2025 NFL Power Rankings Part 1 | Preseason Kickoff

MTP RECORDING ROOM === [00:00:00] David Clarke: Guess what time it is, boys and girls. It's that time of year. Football season is up upon us. We have returned triumphant, my co-host, the Real BK, Bob Kelly, and I to the power rankings. You heard it here first. I would call it the flagship show of the NFL season. ~Um, ~we're gonna do all 32 teams today, [00:00:30] guys. ~We're gonna, ~we're gonna power rank 32 all the way to one. We're gonna release this episode in two parts, part one this week, part two ~next, ~next week, just so we can keep your appetite fresh, not fully satiated, and that way you can tune back in and listen to us as we gear up for what I think is gonna be another exciting football season. Bob, you pump for football season, man. A real game has happened. ~Uh, ~if you, if you consider it a real game. The preseason is upon us. We're gonna [00:01:00] have four weeks of watching the third and fourth string guys hit the field by the fourth quarter, and then we're gonna kick this bitch off. We have international games. They're playing a game in Dublin this year at Cro Park. ~The, ~the Steelers are the team that are playing in it. We got storylines coming where I hate Aaron Rogers, but I've historically had a soft spot for the Steelers. The bears are, am I gonna get over hyped for them again? Micah Parsons just demanding a trade ~from, ~from the Dallas Cowboys your, your faded [00:01:30] team. ~Um, ~the storylines are already bubbling. They're bubbling beneath the surface, and before anything else happens, Bob, we're gonna have to put these teams in order. I know it's gonna change. That's what, that's the nature of the power rankings. That's the nature of this thing. You and I have been slaving away doing for many a year, and there's maybe some obvious ones, but maybe some not obvious ones. So, Bob, on a scale of one to four. How excited are you about this upcoming NFL season? Now that we're out of our little sports drought,[00:02:00] Robert Kelly: Bro, I gotta give it at least ~a, a ~a five. I'm, I'm going above the four David Clarke: this one goes to 11. This one goes to 11, eh, Robert Kelly: ~we're, we're, ~we're cranking the dial all the way up. Man, it, this is gonna be a great season. ~Um. ~It's a little disappointing that, you know, I thought the Cowboys actually might get at a training camp without some sort of goddamn controversy or some devastating injury finally. But, you know, it's, it's par for the course. So it just, it's just rite of passage for the football season, for something crazy to happen to cowboys fans before training camp even really gets [00:02:30] underway. ~Um, ~but it's, it doesn't damper the excitement, you know what I mean, at, at this point. It is what it is and I'm, I'm ready, bro. I'm ready. You get used to it after a while. You do. David Clarke: you get used to the abuse, to the tox, to the toxicity of being a, a fan of both of our teams, really. ~Um. ~Yeah, I hear that, man. I honestly, I think the really exciting thing for me is to just sit on the couch and watch like seven NFL games at the same time on a Sunday afternoon. I, I, I don't [00:03:00] know if there's a more, ~um, ~deeply pleasurable experience that I have left in my life as a 30 5-year-old man Wasting away, I'm wasting away I'm over the hill. Robert Kelly: Scott Hanson in my life has been such a staple for David Clarke: ~Yeah.~ Robert Kelly: I David Clarke: ~Yep.~ Robert Kelly: when I saw ESPN David Clarke: ESPN thing. Yeah. Robert Kelly: I was really nervous about it, but Scott Hanson already came out and said he's, he's staying and he is not going anywhere. So as David Clarke: ~Yeah.~ Robert Kelly: Scott Hanson in my life, I'm okay. David Clarke: It's like the, the Wolf of Wall Street DiCaprio mean I'm not leaving. I'm not fucking leaving. [00:03:30] And, uh, seems true about the power ranking show Bud. ~Um. ~Yeah, I, uh, I just got this weird like, sense memory. Do you remember when we used to do the radio at Dean College back in the day and there was a, an ad read when you were talking about how excited you were and you were a five out of four, and you were like, I'm turning the dial all the way up. You remember the end of the ad read? It was like, turn it up and rip the knob off. I was like, wow, I haven't thought about that ad that we used to, we used to run on terrestrial radio back in, what, 2009? Robert Kelly: When, when it was still running [00:04:00] on mini discs, David Clarke: Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I was the, I was the, ~uh, ~production. Czar, I had to, I had to do all the CDs and the discs. I had to make sure they were all up to date so they wouldn't skip live on air. That was my, ~uh, ~that was my Sisyphean struggle. All right. I think we're gonna start power ranking. What do you say Now, obviously, avid listeners to this show know our, our week to week system is one through 10. ~Um, ~to sort of talk about the better teams in the NFL, we also do what we call a cross off section where, which gives us a chance to talk about sort of the [00:04:30] also rans, the lesser teams, ~um, ~where we kind of put all our chips in the middle and say. This is a team that's definitely not gonna make the playoffs or, or go have a real playoff run as it sort of gets down to crunch time. But today, just because it's preseason, I think every team deserves their due, right? No one's done anything wrong at this point, and no one's done anything well at this point. ~Um, ~so anything could happen. 32 could make the top 10, probably not. 32 could make the top 10. You know, the number five could [00:05:00] drop all the way down to, to 21. I was thinking what would be cool, Bob, if you'd be into it, is the last power ranking show. We also do another 32 full run where we, and we sort of compare now that we have this like very well, ~uh, ~put together document you've done for us, we sort of compare, ~um, ~where we were now and who we are in the future, which is, ~uh, ~it's honestly an exercise all people should participate in not to get too Robert Ec about the whole thing. ~Um, ~number 32, Bob, kick us off. Who's the worst team in the NFL going into [00:05:30] this season? Robert Kelly: I think this is pretty obvious, ~um, ~when you have one of the worst teams in the league last year and your key acquisition of the year is Kenny Pickett. ~I, I, ~I feel like ~it's, it's, it's, ~it's not going well. ~Um, ~Cleveland Browns are 32, in my opinion, four quarterbacks, not one of them really a starting caliber. ~Uh, ~I'm very intrigued to see what Shado does. They're starting 'em in the preseason opener, which I thought was kind of cool. ~Um, ~but they, they literally don't have anything. They, miles Garrett. Nothing. I think it's like [00:06:00] Miles Garrett and then Jerry Judy might be their second best player, which is just so sad. ~Um, ~yeah, ~it's, it's, ~it's a sad state of affairs in, in Cleveland for sure. ~Um, ~I thought for sure they were gonna trade Garrett, to be honest. I thought that would've been the smart thing 'cause they would've got picked and like been able to rebuild a little bit. But David Clarke: Well, they, you know, they have an, they have a second, first round pick going into, ~uh, ~next year. So the Cleveland Browns really, ~uh, ~in my opinion, are so set up to tank. It's crazy. ~Um.~ Robert Kelly: Yeah. David Clarke: The, the [00:06:30] way that they drafted essentially a novelty player, I think, to keep them in the news cycle. ~Uh, ~and I'm not saying he's definitely, I'm not saying Sanders is definitely a novelty player. I'm not saying that I have any definitive opinion to be honest with you, on his chances of succeeding in the NFL. But he was, I would say, top five things talked about in the off season this year because of being Dion Sanders's son falling pretty significantly in the draft. I think, ~uh, ~you know, I think [00:07:00] people were like, he's either gonna get, he's either gonna get selected. I think there was a, there was a, there was a group of people that thought that this could happen, right? This wasn't like, holy shit, holy shit. But it was, you know, he was either gonna get selected top five or he was gonna fall to where he fell to. And I think after the tumble, the Browns sort of saying. Yeah, why not? We'll be in the news for a little while, you know, we could, we'll send, we'll sell some Sanders jerseys. Uh, that's for sure. ~It, ~it could be fun. And I think nothing really [00:07:30] illustrates that better than, like you said, they're starting him ~in the, ~in the preseason opener. ~It's, it's, ~it's happening. He's at this point, number one ~in the, ~in the depth chart. Additionally, I'd say, yes, I agree. A four man QB room of what I would call names. Would you disagree? ~Like ~I know Kenny Pickett's not ~the, ~the, he ~didn't, ~hasn't lit up the NFL since his, since being drafted by Eddie Stretch the imagination. But I think we all knew who he was in college. ~Um, ~Joe Flacco obviously can, ~like, ~make the news at any given time by coming in and being the best playoff quarterback we [00:08:00] have available to us ~in the, ~in the NFL, ~um, ~Dylan Gabriel, ~I, you know, it's, ~it's a conversation ~be ~because of the. Robert Kelly: He's got David Clarke: Yeah, because of the absolute circus arm and the contrast now to Sanders and ~like ~kind of where we are with that. ~So, um, I, ~I think they're gonna be a talked about team. ~It's, ~it's gonna be one of the more interesting worst teams in the league. That's definitely tanking this year because you kind of never know what might happen. Would you put any stock into the speculation of, ~like, ~Sanders is a Sanders, he's got a chip on his shoulder now. He has the, ~like, it, it, ~I know it's a very [00:08:30] ESPN first take, but, and ~I don't, ~I don't wanna try to wheel it into existence or anything, but ~it, ~what do you think is there, is there a shot. Robert Kelly: I think there's a shock. I was shocked that he felt to the fifth round, to be honest. ~Um, I, ~I liked Sanders. I liked him in college. I thought he was pretty good. I mean, Colorado wasn't, ~know, ~weren't barn burners by any stretch of the imagination. He did some things ~at, ~at Colorado. ~Um, what ~what's surprising to a lot of people is ~like, he's not. ~He's not like an athletic quarterback, he's more of a pocket passer. You know what, he doesn't have the Dion [00:09:00] speed by any stretch of the David Clarke: It's very strange. He wouldn't be like a Dionne Comp, ~uh, ~athletically at all. He's like a Chad Pennington in, in my head. You know what I mean? Like Robert Kelly: slow. He, he David Clarke: ~yeah.~ Robert Kelly: fast at all. He is got, he is got some strength and he is got some agility, but he is not fast at all. David Clarke: He's inaccurate. He's an accurate thrower. The ball though, I mean, like he puts the ball goes where he wants it to go. And I do think he has, he has a certain. Demeanor. You know, I wouldn't go so far as to coin a, a term of yours. And, and yeah, like I wouldn't, I wouldn't call it a championship, DNA, ~um, uh, ~I wouldn't go that [00:09:30] far as to use a catchphrase born from you to the greater show as a whole. But, you know, there's something about him, you know, he's got heirs. He's got heirs about him to a certain degree. There's a reason he's as talked about as he is. Right. It's not just because he's Dion Sanders kid. Robert Kelly: Right. No. Agreed. ~Um, ~there's a reason he was the biggest story of, of the draft, but I, I, I think Who do they start week one? It is, it's you think Flaco starts week one. David Clarke: No, I think it's [00:10:00] gonna be Sanders. Robert Kelly: You think? You think they start Sanders's week one. David Clarke: Yeah. Unless he has a diabolically, bad preseason, unless he does something like insane in preseason, like, you know, first, first throw of the game, he throws a pick or like, you know, throws several picks in a row to like a second string defense. Like, unless something really nuts happens, I, I sort of think it's, I think it's his job to lose be, just because of what we just talked about, the, the idea that this Cleveland Browns team is almost certainly going to lose as many games as they possibly can so that they can have too high [00:10:30] first round draft picks next year and, ~uh, ~potentially start a real rebuild. I think the Miles Garrett trade like that you were surprised didn't happen. I think it's coming. ~Um, I, ~I think a team is in a much, think about it. If it was your team, right? Like, we'll come on to talk about the Dallas Cowboys. I don't think Michael Parsons is going anywhere personally, but if Miles Garrett were to get traded from the Cleveland Browns, the hall they would get would be unprecedented for a defensive player, right? It would be the craziest amount of everything that you've seen for a defensive player. [00:11:00] If you're gonna give that away as a team, if you're gonna essentially mortgage your future, it would be nice to see five or six games from your team, ~uh, ~where you can get yourself into a position where you go, yeah, I think we have something here. And a Miles Garrett. We might be a Miles Garrett away from doing something pretty crazy this year. So the, the, the handful of teams that could possibly put themselves at, in that position, you know, watch this space. I would say, ~um, ~it's a, it's a hell of a contract you're inheriting too. So it, we'd have to, it'd have [00:11:30] to be a team that was in very, very strong position, ~uh, ~financially as well, like the last of their salary cap. ~Um. ~I mean, I think they're gonna be fully re rebuilding after this year. ~Uh, ~I have no problem with you putting them at number 32 in the power rankings. I think it's the same place I would've put 'em. And, ~uh, ~yeah. It'll be, I guess, kind of funny to watch that four QB room, ~uh, ~including Joe Flacco, which he just, he's the man who won't quit Robert Kelly: He's still there. He's David Clarke: just hanging on. Robert Kelly: there. It's funny, David Clarke: Wow. Robert Kelly: [00:12:00] Cleveland too, you know what I mean? He could, David Clarke: I know, Robert Kelly: Comeback Player of the Year in Cleveland again. It'd be David Clarke: I know. It's, ~uh, ~I mean, I, it just, it, it's, it's simultaneously seems like yesterday and seems like a, a million years ago when he signed what I would call like the most elite contract a a non-elite QB has signed. Right? Like the, like he signed and it, but the thing is he's, Robert Kelly: Flacco's Elite storyline David Clarke: yeah. Yeah. Robert Kelly: was such a top headline for [00:12:30] so long. David Clarke: know. I mean, like what if you had to pick though? Joe Flacco's, you're going to the playoffs and you can't have an all time great. You, you can't have an all time great as your qb you're, you can choose one of two guys. You're either choosing Eli Manning or you're choosing Joe Flaco to be your, your playoff qb. If you can't have Montana or Brady or Peyton Manning or like one of those guys, right? Like, I mean, but some people might make an argument. You could take Eli over his brother. Like playoff performance wise. 'cause like [00:13:00] Flaco. Yeah, Flaco and Eli just cooked in the postseason from time to time. That's just what they did. Um, they put together a few of the more Lee Postseasons. Uh, some, some guys are just big game players, man. This is the way it is. Who's 31? Robert Kelly: 31 is the New Orleans Saints, ~um, ~and other, other, if you don't have a quarterback, you don't have anything situation to me. ~Um. ~Derek Carr, ~uh, ~wildly retired randomly, I think. I think it's [00:13:30] because Newland didn't want him anymore and he had that shoulder issue going on. But honestly, even with Derek Carr, they still might have been 31. Um, do you remember when they were in the power rankings week one last year? David Clarke: Yeah, but ~do you remember, when do you, ~do you remember they had seven weeks of crazy good offense at the start of the season last year. Like they absolutely played lights out for the first seven weeks. I kept telling you 'cause you got so excited, I was like, this isn't gonna last. Don't worry. Like their roster's still their roster. But yeah, I mean, it's kind of tough because I think as an NFC team, I like to see the New [00:14:00] Orleans Saints do well. ~Um, ~I, I sort of just like it when they're good. I think it's good for football when they're good. They're one of those teams. We talk about that in basketball all the time. ~Um. ~I think that's of all the, I'm just looking at your list right now, of, of like the bottom seven teams. I would like it if the Saints were good, ~uh, ~the most out of this bottom seven and they're just a team I've always had a little bit of a soft spot for, we always went through them in the playoffs when we were good. When Chicago was good, we always were able to beat New Orleans, so I don't have any sort of like anger or, ~or uh, ~[00:14:30] old hatreds towards them. ~Um, ~you know, Katrina, come on, Robert Kelly: exactly. David Clarke: you know, I mean, shit. Robert Kelly: name? What was, what was the guy's name that blocked the punt? ~Uh, ~I forget, David Clarke: I can't remember. Robert Kelly: know what I'm talking about. There's a David Clarke: Yeah, of course. Robert Kelly: the stadium. David Clarke: As well. There should be. I mean, ~I, ~I'm apologized to New Orleans Saints fans, ~uh, ~that neither of us can remember this guy's name. But I have to say, ~um, ~my brain isn't what it used to be. I am 35, ~uh, ~and I just, I recently turned 35 and a lot of players blocked. Punts are falling outta my head. ~It's, it's, ~[00:15:00] it's difficult to, ~uh, ~scramble that stuff back as, ~as your, ~your brain sort of turns to switch, switch cheese because of the decisions you made. Robert Kelly: Steve Gleason, is that right? I might be David Clarke: Oh, I'm gonna Google it. Steve Gleason. Steve Gleason. Well done. Apologies to, ~uh, ~the Gleason. Yeah, it's Steve Gleason. Robert Kelly: Yes. David Clarke: Falcon's Punt, big block, Steve Gleason. ~Uh, ~apologies to the Gleason clan that we couldn't remember his name. We'll, we'll never forget again. Hashtag never forget. Robert Kelly: But like, that's the only positive thing going into the, like [00:15:30] we have to talk about past memories going into the season when it comes to the Saints, because that's really all they got David Clarke: ~Oh,~ Robert Kelly: point. David Clarke: profound. That's, that was, that was a good segue. Robert Kelly: Well, I mean, Derek Carr and Mace both retired. They, you take your two veteran presence of, ~uh, ~a team that is literally going through an entire regime change. Like, listen, Kel Moore is gonna have his work cut out for him, and I'm not sold on Kel Moore. You know, I never have been. David Clarke: Not sold on him. I, I [00:16:00] thought it was absolute, ~uh, ~like hatred. Robert Kelly: I'm out, bro. Yeah, no, I'm out on Kel Moore, so David Clarke: I. Robert Kelly: just don't, I don't see it. And when your quarterback room is, Tyler Shaw, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haner, literally any of those guys would be number 32. Depending on the week when it comes to starting quarterbacks in the league. Um, and I don't Alvin Kumar's too old ~to carry, to carry the, ~to carry the weight of everything. At this point. He's 31. He's still, [00:16:30] he's still awesome. But he is, he is not what he was five, six years ago. You know what I mean? David Clarke: I do. I mean, we're entering year four now of the post Shawne, Peyton, new Orleans Saints, and I think for all the. Myopic, ~uh, ~hatred I've expressed on this show about Shawne Peyton and his coaching style over the years. He was an absolute stalwart in New Orleans and always made them kind of decent. You know, he, he, I think he always had that, ~um, ~that [00:17:00] gene that could really put him in a position to, to, you know, the Mike Tomlin gene to that would always put him in a position to like, at least make his teams decent. Um, when we come on to talk about the Denver Broncos, like, I think there's a, you know, Robert Kelly: now. David Clarke: he's a real reason why I, I'm gonna be actually pretty high on the Broncos this season because it just didn't work out for me being low on them last season. Um, so maybe I can reverse jinx them. But, ~uh, ~yeah, for all the disdain I've had for Shawne, Peyton's sort of play style, the New Orleans Saints as an organization is someone, or is, is an organization I always do [00:17:30] like to see do well. It's gonna be the number one worst television. It's, it's gonna be bad TV when the, when the Saints are playing this year. And, and as much as I totally understand why you put the Browns at 32, because they're probably a worst team. Um, just the lack of skill players and the four man QB room and all the uncertainty there, I still think they're gonna be better TV than the New Orleans Saints this year. The, the New Orleans Saints are not gonna give us a little, I don't think they're going to bang out a [00:18:00] seven game stretch of scoring 40 plus points a game for some odd reason, and then fizzling out. I think it's gonna be bad res. We're not gonna see 'em on red zone a lot. Robert Kelly: Agreed. Agreed. ~Um, ~I, I feel like it's like the, the Browns have like a tiny bit of a better quarterback room. At least they have some names. The Saints have a few Playmakers, they got a few guys that you actually recognize their names. But the quarterback room just is so, it's, it's, it's just trash, you know what I David Clarke: ~Yeah.~ Robert Kelly: it, it's really bad in [00:18:30] New Orleans, in the quarterback group. ~Um, ~plus the defense isn't anything either. So Yeah, I agree. The only thing, the only thing in the world that's really standing out is those uniforms because they still, to me, those black David Clarke: Uniforms are fire, Robert Kelly: the all, the, all Blacks still the most fire David Clarke: black and gold. Robert Kelly: it's still the David Clarke: Sick Superdome sick. Robert Kelly: Yeah. That's it. That's all I got. David Clarke: I'm surprised, quite frankly to see, ~uh, ~who's number 30 on your list. ~Um, ~I think this is the, the first Robert Frost path to verging in a snowy wood that we're gonna have here today, but probably [00:19:00] not the last. ~Um, ~I think you took the road less traveled. I, I genuinely was surprised to see the Panthers here instead of the Titans. ~Um, ~so I'm gonna, I'm gonna reframe this conversation around both the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans at this, at this point in time, even though there's two teams in between, ~uh, ~you, you have a, the Titans a lot higher than, than, than I do, but. You're high on Cam Ward, apparently. ~Uh, ~I, I might be a little higher on Bryce Young, quite frankly, if we're just going straight quarterback to quarterback, I, I've [00:19:30] heard a lot of, I know that you can't put a ton of stock into like what the players are saying in training camp, because I know everybody in 2025, and it has been this way probably for about 15 years. Everybody's media trained at this point. There's no, Terrell Owens is in the NFL on a regular basis coming out and just talking out the side, both sides of their mouth after training camp. There's no, you know, Robert Kelly: in the David Clarke: doing, doing sit ups. Like there's, there's no, ~uh, ~there's, there isn't. Is there any series holdouts right now, contract holdouts right now? Robert Kelly: Micah. David Clarke: Micah, but like, I [00:20:00] mean, is he, you know, that's, that's ~a, ~a storyline ~for, ~for later on in the episode, I think. I think everybody's media training to this point. I mean, even, look, look how 26-year-old Micah Parsons is dealing with this. It's not, he's not throwing his the baby out with the bathwater. He's like going through media channels and his agents are like dealing with this in, in a way that I sort of get where he is coming from. You know, like I'm not, I don't know if he's like losing the PR battle here, but we'll come on to talk about that later. ~Um, ~everybody's talking about Bryce's leadership, you know, [00:20:30] the fact that he might be a small, a little bit like more, ~uh, ~demure figure in the media. The guys seemed to really be high on him. I think he had spurts last season where you saw the quarterback he could potentially become. And I honestly, I think with some of the weapons they have down there now, I think they're gonna be a little bit better than you think. And I'm really confused what you think Cam Ward's gonna be able to do to come into the Tennessee Titans [00:21:00] with the most. Underwhelming backfield the most under, you know what I mean? Like you're expect if you're, I think if they get to 27, you're expecting Cam Ward to perform miracles in his first year, so you must be high, high on him. So talk to me about these two QBs, Bryce, obviously entering his third season. Third season. Yeah. Bryce obviously entering his third season and now the rookie, ~uh, ~coming in that you apparently think is fucking Johnny Football. Well, in the metaphorical sense, not in the actual guy [00:21:30] named Johnny Football that did a lot of drugs and, ~uh, ~is now 30 and probably is never gonna play in the NFL. Sorry, Johnny Football fans of you guys are mans of l fans of yours still, ~uh, ~holding out ~for, for, ~for that, for that miracle to come in. But what do you think? Well, you're, you're really that high on Cam Ward, huh? This is an interesting storyline to start the year off with. Robert Kelly: No, I do like Ward a lot. ~I, I, ~I feel like ~he, uh, ~he shows a lot of things, and this is, I don't wanna stretch it too much here, but to me he shows a lot of things that, ~uh, ~Daniel showed coming into last year. I think he has the same type of athleticism and he [00:22:00] has just as good of an arm. I don't know if he has the it factor that Daniels has. So I don't know if he's gonna lead the team to that much of a, ~you know, ~uptick. ~Um, ~but I think Ward's gonna show up this year. I really do. ~I, I, ~he brought that Miami team was garbage last year, if you watched a lot of their games, which I did. He. Took a team that was giving up almost 30 to 40 points a game and almost brought them to the college football playoff. So if you watch what he did versus the talent that he had, I [00:22:30] just feel like ~he, ~he's gonna show a lot in his first year. Bryce Young, I am still high on, I think he, ~he, uh,~ David Clarke: He is got Ted McMillan now. Robert Kelly: Yeah, David Clarke: ~mean, I, you know,~ Robert Kelly: at David Clarke: where, where were you on him coming into this? Robert Kelly: I do love Tet. I gotta say I like tat a lot. ~Um, ~but again, I'm not sold in canals. another thing that ~I, ~I do wanna toss out there. I don't like Dave Canals as to coach. ~Um, ~but ~you, ~you really think Bryce into next year is gonna be enough to show up for, because the Panthers, it is not about the quarterbacks to me [00:23:00] necessarily. And it's more about the Panthers David Clarke: ~I, their, ~their defense is terrible. I agree. Their defense is really terrible. Robert Kelly: worst. They were the worst defense since the Cowboys back in like 2015. They gave up 5 34 points last year. That's such an absurd amount of points. ~Um,~ David Clarke: It's bad. There's been a lot of roster turnover. I'm not sure that they've, they've like really upgraded in any, in any significant way, but they have had a little roster turnover. So there could be, at the very least, a different mindset mentality because if you can get [00:23:30] on a, ~and it, like, ~if you can get into a rhythm, I'm kind of cheering for, for, for Bryce Owen, to be honest with you, because the Bears got basically their whole future traded to them, uh, so that the Carolina Panthers could get Bryce Young. ~Um, ~the amount of picks we got and plus DJ Moore for, for that number one overall pick that Lovey Smith won us. ~Um, ~it's why we're in the position we're in right now. We're going from strength to strength, so I, I don't need them to suffer for that. So there's a little bit of a soft spot situation going on with, with them. And I, and I am pulling for them a little bit. Is he undersized? Yeah. But he hasn't [00:24:00] had a guy like Ted at any point in his career and he's also overcome adversity. Yeah, he actually, he could be a, he could be a true one, I think year one and I think that. The idea of a Bryce Young who has now overcome adversity with the benching coming back, never looking better since coming back from being benched, continuing to go from strength to strength. It does seem like, and I know, again, I'm ca this is, there's a little asterisk, a little caveat here. I, I understand you can't [00:24:30] believe everything you hear coming outta training camp, and I'm not sitting here advocating for, for the idea that the Carolina Panthers are gonna climb really anywhere past 2023 or, or 22 in the power rankings that at an absolute ceiling, absolute ceiling for them in, in this power rankings this year. Don't get me wrong, but I would like to see that, that hookup. I, I would have no problem drafting Tet High in my receiver, count in in fantasy football. I would have no problem with Bryce Mby in one of my QBs. ~Um. ~I'd probably rather have Cam Ward from a fantasy perspective just 'cause of how he [00:25:00] plays, right? That's, you know, if you're, if you're going from going from pure fantasy football, like who's gonna put up more points there? But what if they gain a little momentum? You know what I mean? Like what if, I don't know what their strength to schedule is like, but I have to imagine it's not very difficult considering their division. I, I don't know. I I, I feel like I could put it here. I know the defense is bad. It's hard. It's every time I start to like, kind of get high on them from an offensive perspective, I kind of then real, I remember their defense has to [00:25:30] play too. ~Um,~ Robert Kelly: 31 0.4 points per game last year is what they gave up. Uh, second, second most yards in NFL history with six 6,877 yards given up last year. David Clarke: They have the seventh easiest schedule. Robert Kelly: Okay? Okay. They're in, they're in one of the easier divisions too. So they, they're in the south, ~um,~ David Clarke: I'm just saying I like, to me, if Robert Kelly: ~there.~ ~So~ David Clarke: I get it, I get it. And, and [00:26:00] listen, we're, we're picking Its here at this point because I, I, I'm just essentially saying I'd like to put it on record just as our first diversion, just to keep it interesting. Down here at the bottom of the barrel, right around cross off time. I'm predicting we cross the Tennessee Titans off before we cross off the Carolina Panthers. What do you say? You wanna go in on that little, little gentleman's bet. Robert Kelly: our first, as our first board be. Yeah, for sure. I like David Clarke: And obviously we'll have to make it fair considering we are the ones inside the cross offs. ~Um, ~but, you know, once, once it comes that time, I think this is gonna be our first sort of MTP power [00:26:30] ranking storyline. ~Um, ~okay. Robert Kelly: we're, we're always fair with the cross offs, by the way, for the listeners, because we David Clarke: Well we have to be careful. Yeah. We never own cross off. Robert Kelly: off. Right. That's, David Clarke: So, because we can't uncross off, we don't wanna look like complete idiots more than we already do on a regular basis. 'cause we say outlandish shit. ~Um, ~but I mean, that's showbiz baby. Well, I'm really glad we talked about those teams in the context of each other because quite frankly I think they're both ~in, in, ~in really similar positions. I think there's a little bit of a question mark, not a, not a question mark in the ESPN sense of it, but there's a little bit of an [00:27:00] unknown factor ~in, ~in which direction the QB position's gonna go for both of them. I think there's a youth factor on the side of the Carolina Panthers on the, on the offensive side of the ball, which I'm always inclined to lean towards. ~Um. ~I'm excited to watch Cam Ward play football. I don't mean to downplay him. I, I like high draft picks playing football in the NFL. I like to, I like to keep an eye on it. I like to watch it, but it's gonna be high profile. I think Bryce has been in, is in a really nice position where he was under that spotlight because of the position he went in the draft and because of ~the, the, ~the [00:27:30] leverage nature of the trades that got him to Carolina in the first place. But I think now he's just sort of being a left alone to do a little football work. So I, I'd like to see what that, ~uh, ~comes out to this season and, and I'm interested in both storylines, so we really did it. ~Um, ~okay. Who's next on the list? Robert? Oh, it's the, it's the Giants. Robert Kelly: Hey, lemme pull back up. ~Uh, ~next. next we have the New York Giants. ~Um, ~so a lot of overhaul in the Giants roster for this year. ~Uh, ~they, they jenison Daniel Jones [00:28:00] finally, after signing him to maybe one of the worst contracts in NFLH 30. ~Um, ~they, they brought in Russell Wilson Jamis Winston into their quarterback room, drafted, ~uh, ~what the fuck is his name? I can't think of his name. ~Uh, ~who's the first round pick? Jackson Dart. Um, so they have another three quarterback room. Um, and ~it's, ~it's kind of confusing exactly which direction they're gonna go. Obviously Wilson's gonna be the starter if he struggles. He's dark and a nip at his heels. We'll see. ~Um, ~outside of that. Malik Nabors is the guy obviously [00:28:30] in offense. ~Um, ~he's ~uh, ~an elite wide receiver. Last year he did a lot of damage with ~like ~literally no help at quarterback. ~He, ~he was, ~uh, ~a top 20 fantasy wide receiver with one of the worst quarterback Romans in the NFL. ~Um, ~plus they David Clarke: I mean, he was, their whole offense. It was, ~I, ~it was honestly ~the like ~switch I've never seen, ~like ~they just had to figure out a way to get him the ball in every single down so he could try to do something. He was their entire offense. Robert Kelly: One game? He had ~like~ David Clarke: Yeah, it was bananas. ~Like ~absolutely bananas. It was a lot of fun to watch for the first ~like ~eight weeks before he obviously inevitably got hurt because he was basically getting tackled on every single [00:29:00] down in football that the entire team played on offense. So I'm unsurprised that that happened. I honestly feel terrible for this guy. This Giants team on the offensive side of the ball is. I'm gonna bring it out for the first time this year, turgid, it's gonna be so incredibly upsettingly, turgid to watch Russell Wilson, who is, I mean, I would de Robert Kelly: to neighbors though. Lots of deep balls to neighbors. I can David Clarke: he is going to be running for his fucking life all season. He, they, yeah. I'll give you one guess, just one guess because it's gonna be easy in context. As to the [00:29:30] absolute number one hardest strength to schedule in the NFL this year is Robert Kelly: It is. It's not the Giants is it? Is it David Clarke: it's the New York Football Giants. It's the New York Football Giants highest, highest, ~uh, ~percentage of winning teams they play this year. They, as much as I agree, and I don't mean to brush past the fact that their, their past rushes honestly elite at this point. I think that they have true, true, ~uh, ~amazing pass rush potential. Robert Kelly: they have four elite pass rushers in David Clarke: Yeah, it's crazy. I mean, [00:30:00] it's honestly crazy. Robert Kelly: Carter, burns, Thibodaux, and Lawrence, all four. David Clarke: That will absolutely pay dividends. Unfortunately, the dividends it's gonna pay is it's gonna get the offense back on the field a bunch. And just watching a very one dimensional, very, very average Russell Wilson for the Steelers as closely as I was last year. As for the listeners, ~uh, ~at home, if you're not avid fans of this show, you will be soon. My wife is a, is a dogged Steelers fan, a real, real [00:30:30] prideful Pittsburgh gal, and, uh, because of that I've always had a soft spot for him. You know, I really do respect him as a franchise. I'm also a Chicago Bears fan, so I fucking hate Aaron Rogers. So, you know, that's coming. I watched Russell Wilson quite closely over the course of that season and despite a few pretty good games in that Arthur Smith offense that I think was run pretty professionally and pretty well last season from a, from a coaching point of view. Despite that, and despite a few good games after he re he came back from injury and replaced Justin [00:31:00] Fields as the starting qb. He's, he's so many steps removed from the Russell Wilson of old that yes, he still has a deep ball. Yes. Malik nabs is a good, if not already great wide receiver, if they run that same kind of offense where neighbors is the target on every single down. It's, it's not, it's not gonna be pretty, man. It's really not gonna be pretty, I don't know how long Russ plays this season. I, I really think he's gonna get hit a lot. And [00:31:30] I, that offensive line is absolute Swiss cheese and with the strength of schedule, I'd be, he's gonna be running for his fucking life, man. ~It's gonna be bad. ~It's gonna be bad. Robert Kelly: Um, plus that it's not like they have a running game. They, they gave up on their running game when they gave up on Zeon and, and decided to pivot to Rookie Chime and Tracy. Um, so it's not like they have anything else to help 'em. It's literally the defense. And that's it. Uh, GM and Head coach are both on the table for first fired, uh, D David Clarke: ~I mean, ~the [00:32:00] GM basically oversaw the most embarrassingly lopsided trade running, back trade, at least in NFL history. And it was, ~and there was, and ~there was 4K footage of it on hard knocks. And it's just, ~I mean, ~the fact that his kids were like. Not, bro. Like, that's dumb. Don't fucking trade Saquon. It's, I think that there's a thing that happens in jobs like that where you have to, ~I and ~I do, my heart does go out to them. I understand this a little bit. You have to take big swings. You have to take big swings in this, in this [00:32:30] business as a gm, you have to make moves. The, the death by a thousand cuts. GM is not the guy you want to be, right? Like you, you don't want to just make no decisions or sit on your hands for so long that your franchise gets so stuck in the mud that you put the, the fans through instead of one tragedy, ~uh, ~several thousand hours of just mid-level GM ing. So you're always there, there about, we talk all the time about how you never want, when we were growing up, you never wanted to be a consistently eight and eight team. You know, that's, that's not something that, that wa was ever a position you [00:33:00] wanted to be in. And now, you know, you look at it a little bit differently, but you don't wanna be the eight and nine team. You don't wanna be the nine and eight team every year. You know, you don't wanna be the bubble team. It's, it's, it's one of the worst places to be. You'd rather just be terrible. So you could at least get. Excited about drafting high, you know, ~uh, ~I mean what a talented draft, what we just witnessed with the amount of talent from top to bottom in the last draft is just seems absolutely outrageous. And we just got to watch like our teams like make good fun picks. ~I mean, ~I, I say our teams is the sort of collective, [00:33:30] because there, we have a lot of Patriots fans on this show, but it was a fun draft to watch because, you know, a lot of shitty teams got a lot of good players and, and those, those talent injections are good, but not all the time. When you have like the 15th pick, is it a good thing, ~um, ~that it's the, you're, you're at the point of risk. So yeah, I mean it, he oversaw a really, really bad, bad moment in his career, just playing out fully in eight k and I am [00:34:00] sorry to him. That, that's probably almost certainly going to be his legacy for the remainder of, of his career in football. And that clip is viral for a reason. We've all seen it. ~Um, ~you let Saquon go to the Eagles and Saquon literally ran them to a Super Bowl in one of the most lopsided beatdowns in a, in a Super Bowl game I've ever seen Robert Kelly: teams too, David Clarke: to the eagles of all teams. And you're the New York Giants for God's sake. I mean, I can't, I can't even fathom how bad that is. And the fact that he still has his job is honestly [00:34:30] a little bit surprising. Robert Kelly: it is, it is. So they're both, they're both pretty much. Leading candidate for, for first coach fired and first champ fired. ~Um, ~they go hand in hand. ~Uh, ~I was, I was completely out on, on Day Bowl as soon as I saw, I used to be very high on him. I David Clarke: You were, when he was fat, when he was fat, you were into it Preem, you were like very, very D coded. I agree. Robert Kelly: brought Daniel Jones to the fucking playoffs. mean, come on. David Clarke: That is what you always said. Robert Kelly: that's saying [00:35:00] something, bro. ~Um, ~but then I saw him on hard knocks, put his feet up on the fucking table when David Clarke: ~I know~ Robert Kelly: fucking quarterbacks and shit. And I'm like, yo, who the fuck does this guy think he is putting David Clarke: he's obsessed with himself. Robert Kelly: the middle of NF? ~Uh, it, um. ~The defense could save them though. I gotta say that, that front seven is elite. It's, it's literally elite. It might be one of the best in the league, and that's what they built their championship rosters on back in the day. So, you know, I, I feel like the defense could bring them close to a 500 record and bring them up to these rankings a little bit if [00:35:30] they get some average quarterback play. But, um, I don't know. And I'm not, I'm not, I'm not very excited about the Giants. I would've been more excited if Jamis the starting quarterback, to be honest. When, when they signed Jamis and David Clarke: always excited when Jamis is the first to start at qb. He says ridiculous shit. He, he, he's an absolute character. Yeah. He like can win games like somehow. I'm not really ever sure how it happens, but he does win football games from time to time and uh, he's hilarious. He's [00:36:00] hilarious. Robert Kelly: Have you seen the, have you seen the clip of him the pregame speech? Speech saying he is going to eat a W David Clarke: Yes. Robert Kelly: sit sitting there? Okay, I'm just making David Clarke: Yeah, I, I, the, the, if anyone is unfamiliar with James Winston and the things that comes out of his mouth, any super cut of highlights of him just talking into a microphone is worth the, the three or four minutes it takes, um, to YouTube that. And then you might go down a fun rabbit hole. Um, but I, yeah, I, I agree with you. I think that would be more [00:36:30] exciting. I think that there's a real purgatory about this team to the point where it's starting to bum me out. Like I, I know this was a good idea to, to go 32 to, to one, but Jesus Christ, we're talking about some really shitty teams here. It's making me feel a little bit better about my worries about the Bears 'cause it's gonna be a little bit before we talk about them. Thankfully Robert Kelly: We're gonna get through some bad teams before we get to, that's why, like, we'll, we'll next, the next two teams, uh, or I guess, we'll that's why like when you were picking on the Titans versus, uh, the fucking[00:37:00] David Clarke: Panther. Robert Kelly: Panthers, um. It's like 27 verse 30 is such a, David Clarke: ~Yeah, yeah, yeah,~ Robert Kelly: middle school David Clarke: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Robert Kelly: these teams are just dog David Clarke: ~No, I think they're gonna suck worse. No, I think they're gonna suck worse. ~No, I think he's the world's tallest midget. ~Um, ~yeah, Robert Kelly: this is how excited we are for football season. David Clarke: yeah, yeah. We're talking about the New York Giants right now. That's how excited we are. And like, I'm loving every second of it, don't get me wrong. But we fully are, ~uh, ~self-referential talking about the New York Giants. And you know what, ~um, ~I was, I would've thought another little, slight diversions. I honestly would've thought we'd be staying [00:37:30] in New York, moving on to the next team in the power rankings. But we're going all the way over to Indianapolis and I, I gotta say, I know why the Indianapolis Colts are pretty low on my list. I probably would've had the Jets a little bit lower. But again, I mean, we're talking about some pretty shitty margins here of terribleness, right? So I, it's fine. Like, I'm not gonna argue with you too much about this. I know you have him here ha have the, the cults here at, at 28 because Anthony Richardson asking out of a game, I think he has to be dead to you. He has to be [00:38:00] dead to you forever. Robert Kelly: that's literally the reason why. David Clarke: You, you don't get to leave a game when you're tired, when you're a professional athlete. I'm sorry, A tired is not a reason. Robert Kelly: When you're the quarterback, you're the fucking quarterback, bro. It's not David Clarke: It's bad. Robert Kelly: you know what I mean? If, if you play, ~uh, ~like safety or like cornerback, like, you know what I mean, it, it could happen. But when you're the quarterback of the team, bro, you cannot do that. ~Um, ~I was very high on Anthony Richardson coming outta college, but he's shown literally nothing. [00:38:30] And when you have a, ~uh, ~completion percentage that can be underneath 50% on almost a consistent basis, you're, you're pretty much out to me. ~Uh,~ David Clarke: Yeah. Robert Kelly: in the NL you, you cannot compete completing under 50% of your passage. You just can't do it. And when your insurance option. Is the jettison of the team that we just talked about, Daniel Jones. I, I don't know what, what really you're really hoping for in [00:39:00] Indianapolis. I mean, Jonathan Taylor is still a top 10 running back, but he's not the guy he used to be and I don't think he can carry the full weight load of a season. I David Clarke: I think you shouldn't have to either. I mean, ~like the, the, ~the running back position is such a short-lived one. ~Like, ~I don't know why he would try his hardest being on this Indianapolis goals team this year, to be totally honest with you. ~Like, I, ~I just save your knees, man, uh, this season. Just save your knees. That's not fair. ~Like, ~he's not following a leader in there. You know, it's, ~it's, that's ~not something that, ~that he, ~he's doing. I mean, I've seen Daniel Jones, like you said, I've seen him get to the playoffs for [00:39:30] God's sake. Um, it's more than I've seen my team do for, ~for the, ~the past ~long, ~long time. So, you know. ~I, I, ~I don't know. I mean, for me, I'd go Daniel Jones. I would just say, fuck it. It's not a great situation. But I don't think Anthony Richardson's good. ~I, and ~I think he's, I don't think he has what it takes. I think let's not do this thing. Football world, if you're listening football world, everybody. I was excited about him too. I was excited about him too. I thought he was gonna be a lot of fun to watch. I drafted him in one of my fantasy drafts last year, [00:40:00] just because I thought he was gonna be a lot of fun to watch. I thought it was gonna be electric, quite frankly. And I know that we, I know. Robert Kelly: a fifth round pick last year in fantasy, if you remember. David Clarke: Yeah. And ~like, ~don't get me wrong, ~like ~I think they have some Playmakers, I think that they have things that they could, like put together in New Orleans. I don't think it's as bad of a situation as some of the other teams we've talked about so far, as far as like individual playmakers on that team. ~Like, ~I mean, you know, ~you're, ~you're already bringing up top 10, top 10 running backs that exist on the Indianapolis Colts. Right. So it's to me. It could kind of go [00:40:30] either way. We could be really wrong about this, but I'm just on the same page as you about Richardson, to be honest, because I can't, I really can't get behind a guy who does something like that and also out. Even outside of that, his play just hasn't been good enough. So, yeah, I don't know. Unless Daniel Jones comes in and, and plays basically the best version of Daniel Jones. I don't see this team really doing much of anything. Robert Kelly: Agreed. Agreed. That's why that as well. Um, so David Clarke: ~I think they have a higher ceiling, I think. I think they, ~I think they have a higher ceiling than the other teams we've talked about. Is that fair? Robert Kelly: [00:41:00] Yes, it is, it David Clarke: Like a higher potential? Like we, we have more potential to be wrong about them. For sh we all the teams, for all the teams we've been shitting on so far, this is the team we have the most potential to be wrong about. But I'm not that worried, if that makes sense. Robert Kelly: I wish they had, if they had a wide receiver, I'd be a little bit more high on them. ~Uh, ~Pitman doesn't do it for me. I, I like him, but he's definitely not a one. ~Um, ~yeah, no agree. They have a little bit higher of a ceiling just because if Richardson plays up to, up to talent or Jonathan Taylor is the running back that he could be. He does [00:41:30] have that ability to carry a team. David Clarke: Yeah, I mean, if Richardson comes in and he, and he becomes the guy I thought he was gonna be, which I'm not even saying was gonna be like elite, elite, but if he even just comes in and becomes the guy I thought he could be where he can, yeah. Like you said, get his completion percentage up to a reasonable NFL standard and not be a complete fucking pu bag ever again on live television. ~Um, ~then yeah, I mean, but that just tells me he might be a little bit of a weirdo for what it's worth, 12th, easiest strength of schedule. So there's 11 teams that have easier [00:42:00] strengths of schedules than them. ~Um, ~so middle of the pack ish, ~uh, ~I, you know, I don't, I don't know for what it's worth. I, if that means anything to you. Robert Kelly: It doesn't, I mean, it it does. But again, they have, they just don't have the Richardson. If, if he plays up the park, he could do it, but if not, bro, ~it, it's, ~it's not gonna do it for him. Um, David Clarke: High ceiling, low floor, Indianapolis Colts. Robert Kelly: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Um, so next is the Titans. We already kind of [00:42:30] touched on them. Um, really they got powered Ridley and Cam Wood. That's pretty much it. Um, I do like, ~I, ~I really like. Cam Ward, like we already talked about. I like what he did last year in Miami. I think he can really light up the league this year. I think he's gonna win repeat the year personally. Um, but again, ~we're, we're, ~we're picking at nits ~who, ~who's better and who's not. Um, I David Clarke: I think that they're a leading candidate for like the Good Vibes [00:43:00] award. ~I, I, ~I think ~they're, ~they're a real leading candidate for like the, no, we're we're, I know we lost a lot of games, but we're actually pretty happy. Cam looked really good. Like ~if, ~if they're that team, I think that's their ceiling this year, and I think that's great. Robert Kelly: the Pats last year. David Clarke: Or the Bears last year for God's sake. ~I, ~I mean, like, that's what, that's really what I was looking for. I was just like, I just wanna seek glimpses. I just wanna seek glimpses of like Caleb Williams and like ~what, ~what he can actually do. Same thing with the Pats. I mean, the Pats probably had a little bit more, they probably won the Vibes Award. I'd say that the Bears are probably ~a, ~a runner up because we just considerate, like we had to fire [00:43:30] our coach and everything. Like, ~and, ~and all, like all the different moving pieces where we're basically starting over. But yeah, I'd say they're leading candidate for the Vibes award. Just for, ~just for the, ~the cam word of it all. But I, you know, they're not gonna do anything. They don't have the roster to, to, for this guy ~to, ~to do what I think you're talking about, which is like really like ~the, ~the NFL on fire. I think he could, I think he wins rookie of the year, but I think his team wins four games. So it's like, ~I, ~you know, I, Robert Kelly: fair. David Clarke: uh, if, if, if that's, but if that's what happens, great. [00:44:00] Honestly, you should be happy about that. If you're a Tennessee fan, straight up. Robert Kelly: And I don't wanna go past the show without at least naming my boy Tony Pollard. I wish he was still a Dallas cowboy David Clarke: Yeah, good, good player. Robert Kelly: Running back room hasn't been the same since he left. Hasn't been the David Clarke: But he hasn't been the same since he left either, I have to say. ~Uh, ~so I, I'm not really like that whelmed. It's funny how you can be underwhelmed and overwhelmed, but you can't be whelmed. Um, I'm not whelmed, quite frankly by ~the, uh, by the, ~by the backfield in, in Tennessee at this point. So we'll see.[00:44:30] Robert Kelly: Um, so next, this is the team. I kind of, I, I do wanna spend a little time. I like the jets this year, I'm not David Clarke: Oh boy. Robert Kelly: kind of wanted to put them a little higher, to be honest. Um, I think David Clarke: It's 'cause Aaron Glenn. Robert Kelly: so, yes. Aaron Glenn over a defense that last year, if you remember, two years ago, they were just a quarterback away from being a Super Bowl contender because of how good this defense was. [00:45:00] And then they got Aaron Rogers, and last year or two years ago, I guess they were supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. He got hurt. And then even last year they were supposed to be a Super Bowl contender and he fucking sucked. year, I feel like with Aaron Glenn coming in, he's gonna take over the defense and he is gonna actually show the talent that he can. And then when you have a team that's probably gonna be predicated on run with the speed of Bree Hall Justin Fields in the backfield, I feel David Clarke: Oh, there it, it could be exciting. It really [00:45:30] could be exciting. Robert Kelly: they're, they're gonna, they're gonna be, I don't want to call them the Ravens, but that's definitely what they're gonna try and model that team after. They're gonna be very option oriented. They're gonna be very run based and they're gonna try and on the speed in that backfield. Plus they have Garrett Wilson, ~who's who, ~who is a potential number one wide receiver. ~He has, ~he has flashes of it. He had games last year with Rogers and ~he had a good, he had a, ~he had a good chemistry with him. ~Um. ~But ~I just, I, I just, I just ~feel like when you take this defense with guys like Quinn or Williams with guys like Sauce [00:46:00] Gardner and you add in a good running game, the potential is there. So for any of these teams that have been ~in, ~in this bottom, you know, five that we've gone through so far, I don't think it's even close that the Jets have the potential to, to jump up this list and, and possibly even make an appearance on the power rankings this year. ~I, I, I, ~I'm just throwing that out there. I really like ~the, ~the run game defense aspect of it that the Jets could really build this year. And I really do [00:46:30] like Aaron Glenn as a coach. I've heard it's running a great training camp. ~Um, ~and ~I, I just, I, I ~know it's like kind of a wait and see when it comes to what the offense is actually gonna look like. ~Um, ~but we'll see. Man. I just feel like out of all these teams that are in the bottom, want to say seven. to like 10. These guys have a real opportunity to jump up the David Clarke: Yeah. Robert Kelly: Right, exactly. David Clarke: Yeah, I mean, it's tough for me because I'm obviously pulling for Justin Fields. Like I, I got a soft spot for him. Robert Kelly: I David Clarke: Um, Robert Kelly: too, right? We, David Clarke: he's a lot of [00:47:00] fun to watch. Robert Kelly: connection, we've had that Fields connection since he was a bear. David Clarke: We wanted him to be good. Like we absolutely wanted him to be good. Uh, I wanted him to be good because he was the, the quarterback for the bears, then the sealers. Um, I think there's positions that he, like. I think he's, this is a decent situation for him, quite frankly, because he's gonna really have. Like an amazing defense again. ~Um, ~he sort of knows how to be the quarterback of a team. That's defense first. ~Um, ~these are, these are the three teams he's played for, are teams that, that always seem to have good to decent, ~um, ~defenses, but, [00:47:30] but not necessarily need him to be like the number one guy on offense. I agree on paper. It can absolutely be super exciting, ~um, ~that their run game really could actually make, ~uh, uh, ~for good viewing. ~Uh, ~as we were talking about the Saints not being great TV this year, I think there's a potential for the New York Jets to be good TV this year. I, I agree with you wholeheartedly that an Aaron Glenn taking over, ~uh, ~a New York Jets defense that's still a very talented on paper roster defense that at this point we've seen play still amazing games even, even last year and the year [00:48:00] before. ~Um, ~that being said, the training camp noises, yes. Everyone seems to like Aaron Glenn. Yes. The defense looks pretty good the. Justin Fields's ladder of offense has been off to a little bit of a rough start with as far as him throwing picks. ~Um, ~him just not looking that great. The media's sort of asking what's the deal? And he is like, well, people are dropping balls. ~Uh, ~some of it's me, some of it's people dropping balls. I'm like, okay, that's not, that's not my fit. 'cause I, I will say Justin's never been great in front of a camera, ~um, uh, ~on a microphone. He's never [00:48:30] been wonderful with the stuff that's come out of his mouth over the, over the years. He was pretty professional in, in Pittsburgh, but then I, I sort of think he saw what was going on. Robert Kelly: he blamed the coordinators at one point. Didn't he call him out at one point in Chicago, David Clarke: ~Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. ~No, he said he constantly said stupid shit in Chicago, or like, even if it was true, it's just shit you shouldn't say, you know, as the QB of the, of the organization, it's gonna, it's gonna split things. ~Um, ~it's a 2,000,040, it's a two year $40 million contract that he's got. He's walking in into a situation where it's basically like, well [00:49:00] you can't be any worse than Rogers was last year. Right? Like, that's basically the floor. He, Rogers was absolutely terrible. I loved watching it. It was a lot of fun. ~Um, ~he's got a rookie tight end in Mason Taylor that, ~uh, ~is now, has now got a high ankle sprain. ~Um, it's, you know, it's, ~they've had ~the wor ~the one of the worst defenses, like nine. It's like bottom three. I have this stat here, ~uh, ~bottom 10 scoring offense for nine straight seasons, the New York Jets. So ~I, I like, I, ~it's hard for me ~if, if it, if it's. If, ~if you're asking me to get excited about a New York Jets offense, it's really hard for me to wrap my head around, even though [00:49:30] I love Justin Fields. So that's the sort of juxtaposition. I mean, I'm not trying to yuck your yum or burst your bubble here. It's just, Robert Kelly: That's a wild stat. David Clarke: it's bad. It's bad. And like Aaron Rogers was on, was on, I guess one of those teams, you know, you can't really count the first year 'cause he went down after like six throws, but, you know. Robert Kelly: if there's any evidence ever of the NFL being fixed, it's them making Aaron Rogers, Tara Achilles on the first play of playing for the Jets ever. Or like on the third play, whatever it [00:50:00] was. ~Um,~ David Clarke: Yeah. That's the evidence. ~Uh, ~an Achilles tear. They can't manufacture Achilles stairs. ~Um. ~Fair enough. ~I, uh, ~I'd be a little bit worried about that offense just considering they by that, by the nature of that stat I just said to you, they always fucking suck on offense. So, ~um, ~the past decade, what, what's been going on in the past decade of your life? The, the Jets have been terrible the whole time on offense, so there you go. ~Um, it, ~that one season that Robert Kelly: you remember that? Jets actually being a good offense like Chad, David Clarke: Chad Pennington, Robert Kelly: they weren't, [00:50:30] they weren't good. They were, they weren't great. David Clarke: I always thought he was ~like, I, like ~he could put a lot of, ~like, ~he could put a lot of ~like ~completions together. ~Like ~I always said, Chad Pennington would, it could have been ~like ~a good to elite quarterback in that Patriots offense in that era, right? ~Like ~the, he just never got the right system. So I was always very high on Chad Pennington personally. I liked watching him play for the Jets. Even when they were good, they weren't that good. That one Super Bowl that Namath won, they have, they didn't shut up about for the next ~like ~fucking 35 years, ~like ~the New York Jets. They're the New York Jets, you know, I mean, it's, it's, it's, that's always sort of gonna [00:51:00] be true. You can get that, you know, it's just, when we come onto the Cowboys, I want, I kind of wanted to talk about them a little bit more existentially because they have this amazing talent to act like they won a Super Bowl recently. Like they have a whole culture that seems to be ol revolving around the fact that they won a Super Bowl recently when they didn't, you know, the way the Dallas Cowboys Act is a way that ~like, ~would really make you believe if you just arrived on Planet Earth, that they would win a lot more shit that they, than they actually do. And I think the New York Jets have a little bit of New York on them to, to a certain extent where, where we [00:51:30] don't ever really call them as shitty as they are because they have a New York thing. You know, that just that little big market energy that sort of puts them in a position where you're never really shitting on the Jets to the degree that they would definitely get shit on if they were in Indianapolis. You know what I mean? ~Like, ~that's just the way I feel about the New York Jets is that way off base. Robert Kelly: No, it's not. It's not off base at all. David Clarke: And so I guess, ~uh, like ~yes on paper there's stuff that, that could, ~like, ~obviously training camp's too early to tell. Nobody should be worried just from training camp. I just think [00:52:00] there's a certain New York jets about the whole thing that it's making it hard for me to get excited about some of the on paper offense that they have. They're offensive lines decent, quite frankly. ~Like it's, it's, ~it's potent if you look at it on paper. So if Fields has time, I don't even know if that's his best, the best position to put Justin Fields in. I think he's at his best win plays breakdown. So ~like, ~I'm glad he is got an offensive line now, but ~like, ~shit, man, ~like, ~you kind want him to improvise. You can't make him a system qb. He's not one, it's just not gonna work. So maybe, maybe it's gonna be so [00:52:30] bad. It's good, you know, it's gonna be like a B movie, a horror B movie from the 1980s. ~It's like, ~it's so terrible that it's, it's enjoyable. Maybe we'll see. Robert Kelly: ~Um, ~so we're sticking in the N for the next one. I feel like this is a controversial pick. I'm a little lower David Clarke: Did you change it? Robert Kelly: a lot of people. No. The Dolphins I got, David Clarke: ~Oh, ~sorry, I thought you said NFC East for some reason. ~Um,~ Robert Kelly: ~No, no, no.~ David Clarke: AFC East. Robert Kelly: AFCs, David Clarke: Got it. You just threw me off. ~Bad. My bad, my bad, my bad. ~Go ahead. Robert Kelly: ~no, ~we're sticking with the dolphin. We're going with the dolphins [00:53:00] here. ~Um, ~I'm very well in the Dolphins this year. I don't think David Clarke: I know. Robert Kelly: they have what they used to, man. That offense was so electric almost, literally less than two years ago. And now two's got injury concerns. Tyreek wants out. Waddles injured all the time. They just created their best offensive player from last year. ~Um, ~what the fuck is that tied in name? God dammit, John W. Smith. ~Um, ~and he was their literally best weapon last year. They have no defense. And I [00:53:30] think the McDaniel gimmick is getting old personally, and David Clarke: I mean, I think that seems to be the consensus like that he might be on the hot seat this year. I really genuinely think he's a good coach. I honestly do. I think he's like learned a lot in this tenure, but I would agree that the next team he coaches is gonna be where he really finds success, if that makes sense. ~Like ~I think he's ~like ~learned a lot. I think he knows how to be a head coach in the NFL. I think if he got fired this year, I think he would still get a head coaching job. Would you agree with that? Robert Kelly: [00:54:00] With David Clarke: ~Like, ~because it's like you said, stale, you know, ~it's, ~it's not necessary. ~It's, you know, it's, it's, ~it's getting a little old, like it's getting a little stale. Like it's not as if it's just been found out, right. It's not like a, a Josh McDaniels type deal where it's like, this guy can't be a head coach, he's an offensive coordinator. ~That's, that, ~that's not the position. I think Mike McDaniels in, I think he can be a head coach. I think he's actually handling, handling a lot of this sort of controversy that's been coming outta their camps. ~Um, ~namely with the Tyreek Hill of it all. ~Uh, ~kind of, well, like he's got a sense of humor about it. I still think he's a, I [00:54:30] still think he's a likable figure for us here, here on MTP. I do agree though. Yeah. ~Like, ~I, I wouldn't have had them this low, but because it, just, because when Tua was healthy, they still looked like they could make things happen on the offensive side of the ball, especially in the decent weather games ~at the, ~at the first, ~uh, ~in the first period of the year. ~Um. ~It, it would still be true that when it gets cold, they get shitty. It would still be true that he's probably not gonna be healthy for the majority of the season, or, or all of the season Seems completely outta the realm of possibility. [00:55:00] So with all that being said, ~like ~I, I, it, I wouldn't have them this low, but I'm inclined to agree with you about all your points. So it, if both things can be true, I guess we can, we can agree there. Does that make sense? Robert Kelly: Yeah, no, it definitely does. Um, it just, if you remember, it seems like ever since they scored, they had that 70 point game against the Broncos, ~uh, ~a couple years ago. And ever since then, it just hasn't been the same. There's something different about the Dolphins and they, they show [00:55:30] up in certain games when they're at home in Miami, but then if they're in Buffalo, bro, it is just a completely different team and it's just not a team that you can trust on the road. And if Tua isn't healthy, they have literally nothing. Last year they were starting Scowl Thompson at the end of the year. I mean, ~if, ~if you are relying on Tulo Tag to be healthy, not something that you can really David Clarke: No, I mean, it just isn't, it really just isn't. ~Um, ~I really shy away from [00:56:00] doing this on this show because. Long time listeners of missing the Point. will Know that we do a prediction, ~a, a ~record prediction show where we, ~um, ~team up into two teams and one team takes the NFC one team takes the AFC, and we predict records for each team. It's a really fun start a season activity that we do. And we'll record that in the next few weeks ~with, uh, ~with Ray and Mike. But, ~um, ~because of that, ~I, I ~don't like to talk about records quite as much on the power ranking show, if anyone's curious why, but I am interested just because the Miami Dolphins over under is eight and a half, which I think is [00:56:30] really, it's one of those Vegas lines that I would stay so far away from because it's exactly correct. It's like it's a Vegas line that's like, if I'm sitting in the Vegas room, I'm really patting myself on the back for the eight and a half wins, ~um, ~oddsmakers prediction this year. And ~I don't, I, I, I think, I ~think the over is the dumber bet, but I still think they could win nine games. ~I read they, I, ~I don't think they could win 10. But I still think they could win nine games, don't you? ~To like, I mean, I'll, I'll ~take a look at their schedule while you respond to that point, but ~I, I, I, I ~think I could find nine wins for them.[00:57:00] Robert Kelly: Everything goes right for them. Absolutely. ~If, if, ~if they show the speed and the promise on offense that they showed a few years ago, I think they can, it's tough because they're in the A FC, so the A FFC is definitely, you know what I mean? They have, they have definitely the harder of the two. Um, and they traded away Jalen Ramsey, so they don't have the firepower on defense that they had last year. But I think I could see nine wins. I think I could do it if everything goes David Clarke: You get [00:57:30] odds on nine wins. Like would we do it? Like, is are we gonna, are we gonna keep Cincinnati banging ourselves? When, when we were, when we made that great prediction about them and then never followed through by placing the bet? Like, you get odds on that. It's plus 1 65 to bet the over right. Now. I, I don't think that's too crazy. So I, if, if, if you agree with me there, maybe you think I've talked you around a little bit to this 25 like ranking, uh, on the power ranking slightly, slightly. Robert Kelly: Yeah, I, so when I was rereading the list, this is the [00:58:00] team, when I was rereading, I was like, man, I feel like I could have had them a little higher. Um, but they've just been so mediocre in the past few years that just, David Clarke: I know. Robert Kelly: CI just couldn't, they don't have the upside that these other teams have that are above them, or like the fun factor. I also took that into, into consideration for these later David Clarke: Yeah. It's not as fun as it used to be. Robert Kelly: ~right, ~agreed. David Clarke: Ninth, easiest strength of schedule for what it's worth. So if you, if you factor that in, [00:58:30] bet the over fuck it. Cheer for the dolphins this year. Why not just add a little spice in your life, you know, go down to Miami, go to a game, walk around, you know, walk around. Wear one less button on your shirt than you normally do. Like, just, just live a little bet. The over fuck. Yeah. Um, betting the unders for, for pessimists. You know, I hate betting the under in general. Robert Kelly: ~is just.~ David Clarke: Yeah. Yeah. You should be a bet the over kind of person in this life. Bet the fuck it over nine wins for the dolphins. You heard it here first folks. Probably a terrible bet. [00:59:00] Uh, ninth. Easiest strength of schedule. Let's see. ~Um, ~I'm looking forward to trying to getting a sense of them in the first few weeks. I think we'll know which, where we stand. We'll know a lot more this week. ~Uh, ~I think we'll know where we stand after the first three or four weeks with this team pretty firmly because if, if it does look like Tua can string some games together and they still look decent with him at QB and McDaniel seems to have gotten the locker room sorted out. We'll know, I think we'll know in the first few weeks. So let's see who's next. Robert Kelly: Jaguars Jacksonville. ~Um, ~I really like what they [00:59:30] did this off season, adding Trevin Hunter and giving, ~uh, ~Lawrence ~another op, ~another option, ~uh, ~on offense. ~Uh, ~I like Liam Cohen as a head coach, David Clarke: Yeah, Robert Kelly: ~just, uh, I, I ~just David Clarke: it'll be good for Lawrence for sure. Robert Kelly: yeah, without a doubt, ~um. ~just think, bro, I really think Trevin Hunter is gonna be electric this year. I mean, if anyone's gonna give, ~uh, if, if ~anyone's, if anyone's possible to win both defensive and offensive Rookie of the Year ever is Trevin it's, it is Trevin Hunter, bro. ~Um, ~I just, I just like what they did this off season. I'm high on them this year and they have a very [01:00:00] weak division. And I think if Trevor Lawrence shows what he did in the first couple years that he was there, or I guess not the first year, the second year, ~um, ~they could, they could show some things this year. David Clarke: I'm really glad we're finally in the make or break year for Trevor Lawrence. I, I, I really think he's been given a lot of rope, a lot, ~a ~lot of rope, ~uh, ~by the wider NFL community up until this point. I've been out on him for two years. ~Uh, ~it's time to finally figure out if he can do it or not. I'm not saying that he needs to win 10 games this year for that to [01:00:30] be the case, but you have Trevin Hunter, now you have a QB focused coach. Let's see what you got a at this point, let's see what you got, because I think that there's been other QBs written off that are, that are potentially going to be better NFL quarterbacks than you, Trevor. And as much as I bet it's really, really difficult to be the quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars because their roster just always stinks. ~Um. ~I just think there's been too many things I've seen that make me think he's not that [01:01:00] guy. ~Um, ~similar to when I had to break the news to you that Dak wasn't, you know, ~I, I, ~I just think it's, ~I, ~I think that he might have a Middle East decent NFL career, but I think that we're gonna know, and I think that we need to say it, I think we need to say it out loud if he gives us another year. I know that he hasn't been in great position. I know what you're screaming into your radios right now. ~I know, ~I know. Like what you're thinking, Bob. I know he hasn't been in amazing positions. I know that we shouldn't even be counting the Meyer year. ~I, ~I get that like, there's been a lot of setbacks that not a lot of guys could have really overcome. But you have to remember the level [01:01:30] at which motherfuckers were talking about this guy coming into ~the, ~coming into his NFL career. This was, this was like, this guy is the second coming of Peyton Manning. J and I'm like, not yet. Not yet. Guys, like you guys talked me into him being elite ~in, ~in six different categories. I don't mean you guys, ~I, I don't, I'm not, ~I don't even really remember how high or low you were on him, ~uh, ~over the course of the last few years. I do know that I've argued with Mike that I think Herbert's a better QB than him for the last few years. And ~I, ~and I think I've been right, like, to be totally honest with you, Robert Kelly: Without a doubt, David Clarke: ~um, ~and I just [01:02:00] think that ~I, I, I ~want to see, ~I I, ~there's obvious reasons why they're comped outside of the fact that they both kind of look like Southern California surfer boys. It, it's, it's, it's a similar sort of game, ~um, ~size wise and, and, and athleticism wise and performance wise. But I think, I think Herbert's a better qb. ~Um, ~I, I think, ~uh, ~I, I think Trevor Lawrence, this is his make or break year. Would you agree or do you think everyone's gonna keep giving him more rope after this? Robert Kelly: no. This is it for him. ~Uh, ~we've made too many excuses. There was the Urban Meyer excuse. There was, you know, he, he [01:02:30] had the. ~Uh, ~blown, ~uh, or no? No, ~they didn't blow it. They came back. ~Um, it, ~it, the urban Meyer excuse can't live on forever. You know what I mean? Last year was a very big disappointment. The Jaguars had a lot of expectations David Clarke: I thought they were gonna be a lot better than they were. I really did. Just because of the guys that they had. I had so many fucking jags that to get off my fantasy team by, by like by week seven. I was like, this is just painful. ~Um, ~and I, I know not a hundred percent of that is his fault. And, and honestly, this, they're gonna be appointment television this year because, just because of Trevin Hunter. Like, I'm gonna watch a lot of [01:03:00] Jaguars because of Trevin Hunter, and I'm gonna be really upset if I have to consistently watch mediocre QB play because of that. Right? Like if, if he's over and under throwing this guy who is gonna be a ton of fun to watch in the NFL, once he gets somebody who can throw him the ball, if he's. Just throwing pics instead of like, and, and sending Trevin Hunter back out there at the cornerback position. I'm gonna be annoyed. I'm genuinely gonna be annoyed. So I, you know, I'm gonna be watching a lot of Jaguar football. You're gonna be watching a lot of Jaguar football. The, the wider NFL world is gonna be watching a lot of Jaguar football because [01:03:30] Trevin hunter's here. And it is a pointment viewing to watch basically the first true two-way player to ever. I'm not, and there's no disrespect to the Dion Sanders of the world, but like, it sounds to me like he's gonna play a significant number of snaps on both sides of the ball, which could really accelerate this rebuild for the Jaguars. I don't, I've always been told, I say Jaguar is weird, by the way. ~Um, ~so sorry to the people of Jacksonville, but I think if we had a, who says words weird competition, you would probably have a lot of, a lot weirder ones. ~Um, ~but at the end of the day, I, you know, [01:04:00] I just, I, I want Trevin Hunter to succeed because, ~uh, ~I just did a commercial with him and he was nice to me. ~Um, but uh, ~at the same time. I, I've been out on Lawrence for two, two seasons, ~uh, ~so I don't wanna get proven wrong. ~Um, w ~which way, if you had to bet, which way would you say, ~uh, ~Lawrence's season is gonna go? I, am I gonna be able to do a little bit of a victory lap, or do you think he'll buy himself more time? Robert Kelly: No, I think you're gonna be able to do a victory lap, to be honest, ~um, ~year was really down year for Lawrence, and if, if he doesn't show it this year, that's it. You know what I mean? And [01:04:30] there hasn't been much evidence in the past couple years that shows he's gonna show anything different. So to me, I think you're gonna be. David Clarke: All right. Who's next? Robert Kelly: So we got the Raiders next. ~Um, ~I, I really like what they did this off season. Obviously they changed everything coming up. Pete Carroll is Dennis Head coach. Gino Smith is the quarterback and National Gente is the running back. ~Um,~ David Clarke: Had you said that with like such, ~uh, ~so much more optimism than I, than I think most people would say. That sentence Pete curls a hundred. ~Um,~ Robert Kelly: [01:05:00] that's true. It's David Clarke: ~um, ~Gino Smith had like one decent ear. I, you know, come on. This, this is, this, this can't possibly be like, I you take, take the optimism off your voice slightly. Just slightly. Robert Kelly: they have rock powers as well. I know if that adds any more optimism onto it. ~Um,~ David Clarke: I have a tough, it's another franchise. I have a tough time. Tough time ever thinking is gonna be good. ~Uh, ~you know, Brock Bowers is, is electric. He's. Robert Kelly: it's like the Jets at this point. David Clarke: Kind of, ~I mean, like ~it, I think a lot of people thought the Brady Shine, the Las [01:05:30] Vegas move, ~the, ~the Brock Bauers acquisition, who honestly is probably on course to be the best tight end in the NFL ~in, in, in ~short time. ~I, I, I ~don't know. It's the fucking Raiders dude. Like, no, ~is ~is that way too glib and simple? Robert Kelly: No, it's not. And they have no wide receiver room. ~I mean, ~Jakobi Myers is their number one wide receiver, so I, I can't disagree there. ~Um, ~but they did more so ~if you're, ~if you're talking about these last seven teams that we've gone over, they did more in this off season than any of these other teams did to David Clarke: No, ~I think they're gonna be fun. ~[01:06:00] I think they're gonna be fun. No, no doubt about it. Fun. Robert Kelly: they're definitely gonna be one of the funner teams on the bottom of this list. David Clarke: ~They could, ~they could be the be I think that this might be the most fun team to watch on TV that we've talked about so far. ~Um, I I, ~I'm legitimately curious about Genti, obviously for obvious reasons, right? ~Like, I mean, ~we're all, we're all curious about that. That's gonna be a lot of fun to watch. Bowers is gonna go from strength to strength as much as I shit on Gino just now, that's probably the biggest quarterback upgrade that anyone's made ~in, ~in the off season, ~um, to, to, ~[01:06:30] so he might actually be able to run an offense there because we've seen him run an offense, right? ~Um, ~Pete Carroll is an upgrade at Coach, you know, he just is as much as he's a thousand years old. ~I, I ~Chip Kelly. You know, ~I mean ~that ~the, the, ~that factor, ~you know, like ~that factor ~is, ~is gonna be a lot of fun to watch. That's entertaining. ~Um, ~that's gonna be something we're all gonna be ~pay ~paying attention to. So ~I, you know, ~I'm not trying to downplay the fun factor of it. ~I just, I, ~I don't want anyone to think the Las Vegas Raiders are gonna win a lot of games of football. Robert Kelly: I think that's where the optimism came from was just a fun David Clarke: ~Fair enough, fair enough. ~[01:07:00] Fair enough. Robert Kelly: actually excited to talk about a team that could be a little bit of fun this season. David Clarke: Yes. Yes. And I understand why, and I understand how your brain works. And ~I, and I, ~we've been doing this a long time now I understand why they're a little higher. Some people might have put them below, ~um, ~maybe ~your, your, uh, ~Miami Dolphins. They might have put, I might have put 'em below the Miami Dolphins. I might've put 'em below the Jags. Even I, they're over under six and a half. ~Uh, you know, I, ~I think that's pretty realistic. I'd probably bet the under. ~I, I ~just think, I just think they're not gonna win a ton of games. ~Um, ~strength of schedule. They're right in the middle of the pack. [01:07:30] 18th. ~I'm, I'm ~gonna watch 'em again. Another team. I'm gonna watch a lot, a lot of the Raiders football. If you're thinking about drafting Ashton Genti in, in your, in your fantasy draft high, that's fine. That's a completely acceptable thing to do. ~I, I ~don't think anyone would laugh at you for, for drafting him in the first round. ~Um, still, you know, you know, ~still Robert Kelly: ~No, I, I'm with you. I'm ~with you. ~I know, I, I ~agree. excitement. Was just a little bit of, ~uh, ~you know, here's a team that could actually have some fun and we could watch on Red Zone every week. David Clarke: totally fair. Who's next? Robert Kelly: New [01:08:00] England Patriots at 22. I wish, I wish Ray Mike was here so they could defend them a little bit. 'cause I feel like I'm a little David Clarke: Yeah. We're about, we're about to shit. We're about to shit on them and, and there's no one here to defend them. Robert Kelly: Yeah. The thing they got going for him, obviously Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye, ~um,~ David Clarke: Second, easiest strength to schedule this year. Robert Kelly: which, which is definitely gonna help Drake Maye, ~uh, ~come along this year. That's what the hinge, that's what the season hinges on is Drake Maye. He showed, he showed some, some [01:08:30] throws, I don't wanna say flashes of brilliance, but he showed, he showed some NFL elite level throws last year. That, that when you see him, you're just like, oh, okay. That's, that's something. ~Um. ~Adding on, they, they added some defensive pieces. They added Milton Williams. They have Christian Gonzalez, ~um, ~and Carlton Davis is, is a good cornerback too. They added him. ~Um, ~Harold Landry, a good defensive rusher. I, I just feel like David Clarke: I think that they did actually made, I know that it's not as splashy, [01:09:00] but I think they made some really key defensive upgrades. And with Vrabel being the coach now, I, and it hasn't really been talked about a ton just because, you know, I'm sure if Mike and Ray were here just to sort of channel them, we've been doing this show with them long enough now we can, we can probably do this. If Mike was here, I think the thing at the top of his mind would still be their wide receiver room. I, I mean, just the way he reacted to the draft. It, it's just, I, that's just gonna be a talking point, right? You're gonna talk about the New England Patriots wide receiver room and, and, or lack thereof. If you really truly believed in Drake, Maye, maybe you could have given him some weapons. I understand. [01:09:30] Building from the backfield. I do get it. ~Um, ~and, you know, yeah, I, I pause. Post ACL digs. ~I, ~I, I, i Do you think Ray and Mike are, are high on their wider receiver room because digs is in there? Robert Kelly: No, probably not. David Clarke: Uh, I'm not, are you? Robert Kelly: No. And and to be honest though, digs and Matt Collins are the best wide receivers they've had in like three years. David Clarke: Yeah. Well, I mean, that's not saying much, dude. Their wider receiver room has been the worst in football for like a while.[01:10:00] Robert Kelly: it's definitely not. But it's, it's definitely an upgrade. ~Um, ~I, I feel like there, there upside this year is what, what do you think? They're eight wins, nine wins. David Clarke: Again, I, I don't want to keep doing wins for every team just because we have the prediction show coming, but like Yeah, that does seem realistic. Like, I, I don't, I think that they could be, you know, like how we obviously understand what it was like to watch the Patriots of the last two seasons. And how much of a tough time our [01:10:30] friends were having doing it. I don't think that's gonna be the case anymore. I think that there's a lot to like, about a well-oiled machine of a Mike Rebel, like LED team. I think we saw what he can do in Tennessee. I think that there's gonna be things ~that, ~that this team doesn't do anymore. ~Um, ~that art can be really frustrating to watch that, you know, you can trace back to head coaching. I think that they're gonna be one of the least penalized teams in the league on offense. I think that they're gonna be, ~uh, ~able to move the ball down the field finally, because I think that Drake Maye is gonna have [01:11:00] significantly more time in the pocket to actually be a quarterback, which I think was the most important thing they needed to address and they did all that being said. We're gonna talk about the Patriots Salon on this show. 'cause this is a Boston centric, ~uh, ~sports show. I'm glad ~I I, ~I'm glad ~that, ~that they made the improvements that they did because quite frankly, talking about them over the last two seasons made me wanna kill myself. It was like watching fucking paint dry. So at least now we have something, right? ~We, ~we have, ~uh, ~we have Trayvon in the backfield, we have Ray Bull as the head coach. We had, I mean, I wanted him, so ~I ~I'm [01:11:30] not gonna just sit here and be like, oh yeah, no, their back field's not improved. Like, ~I, ~I think that there was a ton of really good running backs in this draft, and I think they got one of the better ones. ~Um, ~I think, ~um, ~digs will maybe make an impact. I think Drake Maye will go from strength to strength. I think their defense is gonna be really fun to watch. ~I, ~I think it's actually gonna be fun to watch their defense now because they made improvements on an pretty already decent defensive roster, to be quite honest with you. Like their defense has been underperforming, ~um, for, ~for the players that they have. And, you know, stories like Mike Rebel's jumping into a scrum to like, ~uh, ~stop a fight and [01:12:00] coming up with a bloody cheek. That's very variable coded. ~And, and I, ~and I really genuinely, like, I think that's the kind of season you're looking for from a Patriots, ~uh, ~from a Patriots season. So as much as I'm gonna wait to speculate on their actual record, ~uh, ~because you know, we have a show dedicated to that, I, yeah, I think they're gonna be a lot more fun. Like I, again, better they're, they've moved. If we were doing, let's do, ~uh, ~next year we'll do the power rankings and then we'll do the TV rankings, I'll do the TV rankings, you do the power rankings. So how good of a TV show are the New England Patriots gonna be this year? Much better, much [01:12:30] improved. The writing's gonna improve in season three, if that makes sense. So that would be the reason I'd be optimistic. On the other hand, the big worry and downside is Drake Maye regressing. If Drake Maye comes in and regresses, which is, this is the year it would happen, right? We know that. We've just seen over the course of, of quarterback lives, this is when the regression would happen. And, and he might go sideways, which would be fine. Like he might be just as good as he was last year, which I think honestly would be fine in a first year Mike team. He might get better, which would be [01:13:00] amazing. Like if he goes from strength to strength, I think that they can really say at ~the, like, ~if he gets any better, they can say they have a franchise qb. I think they might already be saying it now. He might get worse. We've seen it happen. I'm just saying, I I wouldn't, I wouldn't put it completely outta the realm of possibility. Right. This is, this is the exact time we've seen ~the, the, ~the high potential. One Good year guys go to shit. Am I wrong? Robert Kelly: No. Agreed. ~Um, ~and if that happens, the Patriots are screwed. It, their David Clarke: ~Yeah.~ Robert Kelly: is pretty much David Clarke: Oh yeah. [01:13:30] No, trust me, I'm not, I'm not in any way saying that. That's not obvious to Patriots fans. And obviously I'm in the exact same boat. Like, if Caleb Williams sucks, the bears are fucking screwed. So, you know, all our eggs are in one basket here. But, ~um, ~I think it'll, I think it'll at least be fun. And I, I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm just saying it. I've seen it happen in the past. I. Robert Kelly: I wonder what the Patriots are to make the playoffs. It's gotta be high odds, probably like plus 500, something like David Clarke: Ooh, let me look. ~Uh, ~people are, I, I've seen some New England fans, but knowing New England fans, [01:14:00] as I do say that they are going to make the playoffs, ~um, ~I think that's delusional. I, I'm sorry to say, ~um, ~the odds of them making the playoffs, let's look. Playoff odds, I, what would you say they are? What would your guess be? Robert Kelly: Plus 500. David Clarke: ~Uh, ~yeah, yeah. Super Bowl. I thought that was playoff odd. Super Bowl, ~uh, ~is plus 6,000. ~Um, ~they're plus they're only plus one 30 to make the playoffs. Mm-hmm. Robert Kelly: Okay. David Clarke: I mean, strength to schedule, they have the second [01:14:30] easiest schedule of anybody this year. So they could, they, they have real, like. They have real, bloated, bloated wind. ~Uh, ~you remember the, the big famous argument about the Steelers that year when they, they rattled off 11 straight and you guys were like, they're still, they're still shit though. Like, it was just like a constant back and forth. And I remember the Falcons being this team consistently year on year, where it was like they're, their winds are bloated. Like they're not a 15 win team. Like, they're just not like, I remember this happening. And I think that I would put the [01:15:00] Patriots as number one potential to win that award this year. If they win 11 games, they're gonna be an eight to nine win team that won 11 games. Right. Robert Kelly: That's fair. David Clarke: Fair. Robert Kelly: That's David Clarke: All right. Robert Kelly: fair. David Clarke: Sorry guys. I'm not trying to shit on them, but if you're listening, Robert Kelly: I wish they were here to defend himself. David Clarke: I know, I know they will be, they'll get plenty of airtime about the Patriots over the course of the next seven months. Don't worry. Robert Kelly: that's fair. ~Um, ~so next we got the Atlanta Falcons. ~Um, ~I'm just high on the offensive upside [01:15:30] here. ~Um, ~I, I really like panics. I think he could show some, some real things to share. He showed some good, ~uh.~ David Clarke: But you're an accuracy guy. Robert Kelly: Yeah. But so I, I just like the weapons he has around him. I really like Bijan and I think London. Uh, and I really like Mooney too. Your old boy over there in David Clarke: Oh, he is. Great. Yeah. Robert Kelly: plus I think Pitts has that year. This year. I really do. Um, and I think this David Clarke: I mean, you've been waiting, you've been the, you've been the poster boy of waiting for [01:16:00] him to actually come through. Robert Kelly: Well, I love Kyle Pitts and I just feel like they just haven't utilized them. Right. Um, we'll finally see if this is the year that he could finally do it. one thing though is they did lose a big piece. You'll, you, uh, benefited off of this Jrue Dalman big center, David Clarke: Very excited. Very Robert Kelly: Yeah. Dallman's one of the top centers in the league, and I feel like Center's one of the more underrated positions, so I feel like they are gonna feel that a little bit. Um, [01:16:30] again. ~I, I, I, I ~just like Pennex and I like Bijan, and I think they're gonna form one of the better backfields in the, in the league this year. I think they're gonna be, they have a lot of upside coming into this year. David Clarke: Yeah, ~I, I ~think that's really fair, especially considering the division that they're in is the fucking worst. Um, I think they'll probably win their division, so I'm not too upset to see the Falcons be a little bit higher on the power rankings. To be honest, Pennix didn't look amazing in his last, in those last three games last season, to be honest. He didn't look, he didn't really light my [01:17:00] hair on fire. I don't know about you. I will say they, they do have a lot of skill, skill players, like you were just saying. Just to add to that. They drafted defense, which obviously as you know, historically I'm in favor of a defense heavy draft that if they, those guys that they got in the draft start to produce quickly and efficiently, I think that that could go a long way to giving Pennix a little bit of time to breathe. ~Um, ~a little bit of, a little bit of room to work. ~Um, ~I think rookie QBs, I think the best possible thing you can do for 'em after not making [01:17:30] them run for their lives and, and putting a decent offensive line in front of them. I think after that, the best thing you can do for them is give them a chance to throw the ball. And if your defense is on the field all the time, just like slowly getting death by a thousand cuts by the, by the other team's offense. He needs reps, he needs to be on the field. He needs ~a, ~he needs a lot of chances to score. And I think if this defense actually produces at the level that it, that it can, not only do I think that they'll win the NFC South, ~um, ~I think that will trickle down for, for, ~um, ~Pennix, to [01:18:00] be honest with you, I haven't been high on him, ~um, ~historically on this show. ~I ha ~I certainly wasn't after what I saw at the end of last season. But you're right, he's got some weapons and they could be decently fun to watch. ~Um, ~I think we've moved into a new tier at this point. I think we're, I think we're looking at teams that are, that are a little less terrible than we've been talking about over the last few, ~um, ~over the last few minutes, I guess, or hour of. It's been a while now, the show's going on, but, ~um, ~it's football season. What can you do? We just love talking football here. ~Um, ~but at the end of the [01:18:30] day. Robert Kelly: we're, we're going on an hour and a half talk. About the worst teams in the NFL. I David Clarke: know the part two, stay tuned for part two. It's gonna be a three hour show. ~Um, uh, ~yeah, listen, ~I, ~I mean, I agree. It's, it's, I'm not taking away from the fact that it's, they're gonna kickstart an exciting new era here. ~Um, ~he's gonna be the starter. I don't want to get too carried away one way or the other. ~I, I, ~I think if he puts together three or four good games at the start of the season, we'll see that they probably will still win the division, but they'll probably still also level off. So, ~um, ~I have been giving you strength to [01:19:00] schedule of yours at home. So they have the fourth easiest schedule, which I think is gonna really help them. They're still a mid-tier team if you ask me. I'm also a little bit burned by their skill players 'cause I was a little higher on them, ~um, ~over the past couple of years. We'll see how it goes. I let, let's, let's wait and see on the Atlanta Falcons. I think it could go either way, but we are right around the middle of the, we're entering the middle of the pack here, so I think that makes sense. Robert Kelly: ~Uh, ~are you ready for this next one? David Clarke: Oh boy. Robert Kelly: So number 20. The Dallas fucking [01:19:30] Cowboys. I don't even know where to start with them right now. ~Um, ~I, I was a little higher coming into this off season. I, I liked that we changed the head coach. I didn't like the hire. I think Schottenheimer was probably one of the most underwhelming head coaching hires that you probably could have thought of. We lost Zacha Martin, ~um, ~which was a big loss for sure. But we did kind of upgrade wide receiver. We brought in Pickens, David Clarke: I don't know if you did, bro. That guy's out of his mind. Robert Kelly: as as a two As a two, [01:20:00] I feel like he David Clarke: He's a good too. Robert Kelly: He's a good two. And when you give Jack a solitude, we saw what he did with when he had Amari and cd. So there is definitely promise on offense. ~Um, ~they actually brought in a couple running backs, Javante Williams and Miles Sanders to have a kind of a committee, a little bit of a veteran committee back there. Not light in the world on fire, but it's something. Then we get to about two, three days ago, I probably would've had the Cowboys around [01:20:30] 15, 16. Micah Parsons comes out with just this absolute fire blast of a post against the Cowboys requesting a trade saying how he no longer wants to be in Dallas. All David Clarke: not something that happens in Dallas man. Robert Kelly: bro. ~It's, it's, ~it's unbelievable that the Cowboys took, they did this with cd. Luckily CD signed a contract. They took him to the last minute, David Clarke: CD weighed in. Do you [01:21:00] see that? Robert Kelly: He, he went, yeah, he definitely did. ~He, ~he's a paid man. Um, but bro, I just don't understand what the hell is going on here. ~I, ~I relate this on a Mookie bets level to me when it David Clarke: Oh, wow. If he goes, you mean. Robert Kelly: If he goes ~right, if they go, if he goes it, it, ~it relates to me as trading, ~uh, uh, uh, of like, uh, ~what's the word I'm looking for? ~I really can't think of the word. Um, ~and all time player for a reason that [01:21:30] you just, there's no reason to do it. He wants to be here. It was the same thing with Mookie, you know what I mean? He wanted to be here, and you just didn't come to him and offer the contract that he David Clarke: I mean, ~he's the, ~he's top six least tradable assets in ~the, in the ~NFL. Like, like it's impo. I can't even put together a package in my head for him, obviously. I think right away, how do the bears get Michael Parsons when this kicks off? Like how do we do it? And I'm like, I don't know if we can afford him. I don't know if anyone can afford him. That's what makes me think he's [01:22:00] not going anywhere because he's like, he's like three first round picks minimum. Like honestly, he actually is so like to me. ~I, I, I don't un, I ~don't understand how he even gets traded, like his trade value's too high to make the move. It's just, it's too seismic of a shift. Right. And I just think, what did you think of Simmons theory about, ~about, uh, ~Jerry just likes to keep them in the news. Like he just loves to keep them in the news. So he's just like, dicking around on this contract and he's gonna make it happen. He's gonna pay the guy. And it, like, I mean, look, look at historically, like when these contracts have eventually been signed with the [01:22:30] Dallas Cowboys, right? We eventually get to a point where it's like, yeah, ~we, we ~got it done. And then it's like, it's game one. You know what I mean? Like, ~I, it's, I.~ Robert Kelly: is there. He literally did, he did it with Emmett, he did it with cd. He's done it multiple David Clarke: He kind of did it with Dak even though they did like a handshake deal. And it wasn't acrimonious, but it was at least like late in the day. ~Right. Like, it, it's, it, it's ~things that, if it's something we've seen Jerry Jones do before, and he might just be fucking with people at this point, like he probably knows he is gonna sign the guy. He can't, it's too embarrassing if you lose him. ~Like there's like ~no way to get the right [01:23:00] package for him. ~There's just ~no way to get the right package. ~Like, you're like, ~people were throwing, Mike was throwing some at some Falcon's package at you and I looked at it and I was like, it's still not enough. ~Like, ~it's still not enough to ~like ~get rid of Micah Parsons. ~Like, and it's just like, ~it's like that package ~looks crazy. It ~looks crazy. Like think about what the Bears got for giving ~the, the, ~the Panthers the number one overall pick for Bryce Young. ~Like, we're, ~if we're gonna go precedent, Bryce Young essentially went for a billion picks in DJ more. So ~I, like, I ~have, I look Caleb Williams ~like, you know what I mean? Like, I, I can't, ~I can't even fathom what that package looks like, so it's just hard for me to believe that it's actually gonna happen. And ~I, ~[01:23:30] I might, I may crow on this show for saying that if it actually does go down, I'll say like, mea culpa. But I would have a real hard time imagining it going down without people fucking rioting at Jerry Jones'. ~H uh, ~I was gonna say house, but probably plantation. So ~I, you know, ~at the end of the day, ~like, I don't, ~I really have no idea, uh, how that happens. I think you're keeping 'em, I think that you sign 'em. I hope you don't sign 'em late. Robert Kelly: Yeah, it needs to happen sooner rather than later. I mean, ~all, all ~the indications point towards this is gonna be dragged out at least until the end of [01:24:00] training camp. Um, he's doing a hold in at the moment, but, ~well, ~it's just like when you have guys like Michael Parsons, I just don't understand David Clarke: Thankfully he doesn't really need to train. Like a guy like him doesn't actually really need to go to train a camp. He'll be fine. Like ~he'll, ~he'll just come in and be like the freakiest athlete in the entire NFL again. So, you know, ~I I I ~think you'll be okay. I really do. ~I, I, ~I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you like, he's gonna sign and he is not going anywhere. Robert Kelly: Okay. All right. That makes me feel a little better. David Clarke: Yeah. I mean, if you can [01:24:30] imagine the package, ~I, ~I can't Robert Kelly: I literally can't do it. I mean, unless we're getting, ~I, I ~would think at least three first round picks, maybe four, would think at maybe four. David Clarke: ~like, ~do the Eagles have anything to trade? Like if the Eagles. Robert Kelly: don't even, I don't even wanna hear that, David Clarke: No, but this is what I'm saying. ~Like, the thing is, is like ~you would need, Robert Kelly: if Micah Parsons ended up on the Eagles, I would stop watching the NFL at least a few weeks, David Clarke: but I know, yeah, I know that's unrealistic. But what I'm just saying is ~like, ~I'm trying to think of the teams that could possibly do it, because it's teams that [01:25:00] would literally have to basically say, we're not gonna win anything from 2029 onwards for the foreseeable after that, because we're gonna have to give you everything. And we ~like, it's, it's ~a team that's gonna gonna say, if we get Michael Parsons, we're gonna win three Super Bowls. That's like basically the kind of mortgage you're gonna have to take out on your team because the, the fan base is gonna, ~uh, ~is gonna have to go. Yeah. Well, I mean, we won, you know, at least, at least one, if not two, to, to mortgage our future for like the 2030s. Like that's the package, that's the size of [01:25:30] it. So, I don't know, maybe I'm being hyperbolic, but I really think he would've to give a lot up to get Micah Parsons and ~un, ~unless Jerry lets himself get fleeced, because he's like taking this personally, but I, I don't know. Robert Kelly: No. Okay. All right. It makes you feel a little better. ~Um. Uh, ~more on the Cowboys. Dak Prescott. Obviously he needs to rebound this year, coming back from that hamstring injury. If we don't see the Dak Prescott that we saw two, three years ago, I feel like ~this, this, ~this could be, ~I, ~I don't wanna say a make or break David Clarke: [01:26:00] You got him a real offensive line. You got him a real offensive line. It's a much improved offensive line. I agree with you wholeheartedly that he has a true number two. Now, if you don't figure out things with Micah, none of this is gonna matter. I, we obviously understand that, but, but the of offense does have a chance to exceed expectations this year now. Robert Kelly: Yes, it does, it does. ~With, ~with Pickens being a solid. Number two, unlike Brandon Cooks, was last year with maybe a real running back room with Javonte Williams and Miles [01:26:30] Sanders. I feel like the offensive could overachieve without a doubt. Shaheim is a good offensive coach too. I David Clarke: ~Yeah.~ Robert Kelly: point that out there. David Clarke: I like the idea of guys ~that, that, ~that have, ~uh, ~no, I can't do it. I can't get up on Heimer. Sorry. It's a weird one. It's a weird signing. It's, it's a weird choice. ~Uh, ~we'll see how it goes. ~Uh, I, um, ~I'm pulling for you, but ~I, I, I ~think the best I can do for you today is tell you, I think Micah's gonna play in Dallas this year. Robert Kelly: That's fair. ~Um,~ David Clarke: I like the offensive line. Robert Kelly: that's fair. So break the fourth wall here. Do you wanna stop after 10? David Clarke: Yeah. [01:27:00] This, it's, we're gonna have to do a three parter. It's the next thing I was gonna say. This is gonna have to be a three-part show. ~Um, ~it was literally the next thing that was gonna come outta my mouth. So we were planning on doing the first half and the second half, but, ~uh, ~yeah. We're the Lord of the Rings now bitches. We just did, ~uh, ~we just did, just did the first part. ~Uh, ~we'll be back with the second part and then ail, we'll be back with the third part. I imagine the cast is gonna rotate, but, ~uh, ~until then, thanks for listening to us. Talk about the NFL again. Everybody. Power rankings, guys. The NF L's back. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. All right. This has been, as always, for your listening, [01:27:30] pleasure missing the point