- 16 hours ago
Steve Palazzolo joins the show to discuss Jayden Daniels abilities as a scrambling quarterback and which NFL teams improved the most this offseason.
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00:00And it is time to get out to the Rude Guest Hotline, bring in our friend from the host of
00:05the Check the Mic podcast, that is Steve Paolozolo.
00:08Steve, how are you doing today?
00:11Doing great, thanks for having me.
00:12Absolutely, Steve. So, getting set for training camp, excited, rookies reporting tomorrow for the Commanders.
00:19Taking a look around the NFL before we get into some Commanders-specific things.
00:23Who around the NFL do you think had the best off-season improve in their team?
00:30Well, is the Rams the obvious choice?
00:32Yeah.
00:33I mean, and now even maybe more so if Aaron Donald unretires.
00:38Touch on the Rams quickly, just because they had a massive need coming into the off-season, which was their
00:43secondary.
00:43And they attacked it by grabbing both chief starters, one with a trade, one in free agency.
00:48And, of course, they make the Miles Garrett trade.
00:51And as good as Jared versus, obviously, Miles Garrett's an upgrade.
00:53So, in the short term, I would say the Rams are up there.
00:57I would say the Cincinnati Bengals are up there.
01:00I don't know if it's the best necessarily, but it's one of the most intriguing because of how bad their
01:05defense has been.
01:06And a subtle move like retaining their starting guard, Dalton Reisner.
01:11They've got their starting 11 back on offense.
01:13And they have a Dexter Lawrence addition on the defense.
01:16Some other defensive line additions like Boye Mafe, Cassius Howell in the draft.
01:22And so, I think they've done some things to shore up one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
01:26And it could be a massive move with Dexter Lawrence coming in and, you know, being that guy, defensive tackle
01:31for them.
01:34When you look at the NFC East, how do you feel that that's going to play out?
01:40I mean, you've got so many different moving parts with John Harbaugh going to the Giants.
01:43Two new coordinators here in Washington.
01:45Are they going to be healthier this season?
01:47How do you look at the NFC East right now?
01:51I think it's going to be really competitive.
01:53I mean, the Commanders would also be on my short list of best off seasons.
01:57And I think the three-year look at Washington has been, you know, they overachieved in Jane and Daniel's rookie
02:04season.
02:04I think, you know, the fact that they made it to the NFC Championship and were that close.
02:08I think, you know, no one expected them to be there.
02:10And then when they got close, it was like, all right, you know, maybe they can do this.
02:15But it always felt like the defense was a step behind where they needed to be.
02:18And I thought last year, you know, they made some aggressive moves.
02:21But I don't know if they necessarily improved.
02:23And now I think the Commanders are probably the best roster they've had over the last three years with Jade
02:28and Daniel.
02:29So I'm intrigued by what they've done there.
02:30I think Dallas, any time you have a defense, kind of like what I said with the Bengals,
02:35when a defense is so bad on one side or just like so one-sided for a season,
02:41it's difficult to be that bad two years in a row.
02:44And so Dallas has that going for them where they should be better.
02:47Plus they bring in Christian Parker as defensive coordinator.
02:49And I think their offense could be loaded and look at really good.
02:52So as long as they get back toward a mid-tier type of defense, I think they're going to be
02:56competitive.
02:57And I think the Eagles, of course, we know they're always competitive.
02:59And they're the team that it feels like their depth gets chipped away at every year.
03:03And they probably take a slight step back from an overall roster perspective.
03:06But they'll reload and get some more young players.
03:09And they're depending on a lot of young players and some development from Jalen Hurts
03:12and stylistically in their new offense.
03:14But we know the Eagles are going to be there and competitive.
03:16And the Giants have made a lot of good moves.
03:19I'm just not sure if they hit the ground running under Harbaugh just yet.
03:23It was a fascinating offseason for them.
03:25So I think the Giants look like the fourth-best team.
03:27But I think those top three, I think it looks really competitive in the East.
03:31Look at that watch.
03:31And they went out and they got a lot of defensive players.
03:35How much do you think they improved themselves?
03:37Because, you know, you get Adafio away.
03:43And then also you get Chennault.
03:45You got Shaysong.
03:46Is this a much better team, you believe, than they had?
03:50Yeah, I think it is.
03:52I mean, two years ago, I think when they made the NFC Championship run,
03:55they had a lot of sacks on the defensive side of the ball.
03:58But I look at defensive line and production beyond the sack totals.
04:01I think a lot of those are dependent on game flow and opportunity.
04:04But you want disruption.
04:06You want that snap-for-snap, down-to-down disruption.
04:09And I don't think they've had it.
04:10I don't think they've had it as well as the sack totals showed two years ago.
04:14They certainly didn't have it last year.
04:16And that's why I say that the Commanders might have the best roster since drafting Daniels
04:21because the defensive line is potentially loaded.
04:24I think Adafio away was the prize of the free agent market.
04:27I think, you know, his ability to rush the passer, you know,
04:30two different places between the Ravens, what he did with the Chargers down the stretch,
04:33he will create havoc up front.
04:36Caleb on Chase, I'm coming off the best two-year stretch of his career.
04:39You know, he went from former failed first-rounder to, hey,
04:41this guy could be a pretty good, you know, number two type of edge rusher,
04:46maybe high-end number three type of edge rusher.
04:48I think that's what he brings to the table.
04:49I think if Charles Amenehu, if he's healthy, you know,
04:52his ability to move up and down the line of scrimmage.
04:55And so I think there's just much better depth to him settle, you know,
04:59coming back and being able to create disruption up front.
05:01I think there's a lot of potential there.
05:03And I look at the best teams in the NFL.
05:05They roll eight deep on the defensive line.
05:07And I think this is the deepest defensive line that the Commanders have had.
05:11And you mentioned Leo Chanel, one of the best linebackers in the league.
05:14You get him at a pretty value play there.
05:17So, yeah, I think the defensive additions were a lot of the right moves
05:21that the Commanders were supposed to be making this offseason.
05:23Speaking with Steve Palazzolo of Check the Mic Pod,
05:26make sure you check them out with the 33rd team.
05:29So sticking to the NFC East real quick,
05:31two new offensive coordinators that are in just their third year of coaching.
05:35David Blau, just 30 years old, just retired from the league a couple of years ago.
05:38Sean Mannion, in that same vein, he was with Green Bay,
05:41but now comes over to Philadelphia.
05:43Do you think that we could see a little bit of a trend of going with the lesser-known
05:48or hotshot former quarterback types and going a little bit younger
05:53with some of these coordinators?
05:54I mean, obviously we've got to see how this goes.
05:56How do you think their first season goes?
05:58And do you think this might be some sort of a trend we start seeing around football
06:02a little bit more?
06:04The trend will happen if it works.
06:08Right?
06:09Everybody says the NFL is a copycat league.
06:12I kind of hate that, but it's true.
06:13Because I think the best teams innovate, they don't copy.
06:18But once they innovate and something works, teams copy.
06:21So if it works, other teams will do it.
06:23I think what's fascinating when you talk about offensive coordinators,
06:26there's so much turnover at that position, that coaching spot, every year.
06:31Because as soon as you're, you know, if David Blau has a great season,
06:34everybody's going to be like, wait, is he the next head coach?
06:36It's like, yeah, he's 30 years old.
06:38Is he a head coach yet?
06:39You know, wait a minute here.
06:41So there's always so much turnover there.
06:43And the other interesting thing is we always say, well, this guy's a Shanahan guy
06:46or this guy's a McVay guy.
06:47And in Blau's case, well, he's Ben Johnson's guy.
06:50But we know we've all worked for different bosses or had different coaches
06:53and everybody's different, you know, personality-wise, stylistically.
06:57There's a scheme and there's a system, but you still have to get into the art of play calling
07:02and being in there and the balance for a play caller between what the game plan was
07:08during the week and then what the game flow is and how you adjust.
07:11So all of that stuff is still to be determined.
07:14But when you look at a scheme and a system, obviously Ben Johnson has done some great things
07:18in Detroit and now in Chicago.
07:21Schematically, I think he's been extremely aggressive.
07:23He's done a great job of mixing in the ability to get playmakers into space,
07:28playing to their strengths, mixing in trick plays at the right time.
07:32So if Blau picks up some of that from Ben Johnson, I think he has a chance to have a
07:36lot of success.
07:37And, you know, again, it comes down to leaning into the players
07:39and what the players are capable of doing it more so than a system.
07:42And I think that'll determine success, whether it's Blau, whether it's Mannion.
07:47I think Mannion, the most interesting thing there in Philadelphia
07:51is that, you know, the quarterback is like the ultimate artist.
07:56They have the poetic license to run the offense any way they want.
07:59And I say that because it feels like Philadelphia's offense looks similar
08:02no matter who the play caller is with Jalen Hurts.
08:05He has a certain style.
08:06He has things he likes to do.
08:07I think Mannion's charged with taking Hurts out of his comfort zone,
08:10attacking the middle of the field more.
08:12So I think that'll be the big story in Philadelphia.
08:14They're going to try to maximize Jalen Hurts' potential and help him grow.
08:18And we'll see if Mannion can extract that out of him this year.
08:21But here, everyone in town seems to be concerned about a No. 2 receiver,
08:25but they brought in Cheek Okonkwo, tight end from Tennessee.
08:30I believe he could be a big part of the passing game.
08:33What do you think about Cheek?
08:35I like him.
08:36I think Okonkwo, you know, he had a nice career so far with Tennessee.
08:39I think he's more of your move tight end type.
08:43I think the commanders have a really fascinating group of tight ends
08:46with Ben Sennett there and John Bates.
08:48And we know how much the NFL, we spent a lot of the offseason and draft season
08:53talking about how tight ends were getting drafted high
08:55and teams want to run two and three tight ends out there often.
08:59So I think there's some flexibility to lean into Okonkwo
09:02and his receiving ability.
09:04I still think wide receiver, too, is an issue.
09:06I mean, for me, I think offensively, you really want to put a –
09:10you just want to put the defense in a bind.
09:11You want to put four or five pass catchers out there where you can't just focus on one.
09:16You have answers.
09:17I think offense is all about having answers.
09:19When they show you A, you've got B.
09:21When they show you B, you've got C.
09:23And so I think that's going to be a big part of it.
09:25I think the tight ends will be a big part of what Washington does,
09:28though I would still rather have a more consistent wide receiver two threat
09:33because McLaurin, you know, on the other side is outstanding.
09:36But having a consistent threat plus the tight ends,
09:39I think obviously makes this offense that much better.
09:41Talking with Steve Palazzolo of Check the Mic Pod.
09:45So spinning around the league,
09:47the L.A. Chargers bring over Mike McDaniel to be their offensive coordinator.
09:50Do you think some of that dynamic offense is going to help out Justin Herbert a lot
09:56and be able to maybe let them take that next step where they get past –
10:00obviously last year they get into the playoffs –
10:02but do you think they can get past the Chiefs, assuming Mahomes is back,
10:06and get past Denver?
10:07Or how do you see it playing out with Mike McDaniel as their new O.C.?
10:12Yeah, I think it's a fascinating hire in connection with Justin Herbert.
10:17Herbert's another one of those guys, when we talk about offensive coordinator turnover,
10:20he's had a different one pretty much every season of his career.
10:23And he's been pretty consistent.
10:25But you get little ebbs and flows in either how much he's throwing the ball down the field
10:29or how much he's putting the ball in harm's way versus taking care of it.
10:33I think the explosive plays of McDaniel coming from the Shanahan tree,
10:38the ability to, much like a Ben Johnson, get offensive skill players behind the defense,
10:44the speed that they like to put out there.
10:47They have an intriguing group of receivers, some big-bodied receivers.
10:50They added a ton of speed in the draft with Brennan Thompson from Mississippi State,
10:54one of the fastest receivers in the NFL.
10:56They have a year-two running back in Marion Hampton.
11:00And I think that's a big part of what McDaniel brings to the table there
11:03is the consistency in the run game, some creativity in the run game.
11:06And I think that'll be the thing.
11:08If the Chargers offensive line first stays healthy
11:11and then secondly plays a lot better than they did last year,
11:13they were one of the three worst run-blocking units,
11:17one of the three worst pass-blocking units.
11:18That's tough to do on the O-line.
11:20It's two different skill sets.
11:22They were bad at both.
11:23If they're just a little bit better up front,
11:25I think McDaniel has a chance to really make a big impact
11:28and give Herbert the ability to use his arm
11:31and get the ball down the field more effectively.
11:33You felt that the Rams probably had the best offseason.
11:37The Seattle Seahawks won a Super Bowl last year.
11:40How do you think they'll fare this year?
11:43I think they're in really good shape.
11:46I argue with Seattle fans all the time
11:48because we'll say that they lost four starters
11:49and then Seattle fans will say,
11:51yeah, well, Tariq Wollin, he was benched
11:53and this safety we don't really need
11:55and Boye Mafia was a rotational player.
11:57But they lost four players, right?
12:00So they lost four players that are on their team
12:03that are starting running back in Ken Walker.
12:05But I think they've got potential replacements
12:08either in-house or in the draft
12:09when it comes to Jadarian Price in the first round.
12:11And they're loaded on the defensive line.
12:13And again, when I say the best teams are seven or eight deep
12:17on the defensive line, it's pretty consistent.
12:19When you look at the best teams in the NFL
12:20and you say, hey, it doesn't matter who the starter is
12:23or who the backup, you're going to get 50 snaps
12:25from a bunch of players.
12:26You're going to get 40, 35 snaps from...
12:28So they have that type of defensive line talent.
12:31I think Mike McDonald has really come into his own,
12:33obviously, as a head coach.
12:34He's got multiple years of success
12:37running Baltimore's defense
12:38and now running the show in Seattle.
12:40So he heads into year three.
12:41They've got their entire offensive line back.
12:43They're actually their entire offensive unit
12:45minus Ken Walker.
12:46So I think Seattle is absolutely right in the mix.
12:49Going out on a limb, you know,
12:51the defending Super Bowl champs.
12:53But you also have, really quietly, by the way,
12:56I know a lot of people, with my analytics background,
12:59I'm not supposed to mention QB win-loss record,
13:02but Sam Darnold is number one in win percentage
13:05over the last two years across two different teams.
13:07I think QB wins is informative
13:10if you put it into different circumstances
13:12and say the fact that he did it in Minnesota
13:14with Kevin O'Connell in Seattle last year
13:16and made this playoff run.
13:18It is informative.
13:19And Darnold has been one of the better quarterbacks
13:21in the NFL last year.
13:22So they've got that consistency as well.
13:24Yeah, absolutely.
13:25Seattle will be one of the best teams in the league
13:26once again.
13:27You mentioned Minnesota.
13:28Who's playing quarterback?
13:30And do you think they're going to be any good?
13:33It's definitely Kyler Murray.
13:35And I look at this two ways.
13:36I mean, Kyler Murray is going to start.
13:38And the fact that, you know, Arizona releases him
13:41and they pay all of his signing bonus, essentially.
13:43Minnesota's got him for like a million and a half bucks
13:45or whatever it is.
13:47So whether or not they win, I don't know.
13:50But Kyler Murray becomes one of the cheapest,
13:52best value quarterbacks in the league for one year.
13:55It's a one-year deal.
13:57And for one year, Minnesota gets him on the chief.
14:00And Kyler Murray's been a good NFL quarterback, right?
14:02And that's the fascinating thing about evaluating QBs.
14:04We only want top eight or top ten quarterbacks.
14:07As soon as they're outside, it's like, oh, this guy's terrible.
14:09Get it.
14:10You know, move on.
14:11But Kyler Murray for $1.3 million, I believe it is,
14:14is a bargain and a steal, right?
14:17So they still have very good receivers with Justin Jefferson,
14:20Jordan Addison, Jawan Jennings, TJ Hawkinson at tight end.
14:24So I think they have a chance to bounce back, be really good.
14:26I think the defense will – I don't know if Minnesota had the best offseason
14:30as far as adding talent.
14:31I think they lost more than they added, but I still think they're coming
14:34from this baseline, especially offensively, where they can do some damage.
14:37And I think Kyler's going to have a really good season.
14:39And I think J.J. McCarthy ends up on the trading block somewhere.
14:42Back again with Washington, Deronty Jones came from Minnesota
14:45and was under, you know, the coach there for a bit.
14:49Will you expect him to run some similar style defense
14:53or have his own little defense?
14:57Again, it's such a tough thing to predict because football is like the only world
15:03where we say, hey, you worked under this guy.
15:05We assume you're going to do something similar.
15:07That's like the assumption in football.
15:09That doesn't happen in other industries, right?
15:11I'll make that joke again.
15:12Like if somebody looked at the bosses that I worked for and said,
15:15you must be just like this guy because you worked for him.
15:17I'd be like, no, please, don't put me in that place.
15:21But like football is, it is scheme and style.
15:26But the reason why I think it's an unknown is Brian Flores is one of one
15:30in Minnesota when it comes to scheme and style.
15:32No one runs an offense or defense the way he has.
15:35And it started a couple of years ago.
15:36They would lead the league in six-man pressures
15:38and they would lead the league in three-man rushes.
15:41And it's like what, like most teams run four or five-man pressures
15:4580, 85% of their time.
15:46And they're on both extremes of we're going to send the house
15:50or we're going to send three.
15:51Almost like, you know, I use all baseball analogies as a former pitcher.
15:56It's almost like your fastball, your changeup, right?
15:58And you're just, you're a fastball changeup type of pitcher
16:01and you're just trying to speed up the quarterback
16:03and slow down the quarterback.
16:04And then you're doing that with some creativity on the back end.
16:07So I don't know that anyone who's recently worked with Brian Flores
16:11will copy that or bring that, but you can bring elements of it.
16:15And I think that's what makes it really interesting
16:17because Flores was on the extreme end of we're going to get very creative
16:21and aggressive with blitzes, but we could also drop out and drop eight.
16:25Flores has also been in places where he played a ton of man coverage
16:28in New England in his early days in Miami.
16:31And now in Minnesota, he was more of a zone heavy.
16:33Again, you know, trying to, you know, create trickeration up front
16:36with the front seven.
16:37So I think that's a big TBD, but Flores is one of one, like I said,
16:42when it comes to unique defense.
16:43But I think if you could pull elements of that,
16:45I think there's a lot of good stuff that Flores does
16:48that I think can, you know, bode well in Washington.
16:51Last one for you, Steve, talking with Steve Palazzolo
16:53of the Check the Mic pod.
16:55Watching quarterback on Netflix and seeing Jaden Daniels
16:58and the injuries and just how forgettable last season is.
17:01I'm curious, around here, obviously we really believe
17:04that Jaden's going to bounce back to that 2024 form
17:06and have a really big season, excited to see what he can do in year three.
17:09But I'm curious, from an outside perspective, how do you feel about Jaden
17:13going into year three and what do you expect to see from him going forward?
17:17I was so impressed with his rookie season.
17:19I was actually, I was at the game in Cincinnati week three
17:22when he just didn't miss a throw.
17:24And then the whole time I was thinking,
17:26Cincinnati's got the worst pass rush I've ever seen tonight.
17:29That's a factor.
17:30But then they blitzed him on that goal ball that he threw
17:33and put it right on McLaurin's hands.
17:35And I was like, okay, that was it.
17:37Like, that really sold me.
17:39I mean, I was so impressed by Jaden Daniels as a rookie.
17:42Because I thought he, when I talk about the offense having answers,
17:45I think Jaden has answers.
17:48You know, when things are covered, I think he's a very astute scrambler.
17:51I think he might be the very best scrambling quarterback in the NFL.
17:54So not design runs, but when, you know, called pass plays,
17:58knowing when to run, and even if there's nothing there,
18:01he could pick up five or six and keep the offense on schedule.
18:03I think that's why his completion percentage was so high as a rookie,
18:07because he just didn't force passes that he didn't need to force.
18:09I think that's such a great weapon to have.
18:11So I love what Jaden Daniels did as a rookie.
18:14I think the big question will be the injuries.
18:15And it's not a, I don't think that's a lazy analysis,
18:18because he's been injured each of the last two years at different degrees.
18:22But coming out of LSU, the question was playing style.
18:24And I think, and maybe frame a little bit,
18:27but I think playing style for a quarterback, do you take hits?
18:30Not only, not do you run, but do you take hits?
18:33Do you protect yourself?
18:34And, you know, Russell Wilson was great through the years at running,
18:36but protecting himself.
18:37I think Lamar Jackson, even though he's had some injuries,
18:40has run and protected himself pretty well.
18:42Josh Allen doesn't protect himself, but he gets away with it, right?
18:45But then you see Cam Newton through the years.
18:48He never protected himself.
18:49And then one year, all of a sudden it's like, oh, he's hurt a lot.
18:51But, you know, over his life and then the last three years of his career.
18:54So I think that's the biggest thing to watch out for.
18:57And one of the biggest stories in the NFL for the next decade for me
19:00is how first the elite quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson,
19:05how do those guys age?
19:06Because they use their legs so much, not exclusively,
19:08but it's a big part of their game,
19:10more than any group of quarterbacks in any other generation.
19:13And that's going to be the question, I think, for Jaden Daniels and some others.
19:17How do you balance, hey, I can run the ball 10 to 12 times
19:21a game both designed and as a scrambler and be a weapon
19:25versus I have to stay on the field?
19:27And how do you make sure that you're going to be healthy?
19:29Because I think if he's healthy, he's fantastic.
19:31He can do it all, make all the throws, throw accurately,
19:35pick his spots as a scrambler,
19:37and then be a part of the design run game that keeps defenses off balance.
19:40Jaden can be fantastic, but the health thing, I think,
19:42is going to be the biggest thing.
19:43And that's the balance I think they have to strike
19:45is figuring out how much do they want to protect him
19:48because his legs are special.
19:50That's what makes him a potential superstar,
19:51but obviously you want him on the field as well.
19:54Steve, appreciate you joining us.
19:55It feels like we've survived this season and all the offseason
19:59and training camp is finally around the corner
20:01and we can break down real football.
20:02Appreciate you joining us.
20:03I love it.
20:04Yeah, thanks, guys.
20:05Appreciate it.
20:05Appreciate you.
20:06That's Steve Palazzolo of the Check the Mic pod.
20:08Make sure you check that out with the 33rd team.
20:10Yeah, former pitcher.
20:11Maybe we call him up.
20:13Maybe he can come out of the field.
20:14A little fastball changeup action.
20:17Let's talk about LeBron.
20:19Speaking of slow playing.
20:20We have to.
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