Podcasts about NFC North

Ross & Emory break down the complete draft classes for each team in the NFC North going player by player: Chicago Bears: 1:55 Detroit Lions: 7:40 Green Bay Packers: 14:40 Minnesota Vikings: 20:25 Download the DraftKings Sports Book App and use code ROSS! Connect with the Pod: Website - https://www.rosstucker.com Become A Patron - https://www.patreon.com/RTMedia Podcast Twitter - https://twitter.com/RossTuckerPod Podcast Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rosstuckerpod/ Ross Twitter - https://twitter.com/RossTuckerNFL Youtube: Youtube.com/RossTuckerNFL TikTok: tiktok.com/@rosstuckernfl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Detroit Lions OTA Update: What We're Learning in June The offseason calendar may still say June, but the Detroit Lions are already building the foundation for what they hope will be a bounce-back season in 2026. OTA practices are underway, the rookie class is settling in, and the coaching staff is beginning the long process of turning offseason plans into on-field results. On this episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast, Chris and Jeff Risdon take a deep dive into the latest OTA updates, examine some lingering roster questions, and tackle one of the most interesting long-term storylines surrounding the organization. They also find time to enjoy one of the more amusing developments elsewhere in the NFC North. The football may not count yet, but the conversations absolutely do. OTA Observations and Early Position Battles The biggest takeaway from the opening phase of OTAs is that this roster remains remarkably competitive. The Lions continue to benefit from a strong core built by Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell, but there are plenty of jobs still available for younger players looking to establish themselves. The 2026 draft class has already generated attention, with first-round selection Blake Miller beginning the process of integrating into one of the NFL's most respected offensive line rooms. While OTA practices rarely provide definitive answers, they do offer clues about how coaches envision player roles heading into training camp. The coaching staff is also evaluating depth throughout the secondary, linebacker room, and defensive front. Detroit learned difficult lessons about depth during recent seasons, and the organization appears determined to create competition throughout the roster. There are also the inevitable Lions injury concerns that accompany every spring. OTAs are designed to build toward September, not win headlines in June. Managing workloads, monitoring recovery timelines, and ensuring key veterans arrive healthy for training camp remains one of the most important objectives of the offseason. The Kerby Joseph Question Few players have generated more discussion this offseason than Kerby Joseph. The talented safety has become one of the more impactful playmakers in Detroit's defense, but his future remains a topic of conversation among Lions fans. Is he a foundational piece of the franchise's long-term plans? What would a potential extension look like? How does Detroit balance roster building with future salary cap commitments? These are the kinds of questions that become increasingly important as successful teams transition from building a roster to maintaining one. Chris and Jeff will examine where Joseph fits into the broader picture and what his future could mean for the Lions moving forward. Meanwhile, in Chicago... No NFC North discussion would be complete without checking in on the division rivals. The latest developments surrounding the Chicago Bears and their ongoing stadium saga have created plenty of conversation across the Midwest. The possibility of the Bears ultimately leaving Illinois for a new stadium development in Indiana has sparked strong reactions from fans, politicians, and just about everyone else with an opinion on the matter. For Lions fans, it serves as a reminder that not every offseason storyline revolves around football. Sometimes the most entertaining developments happen far away from the field. Join Chris and Jeff Risdon on the Detroit Lions Podcast for a complete 2026 OTA Update, including roster observations, injury concerns, Kerby Joseph's future, NFC North developments, and everything else happening around the Detroit Lions as preparations for the 2026 NFL season continue. #DetroitLions, #Lions, #DetroitLionsPodcast, #OnePride, #DetroitVsEverybody, #KerbyJoseph, #NFLOTA, #LionsNation, #NFLOffseason, #BradHolmes #detroitlions #lions #detroitlionspodcast #detroitlionsota #kirbyjosephknee #kendricklawinjury #leftguardbattle #christianmahogany #milesfrazier #juicescruggs #benbartch #blakemillerrighttackle #peneisewelllefttackle #chuckclarksafety #avontemaddox #thomasharper #tyleikwilliams #hammondbears Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ross & Emory break down the complete draft classes for each team in the NFC North going player by player: Chicago Bears: 1:55 Detroit Lions: 7:40 Green Bay Packers: 14:40 Minnesota Vikings: 20:25 Download the DraftKings Sports Book App and use code ROSS! Connect with the Pod: Website - https://www.rosstucker.com Become A Patron - https://www.patreon.com/RTMedia Podcast Twitter - https://twitter.com/RossTuckerPod Podcast Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rosstuckerpod/ Ross Twitter - https://twitter.com/RossTuckerNFL Youtube: Youtube.com/RossTuckerNFL TikTok: tiktok.com/@rosstuckernfl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plenty of topics are covered in this week's Best Of Lions. It starts with Costa & Jansen talking about their expectations for 2026 and whether a Super Bowl should be in mind. Then, Karsch & Anderson have a conversation about whether the Lions will win the NFC North easily, Valenti & Rico react to what the Myles Garrett trade means for the Lions, and much more!

ESPN's Courtney Cronin joins the show to talk Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears ceiling this year, her thoughts on the NFC North, and MUCH MORE!

ESPN's Courtney Cronin joins the show to discuss the Chicago Bears ceiling, the NFC North, and Caleb Williams. NHL Analyst Eddie Olczyk joins the show to discuss the Belmont Stakes and Stanley Cup Final.

Lions vox Dan Miller and Wild forward Marcus Foligno both join during the middle stretch, chatting the NFC North, Dylan Larkin and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big Sal is fired up and ready to tell you exactly why the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions are not happy today. The Green Bay Packers just dropped a massive four-year, one hundred ten point five million dollar contract to lock in their offensive core, and Big Sal is here to break it all down after admitting he was sweating it out for nothing. This is the move that tells the league Green Bay is a destination – and the window for the rest of the NFC North just slammed shut. Key Discussion Points Big Sal owns up to eating crow after fearing the Packers would lose their firepower and explains why this contract changes everything The nightmare matchup created when healthy Christian Watson and Jayden Reed are both on the field together How this commitment alongside Micah Parsons on defense positions the Packers for a serious championship run with Jordan Love at quarterback Why the thirty-one million dollar signing bonus shows the front office truly believes in this group for the long haul This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. Hit that subscribe button, leave a five star review, and tell every single football fan you know that Big Sal is ready for the season to start tomorrow! Drop your thoughts on this massive Packers move in the comments – I want to hear from you. To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Support the Show & Explore My Projects Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app  

Ryan breaks down Christian Watson's four-year, $110.5 million extension ($27.6M AAV) and explains why it lands as a reasonable, team-friendly deal given the injury concerns baked into the numbers. He puts it in context of the exploding salary cap (top WRs now over $42M) and recent extensions like Drake London. Also covers Josh Sweat trade rumors, Malik Willis update in Miami, Robert Tunyon signing with the Steelers, NFC North injury news from Detroit and Chicago, and more offseason notes.  

Ryan hosts another edition of Packernet After Dark. Callers discuss the Packers' improved offensive line continuity this offseason, concerns about Caleb Williams' ability to handle adversity, the Rams' aggressive trade for Miles Garrett, and the Vikings hiring a new GM. Topics include process versus results, media hot takes, and why every NFC North team has question marks heading into the season.

Ryan hosts another edition of Packernet After Dark. Callers discuss the Packers' improved offensive line continuity this offseason, concerns about Caleb Williams' ability to handle adversity, the Rams' aggressive trade for Miles Garrett, and the Vikings hiring a new GM. Topics include process versus results, media hot takes, and why every NFC North team has question marks heading into the season.

Ryan dives into Week 2 of Packers OTAs with the latest on the running back room concerns surrounding Josh Jacobs and Marshawn Lloyd, while celebrating the return to solid, boring Packers stability that fans can count on. He breaks down the Vikings' new GM hire and lopsided Kyler Murray vs JJ McCarthy competition, Jameer Gibbs' massive contract extension with the Lions, and completely dismantles a clickbait Bears article claiming NFC North dominance. Key Discussion Points: OTA Outlook & Roster Clarity — What to watch for in running back updates, cornerback battles, and the comfort of a more settled Packers lineup heading into mini-camp. NFC North Breakdown — Vikings QB uncertainty, Lions coaching and personnel shifts, and why the Bears' "edge" narrative falls flat despite their division win. Big Picture Roster Philosophy — Why less splashy moves and more stability might be exactly what Green Bay needs to compete in a loaded division. Long-Term Building Lessons — The value of consistent small decisions over big swings and short-term panic. This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and drop your thoughts in the comments — do you think the Packers' boring stability is their biggest strength this year? Tell me your hottest NFC North take. To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Support the Show & Explore My Projects Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app

Hour Two of the Good Morning Football Podcast begins with a look at the NFC North. Hosts Jamie Erdahl, Kyle Brandt, and Mike Garafolo discuss the outlook for the Bears and Lions. After AJ Brown, what three other players could be on the move after June 1st? 2x Super Bowl Champ Kyle Van Noy talks about the changes with the Ravens, Tom Brady's future in Vegas, and what's his next move in the NFL? The Good Morning Football Podcast is part of the NFL Podcast NetworkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryan dives into Week 2 of Packers OTAs with the latest on the running back room concerns surrounding Josh Jacobs and Marshawn Lloyd, while celebrating the return to solid, boring Packers stability that fans can count on. He breaks down the Vikings' new GM hire and lopsided Kyler Murray vs JJ McCarthy competition, Jameer Gibbs' massive contract extension with the Lions, and completely dismantles a clickbait Bears article claiming NFC North dominance. Key Discussion Points: OTA Outlook & Roster Clarity — What to watch for in running back updates, cornerback battles, and the comfort of a more settled Packers lineup heading into mini-camp. NFC North Breakdown — Vikings QB uncertainty, Lions coaching and personnel shifts, and why the Bears' "edge" narrative falls flat despite their division win. Big Picture Roster Philosophy — Why less splashy moves and more stability might be exactly what Green Bay needs to compete in a loaded division. Long-Term Building Lessons — The value of consistent small decisions over big swings and short-term panic. This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and drop your thoughts in the comments — do you think the Packers' boring stability is their biggest strength this year? Tell me your hottest NFC North take. To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Support the Show & Explore My Projects Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app

dies and gentlemen. Welcome once again to the Packernet Podcast. I am your host and resident panelist, as always, Ryan Schlipp. Check us out online, packernet.com Find me on Twitter, pack underscore that ad, so the OTAs for week one are officially behind us. By that, I mean today is the last day for me, and for you it's over. There's a little bit of unfortunate news that we'll get to in a little bit. Before we get there, just want to go through a couple of the news and notesy things that are floating around out there. The first one, I, I don't know, man, it's big, but it's like college football big, and it's confusing. It's going to have some implications on the NFL, but, and how deep do you want to get into this? Plus, it intersects into, like, politics, because politicians, it's bipartisan, but they're still trying to do some stuff. Bottom line, as best as I can tell, there was a Protect College Sports Act presented by Maria Cantwell, Democrat out of Washington, and Ted Cruz, Republican, out of Texas. In order to bring order to the current Wild West landscape, one of the things they're trying to do is to crack down on phony N I L money that is essentially to create a commission that tries to make sure that the money coming in is legitimate as opposed to just boosters throwing money at them through some kind of an N I L funnel, I, you know, having not spent a lot of time thinking about that or understanding it, because it's just I don't know, it's again, it's it, it kind of aligns with the NFL and impacts the NFL, but not enough that I've really dug into it a ton, but my general thought is that I don't see how this is going to hold up, because it's going to be very difficult to say yes, we think they should be paid millions of dollars, but only in this way, because if you do that way, that's a bad way. We're getting into some really arbitrary territory here to decide when it's a good thing for them to make millions and when it's a bad thing for them to make millions. I mean, we've kicked open the door and said, yes, you can make money as an athlete, so it is what it is. They're also looking at, like, a salary cap transfer restrictions. Athletes will generally be limited to one transfer during their college career without losing a year of eligibility. Sets a standard five year eligibility limit, prevents a breakaway. The bill tries to stop the wealthiest conferences, like Big 10 and SEC, from forming their own exclusive Super League by putting strict rules on conferences that make more than a billion dollars in annual revenue. I don't know. I look, I will simply say this: I think that college football has probably always been a little bit of a mess, and it's so hard to manage because there's so many different things, and that's why you find all kinds of scandals and all kinds of crazy stuff, because you set rules, and you know it's kind of like arm wrestling, if you're not cheating, you're not trying, I mean, the whole sport is just cheating, trying to gain an upper hand any way that you can, try not to get caught doing it, and so when you kick open a door the way that they have, man, it creates absolute chaos in such a massive thing that is college sports and college football, and you know, maybe, maybe things will settle on their own, it'll come to like a new natural stasis, I don't know if that's the right word, but it's also possible that it's just going to spiral out of control and continue spiraling, and so I understand the impulse to try to step in here and fix some things that have got are getting wildly out of control, or seemingly wildly out of control. I also think the government has a very low chance of actually fixing any of this, but whatever, we'll see what happens. If it ends up passing, we can take a second look at all the different components and what that could possibly mean. As of right now, it's a pretty steep uphill battle to get this passed and implemented, and everything. Also, as this is my duty, I will give you my weekly announcement that you should not get involved in media companies and journalism via Ryan Glass Spiegel. Two days ago, multiple NFL voices were laid off at Yahoo Sports this week, including Charles Robinson, who had been there over 20 years. Sources told FOS, Charles McDonald also announced he has been laid off. Charles Robinson has been around forever. I mean, they said it right there, 20 years, but I mean, that is one of the.. it's one of the guys that you.. I mean, that's a huge name in the.. in the space. Interestingly enough. Connor Orr, who is from Sports Illustrated, said Charles and Charles are dogged, creative, curious, hilarious, and original, the kinds of things we're running out of in this space. Can't wait to subscribe to wherever they land next. Why is that interesting? Because just as I was about to get started recording, I see this from Michael Rosenberg, who is a senior writer of Sports Illustrated says, this morning I had my favorite kind of meeting, a short one. I was laid off during that meeting. Goes on to say other things, but you get the idea. Adam Schefter memorialized him, said nobody better, an all-time writer. This is amongst many things disheartening. And then he says gutting the place, so Yahoo is gutting the place, and about a day or two later, Sports Illustrated starts gutting all of its people. As I've said before, these companies are purging money. They have a business model that just does not make any sense. They have massive, massive overhead, trying to compete with people that have zero, basically zero overhead. They pay for an internet connection and a freaking electric bill. There are probably very little to no other recurring costs that they have. So don't do it. Been saying this now for well over a year, it is, it is the most painful, slow death I've ever watched and experienced. By the way, I just looked, Charles Robinson was the senior NFL reporter for Yahoo, that's a pretty big layoff. It's also brand new breaking news here, Giants fear wide receiver Gunner Olazewski, who was carted off the practice field today, tore his Achilles. He will undergo additional testing to confirm the injury. It's an unfortunate thing that happens, man. You get into this time, you're all excited, and within seconds of these guys touching grass, they're getting carted off the field, and you just hope and pray that your guys are not included in that. In other news, Paris Campbell, wide receiver, is retiring from the NFL. The NFL did release a date and timeline for the NFL cut downs via Tom Pelissero. But he's changing their headers here. I don't recognize anybody anymore. Anywho, he says the NFL informed teams recently that this year's cut-down deadline to 53 players will be 6pm Eastern time on Sunday, august 30, not the following Tuesday, as it has been in recent years. Waiver claims will be due at 1pm Eastern time on Monday, August 30-first. The season kicks off September 9, so that has been added to the calendar that will be the official cut down day for the Green Bay Packers, and then the final non-Packers, non-NFC North specific news. What is this? That's basketball, and I don't.. I just think this is a good take. So I was trying to think, how do I work this into something, or whatever? I don't know that I have much to add to this. I just think it's a good take, and there's a lot of sort of, I don't know, it's hard because I don't really know the opposite views complaints specifically, but there seem to be a lot of people that are upset that things are expanding, right, more games, more this, more that, but that also goes to, we got Monday games, we got Wednesday games, we got Saturday games, we got all these stupid, and it's like, what happened to good old Sunday football, and like, I guess I kind of get it, but I think this is a little bit more the take that I appreciate. Like, I understand what's being said here, but I don't really get it. I mean, eight games sounds like music to my ears, like, what do we want 12 games on that we can't really see any of them, so we watch what two out of the 11 that are on, and we go, "Oh, I know what that those other ones, they confuse me, actually, to watching the games that I did care about, because I kept looking. I think it's awesome. I absolutely love it. I don't want seven games at 1pm I can't watch it all. There's no way. It's stupid. Like, so that's an instant. Like, are you telling me people Sundays are going to be ruined because they're gone? They're going to get home from church and go, "Oh, there's five games on at 1pm instead of seven. Oh, the days I ruined. It's ruined. I mean, I hate when there's four games at 425 I hate it. Or one's at 405 there's two at 405 and two at 425 I hate that I can't watch it. I'd like to enjoy the games, so I'm one that's not going to be, you know, complaining about this. I like the standalone games. I enjoy being able to watch one at a time. And then it's Sunday. There's nothing worse to me on a Sunday when the whole slate, and you go, "Oh my gosh, there's 13 games today, on Sunday. There's no way I can keep track of it all, and really talk about it all, and you know me, I'm sitting there writing notes, trying to keep up and do all that, but I feel like this will be better for everybody to digest, and I don't think it's going to effectively change Sundays all that much. In fact, there's a part of me that wants to argue and go, it's going to make. Better, we're all going to be tuned into the same few games and enjoying that, and be able to see it more, rather than I don't know what happened there. Hold it, he kicked the field goal. Oh, we threw a pass. I have no idea what's going on, but I saw that play, I saw that play, I saw that play, and that's where I wouldn't mind seeing eight games on Sunday. Like, and so, in summary, I can. I just say I'm starting to more and more. I don't watch their show all the time, but I'm starting to see clips, so I'm just kind of getting little glimmers here. And again, starting to really appreciate Chris Sims a little bit. I don't, for obvious reasons, really like Florio. I've never been very anti-Floria. I feel like when I used to watch this, Sims was like the whipping boy of Florio. Florio would say things, and he would just bend to the will and agree with everything he said. There was a clip I saw recently. I don't know if I ended up playing it or if I just watched it, but he went and just went at.. oh, it was over the Diana Rossini thing, where Sims was talking about the situation, and Florio was like trying to warn him, like, tread carefully, and he just was like, "What are you talking about, dude? Once you shut up and let me say what I want, like, he was something to that effect, and like, I don't know the full clip here, I don't know if if Florio took the opposite approach, but it just, I'm seeing Sims basically kind of turn into me almost with, like, you know, I think it's fricking stupid. I don't understand that, you know, and I'm watching Florio kind of squirm in his chair a little bit, like, you know, like he's taking a licking from Daddy over here, and I'm starting to appreciate, I mean, I think I like Sims's takes more, and the fact that he's found his, let's say, his manhood, and is able to kind of stand on his own feet and tell Florio to shut his face and get out of my face, is, you know, whether that's true or not, that's sort of my own little head cannon going on over here, and I appreciate it. I like it. I gotta go back and find that swear and bleep it out, but otherwise I'm in agreement with that. By the way, I don't understand the argument for I want more games on at once that I can't watch. Does it make your fantasy football more fun and enjoyable or something, or is it like red? Not red zone, maybe red zone. I know red zone is more fun with more. I don't know, I don't know what the argument could possibly be. I mean, if there's more games at different times that you don't want to watch, then don't watch it. I mean, I guess I guess I could understand the argument of I don't want, like, all I'm gonna watch is the Packers, and I don't want those on at random times. I would just want as many like noon games on Sunday as possible, but I mean, if you're an enjoyer of football, yeah, you want to spread all over the place, you can watch as many as you can. Anywho, we'll leave it at that for the non-Packers news. We'll take a break. We'll be right back. Getting into the NFC North news, here, first of all, it looks like the Brian Flores lawsuit will go forward. The NFL tried to throw that out and be like, no, no, no, look, let's, let's let us deal with this in house. We have our own mechanism for dealing with disputes, and I mean, I don't really know how all this stuff works as a layman here, but that seems like a conflict of interest, a bit like I'm.. it's kind of like the church doing an investigation on the church, you know what I mean? Like, there's some scandals going on here, like, you know what, we have an internal mechanism, we'll get to the bottom of this, yeah. No, no, you won't. I'm not going to relitigate the whole thing, I've gone through this lawsuit already. I don't remember exactly the details. I do know that Flores is not likely to get what he's after, but who knows? There may be some kind of a thing through discovery that, although he doesn't win, some things get uncovered. I don't know, frickin' drama, you know. I'll take it. As for their GM search, Vikings completed the second round of interviews for their general manager vacancy. The list of finalists includes Vikings' executive advice, right? We went through the list already. The second round is done, so you would assume that the final decision will come very soon. It seems as though the what everybody is expecting is that Rob Brzezinski will get the job. He is already their interim GM, the executive VP of football operations. So, there have been some outside guys, many of them, as we talked about, kind of turned away from the job, but Broncos assistant GM, Bill's assistant GM, Rams assistant GM, and Seahawks assistant GM also in the running, but again, as of now, the inside track seems to be Rob Brzezinski and his job to lose. Sticking with the Vikings, so far in OTAs, obviously not a ton to take away from anything, but we might as well stay on top of it. Kevin O'Connell has mentioned that he's going to install some. Schemes, I'm guessing this is pretty standard across the league. Everybody says everybody's doing everything brand new. Reps, however, are being split between Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy. That's going to be sort of the, I think it's more of an off-season hypey thing, where it's like, oh boy, what's going to happen. We all kind of know what's going to happen. Kyler Murray is currently in the process of trying to adjust to the very wordy verbiage of Kevin O'Connell's system, so I guess it's a very complicated and again wordy system that he's not necessarily used to. So far, though, reports are positive he's looking good in camp, his arm looks good, he's got an early connection with Jordan Addison McCarthy. On the other hand, really focusing on the processing speed, decision making, ball placement. Listen, if I could, I, you know, I went on this rant yesterday about how the Packers are better at doing the quarterback thing, and everything. McCarthy needed the Jordan Love treatment. Now, I don't know if he ever would have become great, and maybe he can still, if he's able to sit somewhere. I think it would be nice. I don't think it's going to happen. I think they're going to end up moving on from them. They're not going to give them another contract, but it would be nice to just let him sit and learn, and you know, continue learning from Kevin O'Connell, continue to sit behind Kyler Murray, to, you know, a little bit learn from Kyler Murray, but for the most part just develop without the pressure and with all the craziness of having to start and give this guy a shot after another year or two sitting and see what happens again. I don't think that's going to happen. I think they pushed them out there like, like always happens. They always.. this is exactly the point I made about the Packers and how they're different. Everybody is willing to pay lip service to the idea that, oh yeah, we're gonna let them sit, but man, when the, when the fire gets hot, they sure push those guys out there, don't they? We're gonna wait, we're gonna wait, we lose a couple games, everybody starts screaming, and boy, here he comes, here comes the savior, right? That's why you guys are in the situation anyways. Additionally, offensive line coach Keith Carter is setting the tone early, heavy emphasis during unpadded drills on first step power in the run game and leverage. So I can't tie it directly to what we were talking about with 13 personnel, but it's been a couple years now of people wanting to get bigger and stronger and more aggressive up front. It sounds like they're emphasizing that as well. Over in Minnesota, first round pick Caleb Banks is currently sidelined with a foot injury until training camp. Safety Jacoby, excuse me, Josh Metellus looks locked in as the every down safety. Theo Jackson, Jay Ward, and Jacoby Thomas are actively competing for remaining roles, if you don't know who those people are exactly. As for the Chicago Bears, Ben Johnson is heavily focused on overhauling daily habits, getting sharper offensive execution. Now that they're in year two of his system, he, for the second year in a row now, has talked about trying to get Caleb Williams' completion percentage up, which is quite hilarious. I saw Peter Bukowski comment on this, and he's exactly right that you've got the coach saying we want his completion percentage to come up. Caleb Williams has one of the worst completion percentages in football. Packer fans say, ha ha, your completion percentage sucks. Bears fans say who cares about completion percentage? Look at x, y, and z. And then the coach comes out again this year and says the number one focus for us is completion percentage. And then Bears fans are like, well, we never said completion percentage wasn't important. You guys are stupid, bro. Anywho, there's also a clip circulating, Ben Johnson saying he wants to buy stock in Luther Burden, very excited about Luther Burden. Congratulations on Luther Burden. We'll see. I have a hard time talking trash about Luther Burden, considering that was my guy in the, in the old process, but it's way too early to be making any bold proclamations of that sort, so I'm not really worried about that yet. Plus, the standard is pretty low to be something special in Chicago. There is already talk, though, of expecting a lot of heavy 12 and 13 personnel with Colson Loveland and Cole Commette, so again tying into what we talked about yesterday. Plus, if you remember, they were one of the teams that was a little heavy on that already, so expect that to continue and expand. Left tackle Ozzie Trapio is expected to miss the season with a patellar tendon issue. Braxton Jones currently the front runner, taking first team reps alongside Theo Benedet, while veteran signing Jedrick Wills is also in the mix, and then veteran Garrett Bradbury, who was brought in to replace the retired Drew Dahlman, is fighting for the starting job against second-round rookie Logan Jones, which, I mean, I don't know, I find that whole thing to be quite funny. I mean, when they lost their center Drew Dahlman, that was massive. I mean, it is massive, and. And of course Bears fans try to play that down, like, oh, it's fine, we got Garrett Bradbury, and of course Garrett Bradbury is terrible, and then they draft Logan Jones, and then it's all, see, we're good, we got Logan, what, what happened to Garrett Bradbury, plus now they're in a competition, I hope Garrett Bradbury wins, I really do, I doubt he does, but I hope he wins, cornerback Jalen Johnson is skipping OTAs, which is, I guess, kind of standard for him. Kyler Gordon is out a few weeks with a soft tissue injury. And then, finally, the Detroit Lions, Dan Campbell still obviously running that ship, but new offensive coordinator Drew Petsing is in charge of the offense, as of right now, he's turned over the keys to Petzing. The good news for us is that Petsing is from Arizona, so our defensive coordinator is going to have a pretty good idea of exactly the defensive mind that is going to be, or the offensive mind that is going to be taking over for Detroit. Petsing is a guy that looks heavily to the run game, so very similar to what a lot of other people are talking about, that is sort of his MO. Biggest storyline for Detroit is the fact that they are still planning on moving all pro right tackle Penne Sewell to the left side. I think that is crazy, but he's obviously supremely talented, so we'll probably be able to handle it, but if there's even a slight decline in his play, that was a giant mistake. The right tackle spot now is currently involved in a battle, which you, that's not what you want to hear if you're a Detroit Lions fan, but as of right now, there's a head-to-head battle between first round rookie Blake Miller and veteran edition Larry Boreham. If Blake Miller can't win that job, I mean, that's, that's a serious.. we're, we're moving Penny Sewell because of Blake Miller, because we drafted a right tackle, and so he's going to need to.. it's going to need to be able to do his job. There's also a competition at left guard, second year player Christian Mahogany, who you know there were a lot of high hopes to begin with, but he's currently the front runner in a battle against several guys, including Miles Frazier, Ben Bart, and Drew Juice scrubs, so the offensive line is starting to fizzle a bit, and they're trying to grab a hold of it and try to get it back to its former glory. On defense, Kelvin Shepherd's defense wants to get more versatile and experimenting with base three, four, nickel, and five down looks with a potential shift toward more zone coverage. Safety, Kirby Joseph's knee is a major talking point right now. Update updates are being deferred until more info is available. Brian Branch and Terry and Arnold are also rehabbing. I saw this over here. Lions coach Den Dan Campbell said the team is prioritizing safety Kirby Joseph's knee 2026 availability over participation in spring workouts. Both the starting safeties, Joseph and Branch, are rehabbing significant injuries. It'll be great to get one or both back on the field this spring. Campbell does not want to hurry his injured stars back and risk reinjury, so that's a rough spot there on the offensive side. Ted and tight end Sam La Porta is limited, basically said the exact same thing about Sam La Porta. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he is in no rush to get Sam La Porta back on the field for spring workouts. So those are the biggest storylines, probably are the injuries right now that they're going through. And then the offensive line shuffling. All right, let's take a break there. We'll come back with some Green Bay Packers news. We'll be right back. All right, so the big news here, unfortunately, is that Marshawn Lloyd is once again injured. Now we don't know to what extent this may be just a minor thing. He may be back as early as today. He's been participating up to this point, but for a guy that has not ever been able to stay healthy up to this point, the last thing you want to see is he's once again not practicing with the team due to an injury, no matter how minor, because for the most part people have kind of given up hope that he can stay healthy as it is, and this is just further confirmation that that's exactly the situation. Why in the world would we expect him to be able to make it an entire season, the update was as follows. Packers running back Marshawn Lloyd, undisclosed, sat out during team drills or organized team activities on Wednesday. It goes on to say it's possible this is just a maintenance-related coaching decision, but it's still slightly concerning. Injuries have limited Lloyd to just 10 offensive snaps. Through two NFL seasons, Packers starting running back to Os Jacob was arrested, blah blah blah, per ESPN Rob Dumaski. Lloyd took part in team drills during Tuesday's closed session, but did only individual work Wednesday. Packers running back Chris Brooks began team drills for the first team offense before subbing out for running back Pierre Strong. Packers had the day off on Thursday, and will Zoom practice tomorrow. The Packers remain optimistic that the powerful and speedy Lloyd can repay the team for their patience, but he needs to retake the field soon if he hopes to prove his reliability. The bottom line at this point is that I don't know that anybody, I bottom line, you, you may just have to go do something, and I don't know what that something is, but you have to almost assume that we're in a situation with no Josh Jacobs and no Marshawn Lloyd, even though we may have Josh Jacobs and Marshawn Lloyd. I don't know how you know, I know the Packers want some kind of resolution. They also have a better understanding of what the situation is, and it may be very minor, and they're not really worried about it, but I mean, I'm to the point of I don't know how we can proceed at this point with I guess I'm just kind of assuming at this point that we're going to see Brooks and Pierre strong as our starting running backs, and probably not just for a couple snaps, I'm seeing a very distinct scenario and possibility that what's going to happen is that the Green Bay Packers are not going to have Josh Jacobs, and they're not going to have Marshawn Lloyd for a very extended period of time, and you got to figure out what the heck that looks like. Presumably the draft is a place we're going to have to start looking pretty heavily, but outside of that, what about this year? Because you know, I think we could get by, but I'd rather not focus on just getting by at this point. Now, it's easier to just say that than to actually do something productive, and I don't know exactly what that is at this point. Fall to your knees and hope and pray that Marshawn Lloyd and Josh Jacobs situations get resolved and everything's going to be fine, but outside of that, I feel like there's either got to be a trade situation, which is not my favorite option, or some kind of a free agent option. Now, if there were any good free agents, they wouldn't be free agents, that's kind of the thing about free agency. Unfortunately, there are some names here that I think are potentially worth keeping an eye on. For example, Naji Harris, Naji Harris is first of all exactly the type of running back that I could see Brian Gutta comes being a big fan of, he's 28 so he's not super old, although in running back years that's like 32 six won 242 pounds, and he played for Alabama, so big dude, strong dude, and the other thing is, he's always been good, I don't exactly know what happened, but he spent four years at Pittsburgh Steelers, and his grades were 7175 77 and 77 He went to the Chargers after his four years, only had 15 attempts, but at 61 yards, 4.1 yards per attempt, and an 84 rushing grade. Nick Chubb is available, he's 3511 227 so another big dude, he comes out of Georgia, so there you go. Big program was phenomenal for a very long time in Cleveland, had one, looks like he got injured in 2023 came back 2024 was not really himself, played for Houston last year, and seemed to do pretty well, 136 attempts, 568 yards, 4.2 yards per attempt, three touchdowns, 76 rushing grade. I don't know that he's, you know, 2022 version of Nick Chubb is coming back, but again in a pinch, I don't, sure, why not? Now, the contracts these guys are asking for matters, but none of them made a ton of Naji Harris had a $5 million contract last year, Chubb was 2.5 million. It looks like I understand we got to let these situations resolve a little bit, but I would certainly be keeping an eye on a few of these guys. I think those two in particular are probably the most interesting. Joe Mixon is available, but he's kind of a scumbag, so I don't really want him on the team. Maybe Naji and Chub have some stuff going on that I just don't remember, or whatever. But again, we'll, we'll, we'll see about that in the, in the future. I, you know, I think before we even discuss trade, we'd have to see definitive. Lee, first of all, the Josh Jacobs thing would have to resolve with him being let go, and then you know from there we could start talking about it. Certainly, if Marshawn Lloyd has some kind of a serious injury that's going to hold him out for a while. I think at that point we're very seriously looking into, are there trade candidates available? How big and splashy, I don't know, but that would become much more of a real thing. As of right now, I don't know. Outside of the Packers making some phone calls, I don't know exactly what what they'd be willing to do, and how much we need to really dig into all that, but certainly disappointing. And by next week, when the Packers are back at it, we had better see Marsha and Lloyd practicing. I mean, we had better at least hear that he is practicing it again, and you know, if they want to shut him down because they want to keep him healthy, or whatever the case may be, they're trying to preserve his body so that he doesn't go through the issues yet. Fine, then first of all, make a statement about that, so we understand the situation, and don't panic, but beyond that, he needs to be out there, he needs to have freaking a helmet on and running around and doing stuff, because this is stupid. And then I think, lastly, for today, some other stuff, but it's bigger stuff, and I'm running out of time here. Wife and I are actually going out to dinner, which is a rare occasion for us, so I'm pretty excited about that. But Bo Melton is now officially listed as a wide receiver, so if you are getting whiplash, then you're just like the rest of us. Again, you gotta, you gotta appreciate Bo Melton, if for no other reason the fact that he's getting jerked around by this team left and right, and he is just keeping his head right in this thing now. Maybe, maybe behind the scenes, he's got a bad attitude, but as much as the Packers love him, I get the impression that he has a great attitude, and maybe he should have more of an attitude, because I mean it would be hard to be a little bit upset to feel like, you know, I've got talent and I've got something to offer, and if you would just invest in me in one area, maybe I could actually grow and thrive in that area, instead of jerking me around from cornerback to wide receiver to gunner to returner to all these different things, you know. I don't know, but he's certainly a valuable asset for us, and hopefully the Packers are able to, you know, I don't want to say stay loyal, I mean, if he doesn't, if it's, if it's not worth keeping him around, then I guess he's got to go, but hopefully they can actually find a role for him, and he can help the Green Bay Packers this year. You know, last year I know he was the issue last year was he had so many wide receivers that the only way he was going to stay on the team is if they moved him to corner. Well, we've kind of purged that, so you could see why it would maybe make sense to move him back if that is his strongest position. In which case, the Packers are actually probably doing right by him, that is, assuming you don't think that just letting him go somewhere and be a wide receiver somewhere else. But either way, I think with the thinning of the wide receiver room, it's given him an opportunity to get back into that room, and you know he's going to be pretty low on the pecking order, but at the same time, what do we got? We got Watson, Reed, Golden, after that is Savian, and then after that is probably Bo, and me being a number five wide receiver, he'll get some action, and as much as Matt LaFleur loves the guy, I mean, you can't, you can't guarantee he won't be ahead of Savian, I don't think he will, but I think Matt LaFleur really likes him, I think he wants him in the offense, and I think he's excited about the different ways that he can use him in the offense, I'm excited about the different ways we can use him in the offense, so anywho, just real quick, let me pull this up, just as a reminder, the Green Bay Packers calendar moving forward, the so this week was week one of OTAs, Friday was that final day, next week, if I'm not mistaken, day one is going to be June 1 of OTAs, and then usually I don't know the exact schedule, but I think in the past, as I've said, usually it's one week of media availability, so it'll be similar. It's probably going to be the second, maybe the next day, which would be June 2, where the media has access to practice, and then they'll have access to Matt LaFleur, and potentially they'll have locker room access, unless they shut that down again because of the Josh Jacobs situation. I don't know, they may just shut that down until training camp or something. I'm not really sure how they're going to handle that, but either way, we'll have some information by next week. Let's see, so this episode will be for Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday. Okay, so just a couple days until we're back at it. So, anywho, you all have a good rest of your day. If you have any calls, 608-501-0718 get your calls in, and I will talk to you over there. Have a good one. 

dies and gentlemen. Welcome once again to the Packernet Podcast. I am your host and resident panelist, as always, Ryan Schlipp. Check us out online, packernet.com Find me on Twitter, pack underscore that ad, so the OTAs for week one are officially behind us. By that, I mean today is the last day for me, and for you it's over. There's a little bit of unfortunate news that we'll get to in a little bit. Before we get there, just want to go through a couple of the news and notesy things that are floating around out there. The first one, I, I don't know, man, it's big, but it's like college football big, and it's confusing. It's going to have some implications on the NFL, but, and how deep do you want to get into this? Plus, it intersects into, like, politics, because politicians, it's bipartisan, but they're still trying to do some stuff. Bottom line, as best as I can tell, there was a Protect College Sports Act presented by Maria Cantwell, Democrat out of Washington, and Ted Cruz, Republican, out of Texas. In order to bring order to the current Wild West landscape, one of the things they're trying to do is to crack down on phony N I L money that is essentially to create a commission that tries to make sure that the money coming in is legitimate as opposed to just boosters throwing money at them through some kind of an N I L funnel, I, you know, having not spent a lot of time thinking about that or understanding it, because it's just I don't know, it's again, it's it, it kind of aligns with the NFL and impacts the NFL, but not enough that I've really dug into it a ton, but my general thought is that I don't see how this is going to hold up, because it's going to be very difficult to say yes, we think they should be paid millions of dollars, but only in this way, because if you do that way, that's a bad way. We're getting into some really arbitrary territory here to decide when it's a good thing for them to make millions and when it's a bad thing for them to make millions. I mean, we've kicked open the door and said, yes, you can make money as an athlete, so it is what it is. They're also looking at, like, a salary cap transfer restrictions. Athletes will generally be limited to one transfer during their college career without losing a year of eligibility. Sets a standard five year eligibility limit, prevents a breakaway. The bill tries to stop the wealthiest conferences, like Big 10 and SEC, from forming their own exclusive Super League by putting strict rules on conferences that make more than a billion dollars in annual revenue. I don't know. I look, I will simply say this: I think that college football has probably always been a little bit of a mess, and it's so hard to manage because there's so many different things, and that's why you find all kinds of scandals and all kinds of crazy stuff, because you set rules, and you know it's kind of like arm wrestling, if you're not cheating, you're not trying, I mean, the whole sport is just cheating, trying to gain an upper hand any way that you can, try not to get caught doing it, and so when you kick open a door the way that they have, man, it creates absolute chaos in such a massive thing that is college sports and college football, and you know, maybe, maybe things will settle on their own, it'll come to like a new natural stasis, I don't know if that's the right word, but it's also possible that it's just going to spiral out of control and continue spiraling, and so I understand the impulse to try to step in here and fix some things that have got are getting wildly out of control, or seemingly wildly out of control. I also think the government has a very low chance of actually fixing any of this, but whatever, we'll see what happens. If it ends up passing, we can take a second look at all the different components and what that could possibly mean. As of right now, it's a pretty steep uphill battle to get this passed and implemented, and everything. Also, as this is my duty, I will give you my weekly announcement that you should not get involved in media companies and journalism via Ryan Glass Spiegel. Two days ago, multiple NFL voices were laid off at Yahoo Sports this week, including Charles Robinson, who had been there over 20 years. Sources told FOS, Charles McDonald also announced he has been laid off. Charles Robinson has been around forever. I mean, they said it right there, 20 years, but I mean, that is one of the.. it's one of the guys that you.. I mean, that's a huge name in the.. in the space. Interestingly enough. Connor Orr, who is from Sports Illustrated, said Charles and Charles are dogged, creative, curious, hilarious, and original, the kinds of things we're running out of in this space. Can't wait to subscribe to wherever they land next. Why is that interesting? Because just as I was about to get started recording, I see this from Michael Rosenberg, who is a senior writer of Sports Illustrated says, this morning I had my favorite kind of meeting, a short one. I was laid off during that meeting. Goes on to say other things, but you get the idea. Adam Schefter memorialized him, said nobody better, an all-time writer. This is amongst many things disheartening. And then he says gutting the place, so Yahoo is gutting the place, and about a day or two later, Sports Illustrated starts gutting all of its people. As I've said before, these companies are purging money. They have a business model that just does not make any sense. They have massive, massive overhead, trying to compete with people that have zero, basically zero overhead. They pay for an internet connection and a freaking electric bill. There are probably very little to no other recurring costs that they have. So don't do it. Been saying this now for well over a year, it is, it is the most painful, slow death I've ever watched and experienced. By the way, I just looked, Charles Robinson was the senior NFL reporter for Yahoo, that's a pretty big layoff. It's also brand new breaking news here, Giants fear wide receiver Gunner Olazewski, who was carted off the practice field today, tore his Achilles. He will undergo additional testing to confirm the injury. It's an unfortunate thing that happens, man. You get into this time, you're all excited, and within seconds of these guys touching grass, they're getting carted off the field, and you just hope and pray that your guys are not included in that. In other news, Paris Campbell, wide receiver, is retiring from the NFL. The NFL did release a date and timeline for the NFL cut downs via Tom Pelissero. But he's changing their headers here. I don't recognize anybody anymore. Anywho, he says the NFL informed teams recently that this year's cut-down deadline to 53 players will be 6pm Eastern time on Sunday, august 30, not the following Tuesday, as it has been in recent years. Waiver claims will be due at 1pm Eastern time on Monday, August 30-first. The season kicks off September 9, so that has been added to the calendar that will be the official cut down day for the Green Bay Packers, and then the final non-Packers, non-NFC North specific news. What is this? That's basketball, and I don't.. I just think this is a good take. So I was trying to think, how do I work this into something, or whatever? I don't know that I have much to add to this. I just think it's a good take, and there's a lot of sort of, I don't know, it's hard because I don't really know the opposite views complaints specifically, but there seem to be a lot of people that are upset that things are expanding, right, more games, more this, more that, but that also goes to, we got Monday games, we got Wednesday games, we got Saturday games, we got all these stupid, and it's like, what happened to good old Sunday football, and like, I guess I kind of get it, but I think this is a little bit more the take that I appreciate. Like, I understand what's being said here, but I don't really get it. I mean, eight games sounds like music to my ears, like, what do we want 12 games on that we can't really see any of them, so we watch what two out of the 11 that are on, and we go, "Oh, I know what that those other ones, they confuse me, actually, to watching the games that I did care about, because I kept looking. I think it's awesome. I absolutely love it. I don't want seven games at 1pm I can't watch it all. There's no way. It's stupid. Like, so that's an instant. Like, are you telling me people Sundays are going to be ruined because they're gone? They're going to get home from church and go, "Oh, there's five games on at 1pm instead of seven. Oh, the days I ruined. It's ruined. I mean, I hate when there's four games at 425 I hate it. Or one's at 405 there's two at 405 and two at 425 I hate that I can't watch it. I'd like to enjoy the games, so I'm one that's not going to be, you know, complaining about this. I like the standalone games. I enjoy being able to watch one at a time. And then it's Sunday. There's nothing worse to me on a Sunday when the whole slate, and you go, "Oh my gosh, there's 13 games today, on Sunday. There's no way I can keep track of it all, and really talk about it all, and you know me, I'm sitting there writing notes, trying to keep up and do all that, but I feel like this will be better for everybody to digest, and I don't think it's going to effectively change Sundays all that much. In fact, there's a part of me that wants to argue and go, it's going to make. Better, we're all going to be tuned into the same few games and enjoying that, and be able to see it more, rather than I don't know what happened there. Hold it, he kicked the field goal. Oh, we threw a pass. I have no idea what's going on, but I saw that play, I saw that play, I saw that play, and that's where I wouldn't mind seeing eight games on Sunday. Like, and so, in summary, I can. I just say I'm starting to more and more. I don't watch their show all the time, but I'm starting to see clips, so I'm just kind of getting little glimmers here. And again, starting to really appreciate Chris Sims a little bit. I don't, for obvious reasons, really like Florio. I've never been very anti-Floria. I feel like when I used to watch this, Sims was like the whipping boy of Florio. Florio would say things, and he would just bend to the will and agree with everything he said. There was a clip I saw recently. I don't know if I ended up playing it or if I just watched it, but he went and just went at.. oh, it was over the Diana Rossini thing, where Sims was talking about the situation, and Florio was like trying to warn him, like, tread carefully, and he just was like, "What are you talking about, dude? Once you shut up and let me say what I want, like, he was something to that effect, and like, I don't know the full clip here, I don't know if if Florio took the opposite approach, but it just, I'm seeing Sims basically kind of turn into me almost with, like, you know, I think it's fricking stupid. I don't understand that, you know, and I'm watching Florio kind of squirm in his chair a little bit, like, you know, like he's taking a licking from Daddy over here, and I'm starting to appreciate, I mean, I think I like Sims's takes more, and the fact that he's found his, let's say, his manhood, and is able to kind of stand on his own feet and tell Florio to shut his face and get out of my face, is, you know, whether that's true or not, that's sort of my own little head cannon going on over here, and I appreciate it. I like it. I gotta go back and find that swear and bleep it out, but otherwise I'm in agreement with that. By the way, I don't understand the argument for I want more games on at once that I can't watch. Does it make your fantasy football more fun and enjoyable or something, or is it like red? Not red zone, maybe red zone. I know red zone is more fun with more. I don't know, I don't know what the argument could possibly be. I mean, if there's more games at different times that you don't want to watch, then don't watch it. I mean, I guess I guess I could understand the argument of I don't want, like, all I'm gonna watch is the Packers, and I don't want those on at random times. I would just want as many like noon games on Sunday as possible, but I mean, if you're an enjoyer of football, yeah, you want to spread all over the place, you can watch as many as you can. Anywho, we'll leave it at that for the non-Packers news. We'll take a break. We'll be right back. Getting into the NFC North news, here, first of all, it looks like the Brian Flores lawsuit will go forward. The NFL tried to throw that out and be like, no, no, no, look, let's, let's let us deal with this in house. We have our own mechanism for dealing with disputes, and I mean, I don't really know how all this stuff works as a layman here, but that seems like a conflict of interest, a bit like I'm.. it's kind of like the church doing an investigation on the church, you know what I mean? Like, there's some scandals going on here, like, you know what, we have an internal mechanism, we'll get to the bottom of this, yeah. No, no, you won't. I'm not going to relitigate the whole thing, I've gone through this lawsuit already. I don't remember exactly the details. I do know that Flores is not likely to get what he's after, but who knows? There may be some kind of a thing through discovery that, although he doesn't win, some things get uncovered. I don't know, frickin' drama, you know. I'll take it. As for their GM search, Vikings completed the second round of interviews for their general manager vacancy. The list of finalists includes Vikings' executive advice, right? We went through the list already. The second round is done, so you would assume that the final decision will come very soon. It seems as though the what everybody is expecting is that Rob Brzezinski will get the job. He is already their interim GM, the executive VP of football operations. So, there have been some outside guys, many of them, as we talked about, kind of turned away from the job, but Broncos assistant GM, Bill's assistant GM, Rams assistant GM, and Seahawks assistant GM also in the running, but again, as of now, the inside track seems to be Rob Brzezinski and his job to lose. Sticking with the Vikings, so far in OTAs, obviously not a ton to take away from anything, but we might as well stay on top of it. Kevin O'Connell has mentioned that he's going to install some. Schemes, I'm guessing this is pretty standard across the league. Everybody says everybody's doing everything brand new. Reps, however, are being split between Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy. That's going to be sort of the, I think it's more of an off-season hypey thing, where it's like, oh boy, what's going to happen. We all kind of know what's going to happen. Kyler Murray is currently in the process of trying to adjust to the very wordy verbiage of Kevin O'Connell's system, so I guess it's a very complicated and again wordy system that he's not necessarily used to. So far, though, reports are positive he's looking good in camp, his arm looks good, he's got an early connection with Jordan Addison McCarthy. On the other hand, really focusing on the processing speed, decision making, ball placement. Listen, if I could, I, you know, I went on this rant yesterday about how the Packers are better at doing the quarterback thing, and everything. McCarthy needed the Jordan Love treatment. Now, I don't know if he ever would have become great, and maybe he can still, if he's able to sit somewhere. I think it would be nice. I don't think it's going to happen. I think they're going to end up moving on from them. They're not going to give them another contract, but it would be nice to just let him sit and learn, and you know, continue learning from Kevin O'Connell, continue to sit behind Kyler Murray, to, you know, a little bit learn from Kyler Murray, but for the most part just develop without the pressure and with all the craziness of having to start and give this guy a shot after another year or two sitting and see what happens again. I don't think that's going to happen. I think they pushed them out there like, like always happens. They always.. this is exactly the point I made about the Packers and how they're different. Everybody is willing to pay lip service to the idea that, oh yeah, we're gonna let them sit, but man, when the, when the fire gets hot, they sure push those guys out there, don't they? We're gonna wait, we're gonna wait, we lose a couple games, everybody starts screaming, and boy, here he comes, here comes the savior, right? That's why you guys are in the situation anyways. Additionally, offensive line coach Keith Carter is setting the tone early, heavy emphasis during unpadded drills on first step power in the run game and leverage. So I can't tie it directly to what we were talking about with 13 personnel, but it's been a couple years now of people wanting to get bigger and stronger and more aggressive up front. It sounds like they're emphasizing that as well. Over in Minnesota, first round pick Caleb Banks is currently sidelined with a foot injury until training camp. Safety Jacoby, excuse me, Josh Metellus looks locked in as the every down safety. Theo Jackson, Jay Ward, and Jacoby Thomas are actively competing for remaining roles, if you don't know who those people are exactly. As for the Chicago Bears, Ben Johnson is heavily focused on overhauling daily habits, getting sharper offensive execution. Now that they're in year two of his system, he, for the second year in a row now, has talked about trying to get Caleb Williams' completion percentage up, which is quite hilarious. I saw Peter Bukowski comment on this, and he's exactly right that you've got the coach saying we want his completion percentage to come up. Caleb Williams has one of the worst completion percentages in football. Packer fans say, ha ha, your completion percentage sucks. Bears fans say who cares about completion percentage? Look at x, y, and z. And then the coach comes out again this year and says the number one focus for us is completion percentage. And then Bears fans are like, well, we never said completion percentage wasn't important. You guys are stupid, bro. Anywho, there's also a clip circulating, Ben Johnson saying he wants to buy stock in Luther Burden, very excited about Luther Burden. Congratulations on Luther Burden. We'll see. I have a hard time talking trash about Luther Burden, considering that was my guy in the, in the old process, but it's way too early to be making any bold proclamations of that sort, so I'm not really worried about that yet. Plus, the standard is pretty low to be something special in Chicago. There is already talk, though, of expecting a lot of heavy 12 and 13 personnel with Colson Loveland and Cole Commette, so again tying into what we talked about yesterday. Plus, if you remember, they were one of the teams that was a little heavy on that already, so expect that to continue and expand. Left tackle Ozzie Trapio is expected to miss the season with a patellar tendon issue. Braxton Jones currently the front runner, taking first team reps alongside Theo Benedet, while veteran signing Jedrick Wills is also in the mix, and then veteran Garrett Bradbury, who was brought in to replace the retired Drew Dahlman, is fighting for the starting job against second-round rookie Logan Jones, which, I mean, I don't know, I find that whole thing to be quite funny. I mean, when they lost their center Drew Dahlman, that was massive. I mean, it is massive, and. And of course Bears fans try to play that down, like, oh, it's fine, we got Garrett Bradbury, and of course Garrett Bradbury is terrible, and then they draft Logan Jones, and then it's all, see, we're good, we got Logan, what, what happened to Garrett Bradbury, plus now they're in a competition, I hope Garrett Bradbury wins, I really do, I doubt he does, but I hope he wins, cornerback Jalen Johnson is skipping OTAs, which is, I guess, kind of standard for him. Kyler Gordon is out a few weeks with a soft tissue injury. And then, finally, the Detroit Lions, Dan Campbell still obviously running that ship, but new offensive coordinator Drew Petsing is in charge of the offense, as of right now, he's turned over the keys to Petzing. The good news for us is that Petsing is from Arizona, so our defensive coordinator is going to have a pretty good idea of exactly the defensive mind that is going to be, or the offensive mind that is going to be taking over for Detroit. Petsing is a guy that looks heavily to the run game, so very similar to what a lot of other people are talking about, that is sort of his MO. Biggest storyline for Detroit is the fact that they are still planning on moving all pro right tackle Penne Sewell to the left side. I think that is crazy, but he's obviously supremely talented, so we'll probably be able to handle it, but if there's even a slight decline in his play, that was a giant mistake. The right tackle spot now is currently involved in a battle, which you, that's not what you want to hear if you're a Detroit Lions fan, but as of right now, there's a head-to-head battle between first round rookie Blake Miller and veteran edition Larry Boreham. If Blake Miller can't win that job, I mean, that's, that's a serious.. we're, we're moving Penny Sewell because of Blake Miller, because we drafted a right tackle, and so he's going to need to.. it's going to need to be able to do his job. There's also a competition at left guard, second year player Christian Mahogany, who you know there were a lot of high hopes to begin with, but he's currently the front runner in a battle against several guys, including Miles Frazier, Ben Bart, and Drew Juice scrubs, so the offensive line is starting to fizzle a bit, and they're trying to grab a hold of it and try to get it back to its former glory. On defense, Kelvin Shepherd's defense wants to get more versatile and experimenting with base three, four, nickel, and five down looks with a potential shift toward more zone coverage. Safety, Kirby Joseph's knee is a major talking point right now. Update updates are being deferred until more info is available. Brian Branch and Terry and Arnold are also rehabbing. I saw this over here. Lions coach Den Dan Campbell said the team is prioritizing safety Kirby Joseph's knee 2026 availability over participation in spring workouts. Both the starting safeties, Joseph and Branch, are rehabbing significant injuries. It'll be great to get one or both back on the field this spring. Campbell does not want to hurry his injured stars back and risk reinjury, so that's a rough spot there on the offensive side. Ted and tight end Sam La Porta is limited, basically said the exact same thing about Sam La Porta. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he is in no rush to get Sam La Porta back on the field for spring workouts. So those are the biggest storylines, probably are the injuries right now that they're going through. And then the offensive line shuffling. All right, let's take a break there. We'll come back with some Green Bay Packers news. We'll be right back. All right, so the big news here, unfortunately, is that Marshawn Lloyd is once again injured. Now we don't know to what extent this may be just a minor thing. He may be back as early as today. He's been participating up to this point, but for a guy that has not ever been able to stay healthy up to this point, the last thing you want to see is he's once again not practicing with the team due to an injury, no matter how minor, because for the most part people have kind of given up hope that he can stay healthy as it is, and this is just further confirmation that that's exactly the situation. Why in the world would we expect him to be able to make it an entire season, the update was as follows. Packers running back Marshawn Lloyd, undisclosed, sat out during team drills or organized team activities on Wednesday. It goes on to say it's possible this is just a maintenance-related coaching decision, but it's still slightly concerning. Injuries have limited Lloyd to just 10 offensive snaps. Through two NFL seasons, Packers starting running back to Os Jacob was arrested, blah blah blah, per ESPN Rob Dumaski. Lloyd took part in team drills during Tuesday's closed session, but did only individual work Wednesday. Packers running back Chris Brooks began team drills for the first team offense before subbing out for running back Pierre Strong. Packers had the day off on Thursday, and will Zoom practice tomorrow. The Packers remain optimistic that the powerful and speedy Lloyd can repay the team for their patience, but he needs to retake the field soon if he hopes to prove his reliability. The bottom line at this point is that I don't know that anybody, I bottom line, you, you may just have to go do something, and I don't know what that something is, but you have to almost assume that we're in a situation with no Josh Jacobs and no Marshawn Lloyd, even though we may have Josh Jacobs and Marshawn Lloyd. I don't know how you know, I know the Packers want some kind of resolution. They also have a better understanding of what the situation is, and it may be very minor, and they're not really worried about it, but I mean, I'm to the point of I don't know how we can proceed at this point with I guess I'm just kind of assuming at this point that we're going to see Brooks and Pierre strong as our starting running backs, and probably not just for a couple snaps, I'm seeing a very distinct scenario and possibility that what's going to happen is that the Green Bay Packers are not going to have Josh Jacobs, and they're not going to have Marshawn Lloyd for a very extended period of time, and you got to figure out what the heck that looks like. Presumably the draft is a place we're going to have to start looking pretty heavily, but outside of that, what about this year? Because you know, I think we could get by, but I'd rather not focus on just getting by at this point. Now, it's easier to just say that than to actually do something productive, and I don't know exactly what that is at this point. Fall to your knees and hope and pray that Marshawn Lloyd and Josh Jacobs situations get resolved and everything's going to be fine, but outside of that, I feel like there's either got to be a trade situation, which is not my favorite option, or some kind of a free agent option. Now, if there were any good free agents, they wouldn't be free agents, that's kind of the thing about free agency. Unfortunately, there are some names here that I think are potentially worth keeping an eye on. For example, Naji Harris, Naji Harris is first of all exactly the type of running back that I could see Brian Gutta comes being a big fan of, he's 28 so he's not super old, although in running back years that's like 32 six won 242 pounds, and he played for Alabama, so big dude, strong dude, and the other thing is, he's always been good, I don't exactly know what happened, but he spent four years at Pittsburgh Steelers, and his grades were 7175 77 and 77 He went to the Chargers after his four years, only had 15 attempts, but at 61 yards, 4.1 yards per attempt, and an 84 rushing grade. Nick Chubb is available, he's 3511 227 so another big dude, he comes out of Georgia, so there you go. Big program was phenomenal for a very long time in Cleveland, had one, looks like he got injured in 2023 came back 2024 was not really himself, played for Houston last year, and seemed to do pretty well, 136 attempts, 568 yards, 4.2 yards per attempt, three touchdowns, 76 rushing grade. I don't know that he's, you know, 2022 version of Nick Chubb is coming back, but again in a pinch, I don't, sure, why not? Now, the contracts these guys are asking for matters, but none of them made a ton of Naji Harris had a $5 million contract last year, Chubb was 2.5 million. It looks like I understand we got to let these situations resolve a little bit, but I would certainly be keeping an eye on a few of these guys. I think those two in particular are probably the most interesting. Joe Mixon is available, but he's kind of a scumbag, so I don't really want him on the team. Maybe Naji and Chub have some stuff going on that I just don't remember, or whatever. But again, we'll, we'll, we'll see about that in the, in the future. I, you know, I think before we even discuss trade, we'd have to see definitive. Lee, first of all, the Josh Jacobs thing would have to resolve with him being let go, and then you know from there we could start talking about it. Certainly, if Marshawn Lloyd has some kind of a serious injury that's going to hold him out for a while. I think at that point we're very seriously looking into, are there trade candidates available? How big and splashy, I don't know, but that would become much more of a real thing. As of right now, I don't know. Outside of the Packers making some phone calls, I don't know exactly what what they'd be willing to do, and how much we need to really dig into all that, but certainly disappointing. And by next week, when the Packers are back at it, we had better see Marsha and Lloyd practicing. I mean, we had better at least hear that he is practicing it again, and you know, if they want to shut him down because they want to keep him healthy, or whatever the case may be, they're trying to preserve his body so that he doesn't go through the issues yet. Fine, then first of all, make a statement about that, so we understand the situation, and don't panic, but beyond that, he needs to be out there, he needs to have freaking a helmet on and running around and doing stuff, because this is stupid. And then I think, lastly, for today, some other stuff, but it's bigger stuff, and I'm running out of time here. Wife and I are actually going out to dinner, which is a rare occasion for us, so I'm pretty excited about that. But Bo Melton is now officially listed as a wide receiver, so if you are getting whiplash, then you're just like the rest of us. Again, you gotta, you gotta appreciate Bo Melton, if for no other reason the fact that he's getting jerked around by this team left and right, and he is just keeping his head right in this thing now. Maybe, maybe behind the scenes, he's got a bad attitude, but as much as the Packers love him, I get the impression that he has a great attitude, and maybe he should have more of an attitude, because I mean it would be hard to be a little bit upset to feel like, you know, I've got talent and I've got something to offer, and if you would just invest in me in one area, maybe I could actually grow and thrive in that area, instead of jerking me around from cornerback to wide receiver to gunner to returner to all these different things, you know. I don't know, but he's certainly a valuable asset for us, and hopefully the Packers are able to, you know, I don't want to say stay loyal, I mean, if he doesn't, if it's, if it's not worth keeping him around, then I guess he's got to go, but hopefully they can actually find a role for him, and he can help the Green Bay Packers this year. You know, last year I know he was the issue last year was he had so many wide receivers that the only way he was going to stay on the team is if they moved him to corner. Well, we've kind of purged that, so you could see why it would maybe make sense to move him back if that is his strongest position. In which case, the Packers are actually probably doing right by him, that is, assuming you don't think that just letting him go somewhere and be a wide receiver somewhere else. But either way, I think with the thinning of the wide receiver room, it's given him an opportunity to get back into that room, and you know he's going to be pretty low on the pecking order, but at the same time, what do we got? We got Watson, Reed, Golden, after that is Savian, and then after that is probably Bo, and me being a number five wide receiver, he'll get some action, and as much as Matt LaFleur loves the guy, I mean, you can't, you can't guarantee he won't be ahead of Savian, I don't think he will, but I think Matt LaFleur really likes him, I think he wants him in the offense, and I think he's excited about the different ways that he can use him in the offense, I'm excited about the different ways we can use him in the offense, so anywho, just real quick, let me pull this up, just as a reminder, the Green Bay Packers calendar moving forward, the so this week was week one of OTAs, Friday was that final day, next week, if I'm not mistaken, day one is going to be June 1 of OTAs, and then usually I don't know the exact schedule, but I think in the past, as I've said, usually it's one week of media availability, so it'll be similar. It's probably going to be the second, maybe the next day, which would be June 2, where the media has access to practice, and then they'll have access to Matt LaFleur, and potentially they'll have locker room access, unless they shut that down again because of the Josh Jacobs situation. I don't know, they may just shut that down until training camp or something. I'm not really sure how they're going to handle that, but either way, we'll have some information by next week. Let's see, so this episode will be for Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday. Okay, so just a couple days until we're back at it. So, anywho, you all have a good rest of your day. If you have any calls, 608-501-0718 get your calls in, and I will talk to you over there. Have a good one. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Joe Pisapia, Andrew Erickson, and Scott Bogman as they break down the entire NFC North ahead of the 2026 NFL season! Timestamps: (May be off due to ads) Intro - 0:00:00 JJ McCarthy vs Kyler Murray - 0:00:45 18-game season is “highly unlikely” for 2027 - 0:03:14 Pristine Auction Giveaway - 0:08:32 Bears - 0:09:35 Lions - 0:21:19 Hard Rock Bet - 0:29:55 Packers - 0:30:55 Vikings - 0:42:24See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Joe Pisapia, Andrew Erickson, and Scott Bogman as they break down the entire NFC North ahead of the 2026 NFL season! Timestamps: (May be off due to ads) Intro - 0:00:00 JJ McCarthy vs Kyler Murray - 0:00:45 18-game season is “highly unlikely” for 2027 - 0:03:14 Pristine Auction Giveaway - 0:08:32 Bears - 0:09:35 Lions - 0:21:19 Hard Rock Bet - 0:29:55 Packers - 0:30:55 Vikings - 0:42:24See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part 3 of our series breaking down every fantasy-relevant player for 2026 fantasy football. In this episode, Ian Hartitz goes team by team through the NFC East — covering every quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end you need to know about for the Cowboys, Giants, Commanders, and Eagles.We rank every player, call out the values and the traps, and tell you exactly where each one should go in your fantasy drafts. From the studs everyone knows about to the deep sleepers nobody is talking about — if they play in the NFC East and they matter for fantasy football, we're covering them. Teams Covered: Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Washington Commanders Philadelphia Eagles Full Series:Part 1 (NFC West): [link to NFC West Preview]Part 2 (NFC North): [link NFC North Preview]Part 3: You're here! Topics in this video: Fantasy football 2026, NFC East fantasy football, Cowboys fantasy, Giants fantasy, Commanders fantasy, Eagles fantasy, fantasy football rankings, RB rankings, WR rankings, QB rankings, TE rankings, fantasy football draft strategy, best ball, dynasty fantasy football, fantasy sleepers, NFC East preview Subscribe for more fantasy football content#FantasyFootball #2026FantasyFootball #NFCEast #FantasyRankings #Cowboys #Giants #Commanders #Eagles #BestBall #DynastyFantasyFootball #FantasyFootballPodcast #FantasyFootballStrategy #FantasyFootballAdviceFantasy football is unpredictable, but your internet price doesn't have to be. Lock in fast, reliable WiFi with Xfinity's 5-Year Price Guarantee.https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/trackclk/N8667.5415713FLNEWSLETTERLLC/B34798571.4365895[…]gdpr=${GDPR};gdpr_consent=${GDPR_CONSENT_755};ltd=;dc_tdv=1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

R.I.P. Claude Lemieux, Jeremiyah Love disrespects Jared Goff, which Detroit Lions are you more confident in their return from injury? Brian Branch or Sam LaPorta. PLUS NFC North WR Rankings.

This one hits different. On this episode of Packernet After Dark, we dive deep into the bittersweet poetry of legacy — the ghosts that still haunt Lambeau, the pain of facing Aaron Rodgers in a Steelers uniform under Sunday Night Lights, and the raw frustration of watching Dan Campbell punch another hole in the drywall after another prime-time meltdown against Green Bay. Key Discussion Points: The emotional weight of closing the Aaron Rodgers chapter: love, respect, and the necessary heartbreak of beating the legend who built the throne Jordan Love ascending while carrying the torch through the cold Matthew Golden's explosive emergence — 24 Carat alchemy that's cooking secondaries and writing the next chapter in real time The Lions Thanksgiving disaster, Campbell's drywall therapy, and what it says about the current NFC North power struggle This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. Tundra FM delivered pure emotion tonight — legacy reckoning, future hope, and that bittersweet sting that only true Packers fans understand. Drop your thoughts in the comments: Could you actually cheer against Rodgers in a Steelers uniform? How high are we riding with Matthew Golden right now? Is this the season we finally put the ghosts to rest? To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Support the Show & Explore My Projects Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app

This one hits different. On this episode of Packernet After Dark, we dive deep into the bittersweet poetry of legacy — the ghosts that still haunt Lambeau, the pain of facing Aaron Rodgers in a Steelers uniform under Sunday Night Lights, and the raw frustration of watching Dan Campbell punch another hole in the drywall after another prime-time meltdown against Green Bay. Key Discussion Points: The emotional weight of closing the Aaron Rodgers chapter: love, respect, and the necessary heartbreak of beating the legend who built the throne Jordan Love ascending while carrying the torch through the cold Matthew Golden's explosive emergence — 24 Carat alchemy that's cooking secondaries and writing the next chapter in real time The Lions Thanksgiving disaster, Campbell's drywall therapy, and what it says about the current NFC North power struggle This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. Tundra FM delivered pure emotion tonight — legacy reckoning, future hope, and that bittersweet sting that only true Packers fans understand. Drop your thoughts in the comments: Could you actually cheer against Rodgers in a Steelers uniform? How high are we riding with Matthew Golden right now? Is this the season we finally put the ghosts to rest? To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Support the Show & Explore My Projects Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app

Kendall Valenzuela, Ian Hartitz, and Dwain McFarland break down the entire NFC North from a fantasy football perspective ahead of the 2026 season — diving into the biggest draft targets, fades, sleepers, and breakout candidates on the Bears, Packers, Vikings, and Lions. The gang tackle some of the toughest fantasy questions in the division: • Will Caleb Williams continue to grow in year 2 of Ben Johnson's offense? • Why are Dwain and Ian fighting about Josh Jacobs? • Is Kyler Murray an upgrade for Justin Jefferson in fantasy? • Can Jahmyr Gibbs be the RB1 in 2026 without David Montgomery in town? Plus: • Best values in fantasy drafts • Players being overdrafted • Late-round sleepers • Bounce-back candidates • Team-by-team fantasy outlooks for every NFC North offense If you're preparing for 2026 fantasy football drafts, this NFC North preview has everything you need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Ryan dives deep into the quarterback landscape of the NFC North, using advanced metrics like EPA per dropback, DVOA, CPOE, and PFF grades to separate fact from fiction. After a quick NFL news update and OTA thoughts, he breaks down why Jordan Love and Jared Goff stand out as the clear 1A and 1B in the division, while addressing the hype around Caleb Williams and Kyler Murray's availability concerns. Key discussion points include: Why traditional stats like yards and touchdowns are noisy and unreliable compared to modern metrics Detailed 2023-2025 performance analysis showing Love and Goff consistently ranking in the top 5-10 Caleb Williams' accuracy issues and the massive leap needed to reach elite level The importance of low-noise, reproducible stats that actually tie to real value on the field This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you enjoyed this deep dive into quarterback evaluation, please subscribe, leave a 5-star rating and review, and share with fellow Packers fans. Follow along for more analysis as OTAs continue. To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast

In this episode, Ryan dives deep into the quarterback landscape of the NFC North, using advanced metrics like EPA per dropback, DVOA, CPOE, and PFF grades to separate fact from fiction. After a quick NFL news update and OTA thoughts, he breaks down why Jordan Love and Jared Goff stand out as the clear 1A and 1B in the division, while addressing the hype around Caleb Williams and Kyler Murray's availability concerns. Key discussion points include: Why traditional stats like yards and touchdowns are noisy and unreliable compared to modern metrics Detailed 2023-2025 performance analysis showing Love and Goff consistently ranking in the top 5-10 Caleb Williams' accuracy issues and the massive leap needed to reach elite level The importance of low-noise, reproducible stats that actually tie to real value on the field This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you enjoyed this deep dive into quarterback evaluation, please subscribe, leave a 5-star rating and review, and share with fellow Packers fans. Follow along for more analysis as OTAs continue. To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast

Memorial Day is over and Packers OTAs officially begin tomorrow, but before we spiral into boot watches and right tackle rotation drama, we're settling the real fight in the NFC North. Today I lay out exactly why Jared Goff was the best quarterback in the division last season — not with vibes, not with "he's about to take the leap," but with the actual numbers that matter. We're calling out the bad stats, the ecological fallacies, and the crayon rankings once and for all. What to expect from Week 1 OTAs: voluntary participation, no pads, teaching tempo, key injury updates, and why I'm already preemptively pissed about potential right tackle cross-training experiments. The statistical case for Jared Goff: leading the North in yards, touchdowns, passer rating, and sitting comfortably ahead on PFF while protecting the ball better than Jordan Love or Caleb Williams. Why wins, raw yards, and "future potential" metrics are noisy garbage when ranking quarterbacks — and why serious people isolate what the QB actually controls. Tomorrow's plan: the full, no-holds-barred ranking of all four NFC North quarterbacks using metrics that actually work. This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. Tell me your thoughts on this one — I want to hear from you. If the rant fired you up, hit subscribe, drop a review, and throw your NFC North QB rankings in the comments. We're just getting started with OTAs and these quarterback debates. To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app

Memorial Day is over and Packers OTAs officially begin tomorrow, but before we spiral into boot watches and right tackle rotation drama, we're settling the real fight in the NFC North. Today I lay out exactly why Jared Goff was the best quarterback in the division last season — not with vibes, not with "he's about to take the leap," but with the actual numbers that matter. We're calling out the bad stats, the ecological fallacies, and the crayon rankings once and for all. What to expect from Week 1 OTAs: voluntary participation, no pads, teaching tempo, key injury updates, and why I'm already preemptively pissed about potential right tackle cross-training experiments. The statistical case for Jared Goff: leading the North in yards, touchdowns, passer rating, and sitting comfortably ahead on PFF while protecting the ball better than Jordan Love or Caleb Williams. Why wins, raw yards, and "future potential" metrics are noisy garbage when ranking quarterbacks — and why serious people isolate what the QB actually controls. Tomorrow's plan: the full, no-holds-barred ranking of all four NFC North quarterbacks using metrics that actually work. This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. Tell me your thoughts on this one — I want to hear from you. If the rant fired you up, hit subscribe, drop a review, and throw your NFC North QB rankings in the comments. We're just getting started with OTAs and these quarterback debates. To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app

The Packers schedule this year is truly bizarre. The Packers have 5 mini bye weeks, a Wednesday game, a game on Christmas Day and no back to back divisional games for the first time since the NFC North was formed. This has opened up the unique opportunity for us to do the wildest annual tour idea yet. Can we pull it off? We think so!

ladies and gentlemen. Welcome once again to the Packernet Podcast. I am your host and resident panelist, as always, Ryan Schlipp. Check us out online, packernet.com Find me on Twitter, pack underscore dad. So, yesterday we did a Caleb thing, because it was brought to my attention, I guess, that these kinds of things are being said, and I mean, it shouldn't be necessarily surprising. I mean, we've seen a lot of dumb things from Les. I mean, we've seen Justin Fields, who was dog crap, and we're being told that the guy was actually very, very good and was just being held back, and all this stupid nonsense was never ever true, as I think we all have come to realize. Shame on those that doubted me, but again, the the Bears are not the only ones having some fantastical ideas, and as I've said the last couple of days, the one that surprised me the most was the Minnesota Vikings, and so I'm more curious than anything to kind of dive around and see what the heck these guys have been doing over here. Again, they're quiet, they've been quiet, which you know, again, everybody's been kind of quiet, nobody's really crossing that line of like talking trash, but everyone's kind of in their own corner getting themselves fired up and in their tight little, their airtight bubbles, so that when you walk into it, it's holy cow, what have you guys been doing over here, which I'm sure they do to us as well, but I figured there's a nice little connection here, because yesterday we talked about the Chicago Bears quarterback and some of the nonsense that's going on, and although I'm not sure exactly what the heck is going on over there in Minnesota, aside from just a very cursory look, I do know that a big part of their belief in everything being different this year is, wait for it, the quarterback. Now, most of us hadn't even considered that this is very similar to when they got Donald, which, yes, did go very, very well. He's still playing at a very high level. I don't think many people expected that, and I don't think that that happens very often. I think that that's exceedingly rare. We'll see if Malik is another one of those, unfortunately, but there does seem to be an underlying confidence that, okay, we needed a quarterback, boom, we got this guy, and again, I don't know if it's so much that Kyler is going to be elite as opposed to JJ, was the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone ever anywhere, and anybody that is even marginally decent at anything is going to get us to where we need to be, because I guess we're just such a good team, we need subpar quarterback play just to be a playoff team, like if we just get to up to subpar, then we're good, but I figure before we kind of attack the issue, I want to find out what exactly it is, what are Vikings fans saying about their quarterback situation, because first of all, I think it's settled, but I, you know, they're at least not 100% going to come out and say that it's settled. The Athletics, Alec Lewis believes the Vikings will measure quarterback JJ McCarthy's development by assessing his accuracy, touch, consistency this summer, by the way. I will say, as Packer fans, we don't want JJ McCarthy to start. The reason being they went out and got this quarterback, Kyler Murray, with the full intention of him starting. There's never a question, JJ is going to be moved, McCarthy is going to be the guy, we're going to find a new quarterback, excuse me, Kyler is going to be the guy, and then we're going to find a new quarterback and move forward that way, unless we can get Kyler to be really good, even then it's kind of iffy, they're probably hoping for a second Sam Darnold situation, then they don't mess it up and get rid of him, but he's 30, and as a mobile quarterback, age is a much bigger issue. He's not quite 30, but he's getting there. Once you start hitting the later years as a mobile quarterback, you have to learn to stand in the pocket and throw, and if you can't, then it's not great. Plus, the size and injury stuff, his, he's not going to be a 40 year old quarterback, it's not going to happen. So, the shelf life here is much shorter than, for example, Sam Darnold. So, with all that said, with the expectation of moving on from McCarthy and moving in a different direction, if. McCarthy starts. It's because, holy crap, he took that step. So that's the only, the only path I see, pending some, you know, injury or whatever, where they start JJ McCarthy over Kyler Murray, which would suck, because that would, that would be bad. So why don't we start here, and I know this guy's like extra biased hypey for the Vikings, but it's still a good spot to kind of be like, all right, what, what, what's what's the vibe over here? What's going on, Jerome's so the storyline of the off season that this is Purple FTW podcast, by the way, if you're interested in supporting, or whatever. I don't know, like it should get hype, and it seems sort of glossed over that the Vikings signed Kyler Murray, who's still getting paid almost 40 million bucks from the Cardinals for $1.3 million and he's Asian, he can do that. The good thing, a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback in his prime, so note number one, they're doing the whole, you know, two-time Pro Bowler thing. In his prime is another one. These are little notes that you can set to the side of what there is to be excited about. Still under 30 with revenge on his mind, as long as he's not playing video games to basically captain this ship, man, whether it's Kyler, whether it's JJ. Yes, it is funny that it transitioned so quickly from, dude, this guy is legitimately, he's legitimately elite, and nobody's talking about it, and that's crazy, or maybe the other guy who's also good don't sound super committed, there. That's interesting. Is JJ McCarthy being thrown under the bus at times? Yes, yes, but quarterback competition, we all know we love JJ. You know what I love more, the Vikings. So whoever it is, whatever it takes, done to them, and also we say we said we just need a captain of the ship, we need somebody to thought he was gonna say Carson Wentz, I was like, please just say Carson Wentz, it'd be hilarious if you also, if that doesn't work, we got Carson Went, skip ahead here just a touch, and with Kyler, this is a chance for some full on career rehab, right. Justin Jefferson, his corner is going to be good to go, and his time with Arizona didn't end the greatest, right? You know, got his contract, even though he's playing his video game. Still never going to forgive Steve Keim, but last year Kyler Murray, you know, five games before he got injured, he did some stuffings and things, you know, completed 68% was best, which Kyler doesn't get enough credit for being an accurate thrower. The football was good to go, and I know a lot has been made, is like, well, what about his a dot has averaged up the targets, but now last couple years, have you seen the Arizona offense? Like, there has nothing been there's to be fair, the reason that matters is because if you're going to talk accuracy, you kind of have to look at it as an accuracy per area of the field thing, right? Because if, if the a dot, the average depth of target is the reason for the accuracy, then you're not actually that accurate of a quarterback, you just throw easier passes. I'm not saying that's the case, but that's the reason that gets brought up. Ben, there's never been a more podunk checkdown offense since watching like JV football. It's essentially what it is, man. But Kyler went two and three as a starter. Jabroni Brisket went one and 15, by the way, or one at 11, plus enough, really good at math, yeah, but Kyler is on the full on career rehab trajectory, and the odds reflect that, in terms of comeback player of the year. Now, Mahomes is probably just gonna be handed the trophy, right, because ACL pretty much probably, yeah, come back all that good stuff, he's the prohibitive favorite across all of the books. Kyler is interestingly enough coming in second, either plus 600 so six to one, you know, 550 in a couple places as well. And I know that everyone's pissing, Mona, like, well, why is Michael Parsons odd so low? Parsons not a quarterback. Parsons tore his knee up late in the season, so there's no guarantee that he's going to be back early in the season, and may not even be himself by mid season. It is what it is, so that's why his odds are longer. Plus, he's not a quarterback, plus, like you said, Pat Mahomes. Good luck beating Pat Mahomes. Pat, I mean, Pat, Pat Mahomes doesn't even need to actually be like a top 10 quarterback, you can see that already everybody already putting him in the top two as far as the rankings, like today, even though he hasn't been in four three years since he's been, I think you'd have to go back four years before he'd be in the top three conversation, but he just needs. To come back and have a winning football team and look like Pat Mahomes, and he will win Comeback Player of the Year, Kyler Murray. If Pat Mahomes doesn't do that, Kyler Murray does make sense to be the next best in line, because he's a quarterback, and if they can make him look good, which again, he doesn't need to be like, you know, PFF grade, top 10-ish. He needs to be healthy the whole year. The Vikings need to have a winning record and needs to look like it's on the back of Kyler Murray, and if they do that, and Pat McHale's isn't in the way, he will win that again. You could say, well, I mean, that's pretty impressive that he is ahead of Michael Parsons, that does say something, maybe kind of, but very much to his point. Micah Parsons is going to have a very difficult time when you're going to miss at least the first four games of the season to dominate to such a degree, and basically the only thing that matters here in this conversation, if we're talking about comeback player of the year, is stay healthy, get a bunch of sacks. I mean, good luck getting the number of sacks you need minus an entire quarter of the season. So, yeah, I mean, I guess, but if you remove Micah from the equation, who is Kyler ahead of in the odds? Malik Neighbors, Daniel Jones and Deshaun Watson. Basically, it's a two-man race with Pat Mahomes at the top, and then Kyler, if he can play, and Mahomes, you know, if he gets hurt, then we'll just hand it to Kyler. And if Kyler can't do it, then Micah has a chance. And the fact that Micah is ahead of all these other guys, which makes sense, have not even having a full season, I don't necessarily know everybody else's situation, but Deshaun Watson isn't even guaranteed to be the starting quarterback, although his odds are way off. Basically, it's not a very large pool, so you know to look at and be like, well, he has the second best comeback odds. I'm not necessarily saying he's doing this, but to use that as evidence that, like, Vegas believes he's going to have a great year, it's an unbelievably small pool of people that could even be considered for this award, because he's going to have a truncated amount of time to do some damage. You have Malik Neighbors, Daniel Jones, Deshaun Watson. Why is Watson on there? It was, but Kyler, second place at getting around six to one. I do think it is Mahomes award to lose, but you know, the media does love a good story, and if and when Kyler Murray is, you know, he wants a starting job and just absolutely lights it up with this freaking offense, which there's gonna have a rededication in the run game. Kyler still has enough mobility where it's a threat to the defense. You got Jefferson, Addison, and Jennings. This offensive line should be good to go, because Darrisaw's leg hopefully won't fall off this season. And then you got Jackson, whoo, Blake Brandle, the solid veteran, getting acclimated at center. Will Fries going to prove that he's worth, hey dirty baby, I'm worth the money. Don't you worry, I said, hey, okay, we got some fries. All right, all right, all right, let's, let's, let's calm down, let's go ahead and skip a little bit here. It's offense, I know that people like to poo poo on the Vikings, and I know that we generally have a very sunny disposition when it comes to the Vikings, but if you're not drinking the purple Kool-Aid, honestly, it takes a special type of hater and loser to look at this offensive unit and be like child, please, and not even mention the defense across, which is going to be hellacious, is going to be extremely good at getting their ass off the field, good field position, taking the ball away, everything's gonna be good. So I honestly do believe that Kyler, you know, everyone and their mom, all Cardinals fan, you know, blaming Kyler for everything, but it's okay. It's okay, he can take the heat, he's gonna be motivated, he's gonna be mobile, agile, hostile. Give me all the six to one, baby. Just I feel like Kyler's on that comeback train and is going to be good to go, right? All right, good enough. So that's a position, and I look again as a Packer fan, even though they are in the division, and, but we got a lot to cover, and a lot to talk about, and all that stuff, and I think for the most part we've been looking at the NFC North through a 30,000 foot view. I haven't spent a lot of my life looking at Kyler Murray and his career, occasionally dabble over the years, just kind of like, oh, what's he, oh, he's, he's really good now, oh, he sucks now. Oh, whatever. I think kind of, kind of the big picture plan that I had here was let's look at Kyler, because that's another big thing. I don't want to go super in depth. We may have to, if I can't, you know, make this a big enough podcast in and of itself. And then perhaps we'll see, I don't, I don't want you know, sometimes I like my themes maybe a little bit more than I should, but the thought would be tomorrow we would do something similar with the Lions with the final crescendo, and maybe we'll just skip part three and go straight to the crescendo, being let's just look at the NFC North quarterbacks, and let's be honest about it. Let's look at golf, let's look at Kyler, let's look at Kayla. And then love, I don't know if we need to do this for the Lions, because I don't know that a lot of Lions fans are sitting around going, "Dude, we're going to be dope because of our quarterback. Last I remember, they started to fall out of love with him a little bit, but maybe that's the best. I'll do a tiny bit of digging to see if there's some golf hype. There probably is, and if there is, then we'll, we'll play this game as well, just so we can kind of get the receipts, and then hear specifically the arguments being made for them, and then we'll, and then again we will crescendo. What the heck does that word mean? Boy, I had no chance of spelling that crescendo, c r e s c r e s c e n d o, a gradual increase in loudness, force, or intensity. See, that's not what I was going for. So, a crescendo is the swelling, it's not the.. so now we're doing the crescendo. This is the swelling portion. Should stop using both of those words, swelling and crescendo. Well, see, I didn't want that to be the.. I didn't want that to be the word I was looking for. There's got to be a different word. Other related terms: fortissimo, sforzando, and tutti. Fortissimo is what we're going to go for, so we'll do the, we'll do the crescendo now, and then it'll get to the fortissimo. Definitely not the other thing, also not 2t We're not going to do a 2t We, there will be no two ting here on the Packer Nut Podcast. But let's take a break, and we'll be right back, you right, let's move over here. This is Menace, excuse me, Purple Daily, Minnesota Vikings chemistry. It is a Q and A segment, I believe. I don't know, but this.. this first portion is Brian continues and says, let me get serious now. The national media narrative on Kyler Murray is that his deep ball has regressed, but a quarterback's downfield accuracy is heavily tied to his targets. When he had DeAndre Hopkins a few years ago, Kyler was one of the better deep ball throwers. First of all, I don't think that's true at all. We'll get into the actual breaking these things down, but just to be clear, you would have to prove that to me. That's one of those things people on social media like to do, where they say things that they think sound smart without having any regard for whether or not you have to look that up. I don't think that that's true. Why? I mean, why would that be the case? I mean, the assumption is, well, if you got somebody wide open or whatever, but that's kind of irrelevant, and the stats don't really take that into account. It's just a question of whether or not you throw a good ball, and saying, well, if you look back a few years ago to when he had this person, then, then, yeah, but you're kind of, you're not really answering the question, you're just kind of giving a different explanation for it, while acknowledging that there has been regression. Yeah, well, a few years ago it was good. I know that's the entire point. It was good, and now it's not good. And you're saying that it's, it's only because of the players, and I'm not saying there can't be some kind of a relationship there. Maybe it goes to confidence, or, you know, I don't know, could also be things like offensive line, you know, if you're throwing on the run in a panic, as opposed to a comfortable pocket, there can be all kinds of variables, but on some level you're going to have to actually prove that correlation, which is again a lot of work to do, significantly less now with AI, but I doubt anybody's actually going to bother doing that, as opposed to just saying it because it sounds good in football with Justin Jefferson and the best supporting cast of his career in Minnesota. Is it creative to prove that as well? I don't know that that's true, but perhaps easy to think Kyler can regain that accuracy and launch himself right back into the MVP conversation, like in 2020 This is how you know that somebody's just saying stuff when, when we go from 'trust me, bro, I'm just being rational' to 'Should we be talking MVP? Why would we go to MVP again? It's not that it's impossible, but why would your mind be sitting there? Why, why, why would that be the case? I mean, if we say it's possible for all 32 quarterbacks, and then work backwards, how far do we get before Kyler gets taken off that list, I. You know, if we're going off of most likely, I don't think he's at or near the top. He won with D Hop, if he stays healthy for the majority of the season. That is where Judd's camp notes come into play. I gotta see the arm strength, because you know he's not wrong. Look, like we have seen, you might be wrong, but I guess we don't know that highlights of Kyler through the years with Cardinals, with some nice deep passes. In fact, again, kind of begging the question here. The question is, is it regressing right? So, if you go back and say, well, if you look back several years ago, it looked good. That doesn't answer the question of is it regressing. If I'm not mistaken, he beat the Vikings on a deep pass to the late Rondelle Moore in a game. So I'm curious to see what the arm strength is now, and again, the question wasn't about strength, although that would be a part of it. It was specifically about accuracy, which is a different thing. Doesn't have to be. I mean, if you don't have the strength and the accuracy of getting the ball to where it needs to be, as opposed to falling short, naturally follows. But now we're just kind of answering why. But he may have strength and not accuracy, so he. so, in other words, what is probably going to happen that doesn't answer the question is he's going to get in cap, he's going to launch a 55 yard ball, and everybody from Purple Daily is going to go, "Well, that answers the question. Everybody was talking about his arm strength, and there it is. No, no, that's not exactly what was being questioned. It was his deep ball accuracy, which is a different thing, and if it was just, but it's weird, because was it the receivers, was it the play calling, because he still had play calling, what the hell does that have to do with his accuracy, or arm strength, for that matter, some pretty good receivers, or so we thought with the Cardinals, but it definitely dissipated, so stage one is what I would say, stage, so this, this theory, like, like the downfield theory of he just has, he's had bad targets, and I'm maybe I'm wrong on this, but I feel like that logic could apply for sure to the 25 plus yard air throws, right? So, all right, this is kind of a 5050 ball. I'm putting the ball way down the field, and over the last four years on passes that travel 25 plus yards in the air down the field of all the qualified quarterbacks, like the, like the 45 qualified quarterbacks, Tyler is dead last incompletion percentage, 21% on passes that travel 25 or more yards. I wasn't going to look at it quite yet, because that was going to be more of a tomorrow or two days thing, but I'm staring at he's looking at something else, because it's 25 yards, he's probably over at Pro Football Reference or something. I'm looking at PFF, which is 20 plus yards, and I'm not looking at the rest of the field, but I can see he has a 76 grade, which sounds good, but this is when you're talking deep balls, this is the area where you've probably got five quarterbacks with a 99 grade, you've got the, you know, probably 20 in the 90s, so being at a 75 he's going to be relatively low. His completion percentage is at 37.5% which that usually is low. So, I can't speak to where that's at, but I'm guessing this is not very good compared to the rest of the league. Yards in the air, yeah, dead last in expected points added per attempt, that's bad. And dead last in yards per attempt, you could say. Well, well, that doesn't even make any sense. You wouldn't look at yards per attempt when you're already looking at 25 I mean, that's kind of just a weird anomaly, I guess. Well, I guess, and again, this is, there are better ways to do this than yards per attempt, if you were really concerned, but if it's 25 plus as the final thing, you could say that he has a weak arm because everybody else has these 60 yard, 50 yard throws, and his, his or more in the 2530 range. He's really not airing it out as much. You could say that, but that doesn't even necessarily answer that question. I think that's just a stupid stat to look at yards per attempt when you're looking at the, when you're looking specifically at yardage, yeah, I mean, give them a, give them a reliable target down the field. Here's where this is, this is where Judd's camp notes are going to come into play even more. It's the 10 plus yards in the air being bad that makes me more nervous, because that now includes the intermediate stuff, kind of the like the deep intermediate, those in cut routes that Kevin O'Connell loves. They're doing my homework for me. I appreciate this. Right, since 2022 on passes and going back to 2022 this encompasses some of his good years. The travel 10 or more yards down the field, Kyler dead last in expected points added per attempt. Yeah, that's 41st out of 43 in yards per attempt, and 36 out of 43 in completion percentage. The yards per attempt make a little bit more sense there, but still, it's even in general, I think yards per attempt is kind of a stupid stat. The only time I would really care is if it was exceedingly high or exceedingly low, that's where you kind of put a little asterisk next to some things like accuracy, and say, okay, we need to kind of do a little bit extra digging, but I genuinely don't care all that much. Yes, having Jefferson, Addison, Juan Jennings is going to help him, and any other quarterback, but like those are valid concerns over the past few years that we need to see what that looks like throughout mini camp, training camp, OTAs, etc. but do we think so? I guess let's go back to 2024 with Donald. You pretty quickly picked up on, don't, don't start. Don't listen. Here is another thing that we're going to have to, again, this, this is kind of just immersing ourselves in, like, what is the conversation over here? What are we doing? What I'm not going to tolerate is, yeah, but we said this about Donald. Darnold was a one-off. Okay, now I am not saying that Kyler, who's already unlike Darnold, demonstrated an ability to be a very good quarterback, if he got, if he was healthy in Arizona, he might have been good this year in Arizona. And I think Kevin O'Connell is a good coach, a good play caller, they have a good offensive line, they have good wide receivers, or mostly good offensive line, and at least one good wide receiver. There's every reason to believe that this could be one of his up years in a career that's been very like really good, really bad, really good, really bad. What I'm not going to do is play this game where you know, look at what happened with Donald, and so we should expect that to be a thing that happens all the time. That is a once in a lifetime situation. What happened with Arnold on in watching him at training camp? He had a great deep ball, like his depot is, he has a very good impeccable. He always did his medium range stuff was okay. I mean, it wasn't a disaster, but it certainly was not great. But if you have issues with the deep ball and you have issues with what you just talked about, which is the intermediate stuff. What would you say you do here? So, like, that's going to be really intriguing to watch. It seems to me like, like one or the other has to be efficient, and quite frankly, if I only can take one, I'm probably taking the mid-range stuff, because those plays present themselves a lot more, like I mean, just, just as a, so if we look at it, and this is going to be pretty, I don't know, that this, let me look at Jordan Love real quick, because this feels a little off, and again, his seems like he's known for throwing a lot of short passes, yeah, so, and Jordan's probably not a good example either, because I think he throws more deep balls than your average quarterback, but so he's at 15% of his passes are 20 plus, 20% of his passes are in the 10 to 19 yard range, so again, that's probably closer than most who would throw probably less deep balls for Kyler, you're looking at nine compared to 17, so yes, of course, you want the 17% to show out better than the 10% For reference, Jordan Love has a 94 passing grade on deep passes, a 91 passing grade on medium passes, 84 on short, and then 62 at behind the line of scrimmage. Kyler is 7174 6976 I'm not even gonna tell you directionally which way we're going, because it doesn't matter. He's just like a mid 70s across the board, and 41% of his passes are the zero to nine yards, with 24% being behind the line of scrimmage, so 63% of his passes came nine yards or less, and for Jordan Love it was, let's see, 55% so still a big chunk, but again you got 35% beyond that, with Kyler Murray sitting at like 25% of his passes, which is pretty crazy, one in four passes traveled 10 yards or more, Jordan was closer to one in three, and about 50% of Justin Jefferson's receptions came 10 yards or further down the field. Anywho, sorry, let's continue, but yes, that will be, that'll be very interesting to see. And you can always say, hey, look, I mean, with the Vikings, you're gonna have a top three receiver tandem that's really, really good, and that's, you know, the this is another thing that all four NFC North teams. Do is they, I think, over inflate. I don't want to sit here and say except the Packers, but I do think accept the Packers, because I don't think a lot of Packer fans, and I've talked to, if anything, they undersell the group. Well, Watson's never healthy, and Reed's no good, he's going to get traded and golden, and they're the underrated group in my mind, but top three receiver tandem. What are you talking about? Again, this is what I said. Remember when I told you that they massively overrate Addison? This is fricking crazy to me, that you think you have a top three. You don't even have a top three receiver anymore. This Justin Jefferson is the Pat Mahomes of wide receivers, he is a very good receiver who hasn't been a top receiver in three years, but everybody still says he's a top receiver, and yeah, maybe he bounces back, that's possible, but also until you do, I don't think I'm going to call you a top guy anymore, he ranked 14th last year as a receiver below Davante Adams. Now, I mean, no offense to Devonte, but I mean we know Devonte is slowly drifting in his 30s. Stefan Diggs has fallen off faster than Devonte, by the way. Christian Watson ranked 11th, so we have Christian Watson on this team who graded out higher than Justin Jefferson last year, and again, blame the quarterback all you want, that's fine, but until you actually prove it on the field, I'm not going to just say, "Oh no, he's still the top receiver. By the way, Pookan Akua, criminally underrated, everybody knows Pooka is good, he had like a 96 receiving grade, I don't think I don't think Jefferson has ever had that, and by the way, I was wrong. I was looking at Stefan Diggs; he ranked 17th last year. Justin Jefferson, his best year ever was a 91 so his grades have been 9190 9091, The last, then it dropped to an 88 which is still very good, but first time he's ever been below that, and then an 80 in 2025 that is a shocking drop off. Puka Nakua had a 96 receiving grade, that is better than than Jefferson has ever been by a mile. Jackson Smith and Jigba had a 93 grade, that's better than Jefferson has ever been, ever. So we still talk about Justin Jefferson, because again we fail to recalibrate, but he's not up there anymore. By the way, Aman Ross St. Brown, the last four years, 9091 9091 Aman Ross St. Brown has been as good as Justin Jefferson for four straight years. In other words, he's having a four year stretch that Jefferson had his first four years and is currently the better wide receiver in the NFC North. So, Jefferson isn't even the best receiver in the NFC North anymore. In fact, again, if we're just going off of last year, if we look at the did it, do, do, do. Let's, this would have been easier to just not do this. NFC North, Aman Ross St. Brown, then Christian Watson, then Justin Jefferson, with Luther Burden being nipping at his heels with a 78 great Romeo had a 77 almost as good as Justin Jefferson, Jameson Williams at a 77 I mean that that group is all right there with a minor gap between Jefferson and Watson, 80 to an 84 and then Aman Rah by himself at a 91 The only real blue chip wide receiver in the NFC North right now is Aman Raw St. Brown, until Justin Jefferson proves that last year was an anomaly, I had some stuff going on, our quarterback sucked, whatever, but I'm back fine, but again, until you prove that, and it's been, you have to go back not to 2025 or 2024 but to 2023 as the last time you had a 90 receiving grade, and again Pooka had almost 100 receiving grades. That's one of the best receiving grades that any receiver. I don't know that Devonte has ever had a grade like that, but yet we're still going to sit here and allow Vikings fans to talk about Justin Jefferson as though he is the premier receiver in the NFL, and that you have a top three receiving group, bro. You absolutely freaking do not. That is, that is an.. that is an absolute joke that you believe you have a top three receiving core, and.. and if you try to add your bum tight end to that, I'm gonna laugh in your face. I'm sorry, you might have the fourth best receiving core in the NFC North. I think you have the fourth best tight end again. You're, you're, when you, when you look at not just the, the top end, but the talent. I mean, if you look at Detroit, they've got Sam LaPorta, Jameson Williams, Amon Ra, St. Brown. I would take that. Met over Jefferson Addison and TJ Hawkinson, for reference, Jefferson 80 grade, Addison 61 which is the second lowest wide receiver grade. I think we already covered this in the entire NFC North, also ahead of Cole Commet, but that's kind of irrelevant at this point, but as far as wide receivers, just the second lowest, and then as far as tight ends, TJ Hawkinson is the lowest, not including Cole Commit, because he's not a number one tight end. It goes Coast and Loveland, then Sam Laporta, then Tucker Kraft, in terms of receiving grades, with all three of them being relatively close, 8683 and 83 between La Porta and Kraft, Hawkinson 62 he's not in the same category. Hawkinson is not good. There are three good tight ends, and Hawkinson is not one of them. So I would take Detroit without hesitation. Let's look at Chicago. Chicago has Colston Loveland, who is the, according to receiving grade, the second best receiver period in the NFC North. He was very good last year, had almost 1000 yards as a tight end at 906 Roma Dunes, a with a 71 grade, and Luther Burton with a 78 Now, you could argue that Jefferson currently is better and probably bounces back even more. So, would you rather have that? Honestly, no, because you can have one Justin Jefferson with a terrible supporting cast and a subpar tight end, and no real running backs to speak of, which we're not even discussing, or you can have an ascending a doomsday, an ascending burden, and a guy that could potentially be the top tight end in football here at Colston Loveland. Of course, I'm taking Chicago's group over Minnesota's group, and then you get to Green Bay. Well, as I said, Christian Watson already graded out higher than Justin Jefferson last year, and we have Matthew Golden, who we barely even got to see this past year, who almost graded out as well as Justin Jefferson did. He graded out better than Jalen Naylor and Jordan Addison. Obviously, there are other two receivers that were there, Naylor now a Raider, but it doesn't matter. They don't have good wide receivers, and then Tucker Kraft, who again is significantly better than what they have. The Minnesota Vikings have the fourth best receiving group. They're not even top three in the NFC North, and he's talking about, say that again, with the Vikings, you're going to have a top three receiver tandem that's really, really good. Oh my lord, you might have a bottom three receiver tandem. Dude, shut up. I mean, not really. Justin Jefferson is going to preclude that, but it's just.. it's not good. It's just not you. You have to get Justin Jefferson back to being a really good receiver. And again, even then, in today's NFL, he's not.. I don't know that he's going to be top five, because there's so many really, really good receivers. It's going to be hard for him to surpass Aman Ross St. Brown, who is currently playing at a level that Justin Jefferson played at at his best. Jamar Chase is already up there. Jackson Smith and Jigba and Pooka are already better receivers than Justin Jefferson, as I said, ever was. Drake London is up in that category right now. Pickens is up in there, there's a lot of guys that are that are kind of playing in that range. I think at best he gets back to what he was and ends up being third, but in a pile of probably three to four other guys that are about as good, but probably not as good as Jackson Smith and Jigba and Pooka Nakua. And again, I don't, I don't think there's any real reason to believe, pending Amon Ra falling off, that he, like, massively surpasses Aman Raw St. Brown. So, again, Justin Jefferson, I will, I will say this again, is the Pat Mahomes of wide receivers. He took the title of being the top receiver. And listen, I've always been flattering of Justin Jefferson, all right, because I, because I tell the truth, and if it's true, then I say it's true. He has been a very good receiver. I've always said he is a very good receiver. I have at times called him probably the best receiver, but this, this is not 2021 by the way. I don't know if he's ever been better than third. If you go back, I'm going back to 2020 now. Yeah, and that's that's the thing with being so, so, because he's been consistently like top three, top five. I've said he's like the best in football, but he's, I don't think he's been better than third. Justin Jefferson in 2020 was behind Stefan Diggs and Devonte Adams. In 2021 he was behind Devonte Adams and Cooper Cup. In 2022 he was, he dropped a fifth from third, and was behind Amon Ra, Devonte Adams, Jalen Naylor, and Tyreke Hill, which I mean, that's three years in a row, Devonte was ahead of them. 2023 he is fourth behind Amon Ra. And an Iuk and Tyreek Hill, and then again the fall off can begins in 2024 so he was top three, then the last, then the next two years, 2022 and 2023 he was top five, and now he in 2024 drops to top 10, being eighth behind T Higgins, Drake London, Aman Raw St Brown, Mike Evans, AJ Brown, Nico Collins, and new to the scene, Puka Nakua. By the way, in this year you had Nico Collins with a 92 grade, which again Justin Jefferson has never had. And then in 2025 is when you have him dropping out of the top 10, not even top 15, he becomes a top 20 receiver, ranking 17th. Hilariously, his 80 pff receiving grade is closer to Michael Wilson of Arizona than it is to Aman Ross St. Brown in the same division. I bring that up, obviously, because his new quarterback, it was in Arizona, so anywho, let's take our final break, and we'll be right back. And I'll say this just to start off this other site, but first of all, the Purple Daily, they do a good job being much more centered, and they have been this whole time. The top three thing kind of set me off, obviously, but, but for the most part, the conversation is centered around, you know, we'll have to see where he's at, and if he's any good. The fella in the middle here, I don't know their names, but he brings up a good point. I won't play the whole audio, but he's he's looking at 2021 and saying this is what Tyler's best year was, and he's going to go through how good it was as a point of being excited toward him, or whatever, or what he's capable of, I should say, and he brings up as a counterpoint to his point before he gets started, as a caveat, he knows that this is a very long time ago, five years as an eternity in the NFL, and brings up Deshaun Watson. If you remember, Deshaun Watson was the dude in Houston. He was freaking amazing as a quarterback. It feels like that never happened. It was such an eternity ago, another world ago, because, considering how much he gets made fun of for being garbage, he was unbelievably good as a quarterback, but if you were to try to convince anybody that he is good or could be good, as opposed to this dude fell, I can't explain it, but it's over. It just goes to show five years is an eternity, and without playing this, I'll just add one final caveat, and that is, you know, the NFL sometimes speaks to us and tells us what they think, then sometimes they get it wrong, clearly. But the Vikings did not inherit a guy that the NFL believes is elite. The Arizona Cardinals are paying him to play for another team right now, paying him a massive amount of money to play for the Vikings, and the Vikings invested like a million dollars to get them. They paid nothing for him, and anybody could have gotten him for that. And the Vikings just let him walk in. I don't think there is a single team out of 32 that believes in Kyler Murray anymore, and I think that's evident by the way that this whole thing is panning out. There was not a massive market, there was not a bidding war for him, there was nothing. They, they are paying a huge amount of money to let him play somewhere else, and this obviously ties into the Jefferson thing as well, because not only Vikings fans, but I'm sure Packer fans will listen and say, "Oh, come on, of course he's elite. And again, I believe he - I mean, he's young enough that I'm sure he'll have a bounce back this year in a better situation. My point is things change in the NFL, and we don't change with it fast enough. The Pat Mahomes thing, the Justin Jefferson thing, things change rapidly, and we constantly.. but this is where free agency gets stupid, because people will hear big names and go, 'Oh, you gotta get him. Not realizing he hasn't been a thing in three, four years. This is also why I don't think Pooka gets his proper due, because I mean, we know Pook is good, but I mean, you know, he's not Jocelyn Jefferson, bro. Come on, stop it. The torch has been passed, and Puka is what Justin Jefferson never was. And this is with all due full respect to Jefferson, who I have been. If you're a Vikings fan and you've been listening a while, you need to acknowledge I have been very flattering to Jefferson. In fact, when I talk about top receivers, he's always my go-to, and I believe he can get back to like a 90 grade this year. It's entirely possible, but I think he's going to try to fight to get back into top five. At a minimum, I would guess he gets back to top 10, but it's also possible that his reign is over, and he is just a good receiver, not a great receiver. And as Packer fans, I need you to understand a couple things. When I try to get people to understand the gap in understanding here, in other words, we put Justin Jefferson on God tier, and Watson is good, but he hasn't really. Reach that level, like he's a solid guy. We need a number one. Watson was above him, better than him, higher category. And the fact that he was 11th to be a top 10 receiver is incredible. It is, there are so many elite receivers, it is hard to crack the top 10. He was 11th, Justin Jefferson was 17th. The inability for Packer fans to grasp this, I think, fully, and I say this partially to myself, because it's, it's, it feels impossible, but we don't fully appreciate how good Watson was this past year, not, and this isn't even necessarily AC, he's been good this whole time. Like I said, he had a breakout, he came back from injury and was like, holy, the same same with Tucker, except it's the opposite with Tucker. Everybody always thought Tucker was great, and I was like, you guys are overrating Tucker. And then he became the beast that everybody said he always was. Now I think he's still overrated, where people say he's the number one tight end. I think he could be, and he's in a conversation with a pile of tight ends, including two others in our own division, Colston Loveland and Sam La Porta, but I'm not, I'm not really interested in fighting that battle, because he's a very good tight end, and you know, if he ends up being the fifth best instead of the number one, I'm, you know, whatever. Fine. Just call him the best. I don't, I don't really care. It's not worth fighting over, but there is a severe lack of understanding how good Christian Watson was in the limited time that we saw him. By the way, he came back healthy and just played, so we might have a top 10 receiver all year if he can stay healthy, not to mention hopefully a breakout gold, and not to mention Tucker Kraft continuing to ascend, hopefully, or at least maintaining his position that he was at last year. You want to talk about top three receiving duo, or a group, or whatever? I don't know that the Packers crack that, but boy, do they have a good one. They're at least fighting in a very tough division to be the best receiving group in the NFC North, which is again going to be very difficult when you have Aman Rah Saint Brown and Sam La Porta. We're going to have to rely on depth, which the Bears also have, so they're also going to be better than the Bears. So, in order to be the best in the division, you have to be very good and very deep, and that's not going to be easy to do, but this is a to go off and complete my tangent that has nothing to do with the original topic. This is a very good and underrated group of receivers. I think this is a very good take here too. I think his name is Jud. I'm not sure, but this is this is this is essentially, I think they do a very good job of putting things in their proper context, the way that I try to do, and to try to step back and be like, okay, let's, let's be calm, and let's think about this. He highlights specifically, sort of the fan problem here, because it's funny when you're, when you know a guy and he was a big name player, and he gets signed by the team that you cover a lot of times, you, you go in thinking that the highlights that you've seen are him, or what you've heard is him, and then you find out it's different. Exactly right, exactly right. And that could be positive or negative, right. This is why the Kyler Murray thing is probably so polarizing, because if you're a Vikings fan, you think highlights, and if you're a Packers fan, you think Call of Duty, right? Do you think the guy's a freaking bum and a lazy in and wait a minute? I don't know how Call of Duty works, but don't they have certain, like, releases or whatever? We gotta, I want to see something long-running NFL meme that Kyler Murray tends to play worse after a new Call of Duty game comes out, or during a big Call of Duty event like Double XP weekends. Hold on, wait for it. So, probably not September. When is our next game? Oh no, is it late? Oh, november 15. Yeah, that might. So, we might have missed it. According to this, mid October is the highest risk period for a new Call of Duty drop. There's also there are weekends for double XP. This is so funny that we're going to be able to make fun of them for this, but apparently they don't announce that until a few days or like a week until presumably the Thanksgiving period is when they're going to be having some kind of events, and we play the Vikings november 15, so probably too early. Dang it, when do the.. what does the Vikings get? Who's.. who's.. I hope it's not the Bears. So mid October they've got the Saints, which would be hilarious if they dropped that one, possibly the Colts. That's kind of late October, and then you've got the Thanksgiving time, which would be roughly ers, Falcons. Yeah. Oh, well, we'll have fun with it. I think we can maybe end on this. No, this is a very long video, and there's plenty of other Kyler stuff, but just again, just trying to get a general vibe on this one other thing that was. Mentioned as a person that called in or wrote into their show and talked about the potential problems with a, as the writer put it, a Kevin Hart-sized quarterback playing in cold weather. Now that's a very good point, obviously it is a dome team, but they have to play two games in, well, I guess one in Green Bay, which I think is, uh, when is that? Yeah, the first one is there, so that actually works in our, then, yeah, the november 15, so that that works massively in our favor. Let me take a peek at their schedule here. So, when is it going to start getting cold, probably not till October. Warm weather, warm weather, pretty much everybody's a freaking dome now. Lions are a dome, Buffalo, but that's at home. Yeah, so I mean, they don't play a cold weather game, I think until november 15 against the Packers. They play the Patriots in New England december 10. I'm trying to remember who has a dome and who doesn't, Patriots, I don't believe do they play the Jets january 3, so I think those are their only cold weather games, but still worth mentioning, and obviously by virtue of how cold weather works, these are all later in the season, so if you have an injury-prone smaller quarterback that has already taken his lumps, now has to start playing in cold weather games. You could see a situation where the Minnesota Vikings possibly get off to a hot start, but similar to what you see with older quarterbacks, they start to diminish toward the end of the season. This is why, by the way, Green Bay always talks about how they like to get bigger guys, and they've always kind of liked getting bigger guys, in part just as a general NFL theory, but also because of the cold weather situation, and even if you think you're not a cold weather team because you have a dome, you still have to travel, you're still gonna have to play in it, and theoretically, and hopefully you're going to struggle to get through the later portion of the season and stay resilient as it starts getting colder, so hopefully that does end up being a bit of a hindrance. All right, so here's the plan, tentatively moving forward. I'm going to do some general due diligence today to see if Lions fans are hyping up golf. I'm guessing there has to be some. On one hand, you've got like the I think if you, if you just had a room full of Lions fans, they're probably not hyping up Goff a ton. They feel like he's maybe kind of holding them back or something. I don't know, but if you were to have an NFC North discussion about Jordan Love and Caleb and who's the best quarterback, I'm guessing you'd see plenty of Lions fans come out and say, give me a frickin' break, it's golf, and that's all I need, that's all I need to go off of. So I will see if I can find some of that. We will discuss that quarterback situation and how they feel about him, and then that will.. what the heck was the word for Flino? I don't remember something Italian and Effie. We'll do our breakdown of my thoughts again, kind of like I've done before, in terms of I don't want to go in, find where Jordan is the best, pretend that those are the best stats, and then say, ha ha, we win. I want to start with the stats and then go find them and then rank them accordingly. Start from a standpoint of, here's what I think makes you kind of like what Colin Coward did, but he did it like an idiot. Start with your criteria, and then go look at the quarterbacks. But I'm going to leave it at that for today. I will talk to you all later. 

Pack Nation, buckle up because Sal is absolutely heated and unloading on the biggest myth in the NFC North. While everyone's crowning Jared Goff as the best quarterback in the division based on his shiny 2025 stat sheet, Sal rips the paint job off and shows you the termites eating the foundation. This is a full-throated, no-holds-barred takedown of the Goff hype train as it heads straight for a wall. Key Discussion Points The Kelvinator Fridge Analogy: Goff's massive 2025 numbers (4,564 yards, 34 TDs) look elite on paper but were just an engine running on fumes after Ben Johnson left for Chicago. The Week 10 Panic: Dan Campbell had to rip the headset off the OC and call plays himself because the offense completely fell apart without the old system. Blitz Exposure: Goff's passer rating against the blitz dropped from 119.7 to 96.6 once the genius scheming disappeared — the mask slipped hard. Jordan Love vs. Goff: Real ribeye quarterback who thrives under pressure versus the kale chip system manager who needs GPS instructions. Sponsor Integration This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. Call to Action If you can tell the difference between a real quarterback and a system manager, head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify right now and leave a five-star review for LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHIN. Tell us in the comments — is Goff cooked in 2026? Drop your hottest take. Advertising Contact To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Support the Show & Explore My Projects Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app Go Pack Go!

ladies and gentlemen. Welcome once again to the Packernet Podcast. I am your host and resident panelist, as always, Ryan Schlipp. Check us out online, packernet.com Find me on Twitter, pack underscore dad. So, yesterday we did a Caleb thing, because it was brought to my attention, I guess, that these kinds of things are being said, and I mean, it shouldn't be necessarily surprising. I mean, we've seen a lot of dumb things from Les. I mean, we've seen Justin Fields, who was dog crap, and we're being told that the guy was actually very, very good and was just being held back, and all this stupid nonsense was never ever true, as I think we all have come to realize. Shame on those that doubted me, but again, the the Bears are not the only ones having some fantastical ideas, and as I've said the last couple of days, the one that surprised me the most was the Minnesota Vikings, and so I'm more curious than anything to kind of dive around and see what the heck these guys have been doing over here. Again, they're quiet, they've been quiet, which you know, again, everybody's been kind of quiet, nobody's really crossing that line of like talking trash, but everyone's kind of in their own corner getting themselves fired up and in their tight little, their airtight bubbles, so that when you walk into it, it's holy cow, what have you guys been doing over here, which I'm sure they do to us as well, but I figured there's a nice little connection here, because yesterday we talked about the Chicago Bears quarterback and some of the nonsense that's going on, and although I'm not sure exactly what the heck is going on over there in Minnesota, aside from just a very cursory look, I do know that a big part of their belief in everything being different this year is, wait for it, the quarterback. Now, most of us hadn't even considered that this is very similar to when they got Donald, which, yes, did go very, very well. He's still playing at a very high level. I don't think many people expected that, and I don't think that that happens very often. I think that that's exceedingly rare. We'll see if Malik is another one of those, unfortunately, but there does seem to be an underlying confidence that, okay, we needed a quarterback, boom, we got this guy, and again, I don't know if it's so much that Kyler is going to be elite as opposed to JJ, was the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone ever anywhere, and anybody that is even marginally decent at anything is going to get us to where we need to be, because I guess we're just such a good team, we need subpar quarterback play just to be a playoff team, like if we just get to up to subpar, then we're good, but I figure before we kind of attack the issue, I want to find out what exactly it is, what are Vikings fans saying about their quarterback situation, because first of all, I think it's settled, but I, you know, they're at least not 100% going to come out and say that it's settled. The Athletics, Alec Lewis believes the Vikings will measure quarterback JJ McCarthy's development by assessing his accuracy, touch, consistency this summer, by the way. I will say, as Packer fans, we don't want JJ McCarthy to start. The reason being they went out and got this quarterback, Kyler Murray, with the full intention of him starting. There's never a question, JJ is going to be moved, McCarthy is going to be the guy, we're going to find a new quarterback, excuse me, Kyler is going to be the guy, and then we're going to find a new quarterback and move forward that way, unless we can get Kyler to be really good, even then it's kind of iffy, they're probably hoping for a second Sam Darnold situation, then they don't mess it up and get rid of him, but he's 30, and as a mobile quarterback, age is a much bigger issue. He's not quite 30, but he's getting there. Once you start hitting the later years as a mobile quarterback, you have to learn to stand in the pocket and throw, and if you can't, then it's not great. Plus, the size and injury stuff, his, he's not going to be a 40 year old quarterback, it's not going to happen. So, the shelf life here is much shorter than, for example, Sam Darnold. So, with all that said, with the expectation of moving on from McCarthy and moving in a different direction, if. McCarthy starts. It's because, holy crap, he took that step. So that's the only, the only path I see, pending some, you know, injury or whatever, where they start JJ McCarthy over Kyler Murray, which would suck, because that would, that would be bad. So why don't we start here, and I know this guy's like extra biased hypey for the Vikings, but it's still a good spot to kind of be like, all right, what, what, what's what's the vibe over here? What's going on, Jerome's so the storyline of the off season that this is Purple FTW podcast, by the way, if you're interested in supporting, or whatever. I don't know, like it should get hype, and it seems sort of glossed over that the Vikings signed Kyler Murray, who's still getting paid almost 40 million bucks from the Cardinals for $1.3 million and he's Asian, he can do that. The good thing, a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback in his prime, so note number one, they're doing the whole, you know, two-time Pro Bowler thing. In his prime is another one. These are little notes that you can set to the side of what there is to be excited about. Still under 30 with revenge on his mind, as long as he's not playing video games to basically captain this ship, man, whether it's Kyler, whether it's JJ. Yes, it is funny that it transitioned so quickly from, dude, this guy is legitimately, he's legitimately elite, and nobody's talking about it, and that's crazy, or maybe the other guy who's also good don't sound super committed, there. That's interesting. Is JJ McCarthy being thrown under the bus at times? Yes, yes, but quarterback competition, we all know we love JJ. You know what I love more, the Vikings. So whoever it is, whatever it takes, done to them, and also we say we said we just need a captain of the ship, we need somebody to thought he was gonna say Carson Wentz, I was like, please just say Carson Wentz, it'd be hilarious if you also, if that doesn't work, we got Carson Went, skip ahead here just a touch, and with Kyler, this is a chance for some full on career rehab, right. Justin Jefferson, his corner is going to be good to go, and his time with Arizona didn't end the greatest, right? You know, got his contract, even though he's playing his video game. Still never going to forgive Steve Keim, but last year Kyler Murray, you know, five games before he got injured, he did some stuffings and things, you know, completed 68% was best, which Kyler doesn't get enough credit for being an accurate thrower. The football was good to go, and I know a lot has been made, is like, well, what about his a dot has averaged up the targets, but now last couple years, have you seen the Arizona offense? Like, there has nothing been there's to be fair, the reason that matters is because if you're going to talk accuracy, you kind of have to look at it as an accuracy per area of the field thing, right? Because if, if the a dot, the average depth of target is the reason for the accuracy, then you're not actually that accurate of a quarterback, you just throw easier passes. I'm not saying that's the case, but that's the reason that gets brought up. Ben, there's never been a more podunk checkdown offense since watching like JV football. It's essentially what it is, man. But Kyler went two and three as a starter. Jabroni Brisket went one and 15, by the way, or one at 11, plus enough, really good at math, yeah, but Kyler is on the full on career rehab trajectory, and the odds reflect that, in terms of comeback player of the year. Now, Mahomes is probably just gonna be handed the trophy, right, because ACL pretty much probably, yeah, come back all that good stuff, he's the prohibitive favorite across all of the books. Kyler is interestingly enough coming in second, either plus 600 so six to one, you know, 550 in a couple places as well. And I know that everyone's pissing, Mona, like, well, why is Michael Parsons odd so low? Parsons not a quarterback. Parsons tore his knee up late in the season, so there's no guarantee that he's going to be back early in the season, and may not even be himself by mid season. It is what it is, so that's why his odds are longer. Plus, he's not a quarterback, plus, like you said, Pat Mahomes. Good luck beating Pat Mahomes. Pat, I mean, Pat, Pat Mahomes doesn't even need to actually be like a top 10 quarterback, you can see that already everybody already putting him in the top two as far as the rankings, like today, even though he hasn't been in four three years since he's been, I think you'd have to go back four years before he'd be in the top three conversation, but he just needs. To come back and have a winning football team and look like Pat Mahomes, and he will win Comeback Player of the Year, Kyler Murray. If Pat Mahomes doesn't do that, Kyler Murray does make sense to be the next best in line, because he's a quarterback, and if they can make him look good, which again, he doesn't need to be like, you know, PFF grade, top 10-ish. He needs to be healthy the whole year. The Vikings need to have a winning record and needs to look like it's on the back of Kyler Murray, and if they do that, and Pat McHale's isn't in the way, he will win that again. You could say, well, I mean, that's pretty impressive that he is ahead of Michael Parsons, that does say something, maybe kind of, but very much to his point. Micah Parsons is going to have a very difficult time when you're going to miss at least the first four games of the season to dominate to such a degree, and basically the only thing that matters here in this conversation, if we're talking about comeback player of the year, is stay healthy, get a bunch of sacks. I mean, good luck getting the number of sacks you need minus an entire quarter of the season. So, yeah, I mean, I guess, but if you remove Micah from the equation, who is Kyler ahead of in the odds? Malik Neighbors, Daniel Jones and Deshaun Watson. Basically, it's a two-man race with Pat Mahomes at the top, and then Kyler, if he can play, and Mahomes, you know, if he gets hurt, then we'll just hand it to Kyler. And if Kyler can't do it, then Micah has a chance. And the fact that Micah is ahead of all these other guys, which makes sense, have not even having a full season, I don't necessarily know everybody else's situation, but Deshaun Watson isn't even guaranteed to be the starting quarterback, although his odds are way off. Basically, it's not a very large pool, so you know to look at and be like, well, he has the second best comeback odds. I'm not necessarily saying he's doing this, but to use that as evidence that, like, Vegas believes he's going to have a great year, it's an unbelievably small pool of people that could even be considered for this award, because he's going to have a truncated amount of time to do some damage. You have Malik Neighbors, Daniel Jones, Deshaun Watson. Why is Watson on there? It was, but Kyler, second place at getting around six to one. I do think it is Mahomes award to lose, but you know, the media does love a good story, and if and when Kyler Murray is, you know, he wants a starting job and just absolutely lights it up with this freaking offense, which there's gonna have a rededication in the run game. Kyler still has enough mobility where it's a threat to the defense. You got Jefferson, Addison, and Jennings. This offensive line should be good to go, because Darrisaw's leg hopefully won't fall off this season. And then you got Jackson, whoo, Blake Brandle, the solid veteran, getting acclimated at center. Will Fries going to prove that he's worth, hey dirty baby, I'm worth the money. Don't you worry, I said, hey, okay, we got some fries. All right, all right, all right, let's, let's, let's calm down, let's go ahead and skip a little bit here. It's offense, I know that people like to poo poo on the Vikings, and I know that we generally have a very sunny disposition when it comes to the Vikings, but if you're not drinking the purple Kool-Aid, honestly, it takes a special type of hater and loser to look at this offensive unit and be like child, please, and not even mention the defense across, which is going to be hellacious, is going to be extremely good at getting their ass off the field, good field position, taking the ball away, everything's gonna be good. So I honestly do believe that Kyler, you know, everyone and their mom, all Cardinals fan, you know, blaming Kyler for everything, but it's okay. It's okay, he can take the heat, he's gonna be motivated, he's gonna be mobile, agile, hostile. Give me all the six to one, baby. Just I feel like Kyler's on that comeback train and is going to be good to go, right? All right, good enough. So that's a position, and I look again as a Packer fan, even though they are in the division, and, but we got a lot to cover, and a lot to talk about, and all that stuff, and I think for the most part we've been looking at the NFC North through a 30,000 foot view. I haven't spent a lot of my life looking at Kyler Murray and his career, occasionally dabble over the years, just kind of like, oh, what's he, oh, he's, he's really good now, oh, he sucks now. Oh, whatever. I think kind of, kind of the big picture plan that I had here was let's look at Kyler, because that's another big thing. I don't want to go super in depth. We may have to, if I can't, you know, make this a big enough podcast in and of itself. And then perhaps we'll see, I don't, I don't want you know, sometimes I like my themes maybe a little bit more than I should, but the thought would be tomorrow we would do something similar with the Lions with the final crescendo, and maybe we'll just skip part three and go straight to the crescendo, being let's just look at the NFC North quarterbacks, and let's be honest about it. Let's look at golf, let's look at Kyler, let's look at Kayla. And then love, I don't know if we need to do this for the Lions, because I don't know that a lot of Lions fans are sitting around going, "Dude, we're going to be dope because of our quarterback. Last I remember, they started to fall out of love with him a little bit, but maybe that's the best. I'll do a tiny bit of digging to see if there's some golf hype. There probably is, and if there is, then we'll, we'll play this game as well, just so we can kind of get the receipts, and then hear specifically the arguments being made for them, and then we'll, and then again we will crescendo. What the heck does that word mean? Boy, I had no chance of spelling that crescendo, c r e s c r e s c e n d o, a gradual increase in loudness, force, or intensity. See, that's not what I was going for. So, a crescendo is the swelling, it's not the.. so now we're doing the crescendo. This is the swelling portion. Should stop using both of those words, swelling and crescendo. Well, see, I didn't want that to be the.. I didn't want that to be the word I was looking for. There's got to be a different word. Other related terms: fortissimo, sforzando, and tutti. Fortissimo is what we're going to go for, so we'll do the, we'll do the crescendo now, and then it'll get to the fortissimo. Definitely not the other thing, also not 2t We're not going to do a 2t We, there will be no two ting here on the Packer Nut Podcast. But let's take a break, and we'll be right back, you right, let's move over here. This is Menace, excuse me, Purple Daily, Minnesota Vikings chemistry. It is a Q and A segment, I believe. I don't know, but this.. this first portion is Brian continues and says, let me get serious now. The national media narrative on Kyler Murray is that his deep ball has regressed, but a quarterback's downfield accuracy is heavily tied to his targets. When he had DeAndre Hopkins a few years ago, Kyler was one of the better deep ball throwers. First of all, I don't think that's true at all. We'll get into the actual breaking these things down, but just to be clear, you would have to prove that to me. That's one of those things people on social media like to do, where they say things that they think sound smart without having any regard for whether or not you have to look that up. I don't think that that's true. Why? I mean, why would that be the case? I mean, the assumption is, well, if you got somebody wide open or whatever, but that's kind of irrelevant, and the stats don't really take that into account. It's just a question of whether or not you throw a good ball, and saying, well, if you look back a few years ago to when he had this person, then, then, yeah, but you're kind of, you're not really answering the question, you're just kind of giving a different explanation for it, while acknowledging that there has been regression. Yeah, well, a few years ago it was good. I know that's the entire point. It was good, and now it's not good. And you're saying that it's, it's only because of the players, and I'm not saying there can't be some kind of a relationship there. Maybe it goes to confidence, or, you know, I don't know, could also be things like offensive line, you know, if you're throwing on the run in a panic, as opposed to a comfortable pocket, there can be all kinds of variables, but on some level you're going to have to actually prove that correlation, which is again a lot of work to do, significantly less now with AI, but I doubt anybody's actually going to bother doing that, as opposed to just saying it because it sounds good in football with Justin Jefferson and the best supporting cast of his career in Minnesota. Is it creative to prove that as well? I don't know that that's true, but perhaps easy to think Kyler can regain that accuracy and launch himself right back into the MVP conversation, like in 2020 This is how you know that somebody's just saying stuff when, when we go from 'trust me, bro, I'm just being rational' to 'Should we be talking MVP? Why would we go to MVP again? It's not that it's impossible, but why would your mind be sitting there? Why, why, why would that be the case? I mean, if we say it's possible for all 32 quarterbacks, and then work backwards, how far do we get before Kyler gets taken off that list, I. You know, if we're going off of most likely, I don't think he's at or near the top. He won with D Hop, if he stays healthy for the majority of the season. That is where Judd's camp notes come into play. I gotta see the arm strength, because you know he's not wrong. Look, like we have seen, you might be wrong, but I guess we don't know that highlights of Kyler through the years with Cardinals, with some nice deep passes. In fact, again, kind of begging the question here. The question is, is it regressing right? So, if you go back and say, well, if you look back several years ago, it looked good. That doesn't answer the question of is it regressing. If I'm not mistaken, he beat the Vikings on a deep pass to the late Rondelle Moore in a game. So I'm curious to see what the arm strength is now, and again, the question wasn't about strength, although that would be a part of it. It was specifically about accuracy, which is a different thing. Doesn't have to be. I mean, if you don't have the strength and the accuracy of getting the ball to where it needs to be, as opposed to falling short, naturally follows. But now we're just kind of answering why. But he may have strength and not accuracy, so he. so, in other words, what is probably going to happen that doesn't answer the question is he's going to get in cap, he's going to launch a 55 yard ball, and everybody from Purple Daily is going to go, "Well, that answers the question. Everybody was talking about his arm strength, and there it is. No, no, that's not exactly what was being questioned. It was his deep ball accuracy, which is a different thing, and if it was just, but it's weird, because was it the receivers, was it the play calling, because he still had play calling, what the hell does that have to do with his accuracy, or arm strength, for that matter, some pretty good receivers, or so we thought with the Cardinals, but it definitely dissipated, so stage one is what I would say, stage, so this, this theory, like, like the downfield theory of he just has, he's had bad targets, and I'm maybe I'm wrong on this, but I feel like that logic could apply for sure to the 25 plus yard air throws, right? So, all right, this is kind of a 5050 ball. I'm putting the ball way down the field, and over the last four years on passes that travel 25 plus yards in the air down the field of all the qualified quarterbacks, like the, like the 45 qualified quarterbacks, Tyler is dead last incompletion percentage, 21% on passes that travel 25 or more yards. I wasn't going to look at it quite yet, because that was going to be more of a tomorrow or two days thing, but I'm staring at he's looking at something else, because it's 25 yards, he's probably over at Pro Football Reference or something. I'm looking at PFF, which is 20 plus yards, and I'm not looking at the rest of the field, but I can see he has a 76 grade, which sounds good, but this is when you're talking deep balls, this is the area where you've probably got five quarterbacks with a 99 grade, you've got the, you know, probably 20 in the 90s, so being at a 75 he's going to be relatively low. His completion percentage is at 37.5% which that usually is low. So, I can't speak to where that's at, but I'm guessing this is not very good compared to the rest of the league. Yards in the air, yeah, dead last in expected points added per attempt, that's bad. And dead last in yards per attempt, you could say. Well, well, that doesn't even make any sense. You wouldn't look at yards per attempt when you're already looking at 25 I mean, that's kind of just a weird anomaly, I guess. Well, I guess, and again, this is, there are better ways to do this than yards per attempt, if you were really concerned, but if it's 25 plus as the final thing, you could say that he has a weak arm because everybody else has these 60 yard, 50 yard throws, and his, his or more in the 2530 range. He's really not airing it out as much. You could say that, but that doesn't even necessarily answer that question. I think that's just a stupid stat to look at yards per attempt when you're looking at the, when you're looking specifically at yardage, yeah, I mean, give them a, give them a reliable target down the field. Here's where this is, this is where Judd's camp notes are going to come into play even more. It's the 10 plus yards in the air being bad that makes me more nervous, because that now includes the intermediate stuff, kind of the like the deep intermediate, those in cut routes that Kevin O'Connell loves. They're doing my homework for me. I appreciate this. Right, since 2022 on passes and going back to 2022 this encompasses some of his good years. The travel 10 or more yards down the field, Kyler dead last in expected points added per attempt. Yeah, that's 41st out of 43 in yards per attempt, and 36 out of 43 in completion percentage. The yards per attempt make a little bit more sense there, but still, it's even in general, I think yards per attempt is kind of a stupid stat. The only time I would really care is if it was exceedingly high or exceedingly low, that's where you kind of put a little asterisk next to some things like accuracy, and say, okay, we need to kind of do a little bit extra digging, but I genuinely don't care all that much. Yes, having Jefferson, Addison, Juan Jennings is going to help him, and any other quarterback, but like those are valid concerns over the past few years that we need to see what that looks like throughout mini camp, training camp, OTAs, etc. but do we think so? I guess let's go back to 2024 with Donald. You pretty quickly picked up on, don't, don't start. Don't listen. Here is another thing that we're going to have to, again, this, this is kind of just immersing ourselves in, like, what is the conversation over here? What are we doing? What I'm not going to tolerate is, yeah, but we said this about Donald. Darnold was a one-off. Okay, now I am not saying that Kyler, who's already unlike Darnold, demonstrated an ability to be a very good quarterback, if he got, if he was healthy in Arizona, he might have been good this year in Arizona. And I think Kevin O'Connell is a good coach, a good play caller, they have a good offensive line, they have good wide receivers, or mostly good offensive line, and at least one good wide receiver. There's every reason to believe that this could be one of his up years in a career that's been very like really good, really bad, really good, really bad. What I'm not going to do is play this game where you know, look at what happened with Donald, and so we should expect that to be a thing that happens all the time. That is a once in a lifetime situation. What happened with Arnold on in watching him at training camp? He had a great deep ball, like his depot is, he has a very good impeccable. He always did his medium range stuff was okay. I mean, it wasn't a disaster, but it certainly was not great. But if you have issues with the deep ball and you have issues with what you just talked about, which is the intermediate stuff. What would you say you do here? So, like, that's going to be really intriguing to watch. It seems to me like, like one or the other has to be efficient, and quite frankly, if I only can take one, I'm probably taking the mid-range stuff, because those plays present themselves a lot more, like I mean, just, just as a, so if we look at it, and this is going to be pretty, I don't know, that this, let me look at Jordan Love real quick, because this feels a little off, and again, his seems like he's known for throwing a lot of short passes, yeah, so, and Jordan's probably not a good example either, because I think he throws more deep balls than your average quarterback, but so he's at 15% of his passes are 20 plus, 20% of his passes are in the 10 to 19 yard range, so again, that's probably closer than most who would throw probably less deep balls for Kyler, you're looking at nine compared to 17, so yes, of course, you want the 17% to show out better than the 10% For reference, Jordan Love has a 94 passing grade on deep passes, a 91 passing grade on medium passes, 84 on short, and then 62 at behind the line of scrimmage. Kyler is 7174 6976 I'm not even gonna tell you directionally which way we're going, because it doesn't matter. He's just like a mid 70s across the board, and 41% of his passes are the zero to nine yards, with 24% being behind the line of scrimmage, so 63% of his passes came nine yards or less, and for Jordan Love it was, let's see, 55% so still a big chunk, but again you got 35% beyond that, with Kyler Murray sitting at like 25% of his passes, which is pretty crazy, one in four passes traveled 10 yards or more, Jordan was closer to one in three, and about 50% of Justin Jefferson's receptions came 10 yards or further down the field. Anywho, sorry, let's continue, but yes, that will be, that'll be very interesting to see. And you can always say, hey, look, I mean, with the Vikings, you're gonna have a top three receiver tandem that's really, really good, and that's, you know, the this is another thing that all four NFC North teams. Do is they, I think, over inflate. I don't want to sit here and say except the Packers, but I do think accept the Packers, because I don't think a lot of Packer fans, and I've talked to, if anything, they undersell the group. Well, Watson's never healthy, and Reed's no good, he's going to get traded and golden, and they're the underrated group in my mind, but top three receiver tandem. What are you talking about? Again, this is what I said. Remember when I told you that they massively overrate Addison? This is fricking crazy to me, that you think you have a top three. You don't even have a top three receiver anymore. This Justin Jefferson is the Pat Mahomes of wide receivers, he is a very good receiver who hasn't been a top receiver in three years, but everybody still says he's a top receiver, and yeah, maybe he bounces back, that's possible, but also until you do, I don't think I'm going to call you a top guy anymore, he ranked 14th last year as a receiver below Davante Adams. Now, I mean, no offense to Devonte, but I mean we know Devonte is slowly drifting in his 30s. Stefan Diggs has fallen off faster than Devonte, by the way. Christian Watson ranked 11th, so we have Christian Watson on this team who graded out higher than Justin Jefferson last year, and again, blame the quarterback all you want, that's fine, but until you actually prove it on the field, I'm not going to just say, "Oh no, he's still the top receiver. By the way, Pookan Akua, criminally underrated, everybody knows Pooka is good, he had like a 96 receiving grade, I don't think I don't think Jefferson has ever had that, and by the way, I was wrong. I was looking at Stefan Diggs; he ranked 17th last year. Justin Jefferson, his best year ever was a 91 so his grades have been 9190 9091, The last, then it dropped to an 88 which is still very good, but first time he's ever been below that, and then an 80 in 2025 that is a shocking drop off. Puka Nakua had a 96 receiving grade, that is better than than Jefferson has ever been by a mile. Jackson Smith and Jigba had a 93 grade, that's better than Jefferson has ever been, ever. So we still talk about Justin Jefferson, because again we fail to recalibrate, but he's not up there anymore. By the way, Aman Ross St. Brown, the last four years, 9091 9091 Aman Ross St. Brown has been as good as Justin Jefferson for four straight years. In other words, he's having a four year stretch that Jefferson had his first four years and is currently the better wide receiver in the NFC North. So, Jefferson isn't even the best receiver in the NFC North anymore. In fact, again, if we're just going off of last year, if we look at the did it, do, do, do. Let's, this would have been easier to just not do this. NFC North, Aman Ross St. Brown, then Christian Watson, then Justin Jefferson, with Luther Burden being nipping at his heels with a 78 great Romeo had a 77 almost as good as Justin Jefferson, Jameson Williams at a 77 I mean that that group is all right there with a minor gap between Jefferson and Watson, 80 to an 84 and then Aman Rah by himself at a 91 The only real blue chip wide receiver in the NFC North right now is Aman Raw St. Brown, until Justin Jefferson proves that last year was an anomaly, I had some stuff going on, our quarterback sucked, whatever, but I'm back fine, but again, until you prove that, and it's been, you have to go back not to 2025 or 2024 but to 2023 as the last time you had a 90 receiving grade, and again Pooka had almost 100 receiving grades. That's one of the best receiving grades that any receiver. I don't know that Devonte has ever had a grade like that, but yet we're still going to sit here and allow Vikings fans to talk about Justin Jefferson as though he is the premier receiver in the NFL, and that you have a top three receiving group, bro. You absolutely freaking do not. That is, that is an.. that is an absolute joke that you believe you have a top three receiving core, and.. and if you try to add your bum tight end to that, I'm gonna laugh in your face. I'm sorry, you might have the fourth best receiving core in the NFC North. I think you have the fourth best tight end again. You're, you're, when you, when you look at not just the, the top end, but the talent. I mean, if you look at Detroit, they've got Sam LaPorta, Jameson Williams, Amon Ra, St. Brown. I would take that. Met over Jefferson Addison and TJ Hawkinson, for reference, Jefferson 80 grade, Addison 61 which is the second lowest wide receiver grade. I think we already covered this in the entire NFC North, also ahead of Cole Commet, but that's kind of irrelevant at this point, but as far as wide receivers, just the second lowest, and then as far as tight ends, TJ Hawkinson is the lowest, not including Cole Commit, because he's not a number one tight end. It goes Coast and Loveland, then Sam Laporta, then Tucker Kraft, in terms of receiving grades, with all three of them being relatively close, 8683 and 83 between La Porta and Kraft, Hawkinson 62 he's not in the same category. Hawkinson is not good. There are three good tight ends, and Hawkinson is not one of them. So I would take Detroit without hesitation. Let's look at Chicago. Chicago has Colston Loveland, who is the, according to receiving grade, the second best receiver period in the NFC North. He was very good last year, had almost 1000 yards as a tight end at 906 Roma Dunes, a with a 71 grade, and Luther Burton with a 78 Now, you could argue that Jefferson currently is better and probably bounces back even more. So, would you rather have that? Honestly, no, because you can have one Justin Jefferson with a terrible supporting cast and a subpar tight end, and no real running backs to speak of, which we're not even discussing, or you can have an ascending a doomsday, an ascending burden, and a guy that could potentially be the top tight end in football here at Colston Loveland. Of course, I'm taking Chicago's group over Minnesota's group, and then you get to Green Bay. Well, as I said, Christian Watson already graded out higher than Justin Jefferson last year, and we have Matthew Golden, who we barely even got to see this past year, who almost graded out as well as Justin Jefferson did. He graded out better than Jalen Naylor and Jordan Addison. Obviously, there are other two receivers that were there, Naylor now a Raider, but it doesn't matter. They don't have good wide receivers, and then Tucker Kraft, who again is significantly better than what they have. The Minnesota Vikings have the fourth best receiving group. They're not even top three in the NFC North, and he's talking about, say that again, with the Vikings, you're going to have a top three receiver tandem that's really, really good. Oh my lord, you might have a bottom three receiver tandem. Dude, shut up. I mean, not really. Justin Jefferson is going to preclude that, but it's just.. it's not good. It's just not you. You have to get Justin Jefferson back to being a really good receiver. And again, even then, in today's NFL, he's not.. I don't know that he's going to be top five, because there's so many really, really good receivers. It's going to be hard for him to surpass Aman Ross St. Brown, who is currently playing at a level that Justin Jefferson played at at his best. Jamar Chase is already up there. Jackson Smith and Jigba and Pooka are already better receivers than Justin Jefferson, as I said, ever was. Drake London is up in that category right now. Pickens is up in there, there's a lot of guys that are that are kind of playing in that range. I think at best he gets back to what he was and ends up being third, but in a pile of probably three to four other guys that are about as good, but probably not as good as Jackson Smith and Jigba and Pooka Nakua. And again, I don't, I don't think there's any real reason to believe, pending Amon Ra falling off, that he, like, massively surpasses Aman Raw St. Brown. So, again, Justin Jefferson, I will, I will say this again, is the Pat Mahomes of wide receivers. He took the title of being the top receiver. And listen, I've always been flattering of Justin Jefferson, all right, because I, because I tell the truth, and if it's true, then I say it's true. He has been a very good receiver. I've always said he is a very good receiver. I have at times called him probably the best receiver, but this, this is not 2021 by the way. I don't know if he's ever been better than third. If you go back, I'm going back to 2020 now. Yeah, and that's that's the thing with being so, so, because he's been consistently like top three, top five. I've said he's like the best in football, but he's, I don't think he's been better than third. Justin Jefferson in 2020 was behind Stefan Diggs and Devonte Adams. In 2021 he was behind Devonte Adams and Cooper Cup. In 2022 he was, he dropped a fifth from third, and was behind Amon Ra, Devonte Adams, Jalen Naylor, and Tyreke Hill, which I mean, that's three years in a row, Devonte was ahead of them. 2023 he is fourth behind Amon Ra. And an Iuk and Tyreek Hill, and then again the fall off can begins in 2024 so he was top three, then the last, then the next two years, 2022 and 2023 he was top five, and now he in 2024 drops to top 10, being eighth behind T Higgins, Drake London, Aman Raw St Brown, Mike Evans, AJ Brown, Nico Collins, and new to the scene, Puka Nakua. By the way, in this year you had Nico Collins with a 92 grade, which again Justin Jefferson has never had. And then in 2025 is when you have him dropping out of the top 10, not even top 15, he becomes a top 20 receiver, ranking 17th. Hilariously, his 80 pff receiving grade is closer to Michael Wilson of Arizona than it is to Aman Ross St. Brown in the same division. I bring that up, obviously, because his new quarterback, it was in Arizona, so anywho, let's take our final break, and we'll be right back. And I'll say this just to start off this other site, but first of all, the Purple Daily, they do a good job being much more centered, and they have been this whole time. The top three thing kind of set me off, obviously, but, but for the most part, the conversation is centered around, you know, we'll have to see where he's at, and if he's any good. The fella in the middle here, I don't know their names, but he brings up a good point. I won't play the whole audio, but he's he's looking at 2021 and saying this is what Tyler's best year was, and he's going to go through how good it was as a point of being excited toward him, or whatever, or what he's capable of, I should say, and he brings up as a counterpoint to his point before he gets started, as a caveat, he knows that this is a very long time ago, five years as an eternity in the NFL, and brings up Deshaun Watson. If you remember, Deshaun Watson was the dude in Houston. He was freaking amazing as a quarterback. It feels like that never happened. It was such an eternity ago, another world ago, because, considering how much he gets made fun of for being garbage, he was unbelievably good as a quarterback, but if you were to try to convince anybody that he is good or could be good, as opposed to this dude fell, I can't explain it, but it's over. It just goes to show five years is an eternity, and without playing this, I'll just add one final caveat, and that is, you know, the NFL sometimes speaks to us and tells us what they think, then sometimes they get it wrong, clearly. But the Vikings did not inherit a guy that the NFL believes is elite. The Arizona Cardinals are paying him to play for another team right now, paying him a massive amount of money to play for the Vikings, and the Vikings invested like a million dollars to get them. They paid nothing for him, and anybody could have gotten him for that. And the Vikings just let him walk in. I don't think there is a single team out of 32 that believes in Kyler Murray anymore, and I think that's evident by the way that this whole thing is panning out. There was not a massive market, there was not a bidding war for him, there was nothing. They, they are paying a huge amount of money to let him play somewhere else, and this obviously ties into the Jefferson thing as well, because not only Vikings fans, but I'm sure Packer fans will listen and say, "Oh, come on, of course he's elite. And again, I believe he - I mean, he's young enough that I'm sure he'll have a bounce back this year in a better situation. My point is things change in the NFL, and we don't change with it fast enough. The Pat Mahomes thing, the Justin Jefferson thing, things change rapidly, and we constantly.. but this is where free agency gets stupid, because people will hear big names and go, 'Oh, you gotta get him. Not realizing he hasn't been a thing in three, four years. This is also why I don't think Pooka gets his proper due, because I mean, we know Pook is good, but I mean, you know, he's not Jocelyn Jefferson, bro. Come on, stop it. The torch has been passed, and Puka is what Justin Jefferson never was. And this is with all due full respect to Jefferson, who I have been. If you're a Vikings fan and you've been listening a while, you need to acknowledge I have been very flattering to Jefferson. In fact, when I talk about top receivers, he's always my go-to, and I believe he can get back to like a 90 grade this year. It's entirely possible, but I think he's going to try to fight to get back into top five. At a minimum, I would guess he gets back to top 10, but it's also possible that his reign is over, and he is just a good receiver, not a great receiver. And as Packer fans, I need you to understand a couple things. When I try to get people to understand the gap in understanding here, in other words, we put Justin Jefferson on God tier, and Watson is good, but he hasn't really. Reach that level, like he's a solid guy. We need a number one. Watson was above him, better than him, higher category. And the fact that he was 11th to be a top 10 receiver is incredible. It is, there are so many elite receivers, it is hard to crack the top 10. He was 11th, Justin Jefferson was 17th. The inability for Packer fans to grasp this, I think, fully, and I say this partially to myself, because it's, it's, it feels impossible, but we don't fully appreciate how good Watson was this past year, not, and this isn't even necessarily AC, he's been good this whole time. Like I said, he had a breakout, he came back from injury and was like, holy, the same same with Tucker, except it's the opposite with Tucker. Everybody always thought Tucker was great, and I was like, you guys are overrating Tucker. And then he became the beast that everybody said he always was. Now I think he's still overrated, where people say he's the number one tight end. I think he could be, and he's in a conversation with a pile of tight ends, including two others in our own division, Colston Loveland and Sam La Porta, but I'm not, I'm not really interested in fighting that battle, because he's a very good tight end, and you know, if he ends up being the fifth best instead of the number one, I'm, you know, whatever. Fine. Just call him the best. I don't, I don't really care. It's not worth fighting over, but there is a severe lack of understanding how good Christian Watson was in the limited time that we saw him. By the way, he came back healthy and just played, so we might have a top 10 receiver all year if he can stay healthy, not to mention hopefully a breakout gold, and not to mention Tucker Kraft continuing to ascend, hopefully, or at least maintaining his position that he was at last year. You want to talk about top three receiving duo, or a group, or whatever? I don't know that the Packers crack that, but boy, do they have a good one. They're at least fighting in a very tough division to be the best receiving group in the NFC North, which is again going to be very difficult when you have Aman Rah Saint Brown and Sam La Porta. We're going to have to rely on depth, which the Bears also have, so they're also going to be better than the Bears. So, in order to be the best in the division, you have to be very good and very deep, and that's not going to be easy to do, but this is a to go off and complete my tangent that has nothing to do with the original topic. This is a very good and underrated group of receivers. I think this is a very good take here too. I think his name is Jud. I'm not sure, but this is this is this is essentially, I think they do a very good job of putting things in their proper context, the way that I try to do, and to try to step back and be like, okay, let's, let's be calm, and let's think about this. He highlights specifically, sort of the fan problem here, because it's funny when you're, when you know a guy and he was a big name player, and he gets signed by the team that you cover a lot of times, you, you go in thinking that the highlights that you've seen are him, or what you've heard is him, and then you find out it's different. Exactly right, exactly right. And that could be positive or negative, right. This is why the Kyler Murray thing is probably so polarizing, because if you're a Vikings fan, you think highlights, and if you're a Packers fan, you think Call of Duty, right? Do you think the guy's a freaking bum and a lazy in and wait a minute? I don't know how Call of Duty works, but don't they have certain, like, releases or whatever? We gotta, I want to see something long-running NFL meme that Kyler Murray tends to play worse after a new Call of Duty game comes out, or during a big Call of Duty event like Double XP weekends. Hold on, wait for it. So, probably not September. When is our next game? Oh no, is it late? Oh, november 15. Yeah, that might. So, we might have missed it. According to this, mid October is the highest risk period for a new Call of Duty drop. There's also there are weekends for double XP. This is so funny that we're going to be able to make fun of them for this, but apparently they don't announce that until a few days or like a week until presumably the Thanksgiving period is when they're going to be having some kind of events, and we play the Vikings november 15, so probably too early. Dang it, when do the.. what does the Vikings get? Who's.. who's.. I hope it's not the Bears. So mid October they've got the Saints, which would be hilarious if they dropped that one, possibly the Colts. That's kind of late October, and then you've got the Thanksgiving time, which would be roughly ers, Falcons. Yeah. Oh, well, we'll have fun with it. I think we can maybe end on this. No, this is a very long video, and there's plenty of other Kyler stuff, but just again, just trying to get a general vibe on this one other thing that was. Mentioned as a person that called in or wrote into their show and talked about the potential problems with a, as the writer put it, a Kevin Hart-sized quarterback playing in cold weather. Now that's a very good point, obviously it is a dome team, but they have to play two games in, well, I guess one in Green Bay, which I think is, uh, when is that? Yeah, the first one is there, so that actually works in our, then, yeah, the november 15, so that that works massively in our favor. Let me take a peek at their schedule here. So, when is it going to start getting cold, probably not till October. Warm weather, warm weather, pretty much everybody's a freaking dome now. Lions are a dome, Buffalo, but that's at home. Yeah, so I mean, they don't play a cold weather game, I think until november 15 against the Packers. They play the Patriots in New England december 10. I'm trying to remember who has a dome and who doesn't, Patriots, I don't believe do they play the Jets january 3, so I think those are their only cold weather games, but still worth mentioning, and obviously by virtue of how cold weather works, these are all later in the season, so if you have an injury-prone smaller quarterback that has already taken his lumps, now has to start playing in cold weather games. You could see a situation where the Minnesota Vikings possibly get off to a hot start, but similar to what you see with older quarterbacks, they start to diminish toward the end of the season. This is why, by the way, Green Bay always talks about how they like to get bigger guys, and they've always kind of liked getting bigger guys, in part just as a general NFL theory, but also because of the cold weather situation, and even if you think you're not a cold weather team because you have a dome, you still have to travel, you're still gonna have to play in it, and theoretically, and hopefully you're going to struggle to get through the later portion of the season and stay resilient as it starts getting colder, so hopefully that does end up being a bit of a hindrance. All right, so here's the plan, tentatively moving forward. I'm going to do some general due diligence today to see if Lions fans are hyping up golf. I'm guessing there has to be some. On one hand, you've got like the I think if you, if you just had a room full of Lions fans, they're probably not hyping up Goff a ton. They feel like he's maybe kind of holding them back or something. I don't know, but if you were to have an NFC North discussion about Jordan Love and Caleb and who's the best quarterback, I'm guessing you'd see plenty of Lions fans come out and say, give me a frickin' break, it's golf, and that's all I need, that's all I need to go off of. So I will see if I can find some of that. We will discuss that quarterback situation and how they feel about him, and then that will.. what the heck was the word for Flino? I don't remember something Italian and Effie. We'll do our breakdown of my thoughts again, kind of like I've done before, in terms of I don't want to go in, find where Jordan is the best, pretend that those are the best stats, and then say, ha ha, we win. I want to start with the stats and then go find them and then rank them accordingly. Start from a standpoint of, here's what I think makes you kind of like what Colin Coward did, but he did it like an idiot. Start with your criteria, and then go look at the quarterbacks. But I'm going to leave it at that for today. I will talk to you all later. 

Pack Nation, buckle up because Sal is absolutely heated and unloading on the biggest myth in the NFC North. While everyone's crowning Jared Goff as the best quarterback in the division based on his shiny 2025 stat sheet, Sal rips the paint job off and shows you the termites eating the foundation. This is a full-throated, no-holds-barred takedown of the Goff hype train as it heads straight for a wall. Key Discussion Points The Kelvinator Fridge Analogy: Goff's massive 2025 numbers (4,564 yards, 34 TDs) look elite on paper but were just an engine running on fumes after Ben Johnson left for Chicago. The Week 10 Panic: Dan Campbell had to rip the headset off the OC and call plays himself because the offense completely fell apart without the old system. Blitz Exposure: Goff's passer rating against the blitz dropped from 119.7 to 96.6 once the genius scheming disappeared — the mask slipped hard. Jordan Love vs. Goff: Real ribeye quarterback who thrives under pressure versus the kale chip system manager who needs GPS instructions. Sponsor Integration This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. Call to Action If you can tell the difference between a real quarterback and a system manager, head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify right now and leave a five-star review for LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHIN. Tell us in the comments — is Goff cooked in 2026? Drop your hottest take. Advertising Contact To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast Support the Show & Explore My Projects Help keep the show growing and check out everything I'm building across the Packers and NFL world: Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/pack_daddy Venmo: @Packernetpodcast CashApp: $packpod Projects: Grade NFL Players ➜ fanfocus-teamgrades.lovable.app Packers Hub ➜ packersgames.com Create NFL Draft Big Boards ➜ nfldraftgrades.com Watch Draft Prospects ➜ draftflix.com Screen Record ➜ pause-play-capture.lovable.app Global Economics Hub ➜ global-economic-insight-hub.lovable.app Go Pack Go!

In this episode of the Packernet Podcast, we unload on the bold claims that Caleb Williams is already a top five quarterback in the NFL. We dig into recent analyst rankings and YouTube breakdowns that place him ahead of proven veterans, and we examine why the arguments feel more like vibes than substance, especially when stacked against Jordan Love and other established signal-callers in the NFC North. We break down the key discussion points: Why two-year touchdown and interception totals get treated as elite production when single-season numbers from Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and others put them in perspective. The shaky criteria around durability, mobility, and "momentum" that fail to separate truly good quarterbacks from merely available ones. How future potential and age arguments are being used to artificially elevate young players while quietly pushing proven QBs like Jordan Love down the rankings. The dangerous game of projecting infinite improvement onto one player while ignoring similar trajectories for others across the league. This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you want honest, stats-driven NFL talk without the hype, subscribe to the Packernet Podcast, leave a rating and review, and join the conversation on social media. More daily Packers analysis and NFC North breakdowns are coming soon! To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast

In this episode of the Packernet Podcast, we unload on the bold claims that Caleb Williams is already a top five quarterback in the NFL. We dig into recent analyst rankings and YouTube breakdowns that place him ahead of proven veterans, and we examine why the arguments feel more like vibes than substance, especially when stacked against Jordan Love and other established signal-callers in the NFC North. We break down the key discussion points: Why two-year touchdown and interception totals get treated as elite production when single-season numbers from Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and others put them in perspective. The shaky criteria around durability, mobility, and "momentum" that fail to separate truly good quarterbacks from merely available ones. How future potential and age arguments are being used to artificially elevate young players while quietly pushing proven QBs like Jordan Love down the rankings. The dangerous game of projecting infinite improvement onto one player while ignoring similar trajectories for others across the league. This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you want honest, stats-driven NFL talk without the hype, subscribe to the Packernet Podcast, leave a rating and review, and join the conversation on social media. More daily Packers analysis and NFC North breakdowns are coming soon! To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast

The 2026 NFL schedule is out, and Ryan does something more useful than reading the Packers' games in order — he goes division-wide to see how the Vikings, Lions, and Bears are feeling about their slate, and specifically what each fanbase thinks about facing Green Bay. The Vikings are the story. The optimism is loud and the Packers disrespect is real — week one at home is already being called a win, Kyle Murray is apparently the missing piece to eleven-plus wins, and Brian Flores is apparently worth more than an actual roster. Ryan is not pleased. The Lions are a different conversation: they give Green Bay its due, acknowledge the Packers swept them last year, and know they have something to prove. The Bears land somewhere in the middle — plenty of Caleb Year 2 assumptions, but at least they treat the Christmas matchup at Soldier Field like it matters. Ryan's takeaway: all four NFC North fanbases are projecting double-digit wins. Someone's going to be very wrong.

Hour One of the Good Morning Football Podcast begins with Matthew Stafford's extension with the Rams. Hosts Mike Yam, Manti Te'o, Seth Rollins, and Jason Cabinda discuss the changes for the Giants and impact on Jaxson Dart. Lions TE Tyler Conklin talks about playing in his hometown and returning to the NFC North. We hear surprising words from Browns HC Todd Monken. Plus, a round of GMFB Spelling Bee Stay tuned for Terron Armstead coming up in Hour 2 of the GMFB Podcast! The Good Morning Football Podcast is part of the NFL Podcast NetworkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2026 NFL schedule is out, and Ryan does something more useful than reading the Packers' games in order — he goes division-wide to see how the Vikings, Lions, and Bears are feeling about their slate, and specifically what each fanbase thinks about facing Green Bay. The Vikings are the story. The optimism is loud and the Packers disrespect is real — week one at home is already being called a win, Kyle Murray is apparently the missing piece to eleven-plus wins, and Brian Flores is apparently worth more than an actual roster. Ryan is not pleased. The Lions are a different conversation: they give Green Bay its due, acknowledge the Packers swept them last year, and know they have something to prove. The Bears land somewhere in the middle — plenty of Caleb Year 2 assumptions, but at least they treat the Christmas matchup at Soldier Field like it matters. Ryan's takeaway: all four NFC North fanbases are projecting double-digit wins. Someone's going to be very wrong.

Pack Nation, strap in because Sal is fired up and vibrating like an old fridge on a hot day. While everyone's celebrating the Micah Parsons addition and dreaming of an iron curtain defense, this episode is the loud warning cry about the one group that could torpedo the entire 2026 season: the interior offensive line. Jordan Love is a king, but he's not a magician — and right now he's staring down 300-pound meatballs collapsing the pocket two seconds after the snap. The brutal PFF numbers from the second half of 2025 showing we ranked around 19th-22nd in interior pressure allowed Why the Bears, Ben Johnson, and that NFC North rival revenge tour are circling our weak guards like sharks The dangerous November stretch (Patriots, Vikings, Rams) that could turn into a sack fest if we don't add veteran depth The house-of-cards depth chart and the "lake ice in March" reality — one injury and the whole thing goes under This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you're as concerned about right guard as I am, smash those five stars, drop a review telling the world Sal is right, and let's demand this front office fixes the engine room before it's too late. Subscribe, share with your Pack family, and get loud — we are NOT letting a couple of meatballs in the middle ruin this window. Go Pack Go! To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast

Pack Nation, strap in because Sal is fired up and vibrating like an old fridge on a hot day. While everyone's celebrating the Micah Parsons addition and dreaming of an iron curtain defense, this episode is the loud warning cry about the one group that could torpedo the entire 2026 season: the interior offensive line. Jordan Love is a king, but he's not a magician — and right now he's staring down 300-pound meatballs collapsing the pocket two seconds after the snap. The brutal PFF numbers from the second half of 2025 showing we ranked around 19th-22nd in interior pressure allowed Why the Bears, Ben Johnson, and that NFC North rival revenge tour are circling our weak guards like sharks The dangerous November stretch (Patriots, Vikings, Rams) that could turn into a sack fest if we don't add veteran depth The house-of-cards depth chart and the "lake ice in March" reality — one injury and the whole thing goes under This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks! Use code PACKDADDY and visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/PACKDADDY to get started with America's #1 fantasy sports app. If you're as concerned about right guard as I am, smash those five stars, drop a review telling the world Sal is right, and let's demand this front office fixes the engine room before it's too late. Subscribe, share with your Pack family, and get loud — we are NOT letting a couple of meatballs in the middle ruin this window. Go Pack Go! To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/packernetpodcast

The New England Patriots are entering one of the most important seasons of the post-Tom Brady era, and Missing the Point is breaking down every major storyline surrounding Foxborough.On this episode of Missing the Point, Mike Marcangelo is joined by Zachary Gray for a full New England Patriots 2025 offseason preview, covering Drake Maye's year three expectations, the Patriots' offensive line concerns, A.J. Brown trade rumors, Stefon Diggs comparisons, Romeo Doubs' role in the offense, New England's NFL Draft strategy, the Patriots' difficult 2025 schedule, AFC playoff expectations, and the Mike Vrabel controversy involving Diana Russini.The episode starts with the biggest question facing the Patriots: is Drake Maye ready to take the leap?Mike and Zach break down Drake Maye's development entering his third NFL season, including his regular season growth, playoff performance, pocket awareness, decision-making under pressure, and what he still needs to prove as the Patriots' franchise quarterback. Maye has the talent to become one of the best young quarterbacks in the AFC, but New England still needs to prove it has built the right offense around him.The conversation then shifts to the Patriots' offensive line and 2025 NFL Draft strategy. Did New England do enough to protect Drake Maye? Was the draft focused on building a real long-term foundation, or was it just about adding bodies to a roster with obvious holes? Mike and Zach discuss Will Campbell, left tackle concerns, offensive line depth, and why protecting Maye could define the Patriots' entire season.From there, the show dives into the Patriots wide receiver room and the big-name trade rumors that continue to follow New England.Could A.J. Brown become a real trade target for the Patriots? Should New England be aggressive if a true number one wide receiver becomes available? Mike and Zach compare A.J. Brown and Stefon Diggs, looking at age, upside, production, injury concerns, risk, fit, and what each receiver would mean for Drake Maye's development. A.J. Brown brings star power, size, and explosive upside. Stefon Diggs offers experience and reliability. But would either move be enough to push the Patriots into the AFC contender conversation?The guys also discuss Romeo Doubs and whether the Patriots can build a successful spread offense without a clear elite number one receiver. Zach makes the case that spreading the ball around could help Drake Maye grow in year three, while Mike questions whether a receiver room built around multiple number two options can win playoff games against teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and Cincinnati Bengals.The episode also features a full breakdown of the Patriots' 2025 schedule, one of the toughest in the NFL by traditional strength-of-schedule metrics. Mike and Zach look at New England's matchups against the AFC West, NFC North, and other key opponents that could shape the Patriots' playoff hopes. They also discuss the Patriots' 10.5 win total and whether that number is fair, too high, or actually reachable if Drake Maye and the roster stay healthy.Zach also brings the numbers on NFL rest differential, including where the Patriots rank compared to the rest of the league. The schedule may be difficult, but New England's rest advantage could give Mike Vrabel's team a real edge in key spots. Mike and Zach debate whether that rest differential helps offset one of the hardest schedules in football.Then the conversation turns to the bigger AFC playoff picture.Are the Patriots legitimate AFC contenders in 2025? Should New England be viewed as a threat because of Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel, and a stronger roster? Or are the expectations moving too fast for a team that still needs to prove it can win meaningful games in January?Mike and Zach discuss the Patriots' Super Bowl chances, AFC Championship expectations, playoff matchups, and how New England stacks up against the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens, Bengals, and the rest of the AFC. They also touch on Patrick Mahomes' injury situation, Kansas City's uncertainty, and whether the Chiefs are still the biggest roadblock in the AFC.The episode closes with the off-field story surrounding Mike Vrabel and Diana Russini. Mike and Zach discuss the controversy, the media reaction, and whether it could become a distraction for the Patriots entering the season. They look at how the situation could affect Vrabel's focus, his reputation, and his future in New England, while also asking the bigger question: does any of this actually matter once the Patriots start playing football?This is a full New England Patriots offseason breakdown with the usual Missing the Point mix of honest football analysis, strong opinions, frustration, optimism, and enough chaos to match the current state of the Patriots.Topics include:New England Patriots 2025 offseason previewDrake Maye year three expectationsDrake Maye development and playoff growthPatriots offensive line concernsWill Campbell and left tackle questionsPatriots 2026 NFL Draft strategyA.J. Brown trade rumorsA.J. Brown Patriots fitStefon Diggs vs. A.J. BrownRomeo Doubs role in the Patriots offensePatriots wide receiver room breakdownCan New England build around a spread offense?Patriots 2026 schedule breakdownNFL strength of schedulePatriots rest differentialPatriots 10.5 win total predictionAFC playoff picturePatriots Super Bowl expectationsChiefs, Bills, Ravens, Bengals, and AFC contendersPatrick Mahomes injury discussionMike Vrabel Patriots futureDiana Russini controversy reactionThe Patriots have their quarterback. They have a new standard under Mike Vrabel. They have a schedule that will test them immediately. They have trade rumors, roster questions, offensive line concerns, and a fan base ready to believe again.Now New England has to prove whether the 2025 Patriots are a real AFC contender or just another offseason idea that sounds better before the games start.Support the show-----------https://www.MTPshow.comOur Social Mediahttps://linktr.ee/MTPSHOW-----------Hosts: Mike Marcangelo, Dave ClarkeProducer: Craig D'Alessandro, Dave ClarkeInquiries: Craig@mtpshow.com

Sheil and The Ringer's own Diante Lee take an early look at the 2026-27 NFL season and tackle some of the biggest questions surrounding the current state of the most polarizing teams and players in the NFC. (00:00) Around the NFC with 10 big questions! (02:05) More likely: Seahawks back in the Super Bowl, or Cardinals get the no. 1 pick in 2027? (09:37) Three coaches on the hot seat (17:04) More likely: Giants win the NFC East, or Vikings win the NFC North? (23:53) The Commanders' 2026 outlook (31:13) Which three NFC playoff teams won't be in it next season? (40:29) Ranking the NFC South QBs (57:49) Which non-playoff teams will be in the playoffs next season? (01:00:48) Most likely outcome for the Rams in '26-27 (01:07:12) NFC QBs most likely to win MVP The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Sheil Kapadia Guest: Diante Lee Producer: Chris Sutton Video Editor: Stefano Sanchez Production Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Which Minnesota Vikings opponents are MUST-WIN games and how does the Vikings schedule stack up against the rest of the NFC North. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Detroit Lions 2026 NFL road map is set after schedule release night. Detroit opens at home against the New Orleans Saints at 1 p.m. Week 2 sends the Lions to christen the Buffalo Bills' new stadium on the first Thursday night of the season. A Munich date with New England headlines midyear. Thanksgiving brings Chicago. The stretch run leans on NFC North road games. Fast start, steep Week 2 test Week 1 is friendly. Home. Dome. Saints. The Lions know the drill and can set the tone. Then comes Buffalo on Thursday night to open the new stadium. That trip looks like the toughest win on the slate. A new coach and a defense with moving parts make the Bills volatile. They added CJ Carter Johnson in the secondary. That could hit big or explode. Either way, the timing is tricky on a short week in a charged building. Early bye, home-heavy runway After the Jets at home, Detroit heads out for a two-game road swing at the Panthers and Cardinals. The Carolina game lands in prime time on Sunday night. A Week 6 bye arrives early. Some will bristle at that. The schedule then flips in the Lions' favor. From Week 7 through Thanksgiving, Detroit gets five home games in six weeks if you count Munich as a home date. The only road game in that stretch is at Miami. That matchup does not intimidate. The Dolphins might be the weakest opponent on the schedule. Stack wins there, and the table is set for December. Munich stage without a post-trip bye Week 10 brings New England in Munich on a Sunday morning. The NFL designates it a Lions home game. There is no bye afterward. Detroit returns to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11. Expect a surge of Amon-Ra St. Brown jerseys in Germany. He has deep ties there and real popularity. The Patriots still draw strongly overseas, so the atmosphere should be split and loud. The turn-and-burn back to Detroit adds a wrinkle to recovery and prep. Thanksgiving spotlight and a road-heavy close Thanksgiving features the Bears at Ford Field. The mini-bye that follows points to Atlanta, then the Titans visit Detroit. The final four turn up the heat: at Minnesota, home for the Giants, then at Chicago and at Green Bay in Weeks 17 and 18. That's a rugged close inside the division and on the road. The Lions' best path is clear. Survive Buffalo, build momentum in the home-heavy middle, handle Munich without a stumble, and carry cushion into December. Detroit Lions Podcast faithful will have those checkpoints circled. #detroitlions #lions #detroitlionspodcast #2026detroitlionsschedule #nflschedulerelease #reaction #lionsreaction #dancampbell #detroitlionsseason Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opening slate: Saints lift-off, Bills hurdle, early split The day after the NFL schedule release, the Detroit Lions Podcast dove into the schedule game. The call is clear through Thanksgiving. Detroit projects an 8-3 mark built on home control, measured road aggression, and smart handling of travel. Week 1 brings the Saints to Ford Field. That's a win. Tough opponent, but the Detroit Lions are set to treat home fans right out of the gate. Week 2 at Buffalo is tagged as the least winnable date on the entire slate. The Bills are set to open a new stadium on a Thursday night, and that setting tilts against Detroit. Week 3 vs the New York Jets swings back to a win. Week 4 at Carolina is labeled a coin flip that falls the wrong way. Through four, it's a 2-2 split. Week 5 at Arizona flips the script again. Detroit takes care of the Cardinals on the road. Week 6 is the bye, arriving with the Lions at 3-2. Reset after the bye: division tone-setters Back from the break, the NFC North run sets the tone. Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field is a win and a division opener that matters. One week later, the Minnesota Vikings visit. If the Detroit Lions are reasonably healthy, that's another win. The record climbs to 5-2 with momentum building inside the division. Travel tests: Miami swing, Germany trip, sandwich trap The road trip to Miami follows, slotted between two divisional matchups and a flight abroad. The focus holds. Detroit gets a road win in Miami. The next stop is Germany against New England. Detroit hasn't played overseas in a long time, but the matchup favors the Lions offense. Chalk up another win. Returning from Europe sets a classic trap. Tampa Bay arrives at Ford Field off a bye while the Lions are just back from the international trip. That spot leans against Detroit. The Buccaneers are picked to edge it, a narrow loss in a tricky schedule pocket. Thanksgiving target and running tally Thanksgiving brings the Bears to Detroit. The Lions lock in and handle business, a home win fueled by the Ford Field crowd and the urgency of a division race. That puts the Detroit Lions at 8-3 heading into the final six games. The schedule tightens from here, but the path to that mark is set: protect home turf, win the right road fights, and survive the travel swings. The Detroit Lions Podcast made the calls. Now the NFL season will test them. #detroitlions #lions #detroitlionspodcast #lionsschedule #lionswintotal #game-by-gamepredictions #nfcnorth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pack Nation — Big Sal is PACING. It is eleven in the morning, the schedule does not officially drop until seven tonight, and the leaks are pouring in like a busted dam. Big Sal cannot wait. He has got coffee, three browser tabs open, a buzzing phone, and a carpet that is officially finished. Strap in — this is the schedule leak reaction in real time.

Pack Nation, the NFL just dropped the Christmas gift nobody saw coming — and somebody got coal. The 2026 schedule release is official, and the Green Bay Packers are heading to Soldier Field on Christmas Day for a Week 16 showdown with the Chicago Bears. Pack Daddy breaks down what this primetime holiday matchup means for Green Bay's playoff push, the NFC North race, and Jonathan Gannon's defense in its first full season under center.

The Cavs went up 3-2 on the Pistons last night after Detroit blew their lead. Can the Pistons bounce back or are they done? LeBron was upset about not getting the game ball after passing Kareem's scoring record. Who does this story look the worst for? Then, 3x Pro Bowler Kyle Long joins the show to discuss what he expects from the NFC North, and much more. Plus, Canty's Best Bet, and the most UnSportsmanLike moments of the day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave McMenamin told a story on the Rich Eisen show that highlighted why LeBron is disgruntled with the Lakers. Could they end up coming back together, or do they need to break up? Then, ESPN NFL Analyst Damien Woody joins the show to talk about the NFL schedule release. Plus, 3x Pro Bowler Kyle Long stops by to talk about the NFC North, and give dating advice to Producer Pat! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gregg Rosenthal and Jourdan Rodrigue tell you who they think are the most underrated players across the NFC. Gregg and Jourdan run through the NFC East, followed by the NFC North, NFC South and NFC West. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.