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Steve Palazzolo tells JP and BMitch the biggest things we learned from watching every team take the field in the first week of the NFL season.
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00:00Joining us now is our friend Steve Palazzolo, co-host of the Check the Mic podcast.
00:05Steve, what's up, man? How are you?
00:08Doing great. Thanks for having me, guys.
00:10Yeah, dude. Let's start with the game last night.
00:13How impressive were the Kansas City Chiefs?
00:16Especially running the ball.
00:18Absolutely running the ball.
00:20I mean, people have been asking Andy Reid to run the ball for about 30 years now,
00:24and they went and did it.
00:26But, look, when they signed Ken Walker, you're looking at this offense last year thinking,
00:31okay, Mahomes hasn't had a great statistical season in about three years.
00:35They didn't add anything to the offense besides the running back.
00:38And I think they banked on, hey, our interior offensive line's outstanding.
00:42Creed Humphrey's the best center in the league.
00:44We got Trey Smith.
00:45We actually run – we block it up pretty well up front, but they had no explosiveness.
00:49They had no big plays at the running back position last year.
00:52And you immediately saw last night they could block it up to get you three or four,
00:57and then Ken Walker could turn that into 10 or 12,
00:59and then they could turn it into 60 on fourth and one when they needed to.
01:03So I thought it was really interesting that they came out –
01:06they came out not only heavy personnel, two tight ends, three tight ends,
01:10jumbo personnel, defensive linemen, and they said, all right,
01:12this is what we are right now.
01:14While Mahomes is working off the rust and he might not have his mobility laterally
01:19the way they needed to, so I think the Chiefs had this week one identity
01:24unlike any other identity that they've had.
01:27And the run game worked unbelievably last night.
01:29I saw some stat where they haven't had a 1,000-yard running back
01:32since like 2020 or something like that.
01:35Yeah.
01:35And you get –
01:36I mean, I think it's – sorry, go ahead.
01:38I'm just saying, like, you know, you get a running back,
01:40take that pressure off a bat and allow him the time to work in their pocket,
01:44that's going to be a little problem for some people, right?
01:45Don't you think?
01:47Yeah, and I think the 1,000-yard rusher thing is a little overrated sometimes
01:50because they've had a committee approach.
01:52But, look, I think good offenses have multiple ways to win.
01:55That's how I always describe it.
01:57You need – it's not about 50-50 run-pass balance.
02:00It's about if the defense is giving you the run game,
02:03you have to be able to execute it.
02:04If they're giving you, you know, shot plays down the field,
02:07you have to be able to execute it.
02:08And that's one of the places the Chiefs haven't really had that ability to say,
02:13okay, we are going to lean into the run game and make it a little bit easier
02:16on Mahomes in certain games.
02:18They've used the pass game as an extension of the run game.
02:21They do a really good job with that.
02:22Their horizontal spacing and their short pass game, their yards after the catch,
02:26which we saw plenty of that last night.
02:28But it's just another way to win for them with the run game,
02:31and it's a power run game.
02:32And Walker's also really good when it's not blocked up all that well
02:36or, you know, not necessarily going to where the play was called.
02:39It's cutting back and getting creative with his vision.
02:42So it just adds another dimension to facing the Kansas City Chiefs.
02:45Who was that last 1,000-yard rusher, Kareem Hunt, before the trouble?
02:49Could be.
02:50Because then, like, Pacheco showed up.
02:52I don't know if Hunt ever got over 1,000.
02:54He was really good.
02:55I think it was Jamal Charles.
02:56That's interesting.
02:57Wow.
02:57Dude, the flip side, and I saw this.
02:59You did a great job of pointing this out on your Twitter,
03:02at Steve Palazzolo, P-A-L-A-Z-Z-O-L-O.
03:07Bo Nix sucks early in the year.
03:09What is that about?
03:10Wow, this is the third straight year where weeks one and two – like, last night,
03:16it was like he had Vaseline on his fingers.
03:18He couldn't hold on to the football, but this is a trend with him.
03:21It's really funny.
03:22As a data-driven football analyst, I don't know what to do with these trends
03:26that should not matter.
03:28But remember, like, Bo Nix's rookie season, his first two games,
03:32he couldn't even complete a pass beyond 10 yards.
03:34He was like one for a million the first two weeks.
03:36It's like, oh, this dude, he's not ready for the NFL.
03:38But before you know it, he started to grow, and he improved.
03:41And then week one and two, the next – last year, it was ugly.
03:45They snuck by the Titans.
03:47I forget who they had week two.
03:48He wasn't that good.
03:49And then last night, it's the same thing.
03:51And look, I think Bo Nix has had a really nice start to his career,
03:54but he's had games like this.
03:56He's had halves like this, where it's just the footwork's off.
04:00Last night, it was the fumbles, and I think the Chiefs are doing
04:03a really good job defensively.
04:05But Bo Nix has been impressive against the Chiefs in other games
04:08where he handled Spag's blitz, and he stood in there,
04:11and he made big third-down throws, and he scrambled at the right time.
04:14And he just – I don't know if he lost a little bit of a step running, too.
04:18He just didn't feel like he was able to break away from the defense
04:20when he needed to.
04:21I don't know how you characterize this.
04:23But, yeah, I said he's never had, for whatever it's worth,
04:26a PFF grade above 50, which is an awful grade.
04:28He's never been above 50 in the first two weeks of the season.
04:30He's had five of those games so far.
04:32He's got one game to beat that next week against the Jags.
04:36It's just a slow start every year for Bo Nix.
04:38But you look around the league, and you have some teams like Dallas
04:40who we thought would be a juggernaut.
04:42They went out there, and the Giants handled them.
04:45The Rams, another team that many people think can win the Super Bowl,
04:49flew over very late to go to Australia, and they looked like it.
04:52You know, is this just a fluke the first week,
04:54or are those teams going to be there at the end, you think?
04:58I'll steal someone else's tweet, but last year at this time after week one,
05:01just to put everything in perspective, the Raiders were 1-0.
05:04They beat the Super Bowl, the AFC champion Patriots.
05:08The Super Bowl champion Seahawks lost.
05:11J.J. McCarthy was offensive player of the week, no offense.
05:14I mean, there's just weird stuff happens in week one,
05:16and then you throw the Australia part of it with the Rams.
05:18I think that was absolutely a factor.
05:21So, yeah, strange stuff happens in week one,
05:22but you have a team like the Cowboys where, hey, the defense is supposed to be better.
05:27I know they, quote, only gave up 28 points against the Giants,
05:30but that was across seven possessions.
05:32Like, they didn't make a stop against the Giants,
05:35including when the Giants were just running the clock out in a one-score game to finish it,
05:40and they couldn't stop them.
05:41So, yeah, there are some things that are still concerning,
05:45because it's the same thing we've seen in previous years.
05:47And I think a team like the Rams, it's like, look, we've seen them play much better football.
05:50I'm not going to write them off after one week.
05:52The Cowboys thing, I think, though, is a little bit more concerning,
05:55given how bad their defense was last year.
05:58What, Steve, would you say was the most impressive win of the weekend?
06:02I think the Bills winning in Houston, I think the way the Ravens played on the road,
06:06the way the Bears played on the road, there were some impressive wins, I thought.
06:12It's funny, because I feel like as fans, a 59-37 game, we're like, wow, the Bears are great,
06:17and you're more likely to say the offense is awesome, they must be good, and ignore the defense.
06:22But I was impressed by the Bears' offense.
06:24They could be an absolute juggernaut.
06:26I look at the Ravens, though.
06:28Early Lamar Jackson years, they would do this in week one as well, put up 40-plus and just dominate.
06:34And now it's the third offensive coordinator for Lamar Jackson.
06:39But nothing looks different, other than maybe stylistically he's under center more,
06:43but they have the ability to dominate with the pass game, which they did the other day,
06:48Derrick Henry on the ground.
06:49So they kind of got their groove back.
06:52I think Baltimore, I think that was a big one.
06:53And then, yeah, the Bills and the Texans, another one where the Texans last year,
06:57I think, had the best defense I had seen in the last 10 years.
07:00They were unbelievable.
07:01Four-man rush.
07:02Every single week, quarterbacks had a really tough time just moving the ball.
07:07And Josh Allen, even when you go back and look at some of those plays,
07:10a tight window cover two shot, even the Josh Palmer game-winning touchdown
07:14has to put it right on him.
07:16It's not like the Texans played awful defensively in this game,
07:19but the Bills just had answers, and they were very impressive.
07:22Dalton Kincaid, Josh Allen.
07:25I still think the Texans will be there in the end for the AFC.
07:27So I have to say the Bills doing that blow for blow with two AFC heavyweights
07:31and the Bills putting up 36 against the Texans defense,
07:34I still believe will be very good this year.
07:36I'm talking with Steve Palazzolo here, the co-host of the Check the Mic podcast.
07:41You can give him a follow at Steve Palazzolo.
07:43What do you make of the Chargers losing at home to Arizona?
07:49So I've been struggling with Arizona because I thought last year
07:52they had the best personnel they had had in about three years,
07:55and through a few weeks they looked, as I expected,
07:58a feisty team that might not make the playoffs,
08:01and then they just fell apart.
08:02But they still have some talent in Arizona.
08:05The offensive playmakers, you know, with Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr.,
08:08Trey McBride, Jeremiah Love in the backfield, they do have playmakers.
08:12And Jacoby Brissett has played just good, solid football the last couple of years.
08:16So I hate looking at the Cardinals as the team that was picking number three overall.
08:20They have a really tough schedule, so I don't know how many games they're going to win,
08:23but I think the Cardinals should play a lot of teams tough.
08:26But it's a massive disappointment, I think, for the Chargers.
08:29Mike McDaniel probably overhyped a little bit as offensive coordinator with Justin Herbert.
08:34McDaniel's done a really nice job with the run game in the past.
08:36They couldn't get that going out of the – the offense looked good in the first quarter and a half.
08:41It looked good when Ladd McConkie was out there.
08:43When he got hurt, they lost some of their consistency.
08:46I don't know if they have enough playmakers again.
08:49Herbert did not play a great game.
08:51And then my bigger concern with the Chargers is losing defensive coordinator Jesse Minter,
08:56who's now the Ravens head coach.
08:57The Chargers have been really playing above their personnel, I would say, the last couple of years.
09:02You would never stack their personnel and say, yeah, this is a great defense.
09:04But they always played really tough, made life difficult for opposing quarterbacks.
09:10And I think they lost some of that.
09:11Jacoby Brissett was dealing, particularly when they needed it on conversion down.
09:15So I'm concerned about the Chargers' defense.
09:18And, yeah, you only had pretty much a half of decent offense with Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert.
09:23I think that's absolutely a concern through one week.
09:26The Bengals were my preseason Super Bowl pick.
09:29They get a good – oh, really?
09:32Cool.
09:32They get a good win at home against Tampa, but showed some leaks there.
09:38What did you think of Cincy?
09:39And on the flip side, what did you think of Tampa?
09:43Cincinnati's another team that has – I live in Cincinnati.
09:46I'm not a fan necessarily, but I live here now.
09:48So I play to the crowd over here.
09:49So I always hype up the Bengals.
09:51I mean, Joe Burrow let them back in the game with a pick six.
09:54That was a bad decision.
09:55The Bengals have one of those trends where it's like early in the year.
09:58They don't always find their groove historically under – with Joe Burrow at quarterback.
10:02But the big question for Cincinnati was their defense.
10:04And they made an impact.
10:06They had all the force fumbles on Baker Mayfield.
10:09It's one of those weird games where you say, well, if you take away those three force fumbles,
10:13it changes the game because the other, you know, 130 plays or whatever, it was a lot more even.
10:20But obviously those turnovers were huge.
10:22One leads to a touchdown.
10:23But that's what Cincinnati needs defensively.
10:25You saw Dexter Lawrence, who they added, him being disruptive.
10:28I think you see how that opens things up.
10:31Boye Mafe, you know, as a free agent coming in, that helps guys like Miles Murphy to make plays
10:36and Chris Jenkins to make plays.
10:37Some of those defensive linemen who couldn't do it all on their own in the past for Cincinnati.
10:41So I think that's my biggest takeaway is the Bengals' defense needed to get better, and they did.
10:46A defensive touchdown only gave up 20 points defensively.
10:51But Burrow and the offense, I think they'll be fine.
10:53They kind of let them back – let the Bucs back in with a pick six.
10:57And for Tampa, again, it's like you could easily say, hey, just take away Baker's bad decisions,
11:02you know, trying to do too much with the ball.
11:04But you can't take it away.
11:06And that's how Baker plays far too often.
11:08He's got to be more consistent, take better care of the ball.
11:10And he has too many of these, you know, cluster turnover games that are really tough to overcome for the
11:15Bucs.
11:15Steve, was it Carson Wentz or was the Packers' defense not where they were last year or two years ago?
11:23I don't know what to make of that entire game.
11:26I mean, the Packers had this game in control.
11:28I was texting my co-host, Sam Monson.
11:30I'm like, dude, Brian Flores is out of his mind to the way he's blitzing.
11:33This is crazy.
11:33It's not working.
11:34They're busting coverage is left and right.
11:36It's like 80%, right?
11:36And he didn't stop.
11:37He didn't stop.
11:39It's like every single play, Jordan Love is shooting Jordan fadeaways trying to find an open receiver.
11:44And it just puts so much stress on them.
11:47So I think the Vikings' defense finally started to get home.
11:51That changed the complexion of the game.
11:53They're giving – there were multiple short fields for the Vikings' offense.
11:57There was a big kick return by the Vikings.
11:58There was the Jordan Love fumble that set the Vikings up at the one.
12:02And so I wouldn't put this all on the Packers' defense.
12:04I really think it was the Vikings' defense and Brian Flores attacking, attacking, attacking.
12:09It finally working, changing the complexion of the game.
12:12And then credit Carson Wentz.
12:13He did make some really nice throws, you know, getting the ball in the flat to Justin Jefferson,
12:18a tight window throw in the back of the end zone.
12:21Carson Wentz did start to get a feel.
12:23And Wentz didn't get any reps during training camp.
12:25He wasn't a part of that quarterback competition.
12:27It was Kyler Murray versus J.J. McCarthy.
12:29Kyler won the job.
12:30Wentz became the backup, but he wasn't even in the competition.
12:33So he looked a little rusty early on, and then he played much better as the game went on.
12:37So I think you just got to credit Minnesota and the craziness on defense from Brian Flores
12:42changing the tone of the game.
12:43Are you concerned about the Packers' big picture?
12:47Yeah.
12:48The Packers are funny because, like, you know, we do our draft analysis every year and everything.
12:51And the Packers just obviously have this history of success,
12:54and they've always been a draft and develop team,
12:56and they've hit on their three quarterbacks for the last 30 years,
12:59and all these things that they've done extremely well as an organization.
13:02And I come out of the draft, and I'm like, I don't, I don't, I said,
13:05I don't really jive with their draft strategy, like some of the players that they like.
13:09I'm trying to, like, tactfully say I don't really love their team,
13:13but they always seem to overachieve relative to my expectations.
13:16But I thought coming into this year it might be the worst team that they've had in a couple years.
13:20The offensive line's a major concern.
13:21They had a couple backups in there this week.
13:24But even when they're healthy, this looks like the worst on-paper offensive line that they've had.
13:29They let a couple playmakers walk, so they're putting a little bit more pressure on Matthew Golden,
13:33Christian Watson.
13:33I think those guys are fine.
13:35But, and then defensively, Micah Parsons single-handedly changed that defense last year.
13:40But when he was gone, you know, they don't have the type of pass rushers to get after the quarterback.
13:45They have to blitz a little bit more, rely on Edger and Cooper at linebacker.
13:48So I've got some concerns about their defense as well.
13:50You lose Jeff Halfley, their defensive coordinator, you know, to the Dolphins.
13:54So, yeah, I think the Packers are more fragile this year maybe than they've been in previous years.
13:58And I think that showed up in the second half against Minnesota.
14:01Talking with Steve Palazzolo here, co-host of the Check the Mic podcast.
14:05You can give Steve a follow at Steve Palazzolo, P-A-L-A-Z-Z-O-L-O.
14:10Let's localize this thing and talk about the Commanders.
14:14What did you like and what did you not like in the week one loss to Philly?
14:19Man, poor Sandra still is getting smoked in town, I assume, right?
14:23I mean, it was rough.
14:24He is.
14:26I really liked him coming out of Michigan.
14:27I thought he was going to be like a Mike Hilton type, you know, Kenny Moore type, play nickel, play
14:34the run.
14:35High energy type of player like he was at Michigan.
14:38I just don't think he could play on the outside consistently.
14:40I think that's been an issue.
14:43So, that's part of my concern.
14:45I thought there was some good stuff defensively.
14:48This would be the concern.
14:49You could say the pass rush was pretty good.
14:51I don't know how many sacks they ended up having, whatever it was.
14:53But a lot of times when they got home, it was against an injured Landon Dickerson, the left guard for
14:58the Eagles, who's now going on IR.
15:00He could barely play.
15:01He could barely move.
15:02So, that was a big part of the disruption.
15:04I thought they could have done a little bit more there with the revamped defensive front.
15:08But there was some flashes there.
15:10There was some signs of life.
15:11I think offensively, it's so tough going up against the Vic Fangio defense.
15:15Completions were really tough.
15:17Jaden started nine for a lot at the beginning of the game.
15:20I thought they did it.
15:21Antonio Williams is just a really good football player.
15:24Good feel for the game.
15:26Getting open.
15:27Good route runner.
15:28I think him and Stephon Diggs are going to be the key to this offense.
15:31You know, using those guys in that, you know, stack, Z move type of receiver role.
15:36They'll open up the middle of the field and then hopefully Terry McLaurin.
15:39I didn't think McLaurin looked that great from what I saw.
15:42But you need him, you know, in the vertical game.
15:44So, I think there are – I think the offense will figure it out.
15:47They'll get better.
15:48The other takeaway is I think the run game can get there for Washington.
15:51Zach Bond for the Eagles just played at an all-pro level.
15:54He looked unbelievable.
15:55He cleaned up so many plays.
15:57And so, if you play a game where you're not facing Zach Bond, they might break some runs.
16:01So, I was impressed with what they did up front.
16:04But Zach Bond just saved the game, I think, a lot for Philly.
16:07So, I think there was a lot to like.
16:08The offense started to find their groove.
16:10Run game, short pass game.
16:12Need McLaurin on the outside as a vertical threat.
16:14I thought Jaden was a little up and down but made some big plays when he needed to.
16:18And then, same thing, some good stuff on the defense.
16:20You got to figure out cornerback on the outside, though, and find the right mix of players.
16:25Whether it's Amik Robertson, Rasul Douglas, and figuring out Sandra Still, Nick Cross as kind of your nickels.
16:31I think there's – I think they got to look at outside corner and figure out, you know,
16:36you can't give it up the way they did on Sunday.
16:38Did you like the defense?
16:40The way that Durante Jones implemented it?
16:42He runs a little bit of what Flores runs.
16:44I don't think he blitzes much, but he confused the hell out of him, I think, on multiple occasions.
16:50Yeah, I mean, it's funny because the two long touchdowns to Dallas Goddard were kind of funky
16:56because I thought Washington got caught themselves in their own extra disguise.
17:02You know, they were trying to drop to, I think, probably cover two, something too high.
17:05And Hurts read it out really well, put it right on Goddard in the end zone.
17:09Beautiful throw, but they almost got caught too much in their disguise.
17:12And then the other one was a little fluky, too, because you had Goddard with the shift,
17:17and everybody's pointing, and they stop playing, and he gets behind the defense.
17:20And it's like, all right, that's kind of a communication and understanding issue.
17:23So they're kind of fluky and, like, you know, took a great throw,
17:26and it took a miscommunication to get those long plays.
17:29But, yeah, overall, I liked it.
17:30I thought they played well.
17:31I think they do have some talent up front as far as the defensive front goes.
17:36And, look, Sonny Stiles, his best plays were, you know, knifing into the backfield
17:39in the run game, obviously the pass rush, the sack against Saquon Barkley.
17:43Leo Chanel has always been a really good blitzer.
17:46You know, I think they do.
17:46And we know Frankie Louvoo is, you know, one of those hybrid type of players, right?
17:50He's like a half-edge, half-linebacker.
17:52So they do have the players to create some havoc in the backfield,
17:56and I do think they can have some success with those linebackers blitzing throughout the season.
18:00All right, so as we look ahead now to week two,
18:03what do you think of Washington traveling down to Dallas,
18:06another national TV game, that big Fox window?
18:10What do you make of this matchup?
18:13Yeah, I mean, I had higher expectations for the Cowboys for their defense.
18:17You know, I thought they were like the Bengals,
18:19where if they just got back toward an average defense,
18:21they had a chance to compete, and they could not make a stop against the Giants.
18:25So when I say, hey, the Commanders,
18:27I think they had some opportunities in the run game.
18:29They might have those opportunities this week against Dallas unless they tidy things up.
18:34I still think Dallas' offense is really difficult to stop.
18:38George Pickens and C.D. Lamb on the outside,
18:40they were inconsistent against the Giants,
18:43but, you know, Dak's really good,
18:45and that matchup against the Commanders' corners,
18:48I think that's going to probably determine the game,
18:50if they could, you know, slow down Dallas' offense at all.
18:53But I think Washington has a chance to have a lot of success on offense,
18:57get Jaden Daniels.
18:58I think he found his groove a little bit in the second half with the new offense,
19:01and I think we might see a high-scoring game on Sunday between both teams.
19:04I do too, man.
19:05Hey, Steve, thanks so much for the time.
19:07Appreciate it, Steve.
19:07Good to catch up.
19:08Yeah, thanks, guys.
19:09Appreciate it.
19:10All right, brother.
19:11All right, that is Steve Palazzolo,
19:12the Check the Mic podcast.
19:14Good ball conversation right there.
19:16Ball knower.
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