. And he's just constantly pushing it. And, you know. And we know the story about it. He told us on Scoop City with me and Diana last year. He was like, hey, we'll take place from a janitor. Like, it doesn't matter. And I think that's just such a good job of coaching because it really. It really puts some accountability in your players. Hey, if you have a play, just make it work. Yeah, I love it, guys.

Jesse Newell (39:41)

I talked to Patrick Mahomes earlier this week. I asked him his favorite play. He's gotten into the playbook, and he said that he got the original Tom and Jerry, the touchdown they scored on against the 49ers. He was like. And one day in practice, he was like, what if we throw it to the guy we faked it to? And he said, the next day, Andy Reid had that play written up and it was ready to go. So it changed a little bit over time. But if he looks down at his championship ring, you know, the Chiefs have that Tom and Jerry play written on there that goes back a little bit to Patrick Mahomes and the freedom that Andy Reid he to come up with plays.

James Palmer (40:10)

I love it. It also makes practice fresh, right, Chase? It makes practice fun. When you're playing seasons, as long as the Kansas City Chiefs are with Andy Reid, he makes sure everybody lets their personality be seen. Jesse, thank you for joining us. Coming up, we're gonna have Jake Seeley talking a little fantasy football and his favorite wrestling entrance entrances. I guess we'll see what he's got there. Coming up next on Scoop City.

Jake Seeley (40:37)

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Camera, everything looks better, especially me.

James Palmer (40:47)

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

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Jesse Newell (42:13)

Code acast.

James Palmer (42:17)

All right, well, back to scoop city on a Thursday. James Palmer with you and I missed him. I missed him last week. Jake Seeley, our fantasy expert at the Athletic, joins me now. And we always talk a little something something of a list before we get to our fantasy chitchat. I know nothing about this list.

Chase Daniel (42:35)

Last week.

Jesse Newell (42:35)

I love the list.

James Palmer (42:36)

One hit wonders of the 90s. Let's go. By the way, also sneaky. Great movie, that thing you do. This is wrestling entrances, I believe, right? Okay, yeah. Have at it. Jake, this is yours.

Jake Seeley (42:49)

I don't need to have at it. I'd rather hear what you really liked about the one hit wonders because that got a lot of more hate. This just got normally it's Jake, your takes are terrible. Like milk before the cereal they were like you're bat. You know what crazy this week with the wrestler entrances. I gotta like this is an awesome list. This takes me back. So if you don't know anything about it, I'd rather hear you complain about my 90s list. That'd be worth it.

James Palmer (43:11)

I'm not gonna complain. I wanna contribute something. I had a buddy who worked for Hyatt, right? He was like an executive at Hyatt and the wwe Uses Hyatt for all of their hotels. So when we were living in Atlanta, WrestleMania was at the Georgia Dome, and he had a suite, and he said, why don't you come to WrestleMania with me? Me knowing nothing about wrestling, said, sure, let's do it. Wings, beer, all free in a suite. Let's go. I get a phone call from my wife. Meg's like, are you coming home at some point? I'm like, meg, we are four hours in, and I haven't even seen a wrestler I know yet. It is the longest, extravagant. But I wanted to chime into your thing because all of a sudden, I got so much energy in me when the Rock walked out. That is not even wrestling. Just making an appearance, just talk. You could feel it. Just the entrance, the walk. It was unbelievable. Again, did not wrestle, but it was so. I get the love of the entrances because I was on the edge of my seat, maybe because I hadn't seen anything I recognized yet, but. But I get it, because the Rock just looked at people.

Jake Seeley (44:22)

See, that's the thing.

James Palmer (44:24)

That's why.

Jake Seeley (44:24)

So my entrances list, like, a lot of people are like, oh, where's Bret Hart? I'm like, you know what? I get it. Like, his look. But I include everything just like the songs, like, what they did when they came out. Which is why I put Triple H number one. He was the showmanship of showmanship of entrances, the consistency and the big stage. Like WrestleMania coming out with skulls and hammers and stuff. That's why you can't beat that.

James Palmer (44:48)

Okay, I get it, I get it. I understand. I understand. These guys are entertainers, and that's why I'm a big John Cena movie fan.

Jake Seeley (44:56)

I got tickets to his final December 13th in D.C. we're driving up.

James Palmer (44:59)

Oh, really?

Jake Seeley (45:00)

Final match?

Chase Daniel (45:01)

Yeah.

James Palmer (45:01)

Wow. You think you'll cry?

Jake Seeley (45:04)

No.

James Palmer (45:04)

Okay, Just curious. Let's get to some fantasy chit chat here. The top of your list of what you sent me was Tez Johnson. I mean, first off, one of the most fun plays we've seen. The touchdown, maybe of this season, of everything he did up and over and everywhere he went, we all are looking at. Mike Evans is out. Tragically, I'll even use that term, that 11 consecutive seasons of a thousand yards are over. I would say probably in fantasy, this is just a guy. You knew exactly what you were getting each and every single season. It's a shame that that comes to an end. Chris Godwin has still been banged up. Emeka Abuca still has that hamstring injury. In a sense, what Are your thoughts on Tez Johnson?

Jake Seeley (45:44)

So I'm aggressive for Tez Johnson for this week, but also in fantasy. I'm going to just take the chance on the upside. If and why I say if is because the big thing you just brought brought up Chris Godwin who's supposed to be as you know, back after the buy. But what is Chris Godwin at this point like we saw him earlier this year coming back 90% I would say of what the Chris Godwin we used to know and now with the aggravation to the same injury to the same leg. I know he to full break it but it's the same injury issue is like what is he when he even comes back. And the reason I'll go after Tez Johnson is because even if you drop him in three weeks because Chris Godwin's a factor, it's fine. But the upside of Tez Johnson, it's not just that play. It's the fact I compared him to not it's not one for one 100% but it's very much like Tank Dell. And this is what I said in my waiver column is like picture Tank Dell on the Buccaneers as the number two. People will be losing their minds. Oh my God, he's going to be top 20, top 25 at worst. And that's the excitement of the potential that we have here with Tez Johnson. And that's why I'm going to chase him because it's Baker Mayfield, because it's the offense. If Godwin's a non factor, then Tez Johnson is going to be at least a top 35, if not potentially a top 25 wide receiver the rest of the season. And that's why I'm going for it. And I agree with you, that's a terrible way to end the potential. He would have broken the record if not for the injury, as you well know. That's, that's, that's a tough one.

James Palmer (46:59)

Yeah. Ends up tying Jerry Rice for the longest streak of consecutive thousand yard seasons. That's just at any point in a player's career he has the record for most thousand yard seasons to start a career which is 11. That is a Hall of Famer and a great person. I'm not gonna lie about that as well. You mentioned Tank Dell, the team that he plays on has some questions at the wide receiver position with Nico Collins in the concussion. And I think you have Christian Kirk still battling injury. Are you looking at the Iowa State State boys or you like what's the take here with, with C.J. stroud and his group as they were struggling to even just move the football against Seattle last week.

Jake Seeley (47:34)

Yeah, I'm looking at both of them. Although I will say the Texans continue to make zero sense. You draft one of them in the second round, guaranteed his full contract. Somebody who a colleague, Dame Brugler compared to Nico Collins. I compared to Marvin Jones, which Marvin Jones floored like that'd be cool. He can't even get on the damn field because they're putting him not just behind Nico Collins as like his replacement. I put that in quotes is that he was behind Xavier Hutchinson. They're not even giving him a chance. But what we saw in that game is when Nico left, it was exactly what they said. He stepped in. He actually ran the most routes as the Nico replacement. So it's cool for this week we assume that Nico Collins is out. But I think the real appeal here was with Jay and Noel because he is the Christian Kirk replacement who we know kind of can't get on the field which sucks for Christian Kirk because we know when in hell healthy he's been productive. But at this point we know that Collins is probably back next week whereas you know, Christian Kirk's who knows if he's ever going to play at this point. And Jalen Noel at least steps in as that option as that kind of a similar big play threat to Tez Johnson. Not a one for one comparison as you know. But that's why I'll chase Noel for this week. If you want to go after Higgins, that's fine. But if just rolling out there, going one for one with Hutchinson. But as you know also that offensive line is trash. Who's going to get the ball out quicker, who's going to get open quicker, who's going to get the option for when under pressure? It's going to be Jalen Noel. He doesn't have time that being CJ Stroud to wait for everything to open up for Jaden Higgins.

James Palmer (48:57)

Yeah, that's the tough part too because Jalen's also he is a vertical threat from the slot. That's one of the things that teams liked about him the most. But you know what? You need to catch the ball downfield your quarterback to still be standing when you're down. There is a necessity to catch balls downfield. The Panthers others running back conundrum as some may describe it. Chuba Hubbard goes down Afico Dowdle comes in, rushes for an absolutely insane number of yards and now we have them both. What do you do, Jake?

Jake Seeley (49:30)

You start both of Them. I know people don't want to hear this, but it's the NFL. You know, a lot of teams have already steered into having a second running back as a timeshare, 30, 40% of the workload. And teams, as we've seen with the Seahawks, have done this entire year. Like, people are clamoring like, oh, Kenneth Walker's the better running back. And the entire year the Seahawks have been like, we don't care. Like, we're going to use Charbonnet as the goal line option. And then Charbonnet is better, better games. And the reason I bring up the Seahawks, because I think this is going to sound crazier for people out there because it's the Panthers. They have the better version of the Seahawks in fantasy because we know, Jake.

James Palmer (50:06)

I haven't, you know, frustrating. This is better for me. Like the guy Averaging like 4.9 yards of carry, but if it get near the red zone, I don't think you're seeing the field, buddy.

Jake Seeley (50:16)

I am feeling your frustration. We talked before I came on that. I read every single comment in my comms. And there are still people today being like, you said Kenneth Walker was going to be a bell cow. Yeah. At the beginning of August, the reports were they want him to be a bell cow. And then he never got in the field. And by the end of August, I'm like, nope, it's not happening. It's a 50. You got to read the entire month. You can't. You can't just read like one thing and then come for me. But anyway, you think the new version. Yeah, it's consistent 50, 50 use. So I would say better than the Seahawks and fantasy because you can use both of them and don't have to get frustrated with, oh, it was a bad day indeed. He didn't even get a touchdown. They get the Bills this week on top of it, which have no run defense. So I call them like the lesser version of Devontae Freeman and Tevin Coleman from back in the day. Like, not quite those guys because they were both potentially RB1s any given week week, they're more RB2s and in fantasy right now. I know it's frustrating because you want the clear answer. I want to know this guy's going to get 80%. Unfortunately, sometimes these are the situations. But it's good because you can use both as RB2 or threes.

James Palmer (51:14)

Okay. I love it. I appreciate all your insight. I'm going to call you privately because my team is in a tailspin right now. We've had some injuries. We've lost four straight after a hot start. But CD Lam is back for me, which is a big deal and we saw it. We saw it already in his first week back. But facing Denver, I don't know. I got, I got issues.

Chase Daniel (51:31)

Jake.

James Palmer (51:32)

Hey, we'll talk.

Jake Seeley (51:33)

I'm not perfect either. My favorite home league because it's super flex and the injuries, I, my IR is full. I, I have no more people to feel like. Yeah, I can't even fill a full lineup right now.

James Palmer (51:43)

Yeah, IR and the number of buys this week. Do you have any advice for anybody? By the way, real quick, with all the teams that are on buys this week across the league, what should you maybe be sneakily looking for?

Jake Seeley (51:56)

Shoot for upside. Look, this is the thing is there's people that are ranked wide receiver threes this week that are normally wide receiver fives. So the likelihood that you're going to get what you're replacing, slim to none. You might as well shoot for the break. The guys we've talked about, Tez, Jalen, Noel, even Higgins, you're not going to go out there and chase like a Rashid Shahid has been disappointing. I'd rather just chase the upside of these guys or like anybody on the Patriots like they're just going to be hit or miss any given week. So just go for the ceiling taking shots.

James Palmer (52:23)

Go for the Drake May take a shot completing all the boss. Love it. Jake, have a wonderful weekend of football. I'll contact you privately. Outstanding show by the way. Appreciate you Jake Seeley and everybody else that joined me on this Thursday on Scoop City. Chase Daniel, outstanding. Breaking down all of these quarterbacks. Mike Defebo covering the Steelers brilliantly and everything going on with Aaron Rodgers. And then so you also got Jesse Newell with everything that's going on inside that building with Patrick Mahomes and an offense that we think might be on its way to maybe Santa Clara again. We'll see. It's early, but thank you everybody for joining us. Enjoy your weekend of football. I'm James Palmer.

Verizon/Meundies/Progressive Announcer (52:58)

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

Jake Seeley (53:14)

Dude, did you order the new iPhone 17 Pro? Got it from Verizon, the best 5G network in America.

James Palmer (53:20)

I never look so good. You look the same.

Jake Seeley (53:22)

But with this camera, everything looks better.

James Palmer (53:24)

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

Verizon/Meundies/Progressive Announcer (53:29)

With Verizon, get the new iPhone 17 Pro, designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever, plus a new iPad and Apple One. No trade in needed. Offer ends November 5th. Fifth with a new line on Unlimited Ultimate Best 5G SW Root Metrics Data United States 2020 25. All rights reserved. Additional terms apply for all offers. See verizon.com for details.

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