- 6 weeks ago
Brian Baldinger will be joining The Sports Junkies every Thursday morning at 7:25am throughout the NFL season! During his first appearance today, he broke down the entire week one slate and discussed his top storylines to watch out for. Which game are you most excited for this weekend?
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00:00What's up, Baldy? Good to hear from you again, man.
00:03Yeah, good to be with you guys, man. It's that time of the year.
00:05It is.
00:06It's finally here.
00:07Yeah, I'm here.
00:09Yeah, but before we get to last night's game, I'm glad you made it through.
00:12I saw the video you have on your Twitter feed of you on the boat racing toward,
00:18like trying to outrun a storm or racing right towards a storm in Cozumel.
00:22I'm glad you made it through, Baldy.
00:24Good for you.
00:25I am too.
00:25I mean, it just shows you how quickly fortunes can turn with Sam Darnold
00:33going out on the first series of the game.
00:36Looks like some form of hip injury.
00:38I guess we'll get some more details on that later.
00:40Were you surprised that the outcome of that game,
00:45Seattle's defense really came to play Drake May with the three picks in the fourth quarter,
00:50and the old time with about 20 seconds left where he throws a pick in the end zone.
00:53What were your takeaways from the NFL opener last night?
00:57Well, it was sloppy.
00:58It was a sloppy game all the way around.
01:00You know, I mean, Seattle had 10 penalties.
01:03They're trying to overcome that all night long.
01:06But, you know, it really says a lot, though.
01:10I mean, Drew Locke played very well.
01:11Did not turn the ball over.
01:12I guess maybe you could say that Christian Gonzalez could have had one.
01:17But, I mean, he played very well and gave him a chance.
01:20And then Jackson spit the jigma, picked up right where he left off.
01:24I mean, he was awesome last night.
01:26The touchdown on fourth and one.
01:28A little spot stop, you know, route right there.
01:30And the catch and run to finish it in the end zone to tie it up was big.
01:34And then it's just kind of a head scratcher.
01:37Really, all three of Drake May's interceptions were not good.
01:40Even the throw to A.J. Brown in the end zone that was interfered was underthrown.
01:45But that's what you get when you don't play in the preseason.
01:48You're just not sharp.
01:49I thought the last throw that was intercepted by Josh Jobe,
01:54I thought he was throwing the ball away.
01:57I mean, they're in field goal range right there.
01:59It's third down.
01:59You're going to kick the field goal and go to overtime.
02:02If you get a shot to the end zone, okay, take it.
02:05But you can't let that ball get intercepted right there.
02:08We're all sitting there going, okay, I'm ready for overtime in the first game of the season.
02:12And they were set up for it.
02:14It took them right down the field.
02:15And so that was disappointing because I think Drake's a better player than that.
02:20But when you're not playing, you don't play these preseason games,
02:23and you're not working with your receivers in real time, it shows up in these games.
02:29So, Baldy, Seattle decided to let Kenneth Walker leave via free agency.
02:34So there were some questions as to how Jadarian Price, the rookie, would look in this game.
02:38I thought he acquitted himself pretty well, 10 carries, 52 yards, showed a nice burst,
02:43had a couple short catches as well.
02:45They're kind of easing him in as the lead running back.
02:47Looks like a stud.
02:48George Helani, I thought, was pretty good, too.
02:50Looks like the running game's in pretty good hands until Charbonnet comes back from his injury.
02:55No, Jadarian was great.
02:57I mean, from the first carry of the game, we went for 13 yards.
03:00They blocked the plays really, really well.
03:02A.J. Barner, the tight end, is an excellent off the edge working with the tackles.
03:07They blocked him well, but he showed the burst that you're talking about
03:10to turn the corner on two of those runs where he just outran the pursuit
03:15and was able to turn the corner.
03:17I think he's going to be just fine.
03:20Chris Collinsworth was asking for more carries for him last night,
03:23and I don't disagree.
03:24He got up to a good start last night.
03:27Baldy, what about the A.J. Brown ankle injury, man?
03:29That's something that you know how ankles are.
03:31That could be a week or it could be a month, depending on how bad it is.
03:35You don't know.
03:35Yeah, I mean, you know, they call them high ankle sprains.
03:38They used to call them like sprained ligaments.
03:41I mean, that thing turned all the way under last night,
03:45and I've never seen A.J. Brown with an ankle injury like that.
03:49But his leg got caught underneath him
03:51and had the Seattle Seahawks player fall on top of him.
03:54I don't know how to diagnose it, but, you know, for him not to come back in the game,
03:59it doesn't look like it's a normal sprain where normally you would, you know,
04:04just tape it up a little tighter and put him back out there.
04:06But, you know, for him to be out the rest of the game like that tells me it might be
04:11pretty severe.
04:11Maybe it's good that they played on Wednesday night,
04:13and you get, you know, ten more days before your next game.
04:16Baldy, I don't want to lead the witness.
04:18We just made our record predictions here for the Washington Commanders,
04:21but a lot of the national media seems to be very down on the Commanders expectations-wise.
04:27What are your expectations for Jaden Daniels this year and the Commanders overall?
04:32Well, I mean, I just hope that Jaden Daniels can stay healthy.
04:35We need good young quarterbacks in this league.
04:38You know, we just saw Sam Darnold go down.
04:40It was fortunate that Drew Locke played very well.
04:42But, you know, when you get your backup quarterbacks the way the Commanders did last year,
04:47I mean, guys get fired.
04:49Coordinators get fired, and guys lose their jobs.
04:52And, you know, we need them to stay healthy.
04:54And that means probably be a little bit more judicious, taking off with the football.
05:00We know what his stature looks like.
05:02But, you know, I think that it's going to help that Diggs is there.
05:06You know, last year at this time, McLaren was, I don't know if he was just getting signed
05:10or if he was injured after he just got signed, but he wasn't healthy for a long while.
05:15They should be better at the receiver position right now than they were a year ago.
05:20And so there's just a question of, I was out there, guys, I believe it was like August 5th
05:26or something when I saw Laramie Tunsil go down.
05:29And, you know, that was just, that's just a huge blow.
05:32That's just a big, big loss.
05:33They had already lost Tyler Biotish, their second-best offensive lineman in free agency.
05:40You know, and Alec Reddy's missed a lot of time.
05:42So it does start up front.
05:43We've got to see how they hold up against a pretty talented Eagles front on Sunday afternoon.
05:48What do you make of them defensively, though?
05:50They made a concerted effort to get younger and faster.
05:54And, you know, provided they get these guys back,
05:57O.A. who's the one that's sort of in question here, I think they accomplished it.
06:02Well, they spent a lot of money.
06:04You know, I mean, I never thought that Adafi Owe would be a $100 million player.
06:09Well, I know it's, you know, some funny money and that kind of stuff,
06:12but it's a $100 million contract.
06:14And Caleb Onchason had his best season as a pro last year, and so he cashed in.
06:19So we've got to see if those two guys, you know, can really live up to the amount of money
06:23they paid them
06:24because they needed to get better off the edge.
06:26And so, you know, we'll see what that looks like.
06:29They brought in Charles O'Manahou.
06:30Who played very well in Kansas City last year.
06:33So they need those three guys who they paid a lot of money to,
06:36to really assert themselves and be really good in the pass rush.
06:41And I think they're going to be fine with Sonny Stiles, you know, and Luvo inside.
06:45And Leo Chanel.
06:47I mean, those are three good linebackers, I think.
06:49They should be better up front.
06:50And this is a question of what the secondary is going to look like right now.
06:54There's some real questions.
06:55I like Rasul Douglas.
06:57He's a good zone corner.
06:59He's bounced around this league for whatever reason, but he's been pretty productive everywhere he's been.
07:05He's going to get a chance to play right away this Sunday against the Eagles.
07:08Paulie, are you a skeptic when it comes to first-year coordinators like Washington has,
07:14or does it really just come down to the players and guys staying healthy and being on the field?
07:19Well, Brian Flory last night was the first-time coordinator.
07:21Now, they put up only 13 points, but they did it with the backup quarterback,
07:25and they needed three turnovers to do it.
07:28But I thought he called a pretty good game.
07:30You know, that fourth-and-one call that was a touchdown in Jigba, Jackson Smith in Jigba,
07:36it was a pretty gutsy call right there, and it turned out to be great.
07:40I like to give these guys a chance.
07:44You know, I mean, Andy Reid never called a play in his life until he went to Philadelphia,
07:50and, you know, he's a Hall of Fame coach.
07:52So it does depend on who the players are and what you have around them on both sides of the
07:58ball.
08:00Nationwide is so much more than a great insurance company.
08:02They're one of America's largest financial services companies, too.
08:05Nationwide is on your side.
08:07So, Baldy, are you Team 49ers or Team Rams when it comes to traveling to Australia?
08:13The Niners got there a week early, want to acclimate, get everybody, you know,
08:18like shifting to Australia time.
08:20The Rams are like, you know what, we're just going to fly in, play the game,
08:23and fly right back out.
08:25Which do you think is the better approach here for tonight's game?
08:29I think Team 49ers is the better approach.
08:32I've been to Australia.
08:34I've been there a couple of times.
08:36That's the worst jet lag I ever get.
08:39Going across that international dateline down to Sydney.
08:42They're flying into Melbourne, but that's a long way.
08:45It's not, I mean, it's a long way to go Los Angeles to London.
08:48They did the same thing there, and it worked out good for them.
08:52But this is a longer flight.
08:54It's going west.
08:55I can't imagine getting off that plane.
08:58And I've played a game in Tokyo before.
09:00I didn't feel right all week after getting off a flight in Tokyo.
09:06I can't imagine getting off that flight after 15 hours, whatever it is,
09:11and going to the locker room and getting dressed to go play a game.
09:15I can't believe that.
09:16I think the 49ers did it the right way.
09:18So who do you like in the game?
09:19You like the San Fran?
09:22I mean, I think the Rams are a better team in a lot of ways.
09:26But, you know, just because of the jet lag,
09:28I think that the 49ers are going to be a little bit more acclimated here.
09:32It's going to be a 49ers crowd.
09:33It's going to feel like a home game to them.
09:36I take the 49ers in a little bit of an upset here tonight.
09:40Okay.
09:42I read that the Bengals – I could be wrong on this,
09:45but I think I read that the Bengals have the easiest schedule.
09:48If it wasn't the easiest, it was one of the top two
09:51or three easiest schedules this year.
09:53They open up with Tampa.
09:54Not going to be easy there.
09:55But they're at home.
09:57They're laying three and a half.
09:58They went out and signed four or five guys on defense and free agency.
10:03They picked up Jonathan Allen.
10:04They picked up Dexter Lawrence.
10:06Your thoughts on this offense?
10:09They obviously needed to get better defensively.
10:12I assume they tried to, and they did.
10:15Do you like the Bengals this weekend against Tampa
10:17opening up the season at home?
10:19No.
10:20Is Jamar Chase playing?
10:22Yes, slated to play.
10:23He's expected to play.
10:25He's slated to play.
10:26Okay.
10:26I just wanted to – because I know he got banged up.
10:28Yeah.
10:28I mean, I like the Bengals.
10:30I think, you know, Joe Burrow's healthy.
10:32I mean, he's a top three quarterback in this league when he's healthy.
10:36And that's always been the question mark on him.
10:38I mean, he's as good as it is fundamentally in this whole business.
10:42And so, you know, I like the Bengals this weekend.
10:46I like the Bengals, period.
10:47I think they've made a lot of good moves defensively.
10:49It should be a very good division, very competitive division this year.
10:54Even Cleveland has a chance to be very competitive because they've drafted
10:58really well in the last two years.
11:00Give us a – Baldy, before we let you go, we're doing kind of like our season-long
11:04predictions later in the show.
11:07Give us one team that you think is going to really impress us and surprise us
11:11in the positive direction and one team that might surprise us in a negative
11:15direction this year, just sort of globally when you look at it.
11:18I mean, I would say that – I would say the Minnesota Vikings can surprise.
11:22I mean, they won nine games last year.
11:24So, if they win 10 or 11, is that a surprise with Kyler Murray?
11:28Yeah.
11:29I mean, they've upgraded the position.
11:32You know, everything around the quarterback is set up to win.
11:35Sam Darnold won 14 games there with much of the same players that Kyler Murray
11:40is stepping into.
11:41And we saw what Sam Darnold has become.
11:44So, I mean, I think Kyler Murray and the Vikings can surprise.
11:49I think the Giants can surprise.
11:50I mean, I've been around that team this summer a couple times.
11:53And they've got real talent.
11:55They've got a couple question marks at the defensive tackle position.
11:59It's not a – the roster isn't completely without flaws.
12:04But I don't think the Giants can surprise in a lot of different ways.
12:07And I guess if there's a team that, you know, could go backwards this year,
12:13I don't know, like, what did we see from New England last night?
12:17I mean, defensively, they played great.
12:20The quarterback has got to play a lot better.
12:22And they did have the easiest schedule maybe of all time last year.
12:25So, maybe the Patriots, you know, take a little step back this year.
12:30Baldy, what game are you covering?
12:31Where does your travel take you this weekend?
12:33Right there with your commanders in Philadelphia, 425, with Tom Brady
12:37and the Fox team right there.
12:40I'll be right there in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
12:42Very cool.
12:43We'll be watching.
12:44Hey, real quick, what's your prediction for the NFC East?
12:46Who do you have winning it?
12:48I think the Eagles are the best team.
12:50Okay.
12:50They've got to go do it.
12:51And they do have to – you know, there's a lot of new coaches on offense
12:54and new way of doing things.
12:56But the quarterback has shown that he can adjust over the course of his career
13:01in college and the pros.
13:02And I think he'll do the same thing here.
13:05All right, Baldy.
13:05Enjoy.
13:06Commanders, Eagles, we're looking forward to having you on throughout the NFL season.
13:09We'll talk to you again next week.
13:11Thanks, buddy.
13:11See you, bud.
13:12Yep, you got it, guys.
13:13See you next week.
13:14Yep, that NFL insider call was brought to you by Nationwide
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13:20Nationwide is on your side.
13:22Don't forget, coming up in just over 20 minutes,
13:26Dave Richard from CBSSports.com.
13:28Get your fantasy week one questions ready for Dave.
13:31He'll answer them coming up at 8 o'clock.