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Analyzing Arsenal, Liverpool & Chelsea; Underperforming EPL Teams; NFL True Or False
15 Plays1 month ago
Football Week in Review
Arsenal
- Wins vs Newcastle and Olympiacos
- Happy with open play chance creation
- Gyokeres check in
Liverpool
- Losses to Crystal Palace and Galatasaray
- Blip or Long term issue
- Thoughts on Wirtz?
Chelsea
- Loss vs Brighton, W vs Benfica
- Is the season a disappointment for them? Can they turn it around
Champions League
- Any thoughts from other CL fixtures
Underperforming Teams
Which of the teams just above relegation do you have the most faith in? Least faith?
- Man U
- Newcastle
- Forest
- Villa
NFL True or False
- Brock Purdy is a System QB
- The Steelers will win the AFC North
- The Jags will win the AFC South
- Puka Nacua is the best WR in the league
- Zac Taylor will not finish the season as Bengals HC
- Josh Allen will win MVP
Games of the Week
Chelsea v Liverpool
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:10
Emeka
What's up, what's up, what's up everybody?
00:00:12
Chuku
Thanks.
00:00:13
Emeka
Joining you live here Friday night on episode 35, the Kevin Durant edition of Love of the Game podcast. You know, we took a week off there because life gets in the way, but we're back here ready to give you another jam-packed episode covered. A lot has happened in the world of sports, you know, to cover it all. I'm always joined by my brother Chinon. Chinon, how you living this Friday, baby?
00:00:36
Chino Onwuka
Hey, TGIF, man. want to thank God for getting me through another week. It's been a week. It's been a couple of weeks. So honestly, I just thank God. i'm glad it's the weekend. Glad, you know, got some time just to get together, talk about what we love, which is which is ball. You know, that's why it's called the love of the game. And that's why we're here. So yeah, looking forward to tonight and the topics.
00:01:04
Emeka
Yes, sir, you know. It's national break coming up, but we're pushing through, playing on painkillers and all of that. and you know We're joined by the man Chukuchuku. How you living this Friday, man?
00:01:15
Chuku
Yes sir, yes sir. What's up guys? Yeah man, it's a great time to reconnect with the boys. I know we've been out for a little bit, but we gotta to give the people what they want and that's another episode. So yeah, I'm ready to, you know, chop it up with the boys. A lot to discuss.
00:01:34
Chuku
I'm just ready to go. So let's get started.
Arsenal's Performance and Player Analysis
00:01:37
Emeka
Yeah, you already know a lot to talk about this episode. We're going end it off you know talking a little NFL, some underperforming teams. But we're going to start off with, the as always, the Week in Review.
00:01:49
Emeka
Big week in football. We had some big games last weekend in the Premier League and other leagues. And we also had, know, Champions League comes back week two. A lot of fixtures. I mean, too much football, football if you ask me.
00:02:03
Emeka
It's been a big topic going around. And we're going to touch on, you know, some teams who had some great weeks. Some teams who had some not so great weeks. But we got to stay true to ourselves here.
00:02:14
Emeka
You already know what it is. Love of the game. The GUNA podcast. Not that type of GUNA, kids. But, you know, Arsenal had a big week. Last-minute Gabriel header against Newcastle. And if that wasn't good enough, they go host Olympiacos. And for the first time in, I think, 30 years or something, beat Olympiacos at home, which is a shocking record to me.
00:02:34
Emeka
You know, a lot to talk about this week. I'll start off with Chinna. And ask you a question, you know, leading into this season, the big concern with Arsenal was whether they create enough chances in open play or coming off two games where they scored four goals by an XG of like six, I think.
00:02:52
Emeka
So creating a lot of chances. Do you think this is an improvement in the side or do you think this is just two games where they had a lot of the ball?
00:03:02
Chino Onwuka
I definitely think it's an improvement. You know, if we look back to, you know, the beginning of last season, you know, with all the pressure, with all the expectations, you know, even when accounting for some of the things we saw, you know, the refereeing decisions, the injuries, one of the things that was already starting to be apparent and probably, you know, impacted by the injuries and all those things I mentioned was,
00:03:30
Chino Onwuka
be the style of our football seemed to be really, really stagnant, especially considering how we'd ended the previous season. And so that was a bit of a concern. You know, that's when people started talking more about our reliance or perhaps over-reliance on set pieces.
00:03:48
Chino Onwuka
And, you know, that's a topic for another day. And so coming into this season, I think that was one thing the team was really trying to address, especially in the type of signings that they made, you know,
00:03:59
Chino Onwuka
players who are Mavericks, game breakers, brought different aspects to the team. And, you know, this year we're seeing a lot of those same issues with injuries. I mean, let let's just list out all all the big players we've missed out on for big parts of this season. a lot of them are attacking players.
00:04:20
Chino Onwuka
Saka, Odegaard, Kai Havertz, we've already lost Madueke. And, and But, you know, to to your question, I think we we are seeing improvements. You know, even in preseason, we saw but in certain games them trying to play a little bit more direct, you know, get the ball to sack out to the wings a bit earlier. And, you know, we we have seen some games, some of the bigger games, you know, against Man City, against Liverpool, where we didn't play the football we wanted to see. You know, lots of talks about handbrakes.
00:04:55
Chino Onwuka
Was Arteta too pragmatic? But, You know, I think what I can say is when we have our full starting lineup or when Arteta is willing to play, you know, a more balanced midfield, aka not a midfield of Marino, Rice and Zubomendi, I am really impressed with the signs of what we're playing. Not that it's not that it's prime Barcelona or anything like that, but when I compare it to to lots of parts of last season and, you know, looking at the last two games, I think, know, really liking what I'm seeing, you know, in the Newcastle game, you know, it was Eze, you know, playing the eighth position, you know, orchestrating things.
00:05:39
Chino Onwuka
And then, you know, yesterday, this this week, it was Odegaard who had one of the best games I've ever seen seen him play with the added factor of, you know, Jokeres didn't score, but I think it was one of his best overall games for Arsenal. he was We were finding him. We were creating chances for him. His movement was good.
00:05:58
Chino Onwuka
His link-up play the last two or three games has really been a lot better because at the beginning of the season was pretty rough. But, you know, it's showing his growth. It's showing me the team understanding him him, understanding what he needs to do. So, not saying anything's perfect yet, but but when when I compare it to the last season, I think it's it's definitely a big improvement it.
00:06:17
Chino Onwuka
So shout out to the team, shout out to the manager, shout out to the recruitment staff, because I think a lot of the things that they tried to do early signs, it's been just a couple of games. But when we play with the right intent, with the right lineup intent, I think the signs are very good.
00:06:35
Emeka
Shuku, you know, I don't want besmirch your name, so correct me if I'm wrong, but would that be fair to say in the past you've taken some issues when Odegaard had drops in form? Is that is that fair to say?
00:06:49
Chuku
That is totally fair to say.
00:06:51
Emeka
So as it wouldever you know a harsh critic of him, what what would you agree with what Chinon said when Odegaard played one of the best games of his career against Olympiacos?
00:07:00
Chuku
i would say that he is absolutely correct. Odegaard, so far this season has been on smoke. His little cameo appearance in Newcastle was great to see.
00:07:11
Chuku
and i love what I've seen. But then getting to see him you know display that many performances in a game and like like the Champions League against... I know what people will say is against Olympiacos, but the thing is, at the end of the day, this is the Champions League we're talking about. And it's just nice to be able to see...
00:07:30
Chuku
Odegaard doing what he what what what he's been renowned about, you know what was what he's really made his name you know in the in the game of football as far as being able to you know oh create for you know for for other attacking options, be someone that you know come we can entrust with the ball, know that he's going to be able to transition play from you know, from the midfield to you know to the offense.
00:07:58
Chuku
Like his ability to pick out passes is definitely a quality that we know we've been missing or lacking. And I just think one thing I've observed a lot this season so far, as opposed to last season with the drop-off, I mean, this is not going to be the sole reason that that we're seeing Odegaard perform at his best, but I definitely think it's something that, you know,
00:08:22
Chuku
definitely helps rather than hurts. And that's the fact that as of right now, it's good to see the squad have more, what I would call, runners in the team. no People that are willing to make those runs, which again, literally, that's what Jokeres does.
00:08:39
Chuku
He's a willing runner and someone to add to a Martinelli that also is very similar in the sense of always likes to make that run in behind the the defense. And I think when you have willing runners, that's where you're going to see Odegaard shine a lot, in my opinion, because of his ability to be able to pick out those runners and be able to make that perfectly weighted pass or that perfectly you know through ball that cuts the defense and but basically puts our attackers in position to either score
00:09:13
Chuku
or do something that's going to lead to scoring. And that's where I'm seeing Odegaard back to his best, is being able to spot these runners that we have in the squad. And I hope this is something that continues.
00:09:25
Chuku
I mean, the fact of the matter is, I just like the fact that we have options now, you know?
Liverpool's Challenges and Tactical Discussions
00:09:31
Chuku
And, you know, we're still missing a lot of pieces. You know, we've talked about, i feel like Havericks has, a you know, can have a very strong impact on the team once he's healthy and and back.
00:09:41
Chuku
In form, we still you know have you know guys like Incapier that we've not even seen him play for a few minutes that can also add something to the you know to the team.
00:09:53
Chuku
But the truth of the matter is with the players that we're missing, we still have such a huge well-rounded squad that it's like you barely even miss you know got a guy like Havertz or guy like Madueke who has been having a strong start to the season.
00:10:10
Chuku
Hinkapie that we just brought in, you know, i just think that this is where we're as well no versed and well prepared now than we've ever been when it comes to really competing in all fronts. And I just think, you know, this this this is has to this has to be the year. This has to be the year Arsenal win something. And I know it's seen a lot just coming from the Champions League game, but i come up I come out of that game just you know looking at us at a different light in the fact that
00:10:40
Chuku
we're able to rotate and not and it feels like we're not even skipping a beat. like The fact that I can look at our bench and all of a sudden I can see names on the bench that can come in at any point in time and make a real impact in the game is just like it's night and day compared to at certain points last season where we're seeing we're seeing a bunch of you know academy players that we both all we all know that weren't going to really come in to make much impact. you like We're barely struggling to fill out a full bench of, of you know of know, startable or reliable players. But now is it's the complete opposite. Like you we're seeing situations where we we have we even have reliable players not even being able to make the squad on on a march on a match game day because we have so much quality in the team. And that's something that I just think has spoken out or speaks out to me so much from what I've been watching so far.
00:11:35
Chuku
And it's been a pleasure. It's been a pleasure to really, you know, get to see this Arsenal team finally start to click a little bit better with the with the addition of Jokoraz in the squad. And I just think Eze as well, and being an addition, has been amazing to watch.
00:11:50
Chuku
Like, he is such a quarterly quality player, Eze. And, like, I know he hasn't scored, you know, he's scored that one goal in the, was it the Carlin Cup or else?
00:12:01
Emeka
The AirCode.
00:12:02
Chuku
Carlin Cup, yeah. I know yeah i know he's only scored that one goal in the Carlin Cup, but trust me, for someone only scored one goal, it sure feels like he's you know on the cusp of having a very good goal-scoring season with the amount of shots he's been able to put on target with what I've seen so far. like He just looks like someone who's ready or has the ability to to score goals. And, I mean, he's come up against some pretty – tough keeper saves that, you know, have prevented some goals going in so far. But I just think it's just a matter of time before we're seeing or going to be celebrating a bunch of Eze goals, you know, coming soon.
00:12:41
Chuku
And, you know, add Saka to the mix. Hopefully, as your career starts to get better, you add some goals into the mix. And I think you have a very, very, very, you know, well-rounded team because we all know our defense is not one to play with. And, you know,
00:12:58
Chuku
It's just crazy that the amount of the team that, you know, we've been able to build under Arteta so far in the last couple of years. And yeah, you know, I think, you know, this is the best year we've, at least I've seen, for Arsenal to be able to compete in all fronts. And long may that continue.
00:13:15
Emeka
Hey, from your lips to God's ears, man, like, echo all of what you guys are saying, and I'll just say absence makes the heart grow fonder because I love my captain, Odegaard, even though I always think everyone's captain, but I love Odegaard, man. Creative player.
00:13:29
Emeka
And missing him for a couple games. Like, look, I'm with Jannard that I hate seeing that Marino, Zubimendi, Rice midfield. In fairness to Arteta, a lot of the time that happens because Odegaard's injured.
00:13:41
Emeka
So, you know, maybe Odegaard's more fit now. We'll not see the Haram midfield a lot. He just adds so much to the team. i think you made a great point, Chukwu. Runners.
00:13:52
Emeka
Odegaard is elite at through balls. And i really hate that we don't utilize that enough. He puts the perfect weight on it. It's just beautiful to see. But a lot of our players come in short.
00:14:03
Emeka
They don't really make those runs in behind. Only really Martinelli before. Now we add Jokeres in there. It's a nice little mix. And, oh, my goodness. I just love seeing. As soon he got subbed on against Newcastle, those 10 minutes looked amazing. The call he was playing. And against Olympiacos, he was just spraying passes.
00:14:23
Emeka
Lord knows how he only got one assist that game. He should have had, like, four. Like, oh, my goodness, man. Capitano. You know, baby's sleeping a little bit more now. It's been a year since they've been born.
00:14:35
Emeka
You know, hopefully you get some more rest. The shoulders are healing. I need more of these performances, Odegaard. I really do. Yeah, I have anything to add, you know?
00:14:44
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, no, just want to touch on both you and Chukwu's points on on more runners because I think i think that's definitely a factor. But I know i brought this up in a previous conversation. And i don't like... i' There's a part of me that still believes that we have had runners, but we just haven't taken advantage of it enough.
00:15:10
Chino Onwuka
Like, definitely we're seeing more direct play now, and I think the way we're playing a bit more direct, you know, plays a factor to it. Because when I think about the way we played before, because you like, if we just go and think of highlights, we can think of so many through balls that Odegaard has played, were played and scored.
00:15:30
Chino Onwuka
And if we deep it, we can probably think of a lot of through balls that Odegaard has played where the players, especially Kai, has not scored them. So I think it's a, it's a,
00:15:44
Chino Onwuka
it's One, it's a finishing problem, and two, it's a directness of play problem because like some of those balls that Odegaard was playing where it was it wasn't against a settled defense, it's where but the defense is tracking back, where i think a lot of the times, the way we build up, by the time Odegaard gets the ball, the defense has already set themselves up in in in in a low block, and there isn't as much space for him to play those type of balls that he can play. We see a lot of those chances that De Bruyne plays right away. We we we saw it you know in in the Olympiacos game and some of the balls he played.
00:16:23
Chino Onwuka
We saw the type of ball that Eze played for Martinelli. That's the type of ball and through ball that I think we don't play enough before the defense gets settled. So I think that's something we need to do a lot more. And I think that will unlock more parts of Odegaard's game because what happens a lot of the time, the time we do our slow buildup,
00:16:42
Chino Onwuka
you know, Gabriel, Saliba, Raya pass it between them a little bit. Then we finally make it up the field and then it becomes that triangle of Odegaard, Saka, White, Timber. And then they're just trying to play those cute passes in between that triangle in the squeeze space versus a little bit more of what we saw on Wednesday. So I'm really hoping we can we can really establish that, you know, as a bigger facet of our pattern of play.
00:17:11
Emeka
Yeah, no, I agree. it's It's so funny because, like, we are on this part, I remember we had this conversation in the past where I say Odegaard is not really, like, a 10. He's more of, like, a Iniesta, more a tempo setter.
00:17:27
Emeka
But then, like, you see him do these passes, like you said, those De Bruyne passes. And even in the past, I fully agree, like, you pull up an Odegaard highlight reel and it's just Kai Havertz missing chances or something like that.
00:17:38
Emeka
The most assist he's ever got in a season is 10. Like, for a guy like Odegaard, you really would think he'd have one of those weird years where he gets, like, 18 or something because guys finish it. So maybe not, like...
00:17:48
Chino Onwuka
Kai missing chances, Jesus not bearing chances. I just thought of a lot of those instances right now as well.
00:17:52
Emeka
Yeah.
00:17:56
Chino Onwuka
so yeah
00:17:57
Emeka
like I hope for his sake, for him to get his respect. like He has one of those years where the passers just go in and he gets like those big numbers. because Odegaard is such a good footballer, but when you pull up a stat he doesn't jump out like how good he is. When he's not there, you notice it. It's missing. like He's that guy.
00:18:16
Chino Onwuka
Because if you I remember when we were having the, I'll call it debate with Chukwu, like, like when don you if you look at assists, he'll never be high up. But then when you look at chances created, i know last season wasn't the season, but all the previous seasons, chances created, he was always at the top in Europe.
00:18:35
Chino Onwuka
It's just the assist numbers were never high up.
00:18:35
Emeka
No, 100%. There's a reason why he was winning player of the year all the times.
00:18:39
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
00:18:39
Emeka
You know?
00:18:40
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
00:18:41
Emeka
Like, I just hope for his sake he has one of those years where, a like, you know, a ball bounces in. Maybe with Yoko Ress or something, it explodes. And he has a number. He sees when he puts up those gaudy numbers.
00:18:53
Emeka
We could talk about RSO forever. But speaking of gaudy numbers, my man should not drop the stat. It actually shook me. And had I got to say on the pod. You know, star boy, fact, star man, we have to call him Man Bukayo.
00:19:07
Emeka
You know, Shuku says Champions League, the big league with the big names, where the people become stars. And I remember couple years ago when we used to hype that Saka was world class. The word we always get was, you do it in the prim. Can you it in the Champions League? do the Champions League?
00:19:22
Emeka
Bukayo Saka has played 19 games in the Champions League, and he has 11 goals and 6 assists. Star man. I cannot believe the slander I read about my boy Saka. This is a world-class footballer and I don't want to hear anything else remotely otherwise, pay homage and respect to my 24-year-old putting up these elite numbers in the Champions League, man. I'm blessed to be able to see him.
00:19:53
Emeka
i'm really I really am blessed be able to see him play football. And I hope you signed the team, Saka. Like, hey, man, look, Saliba signed. it your It's your turn now. Just sign the contract. It's okay. Before we move on from Arsenal, Chuku, do have any other thing you want to add in?
00:20:08
Chuku
Not really, man. I think I said everything I wanted to say, you know, touch on. I mean, obviously, and I know in the past i know i've I've been an Odegaard and Martinelli critic. Really more so, I'll say i've usually been more harsh on harsh Martinelli.
00:20:24
Chuku
With Odegaard, I've always liked – not like I think Odegaard is – or was didn't think Odegaard was, a you know, a good or special player when you know when he's on form. It was just that that season last year, last season, you know, it was just like we're seeing a shell of of of of a player that like I just I don't know what what it was fully, but it wasn't the same water guard that I've come to we've come to, you know, know and appreciate.
00:20:50
Chuku
So it's just nice being able to see that guy, you know, come back this season. And, you know, hopefully, like I said, long may that continue. And I just think, you know, the additions that we've made to the team is just like, it's really helped, you know, in terms of just being able to scrape by wins by any any means necessary. You know, it it could be a week, it could be weekend where everything clicks, we score four or five goals, or it could be a situation where, you know, it could be not having the greatest of games, but
00:21:23
Chuku
because of the quality we now have and in the squad, being able to make that one, two, three substitutions to come and change a game and be able to grab a winner like we've seen is you know with Martinelli already coming in and proving and scoring no clutch goals to get us points.
00:21:40
Chuku
that we thought we might not be getting. I just think everything is just tailor-made for Arsenal to have a good season in terms of competing in all fronts. And, you know, hopefully we get to see some silverware at the end of this at end of it. So I really do think this is the most confident i can I've felt in a long time about the team. And, yeah, Saka, sign the thing, man.
00:22:02
Chuku
Sign the thing. So, yeah, long may continue.
00:22:06
Emeka
Long may continue indeed. Look how calm and relaxed this podcast is when Arsenal doing well. You know, it's nice. You know what I'm saying? It's nice. Long may continue. Well, moving on to other teams in Premier League.
00:22:19
Emeka
Some teams didn't have as good a week as we had. We're all calm and relaxed, but I'm sure if this was a Liverpool fan podcast, they'd be screams and yelling and finger pointing and blaming bald managers.
00:22:31
Emeka
Last time we recorded, i asked my co-host the question of, Liverpool had a lot of last-minute wins and comebacks, and was that the heart of a champion, or was it signs of concern? And and i I raised that I was concerned they were conceding a lot of goals and relying on these weird finishes, and eventually they can't keep getting away with it.
00:22:50
Emeka
And turns out you really can't keep getting away with it because they had a... 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace. And for once, the late Magic Juju went against them. As Arsenal young boy, young gunner, in the room, came through for the boys and hit a 97th minute winner in a game where Crystal Palace really should have beat them like 5-1.
00:23:08
Emeka
And then they followed it up by going to Turkey and... In a boring game, Nigel guy, Victor Osterman scores a very soft penalty, got to be honest. And Liverpool just can't create, didn't create anything, to be honest. It was comfortable 1-0 win for Galatasaray.
00:23:25
Emeka
So that's two losses on the row after scraping by. They're still first in the league, but now cracks are starting to show. your know, fans are getting kind of upset with Warts and Isak and Frimpong and Kirkhead and all the new signings.
00:23:39
Emeka
I guess I'll start with you, you know. I asked it was a good or a bad thing last week, and i ask it again. is this a blip, or is this a long-term issue you see rearing its head throughout the season for Liverpool?
00:23:51
Chino Onwuka
So like I said last week, it is an issue, right? It is an issue. And what I said is it was actually a positive for them that they had managed to get, you know, the maximum amount of points, even with the issues that they were seeing.
00:24:07
Chino Onwuka
So like a big, I had Liverpool to to win the league. And I think a big part of that, i think it's two things. One, they've brought in a lot of new players, you know,
00:24:21
Chino Onwuka
I mentioned this last week or two weeks ago, they've lost Trent. So a lot of the dynamics have changed and they're having to adjust to that. And, you know, sometimes we think it's like FIFA or, you know, FM, there's, you know, extrinsic things going on that, you know, that need to take place for, for teams to, to gel and settle quickly when so much is going on.
00:24:44
Chino Onwuka
Did people, did I expect it to, to look like this, this early on? no Definitely not, but clearly that's something that's going on. And, you know, Slott had a an interview, i believe it was yesterday or today, and he and he made a point that I think is really true. And as Arsenal fans, we probably recognize this.
00:25:04
Chino Onwuka
You know, what he said is that because of where Liverpool had finished the season before last, teams were playing them a certain way. You know, more, they weren't defending deep. They thought they could have a go at them.
00:25:19
Chino Onwuka
And it wasn't until later in the season that teams started being like, oh, just like we all thought, no one expected Liverpool to win the title. Okay, this team is really good and they started defending deep. And what he said is that teams have started out this season already. Again, when you're the champion, you know everyone's going to put their their best effort against you. And teams are now treating them certain way and it's been more difficult for them to break down. And as Arsenal fans, we saw that happen to us you know between that 2022-2023 season going into 2023-24. So you have that going on. Isaac is still... My man is technically still in preseason.
00:26:00
Chino Onwuka
Wurtz is struggling to adapt. Salah, I think, is really missing Trent's impact. like I don't know, Emeka, you probably have the numbers. like How many years has he played with Trent? When last did he...
00:26:16
Chino Onwuka
play without Trent and how how does that correlate with when Liverpool were at their peak? So that's a big thing because what you're seeing happen is Salah isn't getting that early ball into his feet against a backtracking defense like he's used to.
00:26:32
Chino Onwuka
And so usually you have games where it's A lot of games, Ursula looks like you know a bum, but then he gets that ball. He gets that one chance and he finishes it, but he's not getting that same freedom, those same chances this year. So it's definitely an issue.
00:26:50
Chino Onwuka
Just with the with the names in that team, with the pedigree, I still do have a feeling that you know they will right the ship.
00:27:01
Chino Onwuka
If it takes them a bit longer to right the ship, hey, no problems with me there. But yeah, definitely, you know, I think they realize, you know, just because we've spent 500 million, we're not just going to walk on the field and blast past teams. Like, they they have work to do.
00:27:19
Emeka
Well, to answer your question, the last time Salah played without Trent was when he was a young buck in Roma because Trent made his debut the year before Salah had his transfer. He's always had Trent at the side, and just want to echo that point even more because...
00:27:32
Chino Onwuka
There you go.
00:27:36
Emeka
All the slander, and I have all Liverpool fans in my life, and they kept slandering Trent and calling Judas and Snake and all that. It's funny those same fans a year ago would have waxed poetically about Trent is the best right back you've ever seen in a generation.
00:27:51
Emeka
Trent is a cheat code. And when you lose a guy like Trent, it really has an impact. Like you said, So many cheese balls he played to sell out or switch wings to the right.
00:28:01
Emeka
He create out of nothing. And to have a player like Trent at right back is like an extra midfielder, essentially. And yeah, people always harp about what he can't do. He can't defend. But what he can do is something no one can do.
00:28:14
Emeka
And now they're really struggling to replace it. And I'm trying to replace it with Wurtz. And they're trying to shift it now, you know, building through the middle and going through him. And it's isolating Salah. And I think a big change that Slott has to make is, listen, i know you spent $100 million on words.
00:28:30
Emeka
He's going to come good. Die that for now. Like, go back to playing Liverpool football. Go back to the midfield that won you the prep last year. Gravenberg, McAllister, Shabazz, Latt.
00:28:42
Emeka
Back to basics. Back to formula. And let's just conquer down for a bit. Play direct. Work the wings. Get Salah involved. And stop all this extra stuff. Because it's not working what they're doing. And I...
00:28:54
Emeka
like I don't want to harp on them too much because it's early and things are going to change, but I just think they're trying to fit all these new pieces in and trying to create something, and teams are playing them more conservatively, and it's just not working. what What they're doing now isn't working.
00:29:09
Emeka
And, you know, look, I don't disrespect the manager. Slott won the Premier League. But like people say, Arteta won the FA Cup with Emery's team. I think it's easy to say as well that Slott won the Premier League with Klopp's team.
00:29:21
Emeka
Now it's his team. He has $500 million dollars worth of changes in it. You can't just rely on old tactics now. You got to actually try and maneuver this out. They're a great team, so know they're going to figure it out eventually. But for now, I am very, very curious how it plans out. And it would not shock me at the weekend if they go back to last season's midfield and Wurz has to hold the bench for a little bit.
00:29:45
Emeka
Shukku.
00:29:45
Chino Onwuka
Because i know you're going to go to Chico because like the thing is, like look at all the things we're saying now. Liverpool haven't, you know, all these issues. They're still top of the league.
00:29:57
Chino Onwuka
They're still top of the league.
00:29:57
Emeka
Would I always say...
00:29:58
Chino Onwuka
So...
00:29:59
Emeka
Table doesn't matter till Christmas. How about me a Christmas time?
00:30:02
Chuku
Hey, man, I hear that it's up to the league, but let's see. There have been plenty of times, as you know, in the past. I'm not trying to bring up trauma, but have been plenty of times Arsenal have been starting off hot, you know, top of the league. And we all know how that story went over the last couple, you know, last few decades here. But regardless, regardless, all I'm going say on the matter is, look, man, Slough won the league last year.
00:30:26
Chuku
with Klopp's players, man. a lot I just felt like a lot of the things that were already in place, slot didn't really have to change too much. And just everything just clicked. They they were healthy.
00:30:39
Chuku
None of their main players or main guys were gone for long stretches of time. Luis Diaz decided to have form, you know, for once in his life. And, you know, it worked out for them, you know, like, you know, and everything was great.
00:30:52
Chuku
Now that we're starting to see the team in the mold of a slot with the additions, because this is the first time didn't have any Remember, Liverpool didn't do anything two summers ago.
00:31:02
Chuku
Now they've gone in, spent big. And, you knowlaus brigad in that his player the you know, the players to you know that he wants to come in to mold his team. Obviously, the loss of Trent is huge, but you lose Trent to bring in someone who was supposed to be that new creative spark for you, which was Florian Wirtz, for the kind of money you spent.
00:31:27
Chuku
you know, you respect instant impact, you know, based off of the money that was spent. And clearly they're currently struggling because he's not been able to be that creative spark that at least a lot of us, you know, had thought he was going to be when Liverpool first initially signed him.
00:31:45
Chuku
Not to say that he can't, you know, figure it out and still be that spark. But as of right now, we're seeing someone as truly struggling to adapt to then a new league, a more physical league.
00:31:57
Chuku
And, He's not having the same impact that no one would think you know a player of his quality should be having and in the Liverpool side you know when it comes to being a a big factor when it when it comes to no scoring goals.
00:32:13
Chuku
And right now you can clearly 100% agree Salah is 100% missing Trent at the moment you know because there's a lot of times when, you know,
00:32:25
Chuku
Salah was able to not have to be such a... you know so He's always been a creative player, Salah, but for the most part, he didn't always have to be that creative outlet a lot of the times when Trent was also on the pitch because you know Trent was able to find him and other players in positions, putting them in a position to be able to you know finish.
00:32:49
Chuku
And now, with that creative spark now being... ended off to you know to to the to coming out from the midfield with them going more traditional with the right back with a Conor Bradley option.
00:33:03
Chuku
you know We're just not seeing the same Liverpool fluid attack as we did previously you know with Trenton and the team. So I just think, you know again, you know it's early to say the team is going to have to adapt for sure if they're going to have a chance of winning the league.
Chelsea's Struggles and Strategy Issues
00:33:20
Chuku
But I From what I've seen so far, i will say there's there's a reason to to pause when it comes to the whole Liverpool bandwagoning because, quite frankly, if we're looking at it from the perspective of, you know,
00:33:35
Chuku
Quality of games and like, you know, we all know obviously for football is all about the results. We get it. But when you do the eye test and you've seen what's been played, you know, what's been played, you know, what's been going on on the pitch with your eyes, Liverpool have been very lucky to come away with some of those wins or some of those points.
00:33:53
Chuku
that they've gotten. in Like, we have to talk about this because, quite frankly, like, even the game against us, it took a ridiculous, and I mean ridiculous free kick from Shabozlai for them to get all three points against us.
00:34:09
Chuku
It took some miracle comebacks to come and get some of those wins that they got early on in the season. So, we not I'm not going to sit here and act. if It would be one thing if Liverpool have been playing amazing football from the start, scoring plenty of goals, smashing teams here in and out.
00:34:28
Chuku
But that's just not been the case. And quite frankly, you know, they're going to have to prove us wrong. It's going to start, i mean, we're going to see right now they have lost back-to-back games, which is something that we rarely ever put in or, you know, we rarely ever see about a Liverpool team losing back-to-back games.
00:34:47
Chuku
They're going to be playing now a tough, you know, set of games in the next couple of five weeks, I believe. You know, starting off with Liverpool, I believe playing Liverpool away.
00:34:58
Chuku
They're playing Chelsea away. Liverpool's playing Chelsea away. So you know we're going to to see. I know it Chelsea's pretty banged up themselves, but Chelsea have always found a way to give Liverpool a tough run whenever they they play. So, I mean, look, we're going to have to see Liverpool adapt. going to to see Liverpool adapt because right now it's not looking great. I know...
00:35:23
Chuku
They're, again, they're first place so no and on the table, but this is something that can change overnight easily. And with you know with some results here, if they drop points, you find a way to lose to Chelsea, they could be you know i second place by the end of the weekend. So you never know these things change quickly. would definitely say, you know,
00:35:47
Chuku
It's not over. Liverpool and are still going to be a tough competitor, you know, all year, all season long. But I'll be – let's just say I'm feeling – there's a reason why I said earlier I'm feeling the most confident I've been when it comes to Arsenal.
00:36:02
Chuku
And that's mainly to do with the fact that I just think we have a more complete squad than Liverpool does. Because God forbid, you know, they get an injury to any of the top players like a Van Dijk or Salah right now.
00:36:17
Chuku
that That will pretty much be a huge detriment to them right now because people just don't have the the squad that, you know, I feel at least can compete with all in all the competitions.
00:36:32
Chuku
So it's going to be something to monitor.
00:36:33
Emeka
so
00:36:35
Chuku
But, yeah, I'm just not –
00:36:37
Emeka
It's funny you say injuries to to big players because I think they had an injury to a big player in midweek. In the Crystal Palace game, and side note, i already give some flaws to Crystal Palace because what a start the season they've had.
00:36:52
Emeka
They could have won that game like four or five. The reason they didn't score four goals is because of Allison. And now Allison's injured. i look Don't get me wrong. People always say, hey, Liverpool won the league. They didn't spend any money last year.
00:37:05
Emeka
They actually spent like $40 million on a goalkeeper. So ili he gets to play Marjvili. Let's see what he can do. But losing Allison is a big deal. And he had a lot of pressure on him because you mentioned They have have a a lot of big games coming out back to back.
00:37:20
Emeka
I'm very curious to see how they navigate these next couple of fixtures because, Slotspan, you know, is easy to be cool, calm, collected manager when you're winning games. Let's see what it's like when he's losing them now. Let's see what it's like when he has to give a press conference, two losses in a row, and he's getting asked questions about, hey, man, your your your players are struggling. What what are you going to do? And he has to be snippy. So i as an Arsenal fan, I am biased, and maybe I'm wishing it a little bit hard, but It's going to be very interesting to see. And you mentioned the next game they have, a pretty big one, a low at Stanford Bridge.
00:37:56
Emeka
And, you know, we can talk about Chelsea for a bit before we dig into that. That is our game of the week. But we're all Chelsea listeners in the podcast, and a lot of us gave you flowers to start the season. We thought it's going to be a big year for Chelsea and picking up the finish top two.
00:38:12
Emeka
Hasn't been that smooth riding so far. And coming off back-to-back losses in the Premier League, coming off three games in a row for red card. I mean, that's peak Arteta kind of stats I'm seeing from back in the day.
00:38:27
Emeka
They had a crushing 3-1 loss to Brighton at home. Got smacked by more Danny Welbecks with a brace. And then Mourinho came back to Stanford Bridge with Benfica. And then Chelsea still managed to get a 1-0 win in one of the most boring games I have seen.
00:38:42
Emeka
And still snuck in a red card at the end there with Joe Pedro. I'll start with you, Chukwu. You know, you picked Chelsea to finish second, i i believe. You know, we're all hype on them. I was hype on them, too.
00:38:54
Emeka
We're now eight games in. They're eighth in the league, two wins, two draws, two losses, eight goals conceded, 11 goals scored, you know, one win, one draw in the Champions League.
00:39:06
Emeka
How would you rate Chelsea's season so far?
00:39:12
Chuku
I mean, would have to say, you know it's just been a situation where, you know, they have suffered an injury run season so far, you know. It's definitely, you have to be disappointed if you're a Chelsea fan from what you've seen so far because, you know, the the issue that Chelsea has, in my opinion, is just for a team that has spent the kind of money they have spent, I just don't understand or I don't get how,
00:39:37
Chuku
their squad just doesn't feel as complete, you know? Like, they just I just don't feel like they have – it's crazy to say this because they've bought so many players, but for some reason, for with all the players they've been able to buy and purchase, they really don't feel like a team that's like, you know, that has options like that, you know, in in terms of quality options at least to to come in and fill in for, you know,
00:39:42
Chino Onwuka
really agree with you that
00:39:47
Chino Onwuka
you i really agree with you though you
00:40:04
Chuku
for the for these injured injur players that they have. Like, the fact that yeah you're playing a Buonanotte for a Palmer when he's out is just like, I mean, look, end of the day, I just think I was definitely off with my early season predict predictions, and thinking that this was going to be know chance for Chelsea to know take a step up.
00:40:30
Chuku
from our build on, you know, on the fourth plate finish that they had last season. The fact that, you know, again, the like I said, spent all this money and there's still questions about, you know, having a top class goalkeeper.
00:40:42
Chuku
having a top-class striker, you know having a top-class center back, these are things that are just – it doesn't make any sense to me. And at the of the day, I mean, I still think – I still consider them easily to be a top-six team or top-six side.
00:40:58
Chuku
But I just think the distance between them and the new sort the Man City's, Arsenal's, and Liverpool's of the world is definitely, definitely clear.
00:41:09
Chuku
There's a gap there. There's definitely a gap. And crazy to think with, again, the amount of money that they've spent, but Chelsea just aren't ready to compete at the highest level when it comes to, you know, a trophy like winning in the league.
00:41:28
Chuku
They're just not just not there. But as far as, like, you know, putting themselves in a position to still compete and win, you know, knockout stage trophies, you know, they can do that. You know, they always, Chelsea, one of those teams, they always find a way, find ways to, you know, compete in those type of competitions.
00:41:47
Chuku
You know, and a lot a lot of that has to do with when they have their full first 11, you know, healthy, you know, they they can compete. But as right now, one you know, facing certain injuries and whatnot, it's just, they just don't look or resemble a team that is ready to,
00:42:05
Chuku
know fight for fight in all fronts when it comes to all competitions. And I definitely think that the you know with what I'm seeing from other teams so far this year, they're definitely going to struggle to maintain that top four.
00:42:17
Chuku
yeah They may not even get top four this season, but I still think they're good enough to get top six. So then not they the other teams are just – you know I'm sure we'll get to eventually that having just way worse seasons.
00:42:29
Chuku
But you know I just don't think Chelsea are are in a position as of right now to to say that they're a top contender when it comes to the the winning in the Premier League right now. no no not no not Not at this moment, always.
00:42:44
Emeka
I guess jumping off that point, Chinel, the question I have for you is, considering all the money Chelsea have spent, is saying that they're not at the stage of being Premier League contending team, would you consider that a disappointment?
00:43:00
Chino Onwuka
I'm just confused. Like, I'm really just confused when it comes to this Chelsea team because what we're seeing now, I think, is what we all expected last year.
00:43:11
Chino Onwuka
then last year, they proved us wrong. They went out, you know, had a good season, wind Conference League, win Club World Cup, okay? where We're seeing proof of the concept they're trying to do. And then now, when you come into the season, like, to Chukwu's point,
00:43:31
Chino Onwuka
you look at their team, you look at their bench and it's like, wait, like what is going on? Where did all this money go? And so, you know, to, to address your point, like, yeah, it is disappointing because i guess now I'm back to what I was thinking before is when you look at the larger picture
00:43:51
Chino Onwuka
with all these signings that they've made, like where's the stability in the team? Because When you look at who were, cole Palmer was their best player.
00:44:02
Chino Onwuka
He's injured. Levi Cole is one of their best players. He's injured. You know, one, you know, this just shows you like when you lose, when you have a lot of injuries to your your best players, it's really, really hard. And again, I'm not trying to make this about Arsenal all the time, but we know what that's like. But then, you know, with Arsenal, you can see the money based we've spent and you can see where it is within the team.
00:44:28
Chino Onwuka
With Chelsea, it's like, where did all that money go? Because we know they spent a lot of money. We know they bought a lot of players. Where are those players? And the first thing that came to me is I think of some of their better performers last year.
00:44:44
Chino Onwuka
Nicholas Jackson, for as much you know grief he gets, was one of their best players. He's gone. Okay, who else was one of their better performers last year, even though was bit frustrating?
00:44:57
Chino Onwuka
Noni Madueke. He's gone. So you do this thing where you buy players young, you build them up, but you build them up not so that when they're now finally good, they then help to contribute to your team. No, you build them up to sell them so that you can afford the next 16, 17, 18 year old that you have. And then it just becomes a cycle. Instead of building upwards, they've almost taken step forward to take a step back. And so I think that aspect is disappointing because, okay, sure. You know, Gittins is young.
00:45:31
Chino Onwuka
He's very talented by the time he gets good, you know, are they then just going to sell him so that they can buy the next kit? And I think that's, you know, looking at it now, that's the that's the bit that, you know, as a Chelsea fan, I would probably be frustrated about because, you know, I follow a lot of Chelsea fans. I see what they do. And a lot of the time, they spend...
00:45:52
Chino Onwuka
a lot of their weekends watching other teams because that's where a lot of their players are. there The money they've spent, the players that they're excited about are playing for Strasburg or playing for their sister teams elsewhere or are on loan at Sporting. You know, Quenda, Kendri Payas, you know, they're goalkeepers.
00:46:12
Chino Onwuka
They're either not playing for Chelsea. They were playing for Chelsea before and now they've sold them to to afford more youngsters and it's like, what's the... in this stage right now with the 2 billion spent, your team should be, even in spite of injuries, your team should be better than this.
00:46:34
Emeka
No, 100%. And, like, the the Jackson thing, like, yeah, you know, extraordinary circumstances, blah, blah, blah. But you can't tell me they would not have been appreciably better off. as you did They just kept Nico Jackson.
00:46:48
Emeka
Because now you're telling me you're you're starting Tyreek George as a striker in the Champions League. This is a guy who was, like, 10 minutes away from going to Fulham on deadline day. Now, all of a sudden, he's starting for any Champions League? Like, it's...
00:47:00
Emeka
Incredible the amount of money they've spent and like you guys have mentioned just how little there is to show for it and if they were an NBA team I feel like Charles Barkley be on TV saying this team needs vets They really do need to stop buying kids. There's way too many kids now Bring in a Tiago Silva type guy just an old man who can actually settle the boys down and Have some veteran presence in here because I just don't like what Enzo Fernandez and most guys say they were your vets and You know what saying? Like, Reece James is your vet. Like, these are young guys themselves.
00:47:33
Emeka
So, it's it's just a weird mix to have there in Chelsea. And I was high on them. Like, as you mentioned it, man, the year before, we thought they would struggle and they ended up doing pretty decent. And now we're all high on them and they're struggling a little bit.
00:47:49
Emeka
I'm sure they you might put it together eventually, but... When I'm seeing a team, I don't see a team that i had $2 billion spent.
Champions League Highlights and Premier League Underperformance
00:47:57
Emeka
That's really it. And, you know, Maresca, I thought you were a bald fraud last year. and Maybe you proved me wrong and you showed something. But, yeah, I'm really, really curious to see how it goes out.
00:48:07
Emeka
And, like, my man Chukutidup, we have an interesting game this Saturday. fact, this is a Sunday fixture for some reason. I don't know why. But I'm glad it's on Saturday. At Stanford Bridge, Chelsea hosting Liverpool.
00:48:21
Emeka
Two teams who really could use a win. get Our game of the week, as we do on this podcast, we always love to pick a game and keep it a tally. It's been close competition between me and Chino so far.
00:48:34
Emeka
Chico's just united in the dust. hope Maybe see we if he can bounce back. So I'll start with you then, Chico. At Stanford Bridge, give me your prediction. Chelsea at Liverpool.
00:48:45
Emeka
What's the result?
00:48:47
Chuku
This might be a little bit more heart than head, a little bit. But you know what? na One thing I've realized, chelsea oh Chelsea do be giving Liverpool a game. you know They do really do be giving Liverpool games whenever they you know they they play.
00:49:04
Chuku
And, you know, Lavia is back. you know Lavia has risen. And he's always, for for whatever reason, always finds a way to come come back just to play this Liverpool team for some reason. i don't know what it is, but I just think, you know, Chelsea will do enough.
00:49:24
Chuku
This Liverpool defence can just still get got, you know, in the counter. Chelsea's still got enough quality with Jaap Pedro and that Brazilian Esteval. I think, you know, 1-1.
00:49:36
Chuku
i think i think you know one one 1-1. Well, I think a draw. 1-1 would be a fair result. Yeah. I'm going to go with 1-1.
00:49:47
Emeka
Interesting. I thought you were going a step further. my My heart would love a 1-1, even a 2-1 Chelsea win, but I just think Liverpool aren't losing two games in a row. They're angry.
00:50:01
Emeka
Slot's going to go back to formula. We're going to see it last year's midfield, and it's going to be a 2-1 Liverpool win. Salah comes back. think Worts gets his first goal contribution off the bench as well the end game, so I'm going to go 2-1 Liverpool.
00:50:15
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I think it's going to be two one or 3-1 Liverpool. I just, I don't know. At some point, like something's got to give between Wurt, Salah and Izak. You know, I think Izak's the one I'm looking for here. I think he's going to get a goal or two in this game, you know, looking at Chelsea's defense.
00:50:33
Chino Onwuka
You know, so I just think, live I think it might might be something where it's a pretty even game, but I think just that quality that you know, Liverpool have, you know, will will make the difference.
00:50:46
Emeka
I hope you're wrong, but it is what it is. Well, I'm going to be locked in on Saturday. I'll tell you that for free. Cannot wait to see how that game goes. Before we move on to other teams in the Premier League, I mentioned at the top, it was a Champions League week.
00:51:01
Emeka
lot of games happened. a lot of football was played. Any thoughts to stand out from the the Champions League fixtures that happened? I'll just give a quick one. And par Paris Saint-Germain, a football institution that's been slandered for years and years and years. And my goodness, they just spawned in these French kids and I know they won the Champions League last year and they got their flowers, but I'm give them more flowers because PSG would have the team injured, rocked up in the camp now, or Olympico Stadium, I guess, and gave Barcelona a game and beat them 2-1. And that was just a fantastic performance.
00:51:40
Emeka
I was so impressed by Yulu. I learned a new guy today because he looked fantastic. All these other guys they have on the bench. Ramos got the last goal. like It's just PSG. Props to you guys, man. and Like Chelsea, this is the model should be looking after.
00:51:54
Emeka
Yeah, you can buy young players, but how about you buy young players to so play for you instead of buying young players to sell? So, yeah, that's just my quick thoughts on the the week. PSG, flowers off, man. Great performance against Barcelona.
00:52:07
Emeka
Any other thoughts from the midweek fixtures?
00:52:11
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, just two quick ones for me. One, you know, Man City, you know, and it's been a weird start to the season for them. So the even though they dominate the game, you know, disappointing 2-2 draw against Monaco. But you did have Erling Haaland scoring two goals, which leads me to my second point is I'm loving this quote-unquote battle we're seeing between My top three number nines, Haaland, Kane, and Mbappe, who are going goal for goal, you know, in every game. You know, Haaland scored two, Mbappe, what was it, two or three.
00:52:49
Chino Onwuka
Kane scored a hat trick.
00:52:49
Emeka
Hat-trick.
00:52:51
Chino Onwuka
Kane scored a couple as well. So love to see it
00:52:55
Emeka
really is the season of the nine. Like, no, fair point. Those are the three best plays in the world by far right now. i think it's fair to say. And they've been on fire. Juku anything?
00:53:07
Chuku
No, think as I said it all, man, I think the be the biggest things for me were just the the nines, man. The Mbappes, the Hollands, the Harry Kanes.
00:53:17
Chuku
Hell, even though the Gaurasi, man, Dortmund, bro, they've been playing ball this season. Even look at Napoli with the Breuna and Hoyland, like,
00:53:29
Chuku
Yeah, I've been impressed. I've been impressed with some of the footballs I've been i've been watching. So the Nines are making an appearances, you know, and, you know, it's going to be – I'm just excited to see it's going to look like in the knockout stages. But I'm getting ahead of myself right now. But, yeah, no, there's been a lot of good football being played in the Champions League so far. has's been – I don't know of you guys been noticing, but, like, there's been a lot of goals getting scored.
00:53:55
Chuku
in the Champions League. You know, like every every game is having at least two goals, typically, you know, in it. So i mean I'm enjoying the football. I'm enjoying the, you know, the goals. I'm just enjoying seeing quality football back, you know. And, yeah, I'm interested to see, you know, where the knockout stage is going to take us this year, you know.
00:54:15
Chuku
So, yeah.
00:54:17
Emeka
Yeah, know. A lot of goals. and I think because of how the new group stage is, it's not before with the home and away. If you're the away team, you just sit deep and, oh we'll get them in the home leg. But now it's eight games against eight different teams, and might as well go for it. A loss isn't the end of the world. So if you go for it and you lose, hey, on to the next one.
00:54:35
Emeka
And I'm loving it, man. this is I love Champions League football. And there's some juicy fixtures coming up in the next couple rounds. So, hey, more and more to look forward to. Well, going from the positives to the somewhat negatives, I looked at the table recently and I noticed that the teams above relegation all, I think, entered the season, and granted as much as very early, but 14 to 17 in the Premier League, I feel all entered the season with hopes of finishing top four or top four adjacent.
00:55:07
Emeka
And that is Man U, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa. And they all sit just above the relegation zone. So I thought it would be a fun question to raise with the boys of of these four teams that came in spending big money, and except Villa, and have lofty expectations. all you know Besides Man U, three of them play in Europe.
00:55:27
Emeka
Struggling so far in the Premier League and wanted to even fire their manager. But that's neither here nor there. Of these four teams, which one do you have the most faith in to finish top five or so, we having a strong finish to end of the season?
00:55:41
Emeka
And which one do you have the least faith in and do you think is going to struggle? Let's start with, let's be positive, the most faith in. Of all these four teams, I'll start with you, Chinna, Man U, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa.
00:55:53
Emeka
What team do you have the most faith in to finish the season strong?
00:55:57
Chino Onwuka
The team i have the most faith in is, and this isn't even hard for me, is easily Newcastle. I think, you know, there are ops. I'm glad we were able to beat them last weekend, but I think they're a good team.
00:56:10
Chino Onwuka
You know, I think they have a good coach. They have a good spine. You know, they even even though it took a little bit of time, they bought some good players. The only thing that can really hinder them is is depth sometimes, Adam.
00:56:22
Chino Onwuka
They addressed that a little bit. I think we just got news that Wissa, his injury is going to be out a lot longer. But, you know, when I look at the football that they're playing, everything around them, if they can stay healthy, it's definitely Newcastle.
00:56:36
Emeka
Yeah, but i thought I'm with you. I think it's pretty easily Newcastle. Maybe you you can argue Ashton Villa because of the manager, of but you know I just want to give a quick shout-out to the man, Volta Messi. I heard all the Bundesliga fans were telling me how much to overpay and, oh, you only have six good months, but sometimes you've got to take a risk and sign someone a little early, and it's looking like that because this guy...
00:57:00
Emeka
For a guy who's 6'6", he's a dribbler. I love a good big man who can dribble. He's literally the German Peter Crouch, and I've been loving watching him. I think as yeah they get more, you know, they had a lot of unfortunate games to start the year and a lot of struggles.
00:57:16
Emeka
I think as they get more match fitness and get more accustomed to it, like this is a team that's going to actually make some noise this year. Kind of had already started with the Champions League midweek, smacking up Union Saint-Germain or whatever the team is in French,
00:57:28
Emeka
It's going to be a lot more results like that as the season goes on. So, yeah, I'm with you. I think Newcastle the team I have the most faith in. you are Was this a 3-for-3 with you, Chico? What team do you have?
00:57:38
Chuku
I think it's easily Newcastle by far, man. Newcastle, definitely. I think they definitely struggled early on without having that, you know, playing with no striker. And, you know, with the addition of, you know, Walter Made and...
00:57:54
Chuku
We we saw about to join the folds. I just think they're in line to to you know take votes to the next step. And i I just want to just say, man, I can't believe a team like Newcastle really has a player like Tonali, bro. I think people need to honestly, like, if you ever have a chance to watch Newcastle, watch Tonali, man, because that's that's a prime midfielder right there. I'm just a fan of his game.
00:58:20
Chuku
And I just think, yeah, new Newcastle are easily primed to vault up those tables in the coming weeks as as they get healthier. And, you know, their striker, big purchase striker starts to don get more acclimated to the league.
00:58:37
Chuku
I just think they're you know they have a good enough squad. i like their defense. I've always been a fan of their defense. And, you know, I think they suffered from, you know, a rough or a tough start right to the year with some of the teams that they were playing. But I just think, yeah, like giving some time to adjust and get healthy and, you know, get some. you know, some more games and under their belt, I think Nikas will definitely vote through the table and we it won't be shocking to see them in top six considerations come, you know, come end of the year.
00:59:13
Chuku
That's for sure.
00:59:15
Emeka
Well, going from positive to negative, I'll stick with you. And I suspect all have the same answer, but maybe i maybe I'll be surprised. But Chukwu, of those three teams, I guess, taking on Newcastle, what team do you have the least faith in to turn things around and to languish at near the bottom of the table?
00:59:32
Chuku
Just confirm were those three teams just to make sure. I'll just make sure.
00:59:35
Emeka
Man U, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa.
00:59:40
Chuku
It's got to be not enough for us, man. I'm sorry, man. Not enough for us. They're just like... yeah i know i I just think Miami at some point, I know it's looking sticky, but they just got too much quality up front to not figure it out. I just think they'll eventually... i mean, it's not going to be pretty. It's not going to be like top four, top six, but they will definitely go out the the that escape zone.
01:00:10
Chuku
But for me, with Forrest, I just don't – I don't know. i don't know. Ange Ball, like, the Firing Nuno, Haring Ange, the vibes over there has just been just stinky. And I just think, you know, it's crept onto the pitch – with the players, even over the weekend with the result when they played, can't pronounce their team name, but they lost you know their eu Europa match competition over the week over the past weekend. It's just been just bad vibes over there. So I just think there's something to continue.
01:00:46
Chuku
I don't know how they're going out of this. And yeah, I'm not a fan of what they have going on. so My pick will have to be Donna Forrest, man. They're looking stinky.
01:00:59
Emeka
I don't think we actually talked on the podcast about that decision to fire Nuno and hire Ange, but I'm with you for us as a team. and For me, a guy who's very low on Man U, the fact that I'm picking Forrest says a lot because I think Man U are stuck, but my goodness, I think the decision to fire Nuno and go with Ange could not have been more stupid from that Greek guy. Don't sue me.
01:01:21
Emeka
But like this the opposite man like the complete opposite manager, and to do that in mid-season, is absurd, and you're so right, Juku. The vibes are awful, and they've sunk onto the pitch, and it would not shock me if Angie's fired before Christmas, even though you got... like I love the guy as an entertainment product, but...
01:01:43
Emeka
He finished 17th of Spurs. i don't Don't tell me about winning Europa League. The Premier League is what you get paid to do, and they finished 17th. And that manager is not going to be coaching Nottingham Forest, and you're telling me he's going to do well with that?
01:01:57
Emeka
Not a chance. I think he's going to get ugly. And if they don't shape up with how good the newly promoted teams are, They might be fighting relegation, and I would be ashamed after how good they've been so far in the league, of how much money they've spent, and all the dreams they've had.
01:02:14
Emeka
Better hope things turn around fast because, yeah it would not shock me if by, you know, March or April, there they're scrapping to get 30, 40 points trying to stay up. Again, it's going to be three for three. What team do you have?
01:02:27
Chino Onwuka
I am so surprised because I thought you you guys were both going to mention United and I was going to be the one to bring up Forrest because like it's Forrest for me and it says a lot that with everything going on at United, with everything going on with Amarim, to me, just everything about Ant is just worse. Like when you think about a lot of the things people say about Amarim, how stubborn he is he's he keeps talking about I'm gonna stick to the way I play you know regardless even though clearly it's not working so far and things have changed you those same accusations need to be leveled at Ange because he's he does the same thing and to me it sort of comes off a bit more arrogant than Amorim's does and I don't know whether it's just some lingering Tottenham Hotspur stink on him but
01:03:25
Chino Onwuka
you know like I thought his quote was cold and he backed it up, but the only reason he backed it up is because he was playing against Amorim. I don't know. He just irritates me.
01:03:38
Chino Onwuka
he he I think he thinks he's bigger than what he is. He thinks he's he's more than he is. like and you know When I think about you know why is it a worse situation than Manchester United,
01:03:50
Chino Onwuka
You know, at least in Manchester United, they went from something that wasn't working to something else that isn't working, but then maybe there's hope that it will work. At Forest, you're going from a guy who I'm sure the players loved, a situation that was working. He had them fighting for Champions League, got them into Europe, and then for reasons that...
01:04:15
Chino Onwuka
are a bit shady. Maybe it's Edu. Maybe it's the coach. He gets let go really suddenly at the beginning of the season. like i like to me, like how is that affecting the players? One, two, it's a dramatic change of styles. Are the players going to buy into it? Because you know maybe at Tottenham, it started off well, so everyone thought maybe we could work. But you know if I'm a Forest player and I just watched everything that happened to Tottenham the previous season, why would I Why would i buy into anything that Ange says in the Premier League when do we know what it's... so Yeah, i'm I'm just confused. that that's That's a whole mess to me.
01:04:53
Emeka
Alright, literally nailed it. The the vibes are just awful and that's why I picked Forrest too because exactly what you said. It's one thing when you're following a manager who struggled and got fired like Avarin is doing because there's always going to be the, okay, well, listen, things were bad before him.
01:05:10
Emeka
But when you have a successful manager, a popular manager, and you fire him over some nonsense, now you bring in another guy, that guy better be good because if he struggles, there's just going to be so many eye rolls in the in the locker room like, what but is this clown doing here? and Arrogance is the word to describe Aj, man. Again, he called his shot, so he's going to get that forever.
01:05:34
Emeka
He won the trophy the second season. I'm going to bring it up again. They finished 17th. Tottenham Hotspurs. Say what you want about them. They are a respectable top six club, and my guy had them finishing 17th.
01:05:48
Emeka
Awful season and now you put giving him a much worse squad that was very much overachieving last year and you're giving a guy who very much underachieved the year before it's just a recipe for disaster I like Forrest. I don't know. Even though they're before my time, they have the institution, the history, and I like to see them stay up. I would like to see them succeed.
01:06:10
Emeka
i They better get rid of Ange pretty fast, is all I can say, because he just doesn't fit the philosophy of the team.
NFL Discussions and Predictions
01:06:19
Emeka
It's to such a mismatch. and you It can get ugly pretty fast. Six games now, no wins.
01:06:27
Emeka
His own fans are chanting and he's getting sacked in the morning. He's giving the classic interviews he always loves when he's staring at the floor and being all sarcastic. It's not a great vibe. And oh boy, this can get ugly very fast if this continues. But hey, well, Premier League, things can change fast and have a great squad. So we'll see what happens.
01:06:48
Emeka
You know, here love of the game. You know, what we love the game. We love ball. It's not just soccer. We always we'd love NFL, too. In the last podcast, we had a segment, True or False, where I asked my esteemed co-host some questions about the NFL, and they told me whether they agree or not.
01:07:04
Emeka
And I liked it so much, we're bringing to back again on this episode. and Coming live after week five of the NFL season, we now have a little bit more data. We have a little bit more, you know,
01:07:16
Emeka
information in a data set to to make these predictions. And I'm going ask my co-hosts six questions about the league. And I'm curious to see whether they agree or it's true or whether they think it's false or, and it's not.
01:07:29
Emeka
First question is hot off the presses following last night's Thursday Night Football game. If you haven't seen it, it was a fantastic, fantastic game. The 49ers beat the Rams on a last-minute fourth down stop. And everyone on TV I'm seeing so far is popping off and saying, well, why did the 49ers go back to Brock Party? Look at Matt Jones, blah, blah, blah. Well, I guess I bring it up here. I'll ask the team, true or false,
01:07:58
Emeka
Brock Purdy is a system quarterback.
01:08:01
Chino Onwuka
I guess I'll go first. True.
01:08:04
Emeka
True. Interesting.
01:08:06
Chino Onwuka
True. Like, okay let me let me let me explain. Let me elaborate. property look Just because someone is a system quarterback doesn't mean they're a bad quarterback.
01:08:22
Chino Onwuka
But I think Broke Purdy has benefited a lot from being incubated in that Shanahan system where you know there's a lot of answers for him. He's had a lot of weapons now.
01:08:37
Chino Onwuka
what made bro pretty good is that he was able to certain times he's been able to go off script and elevate those plays but we've all also seen a lot in when he goes off script too many times then he starts throwing stupid interceptions and he doesn't have the physical kill capabilities to match you know the the dog that he has in him so you know you're you're I just think there are certain guys that have, and it's not their fault, have come up in really good environments. And I think, and I'm not saying he's not talented, but he's definitely benefited from that environment. And if you put other...
01:09:22
Chino Onwuka
pretty good quarterbacks in that same system. They will flourish as much or if not more than what Purdy has done, which is still a remarkable achievement for him because he was missed or irrelevant the last pick in the draft. So again, I'm saying he's a good quarterback, but you know put him in Tennessee, it going to look...
01:09:46
Chino Onwuka
much better than what we're seeing from a rookie quarterback. I don't know. I don't think so. I'll put it that way.
01:09:53
Emeka
Wow, Juku, true or false to you, Brock Brady's the system quarterback.
01:09:59
Chuku
Yes. Yeah, I think that's an easy easy answer. I think he's definitely, in my opinion at least, you know, a product of Kyle Shanahan-led system that I think we've seen many thrive in that system.
01:10:17
Chuku
And, I mean, look, the fact that the fact is yesterday we can literally see it. Mark Jones was moving the ball like against a very, you know,
01:10:28
Chuku
Granted, I mean, look, I'm pretty certain that the Rams are still considered to have a pretty, I won't say elite, but pretty damn good defense. And he was making them look like, you know, Swiss cheese out there, the way he was cutting through them so easily so at at certain times.
01:10:46
Chuku
And and this is this is with a San Fran team that pretty much had little to no wide receivers playing that game. They had to rely on a Kendrick Bourne, was backfield,
01:10:57
Chuku
Balling out of his mind. And I mean, even Mike Jones looked good. So, I mean, for me, I just think, yeah, I think to me it's an easy yes.
01:11:07
Chuku
In my opinion, Brock Purdy definitely is a system quarterback. And nothing wrong with that because looks good in that system.
01:11:13
Emeka
i'm wrong with that good message
01:11:15
Chuku
know what saying?
01:11:16
Emeka
but say I guess I'll be the lone guy sticking up from a man bleep bleep because i love I love me some Purdy. I'm biased. I always admit admit it. I think system QB is derogatory term because everyone's a system QB. If you really, know, what's a system QB?
01:11:32
Emeka
Does he benefit from playing under Kyle Shanahan? Absolutely. Kyle Shanahan is that guy. But so does Matt Stafford benefit from playing under McVeigh. He's not a system QB. Purdy is very good.
01:11:44
Emeka
Mack Jones, what Shanahan can do is he can scheme guys open. And yeah... But when you watch that game, Mac Jones was just, and God bless him, me you know, Niners are struggling to survive right now, so I'm not holding against them.
01:11:58
Emeka
He was just hitting guys underneath for five, six, seven yards to move the chains. Purdy drives the ball deep. That's why i always get mad when people call him a system QB. Purdy, like Chinov said, makes plays off schedule.
01:12:10
Emeka
Scrambles and throws deep and, show up to his recklessness, sometimes gets caught as a gunslinger and makes mistakes, but he's not just a guy who just is a check down Charlie like Mack Jones. that's That's the only reason why i defend him and not call him a system QB because he is a playmaker.
01:12:27
Emeka
He goes out of his way to try to win the game on his shoulders, and sometimes it backfires, but hey, a lot of the times it works. But that being said, listen, Cal Shanahan can have us thrown for 200 yards in the game because he can scheme guys open.
01:12:41
Emeka
Shout out to Shana Plan. And, you know, you have anything to add?
01:12:46
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I guess the only thing I'll say, you don't get you said like, you know, pro every QB is a system quarterback. Like the way I think about it is you have certain quarterbacks in which the system is built around them and their capabilities and their talents, right?
01:13:01
Chino Onwuka
Versus other quarterbacks where you need the system to make them look good. And I think there's just a a handful of quarterbacks in that first category that I mentioned. And that's what I mean by by system quarterback.
01:13:13
Chuku
Thank you.
01:13:15
Emeka
And fair enough. like Again, I think it's a certain derogatory term. But if you really think about it, like the GOAT is a system QB. Brady definitely benefited off to the New England system for a lot of his career. But I just think for me, I view a system QB as a guy who can only make plays within the confines of an offense. And there's some QBs who have that a little extra.
01:13:36
Emeka
And Purdy has a little extra to me. And guess San Fran thought so because they gave him $50 million. dollars So, hey, who knows?
01:13:43
Chino Onwuka
let let me let me give you an example like i'm talking about current stage russ is not a system qb by your definition he's someone one that likes to do things off script and sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't work because he doesn't have the minerals to back up what he's trying to do and i think
01:13:57
Emeka
I agree.
01:14:07
Chino Onwuka
Purdy right now is a little bit 50-50 in that area and that, again, he has a lot of talent. So a lot of time he works and he pushes for it. But, you know, I'm just looking at that Jacksonville game and yeah, he probably wasn't healthy, but like he was throwing some ducks out there. And that's not the first time I've seen that happen or where he tries to bite off a little bit more than he can chew.
01:14:29
Emeka
Man, we could spend 50 minutes on this pretty thing. well I'm going to be the bigger man. going to let it go. I'm going to let it go. The next topic we have, true or false, and I'll stick with you, Chinon. The Pittsburgh Steelers will win the AFC North.
01:14:44
Emeka
True or false?
01:14:47
Chino Onwuka
Oh man, and this is interesting because I'm the one that gave the hot take that they weren't going to make the playoffs, their streak was going to end.
01:14:55
Emeka
That's why I started with you.
01:14:56
Chino Onwuka
So i I'm going to have faith that the Ravens are going to come back. I think i think that they probably dug themselves too much of a hole, but It's a long season. Who knows what can happen?
01:15:11
Chino Onwuka
in my head, like not even look at the record, it's like Ravens still got to be the team that wins the AFC North. We know it's not going to be the Browns. We know it's probably not going to be the Bengals.
01:15:23
Chino Onwuka
Can Pittsburgh keep playing as well as they are? you know When you look at Aaron Rodgers, you know, surface stats, they look good. But when you look at all the underlying numbers, EPA for play success rate, it's still coming up very average. So how sustainable is it? But can their defense, you know, maybe they have a good formula in that he has a good defense.
01:15:49
Chino Onwuka
I know he just needs to play average or above average. But, man, I've got got stick to my stick to my gun, stick to my prediction. No, they will not because they ain't going make the playoffs.
01:16:02
Emeka
It's so funny. like The Steelers are 3-1.
01:16:06
Chuku
Beautiful.
01:16:08
Emeka
The Ravens are And yet, Vegas have the Ravens... No, the 1-3 and Lamar is injured and probably misses the next two weeks. And yet, Vegas still has the Ravens to be the favorites to win the division.
01:16:20
Emeka
That just shows you how little they had believe in the Steelers. And im I put this question in there because that shocked me when I saw the Ravens were favorites. And I kind of get where they're coming from, but...
01:16:31
Emeka
I just think we got it we let the names distract us from what our eyes are seeing. The Baltimore Ravens are not good. I'm sorry. They are really not good. Their de defense is terrible. And you're telling me the MVP, Lamar, is going to miss two extra games and they're already one in three?
01:16:46
Emeka
Even if the Steelers finish 500, that's going to be enough to win the division. So I think, sadly, it is true. The Steelers sneak it out and just get smashed by whatever team they play in the playoffs because the Steelers are not good.
01:16:59
Emeka
It just so happens this is the year from hell from the Ravens. Just one injury too many. And i don't I don't think they can rebound. and If Lamar was healthy, maybe. But, yeah, don't think I don't think they're going to come back to to win the division. So I'm going say Steelers win this AFC North.
01:17:16
Emeka
Chukwu, Steelers win the AFC North, true or false?
01:17:21
Chuku
Boss, again, you forget who's the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
01:17:29
Emeka
Mr. Aaron Rodgers, four-time MVP, future Hall of Famer.
01:17:33
Chuku
And how old is Aaron Rodgers?
01:17:36
Emeka
Ooh, 42 years old i think.
01:17:40
Chuku
I believe it's safe to say that, you know, we don't expect too much pocket maneuvering from a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers. Is that fair to say?
01:17:49
Emeka
i I think that's fair to say. He's got some Ayushka. You never know, man. The old bones, they get a little loose.
01:17:56
Chuku
All right, well, all I can tell you is this is the same man I seen last season get injured before the snap or after it was the first snap of the game and was done for the entire season last year.
01:18:10
Chuku
That was just last year.
01:18:10
Emeka
That was two years ago.
01:18:11
Chuku
And one thing that's shown, or tuesday two years ago, two years ago, sorry, two years ago.
01:18:12
Emeka
soon
01:18:16
Chuku
And the thing about it is and when you get to an age past 40, playing the sport of NFL, you know, National Football League, All it takes is one hit, one bad hit, and that's wraps.
01:18:30
Chuku
And if Aaron Rodgers goes down, that's the Pittsburgh season, in my opinion, in the books. Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson, yes, I know he's out. I know he's down. He's only suspect expected to be out two weeks.
01:18:44
Chuku
He's called out the Baltimore defense, who I still think have a better defense than Pittsburgh. But the issue is they're dealing with huge injuries to key players.
01:18:56
Chuku
And i know he's asking a lot. This is a lot ifs and ads and buts. But the reality is, if the steeler sorry if the if the Ravens can just find a way to get healthy for the second half of the season, they can easily win enough games to catch up.
01:19:15
Chuku
and, know, take over as number one seed in this division. And it's not like I suspect, i i don't expect Pittsburgh Steelers to go on a crazy run. I know they have a positive record right now at this moment in time, but quite frankly, I just don't see them going on on a crazy run to get, you know, uh,
01:19:36
Chuku
11-12 wins. I just don't see it. So if Lamar can come back and they can hit the ground running once he's back, because again, you know, Lamar has lost some close games, games they shouldn't have lost due to some fumbles.
01:19:52
Chuku
But if they can get that together, you know, there's enough quality on this Ravens team to go on a winning streak to win at least nine games. And that could be enough to see them through and be number one. So quite frankly, to answer your question, I'll have to say at this moment in time, I still believe in Ravens and I'm not picking the Steelers long-term to be the number one in this division.
01:20:18
Emeka
Hey, I definitely agree. I think nine wins will do it. Like, I do think the Steelers are terrible. I just think the Ravens are one injury too many. But, hey, we'll see. If Lamar comes back healthy, they win nine wins. I appreciate they won the division. I'll agree with you on that.
01:20:33
Emeka
when We started with Chinon. want to end Chinon on this next one because this next question is, will the Jags, the Jags, Jacksonville Jaguars, will win the AFC South?
01:20:44
Emeka
And I'm just going to say, you know what? True. I like Cohen. You know, and people made the jokes of the Duval when he had his intro press conference and he was fighting with Trevor Lawrence week one.
01:20:56
Emeka
I like what they're building in Jacksonville. I like what they're building over there. They look decent. You know, everyone's making fun of Travis Hunter, not doing anything. But who needs Travis Hunter when you've got all these random guys, you know, showing out ETN's looking good, the defense's looking decent.
01:21:11
Emeka
I think so. And more importantly, I don't believe in the c Colts. And I think this Daniel Jones thing is going to end horribly for them. Not half the season. The Texans are terrible. The Titans are really terrible. In fact, so terrible that QB is calling them ass.
01:21:25
Emeka
By default, almost, I think the Jags are going win 10 or 11 games. And that should be enough to get them into the playoffs again. You know, I'm not happy for my Jacksonville fans and Trevor Lawrence and everybody. It's going to a feel-good season. So, yeah, I'm agreeing with this.
01:21:40
Emeka
Chukwu, Jacksonville Jaguars will win the AFC South. True or false?
01:21:47
Chuku
False. they They will come close. They'll come close, but I just think you're you're already writing off Daniel Jones. I'm here to tell you that we're looking at the comeback player of the year.
01:22:00
Chuku
I think Daniel Jones is going to, know, he's finish the season strong. He's going to a good season. He's going to win comeback player of the year.
01:22:10
Chuku
He's going to have the Colts win 10 games, and I think that's going to be enough for them to get – number one seed in in this division. And I'm seeing a resurgence in Jonathan Taylor, man. This dude is unbelievable.
01:22:25
Chuku
Like, I just, people just forgot about this dude. i know he's been injury ridden, you know, to start of his career, but this brother is arguably,
01:22:35
Chuku
top three running back in the league making a case to be the best running back as of right now but I just think he's been amazing we've we've been knowing about the Indy you know in the Indy offensive line they have a really strong line and people want to act as if you know in the end got no weapons last I checked Michael Pittman was one of our top wide receivers not that long ago I like what they have, you know, guys like Alec Pierce, this Mitchell kid, and Josh Downs that, you know, has been coming back from injury himself and start starting to pick things up.
01:23:15
Chuku
I just think there's enough weapons in Indy to sustain Daniel Jones with the coaching staff and, the and and the you know, the offensive line that, you know, can help protect, and we've seen how important that is.
01:23:28
Chuku
when it comes to, you know, to to to the NFL. I just think, yeah, no I'm seeing, and, you know, that addition of Tyler Warren as well, he's looking like the next Travis Kelsey, you know, Gronk hybrid, whatever you want to call it.
01:23:45
Chuku
Like, it's, Indy got something that good going on, and I just think, uh, This is not something that's a blip. I think this is something that's here to stay. And, yeah, I have indeed winning that division as of right now.
01:24:02
Emeka
As always, Chano, and if you, Jacksonville Jaguars, your Jacksonville Jaguars, will win the AFC South, true or false.
01:24:11
Chino Onwuka
Nah, this is so weird. Like talking about Jags on a podcast, like it's so weird trying to talk about the Jags with other people, even people who really follow football, because I don't care what people say.
01:24:25
Chuku
I don't care what I'm talking about.
01:24:26
Chino Onwuka
People really don't know what's going on with the Jags. People, apart from Monday night football, when they watch the game, the only time people see anything about the Jags is the few times one of our plays comes up on red zone because no one is just watching a Jags game solo. so I don't think people really know enough about the Jags to re discuss.
01:24:49
Chino Onwuka
My thoughts are, I think we're going to make the playoffs. I still think the Colts will win the division. i think we have a better team than the Colts overall, but the Colts have a much easier schedule than we do. You know, just looking at the fixtures, the Jags still have to play,
01:25:09
Chino Onwuka
Again, we play Chiefs on Monday Night Football. That's probably a loss. And the two games right after that are against the Seahawks and the Rams. Those are both tough teams, you know, West Coast teams. So there's going to be some travel involved. And then we still have the Chargers and Broncos after that because we have to play the AFC West. Meanwhile, looking at the Colts schedule, looking at some of the tougher games for them.
01:25:39
Chino Onwuka
You know, they have the Chargers as well. They've already played the Rams. They've already beaten the Broncos. So I think, actually, just looking at it, I think we play the same teams.
01:25:54
Chino Onwuka
It's just a different...
01:25:54
Emeka
to say you're the same division brother different
01:25:56
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, i'm looking at it, we play the same teams. It's just... So I think the Jags, I see like five difficult games where you know you give us five losses there.
01:26:09
Chino Onwuka
So that's six losses on the season, which would mean 11 wins. I don't know. I think they've gotten one of their tough games out of the way. you know We really should have beaten the Bengals if if you know Brian Thomas isn't going through whatever the hell he is he's going through.
01:26:25
Chino Onwuka
And so we lost to James Brown.
01:26:26
Emeka
Brother got PTSD, man.
01:26:28
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. So... Yeah, I think we'll make the playoffs. I think just by virtue of scheduling, the Colts will still win the division.
01:26:37
Emeka
Hey, I guess I'll be the only leader the only believer. Duvall. that still lot I still laugh at that. I still laugh at that every time. I don't know why. hey he's trying to fight Sala in the back.
01:26:48
Emeka
That's the coach I want to i play for, man. That's why i'm I'm just hyped on the Jags. I believe in you. I really do. Jokes aside, I believe in the Jags.
01:26:53
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I think i think we're going to see the like the takeaways are going regress a bit, but I think our offense will will do better. Yeah, exactly.
01:27:02
Emeka
yeah And that's my thing. The defense is so good that even if they take a step back, you have to assume the offense eventually will be decent at some point.
01:27:03
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
01:27:08
Chino Onwuka
yeah luck yeah
01:27:10
Emeka
But, hey, I believe, man. I believe. Another one coming off last night. i was watching the game, and my friend sent me a text, and I said, this is good podcast question.
01:27:23
Emeka
Puka Nakua is the best wide receiver in the National Football League, true or false? know it's near and dear to your heart, Chuku, so going to start with you.
01:27:33
Chuku
God bless you, bro. Because I've been so crazy because I've been on that puka train from the from the beginning. i don't know what it was.
01:27:46
Chuku
His first week, I'm pretty sure his first week, he put up 100-plus yards receiving. I'm pretty sure. for His first game in in the regular season. But either way,
01:27:57
Chuku
Boy, this guy has come a long way. I know last season, you know, he suffered from injuries that that didn't really help. But he still went healthy. He played good. He had good, you know, yeah, he had good games.
01:28:12
Chuku
Okay, so let me just make sure. I want to just make sure I understand this question fully, okay? when One more asking or saying he's the best, if he's the best wide receiver, right?
01:28:22
Chuku
Is this purely on like, like Are we factoring who's throwing him the ball? like what what are we like What are we factoring in this?
01:28:31
Emeka
that's That's up to you, big bro.
01:28:31
Chuku
in this
01:28:32
Chino Onwuka
and And the fact that you're doing all this rigmarole, that already tells me what the answer should be.
01:28:33
Emeka
It's up to you, big bro.
01:28:40
Chuku
Well, look, look, look. At the end the day, quite frankly, for me, yeah, for me, when I'm looking at a wide receiver purely based off of the individual talent player himself,
01:28:55
Chuku
I personally have A.J. Brown as the best wide receiver in the league.
01:29:00
Emeka
What?
01:29:01
Chuku
That's me personally.
01:29:02
Emeka
Oh, hey, very fair.
01:29:04
Chuku
That's me personally. If you're just looking at the wide receiver, right? Because, again, you have to if the factor are in the... If a if you swap A.J. Brown for Puka and you put A.J. Brown at with Stafford and them boys...
01:29:18
Chuku
AJ Brown would be doing re they kill i read sixless numbers we ridiculous
01:29:23
Chino Onwuka
so what you trying to say about So what are you trying to say about AJ Brown's quarterback?
01:29:27
Emeka
I mean, top five quarterback in the league.
01:29:28
Chuku
It's not about AJ Brown's quarterback. It's the system we run. is You have to factor these things. You have to factor these things.
01:29:35
Chino Onwuka
Okay. and I just want that clarification. Thank you.
01:29:39
Chuku
Sure, of course. But as far as what we're seeing Pukka do this year, I can understand why there could be a case made that he's having the best season as a wide receiver right now and with the kind of numbers he's pulling up.
01:29:55
Chuku
But again, yeah it's how you want is how you again freeze or want to look at that question. But I'm going to choose to look at it how I want to look at it as far as best receiver based off of just the individual talent itself.
01:30:13
Chuku
And if that's the case, I'm going to have to say no. And that's just because there's somebody named A.J. Brown that is placed for the Eagles. I just believe he's he's just something else. when what When he gets the ball, some of the things he's able to do after the catch with the build he has, I just think he's a monster.
01:30:31
Chuku
But Puka is, don't get me wrong, Puka is right there in my in my books. He is right there amongst the chase the you know the Jamar Chases of the world, Justin Jeffersons of the world.
01:30:43
Chuku
AJ Brown's of the world. I just think he's, you know, I personally just think the fact that, you know, he's shown that he doesn't have that diva trait, at least, I mean, to be fair, don't know, nothing much to be a diva about with the way he gets the ball or gets peppered the ball, you know, with targets.
01:31:03
Chuku
over and with the Rams. But regardless, I mean, he's just shown to just be a consistent player and he definitely should be in the conversations for, know, top three without a doubt. But I just think there's someone that wears the number 11 in the in the in Philadelphia Eagles jersey that I just think, yeah, he he's he's something else.
01:31:25
Chuku
And it's just unfortunate that he plays in a team that is so talented that has, you know, different ways of being able to win football games that we don't get to showcase that talent enough, in my opinion.
01:31:38
Chuku
But I just think if you see if AJ Brown was in in a different system where, you know, he he got featured more, I just think, you know, the kind of numbers he'd be putting up would be just astronomical.
01:31:50
Chuku
So for that reason, I'm going to just end with no. He's not not the best wide receiver.
01:31:59
Emeka
D'ya
01:32:00
Chuku
you know
01:32:01
Chino Onwuka
Is Jamar Chase in the league?
01:32:02
Chuku
and the other two are just
01:32:03
Chino Onwuka
Okay,
01:32:04
Emeka
know? Last time I checked, I believe so.
01:32:07
Chino Onwuka
is Jay Jetta still in the league?
01:32:10
Emeka
Last time I checked, i also believe so.
01:32:12
Chino Onwuka
That's Justin Jefferson for those who don't know. And so, yeah, if those two are can be considered wide receivers and they play in the NFL, then QED, therefore, for width.
01:32:25
Chino Onwuka
My guy can give me some other legal terms that will sound fancy.
01:32:29
Emeka
Yeah.
01:32:30
Chuku
so
01:32:31
Chino Onwuka
Kuka Nakua is not the best wide receiver in the league. He's up there, top five, sure. You know, A.J. Brown's up there, top five. But to me, the two best wide receivers the league in a tier of their own, in my opinion, are out them LSU boys, Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson.
01:32:51
Emeka
i mean I agree. I'm very conservative and my best player in the league type of things. I think you've to... You've pro has to be the best player in league for like two years for me to give you to you.
01:33:01
Emeka
but I always have Jay Jettas as my best receiver in the league. Like Justin Jefferson, the QBs that throw him the ball outside of one year of Sam Darnold and I guess the Kirk Cousins years. He's had some bumps throwing the ball too, but my God.
01:33:14
Emeka
Watching him play is just fantastic. But I'm going Puka his flowers and just say... and you know NFL single season receiving record, 1,964 yards, Calvin Johnson. Second place, Cooper Cup, yards. And puca nakco is on pace for and two thousand yards right now alltime single season ra you know record and i i just got to give it with my guy's flowers and To kind of Chukwu's point, though, I'll say pop quiz. I'll give you massive hint there.
01:33:48
Emeka
What do those three players have in common? Or those three seasons have in common? Calvin Johnson, Cooper Cup, and now Pukunukoi this year.
01:33:56
Chuku
They got the man, Matthew Stafford, throwing him the ball.
01:34:00
Emeka
Exactly.
01:34:00
Chuku
That's what I'm going to say.
01:34:01
Emeka
Stafford can get Stafford Gibson's receiver some numbers.
01:34:02
Chuku
The man.
01:34:05
Emeka
That's the one thing you can tell about Matthew Stafford.
01:34:09
Chuku
Yeah, he's a pure quarterback, man. He's a pure drop-back quarterback.
01:34:11
Chino Onwuka
that's a good stat and in some good correlation right there. Yeah.
01:34:15
Emeka
Like, it's if Puka finishes how he finishes, that finishes.
01:34:17
Chuku
Stafford knows how to sustain a number one wide receiver. That's facts.
01:34:22
Emeka
Huh?
01:34:22
Chuku
Like, he's done it his whole career. Stafford knows how to sustain a number one wide receiver. And he's always been able to so sustain two top 25 wide receivers, two top 24 wide receivers.
01:34:35
Chuku
But that number one option, yeah, you see that number one option? That number one option ends up being a top five easy. production leader in the league. In most cases, top one or two.
01:34:48
Chuku
And referring to the Cubs and the Megatrons of the world. But yeah, man, Stafford, man, he's that guy. He's that guy when he knows when it comes to feeding his receivers.
01:34:59
Chuku
He knows how to get the ball. And that's one thing you can tell a about Stafford. He's an excellent thrower of the ball. And yeah, Puka is definitely enjoying from that. That's for sure.
01:35:10
Emeka
I really hope Puka finishes top three, just so the staffer can say he has the with the QB for the three most yards in the season. That's a pretty cool stat. you know so I hate to talk about a man's job, but our next question, sadly, is about a
Bengals' Coaching and Performance Concerns
01:35:24
Emeka
man's job. and Chinon, I'll start with you.
01:35:29
Emeka
Zach Taylor will not finish the season as the Bengals' head coach. True or false?
01:35:38
Chino Onwuka
That's a tough one. I think he will just because, again, they can just point to the fact that
01:35:47
Chino Onwuka
Joe Burrow is injured. So that's an easy and easy out. We see the power that Joe Burrow has on the team. He gets who he wants.
01:35:58
Chino Onwuka
He gets who he wants paid. So if Joe Burr is still riding with Zach Taylor, I think he'll stay. But if they don't get results next year, for whatever reason, then I think, you know, that's a team that have had, you know, they they went to the Super Bowl really early.
01:36:20
Chino Onwuka
There's been those expectations on them since then. no if you don't see any signs of progress, if you see stagnation, this year you have the excuse of Burrow getting injured early.
01:36:32
Chino Onwuka
You'd hope to see, can he at least do something with what he has He's definitely benefited from having Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins and at least allowing them to flourish.
01:36:46
Chino Onwuka
Is he a good coach? You know, this is a chance for us to see. You know, he's been unlucky with Joe Burrow injuries for a lot of seasons. But yeah, I think this is probably his last season of a a mulligan. And next year, we need to see something.
01:37:05
Chino Onwuka
It's getting stale.
01:37:09
Emeka
I'm true on this just because... Like, does Joe Burrow play linebacker? Like, is is Joe Burrow on special teams? Like, I get that your QB is hurt, but even an MVP QB getting hurt shouldn't have the entire system collapse like this. Like, it's all phases of football. Like, offense, defense, special teams.
01:37:30
Emeka
You know, even the Gatorade, I'm sure, is bad now. Like, it's just the entire franchise is collapsing on itself. And, you know, Monday night, the cameras caught Chase coming up to Taylor on the sidelines and just being like, bro, what's going on, man?
01:37:42
Emeka
I just think, you know, Burrow's covering up a lot of cracks, and they really could be facing down like a four-win, three-win season. And I don't know if Zach Taylor has accumulated enough clout to survive missing the playoffs three years in a row. Yeah, Burrow's been injured.
01:37:57
Emeka
He was healthy last year. They missed it. He's going to be so terrible this year and might miss it. I just think... This might be the end of the road for Zach Taylor, personally for me, but i luckily for him, the Bengals owner is famously cheap, so I'm sure he doesn't want to pay anybody's severance. So he might keep his job by default.
01:38:14
Emeka
Chukwu, what are your thoughts?
01:38:17
Chino Onwuka
Shuku, if you're talking, you're on mute.
01:38:20
Chuku
Thank you for that. Yeah. If you're asking me what I think will happen, and
01:38:27
Chuku
I still think he keeps his job. I still think he keeps his job. But if you're asking me what should happen, i definitely think it's time for a new voice to enter the locker room because this just is not it. Like, for the amount of money they're paying, they're offensive talents.
01:38:49
Chuku
one injury should not be enough to, to derail, you know, the entire season, quite frankly. And really this is just something that again, needs to be addressed.
01:39:03
Chuku
And by addressed, I'm referring to their excuse of what they call an offensive line. Like this is unbelievable how they have led this, you know, slide for the amount of years that, uh,
01:39:19
Chuku
Joe Boro has been in town for it like you can't pay these skilled players the kind of money you're paying them and not build a strong offensive unit or offensive line units to protect your key ingredients or key players. It doesn't it doesn't make any sense.
01:39:41
Chuku
And you know We're seeing with Joe Burrows' absence you know the effect that this porous offensive line has when it comes to moving the chains without Joe Burrows in the mix.
01:39:55
Chuku
And it's been horrific to the point that it's almost borderline unwatchable. And... That's just not good enough when you have offensive talents like Jamar Chase and a Tee Higgins to go along with, the you know, the, you know, the, you know, I guess, kind of you know, Chase Brown and Cole.
01:40:18
Chuku
It just doesn't make any sense, you know, where they're at at the moment. And, yeah, he's he he should be fired, you know. if it means bringing in new ideas or a fresh voice in the locker room to know to change things up. But I just don't think that's going happen. So, yeah, I think that that's where I'm at, at this as of right now, at least.
01:40:42
Emeka
yeah Fair enough. And I know a lot of Cincinnati fans hope I'm right and you guys are wrong. I'll say that for reading the forums. But hey, I do think the the owner is so cheap that that might save his job.
01:40:54
Emeka
want to end on a positive note. Maybe we'll see. My last question to my co-host.
MVP Contenders and Josh Allen's Chances
01:41:02
Emeka
Josh Allen will repeat as MVP.
01:41:04
Emeka
True or false? Trickle, what do you think?
01:41:09
Chuku
Yeah, I think so, man. i mean, with what he's got got going on at the moment, he's been playing amazing, some amazing football. He's just finding ways to get things done. And the way Buffalo is set up, you know, they don't succeed without the full backing of or being fully led by Josh Allen.
01:41:30
Chuku
And... Yeah, I just think he's doing he's he's living up to his price tag. He's putting up the numbers, and he's only going to get better from here the way I see it. So I definitely think he has all the opportunity, especially with the injury to Lamar, to be able to put up, you know, I only can stay healthy.
01:41:52
Chuku
Yeah, put up the kind of numbers that will be needed to repeat as mvp I can definitely see it. So, yeah, I'll have to go yes for now.
01:42:00
Emeka
I just think it's a resounding yes, and it's almost by default. MVP is, you know, I think we're not safe to say it's a QB award. It goes to the QB who wins the most games.
01:42:13
Emeka
And by how easy the schedule is and how good of a team they are, the Bills are going to win a lot of games, like 15 of them. No one else is going to come real close.
01:42:24
Emeka
He's going to put up his numbers. He's Josh Allen. jar i know Look, I love Josh. So even though he's into my division, smacks my team up. But I got to give him his flowers, man. Josh Allen is that boy. i didn't think he should have won last year. I should thought it should have been Lamar. But I think he's got the one no flimsy one last year. He's going to really deserve this one this year. and It's going to be not unanimous, but I don't think even close. It's going to be Josh Allen by far winning MVP again this year.
01:42:52
Emeka
Take a certain channel. True or false, Josh Allen will repeat his MVP.
01:42:57
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, he's definitely the the front runner, the clear favorite at this moment. you know Coming to the season, you know the four guys that you would have put there are... You know, Josh Allen, Lamar, Mahomes, and in Jalen Hurts.
01:43:13
Chino Onwuka
Well, Lamar's been hurt. Jalen Hurts hasn't really had, you know, the strongest start to the season. It's probably just a bit of a championship hangover. You know, the Chiefs have had a slow start. You know, offense has been decimated.
01:43:27
Chino Onwuka
And you have the Bills at 4-0, and Jamar's been playing like Jamar does. So he's definitely the frontrunner. I still think – Hurts and Mahomes could have a chance. You know, the Eagles are also 4-0, so depending on what their record is and if, you know, Hurts starts playing better towards the end of the season, we see a lot of the times it's a what have you done for for me lately thing. So if you if they finish with a good record, which you expect the Eagles to and he's playing great by the end of the season, maybe he could put himself back into the mix, you know, a stronger case. And, know,
01:44:03
Chino Onwuka
you know If Mahomes, he's got Worthy back. We saw what he was able to do get Worthy. Worthy comes back. Rice comes back and their offense becomes more explosive. Then I think just with the whole narrative thing, with the fact that Josh Allen won it last year, then you might just see you know people vote for somebody else just because there's something new. But i yeah I'm not a betting man like some of my my fellow players Potters are on here, but you know if I were to put money on anyone winning MVP, it would easily be Josh Allen.
01:44:38
Emeka
I think when your star receiver tweets about how you should go where you're loved and all that nonsense, you should be disqualified for winning MVP. Sorry, Jalen Hurts. And I think when your star tight end has a song about his penis size on a number one selling pop album, you should also be disqualified for winning MVP. So by default, Josh Allen, congratulations, 2025 NFL MVP.
01:45:00
Emeka
Oh, it's been a great podcast.
Conclusion and Upcoming Events
01:45:01
Emeka
in Yapping on Friday night with the boys. love You know, I do miss this. I do enjoy this. I'm sorry i missed you all last week. We'll try to be better, but international break is coming up, so, I mean, no promises there.
01:45:15
Emeka
Regardless, we're going to be with you all season long. NBA preseason is starting up. Baseball playoffs are coming. We'll never talk about it, but it's still there. You know, a lot of sports happening in this world.
01:45:26
Emeka
Join us for all that and more on the Love of the Game podcast.