- 10 minutes ago
The GBAG Nation dove into all of the latest news from around the NFL. They began the discussion talking about Dante Fowler Jr. following Tank Lawrence to Seattle, they also covered a couple NFL schedule leaks, along with NFC East report card grades, and more.
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00:00Demarcus Lawrence to Dante Fowler Jr.
00:04If you want to win a Super Bowl, you should come here,
00:07is what Fowler told the Seattle Seahawks official team website.
00:11It was amazing just to be able to play with him for the past couple of years.
00:15The legacy he left in Dallas when he left, it was a big thing.
00:19And to see him come here and see how great he played, he was very healthy.
00:22He took this defense to another level.
00:24He won a Super Bowl, something that he's been talking about since I met him.
00:28So it was really cool to watch him in that position as Dante Fowler Jr.,
00:35just another one of the exodus from Dallas that is now going to Seattle,
00:39pair up with Aiden Durdy.
00:40They lost Kenneth Walker.
00:42They lost Boye Mafé.
00:43They lost Kobe Bryant.
00:44They lost Tariq Wolland, who almost cost them the NFC title game
00:48but was an above-average player throughout the year,
00:50gives you some physicality, gives you some playmaking.
00:54I think they were barely the best team.
00:57And maybe the Rams were actually better.
00:59I agree with you there.
01:00I wouldn't be that confident right now if I'm Seattle.
01:03I'm enjoying our championship, but I'm not heading there if I'm Dante Fowler
01:07thinking like, yep, back-to-back, baby.
01:08Let's go back-to-back.
01:10That'd be the most...
01:11I mean, look, it was unlikely nobody saw them really go in there to win their first Super Bowl.
01:14To go back-to-back if they were to do that, my gosh,
01:17was Sam Darnold as your quarterback,
01:19who is probably one of him and Nick Foles.
01:21They're the most in recent memory.
01:22It's like, did that really happen?
01:24They actually did it, and you're still not...
01:25Like, how good is Sam Darnold?
01:27He's obviously a solid quarterback.
01:30He's not a top-ten guy.
01:31You're not going to put him in your top-ten quarterback list.
01:33So it's...
01:34Yeah, I mean, I understand.
01:35You just won a Super Bowl, have the crotch first confidence.
01:37It worked out.
01:39DeMarcus Lawrence channeled it.
01:40He called it.
01:40He said, look, I knew I wasn't going to win a Super Bowl in Dallas.
01:43We're going to win one here.
01:43We all laughed at him.
01:44Then they did it.
01:45But I'd be stunned if it happened.
01:47But this is the year to bet on it.
01:48Like Brad Sham told us throughout the post-game show with Brian and I,
01:53Dante Fowler Jr. every other year.
01:54He's an every-other-year player.
01:56So maybe this is the year he goes to Seattle and has a great season for them.
01:59And the Cowboys are like, dang it!
02:01They were one of the teams that ran it the most.
02:04And they brought in Jadarian Price.
02:06They did.
02:07Who could be?
02:07I think...
02:08I like Price.
02:09If Price pops like Walker played, you know, Charbonnet as well,
02:12you're going to have a two-headed monster again.
02:17A one-two punch.
02:18Why not?
02:19A dang one-two punch.
02:20You mentioned the opening segment, Monday Night Football Opener.
02:23Going to be division rivals, Broncos, Chiefs.
02:26We don't know where that game will be, which is so annoying.
02:29It's like, look, if it's leaked, you're going to say it.
02:32You know where they're going to play.
02:33Just say, okay, they're opening the season in Arrowhead.
02:36Here we go, Broncos, Chiefs.
02:37Just tell us.
02:38You know, stop being...
02:39What's it take?
02:39It takes a team source or a network source willing to put their job on the line to leak this?
02:45You just had Troy Aik.
02:46I'm only giving you part of the story, Zach.
02:48Come on.
02:48I can't put my 401k and my health insurance on the line for your journalism.
02:54Put your huevos on the table.
02:55Let's go.
02:56Tell me if it's in Denver at Mile High or is it Arrowhead.
02:59Why is it such a big deal?
03:01Do you have a concert problem maybe again?
03:03Maybe there's a concert.
03:04Maybe Bad Bunny's playing.
03:05I don't know.
03:06Maybe something's going on.
03:07I know that's the issue with the Cowboys.
03:09I did see one leak, and this is not confirmed, okay?
03:12Don't clip this, Josh or Aiden, but I love you both dearly.
03:16Tennessee, week two at Dallas is the Cowboys' home opener.
03:19Take it.
03:20That's a leak.
03:20That's a leak.
03:21It's a leak.
03:22Let the good times roll.
03:23It's a leak.
03:23Titans-Cowboys.
03:24I don't know if it's real.
03:25It might not be.
03:26It could be a Fugazi, Fugazi, Fairy Dust, but Titans.
03:28So at Giants, at Giants, at home against Titans, then on the road against Ravens?
03:33Yeah, that's just one leaky poo.
03:36I'll tell you what.
03:37Last year when I was doing this, those leaks turned out to be right.
03:39So I'm thinking there's at least a 50% chance maybe that's accurate.
03:43I wonder if we're in a situation right now, though, where, man, you'd have to feel like
03:47pretty good starting out the first two games, wouldn't you guess?
03:50Yeah, I think you'd be 2-0 getting ready to play the Ravens.
03:52Now, who knows?
03:52Maybe the Titans.
03:53I mean, jeez, they got Cardinal Tate, maybe.
03:56We thought that about Chicago and Carolina last year, right?
04:00Yeah, Chicago turned out to be pretty good, and Carolina was a playoff team that took
04:04the Rams down the wire.
04:05A playoff team after they played Dallas.
04:07They gave them their confidence they needed.
04:08They really tilted their entire season.
04:10Think about it.
04:11If Javante Williams doesn't get caught from behind and fumbles, maybe Chicago never turns
04:16out to be Chicago last year.
04:18Well, and the George Pickens drop.
04:20The volleyball set.
04:21That's true.
04:22The weird fluky interception.
04:23It was about to be like a three-point game.
04:25They go down and put that thing in.
04:26Next thing you know, it's a 17-point game.
04:28It's over.
04:28Well, I had a high-ranking official tell me that drop is why they haven't paid George Pickens.
04:32Literally, they're still holding that against him.
04:34I'm like, dude, screw you, George.
04:35Strong sources.
04:36I'm just kidding.
04:36I made that up.
04:37All right.
04:38Bills to host the Lions Thursday Night Football on Prime Video in Week 2.
04:42And this is going to be the first home game for Buffalo in their new Highmark Stadium,
04:46which looks incredible.
04:48Like the tease videos they've put out there.
04:50Still Buffalo.
04:51Gosh, it looks badass.
04:52And nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.
04:56Like the Buffalo Bills.
04:57This is going to be a hell of a game.
04:58Bills hosting the Lions.
05:00And hey, last year...
05:01Or said called it Rich Stadium again.
05:04That's what their stadium used to be.
05:05I see.
05:05I always thought of...
05:06Was it Rich than Ralph Wilson?
05:07It was...
05:08I think it was Rich Stadium first, and then Ralph Wilson second.
05:11Yeah.
05:11Yeah.
05:11Okay.
05:12Because I mean, growing up, it was always Ralph Wilson.
05:14But yeah, I mean, now it's Highmark, which is kind of strange.
05:17When I was in Pittsburgh, they also had a Highmark Stadium.
05:19It's right next to their stadium, the Heinz Field, which isn't Heinz anymore.
05:23It's like Akersher or whatever the hell they're calling it.
05:26All right, let's go to Troy Aikman.
05:28Here's Troy.
05:29He was on GetUp.
05:30Now, they're going to be featuring all of their Monday Night Football group.
05:33Like, Joe Buck's going to be part of the Thursday night schedule release show.
05:36So now Troy's making the rounds.
05:38So he was on GetUp this morning, and they, of course, have to ask him about the Cowboys.
05:42What do you think about Troy's analysis?
05:44I think he's in midseason form.
05:46Yeah, you know, I think so.
05:47I mean, that is the big question.
05:50They can only get better.
05:51I do, and it's early, I understand that, but I do like the hire of Christian Parker.
05:56I think sometimes you bring in a young assistant who now is getting his opportunity
06:01after having coached under some really good people over the course of his career.
06:05He comes in with a good resume.
06:07All indications are that the players are excited about it.
06:10I think what they've done, starting with the draft,
06:13to address some of those needs on the defense has been positive.
06:17What I think Greeny gets lost a little bit,
06:20that the offense was so prolific last year, and then you've got a healthy Dak Prescott.
06:25And unfortunately for them, we saw it with Joe Burrow and the Bengals a couple of years ago.
06:30When you have that kind of play at the quarterback position,
06:33typically that means good things when the season comes to an end.
06:37And yet for Dallas, they failed to even make the postseason.
06:40Can that offense continue to play at the level that they did last year?
06:44And that's a big if.
06:45It was one of Dak Prescott's best years.
06:49It was George Pickens' career year.
06:51It was Javante Williams' career year.
06:53I mean, there was a lot that happened on the offensive side of the ball.
06:56The numbers may not look as good.
06:58In fact, I think if you're a Cowboys fan, you hope the offensive numbers don't look as good
07:02because that would then mean that the defense is better
07:05and playing a much bigger role in the success of that team.
07:09Yeah, and you mentioned Pickett.
07:10Yeah, I think he's spot on.
07:11I think ideally you'd like the offensive numbers to not have to be as good.
07:15That means obviously you're not in as many shootouts.
07:17And look, if they are, then perfect.
07:19You love your chances.
07:20But that is a realistic fear, and I kind of have it too.
07:24Like, are you going to just see a natural regression?
07:27Like, is it possible for Dak to carry over as good of a season as he had last year?
07:31He makes good points about the career years for Javante Williams and George Pickens.
07:35I mean, I do think that they're both in their primes.
07:38You know, there's no reason to have a drop-off, but you do have now an entire offseason.
07:43You know, last year was the element of surprise.
07:44We didn't really know what the Schottenheimer offense would look like.
07:46Now we do.
07:47So you've got to make sure that, you know, Clayton Adams and Shoddy
07:50and the offensive coaching staff, and I believe in them.
07:53I absolutely do.
07:55But I do have that fear.
07:57Is this offense going to be as good?
07:59And I think we're kind of assuming it will be.
08:01And then you just marry a better defense, and boom, we're going to be able to have a team
08:04that's a playoff-caliber team.
08:06So, yeah, you know, there's a lot of things to get into there.
08:09I don't know if I agree with Troy Aikman that your offensive numbers won't look as good
08:14if your defense is a lot better.
08:16I think your time of possession should be better.
08:18I think your field position should be better.
08:20Your average, you know, starting point should be better.
08:24So, you know, I think the goal is to score 35 points, you know,
08:28and to keep your opponents under 20.
08:29So, you know, but what you really want, what it really comes down to is not the counting numbers
08:36and the touchdowns in the yards.
08:37It's the red zone efficiency.
08:38It's third down efficiency.
08:40It's EPA per play.
08:42And it's your total turnovers, right?
08:44And if you can keep those in line, then everything's going to be fine.
08:49You know, I'm not really worried about if Dak throws for 30 touchdowns or 40 touchdowns
08:54or 4,000 yards or 5,000 yards.
08:55I just wanted to be efficient, and, you know, I'd really like to see the defense be a takeaway
09:03defense this year.
09:04Sure.
09:05You know, really what it comes down to.
09:07And Shottie talked about that a ton in the offseason, and he'll probably get back around
09:11to talking about that, but I don't feel like the defense has taken strides in that direction
09:15of fixing that problem.
09:16Last year, they were not only getting takeaways, they weren't even touching the football very
09:20often.
09:20No, they weren't.
09:22And hopefully with a better secondary, maybe that'll happen, but that does have to be
09:25a key.
09:26And I think you're right.
09:27I think that this team looks sexy statistically, but when you really kind of dove into it,
09:32there were a lot of left points on the board.
09:34You're settling.
09:35Your drives are stalling.
09:36You're settling for long field goal attempts.
09:38I think the red zone offensive efficiency has got to be priority number one.
09:41And I think that would come with a better, more consistent running game as well.
09:45And then maybe you've added some help in terms of some other pieces, like a Michael Trigg.
09:50Can Trigg turn out to be a type of player that he's certainly got the talent to be?
09:54That could be a player that could really make some improvement for you in the red zone.
09:58But my gosh, you look at the rest of the NFC East, and this was courtesy of Sports Illustrated.
10:02They did an NFC East report card so far for the offseason.
10:06Every single team in the NFC East, outside of the Eagles and the Cowboys, you've got Bs for
10:14them, but then the two bottom feeders, Commanders, Giants, A's, A- for the Commanders.
10:20You add in, of course, Sonny Stiles, Antonio Williams, their draft class.
10:27They did a lot on the defensive side of the ball.
10:30Adafi Owe, Charles Amenihue at edge, Amik Robertson at corner, Leo Chenault at linebacker,
10:36Caleb Vaughn Chason at edge.
10:38I mean, they definitely did upgrade a defense that really, really struggled a year ago,
10:43and they added some playmakers on offense.
10:45So Washington, especially just with the health of Jayden Daniels, should improve.
10:49And the Giants, I do love on paper what they've got defensively.
10:53Now, they've got to prove that on the football field, and they've got a new coaching staff.
10:57Will that click?
10:57But you add Greg Newsome, who's a good proven corner.
11:00D.J. Reeder's a solid defensive tackle to replace Dexter Lawrence.
11:03Arvel Reese, Colton Hood.
11:05I mean, they crushed it in the draft.
11:07Francis Malanoa should help that offensive line.
11:09I'm Tremaine Edmonds, average linebacker, but an upgrade over what they had.
11:13All of a sudden, the NFC, if you're looking around, just from a talent perspective,
11:17it might be the most improved division in all of the NFL, in my opinion.
11:21But you've got the best quarterback on your team.
11:23You still do.
11:23You still do.
11:24And I think the Cowboys are also super improved defensively.
11:27Like, how good will they be remains to be seen.
11:29But the personnel, and that's where I screamed all season long,
11:32your personnel's not good enough.
11:34They totally overhauled the safety room, which they had to do, with Jalen Thompson.
11:38Now you've got Caleb Downs.
11:40Adding Malachi Lawrence should help the edge group.
11:43Rashawn Gary.
11:44I mean, I think Gary's slightly better than Jadeveon Clowney.
11:46So that's like a minor upgrade there.
11:48Kobe Durant is a proven corner.
11:50They can play and start in the NFL.
11:52That's better than trotting out some of the backups that you had a year ago.
11:55So, all in all...
11:56Better than Kyrie, let me think.
11:57Yeah, absolutely.
11:58I mean, yeah, I don't think that's a stretch to say.
12:00I think D. Winters is better than any starting linebacker you had last year
12:04outside of Overshone if he's healthy.
12:05He better be, man.
12:07Everything I read about him is great.
12:09And he seems to be a perfect fit for Christian Parker.
12:11Like, he's smart.
12:12He's aware.
12:13He can drop.
12:14He can, you know, be versatile and all that.
12:16But why did they let him go?
12:18And why is he only making three and a half mil if he's so great?
12:20I hope so.
12:21You know, I just think there's the possibility that the majority of their turnover
12:25is different guys.
12:27Instead of Clowney, it's Gary.
12:29Instead of Sanborn and Murray, it's D. Winters.
12:32You know, it's different guys, and it's young guys.
12:35Is it better?
12:36Yes, it should be.
12:37I just don't know by how much.
12:39Like, you're not going to give up 31.
12:41Are you going to give up 24?
12:43Are you going to give up 20?
12:44Are you going to give up 29?
12:45Yes.
12:46Like, is it a touchdown difference?
12:47Is it a field goal difference?
12:49You know, like, how drastic is it?
12:50And I'm hopeful that it is more of a touchdown.
12:52But you're right.
12:52There's a lot of unknown.
12:54And right now, it's hopium season.
12:56It's like, I'm excited.
12:57You know, we're seeing the change here.
12:58Last thing I wanted to hit here in the fix, Charlie Kohler.
13:01He is a tight end that came over from Baltimore to the Chargers.
13:04Chargers have totally also remade, speaking of position groups, their tight end room with
13:08David Njoku signing.
13:09And then now Kohler coming in here.
13:12Here he is talking about the running game.
13:14And goodness gracious, Harbaugh's got to just be absolutely changed in his undies.
13:19Listen to his new tight end.
13:21Something, like, so beautiful about you're up by six points.
13:27It's like third and three.
13:30You know you're running it.
13:31There's two minutes left in the game.
13:33They have no timeouts.
13:34You get first time the game's over.
13:36You know you're running it.
13:38They know you're running it.
13:40Your wife knows you're running it.
13:42Their wife knows you're running it.
13:43You still run it.
13:45It's like, that is more satisfying than any touchdown we've ever had.
13:48And, like, that's kind of one thing I've grown to appreciate.
13:522016 Cowboys.
13:53Baby.
13:54Yeah, we're running it.
13:54Go ahead and stack that box.
13:55Yeah, you try and stop us.
13:57Yeah.
13:57We're going to run it right down your throat.
13:59Everybody knows that we're running the ball.
14:01Ron Leary.
14:01You can't stop it.
14:03Forget about it.
14:04Nothing like breaking a team's will, which is running the rock.
14:06Prime Tyron Smith.
14:08A 24-year-old Tyron Smith firing off the ball.
14:11Good night.
14:12What a beautiful team.
14:13What a beautiful time.
14:15There's your fix.
14:16It was, dude.
14:17I feel all fixed up.
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