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00:00But let's go out to the River Islands guest line right now,
00:02and we're joined by Odyssey NFL insider Mark Schlereth.
00:05He's the host of the Stinkin' Truth podcast.
00:07Listen to the Stinkin' Truth podcast now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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00:18Mark, great to have you, man.
00:19How's the podcast going?
00:20What were you guys running around talking about this week?
00:24You know, I mean, we've talked a lot of stuff.
00:26Obviously, the Giants and Brian Dable and how washed Russell Wilson is
00:31coming in on a critical situation and taking two sacks.
00:37You know, we talked about it.
00:38I've been talking about the Rams being what I think is the best football team
00:41in the National Football League.
00:43So the loss of the Rams, although they hung 40-some-odd on you,
00:49there is no shame in the way they're playing right now.
00:52And I think they're so uniquely built.
00:54You know, you look at the way when Sean McVay first came in this league,
00:59I remember his first couple of years, they were in 11 personnel,
01:03three wide receiver personnel, 98% of the time.
01:05That's what they did.
01:07Now they run more 12 and 13 than anybody in the league.
01:11They've got four tight ends that are just cookie cutters of one another.
01:15You know, they're all 6'5", 250 pounds.
01:18They can all run.
01:19They can all block.
01:20They're just a real match-up nightmare for teams.
01:23So I know you don't want to hear this, but they're fun to watch.
01:28Yeah, I mean, especially in offensive linemen,
01:30because you see all the different packages like you talked about.
01:33And I wonder about the Niners in that same vein who run a lot of 21 personnel
01:37in the way they use Juice, the fullback.
01:40Are there things that Shanahan needs to kind of innovate away from in order to,
01:46I don't know, be a little bit more of an explosive offense now?
01:48I don't know.
01:52I don't think I would say that that is true.
01:55I think that, you know, I think it has a lot more to do with who's playing up front for you
02:00and obviously who's on the edges.
02:05I mean, when you don't fear playing one-on-one coverage with people,
02:09you can commit to stopping McCaffrey, you can commit to stopping a lot of that stuff that teams do.
02:18And, you know, ultimately right now, from a passing game standpoint,
02:22name one dude that puts fear into your heart when you say,
02:27hey, we've got to go man-to-man on this guy.
02:30And frankly, I would just argue that it's probably nobody.
02:33You know, I think about it from the position I played as an offensive lineman.
02:37And one of the things we used to always say is, like,
02:40if you have not one guy who's a pass rusher that I'm afraid of going one-on-one with across the line of scrimmage,
02:47we're going to whip your ass.
02:48Like, there's just, there's no two ways about it.
02:52Now, all of a sudden, when you get one pass rusher or two pass rushers that are a problem,
02:57then you guys become a real issue for us as a group in general.
03:02And so, because then you've got to start committing guys to stopping the pass rush, to doing that.
03:07Now you're not getting anybody out.
03:09You know, now you're getting two or three guys out.
03:10And if your two or three guys can't beat man-to-man coverage, you're not going to win a lot of games.
03:15And so, I think those are the things that we look at with San Francisco right now
03:19as a way to get some health back on that receiving core and across the board with their organization.
03:28I think those are the problems that you get into.
03:29Mark Slareth is with us.
03:31Insider Calls are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
03:34Nationwide is on your side.
03:36Stink, we've got, let's see, Richard Sherman.
03:39We've got Brian Baldinger.
03:41We even sort of had Tom Brady getting lulled into the, they all have the same take right now.
03:47I know they lost, but Mac Jones was really good.
03:50And so it is.
03:51Stick with Mac Jones because he's the hot hand, even when Brock Purdy is in relative health.
03:58Would you care to weigh in on that?
04:01Yeah, I still think.
04:03And I'm not one of these guys that is like, hey, man, you know, you lose your job.
04:11You can't lose your job to injury.
04:13Of course, you can lose your job to injury if the guy who comes in plays better than you.
04:17But Brock Purdy would give them an element of athleticism in the back end at the quarterback position that Mac Jones, frankly, doesn't have and never will have.
04:32And so while you're struggling, you know, while you're struggling with health and with health-related issues and lack of dynamic nature at the receiving core, I would definitely, me personally, if Brock Purdy is healthy and there's no further risk of injury other than, you know, the normal stuff that happens to you because you play football, I would go back to Brock Purdy.
04:58Because he gives that element of athleticism and escapability in the back end and maybe a little bit more of an RPO type of game and some things that you have to contend with as a defense that, frankly, Mac Jones doesn't have.
05:13And I understand, you know, he went 33-39 and had 300 yards passing and I understand all those things.
05:20Of course, you know, how much of that is underneath and how much of that is because you're behind in the game.
05:28And, yeah, I understand the efficiency and stuff, but I think your more dynamic offense is currently constructed with the players that you have if you go back to Brock Purdy.
05:39Hopefully he can make it through some practices this week and he'll be out there against Arizona on Sunday.
05:44What sort of a problem does the Arizona defense pose, not only for Brock, but potentially Mac Jones as well?
05:53Yeah, I think they're, I mean, I think they're very well coached on that side of the ball.
05:57I think Sweat is, you know, Sweat is, you know, a decent, good pass rusher.
06:02Still, Calais Campbell is still playing at a ridiculous level.
06:06It's unbelievable.
06:07You know, they've got really good players on the back end.
06:12Buda Baker is a guy you always have to contend with.
06:15He's all over the place, has a blatant disregard for his own well-being, flies around about 190 pounds and just tries to absolutely destroy people.
06:25They're good.
06:26They are a good defense.
06:27Yeah.
06:28Ultimately, you know, ultimately, to me, this is a really cool matchup because their defensive coordinator is a huge Kyle Shanahan fan.
06:40And so that matchup, like, he is going to be jazzed up for that matchup.
06:47And it'll be, that's going to be really, that's going to be a really cool matchup for them.
06:52Ultimately, you know, you look at Arizona offensively, you can say what you want.
06:58And I think Bursette has done a really good job for them, but he's a backup quarterback in this league.
07:03And, you know, the Arizona Cardinals, frankly, just aren't that good right now.
07:06You've got one huge big-time problem is Trey McBride, but, you know, it'll be an interesting matchup to be sure.
07:14Yeah.
07:15Let's talk a little bit more about what you're mentioning there, that, like, the Arizona defensive staff is going to be all jacked up to face Kyle.
07:23I think that we out here in the Bay right now, Mark, we've got a fan base that, in a way, is struggling to get overly excited
07:31because it feels like a great year is kind of off the table because of everything that has happened on the defensive side of the ball.
07:39But you're a big Shanahan fan.
07:41I'm a big Shanahan fan.
07:42They are relatively healthy there, getting healthier.
07:46Maybe Purdy, maybe Pearsall joining this group.
07:50When you put all that together, is that offense good enough to essentially outscore teams and still leave an imprint on this season?
08:01Yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny you bring it up because you sit there and say, hey, man, they're not, you know, they're not playing very well.
08:09And, you know, we're probably not going to win the division and this, that, and the other.
08:14And you guys have run away with a bunch of seasons and ultimately ended in disappointment.
08:19And to me, getting healthy at the right time.
08:23Can you get healthy at the right time?
08:25Can you make a run at the right time?
08:27Can you, you know, at the end of the year, be playing your best football?
08:31Because ultimately, it doesn't really matter until then.
08:35And I'll tell you what, I'd take an average season to compete for a championship and to play really well in the playoffs.
08:43I would take that any day of the week.
08:45So I still think you have that, you know, that ability if you get everybody healthy and if you start, you know, playing better football.
08:53Defensively, I don't know.
08:56A lot of young guys, a lot of injuries on the defensive side of the ball.
08:59You know, the lack of a legitimate threat at the pass rusher.
09:03That's going to make that hard.
09:04But just to get offensively, get back, get back to feeling yourself.
09:09Have some dynamic weapons on the outside with Pearsall coming back.
09:13And like you said, if Ayuk comes back, I don't know his story right now.
09:17But that could make a big difference.
09:20And this Sunday, it's going to need to make a difference.
09:22And I'm just fascinated by the way the Cardinals have gone about their quarterback situation where Kyler Murray is hurt and he's on IR, I guess.
09:31But it looks like they made a pivot to Brissette regardless of that.
09:35How would you size up the situation overall in Arizona at the quarterback position?
09:40Yeah, I mean, I think they found out the most important thing is that Kyler Murray probably isn't their quarterback.
09:47And that's a great decision to make.
09:51You know, and ultimately, he just, I look at Kyler and, you know, I think at the quarterback position, for the most part, consistently boring wins.
10:06That's what wins in the NFL.
10:07And SportsCenter highlights are cool, but that doesn't win football games in the NFL.
10:15And for Kyler Murray, it always felt like, to me, SportsCenter, I want to lead the league in SportsCenter highlights.
10:23And, like, you can lead the league in SportsCenter highlights, but you're going to be five and whatever, you know, four and whatever.
10:29I don't know the math anymore now that they went from 16 games.
10:32It was so easy back when it was 16 games.
10:34You know, I could say, hey, they're going to be four and 12.
10:37Now I've got to add a game in there, so it'll be four and 13, I suppose.
10:41I'm not good.
10:41Matt, I was a general studies major from the University of Idaho.
10:44So you added that 17th game, and it's not even anymore.
10:47And none of it makes sense to me anymore.
10:50I just have given up.
10:52Yeah.
10:52You know what, though?
10:53Well, I think this comes up around the league a lot, Mark, and when you describe these two, I don't think you think they're similar in Kyler Murray and Brock Purdy, but maybe the situation is.
11:03I think that some people look at certain quarterbacks and they go, okay, this guy is good enough to take us to the playoffs, but maybe he's kind of a product of surroundings, or he's not good enough to get all the way over the top.
11:19Like, he's not a top-five QB.
11:22What is usually the right thing to do?
11:25Like, Dak Prescott, Derek Carr, what's the right thing to do when that's your guy?
11:30Is it to go ahead and pay the relevant quarterback or keep searching for great?
11:37Yeah, well, I mean, the principle, I guess, for me is there's one Patrick Mahomes.
11:46You know, there's three or four guys in the league right now that are that guy, and there are a bunch of others that aren't, and then there's some guys that are really, really good.
12:05And if you've got a guy that I think is really, really good, and you do in Purdy, then you can still win a championship, but you have to build around that guy.
12:15And I think the biggest thing about playing is it's not so much attacking somebody's weakness as it is mitigating your own.
12:26And so when you have a guy that can win and a guy that can lead you and a guy that is, you know, is made of the right stuff, then it's about, but he maybe doesn't have a couple of physical tools that you would like.
12:40Then it's about mitigating those potential weaknesses and putting enough people and enough concepts around him for you to have a win a championship.
12:50And those things, that stuff is done because there's only four teams that have the quarterback that could just carry them.
12:56But I would say of those teams, you know, of the how many championships has Lamar won?
13:03How many championships has Josh Allen won?
13:05Like, they also have some of their pitfalls.
13:08So those are the things that you have to look at.
13:10And I know we all want that unicorn playing quarterback for us, but unfortunately, they just don't make many of them.
13:17Mark Slareth with us here on Willard and Dibs.
13:20Hey, Stink, this is off subject, but before you go, and I know you guys were never on the field together because you both played offense,
13:26but our guy, he's part of our coverage here at 95.7 The Game is Lorenzo Neal,
13:31and he's made it to the next round in all of the Hall of Fame voting.
13:36Weigh in.
13:37What are your thoughts?
13:39Lo Neal, is that a Hall of Famer?
13:43Yeah.
13:44Yeah.
13:44Lo Neal was phenomenal.
13:47Phenomenal.
13:47You know, unfortunately, for the most part, the fullback position has kind of become extinct.
13:54And, you know, and unfortunately, the voters don't understand the value, oftentimes, of those guys and what they brought to the equation.
14:04So, Lo Neal was a phenomenal football player, did it for a long time, and crushed people in the running game.
14:10And so, yeah, if it was up to me, absolutely, because he's a, you know, he's a glorified guard.
14:17And I want all those guys, I want all those guys in the Hall of Fame.
14:22But, you know, like I said, unfortunately, we've got a lot of guys who vote for the Hall of Fame that I would say that if you can't put a statistic in front of them,
14:35they don't know how to vote.
14:37You know what I'm saying?
14:38Totally.
14:39Totally.
14:40You taking Lo Neal or Kyle Juszczyk?
14:44For?
14:46Fullback.
14:47Oh, I would take, like, it depends on what you want.
14:52You want a guy that catches the ball?
14:54You want a guy that absolutely destroys people in the hole?
14:57I'll take the run game aspect all day long, but I love Kyle Juszczyk as a player as well.
15:03It's just morphing the position into something that it wasn't, you know, back when Lo Neal played and when I played.
15:11But, yeah, I'll take Lo Neal all day in the run game.
15:14I honestly look at some old footage.
15:16The Lo Neal, Mike Allstott full eye in the backfield, that should have been outlawed.
15:22Oh, my gosh, right?
15:24Too much man back there.
15:27Yeah, that's a whole lot of man.
15:29So you've got to take on Lo, and you get around him, and then here comes Mike Allstott?
15:33No thank you.
15:35Yeah, that's wrong.
15:36Yeah, that's never the right answer.
15:38No, no.
15:39All right.
15:40Hey, Sting, thanks.
15:41We'll talk to you in a couple weeks.
15:43All right, sounds good, boys.
15:44Take care.
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