Myron Metcalf (2:33)

First off, if you're excited about Saints Nighters, maybe you need help. It's just.

Andrew Sal Tunis (2:38)

Come on, man.

Myron Metcalf (2:39)

The Spencer Radler, Mac Jones. What is that? The. The 2019 Holiday bowl or something like that? I don't know. But here's the thing about Kyle Shanahan is I just think people ignore the Trey Lance experience. I think people ignore what happened at the end of the super bowl with Jimm Garoppolo. There are a lot of things where Kyle Shanahan has been right there and been in position to win big games and hasn't done it. And he moved up to get Trey Lance. And now Trey Lance is like the kid that Kyle Shanahan doesn't claim. The batters don't claim him. Like, who's Trey Lance? But he was supposed to be the guy. I think they got lucky with Brock Purdy. I think that has to be a part of the conversation. The last guy in the draft, nobody thought he would turn out to be anything. When you get back to the who you pay argument. Cause now you sounded like Matt Jones. My question is always, I'm honored if you're in that situation, Andrew, then who do you pay? I think the great lie in the NFL is that there are only two tiers of quarterbacks. There's the Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson class. And then there's, you know, the, the Kenny Picketts. The. The guys who are on that other end who, yes, they can start an NFL game, your Geno Smiths, but they're never going to win anything for you. The reality is there's also the Baker Mayfield tier, which is a set of quarterbacks who, at their best can get you to the playoffs. And then who knows what happens from there. You have to pay a guy if he's in that second tier. And I think Brock Purdy clearly is Super Bowl, NFC Championship game where he gets hurt. Or maybe they go back to a Super Bowl. And then last year there were all kinds of drama with the Niners. How much more could you want out of a guy other than what Brock Purdy did? And why wouldn't you pay him yeah.

Andrew Sal Tunis (4:19)

But then you see how the rest of the fallout's happening with the San Francisco 49ers roster. Right. They had to get rid of players this offseason. They had to restructure a lot of contracts. There was probably players they wanted to acquire via free agency or the trade, but they just couldn't afford it. And that's when I go to a guy like a Geno Smith or a Sam Darnold and you draft a quarterback. Because here's the deal. When you draft a quarterback that's an inexpensive player that's on your roster, again, I want to make it clear I'm not saying Brock Purdy stinks. I just think a lot of players can, can. Can win with you.

Myron Metcalf (4:46)

Kind of. You kind of. You're kind of saying. Because you're putting him in that tier of the Geno Smith.

Andrew Sal Tunis (4:51)

I don't think He's a top 10 quarterback.

Myron Metcalf (4:52)

But when's the last time you were like, geno Smith will take us to the mountaintop? Geno Smith is a. Is a good quarterback, sure. Right. But Geno Smith is never going to lead you anywhere. We saw. I was. I'm in Minnesota. I saw what Sam Donald did up close. But is that something that's going to happen again? I just think we deceive ourselves when we think that you either have Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen or you have nobody. All the restructured contracts, all the guys, they lost the Debo Samuels. First off, you lost the Debo Samuel in part because he didn't look the part last year. Yeah, he didn't live up to the hype. He wasn't as good as he was supposed to be. So you have a bunch of guys who didn't meet their own expectations. But then beyond that, who is Deebo without somebody to throw the ball to him? Like there isn't this imaginary list of quarterbacks out there that you can just tap and say, he'll get the job done. I don't know if you're watching college football, but I don't know if there's one top prospect that I would trust as a top five guy in this draft. Maybe Lenor Sellers at South Carolina. But, you know, K Clubnick was supposed to be a guy. Doesn't look great. Garrett Nussmeier has had some up and down moments, archmanning, who probably isn't even coming out. You couldn't draft him as a top 10 or maybe even a first round guy right now. So I just don't know where we have this idea that either you have a top five guy or you have a nobody. I think that's unfair to the Brock Purdy's of the world.

Andrew Sal Tunis (6:07)

Well, then maybe at some point they could just sit there and do Aaron Rodgers watch again because maybe that happens again this off season. We have Steelers and Patriots today, and the Steelers. I noticed something after the first week, Myron. Now, maybe this is a little harsh because it's early on, but I did not really have high expectations for both the New York jets or the Pittsburgh Steelers. But something that I pointed out was maybe two bad teams going up against each other and having a great game. Because if you remember, Jets, Steelers, Week one was a fascinating game. It was a lot of fun. But that does not mean they're two good teams. And we saw what happened to the jets last weekend, blown out by the Bills. And then you saw what happened with the Pittsburgh Steelers losing to an okay Seahawks team. Here's Kurt Warner on the Rich Eisen show talking about the Steelers.

Myron Metcalf (6:55)

I think what we saw this last week is more who the Steelers are right now than, you know, what we saw the first week in their ability to come back. But, I mean, I think the other indication is the jets, right. What the jets did week one, and everybody's like, oh my gosh, different team. Look at what they're doing.

Andrew Sal Tunis (7:09)

And then we saw what they did.

Myron Metcalf (7:10)

Week two against the Bills. And so I think all that is a representative of who the Steelers are right now and who Aaron Rodgers I think is as a quarterback. I still just don't think after the injury that he's gotten fully comfortable playing the game inside the pocket, letting things develop, you know, as he did earlier in his career. And so I'm, I'm a little concerned about the Steelers.

Andrew Sal Tunis (7:29)

How much pressure is there for Pittsburgh today against the New England team in New England that a lot of people have maybe making it as that seventh team, that final wild card team this year.

Myron Metcalf (7:38)

Yeah, I mean, the pressure's on Mike Tomlin, right? I mean, everybody else is fairly safe, like Aaron Rodgers, whatever. If this season is terrible for him, it doesn't really change a whole lot in terms of his legacy and being a Hall of Famer. But I think Mike, Tom is the one facing the pressure. I mean, you gave up almost 400 yards to the Seahawks. That's a problem. Aaron Rodgers, to me, Aaron Rodgers challenge is everyone talks about him in the pocket. The guys who succeeded after 40. Drew Brees played really well right at that stage of his career. Tom Brady, we know what he's been able to do. The guys who are in their late 30s, early 40s, who could still do it were pocket guys. They weren't moving around, they weren't throwing on the run for the most part. They were guys who dropped back, got rid of the ball.

Andrew Sal Tunis (8:25)

Yeah.

Myron Metcalf (8:26)

Aaron Rodgers thinks he's still the 25 year old who can be mobile and do all these innovative things. He can still improvise and his body isn't responding to that idea, which is why you're going to see a good game every now and then. But for the most part, I agree that what you saw last week is the real Aaron Rodgers. And if that's the case, Andrew, that's a real problem for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Andrew Sal Tunis (8:48)

And here's what Aaron Rodgers would like to see out of the Steelers here in week three.

Myron Metcalf (8:52)

I don't like getting too binary, but winning, that's a good response. But we can't get attached to the, the binary system that, that our league is judged on necessarily because it is a 17 game season and the process has to be great. So just dig into the details in the process, enjoy it, practice well, and then let game day take care of itself.

Andrew Sal Tunis (9:14)

Here's the thing, Myron, we talked about the Eagles in the previous segment, right? They're 2, 0. Doesn't matter how the offenses look, they're 2. And oh, you're not the Philadelphia Eagles, you're the Pittsburgh Steelers. You're the team that's trying to actually make a name for yourself a little bit this year. So you want to talk about binary system of how we view your team. There was a lot of doubt with your team or there were people thinking that this would be the dream team that actually worked. For once, I didn't believe it. And so far through two weeks, I saw you barely beat a Jets team that got obliterated last week. And then to your point, you gave 400 yards to Sam Darnold in the Seattle Seahawks.

Myron Metcalf (9:49)

Yeah, I mean, if you're using big words like binary and regular conversation, I don't want to be friends with you. Like those are the people who like what, what are you doing? You don't have to do that. You don't have to show everybody how smart you are. At the end of the day, people want to see Aaron Rodgers on the field and whether or not he still has his fastball. This was always going to happen though, Andrew. We saw Aaron Rodgers and what he was last year. We saw that the way he wants to play the game doesn't align with his body at this stage of his career. You're going to need more than that. You trade away George George Pickens, yes, you got DK Metcalf, but there's a lot of missing pieces on offense defensively. Will T.J. watts stay healthy? Will they have other issues? The Steelers were already a question mark. I think what's playing out is exactly what we assume so far with Aaron Rodgers. There might be some highs, but how are you going to deal with the lows? Because they're definitely going to be there.

Andrew Sal Tunis (10:34)

Yeah, Mike Tomlin's going to have to do more than just coaching when it comes to what this team is made of. And again, this is another moment where you realize sometimes the on paper debate doesn't play out. Yeah, they do have this all star looking team on the Pittsburgh Steelers, but how's it actually playing out is a totally different question. We'll see how it goes today in New England against the Patriots. I'm Andrew Sal Cunas filling in for Matt. Here it's Matt and Myron on ESPN Radio. Coming up next Sunday headlines Our main James Man James Steele is back. He was ill last week, so he's back for this week. That comes your way next year on ESPN Radio and the ESPN app. If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple shop pay button you see at checkout? The one that makes buying so incredibly easy? That's Shopify. And there's a reason so many businesses sell with it. Because Shopify makes it incredibly easy to start and run your business. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. Shopify gives you a leg up with hundreds of beautiful ready to go templates to express your brand style and forget about the code. Tackle all those important tasks in one place, from inventory to payments to analytics and more. Spread your brand's word with built in marketing and email tools to find and keep new customers. And did I mention that iconic purple Shop pay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world? It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Your customers already love it. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.comnetwork. go to shopify.comnetwork shopify.comnetwork as you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy but for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Granger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Matt and Myron the podcast Matt and MYRON Here on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, SiriusXM Channel 80, presented by Progressive Insurance. If you miss anything on today's show, you can listen to Matt and Myron podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. I'm Andrew Sal Tunis filling in for Matt today. Myron Metcalf is back after having last week off. He's fighting through it today. Everybody prayers up for Myron Metcalf. You know, us people in sports, we don't get sick days, right, Myron?

Myron Metcalf (13:28)

Yeah, I got the sniffles. I don't have Ebola. I mean, I got, you know, but.

Andrew Sal Tunis (13:33)

We look it up to make sure that we do or don't have it.

Myron Metcalf (13:35)

Yeah, yeah. WebMD is the worst possible thing for me, man.

Andrew Sal Tunis (13:40)

Like, I had to blow my nose today. Am I dying?

Myron Metcalf (13:42)

Yeah.

Andrew Sal Tunis (13:43)

I have to Google this.

Myron Metcalf (13:44)

Okay, this is definitely typhoid fever, right? This is, you know, like, I always think I have something that we're like, it's supposed to, it was supposed to end like 100 years ago, you know? I mean, like, is it back, you know?

Andrew Sal Tunis (13:55)

Well, that's what James Steele had last week. He was in a. He. We put him in a bubble last week because we didn't want him infecting everybody at Bristol. It's time now for Sunday headlines. Extra, extra.

Myron Metcalf (14:06)

Read all about it.

Andrew Sal Tunis (14:07)

Read all about it.

Myron Metcalf (14:09)

The Sunday Headlines.

Andrew Sal Tunis (14:11)

Welcome back, James.

Myron Metcalf (14:13)

Yeah.

Andrew Sal Tunis (14:13)

My wife locked me in my bedroom for the entire weekend to keep me away from everyone. It worked.

Myron Metcalf (14:20)

Yeah. That's good.

Andrew Sal Tunis (14:21)

All right, let's start. Let's start in Seattle where Cal Raleigh broke Ken Griffey Jr. Single season franchise record for home runs with his 57th home run on Saturday. Saturday night in the Mariners, catcher moves within range of 60, a milestone few players have reached. Myron, what do you think about Cal Raleigh season?

Myron Metcalf (14:39)

I called it. You know, I knew that he was going to be continue to play at that pace. A lot of people were saying a catcher can't do it, his body's going to wear down. But here he is. And to me, if you tell me the guy he's battling for MVP isn't named. Aaron Judge isn't in pinstripes and playing for the Yankees. To me, there's no conversation. If MVP is most valuable to me, it has to be Cal Riley. Like to me, he deserves that award.

Andrew Sal Tunis (15:11)

First time you and I ever worked together, Myron. We were talking about Cal Raleigh and all the home runs. And the previous day I was doing a show in Bristol and I was saying Cal Riley has to win mvp. He has to. Because with all due respect to anybody that plays right field, there's been millions of great right fielders out there. The catcher is the most important position on the field other than the pitcher. And now combine that with all the home runs that he's hit because his name in the lineup makes that team so good. And let's not act like the Seattle Mariners are a perennial playoff contender. The fact that they're in first place their division right now, if you took Cal Raleigh out of that lineup, much like the same with Aaron Judge and the Yankees, that team has no shot. The Yankees could probably still be a plus 500 team. The Mariners would not be. And that's why Cal Raleigh, since the middle of the summer has been my American League mvp.

Myron Metcalf (16:00)

I'm with you.

Andrew Sal Tunis (16:01)

To be fair, I think Myron, you thought he might hit like 75 home runs though.

Myron Metcalf (16:05)

I thought he'd be in the 60 conversation. The 60 plus. I thought it was. I said Barry Bonds territory. And he is.

Andrew Sal Tunis (16:11)

You did. And that's.

Myron Metcalf (16:12)

And in the non steroid. In the non steroids territory. You know, he might say.

Andrew Sal Tunis (16:16)

He told me I was brainwashed by steroid players. I still remember.

Myron Metcalf (16:19)

Yeah, maybe.

Andrew Sal Tunis (16:21)

Maybe he'll break Aaron Judge's fake record of what, 60?

Myron Metcalf (16:24)

Whoa, don't say fake. It's not fake. Don't. Don't call it.

Andrew Sal Tunis (16:26)

It's a fake record. So the Guardians can't stop winning. They've won 10 straight. They beat the Twins 8 nothing yesterday.

Myron Metcalf (16:34)

To sweep a day night double header.

Andrew Sal Tunis (16:36)

They've won 15 in their past 16.

Myron Metcalf (16:38)

Games and are one game back of.

Andrew Sal Tunis (16:41)

The first place Detroit and the AL Central. After trailing by 11 games on September 4 and by 14 shortly before the All Star break. Guardians are red hot. Tigers are not. They're 28 in their last 10. Martin, what do you think about the Guardians?

Myron Metcalf (16:56)

I think this stretch, when you have this in baseball is the best thing in sports. Like. Like to me, if you talk about season ending situations, baseball beats everybody. And I think the Guardians to be able to surge after they were done 11 games back. And then, you know, the Tigers are part of the storyline too. Just falling apart, right? Lost what, five in a row? Two and eight of the last 10. I think it's incredible to. To watch a team surge like this. Obviously, I enjoyed that with the brewers and their run, but I think it's good for baseball when you have a team like the Guardian Surgeon like this down the stretch.

Andrew Sal Tunis (17:31)

And this might be also a moment where you look upstairs to Detroit, right? They've been kind of leaking oil since the All Star break, and they did not really do all that much at all at the trade deadline. And a lot of people were wondering, why aren't you doing something now? Because Tree scubal, who's going to get paid, right? And it might not be from Detroit because they don't typically pay that kind of money. Maybe he goes elsewhere and the Tigers go, wow, this could have been our really true chance of winning something. They did nothing. And now you seen them leaking oil. And the other beauty of it, in terms of baseball, that extra wild card team, I know a lot of people go, oh, man, there might be a.500 team in the National League making the playoffs. Hey, that makes it more exciting the final week or two. Because even if the Guardians don't surpass Detroit, they could knock out Houston in the American League. It's been crazy this stretch.

Myron Metcalf (18:16)

Yeah. Baseball, postseason in the buildup to the postseason is as good as it is in any sport, I think.

Andrew Sal Tunis (18:22)

All right, let's move on to wrestling. Wrestle Palooza.

Myron Metcalf (18:27)

The first WWE ple of the ESPN.

Andrew Sal Tunis (18:31)

WWE partnership was last night. It was a five match card featuring Brock Lesnar squashing John Cena in the opening bout. The Vision, the Bron Breaker and Bronson reed meet the Usos. Stephanie Vacair won her first women's world heavyweight championship, beating Iyo Sky. CM Punk and AJ Lee defeated Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch. And in the main event, Cody Rhodes beat Drew McIntyre to retain his undisputed WWE Championship. Myron talked about wrestling a lot on the show. What did you think of the event last night?

Myron Metcalf (19:04)

I thought Stephanie Vacaira and Iyo sky had the best match. I think that was my favorite, favorite match, you know, and so that was cool to see. I mean, it's cool to see it on the ESPN platforms, you know, Brock Lesnar Cena, I don't know. Technically it was the greatest match, but it was sort of like you could tell. The idea was, let's remind everybody that Brock Lesnar is this freak of nature who can pick up a 225 pound guy and just toss them all over the ring. I think CM Punk and AJ Lee together, I mean that was cool to see in Seth Rollins very fun match. So, you know, I thought it was, it was pretty cool, man. Just the first event on ESPN's platforms and looking forward to more.

Andrew Sal Tunis (19:44)

Yeah, it's just amazing. You know, Brock Lesnar still doing it, right? And I love that you talked about before the show you were talking about just how crazy of an athlete he is. We had Goldberg retire earlier this year. I know it's a 10 year difference, but you still have another behemoth of a human being that's still doing it at the age of 48. That still amazes me, man. Whatever you think about wrestling, the fact that these guys are still getting after it at that age. 48, like I'm in pain today from just going to a baby shower yesterday.

Myron Metcalf (20:08)

You know, it's amazing.

Andrew Sal Tunis (20:11)

All right. Asia Wilson became the WNBA's first four time MVP after earning the top individual honor for the second straight year the league announced on Sunday. The Las Vegas Aces star was named MVP in what had been considered a pretty tight battle with Links forward Nafisha Collier. Wilson ultimately received 51 first place votes to finish ahead of Collier, who was second with 18 first place votes. Martin, Asia Wilson, MVP yeah, I mean.

Myron Metcalf (20:39)

I guess I'll tread lightly a little bit because I'm still doing some WNBA stuff, but I thought defeats a Kylie was the mvp. You know, she got hurt for a stretch and the Links continued to play well. But if you look at the entire course of the season, I thought she deserved it. But you can't argue against Asia Wilson, who might be the greatest women's player that the league has ever seen. Right? Just a dominant force. So you got to give her full credit. The cool thing is I think we're on a collision course between the Links and the Aces and they're going to settle this on the court. So I'm looking forward to seeing that potentially.

Andrew Sal Tunis (21:12)

It's just nice waking up and looking at your ESPN BET account and seeing the green because that means it hit when Nafic Collier got hurt and there was a lot of confusion as to how long she'll be out. And that's when Asia Wilson start of her season wasn't great. And then all of a sudden she's doing Nikola jokic numbers right? 30 and 20. I go. Let me update this real quick before the numbers change drastically. All right, James, great job. With Sunday headlines as we are, your countdown to kickoff here on ESPN Radio. Getting you set for one o' clock games. And of course we're talking four o' clock games. We're talking about it all and we're getting closer and closer and before you know it, we're going to be talking about the Kansas City Chiefs and whether or not they can get their first win in the column. Because it's been a rough start for Kansas City. There's been a lot of confusion about whether or not they have the right weapons around. There's obviously injuries, there's suspensions, and now all of a sudden you're watching a New York Giants team that put up 40 points last week. So we talk about the 02 Kansas City Chiefs next here on Matt Meyer and ESPN radio. And the ESPN app, the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University helps you go from I know the way to.

Myron Metcalf (22:25)

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Andrew Sal Tunis (22:33)

Happen to made it happen and keep striving. Visit Strayer Edu Jack Welchmba to learn more. Strayer University is certified to operate in Virginia by Chev and its many campuses, including at 2121 15th Street north in Arlington, Virginia. When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together.

Myron Metcalf (23:00)

Use polls to settle dinner plans, send.

Andrew Sal Tunis (23:03)

Event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th and never miss.

Myron Metcalf (23:08)

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Andrew Sal Tunis (23:09)

All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone.

Myron Metcalf (23:15)

Learn more@WhatsApp.com Matt and Myron the podcast.

Andrew Sal Tunis (23:22)

Well, can they get their first win in the win column? This is Matt Myron on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app SiriusXM Channel 80 presented to us by our friends at Progressive Insurance. I'm Andrew Salt Tunis filling in for Matt Myron Medcalf here. Myron, the Chiefs 0 and 2. Oh, last week my Philadelphia Eagles go in there and beat the Chiefs, but it was a tight one and if Travis Kelsey doesn't drop a ball that he probably catches 99 times out, who knows how that game plays out but now they're 02. I would like to say best medicine is to go up against a bad football team, but the Giants did put up a ton of points against the Cowboys. I'm going to tell you right now, Chiefs defense a lot better than that Cowboys defense. That's not happening again. But what have you made so far, first two weeks of the season. Now, once again, the question will come up like it did all the time with Tom Brady and the Patriots, like it started to last year with the Kansas City Chiefs, is this the end of the dynasty? But seriously, what comes to your mind when you hear questions like that?

Myron Metcalf (24:17)

Yeah, I mean, maybe Rome has fallen. Right. And I think, you know, people talk about dynasty. Mahomes might be here for the next 15 years. So I don't think you can say that the Kansas City's run as a championship contender might be over. This version of the contender could be coming to an end. Like to me, Mahomes is by far their best player. And I don't think that's been the case in past years. There were other guys that you could rely on. The running game is nothing. I think Mahomes is their best running back. Yeah, obviously everything he's trying to do as quarterback, the defense has been solid, but because the offense isn't giving you more, they haven't been good enough. So I just think this is a Kansas City team that's running into a really strong division. Justin Herbert is so much better. The Chargers are better. I think the Raiders are going to be some teams they probably shouldn't beat. The Broncos are going to be a team you got to deal with. And then I just think across the league, they're not the intimidating force that they once were. But I think that happened last year, Andrew. I think last year when you go back and look at all those one score games that they could have lost, if those games go in the other direction, I think we would have been having this conversation a year ago.

Andrew Sal Tunis (25:25)

Yeah, it could have been. You're absolutely right. It's just you look at the talent around Mahomes at this point. You mentioned the ground game. Like Isaiah Pacheco does not look like himself since the leg that he sustained last year. Kareem Hunt looks another year older. He's the burst out of the backfield's not been the same for him. And then he's thrown to nobody. Right. Rasheed Rice dealing with the suspension. Xavier Worthy's hurt. Travis Kelce can only do so much being the number one guy and nobody helping out. Because if you're planning a wedding, if you're a defense, you know what's going on. Like you're not worried about Tyquan Thornton, with all due respect, like you're worried about Travis Kelce. So when you can zero in on one person, Patrick Mahomes magic can only go so far. Their defense is still dominant. So they will keep them in games. And you will always feel good with Patrick Mahomes in a one score game with the ball in his hands. But that's only one person, really.

Myron Metcalf (26:16)

Yeah. And you know, I know we keep saying Kelsey's the guy. Is Kelsey still that sure? You know, I don't know.

Andrew Sal Tunis (26:21)

Fair question. I mean, he had a good game last week up until the drop. Here's my homes earlier this week at his media, media availability talking about being owned two for the first time in his career. Obviously just being 02, there's a. There's more urgency than even last week. I mean, and I felt like we.

Myron Metcalf (26:34)

Were very urgent last week.

Andrew Sal Tunis (26:35)

So definitely new territory as far as being 02.

Myron Metcalf (26:38)

But knowing that we got the guys.

Andrew Sal Tunis (26:40)

For it, you know, we have the mindset of going out there and being even better.

Myron Metcalf (26:43)

And so in my eyes, it looks like what an opportunity. What an opportunity to prove who we.

Andrew Sal Tunis (26:47)

Are as the Kansas City Chiefs is.

Myron Metcalf (26:49)

Coming back from 02 and trying to build up to win a big football.

Andrew Sal Tunis (26:52)

Game on Sunday Night Football and try to get our season going in the right direction from there. I think that's the perfect message from Patrick Mahomes. Like, we've done it all. We've been the team that nobody could beat. We've won multiple Super Bowls. We've been to every single conference championship, every single year. With me as a starting quarterback. This is a new test for us. This is a new journey for us to show that we can win despite the slow start. But messaging is one thing. It's actually backing it up. That's the other question.

Myron Metcalf (27:18)

Yeah, I just don't think this team is as talented as some of those teams that Mahomes is talking about. Right. And you got injury issues. Xavier Worthy, once he's back, he's gonna be playing like a shoulder brace. What does that look like? Rasheed Rice will come back. Right. But you're talking about a guy who's played how many games over the last two years and now he's got to deal with another situation where he has a suspension and now he's got to jump back into the mix. Maybe they're just not as good. And maybe the Eagles showed us as much. Like maybe the Eagles did what a lot of other teams were in a position to do. But Kansas City won a lot of close games. And when they went up against a big dog, we saw that maybe they weren't the same team that had been this dominant force for so long. So this feels like a change under the guard moment. It also feels like Kansas City has to decide who it's going to be in the next chapter for Patrick Mahomes. Are you going to go out and get a bunch of young receivers, young prospects and build up? Are you going to go out into free agency in the off season and try to land some, some big fish? Either way, it doesn't feel like Mahomes is in a position to win a championship with this team.

Andrew Sal Tunis (28:18)

Right? And look, let me make this abundantly clear. I'm not saying that Tyreek Hill made Patrick Mahomes by any means, but you can look at the numbers of. Once Tyree Kill left Kansas City now, they still won, right? So that shows, that shows the greatness of Patrick Mahomes. But what I'm saying is like his numbers did take a hit because he did not have that true wide receiver. And as somebody in Philadelphia, I know what that's like with Andy Reid, right? They, I had to for one year, you know what I mean? Like, other than that, it was Todd Pinkson and James Thrash and it was a bunch of guys. And that's kind of what you've seen the last couple years in Kansas City has been a bunch of guys. Like, how many times are you going to go back to juju Smith Schuster? Like, we, we, we know that story in Kansas City.

Myron Metcalf (28:56)

Well, I mean, the reality is Mahomes hasn't been the best quarterback in football in three years, right? So that's another part of it is there are guys who have played at a really high level. I think the gap between him and everybody else is closed. I think you're seeing that even within his own division and that's okay, right? Mahomes is still great and he still is the quarterback of this generation. But even Brady got a lot of help along the way, you know, put different pieces around him. I feel like Kansas City is in a spot where they just assume that Patrick Mahomes would figure it out, right? So you get an Isaiah Pacheco and a Cream Hunt who, who look like original Tecmo bowl backup running backs at this point, right? You can't do anything with them. You don't have a big wide receiver target, you don't have any of these star pieces next to him. And the idea is, well, he can figure it out and actually he can't. I think he needs more help and that's going to have to be the vision. If things continue to go this way, Kansas City is going to have to have one of those meetings where they say, what's this next chapter like how do we rebuild around my homes? Because this isn't a group to me that can win a championship.

Andrew Sal Tunis (29:56)

Right. And something that you mentioned, the division's different this year too, right? If you started owing to three, four years ago, you're going, that's all right. Kansas City's got plenty of time to come back and win. But you're owing to and your first loss was handed to you by a divisional opponent. In the Chargers. We have Broncos and Chargers today. Broncos, a team that's considered having a top five defense. I know it wasn't a good showing last week for them against Indianapolis, but the Broncos a good defensive team with a sort of a young offensive core that's starting to be built. Justin Herbert looks like he's finally taking that leap. I'm not saying step forward. That leap forward that people have been talking about for a long time. Earlier this week on Unsportsman, like here's Chris Canty talking about those Chargers.

Myron Metcalf (30:35)

I feel like the LA Chargers can run away and high with this division okay, just based on how the schedule lays out for them. Man, having those two division wins in the bank is huge. And then of course having the opportunity for the Denver Broncos rolling into your building this weekend, week three, I think it's huge for them. If they get out to a 30 start, the Chiefs and everybody else in the AFC west will be hard pressed to be able to catch them. And here's the thing. I'm bullish on LA Chargers because of what I'm seeing from Justin Herbert. And Jim Harbaugh has proven throughout the course of his coaching career that he knows how to get the best out of quarterbacks while raising the floor from what we're going to see from them. And that's why I think Justin Herbert is capable of having a Josh Allen esque renaissance. We saw Josh Allen the first few years of his career having some issues with the turnover worthy plays. There was a roller coaster. You got a lot of good, but you got a lot of bad. Last year he was able to stabilize. That ends up resulting in an MVP caliber season. I feel like Justin Herbert through the first two two games is on his way to being able to put together that type of campaign.

Andrew Sal Tunis (31:31)

And look, Justin Herbert had a great season last year. It was the playoff game. That makes everybody think, oh, this guy doesn't have it. But even what he's done so far through two weeks has even put last year behind. I mean he's been great to start the season.

Myron Metcalf (31:43)

No, And I think Kathy is right. Like, it wasn't like you needed an overhaul for Justin Herbert. It wasn't like you looked at 10 things and said he's got to be better at all of them. For the most part. He had to be better down the stretch of games. Right. He had to finish games and I think we're seeing that. But he was always in that conversation of guys with that potential. I think we forget at one point, right through the first three seasons, only Andrew Luck had had more yards, I think, than he did. So he was already going to be a really top level guy. But now we're seeing him put it all together. Just as Kansas City is fading, just as the division is sort of opening up, I will say you still got to go to Kansas City, right? So you can be a very good team. You still got to go to Kansas City. You still got to go 5,000ft above sea level to Denver. So I don't think anything will be easy. But it does look that's look like that's the team to beat in this division.

Andrew Sal Tunis (32:33)

Yeah, I'm not going to say they're running away with it, but when you have good quarterback play the way that you have it right now with Justin Herbert, and clearly look, he's found a connection with lad McConkey, they bring back his old buddy Keenan Allen. Right. I think that's something that's really helped Justin Herbert out a lot. And then of course, with Harbaugh as the head coach, they're going to utilize the run. Now. It's not 150 yards a game out of a starting running back, but you now have multiple backs that you can turn to, which just makes Herbert's life a little bit easier. He's more comfortable back there. And that's important. When you have a quarterback that's just comfortable because you have so many guys to go to, that's just going to help you, especially when you have a little bit of talent. He's got a lot of it.

Myron Metcalf (33:09)

He's got a lot of it. But let's also put a bit of a question mark when it comes to the Chargers because Khalil Mack is hurt. Derwin James is always been hurt. It feels like Joey Bosa. Like there's a lot of guys where you look at and go, okay, I'm sorry, Joey Bose is in Buffalo, but there are a lot of guys where you go, okay, can the defense hold up? And I think the Khalil Mack injury is a big deal. And whether or not they can sustain this level on that side of the ball without him.

Andrew Sal Tunis (33:35)

All right. Coming up next as we continue to be your countdown to kickoff, leading you up to one o', clock, the slate all across the NFL, there are two teams going up against each other with plenty of question marks that surround them. We discuss that next year on Matt Myron on ESPN Radio and the ESP app.

Myron Metcalf (33:52)

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Andrew Sal Tunis (34:14)

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Myron Metcalf (34:49)

Matt and Myron.

Andrew Sal Tunis (34:50)

The podcast Matt and MYRON Here on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, SiriusXM channel 80 coming up in 15 minutes. I love it. I remember when you guys started doing this in the summer. The reason why I remember is because I was on the second week you ever did it. We got King of the Mountain. So we want your hottest sports takes. So start lining up now. Eight, eight, eight, say ESPN 88729. And if you want to wait a little bit, you can. But start thinking about those takes. Think about the hottest take that you can think of in anything. Doesn't even have to be football, right? It could be any sport right now. I love that you guys are doing this. It's been a lot of fun and I know we have the winner from last week. We'll play it for you coming up. So in 15 minutes, King of the Mountain, your hottest sports takes.888, say ESPN. That's 887-293-776. Two teams that have a lot of questions and kind of two different sets of questions. Myron.

Myron Metcalf (35:43)

Yeah.

Andrew Sal Tunis (35:44)

Are your Dallas Cowboys and your Chicago Bears. The Dallas Cowboys, man. The questions have been going on since the off season when Jerry Jones didn't want to pay Micah Parsons. And we've seen how Micah Parsons has already impacted the Green Bay packers and oh, by the way, how his absence has already impacted the Dallas Cowboys. You're letting Russell Wilson cook finally, for the first time in like four years, thrown for 450 yards last week. And then the Chicago Bears, their question necessarily isn't just about the new head coach, but also their quarterback that they took number one overall just two years ago. Been an odd start for both of these teams.

Myron Metcalf (36:21)

Yeah, yeah. I mean, for different reasons. Right. Self inflicted for the Cowboys and Jerry Jones doing what Jerry Jones does and letting his ego determine how he approaches his team. But you saw and you seen, I think, Andrew, the margin for ERA is just so slim for, for teams in this league. And I think you saw that in the first game of the season, just the opportunities they had against the Eagles and just couldn't make it happen. Like, they can be a good team, but you almost have to be a perfect team. And now you lose Michael Parsons and it puts even more pressure on you to do that. But I think they're in a better personnel situation than the Chicago Bears. Who. Listen, I understand the Caleb Williams, give him time thing. How much time? Because I saw him as a Heisman Trophy winner and everybody told me that he was supposed to be the number one pick that year. Then he comes out a year later and he was the unanimous number one pick last year. They said he had so much coming into the season, but the offensive line was terrible. And we saw a guy who didn't look special. Despite those issues. I'm still waiting for someone to hit the button and show me that Caleb Williams is special. So I think the Bears, to me, are in a much different scenario because they don't have that position figured out certainly at this point.

Andrew Sal Tunis (37:33)

Yeah, I mean, look, the first two drives last week against Detroit, you were thinking, oh, wow, this could be a really fun game. Lions go down the field and score. Bears go down the field and score. And then it continues. A punching match for or a boxing match for the first two drives. And then the Bears just stopped. Ben Johnson sort of, I guess ran out of plays or Caleb Williams ran out of steam. I don't know what it was. And that that game just ended like the scripted plays were over and it was done. And Ben Johnson couldn't, you know, adapt to what the game was going on. And I'm not trying to say that Ben Johnson isn't it. We'll find out to your point, who needs the more time? Is it Ben Johnson trying to figure out himself? Is it Caleb Williams trying to figure out the speed of the NFL? It's just been two weeks of just. All right, this is supposed to be the fun, high powered offense that we're all expecting.

Myron Metcalf (38:16)

Well. And Ben Johnson has a deal that says he's going to be here. Yeah, right. I mean, Ben Johnson hand selected the Bears. I'm not exactly sure why, but he has selected the Bears. He's going to be around. I don't think Caleb Williams has done anything to say that he's been Johnson's quarterback, though. If I'm the Bears right now, I'm having conversations in the front office about 20, 26 and who's going to be quarterback, who's going to push Caleb Williams potentially. Who could potentially replace Caleb Williams? All of these people who are like, well, you got to give them a chance to do. This is not an internship program, man. And I hate when we talk about the NFL that way you come into the league, you get a chance to prove that you can do it or you can't. And to this point, I'm not seeing anything that says Caleb Williams is a guy that you can turn to for the next 10 years of your franchise. And if that's the case, the Bears got to think long and hard about what the off season looks like if this doesn't change.

Andrew Sal Tunis (39:06)

Right. Because then you're in the same boat that maybe Jacksonville is in. Where they go, well, we can't get rid of Trevor Lawrence, so we're going to pay him $250 million and put his name on the stadium.

Myron Metcalf (39:14)

Yeah.

Andrew Sal Tunis (39:15)

And then you realize that the Jacksonville Jaguars aren't winning anything anytime soon. And then they're just kind of strapped with a guy who has never reached the expectations that people had for him and he's eating up all your cap. And there's a lot of teams that make that mistake, which is why I always bring my own personal life into this convers.

Myron Metcalf (39:30)

Yeah.

Andrew Sal Tunis (39:31)

I'm married now, very happily, five years coming up this November. I've been with her for, for almost a decade. But before that I was very. Is this gonna happen or not? Like, are we gonna be together forever or not? Are we gonna have fun for a little bit? But I'm moving on. Right. That's how I am with life. I don't understand how teams aren't with that with quarterbacks sometimes.

Myron Metcalf (39:48)

Well, it's difficult though, right? Again, when you have that second tier quarterback. I know I keep Saying the same thing. You gotta ask yourself, okay, I'm gonna go out to free agency. Who are you going to get? You want a Kenny Pickett special? You want Kirk Cousins on one leg? It's not like the market for guys in free agency is great. Okay, you go pay Sam Darnold. Can he do it again? I don't know. It's just hard to find a guy. So I understand when you have the Trevor Lawrence's of the world where you go, okay, the upside is there. And you're right, that's a great comparison to Caleb Williams. I think though, he's going to have to do something because the way Ben Johnson is talking about him is not like he thinks he has this generational talent. Ben Johnson talks about Caleb Williams like he feels like his quarterback has a lot of work to do in order to be at the level he expects. So this is going to be interesting to watch in the next six to eight games and how it all unfolds. Andrew, because I'm telling you, if this doesn't change, the Bears got to go into 2026 saying we need a guy to push the guy we thought we had going into next season.

Andrew Sal Tunis (40:47)

Now earlier we were talking about the Chargers and their two and oh star and how the Chiefs need to start winning to try to keep up with the Chargers. And they might be able to do that against the Giants. The Falcons are one and one. They're taking on the Panthers in Carolina today. And the Falcons have to quickly realize that Tampa Bay might not be a joke this year. Right. It might not come down to the final week, which it seems like it does every single year in that division. But right now Tampa Bay is banged up. They got a bunch of offensive linemen banged up. They got receivers banged up. They got Baker Mayfield who's going to have to do everything to try to win football games the next couple of weeks. The Falcons have a chance right now to try to close that gap and they're going into Carolina. This is one of those games where if you're the Falcons and you're Michael Penix and I understand that he's young, you have to put that all aside and say, hey, this is our chance to try to keep up with Tampa Bay in the division.

Myron Metcalf (41:36)

Well, yeah, and you know Michael Pennings Jr. Obviously that that's the guy who has to continue to develop. But that defense against Minnesota look great. Yes, they got a bunch of young pieces. No, I think they moved up to get James Pierce Jr. Yep, a bunch of other pieces around him. So it looks like they made the right move and what they did defensively because that was a playmaking defense that just disrupted everything that J.J. mcCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings wanted to do. Now, on the offensive end, if that can click, you're definitely talking about a team that can be. The Tampa Bay squad that listen continues to play down to the wire. That's Baker Mayfield. Specialty is in a fourth quarter with two minutes left, the Bucks find a way to win. But the Falcons, to me, are a much better team than they were a year ago.

Andrew Sal Tunis (42:17)

And you saw it last week. Speaking of the Bucks, what they did, you know, in the closing minutes against Houston, it's just. That's a good football team. But the Falcons need to try to keep up. Bijan Robinson, obviously a big week last week, 22 carries for 143 yards. The previous week against the Tampa bay buccaneers, just 12 for 24. So two totally different weeks for Bajan Robinson. Here's Raheem Morris, Falcons head coach, talking about him. He's definitely the best player in football.

Myron Metcalf (42:42)

Like, in my head, I don't care.

Andrew Sal Tunis (42:45)

He's unbelievable.

Myron Metcalf (42:46)

Like, I love the kid. I love everybody, everything about him. I love watching him with the ball. I love his confidence, I love his demeanor. I love his mindset. I love the leadership. I love everything about him. And, like, you know, it is what it is.

Andrew Sal Tunis (42:59)

I love the kid. I gotta ask you, I'm all for. I'm all. I'm all for having my guys back, right? Like, if I'm at a bar with my buddy and he's single, I'm gonna talk about how he's the greatest guy in the world to try to help him out with the girl on the other end of the bar, Right? I'm gonna do that. I'll be my man's hype man. Why not just add the. One of the best in front of your sentence. One of the best players in football.

Myron Metcalf (43:21)

Yeah, that was. That was a little over the top. That was like. That was like your auntie talking about her nephew, you know, at work, trying to get him a date a little bit, you know, little over the top. But B.J. robinson is very, very good.

Andrew Sal Tunis (43:33)

Oh, yeah.

Myron Metcalf (43:34)

I mean, he's a guy, if you put him in the right spots can be dangerous. And I think, you know that there's that extreme. But then there's the Ben Johnson's and the Liam Cohen's who are doing the opposite with some of their top players. So I'd rather have that than the. Than the opposite.

Andrew Sal Tunis (43:49)

Yeah, absolutely. You want to talk your guys up. All right. As we continue to count you down to kickoff. When we're back, we'll be one hour away from the one o' clock slate of the NFL. We'll continue to preview all these games for you here on ESPN Radio. But coming up next, King of the Mountain, your calls. So line up now on the Dr. Pepper calling line, 888, say ESPN. That's triple eight seven two nine, 3776. Your hottest sports takes next right here on ESPN radio and ESPN app.

Myron Metcalf (44:17)

Matt and Myron, the podcast.

Andrew Sal Tunis (44:21)

You've seen the headlines, heard the debates. The three point ball has created a monotonous rhythm to the game. Has the three pointer ruined basketball?

Myron Metcalf (44:29)

And how did we get here?

Andrew Sal Tunis (44:31)

The rise of the three point shot can be partially traced to an eccentric Kansas genius named Martin Manley, whose story didn't turn out quite the way he imagined. I decided I wanted to have one.

Myron Metcalf (44:42)

Of the most organized goodbyes in history.

Andrew Sal Tunis (44:44)

30 for 30 podcast presents Chasing Basketball Heaven.

Myron Metcalf (44:48)

Available now wherever you get your podcasts.