00:01Good morning, 97.1 Jim Costa, John Jansen, Heather Park, Gov and Greg behind the glass.
00:06The NFL is back and so are our weekly check-ins with Ross Tucker.
00:11NFL Insider Calls presented by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
00:16Nationwide is on your side.
00:17Ross, good morning.
00:19Morning, guys.
00:20How are you?
00:21Happy New Year.
00:23Yeah, happy new football season.
00:25Let's do it.
00:26I'm fired up.
00:27Did you watch most of that game last night?
00:30I watched all of it, yes.
00:32The first one, it was a Wednesday night.
00:34I was locked in.
00:36I got to tell you, it was kind of a tough watch for a while.
00:39But I will take a close game over anything else.
00:44And, man, I mean, both those teams, I think, are going to be in it until the end.
00:49So these games, you're going to go back in Week 16, 17, 18, and remember this one.
00:54To have your backup quarterback come in and bring you back from down double digits, that
01:02is a massive win for the Seahawks, especially in their division.
01:06And then conversely for the Patriots.
01:08I mean, you're up 10.
01:10You knock their quarterback out of the game.
01:12And then your MVP caliber quarterback throws three picks, including one of the worst picks
01:19I've seen in a while.
01:21I'm shocked because I thought that was the type of thing that Drake May doesn't do, you
01:27know, which is why a lot of people think he's one of the best young quarterbacks.
01:31But that was an absolutely horrific decision.
01:35And I'm shocked he did that.
01:37So we're going to get a chance over the course of the season to talk about all the teams
01:41and how the season starts to shape up and take form.
01:44But I do want to talk more Lions today.
01:47And I want to start with the offensive line of positioning that you and I know extremely
01:52well.
01:53And especially since you were a guard, I am very curious, first of all, your thoughts on
01:59the way and the changes that the Lions have made up front.
02:02But then I am curious, the possibility of rotating a guard at that left guard spot, how difficult
02:11is that if you're playing that position and you're in for a couple of series, out for
02:16a couple of series?
02:18So interestingly, I did that my sophomore year in college.
02:22They rotated us.
02:24And then my fourth year in the NFL, there was a game or two where they rotated.
02:33Me and another guy before I beat him out, of course.
02:35I mean, come on.
02:37But before I beat the guy out, they rotated.
02:39I hate it.
02:41I absolutely hate it.
02:43And I'll tell you why.
02:44I understand if they're trying to let it define itself and they want to make sure they have
02:51the right guy out there.
02:53And I can live with that.
02:55But as you know, John, so much of it is like a thinking man's position.
03:03And you really want to be out there for every snap because sometimes you're setting a guy
03:10up with how you set him with your splits.
03:14You know, you want to be out there for a draw because that sort of helps you on some of
03:20your past pro stuff.
03:21You want to be out there when it's a screen.
03:23You want to be out there for the play action so you can really set him hard.
03:28And the other guy might not be doing those things.
03:31You know, it's a one-on-one battle for 60-some snaps.
03:37And on some level, you know, every play has a little bit to do with the play before and
03:44the play after.
03:45And so you never get in that rhythm.
03:47And you're not really able to perhaps set up that D lineman on certain plays like you
03:54would like to.
03:55As we talk about the Lions, last place last year, did they get back to winning the division?
04:00What's the outlook as you see it?
04:03Well, I think it's one of the craziest divisions I can ever remember.
04:08You know, can you guys remember another time where if someone gave you a hat and put four
04:14teams in it, you could pick out any team, put them in order, and everybody would be totally
04:22fine with you saying that's the order of how the division falls.
04:26I mean, there's a very real possibility in my mind that every team wins between nine
04:32to 11 games.
04:33Now, that's highly unlikely.
04:35It's not going to happen.
04:36Some team will probably play really well and win more, and some team will drop off with
04:41injuries or whatever.
04:43But I've had, listen, I have Steve Fezik, who's my co-host on the Even Money Betting podcast.
04:50He strongly believes in the Lions, strongly believes in them.
04:54He took their season win total over.
04:55He has them winning the division.
04:58I have more question marks for them.
05:00You know, I don't like some of the things I'm seeing on defense.
05:04I don't like that there's no Branch or Kirby Joseph right now.
05:09You know, I look at some of the guys.
05:11It feels like they felt like they could let Angeloni go, but then they bring in Devin White.
05:16So, I'm not exactly sure what happened there.
05:20Offensively, I feel better about them, but there are still some question marks.
05:25How will the rookie, Blake Miller, look at right tackle?
05:29You know, we know the center situation.
05:30I'm sure Penney will be fine.
05:33You know, is he awesome right away?
05:34Is he absolutely stellar right away?
05:37Or, you know, does it take a little bit of getting used to?
05:40Dude, there's just, I go into seasons with teams with question marks, and it feels like
05:45the Lions have more question marks guys coming into this year than I feel like they've had
05:50the last couple.
05:51So, who is your division favorite?
05:55Man, that's tough.
05:56You know, it can't be the Packers, because you don't know how long Josh Jacobs is on the
06:01commissioner's exempt list, or when Micah Parsons is going to come back.
06:05That's two of their five best players.
06:06So, it can't be them.
06:09I feel like the Bears are going to come back to earth a little bit.
06:14They won so many close games.
06:17I mean, you know, those things have a way of evening themselves out.
06:22You know, there's part of me that wants to say it's the Vikings, and I'll tell you why.
06:29They won nine games last year with bottom three quarterback play.
06:34That's really hard to do.
06:36Really hard to do.
06:37And so, if Kyler Murray is just not one of the five or maybe even ten worst quarterbacks
06:45in the NFL, if O'Connell can get Kyler Murray to play top 20 quarterback football, I think
06:53the Vikings win double-digit games and are as good of a bet to win the division as anybody.
06:58John hates that quarterback, though.
06:59A little pipsqueak, Kyler Murray.
07:01I mean, come on, little buddy.
07:03It's, it's, it's.
07:05Can you imagine, though?
07:06Can you imagine how fun it was to run a 4-2-40 and be a quarterback in Texas in
07:11high school?
07:12Didn't lose a game at the highest level of Texas, 45-0.
07:17It was awesome to be a big guy and knock people down.
07:21In my next lifetime, I just want to be, like, the fastest dude on the field and play high
07:26school football and wave to the cheerleaders while I'm going for an 80-yard touchdown.
07:30Like, that seems like that'd be pretty fun, too.
07:32Not that you've thought about it.
07:37That, and I want to dunk during high school basketball.
07:40Could you dunk, John?
07:41I couldn't dunk.
07:42Those are the two things I really wish I could have done.
07:45It would have been a lot better for me with my social life.
07:48Yeah, I did have my share of technical fouls for hanging on the rim, and so I could dunk.
07:55Not surprising that you couldn't.
07:59Can you tell these guys were teammates?
08:01Yeah.
08:02So I want to follow it up with, okay, now we've heard about the NFC North, and I disagree with
08:07you vehemently about the Minnesota Vikings, but we'll get a chance to, you know, play that
08:11game out throughout the course of the year.
08:13Your thoughts on the Rams?
08:15And I know that the prohibitive favorite going into the season is the Rams.
08:20No one can look and say that the Rams couldn't possibly lose a game with Aaron Donald and,
08:27you know, everything that they have going on.
08:30Are they just going to win every single game and go undefeated all the way to the Super
08:36Bowl?
08:37Of course not.
08:38They're going to lose multiple games.
08:40And two thoughts on that.
08:43One is, it feels like sometimes when you get prohibited favorites like this, there's so
08:49much talk of the Super Bowl and playoffs that it's almost like they overlook a couple of
08:57opponents and they lose some games they shouldn't, which I believe will happen.
09:03And the other thing is, and I'm sure people have done a deep dive on this, and I'm, you
09:09know, I'm sure with AI, I could just look it up real quick, but when's the last time there
09:15was a team that was this much of a prohibitive favorite?
09:18And also, when's the last time, you know, the prohibitive favorite won it?
09:22Ross, I've got it for you.
09:24In the last 30 years, a favorite of plus 500 or better has never won the Super Bowl.
09:300-20, our team's trying to do it.
09:33That is amazing.
09:35I'm going to steal that.
09:36Now, I can't say because it's odds during the game, but I'm going to steal that.
09:40That is 0-20 plus 500, prohibitive favorite or not.
09:44That's a fantastic, fantastic stat.
09:48Chiefs dynasty, those Patriots teams, Legion of Boom, heavy, heavy favorites, never in 30
09:53years won the Super Bowl.
09:56Wow.
09:57So, I got one other thing I have to tell you guys, since it's the game on Sunday.
10:02You know how when you go on radio stations this week, the last couple weeks, they're
10:05always saying, who's the team, Ross, that you think is going to be better than no one's
10:11talking about, that's going to be significantly better than people realize?
10:14I hate to tell you guys this, but for me, it's the Saints.
10:18My answer has been the Saints.
10:20I think it's going to be an awesome game.
10:22I picked the Saints on the Raw Soccer Football Podcast to win the NFC South.
10:29I'm a believer in Tyler Shuck.
10:32They played much better the last seven or eight games last year when he was in there.
10:38So, I know last I checked, the Lions were touchdown favorites.
10:41I think that's going to be a dogfight.
10:43I still think the Lions will win the game.
10:45Okay, that's fine.
10:46I think that is going to be a battle on Sunday.
10:48As long as we win the game.
10:49Yeah, as long as we win the game.
10:50Yeah, that's all right.
10:50They can be a darling and sneak in the playoffs.
10:52We can still be friends.
10:53That's good.
10:54He's Ross Tucker.
10:55Insider calls are brought to you by Nationwide.
10:57Get you out of here on this, this game in Australia.
10:59Who's doing it right?
11:00The Rams flying in last minute or the Niners flying in way ahead of time?
11:05Oh, man.
11:07You know, it's funny.
11:07John and I played in the game in Osaka, Japan.
11:10Yeah.
11:12In a preseason game.
11:13So, that's sort of my only – we kind of did the middle.
11:16We went there like three days.
11:18So, we didn't go there as early as the Niners, and we didn't go there as late as the Rams.
11:23I guess we'll find out – listen, I think I would lean towards the Niners.
11:28But then, if you're the Niners and you've been there for a while, it's going to feel like you're playing
11:33at 10 o'clock in the morning.
11:34Whereas, for the Rams, they're kind of staying on West Coast time.
11:40It's going to feel like they're playing at 5.30 in the afternoon.
11:43They both have done all kinds of research.
11:45This is like the great example of – they spent months talking with people, talking with doctors and experts,
11:52and they came up with the exact opposite solution.
11:56I can't wait to see it play out.
11:59This is Ross Tucker.
12:00Looking forward to it all fall.
12:01We'll have you on every Thursday.
12:02Thanks, Ross.
12:04Sounds great.
12:05See you guys.
12:06This is Ross Tucker, NFL Insider Call, presented by Nationwide.
12:09For your insurance and financial needs, Nationwide is on your side.
12:12Thursday touchdowns coming up at 8.35.
12:14It's 97.1.
Comments