00:00Overreaction or reality? You fear the Cowboys pass rush by committee this season will not work.
00:07Um, what do you mean by will not work?
00:12You'll be disappointed in the pass rush.
00:14I don't think it's going to be ineffective.
00:16I think, but I've said many times, my expectation for it is to be a lot of coverage sacks,
00:23not a lot of sacks forced by the issue.
00:25Um, you might have some moments where a blitz works for you.
00:30And I think you actually, you're, you're going to have some more middle, middle linebacker blitzes
00:35that are effective for you than we're used to seeing.
00:38Um, but I don't think it's going to be ineffective because I don't have an expectation for it.
00:45I think, and he, you know, he kind of detailed everything we've been talking about this offseason,
00:50didn't he?
00:51Uh, what Schottenheimer was just going through, or he was talking about using numbers to kind
00:55of skew what you're seeing, uh, for the quarterback and changing his, his clock by, you know,
01:01making him confused as what he's seeing downfield.
01:03And that's why I've been saying over and over now that I, that I think it's going to be because
01:10your coverage does things.
01:12It creates a little chaos that either makes a quarterback break out of the pocket faster
01:17than he wants to.
01:17And that becomes, uh, uh, a sack or a short yardage play that probably could have gone
01:25for more had they not done what they'd done.
01:27Um, but I also discussed with you a couple of weeks ago, why not have both?
01:35Like what's, what's the, what's keeping you from saying we can do that, but we can also
01:40create pressure with our one-on-one matchups up front.
01:43And I think that's still a possibility, but yeah, I think you'll be, if you're saying we
01:48need this number and that, I don't think you're going to be excited based on the pressure you're
01:53getting, but the coverage should be good.
01:54Alec, overreaction or reality?
01:56You fear the Cowboys pass rush by committee this season will not work.
02:01To this point, overreaction, I, I think this is schematic.
02:06I think it's purely planned.
02:08I think it's something that we should expect that there's not going to be any jarring number
02:13in a positive manner from one single player or two single players on this team.
02:19And you look at the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning Superbowl champions, who we talk about
02:24defensively masterminds in the scheme that they run just beautiful Mike McDonald and all
02:29the work that he's doing.
02:30They were tied for seventh with the most sacks in the league last year.
02:35If you go to their team stats, there was three players who led the team in sacks for the
02:41Seahawks, all tied at seven a piece.
02:44And then there's DeMarcus Lawrence at fourth with six.
02:46So I don't mind the idea.
02:49I'm not saying that they're going to copy the Seahawks model overnight, but I think that's
02:54just kind of the NFL that we're trending towards where there's not necessarily the one dominant
03:00pass rusher on some of these better defenses.
03:03It's the sum of all of the parts.
03:05Does everybody understand how to play within the system?
03:08Overreaction or reality, someone outside of the current betting top five will win Offensive
03:16Rookie of the Year.
03:17That includes Jeremiah Love, Fernando Mendoza, Carnell Tate, Jordan Tyson, and Jadarian Price.
03:24Overreaction or reality, somebody besides one of those five.
03:28Overreaction!
03:29Oh my goodness!
03:31Oh, and was Carson Beck on that list?
03:33He was not.
03:35It's because Jeremiah Love's on there.
03:37Yeah.
03:37He's going to hand the ball off and throw the ball off.
03:39Yeah, they're just going to...
03:40Yeah, I think that's it.
03:42Like, this was a...
03:43Technically, if they were co-Rookie of the Year, that would mean someone outside the top
03:47of the list won Rookie of the Year in a way.
03:49They, um...
03:50This was a very defense-heavy draft, and I feel like the offensive side of it, you know...
03:58But I think that group right there is going to produce the one, because there were some
04:02guys that were taken because they needed them.
04:04Alec, what say you?
04:06Give me the list again, because I think I might have a name.
04:09Jeremiah Love, Fernando Mendoza, Carnell Tate, Jordan Tyson, and Jadarian Price.
04:16I was going to run a bit and say Spencer Fano, just so the Browns can be like, we're good
04:21at drafting!
04:23No, overreaction.
04:24And like Corey said, the top end of this draft was just not super fun in terms of offensive
04:32players.
04:33Just to put it frankly, if there was another good quarterback in this class that just stood
04:38out more than Ty Simpson, that list would be excluding someone like a Jordan Tyson or
04:44something, where I would say, absolutely, that makes sense.
04:47That's the group.
04:47I can't really argue.
04:49It's going to be one of those guys, and it's probably going to end up being Jeremiah Love.
04:54For the next one, I take you to Caleb Williams.
04:56Caleb Williams said, no more of this Madden curse.
04:58We're going to go out and do all the things we need to do to stay healthy, do all the
05:02things
05:02we need to do, study film, be prepared each week, go out there and handle business.
05:07Overreaction or reality?
05:09If you believe in such things, Caleb Williams will break the Madden curse.
05:17Um, oh yeah, sure.
05:18I'll believe in it, for one, because I've seen it.
05:22Have you?
05:22Yeah.
05:23Or do you just think it's regression?
05:24Whatever happened to Peyton Hillis?
05:26It shouldn't have been on that cover.
05:29We can all agree on that, right?
05:31Yeah.
05:31Okay.
05:32I don't know.
05:33He had a really good year.
05:34And they were like, let's put the white rhino on there.
05:37Um.
05:37I want to see sales for that year.
05:40And how much sales are like ebbed and flowed, depending on the cover athletes.
05:45I don't know.
05:46That was a good question.
05:48We'll look into that.
05:49Or like the, uh, like whatever addition they made to the game.
05:53But I feel like they've gotten to the point where they're like, hey, we tweaked this one
05:55part.
05:56That's all we can do now.
05:57Oh, neat.
05:57Uh, yeah.
05:58No, I, I think, um, I think you can.
06:01Okay.
06:02Alec, overreaction or reality?
06:03If you believe in such things, Kayla Williams will end the Madden curse.
06:08Break the Madden curse.
06:09Excuse me.
06:09Do you believe?
06:10I don't.
06:11Overreaction.
06:12Because this is my favorite thing about the Madden curse.
06:16There's no definition.
06:17I'm allowed to move the goalposts as much as I want for this.
06:21Oh, okay.
06:21So he could go out there and pass for 5,000 yards and 55 touchdowns.
06:26If he loses a playoff game, I'm going to say that he didn't beat the curse.
06:31Yeah.
06:31You know, if he goes out there and he only completes 50% of his passes and they win a
06:36Super Bowl, I'm going to say he still had a bad statistical year.
06:39He won a Super Bowl.
06:41I'm going to move the goalposts to fit this narrative.
06:43I don't care.
06:44Overreaction.
06:451999.
06:46The first player on Madden cover, Garrison Hurst, suffered a gruesome, career-threatening
06:51leg and ankle injury in his very next playoff game.
06:55Michael Vick, in 2004, broke his fibula in the preseason shortly after the game's release.
07:00Sean Alexander suffered a broken foot in week three of the season after winning MVP, missing
07:08games, and failing to reach half of his previous season's release.
07:11Okay.
07:12Peyton Hillis suffered various injuries in poor form the next year.
07:16Antonio Brown, after being named the cover athlete, his career took a dramatic, drastic
07:22downturn, including bizarre off-field incidents, frostbite, and an early exit from the NFL.
07:27Was that because of Madden?
07:29Now, you're telling me, since 1999.
07:31That's only a few of them.
07:32All right.
07:32So that's five out of 28 years.
07:35Christian McCaffrey.
07:36That just sounds like football.
07:37Christian McCaffrey was going to get hurt regardless of if he was on the cover of Madden.
07:42Brett Favre was going to show his D to people who didn't want it, whether or not he was
07:47on the cover of Madden.
07:48And still, well, I don't want to get sued by him.
07:51But also, looks like, you know what?
07:56Stole money as well.
07:58So there's that.
08:00Overreaction or reality?
08:03The more you think about it, the more you are concerned that the Cowboys buy is so late
08:08in the season.
08:10I told you that to start.
08:13Like, I didn't love it.
08:14Because it's honestly your fault.
08:16Because you set this expectation that 10 would be a great time to take a break.
08:21Ah, yes.
08:22And so my mind was just like, yes.
08:24Yes, it would be.
08:2510 is a great time.
08:26And they were like, week 19.
08:27We're waiting the whole season.
08:29It's not week 19, by the way.
08:31It's week 14.
08:32But they were like, we're going to wait until almost the end of the season.
08:35It's stressful.
08:36Because there's a middle of your schedule right there that's very difficult.
08:40You've got a couple of difficult games that you really need to win.
08:43And your bodies might be worn down.
08:46They're going to have to do a couple of different things.
08:50Start hot.
08:51Dak's already said that with what this schedule is.
08:54We're going to have to start hot.
08:55We cannot hit the ground walking at all.
08:58Right.
08:58And they're going to have to figure out ways to balance out this offense and defense so well
09:03that it still has legs in it by the time they hit that point in the schedule.
09:08It does concern me.
09:09Alec, what say you?
09:12Overreaction.
09:14I said it when it happened.
09:15I kind of like it.
09:16I just hate.
09:18The only thing that I hate when it comes to scheduling is the early buy.
09:21I don't hate anything else.
09:23But I kind of like the idea of if you start hot, that's a big if.
09:28If you start hot, you play consistent.
09:30If your defense is average, even at worst, just average.
09:35If it's just kind of existing.
09:37Your offense looks reminiscent to what you saw last year.
09:41Maybe not exactly one to one.
09:43You're probably going to have a winning record.
09:45And I like the idea of having that late season reward of go ahead and reset mentally and
09:52physically.
09:53Take the week to yourself.
09:54Get recalibrated as we go into this final stretch of the season.
09:58Hopefully, you get a couple wins.
10:00And then you go into the postseason feeling a little bit fresher.
10:03Not totally fresh because it's not at the very end of the season, but a little bit fresher
10:07going into the postseason.
10:09So I kind of like it.
10:11I don't hate it.
10:13I don't love it.
10:13But I think I'm okay with it.
10:16I just love this, Kevin, from the 2-5-4.
10:19Everyone knows John Madden was a voodoo warlock, but since he's no longer with us, is the curse
10:24over?
10:25I just love the emphasis on it.
10:27Voodoo warlock?
10:27Everybody knows this, too.
10:29Oh, man.
10:31Okay.
10:33Interesting.
10:36Overreaction or reality?
10:38At the age of 32, Derrick Henry will once again lead the league in rushing.
10:45He did so in 2019, 2020, and last year he was in second place, 26 yards behind James
10:51Cook.
10:53Ooh, interesting.
10:54So overreaction or reality?
10:56At the age of 32, Derrick Henry will once again lead the league in rushing.
11:02Well, you got Declan Doyle, the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, coming from
11:08Was he with the Bears, I believe?
11:12He was doing some work with the Bears?
11:14He was the offensive coordinator for the Bears.
11:17He was the primary play caller.
11:19I have no doubt about it.
11:21Ooh!
11:22Anybody that's worked in that area knows that a guy, and he was also with the Broncos, too,
11:29before that, he's going to want to run the football.
11:33And now, what I think, if he's smart about it, he mixes it up and uses Derrick Henry and
11:38somebody else effectively.
11:40Right.
11:40But, I mean, you also have Lamar Jackson there, but, Kevin, you've said often, why would you
11:45not hand Derrick Henry the ball in this situation?
11:48Yeah.
11:48I don't get it.
11:49And I wouldn't go away from that if I'm Declan Doyle.
11:51I still think that's why Harbaugh got fired.
11:53Alec, it is to you, then, overreaction or reality.
11:57At the age of 32, Derrick Henry will once again lead the league in rushing.
12:02Reality, because of what Corey just mentioned, I am so football starved.
12:06I was actually reading up on Declan Doyle the other day, especially because I've kind
12:12of championed Jesse Minter as the next head coach.
12:16So I'm like, let me see if his staff is worth it.
12:18Who's his running buddies?
12:19And I was doing some reading into his work with Sean Payton, a little bit in Denver and
12:26whatnot.
12:26He does a lot of up-tempo stuff.
12:29His passing concepts are really interesting, but he did a lot of work and he got a lot of
12:34praise for what he did with Ben Johnson in terms of play designing some of the stuff and
12:39installing.
12:40Obviously, Ben Johnson is doing the play calling in Chicago, but the actual coming up with some
12:45of these concepts, people are already calling him a genius out of Raven's OTAs, including
12:51Zay Flowers, who went out of his way to say this dude is a genius, including some of his
12:56space-creating route concepts on play action and whatnot.
13:01So I think this is all going to lead to good things for Derrick Henry.
13:06I think that this might be one of his better seasons just in terms of flash plays and chunk
13:14plays because I think you are going to get some deceptive play calling that's going to
13:18allow for some defenses to kind of guess the wrong way whenever they're matching up in front
13:23of that offense.
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