← Scoop City: Inside The NFL
Scoop City: Inside The NFL
Why Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl rematch won't be all about Mahomes and Hurts
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- [00:00]
James Palmer
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- [00:42]
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- [01:56]
James Palmer
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- [02:25]
Diana Rossini
I used to work on 2020 when I was an intern.
- [02:27]
James Palmer
You did?
- [02:28]
Diana Rossini
Yes. Oh, my God.
- [02:29]
James Palmer
We should go down.
- [02:30]
Diana Rossini
Sawyer's, like, production assistant. Like, essentially was my job.
- [02:34]
James Palmer
We should do an episode of Just Past Jobs.
- [02:37]
Diana Rossini
Oh, I got a lot.
- [02:38]
James Palmer
You got a lot of jobs. Raise your hand if you worked at Hooters. No big deal.
- [02:43]
Diana Rossini
You did?
- [02:44]
James Palmer
Yeah.
- [02:45]
Diana Rossini
How did you not lead with that? Why would you work at hooters?
- [02:48]
James Palmer
I was SpongeBob SquarePants. Kids eat free on Tuesdays.
- [02:51]
Diana Rossini
Foreign.
- [02:58]
James Palmer
It's a Wednesday. Welcome to Scoop City, presented by ebay. I'm James Palmer. We got a lot to cover today. We got a Super bowl rematch. We got some teams we might be panicking about, but we're not panicking about Diana Rossini, the athletic senior NFL insider joining me as always on a Wednesday. Diana, I know you're not panicking about today's episode. Are you excited? Scale of 1 to 10?
- [03:18]
Diana Rossini
I'm 10 right now about talking anything NFL related, but I feel like this theme of the week has been panic. And just everyone's flipping out about all their teams and specific players. But not here on Scoop City. We're to bring it down a notch. I listened back to our last episode. Chase was wild. Chase was, like going hard on a lot of different teams. And it's only week one, which is not like him. But we're not going to be like him.
- [03:42]
James Palmer
We're not going to be like him. Don't forget to like and subscribe. You're right. There was a lot of moments, Dinah, that I was kind of like Chase. Halfway through, he was going, is this a hot take? Am I going, like, above and beyond? Okay, I'll keep doing it. Let's do it. This is what we're. It was great. It was great. Listen, this is what we're going to get to today. We're going to talk about that super bowl rematch. We're going to break down the Eagles and the Chiefs, maybe some key injuries, some key guys returning and how that could look different than what we saw back in New Orleans in the Super Bowl. Also, we're going to talk to Matt Schneidman about the. About the packers and that big Thursday night showdown against the Washington Commanders. Two teams that are very high up on of people's lists in the nfc. And also the cold truth, Diana, we're going to close this out. Think about panicking. You didn't want to do it, but now you have to do it. Think about a team that you're panicking about for the end of the show, that maybe people at home want to hear your insight about why we are panicking. All right, this is what we're hearing. Dinah, I need you to take me into what the NFL's thinking was with the Philadelphia Eagles star defensive tackle Jalen Carter. He ends up hocking a loogie on Dak Prescott. Absolutely gross. Gets a game suspension, but not really a game suspension. How did they come to this conclusion?
- [05:00]
Diana Rossini
Well, first of all, the most common response that I've gotten around the league to this suspension is the inconsistencies that the NFL has showed over the last few years when it comes to some of these punishments. Right. So the Saliva Assassin, obviously.
- [05:17]
James Palmer
Is that yours? This. Is that original?
- [05:20]
Diana Rossini
No, someone from. Someone from Philly gave it to me, actually.
- [05:23]
James Palmer
It's pretty sweet, though.
- [05:24]
Diana Rossini
Go ahead, Philly people. You're all so, so quick, witty, clever, clever. Just. I think when you just take a look at players that have been ejected during games and historically look back, there's not a lot of examples where a player's suspension counted in the game that they were actually playing in. So the word that's been thrown around a lot is just. Was it the timing of it? Right. Because this obviously happened.
- [05:50]
James Palmer
Didn't play snap. Yep.
- [05:52]
Diana Rossini
Early in the game. That. It just. It just makes you wonder if there. I don't think this was as clear cut as people wanted this to be. It's a bit of a gray area. It's something new. It's something different. We've never seen a player spit on another player before snap. So I just.
- [06:11]
James Palmer
Sentence, by the way.
- [06:13]
Diana Rossini
I know. And we talked about this, you know, after it happened, about how. I can tell you, I know three teams for a fact that showed that moment on Friday morning to their team. Right. So it happens on Thursday Night Football, Friday morning. It's on the tape. It's up on the screen. During squad. Don't do this. Right. As a lesson, of course, we saw it in the college level. It happened the next day. Which, which was unfortunate. Which, look, why September?
- [06:38]
James Palmer
I think it's disgusting. I do think that's what the NFL is trying to do. Right. They know the impact they have. They see it happen on Saturday. They know that everybody's watching. They're. They have this really, really strong to the family friendly environment that they want to create surrounding the NFL. And this sportsmanship thing is very, very big this season. I feel like I'm discrediting it. But no, it is. The sportsmanship thing is very, very important.
- [07:00]
Diana Rossini
It sounds corny, right? Because it's, it's like, okay, you know, like, let's not, let's not suck out the fun, everybody. But they definitely have emphasized this in the last few months and, and teams are, have been made aware of this. They've had to watch videos about it. So just the fact that that kicked off the season, not to play into the puns, but I don't think it left a good taste in the mouth of the league.
- [07:26]
James Palmer
You had to. You had to. There's no way you avoid it. It's unavoidable. It was right there in front of you. I'm glad you picked it up and you slammed it home. He was fined $55,000, which is essentially a game check. $55,222. I'm going to take this into the game though, Diana, because him not getting suspended for this game. And again, this is the thing. Does it happen five snaps into the game? Does he get a game suspension if it's in the first quarter, is there a game suspension? It's just like did officially start, he hadn't played a snap. What if he played a special team snap? Would he have played in the game? And then. You know what I mean? So like it's, it's kind of an interesting breakdown, but I do think if anybody watched that game in so Paulo on Friday. Kingsley Sua Mataia. There we go. The left guard for the, for the Kansas City Chiefs had himself a rough day, a rough one. I mean, it was, it was really brutal to the point to where you saw an important downs. They were putting Khalil Mack inside against the left tackle. You know, Jalen Carter is going to line up there and you know how different this Eagles defense is, Diana, when Jalen Carter's on the field. Dak Prescott said it after the game. We changed our entire game plan and our entire blocking scheme because Jalen Carter wasn't in the game. Him playing in this game is a huge difference maker for the way this game is going to be played up front because teams are going to keep attacking that left guard spot until something changes there. And that's where we're going to see Jalen Carter.
- [08:46]
Diana Rossini
Someone really smart my life once told me that the saying is, you know, are the little puppies going to be coming off the porch here for Jay Carter, right? Because, you know, somebody say that, yeah, he's going to be trying to take advantage of, of these weak areas and it's not like, we don't know what the weak area is. Okay. You know, this isn't week one or headed into week one where we're not too sure we saw it. Right. And so, you know, this game plan is going to just be attack right there. It's right in front of them. So. Look, I do think. I don't believe Kansas City ever thought Jalen Carter was getting suspended anyway. It's not like they've been game planning, even wasting time getting ready to what it would be like without him out there. I think it's fair to say when Jalen Carter's on the field, he is the best player. Yes, without a doubt. And it's. You look back. I always go back to his draft process, and you just think back to all the teams that passed on him.
- [09:41]
James Palmer
Yeah. I was in Philly that whole week, standing outside the facility, waiting for Howie to draft Jalen Carter, and everybody thought he was going to. They were going to draft Bijan, which if you know Howie, they're not drafting a running back in the first round.
- [09:50]
Matt Schneidman
No.
- [09:50]
Diana Rossini
And if you know how. And he made nine trades in 2025, and you continue to do it, which, as somebody that covers the Eagles as well as you do, and for so many years, I was actually thinking about this in terms of philosophy for Howie. Does he make trades based off need, or do you think he makes trades because he's really trying to think ahead, kind of looking at the landscape of what could happen. Right. Because I, I just. Some of these, I'm. I'm. They're not. They don't hit me over the head of, like, oh, this makes sense.
- [10:22]
James Palmer
Yeah. It's. He's. Some say in the building, he makes trades because he's just antsy. And I got to tell Howie to, like, hey, relax for a moment. Like.
- [10:29]
Diana Rossini
Like, he's just bored.
- [10:30]
James Palmer
Yeah. Just take a. Take a breather. Sit on your hands for a moment, Howie. But he's. It's part of his greatness as well. He's probably the GM that makes the most phone calls in the league. You probably know this, Diana, right? Like, on every single player that could potentially be available, he's calling. He's always seeing what's what. He always feels like he has to get a win in every single trade, whether he feels like he comes out on top or not. But I do think they do think ahead. I think Mike Sando had a brilliant article, by the way, on the Athletic this morning that was awesome about the way the Eagles do business and the way that they. They Do. I'm. I'm not. I' idiot. So it took me a long time to read it and figure it out and get through it because the finance stuff just was over my head. But it is how he thinks. You mentioned Jalen Carter. It's why they got younger on defense. I was specifically told, like, we got to get rid of C.J. gardner Johnson. We got to make some moves. We got to make sure we're planning for this massive contract of Jalen Carter. So some of the moves are, then we can fill it back end and we can move this. He's just. He's ridiculous in the way he does it. And, you know, another really good GM in this game, they don't play, but they put the teams together is Brett Veach and they thought they were putting together an explosive group around Patrick Mahomes. And then they lose. Xavier Worthy to friendly fire across the middle of the field. Three plays in. Diana, when will we see the receiver Xavier Worthy again as a. As a weapon for Patrick McCombs? Because my understanding was he was a huge part of that game plan. Maybe the biggest part of the game plan on Friday.
- [11:49]
Diana Rossini
Yeah. And the Kansas City ways to keep everything very private, especially injuries. You know how Andy is there day to day. They've actually gave a little bit more. It's not just a day, it's more of a week to week. And I think the fact that he's not being put on short term IR is, is. Is good for now.
- [12:05]
Matt Schneidman
Right.
- [12:05]
Diana Rossini
I think those are one of the situations where they have to wait and see and see how the week progresses as well. But for, for now, I think that's good. So I think the chances of him playing against the Philadelphia Eagles are obviously very slim, but I don't. I wouldn't be surprised if perhaps he. He suits up for Sunday Night Football against the Giants.
- [12:22]
James Palmer
Okay. Yeah. I think what happens in a lot of these, to take people like behind the curtain is you put a brace on the guy, he works out off to the side. Hey, how do you feel moving around? How do you think you'll be in a week? How do you think you'll be in two weeks? You're trying to evaluate it, right? Because you don't want to put him on ir. And the Chiefs have done this before. You have till Sunday, essentially, if you wanted to wait to put him on IR or not. And usually what happens is these teams like to go through the process of, how's this guy feeling over the next four or five days? Could it be a two week Thing like you're saying, I think him not going on short term ir, I think is a big, big, big part of this. I'm getting out of my soapbox here, Diana. I have a point I want to make. I didn't tell anybody about this. I didn't tell Mac this. I didn't tell Stephen this or not. Did you notice when Patrick Mahomes more or less took that game over on Friday and said, I'm going to put the entire team on my back, I'm going to throw balls while I'm completely horizontal. I'm going to fourth down, throw across my body all the way down the field. I'm going to run everywhere. I'm going to be our leading rusher. When he ran out of bounds against Dante Jackson and he's about to go out of bounds in just a big shoulder shimmy before he gets out, did you notice that play?
- [13:27]
Diana Rossini
I noticed it. What is your theory?
- [13:30]
James Palmer
Did you receive any text messages after play? Because I did. For some people in the league, I did not.
- [13:34]
Diana Rossini
Nobody alerted me to, hey, that's shady. Or why is that not getting called? Why did someone tell you that they should? Was someone narcing Patrick Mahomes to you?
- [13:43]
James Palmer
Some people are upset. I got two defensive coaches text me going, that's what he does. And what they're saying is he, and this is a strength of Mahomes, I do think he manipulates the line of scrimmage and he manipulates the sideline better than anybody. His body controls through the roof. Go back to last year when he had that run against The San Francisco 49ers, right where everybody's like, I thought he was going out of bounds and he kind of like stops. Looks like he goes out of bounds and runs 37 yards down the field. And Pat said after that he was asked about, he's like, I'm always going to go out of bounds. I'm not going to find a loophole. I'm not going to cheat the system. But even Travis Kelce said on his podcast, like, I can see how this is perceived this way because the defensive back is lightening up. He's going to go out of bounds and then he's going to blow me up. Before he goes out of bounds, one defensive coach text me, it was like I would tell my guys to light his ass up near the side.
- [14:29]
Diana Rossini
Well, that was what I was going to say next. I, I, I'm going to guess that most are watching that on tape and, and look, they've seen it before. But if it was that obvious and people were talking about it. I bet you we see less of that. And if not, we'll see him just get hit back and perhaps get called. Right. Because sometimes the league gets involved in this kind of stu. Maybe this is one of those things where you see coaches talk to the officials before the game. They give them a little heads up, hey, keep an eye on this. You're going to see this. I know a lot of coaches who do that, where they. They try to be a little chummy with the officials before and. And they give them basically a list of things that they've seen on tape the week before of what the opponent does that. That sometimes doesn't get called or alerted to. So we'll see who will be narcing out Patrick Mahomes. We'll see if the Philadelphia Eagles, which, you know, that they. They're on it. You know, like, I. I wouldn't be surprised if they. If they've already discussed it probably in their meeting rooms.
- [15:20]
James Palmer
You know, how about this? Vic Fangio discussed it, was asked about it during his press conference, and he said at the end of his quote, but Mahomes is the ultimate competitor, and it doesn't surprise me to see him do that. Philadelphia, to my understanding, is very aware of this, and we know how physical the super bowl was with them hitting Patrick Mahomes. Here's the other part I do, I maybe want to point out there, though, is Patrick is as thick as they come. Like, he is a strong, strong dude. Dad strength, man.
- [15:45]
Diana Rossini
A really good point to make, because I do think sometimes if you haven't had the opportunity to go to a game and you haven't seen these guys up close.
- [15:53]
James Palmer
Yeah.
- [15:54]
Diana Rossini
I don't think the camera really reveals Patrick's build because. No, I've even noticed it, too, in the locker room. And I'm not saying that like, in his towel. I'm just saying, like, in his uniform, when, you know, standing there and hanging out, you. He's way bigger than you think in terms of the thickness. Like, I know it's like a funny word, but, like, he is. He's. He's broad and his legs are big.
- [16:17]
James Palmer
Oh, lower half is huge.
- [16:19]
Diana Rossini
He's lower. Yeah. He's got a lot back there.
- [16:21]
James Palmer
Yeah. This is a great discussion. Yeah. So it's. It's. Listen, it's. It's gonna be something to watch in this.
- [16:26]
Diana Rossini
I can already see the comments one of a man talked about your booty, like.
- [16:31]
Jacob Robinson
Well, it is.
- [16:32]
James Palmer
It is gonna be interesting because I do think And I'm not dogging Pat in this. I think he's unbelievably competitive. He knows how the rules are skewed towards quarterbacks, and he's using this to his advantage. Like, he's. It's. It's how you play football. And some coach I talked to, because I got curious were like, is he not smart to do this? Like, is he not smart to understand the sideline? And he's won games by getting pushed out of bounds late, and they've gotten an extra 15. So just seeing how this plays out, I think will be. Will be. Will be interesting.
- [17:03]
Diana Rossini
Before we move on, can we just quickly go back to when they lost the super bowl real quick? Did you hear anything coming out of there of just how they responded to it, how they reacted to getting lit up on the biggest stage on planet Earth?
- [17:19]
James Palmer
Yeah, I mean, I think it's why Travis came back. I truly do. I remember texting with a few coaches on that team before the game going, do you think this is it for Travis? And they're like, I think it might be. And I think he's been pretty open about, like, the way it happened and the way it went down is a big reason why he's back this year. And I think that's spread throughout the rest of the room. They know that. The rest of the room knows that. And they were just outmatched, like, big time from every aspect of the game. And they tried to bottle up Saquon, and guess what? They threw it all over the yard. I heard Kevin Patul is going to be very creative in this game. We'll see what ends up. Ends up happening with that. You got a lot of information in San Francisco, Diane. There's a lot going on there. Even though they got the W and the training room is full, what do we got? And obviously it's the big one in Brock Purdy. And when a head coach comes out and goes, we may see Mac Jones, you never know. Usually I go, ears are perking up a little bit. Coach brought it up. Maybe we do see Mac Jones. Where are they at quarterback right now?
- [18:20]
Diana Rossini
Yeah. Definitely was one of those surprise injuries. We knew he was dealing with a bit of a shoulder thing, but to hear about the foot injury, which from what I understand is is turf toe. Right. So we've seen in the past quarterbacks play with that. Sometimes they get shot up before the game. Right. But. But I think because it's so early in the season, I think the thought process there is like, let's get him Healthy, let's get him right. Because they do have Mac Jones there. So I can tell you, talking to people in New Orleans, they are planning to see Mac Jones like that. That is how this defense is getting ready, expecting to see him out there. So the injury bug little. It's a little early here for San Francisco, which dealt already with a season last year that just. Just bad vibes, right? Just that dark cloud all year. And it's like here again, early in the season, another injury that we weren't really expecting to see pops up on a Monday to start the week. So. Yeah, so. So look, Brock Pie is, is most likely not going to be playing in this game. George Kittle was placed on ir, so he'll be out for multiple weeks. That's something that we expected. Obviously, being put on IR is going to give him a significant amount of time to just get better, get healthy, get right. They know they're going to need him, especially if this team makes it into the playoffs.
- [19:34]
James Palmer
Real quick, I just want to interrupt real quick and just say who he's going to, who he's going to miss. He's going to miss this Saints game, then he's going to miss home games against the Cardinals and Jaguars. And I think the reason he's on IR is there's a short week Thursday at the Rams. I would assume he wants to play in that. So keep him out. Okay. Keep going.
- [19:51]
Diana Rossini
You know, just to let you guys know that that's usually how organizations make that call.
- [19:55]
James Palmer
Yes.
- [19:55]
Diana Rossini
If you have a short week and if you don't play on the Sunday before that short week, you're not playing Thursday. That's, that's most of the time the case. So, so for them to just put them on, on IR just, just makes the most sense. So look, this, this is, this is not great for, for a team that also just cut their, their third round pick in a kicker in Jake Moody, who. Look, I don't think we're going to sit here and argue that they should have kept him. He. He was struggling significantly. So look, I don't like the way this is starting for San Francisco, who came out of a. With a win week one against a really good Seattle team. Yeah, but. But obviously the injuries are the story. The San Francisco 49ers here, early part.
- [20:39]
James Palmer
Of the season it is. And luckily Juwan Jennings, all the scans come back clean. Right. He leaves with a shoulder injury. And you're right, Dinah, because when I'm looking at this, I'm going, well, if Juwan Jennings is healthy and he stepped up big time with all the injuries a season ago, which is why he wanted more money. And then if he's healthy and we saw what Ricky Piersoll, this early portion of his first game of his second year after we just kind of write off the first year. Thankfully, you're alive, Ricky, and. And that you also get Brandon Iuk back by what, week? Six, ish. Five is what they're kind of thinking. Maybe my understanding, then you're fine. But it's like this early portion. You're going. We're really banged up here.
- [21:14]
Diana Rossini
Well, it's a quarterback.
- [21:15]
James Palmer
It's like quarterback who's had injuries. I mean, most of them have been to the right arm, elbow, you know, multiple times.
- [21:22]
Diana Rossini
All right, so let's talk a little Mac Jones, though, because this is interesting to me. I think the defense in New Orleans views him in the same class of like a Sam Darnold.
- [21:36]
James Palmer
Okay.
- [21:37]
Diana Rossini
Which I think is a compliment. Like a very good compliment, actually, based on 114 regular season games last year. Yeah. You know, and had a bit of a market here during free agency. So look, I think this is going to be a team that's just going to try to clog the middle and force him to throw, knowing that the run game is going to be so essential for a quarterback that just doesn't have a lot of experience. Now he's going to. He's in a better system with Kyle Shanahan, no doubt. Right. Like, you think this isn't New England. Yeah. And, you know, going back to that draft class, you know, Mac Jones was someone that I think Kyle Shanahan thought very high of. So to see them together, I'm actually excited to see what this is going to look like. We have a quarterback. We're not. But, like.
- [22:24]
James Palmer
No, no. But I guess, listen, this is an opportunity. I think what you tell Mac Jones, if you're Kyle Shanahan, you say, listen, I was going to draft you at three overall, and everybody talked me out of it. No, I'm just kidding.
- [22:33]
Diana Rossini
I don't know.
- [22:34]
James Palmer
What you do is you tell him, like, this is all part of a process. Like this is all part of your quarterback rehab. We've seen it happen with other players, and let's see if you can get out of it. And we'll teach you as much as you can here. And we'd love to have you because go back to being at Mac Jones pro day in Tuscaloosa.
- [22:51]
Diana Rossini
Okay.
- [22:51]
James Palmer
I'm standing there on the sideline and the guy who's closest of the all coaching group. Sean Payton's there, Bill Belichick's there, Kyle Shanahan is front and center. And I remember standing there because I had a nice, nice access there. And Mack is putting on a little bit of a show one to show his mobility, which a lot of people questioned going into the draft. What they didn't question going into the draft and I was remembering this this morning is every team I talked to, Dyno is like, he's the best processor of information in this draft and it may not be close. That's what Kyle wants. Figure it out as quickly. I'll tell you what you need to see. You see it as quickly as possible and get the ball to where it needs to go. So that was the connection that everybody talked about with Kyle, you know, having the third pick and he ends up going with Trey Lance. And we know what ended up happening. And there's always been that thing in the back of everybody's mind going, did he really want Mac Jones? Well, now we get a chance to see them together. It's kind of great if we can see Mac Jones take the field and run Kyle Shannon. And real quick, George Kittle being out, maybe that's a bonus. He's been working with these backup tight ends like crazy, running the second team offense in training camp. And apparently he's got pretty good chemistry.
- [23:59]
Diana Rossini
Some of these guys, my people did not expect to be out here. These are my guys too, at the Superdome.
- [24:05]
James Palmer
These are my guys.
- [24:06]
Diana Rossini
They are, you know, and then, you know, we got the other side of it with Spencer Rattler for, for, for the Saints, which, you know, again, just having some conversations in New Orleans, you know, I, they don't think Rattler gets enough credit for what he's doing. And I, I don't think The San Francisco 49ers are taking that, this game plan lately against him knowing that, you know, they had him throwing the ball a lot last week, I, I don't think they're going to keep up with that, but maybe they do. I was surprised. I was like, why are, why is he throwing the ball? So like, this is Spencer Rattler here. This is, this is not Dak Prescott or Jalen hurts even, you know, But I look, I think this could be a really interesting matchup. And I'm with you. I'm excited to see the whole Mac Jones, Kyle Shanahan situation. If Kyle Shanahan can get Jimmy Garoppolo to play at the level we've seen him over the years. I have all the Confidence that this can happen. You know, we've been talking so much.
- [24:59]
James Palmer
About Jimmy catching a stray from Diana.
- [25:01]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, Jimmy, I'm sorry. I Love you, Jimmy, L.A. loves you, Jimmy. This weekend the Rams love them some Jimmy G. Yes, they do. But you know, one of the things I think even coming off Monday Night Football, there's no doubt that Kevin o' Connell is one of the top coaches in football. But when I think about top offensive minded people, guys that can get the most out of their quarterbacks, Kyle Shanahan is probably the second to me that comes right, right to my mind, if not even maybe better at times. So he's the perfect guy to get a quarterback ready.
- [25:32]
James Palmer
That's a great point. Oh God, that game Monday night. Kevin o'. Connor, don't blink. Jj. It's okay. We got you. Let's set you up to succeed.
- [25:40]
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- [25:41]
James Palmer
Just unbelievable. Speaking of young quarterbacks, are we going to see one for the New York Football Giants against the Cowboys? I know for a fact everybody does. Brian Dabel says Russell Wilson will be starting against the Cowboys. Do you think there's a chance if things go awry in the second half? We see Jackson dart.
- [26:01]
Diana Rossini
I think we're getting close that time.
- [26:03]
James Palmer
I think so too.
- [26:04]
Diana Rossini
The fact that I made a bet with Chase that it was Halloween, I'm embarrassed.
- [26:08]
James Palmer
Like, like how it's a long ways away by that right now.
- [26:10]
Diana Rossini
Do I not know New York? Do I not know the Giants? Like what am I, do I. Am I unaware that the head coach and the GM are on the hot seat? Like, what am I thinking? I. The reason why I predicted that was me. Maybe I took the cheese on this a bit, but I. There was and I hope still confidence in what Russell was doing with the offense. This is not like he had a bad camp and they were forcing it. It. This isn't like, let's just play the veteran, right? They love this room. They love the way they've been working together. They've been getting Jackson Dart ready to be a starter. This is not like they're just treating him like a backup. He's going through the scripts like he's doing all the work to get him ready. They. It's a bit of a fire hose, a bit, you know, to get him going to make sure he's ready. So the fact that they're working so hard to get him prepared tells me that they know the time is coming and we'll see what happens here. And you know, look at the Giant situation though. You. They want to win the Game. Okay, like, we know this, but, like, does it help Brian Dabel and Joe Shane if they lose this game and they have to go, it forces them to go to Jackson Dart. Like, I don't know what the best case scenario is for the Giants here who have historically struggled against the Dallas Cowboys.
- [27:25]
James Palmer
I'm going to go there right now and I feel awful about this. Do you know what the best case.
- [27:29]
Diana Rossini
Scenario is, Jameis Winston?
- [27:33]
James Palmer
That Russ gets hurt. Oh, then it's just like, then you just. You had to do it. You're forced to do it. You know what I mean? You're forced to do it. That's what happened with Brian Dabel when he was with Josh Allen.
- [27:44]
Diana Rossini
You're so right that he just had.
- [27:45]
James Palmer
To go on the field. And to me, I keep going back to that experience that day Ball had. And only he really knows how it went. And Josh does, obviously. But, like, what worked, what didn't, what did Josh go through that they wish they didn't put him through that year because they didn't want to play him that year, but they were forced to. And then I go to the other guy who runs the offense and Mike Kafka. And Mike Kafka sat there in Kansas City and watched Patrick Mahomes sit for an entire year and look at the benefit of that. So both of their experiences, I think, are very interesting about how they handle Jackson Dart and how their. How their conversations are about him. But I do think, Diana, like, the one player that this keeps getting tied to is Andrew Thomas. Right? Like, I don't think you put in Jackson Dar before Andrew Thomas's back. I hate to say that because it sounds like you're sacrificing Russ, but it's like your play calling might be different. What you can do with the RPO game and how you work it with Jackson Dart might be different if you do have that left tackle spot locked in. But I think you're right. I think they just keep checking these boxes privately. The two of them get together and go, did Jackson do this? Yeah. Did he do that? Yeah. Did we test him with this? Yeah. Did he do that? Okay. He's one snap away already right now if an injury does happen. So.
- [28:57]
Diana Rossini
The Cowboys have be in the New York Giants 15 of the last 16 times they played each other.
- [29:04]
James Palmer
Good.
- [29:05]
Diana Rossini
Not good. The last time the Giants scored more than 21 points was back in 2021. Right. Like, the. The Cowboys have no problem with the Giants and I don't know what better I understand why Brian Dable sticking with Russell Wilson early on because of the point. But this seems like this would have been a good one to put the young guy on there. And I know we reported that the Washington commanders were preparing to see Jackson Dart and I think a couple people were confused. I think people thought that there was a package of plays. Yeah, as in Jackson Dart was going to be on the field the same time as Russell Wilson like we've seen in the past with like a Justin Fields and yeah, one of those more. That's not what it was. Russell Wilson essentially runs the same offense as Jackson Dart, so they would never be on the field at the same time. It's not a package of special plays that way. It was just more. Maybe they just throw him in at the start of the half to just have him start the half just to give him that experience. But that did not happen. And I think there was opportunities for it too, but they chose not to.
- [30:06]
James Palmer
Yeah, well, they did that during the preseason. Just threw him in cold for play. Then again, I think that's all part of the process and they'll give them.
- [30:13]
Diana Rossini
Chaos so they're ready on Sunday.
- [30:15]
James Palmer
That's right. That's right. All right, coming up, we are going to talk about the packers and commanders, a big Thursday night matchup. 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 any 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 VFL that's right, your collection journey kicks off right here, right now@ebay.com theathletic come through and collect with us today.
- [31:33]
Diana Rossini
Ready to order? 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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Matt Schneidman
Everything.
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James Palmer
Fire, everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27 and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back. Yes, Chef.
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Diana Rossini
This is so nice.
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James Palmer
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
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Diana Rossini
Ooh, tiramisu.
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James Palmer
Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with the Capital One savor card. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply.
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Matt Schneidman
See capitalone.com for details.
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James Palmer
PURA brings smart fragrance and function together. Premium scents, smart app control, and sleek design. And here's the best part. Your first set of fragrances is free. Hurry to Pecom now and upgrade your home today. All right. Welcome back to Scoop City on a Wednesday. Presented by ebay. James Palmer. Diane Rossini with me. And we have our new co host, a regular here. A star is born. I'm off the deep end.
- [32:31]
Matt Schneidman
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- [32:33]
James Palmer
Matt Schneidman covering the packers for the Athletic. I went a little overboard there because I'm excited. First question for you, Matt, is this. How many hours have you slept since Mike has arrived in Green Bay? And how many words do you think you've written since the trade has happened?
- [32:50]
Matt Schneidman
Well, I. I've tried this new thing recently where I put my phone on the ground on my rug while I sleep so I don't hear it vibrate. And my sleeps have been so much better than when I put it on my side table and I can hear it vibrate. I don't need to be worried about something breaking right now. Micah Parsons is a Green Bay packer. How many words have I written about him? Look, I just give the people what they want. And that's a lot of words about Micah Parsons. He's been phenomenal. He's met with us now four times, including his introductory presser. And he said in his intro, presser, you guys are going to get to know that. That I say things that I probably shouldn't say. And for a journalist, for a reporter, you're like, oh, yeah, that's what I'm talking about. And he hasn't said anything out of line yet.
- [33:33]
James Palmer
That's what I need, baby.
- [33:35]
Matt Schneidman
But he says things that grab your attention. And in a world where so many athletes, so many faces of teams try to be as politically correct as possible, Jordan love being one of them. Micah Parsons is not like yesterday. He loves Dan Quinn, who used to be the dc, The Cowboys, packers, obviously playing the Commanders Thursday night. And Micah was talking about how Dan Quinn always checks up on him, how Dan Quinn tells Micah that his wife misses him, how he wants to see him in Hawaii one day. And then his last line of the answer was, maybe our paths will cross again someday soon. And Packer fans are like, dude, you've been here for one week and you already want to play for Dan Quinn again?
- [34:12]
Diana Rossini
Just feeds the beast, man.
- [34:13]
James Palmer
Absolutely.
- [34:14]
Diana Rossini
Was there anything so, like, we all know he had a big personality from seeing him in Dallas, and we know the talent level. Was there anything that you didn't expect from Micah Parsons that you saw either on the fields, in the locker room, just observing him the last few days, that you're like, huh? And I didn't think he was maybe like that.
- [34:29]
James Palmer
That.
- [34:30]
Matt Schneidman
Not really. I didn't know too much about him. But John Machota, who covers the Cowboys for us, just told me he's a great quote, and he's been that he said all the right things. Micah's no rookie to media, has his own podcast, does the Bleacher Report stuff during the draft. So he knows the whole song and dance. He said yesterday, you know, I'm not judged based on my pocketbook. I'm judged based on what I do on the field. I have to come in here and earn the respect of all my teammates, even if I'm the highest paid defensive player of all time. So he's saying all the right things. He's getting along with his teammates. He's one of the guys talking about how if they have three or four minutes before a meeting, he'll ask someone to shoot hoops. Like, he's become one of the guys, even though he is still Micah Parsons. And Matt LaFleur said he does have an aura about him. So nothing really unexpected. I think we saw a flash of what we're going to see more consistently last Sunday in that beatdown of the Lions, he only played 29 of 65 snaps. That's going to get ramped up probably starting Thursday. And Micah told us after the game on Sunday he should be full go by the end of this month. And coincidentally, the end of this month is packers at Cowboys.
- [35:38]
James Palmer
He knew it. He knows it. He knows the media. He knows the. You know how to spin it, Diana. He knows how to. He knows how to work it. Listen, you mentioned Dan Quinn, Matt and I remember getting a couple of texts from people in Dallas last year going, we really missed DQ in the way he worked with Micah. Like, they noticed that in one year because Micah is a unique player. And sometimes a player like that, you have to be really impactful in how you coach and connect with him, right? And I remember asking you this question, which was inappropriate as soon as he got traded, like, hey, how are they going to coach him, Matt? Like, that's but now that he's been there, what do you think the plan will be in terms of how he moves around, how he's utilized? What does Jeff Hafley want to do and maybe utilize that, that, that football IQ that maybe a lot of people don't know is so high with Micah, what's the plan for how he's deployed? I guess is that in place yet?
- [36:31]
Matt Schneidman
Yeah. So Jeff Halfley told us last week that he has a bunch of drawings for how to utilize Micah saved up in a closet in his office or somewhere, and he's waiting to take them all out until Micah is fully ramped up. They started to use him in some different ways on Sunday against the Lions. He lined up on the edge. He lined up inside at D tackle. And Jeff Halfley has said, you know, this is a guy. And Halfley says this, having watched what he said, where every single one of Micah's 330 pressures in his first four years in the NFL. So he said, I've watched so much Micah Parsons tape in the last week, so I don't know exactly how we're going to deploy him, but he said he can win over the tackle, over the guard, over the center, as a standup linebacker. So I think you're going to see him used in all those ways as he gets ramped up. But in that limited workload on Sunday, we still saw a little bit of the variety of moving him around, using him inside, using him on the edge. Michael was asked yesterday when we talked to him as we record this on Wednesday morning, he was asked about what he likes about moving around and he said just finding the best one on one matchups. He said, look, I know fans and people want to watch the Godzilla, King Kong matchups, what he called them, the Micah Parsons versus Penne Sewells, the Micah Parsons versus Lane Johnson's. But then he gave one of my favorite quotes of him so far. He said, sometimes you got to match up against basically their worst player. You got to see if the pups want to come off the porch. So they're, they're going to find whatever matchups, free him up and create one on ones.
- [37:58]
James Palmer
Because look, what does that mean?
- [38:00]
Matt Schneidman
That means the pups are the worst offensive linemen and he wants to see if they're ready to bark too, in addition to come out.
- [38:07]
Diana Rossini
And you know, it is the little, the little baby doggies, they just sit by the window. They don't come out because they're scared.
- [38:14]
James Palmer
I know what a pup is, but I just didn't Know the analogy of coming off the porch, is it like, do they want to play with the big dogs? I guess they want to come out. Okay.
- [38:21]
Matt Schneidman
Exactly. There you go, James. But. But I think I was really hoping.
- [38:26]
Diana Rossini
You guys are impressed with my puppy.
- [38:28]
Matt Schneidman
Yeah, that was pretty good.
- [38:29]
James Palmer
It was a good dog analogy.
- [38:31]
Diana Rossini
I'm very good. I'm good at the dog. I don't know why. It's just that God gave me. Yep.
- [38:35]
Matt Schneidman
I, I think just to, to put a bow on that.
- [38:38]
Diana Rossini
Well, I don't want to take, I don't want to take away what the packers have going before because, Matt, we were talking about what the packers are going to be before Micah even got there. So the story's been Micah, but what Green Bay has put together and the expectations that they had coming into this year were already high. He's just. Was the cherry on top of this in this whole thing. Just headed into this game against the Commanders. In terms of the strength, um, what do you think that is for the packers against this Washington team.
- [39:08]
Matt Schneidman
Right now? The packers strength is their pass rush, I think. And I think there was a stat that says this is the youngest team versus the oldest team in the NFL. So that's another thing to watch. But the commander's offensive line was, was fine against the Giants. I know the Giants have a really good defensive line. I think the commanders in 41 pass blocking snaps had five pressures allowed, two sacks, whatever. But obviously whenever you're playing the Commanders, it's can you keep Jaden Daniels in the pocket? And Jeff Haveley talked about it yesterday. He said, look, th. This guy is unbelievable. He can dice you up from the pocket. He can get out and run. So the packers last year when they played guys like Jaylen Herz and Anthony Richardson, the first couple weeks of the season, they used kind of what they call mush rushes to contain. They didn't do all these fancy stunts and exotic pressures and, and rushing all out. They b basically just power rush to, to mush the pocket and contain these mobile quarterbacks from getting out. They're fine allowing your, you know, occasional five yard scramble, but they don't want to do anything that leaves the defensive line susceptible to all these holes. Now Micah was asked yesterday, along that line, you have to pick and choose your spots as a pass rusher when to go all out, when to maybe contain. And he said, basically there's no picking and choosing for me. Jaden knows I'm different. He's used to going up against 255, 260 pound D linemen he said this thing 2:45, 2:50. He said it's not built like the engines of the 80s. Basically saying he's a horsepowered, high powered new car engine who can beat Jaden Daniels to the edge. Micah said nobody's beating him to the edge, so maybe he won't rush to contain, but it would be wise if the packers did so they don't let Jaden Daniels kind of just take over this game.
- [40:51]
James Palmer
Man, I, I wouldn't use a car analogy, Matt Dinah. I would use like it looked like National Geographic when he came through the pile and he was chasing down Jared Goff. It was like a cheetah chasing a gazelle across a prairie. I wanted just to hear the narration there of like the Cheta gets his prey, you know what I mean? Like in like the British accent or however it happens. And Micah chase him down. Yeah, I'm interested in seeing that, Matt. Like how, how it goes down. Right. Because they did such a good job of, of moving Jaden off his spot, putting him outside and letting him do that against the Giants. Really, really good pass rush up front. I know this is blasphemy conversation, but I'd like to ask you a question about Jordan Love, Just somebody that's not talked about in Green Bay apparently anymore. You don't have to write about him anymore. But what did you see in week one when I talked to people around league going this might be the year the jump happens. What have you seen from the way he runs this offense that's balanced, has weapons that might be different in the way he plays? And maybe we see that Thursday night against Washington.
- [41:55]
Matt Schneidman
Yeah, a shameless plug for my podcast the Tundra with John Coon. But we talked about this at length this week and, and my main take on this is. And he showed this on Sunday. I think Jordan Love is a quarterback who can carry the packers with his right arm, but the packers are built in a way that he doesn't have to. If you think back to 20, 23, Jordan Love had 18 touchdown passes, one interceptions in the last eight games of that regular season. And then he had three touchdowns, no interceptions against the Cowboys in the playoffs. Last year was obviously uneven. His footwork was sloppy. He made some bad decisions. Packers couldn't catch a pass. He was injured basically the whole first half of the season. But Matt LaFleur still told me in the second half of the year he thought Jordan Love was playing the best football of his career. The numbers weren't as gaudy as they were in 23, but he was making the plays that he needed to. Game manager oftentimes is viewed as a derogatory term. I don't think it is that. And I'm not saying Jordan loves a game manager, but he is able to execute, I think, when healthy, pretty pretty well what the packers need him to do. So 16 for 22. However many yards he threw for on Sunday, two touchdowns that got the job done. He played really well in what he was asked to do. But with the packers running game with Josh Jacobs, they ran the ball last year more than they ever had under Matt lafleur. Running game wasn't great on Sunday, but it should pick back up. Josh Jacobs said yesterday it normally takes a running game, you know, four weeks to get going in the NFL. So the running game, the packers defense, they probably have one of the best defenses in the league. That's why I don't think Jordan Love is going to win MVP might be in the conversation, but he, he's not going to have those gaudy numbers even though he's capable of it. It because the packers, on a consistent basis over the long run, probably don't need him to play like that to win football games.
- [43:48]
James Palmer
He's Jalen hurts. Apparently he's gonna get the Jalen hurts this year. Diana. Team's too good. Team's too good.
- [43:55]
Diana Rossini
I think they'll take that. I think we take the Jalen hurts treatment if that's what it is. Although I feel like we can have a separate conversation about how we really feel about Jalen hurts now, right? No. Are we still.
- [44:06]
James Palmer
I think, I think I'm as my MVP this year.
- [44:08]
Diana Rossini
Oh, that's true. You did. I forgot that's where you were going with that. I, I, I, I forgot. All right, so just in, in terms of needs at this team, I know you and I talk a lot about, you know, trying to see what moves are going to make. You know, obviously with the trade deadline coming up here in just a few weeks and we're early on this conversation, but do you think that there's anything that they're going to be calming over the next few weeks to, to just really go all in knowing that this team has a possibility of making a really deep playoff run?
- [44:39]
Matt Schneidman
I'm not sure any move they make from here on out would be more all in than the move they just made a week and a half ago. So look, maybe there are going to be some depth pieces. They look tired.
- [44:49]
Diana Rossini
They're like, exactly.
- [44:51]
Matt Schneidman
That's enough all in for us. The cop out answer is there are going to be injuries. There are going to be guys who maybe don't play as well as they thought and they may look to fill some holes on the depth chart. I'd be more interested and I know Diana, you and I have talked about this. If the packers are going to be sellers not because they're bad, but because they have too many pieces. And I'm just floating this out there, I'm not saying I've heard anything concrete, but let's say a guy like Romeo Dobbs, they're probably not going to resign him this off season. They just signed Christian Watson to a one year extension. He'll probably be back around week six. It's a bargain move for the Packers. They kind of did the same thing with Jordan Love. Before he had started a game. They signed him to a, a one year, you know, expensive extension for a guy who hadn't played. But it was basically a win win. If he popped off, the packers would be financially secure. But Jordan gives himself some more guaranteed money if he, you know, doesn't play well. Kind of the same thing with Christian Watson. I don't know the exact terms of the deal, but he's working his way back from an acl. He'll probably be back back some point before the midway point of the season. So he's going to be here not only this year, but also next because of this extension. Jaden Reed is under contract for this year. Next on Tavian Wick's under contract for this year. Next, Matthew golden, their rookie first round pick. And you think back to last year when Romeo Dobbs was suspended for a game for reportedly skipping practice because he was unhappy with his role. You have to wonder, even though everyone's saying all the right things about how that's in the past, if when it comes time to make a decision on whether to pay him or not, whether to give him a second contract or not, maybe that's still lingering in the back of their mind. So if, if a team like the Chiefs or, or a wide receiver needy team in the middle of the season says we'll give you a third or fourth rounder, not that that's what they would get for Romeo Dobbs. W Would the packers say I don't think that that's what, what he's worth, but would the packers say sure, instead of, you know, risking getting a, a sixth or seventh round comp pick in free agency, let's give him up now that's a risky thing to do because Romeo's very well liked in that Locker room and he was at the quarterback's wedding this summer. Like the quarterback likes him. You don't want to annoy the quarterback. But if Romeo plays Well, if they're 6 and 17 and oh, whatever it is, I don't know, you want to mess with that room. So that when we talk about the trade deadline in the packers, that's the only thing that really pops into my mind and I'm not even sure how realistic that is.
- [47:27]
James Palmer
Yeah. But usually happens in those situations, guys, and I hate to say it, it's like you trade one of them away and then all of a sudden two guys get injured the next two weeks and you go, God, I wish this room was deeper. And it always comes back and bites you in the butt before you go. Real quick, give me a, give me a score for Thursday night.
- [47:43]
Matt Schneidman
Yeah, I've said 24, 21. Packers. I think it's another game where the packers defense really wins them this game. I know the commanders are old, but they've got enough experience with Lubu and Vaughn and Bobby Wagner on the defense to I think cause some trouble for this packers offense. But I think the packers moved to two and oh, and then the talk of them being a legitimate contender really ramps up. Then you look week three, they have the Browns. So who knows how many games the packers might win to start this season.
- [48:12]
James Palmer
Matt, appreciate you joining us. Coming up, Diana on scoop city presented by ebay. Jacob Robinson is going to tell us about what he's terrified of or maybe he's got some scaries about what's going on in Baltimore. Who should we be panicking about? We'll give you our picks next on scoop city. 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 hallworthy, 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 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.
- [49:33]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
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- [50:47]
Diana Rossini
Ready to order? Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver card. So. So let's just get one of everything. Everything.
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James Palmer
Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27 and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back. Yes, Chef.
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Diana Rossini
This is so nice.
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James Palmer
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
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Diana Rossini
Ooh, tiramisu.
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James Palmer
Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with the Capital One Saver Card. Capital One. What's in your wallet? Terms apply.
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Matt Schneidman
See capital1.com for details.
- [51:20]
James Palmer
All right, it's Scoop City again on a Wednesday. James Palmer with you, Diana Rossini. We are presented by eBay. We're closing things out here like we usually do on Wednesdays, where we get a video sent to us, Diana, that we don't really know what's going to be said, but we kind of have a gist of it. And Jacob Robinson from the Scoop City newsletter is going to send us this video here about somebody, a team that he is panicking about already after Week one.
- [51:47]
Jacob Robinson
Hey Diana and James, good to see you guys again. Hope you enjoyed week one. I sure did. Remember my turnaround pick for 2025, the Jaguars. They're 10 today. I want to talk to you about the team I'm most panicked about after Week one, and that is the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are a bit like a bad zipper on a winter coat. When you need them most, they don't close. And this has been a theme throughout John Harbaugh's career. And I don't think these are fluke events like Mark Andrews dropping a ball, Isaiah Lakely stepping out of bounds, or Derrick Henry refumbling in the fourth quarter. There's a lot more to it than that, and I pulled up some stats that'll explain why. Since 2022, Mike Sando found that the Ravens have lost six games where they led by nine to 16 points in the fourth quarter. No other team has lost more than twice in that time span. John Harbo's Ravens, in games that they have an 80% chance of winning, they only win 80% of those games. Coaches like Andy Reid, Sean McVay and Sean McDermott are all at or above 88%. What happens in Baltimore that's costing them these games? I wanted to know for today's newsletter, which has a deep dive in all the stats here, but I found a couple anomalies and things that stood out to me. First, the Ravens tend to take their foot off the gas. Wake up John Harbaugh. It's not the 90s anymore. Teams are going for it on fourth downs. Teams are pushing it in the fourth quarter when they're trailing and you haven't caught up. The Ravens play one of the most conservative playstyles in the fourth quarter, with a 18.9% attempt rate on fourth downs. That's well below the league average of 32%. They're comfortable, they have a lead, they're typically winning near the end of games and they just want to coast, hand the ball off. That doesn't work against stacked boxes as we saw in Buffalo, especially when you're not willing to go for it on fourth down. But the biggest problem facing the Ravens has been their defense through the first three quarters of games. In the past three Seasons, the Ravens have been the league's best defense by almost every metric. In the fourth quarter they become the league's worst. Here's a few stats that illustrate that Baltimore in the fourth quarter, the Ravens allowed the most points per drive, the most yards per play and ranked dead last in epa. In other words, the league's best defense becomes the league's worst when it matters most. So Diana and James, I gotta turn it to you. I'm panicked about my super bowl pick, the Baltimore Ravens, because I don't think John Harbaugh puts his team in a position through conservative play calling and bad defense to win in the fourth quarter of games. What are you most panicked about for week two?
- [54:26]
James Palmer
I didn't expect that coming. I did not expect that. I'm not nervous about the Baltimore Ravens, but apparently Jacob Pins, he's got some, some numbers to prove it. I don't know. Do you see that, by the way, before we put ours out there, I.
- [54:39]
Diana Rossini
Think the concern is more about what we're talking about in December and January. I think that's what. Right. Can you do the job here? My thought is maybe they got it out of their system. They just did the early bomb and maybe they're just going to take off from here. So we'll see how they regroup. But those are one of those losses. I think that hits a team hard. I'm excited to see how they're going to bounce back from this. But for me, the team that, that I'm panicked about because of who I saw on the field, Cold hard truth.
- [55:06]
James Palmer
Bring it to me.
- [55:07]
Diana Rossini
Zach Wilson is playing in week one and no one's injured and he's in Miami because the game is so out of control that they're pulling their starting quarterback. That puts me in a very panicked mode. Right. Because we knew headed into the season we had heard enough about Miami, the culture there, some of the issues they had with the players. It just things did not seem like they were on the right track. Right. But then you want to give the team the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they're able to galvanize them, gather them, get it. You know, sometimes they have these experiences during training camp where it's kind of them against the world, like maybe they were going to use this to motivate them. Coming out here against Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts, to me on paper that's a win. At least I thought until I saw Daniel Jones and Shane Sikens offense and never really gave him the credit that I think he deserves. Now that now that we saw what that looked like. But that being said, this defense had all summer to prepare for the Colts. And the fact that Daniel Jones and this offense did what they did with, with it looked it was too easy. That I am just concerned from the top down with this Miami Dolphins team. It is not going to get any better. Obviously. We know we've heard McDaniel talk about the cultural reset, but for, for, for Tua, it just, it has to be better. This was a team that had a really good offense last year. This isn't like they were bad. They've. They've had some success here. So what are they, what do they look like? They've got a chance to bounce against a Patriots team that struggled against the Raiders, but if they lose to the Patriots, sound the alarms. I have major concerns for their head coach.
- [56:55]
James Palmer
Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's, it's, it's. What's the other thing that's come along with this, Diana? It's been. What's the name we're hearing already after week one, who's trading for Tyreek Hill?
- [57:05]
Diana Rossini
I mean, we talked about this on Scoop because you asked me, you're like, hey, are they trading Tyreek? I said, they tell me they're keeping them. There's no plans of doing that. Tyreek is such a crucial part of this offense. They need him. And the smoke has started already. Not because I actually believe they're engaging, but because everyone's looking at the situation like, well, they're probably not going to be great. We'll see him get moved and we'll see a devonte Adams kind of situation. Perhaps for now, they're not moving him. But like you said, as we get closer to this trade deadline, we see when the Miami Dolphins, you know, fall by, then we'll see. Remember the trade deadlines first week of November, just to remind you.
- [57:38]
James Palmer
Exactly. And it's there for a reason. Right. Teams are still going to take time to evaluate if the guy's on their own roster already. People bring up Pittsburgh. Maybe that compliment to DK is already on the roster. We saw it. Calvin Austin did the first week. I mean, maybe they don't need to make a trade. Teams are still going to go and take some time with this. But is one to keep your eye on. All right. I'm going to go with the cold, hard truth that my team I'm panicking about is the Detroit Lions. Oh, boy. In a very different situation than the Miami Dolphins. Right. I don't think the entire season is going to bottom out, but they have a divisional loss already on their schedule to the Packers. We knew it was going to be maybe a slow start with the two new coordinators, even though they had been preparing for the loss of Ben Johnson for some time. Right. They've always been curious about when that's going to happen and know they have to prepare for it. Johnny Morton comes in now, and I think this game against the Bears is now Ben Johnson versus Johnny Morton. Like, you could have two divisional losses to start the season off, and then who do you play? Week three? The Ravens. So there's a chance the Lions could be.03 to start the season. Like, I'm not saying they are going to be, but I'm looking at this going. The coordinators need to find their footing. We know that they just more or less just swarmed Jameer Gibbs, the Packers defense, which is one of the fastest in football, but they couldn't really get moving offensively. Jared Goff had some of the, you know, numbers that resembled his rookie year. Is this something to panic about? Because we know the windows now, Diana, and we know the talent is there, but you get yourself behind the eight ball this early in the season, it's something to be nervous about. And the guy that nobody really talks about, I think, is the loss of Frank Ragnow running that offensive line and retiring.
- [59:29]
Diana Rossini
I'm so glad you said that because as you were painting the picture of losing these coordinators as well as assistants. Right. It's never just.
- [59:34]
James Palmer
It's not like they left on their own. They took people with them.
- [59:37]
Matt Schneidman
Them.
- [59:38]
Diana Rossini
Exactly.
- [59:38]
James Palmer
They took more than their Jerry Maguire goldfish. They took some Renee Zellwegers with them as well.
- [59:43]
Diana Rossini
But they've got three new offensive linemen, including three rookies. Okay. I just think there's a bit of a transition period. It stinks that, that they have a monster schedule here. And this is. These are going to be crucial. And to have to face Ben Johnson again stinks. But I just think you have to look at this. I'm not as panicked as you. I get why you are. But I just think once they sort this out and figure out what they want to be, how this is going to look, I think they'll be fine because I do believe in Jared Gol.
- [60:09]
James Palmer
I totally do, too. And I agree with you. And I think they will sort this out. But my. My panic is the start of the season because you have, you know, this Bears game, then you have the Ravens, then you do have the Browns, which we saw Miles Garrett blow up another AFC contender in Cincinnati. But after the Browns, you have Cincinnati and Kansas City. You could be in a difficult spot within, you know where your whole schedule lies in the first half of the season. Fascinating. We'll see.
- [60:35]
Diana Rossini
The advantage that Johnny Morton has is Ben Johnson's learning team too, right? Like everyone's learning. I know we're giving Ben a lot more credit because he's been such a big name and he's so respected. But as we saw on Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings and their loss at home to open up a season, there's a learning curve and, and I, I feel like I've turned into this person after I had children where I'm like everyone, be patient. Like I've turned into their presence level headed.
- [60:58]
James Palmer
You're not like a hair on fire type of mom.
- [61:00]
Diana Rossini
You're like you've known me a long time. I am hair on fire at all times, all the time. And I would like to not be, but that's just what I am.
- [61:07]
James Palmer
I don't know. Maybe we're seeing a new Diana Rossini in season two of Scoop City. I like it. Maybe we're getting more zen. I don't know. You never know. Well, Diana, it's been a wonderful day. It's been a wonderful Wednesday. I will see you when I see you. I'm not sure. Well, oh, we got a big interview coming up. We do catch that on Thursday. Scoop City for Diana Rossini. James Palmer. Matt Schneidman was with us too from covers the packers for the Athletic. I appreciate him joining us. For everybody home in the virgin, Diana Rossini. Namaste.
- [61:45]
Diana Rossini
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Diana Rossini
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James Palmer
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Diana Rossini
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