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It's NFL LIST SEASON and NFL.com's most recent claims the NFC South has the worst collection of quarterback play in the league. The Morning Shift debates the question and consider just how much the Falcons' quarterback situation plays into the South's ranking.
Transcript
00:00And Nick Shook of NFL.com ranked the divisions by quarterback talent for this season, and he has the NFC
00:08West in first, AFC West in second, and then if you look all the way down in eighth place, dead
00:14last, he has the NFC South. Is that warranted?
00:18Unfortunately, I believe it is. I'm still not a believer in probably three-quarters of the division's quarterbacks. I don't
00:29believe that Bryce Young will be a 12-year starter in Carolina and lead them to the Super Bowl. I
00:35just don't. I don't know what we have in Atlanta. We literally don't know who's going to start week one.
00:40And as far as New Orleans goes, they kind of think they got it rocking based off of a half
00:46of a season or less. And Baker Mayfield, good Lord, we're talking about how much money he's going to be
00:52making and whether or not he's the guy at this point.
00:55And Todd Bowles answering questions about it. So yeah, as unfortunate as to say, we can think highly of all
01:01these guys and talk about the talent they have, but when you dwindle it down and start looking at the
01:06other divisions, I would unfortunately say he's right on it.
01:10Yeah, I'm fine with the NFC South being eight. You have an unknown in Tyler Shuck, because look, six games,
01:21seven games, you're still unknown. Whatever we have here going on.
01:26And then I don't wholeheartedly agree with the hatred Mike Spews for Bryce Young, because I'm more of a Bryce
01:33Young guy, but I also think he is a guy that, to me, hasn't proven himself.
01:36You go look at how they were successful last year, and they didn't use the full field. A lot of
01:44his stuff was intermediate stuff to kind of dink and dunk.
01:49And the run game was a huge part of what they did last year in Carolina and defense.
01:56And then I'm personally sold on Baker Mayfield. I think there's bigger issues there than Baker Mayfield.
02:02And now Baker Mayfield being able to be the leader, necessarily, that you need.
02:10And I think Mike Evans not being in that locker room, that is the question mark for me. I'm fine
02:14with that.
02:14My problem, if I can bounce around a little bit, is who he has ranked third.
02:21And that one, to me, is ridiculous. He has the NFC East ranked third.
02:27Dak Prescott, whether you, and I say anybody out there, wants to admit it or not, is far and away
02:34the best quarterback in that division.
02:37It's not even close. It's not even close.
02:42Jackson Dart is an unknown. Stay healthy.
02:47And what I mean by that, I'm not saying concussions are his fault, but he is putting himself a little
02:52bit in harm's way with the way he moves with the football.
02:56Jalen Hurts, yeah, I know he won a Super Bowl.
03:01He also won it behind a 2,000-yard rusher, essentially, in Saquon Barkley.
03:05And one of the best defenses we've seen, I don't know, you know, since the Ravens in, what, 2000 or
03:13whatever.
03:17Jaden Daniels, unknown.
03:19Because he had a really good year where he ran a lot and he got hurt because of it the
03:24next year.
03:25And I'm just not sure what they are, Mike, without him, with him sitting back in the pocket and playing
03:32a style that doesn't put him in harm's way.
03:35Much like Jackson Dart.
03:36I just mentioned him.
03:37They're just different injuries.
03:38So, how is that the third best, how is that better than the division in the AFC North with Lamar,
03:49Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers, and then whatever Cleveland has?
03:52I completely agree.
03:54That, to me, is the biggest misstep.
03:57Because I am a massive Dak Prescott fan.
04:00And the way he plays the game, I think because the team he plays for and the position he's in,
04:04he gets hated on, you know, unfairly a lot of times.
04:07But, you look at the AFC North, they've got him, he's not only got him behind, he's got him ranked
04:12fifth.
04:12He's got him ranked fifth.
04:13And just the amount of MVPs alone, and Joe Burrow is obviously a next-level elite quarterback as well.
04:21Well, I did have an issue with that.
04:23I had a problem with where he ranked that entire, you know, division as far as that goes.
04:28And even if, say what you want, I know Deshaun Watson at this point in his career is not good
04:31and may not even start, even though it probably looks like it.
04:35He has had a history where he has at least, you know, been a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback.
04:39He had an MVP caliber season.
04:41Exactly.
04:42So, call it what it is, but that Nick Shook, you know, recency bias, I guess, with some of this
04:48stuff is a little bit off base.
04:51And, look, I'm fine with the NFC North.
04:54I think they have a good, for the most part, a good set of quarterbacks starting that division.
04:59But to have them over Burrow and Lamar and Aaron Rodgers, those are, if Joe Burrow stays healthy for the
05:07next seven years,
05:08that's a division right now with three Hall of Fame caliber quarterbacks.
05:14And you have Caleb Williams, who's been bad and been good.
05:21Now, granted, he's still got to become a better quarterback in the pocket.
05:28His off-schedule play is unbelievable.
05:30But as far as a pocket passer, he is still lacking.
05:34Jared Goff, who's a good player.
05:36Jordan Love is a good player.
05:37But then whatever the hell Minnesota has going on with Kyler and JJ, how is that better?
05:44How is that better than the AFC North?
05:48Because I want to tell you, it's not.
05:50And I'll stand on that business all day long.
05:54I agree.
05:55So where do you put the, so NFC East was in third.
05:58You say that is the wrong place for them.
05:59Do you put them after the NFC North or AFC North?
06:02I would probably put them after both, honestly.
06:07Because, again, it's Dak Prescott and in the NFC East.
06:13So it's Dak Prescott and a guy who hasn't proven himself.
06:17A guy who needs to stay healthy and have a year where he progresses as a pocket quarterback in Jaden.
06:24And Jalen Hurts, who personally, off the field, I absolutely think is a phenomenal human being.
06:33But on the field, he's a mixed bag.
06:37In order for Jalen Hurts to be an effective quarterback, he has to run it seven to ten times a
06:46game.
06:46And they have to be effective in the ground game with Saquon.
06:50And then the passing game is kind of a complement to the running game.
06:55Yeah, I completely agree.
06:57A number of different quarterbacks like that as well.
07:00It's just such a weird, it is a weird time in quarterbacking as far as this transition that we've gone
07:06to of this more athletic style quarterback.
07:08Because you still have a few of the old school style guys that don't move and don't pass the line
07:13of scrimmage and things like that.
07:15I want to bring this to y'all's attention as well.
07:17The AFC East was ranked sixth.
07:19Is there any more polarized group of quarterbacks?
07:23Like, good?
07:24Like, Drake May and Josh Allen.
07:26You look at that division, you go, oh, man.
07:29Up there.
07:29You know?
07:30Top eight quarterbacks.
07:32Both of them, probably.
07:33And then at the bottom, you go, okay, Malik Willis, we have no idea.
07:36And Geno Smith is coming from a very bad situation into maybe another bad situation.
07:41And you wonder how long that experiment's going to last.
07:45I looked at it and I was like, oh, Josh Allen, Drake May, what do y'all do?
07:47And then I was like, ah.
07:49Is it?
07:50Drake's sixth.
07:51Is it fair to say that Drake May has to go do it again?
07:58Oh, for sure.
07:59So, like, I can, I, to me, this, the AFC East is very similar to the NFC East as far
08:11as their, their, so, would you agree, and I know you will, but I still got to ask the
08:17question.
08:17Would you agree that Josh Allen is a better quarterback than Dak Prescott?
08:21Yes.
08:22Okay.
08:23I would, yes, I would rather have Josh Allen on my team.
08:25And would you agree to have a Drake May than, or would you, let me ask you, would you rather
08:31have Drake May or Jalen Hurts?
08:35Drake May.
08:36Okay.
08:36So, and I want to say this real quick about Jalen Hurts.
08:38I'm not saying Jalen Hurts can't go out there and throw it 40 times a game and win, right?
08:43The problem is, he's not going to go out there and throw it 40 times a game for 17 games
08:48and
08:48go 12 and 5.
08:49He's not.
08:50He's not built that way.
08:52It's not who he is.
08:53No.
08:53Um, but I, I, I think that Drake May would be closer to that than Jalen Hurts.
09:00But then Malik and Geno, how are they, I mean, like, Malik has a chance to be very much like
09:09Jaden Daniels, I think.
09:11I think, I think they're very similar.
09:13They both can move with the football.
09:15They both are going to work the perimeter a little bit, right, with the, the short perimeter
09:19game, um, and then they've got good, got good deep balls, but like, it's not, they're not
09:25working that 10 to 20 as much, as, as, as, as much as, um, some other guys could probably
09:32do in the league.
09:34Uh, so I don't know.
09:35I, I think that I, I think they could be a little bit higher, but not much.
09:39I was, uh, I was, I was thinking this as I kind of looked on this list a minute ago
09:43and
09:43I wanted to throw it at you before we went to break.
09:44If you were starting your franchise right now, are you starting it with Drake May or Caleb
09:50Williams?
09:52Given the choice of the two quarterbacks, what do y'all think y'all, you know, it's hard because
09:58you know what, you know, that incurs, I don't know, you know, it's hard.
10:01Yeah.
10:01It's a good call.
10:02That's a very good call.
10:03What's hard about that for me is I think they're really similar, believe it or not, the way
10:07they play.
10:08They both can, can, I think Drake May is probably a little bit better North and South runner
10:15than Caleb Williams.
10:16Sure.
10:17I think Caleb Williams that was better at getting out of the pocket, keeping a play alive and
10:22making the off scripted play.
10:24I think he's better than, than Drake May is at that.
10:27Um, but in the pocket alive, Drake May is probably a little bit better.
10:35That's a tough choice, but they're both, they're both pretty, pretty, they've got some, neither
10:42one of them does anything so much better than the other.
10:45That is a clear answer.
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