Transcript
Speaker: Hello and welcome back to the Behind the Box Score podcast.
Speaker: After taking a week off for the wonderful Thanksgiving holidays, my illustrious and nice voice can be welcomed back into your earbuds or headphones or your speaker, wherever you listen to this podcast.
Speaker: I'm glad you're back and I'm glad I'm back too.
Speaker: And I'm back with an announcement.
Speaker: First off,
Speaker: We just finished, concluded week 12.
Speaker: I did not get to talk about week 11 of the NFL season.
Speaker: That included some fantastic games, maybe not as fantastic for me because I'm a Chiefs fan in that 21-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, who, by the way, that's the team we're going to spend a lot of this week's episode on, is the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker: But just concluded week 12 of the NFL season and getting ready, prepping for week 13, which will start tomorrow.
Speaker: tomorrow Seahawks Cowboys for Thursday night football recording this on Wednesday November 29th and I want to start this BTV pod with a very exciting announcement this podcast has been picked up by the flagship station for the Tennessee Titans right here as you know I'm living in Nashville
Speaker: 104.5 The Zone.
Speaker: So you'll be able to find this podcast starting probably next week, maybe even two weeks from now, just kind of figuring out the last little logistics, tying up some loose ends.
Speaker: But you will be able to find me on 104.5 The Zone dot com.
Speaker: Spotify, Apple Music, wherever you get your podcast, just go to 1045thezone.com.
Speaker: Under that podcast drop down, you'll be able to find me on that page here.
Speaker: In the next couple of weeks, we'll get it all rolling in.
Speaker: We may have to kind of scratch the beginning episodes where we started this podcast, and it may just start anew.
Speaker: But don't worry, same content, same old me.
Speaker: I'll be joined most weeks by my guy, Alex Comas, and we've got a couple of other
Speaker: Awesome guests packed up here, ready to go in the near future, including Ryan Shumpert, who you may or may not know if you're a Tennessee Vols fan.
Speaker: We're going to be talking some college football as the playoffs get closer here.
Speaker: He covers the Vols for Rocky Top Insider, so we're going to get Ryan Shumpert on here.
Speaker: Jordan Dijani is in the docket as well.
Speaker: He works for CBS Sports.
Speaker: We'll have him on in the next few weeks to talk some pro football.
Speaker: So exciting stuff going on here.
Speaker: I am by myself here on this week's podcast.
Speaker: And again, as I teased here earlier, we're going to be talking about the Philadelphia Eagles for a large part of this podcast.
Speaker: And we'll spend some time with their rival as well, the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker: And we'll talk a little bit about the Panthers, David Tepper, and the firing of head coach Frank Reich after just 11 games in that position.
Speaker: But let's get started.
Speaker: Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker: How do we feel?
Speaker: about Philly.
Speaker: Now, I know most of your ears just perked up, go, what do you mean?
Speaker: How do we feel, Mac?
Speaker: They're 10 and one.
Speaker: They're the best team in football right now.
Speaker: And there's a chance they go have another appearance back to back.
Speaker: in the Super Bowl for a chance at that Lombardi trophy.
Speaker: Now, where I won't deny that that may be true, and I think they're a great team, I want to start off with that.
Speaker: This team is fantastic.
Speaker: 10-1, you don't sit atop of the NFL without being a well-coached, mostly well-rounded football team, and that's what the Eagles are.
Speaker: But they're not dominant like you may think of when you're thinking of a 10-1 team.
Speaker: That's not what...
Speaker: The Eagles have been so far this season.
Speaker: Seven of their wins are one score wins.
Speaker: They beat the Patriots by a score.
Speaker: Vikings, Commanders twice, the Cowboys, and then most recently, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills all by one score.
Speaker: And let's start there, right?
Speaker: So the win against the Cowboys was a Dak Prescott choke job.
Speaker: The win against the Chiefs, 21-17.
Speaker: I mean, if you watch that game, you knew Kansas City was in control of that game, and their offense wasn't able to do anything.
Speaker: They looked absolutely putrid the whole second half.
Speaker: I'll give a little bit of credit there to the Eagles and some adjustments, but overall, it's because...
Speaker: This offense had the chiefs offense has been completely stagnant for a large part of the season.
Speaker: And the Eagles just stayed in it, get cut it to them.
Speaker: They drove down the field a couple of times where we're able to get some scores, but let's be real.
Speaker: A Mark was Valdez scantling drop at the end of that game for a touchdown.
Speaker: That that's the game right there.
Speaker: That's a completely different outcome.
Speaker: If that happens.
Speaker: And then most recently gets the bills, Josh Allen and a Gabe Davis miscue in overtime, wide open again, beating that secondary.
Speaker: If those three things, just those little things change, especially MBS and the Josh Allen, Gabe Davis miscue, I mean, those outcomes are different, not to mention some questionable officiating and coaching in that Bills game.
Speaker: Oh, who would have thought some questionable coaching in the Bills game?
Speaker: Oh, my gosh.
Speaker: Sean McDermott, I thought he was perfect.
Speaker: Yeah, no, 20 seconds and a timeout, and you don't give Josh Allen, who was on a heater that game against the Philadelphia Eagles, you don't give him a chance with 20 seconds right before overtime.
Speaker: They end up losing that game due to that miscue.
Speaker: They had a touchdown, Gabe Davis, wide open.
Speaker: These games are there for the taking every time it seems to whoever's facing the Eagles, and somehow they just come up a little bit short, and I think that's mostly to the fault of their opponents.
Speaker: It's not because of anything that the Eagles are doing more often than not.
Speaker: Now, let's just look at some stats here.
Speaker: Looking at DVOA, overall, the Eagles are ninth.
Speaker: Solid.
Speaker: And again, prefacing this, of course, they're going to be solid in all these rankings.
Speaker: They're 10-1.
Speaker: They're a good team.
Speaker: No one's trying to argue that they're not.
Speaker: But I'm just kind of really looking in these and saying, okay, how beatable, though, are they?
Speaker: You look at 10-1.
Speaker: You look at a team that went to the Super Bowl last year.
Speaker: It's easy to just say, oh, okay, great.
Speaker: Pack it in.
Speaker: This team's fantastic.
Speaker: Them and the Niners.
Speaker: And that's it.
Speaker: I'm looking at this a little bit differently.
Speaker: I'm just being a little bit trepidatious here, and I think that's okay.
Speaker: DVOA, Eagles, ninth overall.
Speaker: Offense, they're seventh.
Speaker: Defense, they're 17th.
Speaker: Special teams, they're first.
Speaker: It's fantastic for the special teams.
Speaker: But that defense number does pop out, 17th in DVOA.
Speaker: We know about the D-line for the Eagles.
Speaker: They're excellent.
Speaker: The secondary, though, they've struggled all season.
Speaker: They got the third worst percentage when it comes to third down conversions at 45.5%.
Speaker: Now that's just for the whole defense, but a lot of the time those third downs are going to be passing plays.
Speaker: They're tied for second and most passing touchdowns allowed.
Speaker: They're tied with the bears 23 passing touchdowns allowed right now.
Speaker: And for the reference of what maybe some good defense are doing against passing as far as touchdowns are concerned, the Browns and the Ravens, both the best, two of the best defenses in the league.
Speaker: They both allowed 10 passing touchdowns.
Speaker: The Cowboys, their rival, their division opponent, they've allowed 14 passing touchdowns.
Speaker: And then the Chiefs, 13 passing touchdowns.
Speaker: And again,
Speaker: The Eagles at 23 tied with the Bears for second most in the whole league.
Speaker: Now, how about just quarterback play against this Eagles secondary?
Speaker: The sixth best quarterback rating allowed at this point in the season, 92.
Speaker: They've allowed the third most receptions in the league.
Speaker: It's just easy to get the ball out and get it in a wide receiver's hands.
Speaker: And they've given up the most passing first downs in the NFL.
Speaker: So not only do they have...
Speaker: the third worst percentage when it comes to conversion rate on third down at 45.5%.
Speaker: But just when trying to get a first down in general, they've given up the most passing first downs in the NFL.
Speaker: It's the recipe to marching down the field against this Eagle squad.
Speaker: I think in large part, they're
Speaker: part of the reason that the Chiefs struggle because they've been unable to pass the ball.
Speaker: Running against them isn't as easy.
Speaker: Pass rush is doing their part, though, and part of that is because that D-line that does stop the run.
Speaker: They're so deep in that unit.
Speaker: They're 13th in sacks, which may not scream excellent out to you, but
Speaker: Swade, they're top five in QB heads.
Speaker: They're second in pressures.
Speaker: Now, those are the stats that really put it all together.
Speaker: Sacks is not everything.
Speaker: They're bottom 10, though, surprisingly in tackles for loss, but they're fourth overall in tackles for loss percentage.
Speaker: So not super concerned about that.
Speaker: The D-line play is fantastic as far as stopping the runs concerned.
Speaker: And as you see, the pass rush is doing their part.
Speaker: Now, I look at all this, and that's just to say, this is not a wrap.
Speaker: Not only is it not a wrap in the NFC, I know a lot of you guys are going, well, yeah, San Francisco, San Francisco.
Speaker: Well, what about the division?
Speaker: What about the NFC North?
Speaker: The Eagles play the Niners and the Cowboys in the next two weeks.
Speaker: That's crazy.
Speaker: The three best teams in the NFC, the Eagles are going to play them.
Speaker: We're going to see these three teams go up against each other in some form or fashion.
Speaker: I'm very curious to see how those games play out.
Speaker: If the Eagles were to lose those two games and the Cowboys win the next two, they'd be tied headed into week 14.
Speaker: And listen, I'm not the only one being trepidatious here or maybe having some concerns, not even concerns, just some eyebrow-raising moments at this Eagles team because, listen, they're home dogs against San Francisco this week.
Speaker: Home dogs.
Speaker: And it's not like, you know, half a point, a point.
Speaker: It's three points right now.
Speaker: Now, I haven't looked since yesterday.
Speaker: Let me give a quick look here.
Speaker: But last time I checked, they were plus three at home.
Speaker: Now, when's the last time a team coming off a Super Bowl appearance?
Speaker: Ten and one.
Speaker: First of all, that's never happened.
Speaker: So that's the first time that's happened.
Speaker: But a team that's elite, back-to-back seasons, coming off a Super Bowl appearance, and they're...
Speaker: Dogs at home, a field goal dog at home.
Speaker: I don't remember the last time that's happened, and that's against, obviously, a San Francisco team that's going to be vying for a Super Bowl appearance as well.
Speaker: And now looking at the updated line right there, it has now dropped down a half point.
Speaker: They opened up, I think, at two.
Speaker: It rose to three.
Speaker: It's now back down to two and a half.
Speaker: But still, home dogs against San Francisco and San Francisco.
Speaker: You look at all those stats.
Speaker: Of course, none of it's terrible besides the secondary.
Speaker: There's some really rough stuff, which is what we just kind of outlined.
Speaker: But on top of all that, you look at Jalen Hurts, and he's obviously not himself right now.
Speaker: Now, that whole second half against the Bills, he woke up.
Speaker: He was able to play in the rain, find himself, find the open guys, extend plays, use his legs.
Speaker: But overall, you can tell he's not 100% healthy.
Speaker: And now, no one may be, or most may not be 100% healthy at this point in the season, especially when we get to playoffs.
Speaker: That's the way football works.
Speaker: This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Speaker: No doubt.
Speaker: But this has been going on since at least week 7, week 8, that he's really look hindered.
Speaker: as far as those injuries are concerned, that he's suffered.
Speaker: Because I mentioned his legs.
Speaker: That knee is going to be a huge part in that.
Speaker: I mean, and it really was week nine when we started to hear about it, but I think it's more week seven, week eight, where the injury originated.
Speaker: Now, he's shed the sleeve on his knee since.
Speaker: Things are trending forward, but I watch these games.
Speaker: I watch Jalen Hurts, and all season it has looked just a little bit different for him.
Speaker: And now he was probably the...
Speaker: you know, third, maybe second best quarterback in the league last year.
Speaker: He was no lower than fourth.
Speaker: I know that for sure, just by my estimation, but I don't think he's been that this season.
Speaker: You look at the advanced statistics, he's up there on a lot of them, but he's not like maybe his division rival.
Speaker: And that's where we go to the Cowboys.
Speaker: Let's, let's, let's go to the Cowboys here.
Speaker: They've been on a roll.
Speaker: They look fantastic.
Speaker: I do want to see them beat a good team.
Speaker: I do.
Speaker: And now with the Eagles, you'll say they've beaten some good teams.
Speaker: They've all been by one score.
Speaker: Now I'm getting nitpicky here, right?
Speaker: Well, you only beat them by one score.
Speaker: You don't beat them at all.
Speaker: What do you need?
Speaker: Okay, so the Cowboys, they do need to beat a good team, right?
Speaker: They need to beat a playoff team.
Speaker: They've yet to do that.
Speaker: They've beaten the Giants twice.
Speaker: They've beaten the Jets, the Patriots, the Chargers, the Rams, the Panthers, and the Commanders.
Speaker: That's it.
Speaker: Now, that's a combined record of 24 and 55.
Speaker: Now, we talked about them playing the Niners early this season.
Speaker: They got trounced by San Francisco.
Speaker: As I said, they choked against Philadelphia just a few weeks ago.
Speaker: Now, it's not their fault who they play on their schedule, right?
Speaker: We're not going to just completely criticize a team.
Speaker: Because of who they play, they don't get to really decide that.
Speaker: They don't have much say in that.
Speaker: But they have had two chances against the teams that they're really going to be battling against for a spot in the Super Bowl on that NFC side, Philadelphia and San Francisco, and they haven't won.
Speaker: But they can change that narrative immediately with the remaining six games.
Speaker: Thursday Night Football.
Speaker: Seattle at home.
Speaker: The Philadelphia Eagles at home.
Speaker: Then they'll travel to Buffalo to face what I've talked about on this pod as a really good Bills team, especially the offense, at least, at Buffalo.
Speaker: At Miami against the Dolphins, they'll host Detroit, who's 8-3 right now, and then they'll go to end their season at Washington against the Comanthers.
Speaker: Now, for reference, the teams that they've beaten, a combined record of 24-55.
Speaker: For reference, the teams that they're going to face these next six weeks, their combined records,
Speaker: 42 and 26.
Speaker: This is about a ramp up here for Dallas.
Speaker: Let's see how real you are.
Speaker: Let's go.
Speaker: Now, frankly, I think they're real.
Speaker: And it pains me to even say this, but I really do.
Speaker: I'm starting to really, truly believe in this team.
Speaker: I believe in them as a playoff team and as a solid opponent, maybe, but probably a team that could get upset in the playoffs and definitely a team that would lose to Philadelphia and San Francisco when the time came, whether that's divisional round or
Speaker: maybe an NFC championship appearance, but I didn't see them going to the Super Bowl.
Speaker: That outlook is starting to change here for me when I think about Dallas.
Speaker: And part of that is because of Dak Prescott.
Speaker: If he wins on some of these games and he stays on this hot streak that he's on right now, he should be the MVP.
Speaker: We just talked about Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker: Who's first in odds right now?
Speaker: It's Jalen Hurts.
Speaker: But we just talked about those wins.
Speaker: A lot of those are just teams not showing up, not playing four quarters.
Speaker: And again, giving that Eagles team credit where credit is due.
Speaker: They stay in the games.
Speaker: They're well coached.
Speaker: They have a good offense and a good defense, a great special team that's able to keep them in these games.
Speaker: And they stay grounded.
Speaker: And they've been there.
Speaker: They've done that.
Speaker: They're not scared of being down by 10 points like they have in their last two games against the Bills and against the Chiefs.
Speaker: But also...
Speaker: We know that the Chiefs had that game in the bag the whole time, the MVS drop.
Speaker: We know that the Buffalo Bills were playing better than that team for three quarters.
Speaker: And the fourth quarter happened.
Speaker: Jalen Hurts was excellent the whole second half.
Speaker: And then the overtime where Gabe Davis is wide.
Speaker: I mean, just so many things happened in order for Philadelphia to win that game.
Speaker: Now, they had to go down and drive down the field against Buffalo in that overtime win and get a touchdown to seal the W. And they did that.
Speaker: And they're capable of doing that, and it goes back to the fact that they're ready when the opportunity comes.
Speaker: But they're not creating a lot of those opportunities.
Speaker: They're seizing on them when they come, but they're not creating them.
Speaker: They're being created by the opponent's deficiencies so far for the Eagles.
Speaker: For Dak and the Cowboys, I think that this hot streak for Prescott has been something that Jalen Hurts hasn't done this year.
Speaker: He has not been playing to this level.
Speaker: I think Dak...
Speaker: Could be the MVP, depending on how these next six games go.
Speaker: Right now, he's third in odds, plus 600 behind, obviously, Jalen Hurts.
Speaker: And then Mahomes, another guy who I don't think should be up there.
Speaker: Now, he can still change that.
Speaker: But I don't think Jalen and Mahomes should be above...
Speaker: Dak right now at plus 600.
Speaker: You can go buy those odds right now.
Speaker: Obviously, a lot of that's going to depend on these next few weeks, especially in two weeks when he goes up against Jalen Hurts, Prescott versus Hurts in that second rematch.
Speaker: You've got to beat him at least once in order to win that award.
Speaker: But let's just look at some of what Dak Prescott's doing right now and how fantastic he's been because truly, I don't think a lot of people are talking about how efficient Dak Prescott has been.
Speaker: This is from Mina Kimes on Twitter.
Speaker: Just looking at QBR, he's first in QBR versus man.
Speaker: He's first in QBR versus the blitz.
Speaker: He's second in QBR when he's under pressure.
Speaker: He's second in QBR from the pocket.
Speaker: He's first in QBR outside of the pocket, and he's first in QBR on third down.
Speaker: I mean, just name something right now.
Speaker: Dak Prescott's elite.
Speaker: He's top 10 and really top 5 in every advanced statistic that I look at that I care about a lot.
Speaker: EPA per dropback, he's second.
Speaker: Success rate, he's fourth.
Speaker: Well, and what's been a big knock on Dak Prescott, obviously, especially going back to last year, led the league in interceptions.
Speaker: What about the interceptions, right?
Speaker: Well, he's only got six.
Speaker: He's got the eighth lowest interception rate at 1.6%, and that's among quarterbacks who have really played the majority of the season.
Speaker: So that's all while having the third highest yards per attempt.
Speaker: He's not a check down Charlie this season.
Speaker: He got 7.9 yards per attempt right now.
Speaker: As far as air yards thrown, he's top six.
Speaker: He's right there as far as just every statistic that you want to look at.
Speaker: Third down conversion rate.
Speaker: The Cowboys are elite.
Speaker: They can run the ball, but they don't rely on that.
Speaker: They actually pass the ball just as much as pretty much any team right now in the league.
Speaker: And this is going to pain me even more.
Speaker: I'm praising the Cowboys right here.
Speaker: But Mike McCarthy, truthfully, and I am a McCarthy hater.
Speaker: I've been against McCarthy since 2013, 2014, probably when I really started to, it's one of my first takes, honestly.
Speaker: I was, you know, 15, 16.
Speaker: That's when I really started to kind of
Speaker: dig deep and hedge down in some takes that I had and McCarthy dragging down that Packers team and what Aaron Rodgers was capable of doing at that point in time is something that I was fully in on.
Speaker: I was not a Mike McCarthy guy.
Speaker: Wasn't when he went to Dallas either.
Speaker: Was very against that hire.
Speaker: Felt pretty vindicated last season.
Speaker: This year, not so much.
Speaker: And that's okay.
Speaker: I can be wrong.
Speaker: Mike McCarthy has done really well.
Speaker: I mean, losing Kellen Moore, I thought, oh, wow.
Speaker: So McCarthy's going to take over more of the offense?
Speaker: He's going to call more plays now?
Speaker: That's not good because preparation and situational knowledge has never been something that screams Mike McCarthy is excellent at, right?
Speaker: It's never been like, ooh, green light, give it to McCarthy.
Speaker: That's his thing.
Speaker: He's done really well.
Speaker: He's done very, very well.
Speaker: Now, again, that all rides on these next six games.
Speaker: Seahawks, Eagles, Bills, Dolphins, Lions, Commanders.
Speaker: That's a tough road to hoe.
Speaker: You go four and two in that stretch, that's fantastic.
Speaker: They might need to do better, though, if they want to win that division.
Speaker: And they will have to do better if they want to win that division.
Speaker: I'm watching this team right now as a true contender.
Speaker: That's where I'm at with Dallas.
Speaker: And again, possibly even a division winner.
Speaker: Eagles play the Niners.
Speaker: And then this Dallas team in the next two weeks, it's going to be hype.
Speaker: And looking at DVA just overall for Dallas too, because we looked at the Eagles DVOA and that's ninth overall offense, their seventh defense, 17th.
Speaker: And that's where we really pointed on some of that secondary numbers, a place where they've struggled all season.
Speaker: And, and again, just sticking with the Eagles, they know it too.
Speaker: I mean, they signed Kevin Byer just a few weeks ago at safety.
Speaker: They know that that is a problem area for them in that whole unit.
Speaker: And it still hasn't necessarily been great.
Speaker: So we'll see what happens.
Speaker: Kevin Byard had a pick against Mahomes and a terrible throw, but we'll really see what happens with that secondary over these next few weeks.
Speaker: Now looking at DVOA for the Cowboys, they're fourth overall.
Speaker: They're third in defense.
Speaker: They're 10th in offense and special teams, they're ninth.
Speaker: They're just well-rounded, right?
Speaker: They're just there where you want them to be.
Speaker: I mean, offense, they're going down to 10th, but that's down to 10th.
Speaker: And we've looked at some of the numbers here, just specifically Dak's numbers.
Speaker: He's top five.
Speaker: I mean, right now he's,
Speaker: He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now.
Speaker: As far as this season's concerned, headed into week 13 or whatever it is in this season.
Speaker: He's elite.
Speaker: And Dak hasn't been talked about in those circles as much as maybe he should for this season.
Speaker: And again, I want to specify this year.
Speaker: I don't know about Dak being in that echelon as far as after this year's concerned.
Speaker: I'd need to see him do it more.
Speaker: And I think part of that's the physical skills.
Speaker: Because he does have them.
Speaker: He can run.
Speaker: But it's not like...
Speaker: Josh Allen or even Mahomes per se.
Speaker: And then you look at, well, Joe Burrow's up there.
Speaker: Yeah, Joe Burrow's got that mental game.
Speaker: And I think that's where I get at with Dak.
Speaker: And part of the reason I'm a little hesitant to put him in that echelon until probably a full few months of producing like this is because he's not...
Speaker: When I think about Dak, I don't think about him being elite at any trait specifically.
Speaker: He doesn't have amazing arm strength.
Speaker: The physicality we've already kind of talked about.
Speaker: His escapability is solid.
Speaker: It's not great.
Speaker: It's not insane.
Speaker: It's not jaw-dropping talent from Dak on his legs.
Speaker: His arm, you know, again, arm strength is even in the top 10.
Speaker: He's probably closer to 10 than he's closer to 5, I'd say.
Speaker: And what about the mental game?
Speaker: As we said with Joe Burrow, I think Dak...
Speaker: has shown a lot of flashes, especially this season, these past few months, of being completely a different quarterback mentally.
Speaker: But last season, you look back at it, and, well, it wasn't there.
Speaker: Now, you could say that's because of the injury, and I'm starting to think that it may have been.
Speaker: You know, because I'm a guy who would completely, you look at the second half of last year and what Josh Allen did, I say, listen, his UCL was hurt.
Speaker: Don't think about that.
Speaker: And now what's Josh Allen doing this year?
Speaker: He's fantastic.
Speaker: You could argue he's the best quarterback in the league.
Speaker: And I actually may right now, just as far as this season's concerned.
Speaker: I mean, it's really him or Dak, just who has been playing the best.
Speaker: But Dak's completely flipped that script too.
Speaker: I think you've got to give him that as well.
Speaker: He's completely changed the narrative.
Speaker: And again, I want to see it more.
Speaker: And I want to see it over these next six games.
Speaker: But I like it.
Speaker: I like what I'm seeing right now from Dak Prescott.
Speaker: And the Dallas Cowboys team.
Speaker: I got to wash my mouth after this podcast.
Speaker: Jeez.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Let's go over to now just quickly.
Speaker: Segment three, which is just me talking some Panthers football.
Speaker: What's going on?
Speaker: What did David Tepper expect?
Speaker: Now, this is coming after a 17 to 10 loss against the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker: Frank Reich, head coach, fired just 11 games into his first season as the head coach there.
Speaker: And he's the first coach ever to be fired in back-to-back seasons.
Speaker: Fired last year from Indianapolis just after one year, and then fired this year by Carolina before he even got through a season.
Speaker: Now, if I'm Frank Reich, you probably just need to sit out.
Speaker: Don't go be an offensive coordinator or a run game guy or a pass game coordinator.
Speaker: Just go sit out, okay?
Speaker: You've been fired two years in a row.
Speaker: You've got paychecks coming from two different NFL franchises for the next, like, four seasons.
Speaker: You're going to be fine.
Speaker: Frank, you're good.
Speaker: Loved you with the Eagles when you won the Super Bowl.
Speaker: Ever since, I've been...
Speaker: More and more skeptical this year included.
Speaker: But in his defense, he wanted C.J.
Speaker: Stroud.
Speaker: He's been all in on Stroud.
Speaker: I mean, we saw him at that camp in the offseason.
Speaker: I believe it was C.J.
Speaker: Stroud's pro day saying, yeah, we'll get you going in Carolina or whatever it is he said to him.
Speaker: He tapped him on the soldier and said, yeah, we'll figure it out in Carolina.
Speaker: You know, it was just like, oh, whoa, not even hiding the fact that you want C.J.
Speaker: Stroud.
Speaker: He did.
Speaker: Didn't get him.
Speaker: And now David Tepper comes out and says, well, it was actually our plan to trade up and take CJ, but then, you know, Bryce and all this stuff because Houston traded.
Speaker: No, you gave up the number nine overall pick, number 61, DJ Moore, along with a first round pick in this upcoming draft and a second round pick in 2025.
Speaker: You need to be all in.
Speaker: You need to be Bryce Young is now part of your team.
Speaker: You can't be talking about CJ Stroud.
Speaker: One, what does that do for the mind of Bryce and his well-being and his confidence?
Speaker: I mean, that's just ridiculous.
Speaker: And it's oblivious to the fact that you've got a guy really trying to figure this out with not a lot of him to work with.
Speaker: And why does he not have a lot to work with?
Speaker: Well, you traded everything.
Speaker: Okay, he traded picks.
Speaker: You traded the best receiver that you had in DJ Moore.
Speaker: You don't have an offensive line.
Speaker: And now he's going to have to deal with a second offensive system, a second head coach in two years.
Speaker: It's going to be a lot for Bryce Young.
Speaker: And I want to be clear on this too with the Bryce Young thing because I've had some arguments about this and Bryce hasn't been good this season.
Speaker: Let's make that clear.
Speaker: Bryce has been bad this year.
Speaker: He has not looked good.
Speaker: Now, where the argument happens is why?
Speaker: Is it all because of the lack of weapons, the lack of offensive line, no defense, some poor coaching and management, front office, all those things?
Speaker: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker: That's got to be some of it, right?
Speaker: Or is the why because of Bryce?
Speaker: Now, it's got to be a combination.
Speaker: You can't do one or the other.
Speaker: And I've been on this pod now for the past few months pretty much preaching like, hey, let's hold out on Bryce.
Speaker: Let's hold on on Bryce.
Speaker: Let's not judge him.
Speaker: And I'm going to stick with that take, but I am still going to have some sort of criticism for Bryce Young.
Speaker: I think both can simultaneously be true and one that...
Speaker: we wish our number one overall pick looked better.
Speaker: If you're a Carolina fan, you say, I wish this guy looked better, while simultaneously saying there is huge room for improvement because of XYZ, and that being your number one wide receiver is an early 30-year-old Adam Thielen, and you've got no one at tight end, and your offensive line is complete doo-doo.
Speaker: Those reasons all have to come into play as well, but Bryce has not passed the eye test.
Speaker: Just from a physical standpoint, it doesn't seem...
Speaker: Like, yeah, there's some of that escapability that it had in Alabama, but not quite as elite.
Speaker: It looks like he's one step slower.
Speaker: He's small.
Speaker: I mean, when he throws it away, I mean, he's having to heave it up at like a, you know, 25-degree angle or whatever that would be.
Speaker: You know, it's not natural right now for Bryce Young.
Speaker: And again, a lot of that I think is because of the team.
Speaker: But I am looking at Bryce, and I'm a little bit worried.
Speaker: He doesn't look like the number one overall pick.
Speaker: And that doesn't mean better than C.J.
Speaker: Stroud, but just a franchise quarterback.
Speaker: I haven't seen that from him yet.
Speaker: And if you want to say it's not fair to judge him on that, I'm not fully making the decision that I'm out.
Speaker: I'm not out.
Speaker: But I'm a little skeptical.
Speaker: Trepidatious, as I said earlier.
Speaker: I'll walk into next season okay.
Speaker: I'm an open book.
Speaker: I'm excited for Bryce.
Speaker: I think he can make the throws.
Speaker: He doesn't have great arm strength.
Speaker: That's another thing, though.
Speaker: He's not tall.
Speaker: He's not fast.
Speaker: Doesn't have great arm strength.
Speaker: He has to have a mental edge on every defense and every quarterback that he's going to be facing in order for him to have a true advantage or this team is going to have to get dramatically better.
Speaker: Combination of both probably.
Speaker: Talking about the team getting better, okay, with what?
Speaker: You don't have a first-round pick this upcoming draft.
Speaker: You don't have a second-round pick in next year's draft.
Speaker: You just gave up your best wide receiver.
Speaker: You have some cap space.
Speaker: You're going to have to probably sell the defense.
Speaker: in order to get some of this offense better.
Speaker: Bye-bye Brian Burns.
Speaker: I know he was talked about being traded possibly a few months ago for what was discussed as maybe a first-round pick.
Speaker: So, okay, if you can still get a first-round pick, go do it right now.
Speaker: Go trade Brian Burns.
Speaker: Not right now because he can't, but after the season and when that all opens up.
Speaker: Because, yeah, you're going to have to start really garnering some assets.
Speaker: to give Bryce Young some help.
Speaker: Because the situation has been terrible.
Speaker: The situation is horrendous for Bryce Young.
Speaker: Is it as bad as I think some people make it out to be?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: No, I don't.
Speaker: Because who were we talking about before the season started?
Speaker: We were talking about Jonathan Mingo, right?
Speaker: Second round pick.
Speaker: Oh, he's going to be great.
Speaker: Bryce Young's going to make him look awesome.
Speaker: Out of Ole Miss, this guy's...
Speaker: You know, talent at the catch point and athleticism is out of this world.
Speaker: It's going to be great.
Speaker: And you know what?
Speaker: Terrace Marshall, you know, he hasn't been good yet, but we were still holding that hope.
Speaker: He's athletic.
Speaker: He was a high pick.
Speaker: We're excited for him.
Speaker: Chuba Hubbard out of Oklahoma State.
Speaker: He's going to find his way.
Speaker: These are all the things that we're talking about, right?
Speaker: Well, look at Texans.
Speaker: I mean, look at Houston.
Speaker: Houston.
Speaker: What, was Nico Collins some star?
Speaker: He's been in the league for two or three years, and he hadn't done Jack Diddley.
Speaker: Okay?
Speaker: C.J.
Speaker: Stroud has been able to elevate him.
Speaker: I mean, Tank Dell, he was picked in the third round.
Speaker: Who was talking about Tank Dell out of Houston before the season started?
Speaker: I mean, yeah, I know some draft nerds were super excited about him, but he's one of the better receivers in the league.
Speaker: And is that because it was a fantastic pick and great scouting from the Texans?
Speaker: Partially, yes.
Speaker: But it's also because Stroud is there and he knows how to get him the ball.
Speaker: He knows how to gain an extra second in the pocket.
Speaker: CJ Stroud is part of that reason.
Speaker: What about John Mechie?
Speaker: He got hurt last year, wasn't able to play.
Speaker: Mechie's had some flashes as pretty much a de facto rookie out of Bama.
Speaker: The only proven pieces they have are Dalton Schultz, who has never looked better, by the way, and Robert Woods, who was legitimately being talked about as a guy who could maybe not make it anymore.
Speaker: He was talking about being a wave guy.
Speaker: I mean, this was a pickup that people scoffed at when they got Bobby Trees.
Speaker: Robert Woods has revitalized his career.
Speaker: He's reignited himself as a wide receiver, as a wide out in this league.
Speaker: And you can't all just say, oh, wow, D'Amico, what a, what a, some of that's going to be CJ Stroud.
Speaker: Some of that is because of CJ and his ability to elevate these players.
Speaker: They've had nine or ten different offensive linemen go through Houston this year.
Speaker: And yes, for the most part, they've played really well.
Speaker: They just lost Titus Howard for what may be the season.
Speaker: That's going to be a huge blow to them up front.
Speaker: But they've remained a solid unit now.
Speaker: I would argue that part of that's coaching.
Speaker: But again, part of that is because of C.J.
Speaker: Stroud.
Speaker: So much of offensive line play is reliant upon your quarterback.
Speaker: Part of the reason I look at Joe Burrow and the Bengals sometimes and say, okay, I think Joe Burrow's got a lot better at avoiding sacks.
Speaker: I mean, a lot better from what it was three or four years ago.
Speaker: But it's still a huge issue.
Speaker: Why every year are we talking about the Bengals O-line being horrendous?
Speaker: Why does Orlando Brown look like an awful signing at left tackle when last year he was being talked about as a top five guy at his position with Patrick Mahomes?
Speaker: Is part of it that he had Joe Tooney next to him?
Speaker: Of course, Joe Tooney's one of the best guards in the league.
Speaker: But it's also because of Mahomes' ability to escape when OBJ lost one-on-ones because he did lose one-on-ones in Kansas City.
Speaker: Yeah, it is.
Speaker: You have to look at the full picture here.
Speaker: C.J.
Speaker: Stroud has not walked into a Mahomes-esque situation.
Speaker: He's come in here and elevated this franchise that has been in the pits of despair for years right away.
Speaker: He deserves mounds of credit for that.
Speaker: Bryce Young has not been able to do any of that.
Speaker: Worst situation, albeit, but still, has not been able to do even a little bit of that.
Speaker: And I think you can look at that and go, well, terrible situation.
Speaker: He'll get better.
Speaker: But also, I would have wanted more from a number one overall pick.
Speaker: I would have wanted a little bit more.
Speaker: I think both those can be true.
Speaker: And it's not to say that I think Bryce sucks.
Speaker: I don't.
Speaker: Has he been bad this year?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Will he be better next year?
Speaker: We'll see.
Speaker: They've got some money.
Speaker: They're right in the middle as far as cap space is concerned.
Speaker: They've got some money to work with.
Speaker: They can go get a weapon.
Speaker: They can go start to acquire some linemen, free agency, what have you.
Speaker: But they're going to have to land some picks.
Speaker: They don't have a first overall pick.
Speaker: They don't have a first-round pick.
Speaker: They're going to have to land some guys in the draft like a Tank Dell in the third round.
Speaker: They need to go find their guy.
Speaker: And it's going to be hard.
Speaker: Again,
Speaker: The assets aren't there.
Speaker: And David Tepper, I don't know what you expected now, three head coaches in three years, but there's going to be, I mean, Adam Schefter just talked about it.
Speaker: There's going to be upwards of seven to 10 head coaching vacancies.
Speaker: He said if it was at seven and a half, he'd take the over.
Speaker: It's going to be insane head coaching carousel here.
Speaker: One that we haven't seen in ages.
Speaker: This season and David Tepper, your franchise, your opening is the worst one.
Speaker: No doubt.
Speaker: It's going to look like the worst opening three years, three head coaches.
Speaker: That doesn't sound inviting.
Speaker: If I'm a new head coach or if I'm a first time head coach, I'm going to go to Carolina.
Speaker: We're no doubt.
Speaker: You're not going to win more than five or six games next season.
Speaker: You're just not.
Speaker: I mean, it's going to be, you'll be up in coach of the year running.
Speaker: As far as I'm concerned, if you win seven, eight games next year in this Carolina team,
Speaker: There's going to be other teams with head coaching vacancy.
Speaker: What about the Chargers if they end up firing Staley?
Speaker: Where do I want to go?
Speaker: Do I want to go to L.A.
Speaker: or do I want to go to Carolina?
Speaker: Do I want to go to Justin Herbert and Bosa on the other end, Derwin James, you know, all those things?
Speaker: Or do I want to go to Carolina where they're going to trade their best defensive player in?
Speaker: I've got a 5'10 quarterback who didn't necessarily look promising this year.
Speaker: Las Vegas.
Speaker: Do I want to go to even Las Vegas?
Speaker: Do I want to go, you know, start something new here and maybe have my choice at the quarterback position?
Speaker: Or do I want to go to Bryce Young, who maybe hasn't lived up to what I saw in Alabama?
Speaker: Chicago Bears.
Speaker: Matt Eberflus is gone after this season.
Speaker: You can book it.
Speaker: Would you rather go with the Bears to where you got Justin Fields, who's shown those flashes, who obviously has some serious skills to work around, or possibly even the chance at your own quarterback,
Speaker: Or do I want to go to the Panthers, who have nothing?
Speaker: I mean, you just keep playing this game, and if you play it eight, nine, ten times with how many vacancies there are, all of a sudden, who are you getting at head coach?
Speaker: You're taking a swing at someone who either is a vet and hasn't coached in a while and is a name we all recognize but go, whoa, why?
Speaker: Or it's going to be a name that we don't recognize and go, whoa, why?
Speaker: That's what's going to be happening here if you're the Carolina Panthers hiring a head coach this time around.
Speaker: At least that's the way I see it.
Speaker: And so Bryce Young's going to have to get better.
Speaker: He's going to have to become an elevator.
Speaker: He's not going to have a great team around him.
Speaker: It's not going to be some sort of situation where he walks in and all of a sudden he's got Justin Herbert-esque weapons what was a few years ago when he first came in.
Speaker: He's not going to have a Harbaugh and a Roman making a completely new offense that we haven't really seen before in Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
Speaker: He's not going to have one of the best offensive minds of all time with one of the greatest tight ends of all time, one of the best deep threats of all time in Kansas City and Mahomes a few years ago.
Speaker: It's not going to happen.
Speaker: And it sucks, but it's the way it goes.
Speaker: If Bryce Young gets drafted by a team with maybe a better situation, is he better?
Speaker: I'm sure a little bit.
Speaker: I don't know how much, maybe a lot, who knows, but this is the way it goes.
Speaker: And now if you're Bryce Young, you have to make it work.
Speaker: If you're David Tepper, you have to figure this out.
Speaker: If you're Scott Fitterer,
Speaker: And what is now, I think, going to be coming up on your fourth season as the GM?
Speaker: This is it, Scott.
Speaker: This is it.
Speaker: You are a huge part of this trade, obviously, you and Tepper.
Speaker: We're the minds behind this.
Speaker: This is it now.
Speaker: You've got to go find someone for your quarterback.
Speaker: I'm excited to see who it is.
Speaker: Very upset at that firing, not because of the firing itself.
Speaker: Frank Reich, I don't know if he really was the option there, but really because of the expectation set.
Speaker: David Tepper, did you expect to be even a part of your division?
Speaker: Did you expect to even be...
Speaker: relevant at all?
Speaker: I mean, I don't know what you expected, and maybe he's got some valid reasons.
Speaker: Maybe they've had conversations and they're going, man, this is not what I picture with Frank.
Speaker: This is not what I want for the future.
Speaker: But just aerial view here,
Speaker: Trash.
Speaker: Trash and nearsighted.
Speaker: All right, I think that will do it for this week's episode of the Behind the Box Score podcast.
Speaker: Again, thank you all so much for listening.
Speaker: Sorry about the week's absence.
Speaker: I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, wonderful Thanksgiving, time with your family, with your friends.
Speaker: I know I did a lot of football, a lot of food.
Speaker: It was awesome.
Speaker: And again,
Speaker: You can find us here for the next couple weeks, normal feed behind the box score.
Speaker: Go follow me on Twitter.
Speaker: I'll link it in the bio.
Speaker: But here in a couple of weeks, 1045thezone, WGFX, 1045thezone.com.
Speaker: You'll find all the behind the box score content right there as we start a new stream, a new feed.
Speaker: I'm excited about it, and there's going to be a lot more announcements to come once that happens.
Speaker: Just you wait.
Speaker: I'm pumped.
Speaker: Thank you so much for listening to the Behind the Box Score podcast.
Speaker: I'm Mac Maury, and I'll be back next week.
