Monday Morning Quarterback: Chaos, Comebacks, and Collapses

All right, everyone, welcome to another edition of MacDaddy. I am Patrick McEnroe. We are presented by our friends at Volition. You can follow us on YouTube. We invite you to go there, subscribe there. Of course, you can find us on all the podcast places such as Spotify, Apple, so on and so on. Also sponsored by our friends at Dos Hombres, Fire Department Coffee as well. Week three of the NFL season, just about in the books. And what a week three, what a weekend it's been already. 11 of the 13 games decided by less than a score, some just phenomenal games. We're going to kick things off with my man Rich Big Daddy Salgado. He has got some great guests for us today, including Eric Coleman, who played for nine years in the NFL, drafted out of Washington State, played for my JETS Jets, Jets, Jets. We'll hear from him about that game. Who would have thunk that Geno Smith could go into Detroit, throw for over 300 yards, get three touchdown passes, and the Jets, of course, would still come home with a loss. And Lauren Emory, our man, our producer, following his Oregon Ducks, what happened out there on the West Coast in the college football world? That was a disgrace. What happened with USC? We'll get into that as well with the cheap chat against the quarterback Dante Moore of the Ducks. Ducks went on to win that handily. Well, let's start with Eric Coleman, because Eric, uh, we appreciate you joining us. I know you had to get out of New York late last night with the crazy weather going on. By the way, I am coming to you live from a hotel in Madrid, Spain, where I'm about to see my daughter here. Just came from London in the Labor Cup, which was a phenomenal weekend in tennis. But this isn't about tennis, Eric. This is about what happened in week three, which overall was a phenomenal week of games, including my J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets, that actually played a lot better than people thought, but still took the loss in Detroit. What say you and welcome to the show? We appreciate you coming on.

Well, thanks a lot for having me. And it was an exciting week. Uh, week three was. Uh, you know, you're starting off with the Jets. It was funny. I was I was hosting a party for the Jets uh in New York City, and it was my the first team I played for, and the last team I played for in the Detroit Lions. And so it was a little bittersweet watching that game. But you know, overall, I thought the Jets looked great. They looked efficient offensively. Geno Smith was 31 for 37. Uh, he was distributing the ball all around the field. Kenyon Sadiq made some great plays. Um, of course, Garrett Wilson is always gonna make big plays when you give him the opportunity. Uh, but you know, unfortunately, when you're playing against a high-powered offense like Detroit, uh, Jared Goff is going to pick you apart, and uh, and that's ultimately what ended up happening. And Detroit separated a little bit at the end. Um, you know, it's unfortunate. But as a Jets fan, I'm watching that game and I'm seeing the progress. Um, I'm like, oh, there's sustainable drives. You know, now you look like you're competing for games. When in the past, it was like just throw the defense out there and let them go out there and make plays, and and and they ended up wanting you know breaking down towards the end of the year. So uh exciting, you know, I'm I'm cautiously optimistic for the Jets of you know, yes, they did lose, but uh, I'm excited for what's in store. What do you think about the Lions?

I was the only one that said that they would go in there and win, and I remember everybody going into Detroit?

Well, Jameer Gibbs has something to say about it, I guess, because he was on fire. Two running touchdowns, another one to clench it for them of receiving touchdown as well. What do you make of Eric where the Lions are right now? Because there's a lot of question marks about them. You know, it's so interesting looking at after three games now that we've seen a lot of teams. Still some some big surprises. We're gonna get into that later. Still some teams where I mean think Kansas City goes down to Miami. That's gonna be easy. Actually, it wasn't that easy. Miami played them tough. We know they're supposedly one of the worst teams in the league. It seems to me, Eric, and correct me if I'm wrong, that there's a lot of really good teams right now in the NFL, but maybe no great teams. And and and and likewise, not that many really, really bad, because the really bad teams are actually still fairly competitive, like Arizona's another one. What do you make of where Detroit is right now?

Uh, you know, I think I think Detroit is probably in the middle of the pack. Um, defensively, they need to figure things out. You know, there were they gave up a lot of big plays, you know, and as a former safety, that's the first thing I'm looking for. I I look at the game through the defensive backs eyes, and you know, there's breakdowns and coverage, uh, there's you know, getting beat on a lot of one-on-ones, a lack of communication on the back end. And in order for Detroit to make strides, especially in the NFC North, uh, where it's super competitive, uh, they're gonna have to short things up on the defensive side. So um I think they have a lot to gain when you when you play against, you know, you look at teams like the Buffalo Bills, you look at how the Vikings are playing right now. Uh Detroit is is they're right in the middle of the pack. They have the opportunity to ascend, but they've got they've got some stuff to work on.

Yeah, Vikings go 3-0 as well. And then uh, of course, the Chiefs 3-0. Uh, we'll talk about some of those other 3-0 teams. Let's welcome now in our second guest. We appreciate him joining us as well. Jordan Renan of ESPN covers the Giants locally. Giants, I mean, Big Daddy, of course, he's always gonna predict the Giants are gonna win. It doesn't matter who they're playing, he's gonna predict it. They actually uh the most entertaining part of this game, Jordan, for me, as sort of a casual fan, was the interviews of uh uh uh Jameis Winston, both before and after the game, but he did enough for the Giants to squeak by the Titans 12-7. How about that one?

Yeah, they really escaped with a victory, but uh, you know, you talk to guys after the game and they get an interception of Cam Ward in the end zone in the final minutes when it looks like, hey, they're about to blow a game, right? Which is what was the what did we hear about the Giants last year? They couldn't hold the lead. 10 double-digit leads in the fourth quarter. They're up 12-0. It looks like they're gonna blow it. The Titans go down the field, score a touchdown, get the ball back, drive all the way down the field. Cam Ward throws an ill-advised pass when they had a timeout left. Giants make a play, you go to locker room after. What do you hear? Hey, this is the kind of game we didn't that we would have lost last year, 100%. That's what they're saying. Why is that? Because they have a new coach, they have a new belief, they're building a new culture. Like they truly believe that it makes a difference. Now, sure, I'm sure it helped to play that they played against the Tennessee Titans. They're not gonna be one, they're now 0-3, they're not gonna be a great team, but a big win for the Giants and the fact that they're now 2-1. They have the Arizona Cardinals coming in next week. Very winnable game. They play the Washington Commanders after that. Also, I know they won. They beat the Seattle Seahawks, huge surprise, but still, another winnable game. The New Orleans Saints in MetLife after that, another winnable game. It's not out of the question to see the Giants sitting there at 3-2 or 4-1 in pretty good shape, even though they're playing with a backup quarterback. They're gonna need Jameis Winston to play a little better. The quotes off the field are great, but he also has to do it on the field. The weather was miserable. I think he could throw that one out this week. But next week, yeah, you have first game, he came in, didn't play well, right? We all saw that on Monday night football. Just didn't have it, didn't play well. This one, he made some plays, but it was very uneven through for what, 119 yards, Giants didn't score a touchdown. All right, next week, Arizona Cardinals are gonna have to produce. Otherwise, the Giants, they're gonna have a quarterback this week. We'll see what they do at that quarterback position if they're gonna just hand it to Jameis and say you're our guy full of unlimited leash here going forward.

Well, Big Daddy, nobody knows the Giants better than you. Okay, you get the inside track with everyone over there. So tell us, tell us what's going on. Who are they looking for? And do you expect to see a quarterback signed within the next week or so?

I do expect them to sign a quarterback. Uh, you know what? If you want me to give you my choice for the quarterback. Yes, please. Joe Flacco. Joe Flacco.

Uh but they won't trade Joe Flacco. Why why would the Bengals, who have Joe Burrow, who, oh by the way, has has said his back is a little, you know, he's a little iffy, gonna trade their backup quarterback. Yeah, in an ideal world, John Harbaugh would sure love to have John uh Joe Flacco.

Yeah, no, I'm just I'm I'm saying that's my choice now. If you're gonna go with what else is out there, I don't know, it's a toss-up. I mean, you gotta get the guy that will not he will help you win. He won't lose the game for you. That that's how I feel about the quarterback position right now, the way the things are over at the uh Giants. And uh isn't that Jimmy Garoppolo?

Doesn't that make sense?

It does make sense because he is sitting he is sitting, yeah, he's sitting out there. He's free.

He's not he's not this great playmaker, but he's uh maybe I won't lose you games guy.

Yeah, that's what I think. That's what I think the Giants need, and I uh you know it'll be interesting. I'm sure those guys have been working the phones after the game, and probably knowing Joe Shane probably at 5 a.m. this morning, you know. So it'll be interesting to see who they come out with or who they sign. But uh I agree with you. I think they got some games that are coming up that are winnable. Um, if uh Jameis plays, you know, the defense can hang out. I think the defense can hang tough.

All right, let's let's go to the national games. I mean, I could talk, I could talk about the Jets and the Giants all day, but I mean let we we're trying to we're we're trying to reach a bigger audience here. What's that, Lauren?

Because we got to get out to the Rams and drop the ball and move on because of the the big news that that that happened overnight. You know, Jordan, and then I want to know what Eric feels about losing that one massive piece.

Oh yeah, the Giants are gonna likely be without Brian Burns for the rest of the season. The the belief is he has a torn ACL, obviously, needs to be confirmed. But that's a big blow because if I could if I came into the season and told you who is the Giants' most important player on offense and defense, probably would have sat here and told you Jackson Dart, naturally, he's the Giants quarterback, and Brian Burns because he's the best player on that defense. And now they're probably likely without the two of them for the final 14 weeks of the season now, 14 games.

Yeah, that I mean that that really hurts. When you lose, when you lose your pass rusher, you lose your the guy who sets the edge of your defense. It's it's tough to keep the integrity of your D. Uh, you know, as a defensive back, that pass rush is your best friend. You know, you're you're back there in coverage. Uh, all these uh mobile quarterbacks that you play against, if you don't have someone hunting down the quarterback without having to blitz, then you you're really at a disadvantage. So uh that's going to hurt. Fortunately, uh for the Giants, they do have some other guys who can fill in that role if they step up. Abdul Carter, if he he starts playing uh you know, much better. You know, I think there's some guys that can play that can play that position, but ultimately Brian Burns is a baller, and that's gonna be a big miss for them.

That's a big loss, yeah. All right, let's talk about this game. I mean, there's a couple amazing games yesterday, including the Broncos um beating the Rams, uh, some controversy, of course, with that one with the interference call. Stafford throws a late pick. I mean, uh, tremendous game from Bo Knicks. Where do you, Eric? I'll start with you on this, because a lot of people, including yours truly here, pick the Rams, right? They go to Australia, that's a disaster. They sort of threw that one away, then they beat the Giants pretty comfortably. Um, you know, Stafford has been known to throw some pick sixes. He does come back and then put him ahead. They had a chance to win the game. What do you make of where they're at right now? And is it is it semi-crisis time? I know it's early, but a one and two um for what many people thought were the the the lead the leader of the pack.

Yeah, you know, that it is surprising, you know, that they're one and two right now because uh you you look at the team, you look at the defense that they put together. Obviously, um, you know, Garrett, um, excuse me, uh pass rusher uh from the from the Browns. I forgot Garrett is not is not in there right now. But um, you know, with with Matt Stafford, you know, he's one of those guys, you know. I played with him for a couple years in Detroit. He's one of the biggest competitors that you'll see in this game. But one thing that he is is he's streaky. And you know, he'll get hot. And when he gets hot, the league is in trouble, as you can see from his MVPs. But when he gets down, you know, he will make mistakes, he will give the defense opportunities. And yesterday, Denver was ready to take advantage of those. You know, you saw Hafunga uh, you know, making plays on the ball. Um you know, and I saw a stat yesterday that Stafford has 33 pick sixes in his career, and you know, I thought that was unbelievable. That's a that's a lot of pick sixes. Uh and but it just comes, that's the life of being a gunslinger. You know, he's one of those guys that's going to make great plays, but he's gonna give you some opportunities. I ultimately think that the Rams will be okay. You know, they're in a they're in an NFC West where you know the Cardinals, the Cardinals are in the division. Um, you know, San Francisco was tough. Seattle, you don't know which team you're gonna get with them. So I think that the Rams will be okay. They have some wrinkles to iron out, but uh, I'm not too concerned with where they are right now.

If not for a ridiculous pass interference call, yes, they would have won that game. I'm exactly as a defensive back. That must be hard to stomach watching that. I mean, you can't even go for the ball anymore.

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's hard enough to play defensive back. You can't touch the the receivers, you know, pass five. Uh, you know, they're super aggressive, making all these highlight catches, and you can't even put a hand up to, you know, it's it's frustrating to watch. And you know, that's why, you know, those guys, I tell my son, I was like, that's why the defensive backs get paid the big bucks because we have the most difficult job out there on the field. It's tough to not know where these receivers are going. You have to react off these great athletes and and and still make plays. So uh it's a tough job, and uh, and I can't stand when I see calls like that at the end of games. You know, you always want the referees to just manage the game. You don't want them to be the stars of the show.

Eric, I thought it was the quarterbacks that are getting paid the big buttons. I mean, the mediocre quarterbacks are making like 40 mil a year. So I gotta prove it when you're in your position, Eric. Jordan, let's stay within the division of the Giants for a second because another unreal game last night was the Ravens and the Cowboys in Brazil, which apparently the field was a little dodgy. There was some question about they're actually going to play the game. They did play it. An amazing game, which the Ravens win late with the field goal 34-31. Giants had beaten the Cowboys. Cowboys, we all know about the offense, defense still suspect. Where do you make overall that NFC East? Eagles will play tonight at 2-0. You know, typical Eagles like last year, looking for, you know, not great, but somehow always winning.

Yeah, the reality is the Eagles are still the class of the NFC East until they're not. It might not look great, but they have a really strong defense that's gonna last throughout the season, right? That that travels, that plays. Uh, so I think you have to look at them as sort of a step above. We know the Cowboys have this great offense, and I saw them firsthand in the opener. Has their defense really looked any better or much better? They let the game slip away yesterday. Was it seven seconds left? They managed to allow a game-winning field goal. I mean, come on. That's a good one. Lamar throws a one pass. Yeah. One pass. And I know about you guys also. Did you happen to notice the kicker Tyler Luke? He does the Sioux, which is Cristiano Ronaldo. Am I the only one who thinks that it's kind of wait? Hold on. Do we know that Cristiano Ronaldo's Portuguese, not Brazilian? I know they speak Portuguese in Brazil, right? But it doesn't make sense to me. I mean, I know I know they like soccer, but no. He got the Ron Ronaldo. Yeah, I think he doesn't even know what the other Ronaldo is anymore. Well, who was no the NFC East is a logjam. I mean, it'll be interesting because the Commanders, I mean, they're they're they showed yesterday that they're not just gonna roll over, right? Who thought they were gonna beat the Seattle Seahawks? Not me. Uh, so you gotta at least at least say, okay, maybe they could put it together a little bit. The Giants are gonna have trouble because they're playing with a backup quarterback. Like, can they compete and win games and you know get near a playoff spot? I think so. I don't know if they can make a run at the top of the division in the Eagles unless the Eagles really come back to the pack, which we'll see tonight. They're playing a third string quarterback. Should be another win for them, right? I mean, so 3-0. I they're they're the class of the division, and it's everybody else still trying to catch them.

Um, you're listening to Mac Daddy, everyone. The other big one of the biggest surprises, Lauren, and you were texting back with our guy BG, Brad Gilbert, who we had on last week, who's a huge Raiders fan, and the Raiders get it done against the Saints, which was another incredible game, 35-27 in that one. Um, what did you make of that performance? Because Brad's calling for Mendoza, but it ain't happening because Kirk Cousins had another big game uh uh for the for the for the Raiders yesterday.

I mean, what could be more sexy than the NFL when the Raiders are 3-0 and the Cowboys are one and two? The two most volatile moments franchises. So I'm enjoying it. Eric, I'd be curious to know what you thought of the way the Cowboys managed the game because they not only did they clearly play for overtime, but they left too much time for Jackson to do what he did. I mean, that was ridiculous. What did you think of that?

Andy, we lost it. I think we lost him a little bit. There we go.

Okay, so I I in terms of the Raiders, uh, P-Mac, I I know uh Brad is saying he doesn't like cousins because he's a bit of a game manager and they might have the nerdiest, most boring quarterback room in the NFL. But at the same time, it's working and they're better up front. And you know, you gotta like what the Raiders are doing right now. It's good for the NFL when the Raiders are good.

Uh one of the things that is a is a shocker, um, Jordan, and I'll let you chime in on this one, is the fact that the Pats uh look pretty brutal, one and two right now, got absolutely blown out by the Jags 35-6. And the other one, especially after paying their quarterback a ton of money in the offseason, there was a big controversy there down in Tampa Bay with their old Jets coach uh with the Bucs and Baker Mayfield. They're now 0-3 as they lose to the Vikings 23-16. Are they done for the season?

Uh, the Bucs are in trouble. But do you know what the saving grace is for the Bucs? Division stinks, right? It's been like that for years. So if they can get it together, it does keep them alive. But once your quarterback is injured, it makes it really hard, uh, especially when you're already in an early haul. I think I think they're in big trouble. The Patriots, I think, can turn it around. But they're finding, here's what we're finding about about the Patriots. It's hard to replicate success in this league, right? It's hard to sustain success in this league. And they had an easy schedule last year, right? They rolled through an easy schedule, they didn't beat a lot of good teams, if any, and now everyone has them circled on the calendar. And they're finding out how much more difficult it is to be the hunted than the hunty. And Drake May's finding out real quick that, you know, when all that attention is on you and the competition is raised, life is a lot more difficult. He's really not playing well. So unless they get him right, um, they're gonna be in a little bit of trouble. Uh because uh, you know, the division, aside from the the Dolphins, the most of the rest of the division is pretty competitive. So uh they're gonna have their work cut out for them, the Patriots, just to make the playoffs this year.

You know, to me it's kind of it's interesting because I mentioned that comment about over the overall teams, like there's a lot of really good ones. And and and to me, it's a little bit of the same with the quarterbacks. I mean, if you have a great quarterback, you can pretty much win consistently. But if you're just a like a say a good quarterback, maybe if you're a really good quarterback, I mean last year Drake May was really good. Baker Bayfield was really good.

But all of a sudden, if well now we lost P- Mac. Uh Eric, you're back. I think that's what's happening. My quick question for you was the way the Cowboys manage the game clearly was as if they were playing for overtime. They left way too much time on the clock, they didn't really let the pick-ins play even take shape. They didn't Dak clearly was told to just throw the ball out of bounds. So, my question for you is the coaching there as a safety, what were you thinking? And and did they botch that completely?

Yeah, I mean, we we it's something that you go through in practice every single week uh is situational awareness. And most coaches will, you know, on one day of the week, they'll go through all the plays from last week that you need to improve on. And one of the biggest, you know, situational um times is two-minute drill. You know, it's seven seconds left. They need a chunk play, they have to go towards the sideline. You know, as a defensive back, there's a certain way you need to play that coverage. And you you can't let you can't give up these chunks and allow another field goal. It was it was so disappointing. It was almost like watching college football last night at the end of that game, where you know, you you can have an excuse for it in college because there's a bunch of kids out there, but these are NFL players who are getting paid a ton of money, who you know are putting themselves in that position. You know, the the Cowboys they come down. Dak Prescott does a great job of of tying up the game and to allow that to happen. It was it was disappointing to watch. It was disappointing to watch, but great job by the the Ravens and executing when it count, uh, you know, make making that field goal. Everything worked for them, and it was a great game.

Uh, Jordan, I think. Lost P Mac, but I am curious to know.

I'm back. I'm back. I'm back now, but go ahead. Go ahead.

You go ahead, Laura.

No, listen. Well, uh, what I want to talk about is also the fact that the the the the the Browns, okay, who no one expected to do anything, right? Particularly with their quarterback situation, all of a sudden uh Deshaun Watson's I I maybe I shouldn't say he's got it going, but they've got two wins out of three. They're two and one, 21-18 over the Panthers. And all of a sudden, uh Jordan, I'm not hearing any more talk about Shador Sanders. Uh so what do you what do you make of where the I mean they're obviously in a brutal division there? And then we'll talk about what Rogers did yesterday in Cincinnati at home against Cincinnati. But um, you know, Deshaun is playing pretty well.

Yeah, it's impressive that the you know the the Browns are fighting. You got to give Tom Munkin a lot of credit. Uh, because everybody thought that this team was gonna be terrible, right? They're sitting there at 2-1. The Raiders are sitting there at 3-0. Uh, it's the beauty of this league. Uh and the Browns, you know, that was a big game for Deshaun Watson because remember he made those comments back in the preseason. Well, this was their first home game, right? And they needed to have it, it would have gone south real quick if this was not a good game. And he didn't exactly light it up. He threw for 144 yards, uh, but he did throw two touchdown passes, no interceptions, ran for another 45. Uh, so that was a key game for Deshaun Watson, whether they're gonna roll with him moving forward, because they needed him to have success at home in order for the home fan base to not really completely turn. They had already turned on him, by the way, right? This was like the last ditch effort for him, and that was huge that he was able to put up a win. And now the Browns can kind of settle down and go forward with him.

What about Big Daddy? What you saw yesterday from uh our Buffalo Bills, our third New York team. I mean, Josh Allen played about as poorly as he can play, right? And the Chargers were desperate coming into that game at 0-2, and yet still uh the Bills come back from behind after being down at halftime and winning 24-16. So does that just solidify for you, Big Daddy, how good the Bills are overall, even what Josh Allen has a subpar game?

You know, he's Superman, as we all jokingly been saying since uh, you know, the summer. But uh, you know, Sal Powell is uh our buddy, he was up there doing that game. And you know, the the Chargers, they they I actually thought they were gonna win. You know, I was watching the game and I'm saying to myself, wow. Uh but Buffalo, they just he knows how to win up there. And I think even though as he wasn't Josh Allen S where he was running for 800 yards and throwing six TDs, he's a winner. And I I think they have a will to win up there. So I'm not surprised that they pulled it out.

Are you surprised for me to watch you know, five turnovers? Anytime you you tell you tell someone you're gonna have five turnovers and win the game, uh it's it's crazy. Uh but I think James Cook is really was the difference maker yesterday. What he was doing on the ground, he I mean, he he's running the ball, you know, up there with with the top guys in the league, up there with with with Taylor and and all the rest of the guys. He kept them in this game, you know, running the football, controlling the clock. Um, you know, they had some Josh Allen threw for some big plays, as he's always going to. I think he had a nice shot to to Keon Coleman. Um, but ultimately, I'm surprised at the Chargers. You know, you're sitting at the Raiders are 3-0 in the AFC West, the Chargers are 0-3, uh, the Kansas City Chiefs, they don't really look like the old Chiefs. So the AFC West is kind of up for grabs, in my opinion, because I don't see the Raiders continuing with that, with that great uh football playing 3-0 right now. I don't see them continuing that throughout the rest of the season, nor do I see the Chargers playing 0-3 football for the rest of the year. So I'm I'm I have my eye on the AFC West.

I'm interested in what you just said, though, Eric, about the Chiefs because I know they look differently, right? They're you know, they're running the ball a lot more. Mahomes still, you know, maybe not quite back at 100%, but he's done enough. They're 3-0. The Dolphins actually played him pretty close for three quarters in that game, which surprised a lot of people. But what do you make of how different do they look? And do you think that difference will be enough as the season moves on to still make them a factor to go all the way?

Yeah, and you know, I'm I'm actually I get excited watching the Chiefs because they are doing it different. It's not just Patrick Mahomes, the Patrick Mahomes show running around wheeling and dealing. Uh, the defense is playing great. You know, they're getting pressure on the quarterback, the defensive backs are creating uh turnovers in the in the secondary. And like you said, they're running the football. I think that when they learn how to win other ways, once Patrick Mahomes gets back uh to playing, you know, to being full speed, I think this team could be dangerous. You know, I when you when you come off an injury like that, it's one thing for the court for the doctors to say, oh yeah, you're cleared to play. But it takes you quite a bit to to trust that injury, to be able to run around and get that pop, get that explosive, explosiveness off that knee. Uh, so it's gonna take Patrick Mahomes a few weeks, probably halfway through the year, you'll start to see him turn into the old Patrick Mahomes. And uh man, if he gets rolling, along with how they're playing right now, it's gonna be tough for the league.

Speaking of old, but not looking particularly old. How about Aaron Rodgers yesterday? What he done. I mean, he looked horrible the first two weeks of the season. Go playing the Bengals at home. Cincinnati's won their first two games. And what does Aaron Rodgers do, Jordan? He out duels Joe Burrow, and the Steelers get their win 30-27. Are they gonna be good enough to hang around? Something tells me probably not, but that was a big time uh win for Rodgers and the Steelers, wasn't it?

Yeah, I think everybody just thought that, especially with the way that Pittsburgh offense was rolling, that Cincinnati was gonna go in there, get an easy win, and get out. I mean, this is why it was a great week. I mean, everything you kind of thought was gonna happen didn't happen. Packers are gonna get right at home. Nope, sorry. Uh, Browns are gonna lose to the Panthers. Nope. The Raiders will lose to the Saints or an up-and-coming team. The Bengals are gonna are gonna win. They're they're on the rise, but no. Uh, you know, maybe their defense, I'm not so sold on them. Maybe their defense, the Bengals, isn't quite fixed, right? They want to shootout in week one, their defense looked great in week two, but maybe the Texans' offense is just uh, you know, sick. Something's wrong with the Texans' offense. That's who they dominated in week two. So, but it, I mean, from an Aaron Rodgers perspective, you know he's still gonna have some of these games left in him, right? He's he's good enough where, look, he could play average football most of the time, but he's good enough where he's gonna spike up every once in a while. And this is one of those chances he played really well from what I saw, and uh, that's a big win for the Steelers to sort of you know keep himself afloat. Look like they were gonna be sitting at one and two.

What does it feel like, Eric, as a defensive player, right? And you've got a great defense on your team, and then your quarterback is CJ Stroud or someone like it, right? That you know had some promise obviously early on. And now there's all these questions about him. And you're on the defensive side of the ball and you're like, wait a second. Uh I mean, we you know, we like this guy, but it are we ever gonna be able to actually win? What goes through the locker room when things like that start to happen? Because you feel like that's exactly what's happening with the Texans right now.

Yeah, you know, if you have the proper leadership, then uh what you're gonna do on defense is say that we have to pick up, you know, pick up the load. We have to force some turnovers, we have to get some stops and put our offense in position uh to thrive. And, you know, unfortunately, you know, as a defender, you can't do anything about what's going on on the offense. And you know that there's gonna be plenty of weeks where they bail you out. Uh, but right now that defense is is really trying to keep the Texans in the fight right now. And it's tough. It is tough. You know, you uh you try not to point fingers, you you try to just focus on your job. But I was I was telling someone the other day, it is so difficult playing defense when your team is playing from behind or if it's a close game, because now the whole offensive playbook is wide open. You know, when you're playing for a lead, when CJ Stroud's throwing touchdowns, you guys are up two touchdowns, you know that that pass rush can pin their ears back, coach can dial up the blitzes, defensive backs can jump routes. It's a completely different game. So, you know, for the Texans, they're not going to look good as good on defense when Stroud's not playing well. And you hope that he can turn that corner. He didn't play well last year. You know, you you he you know that he has the has it in him to play well. They have the weapons around them. Uh Montgomery's playing well uh at running back. But, you know, ultimately when you see these quarterbacks who are successful, a lot of times they play great defense and they run the football. And I think the Texans are gonna have to get back, focus on running the football to make things a little more easy for CJ Stroud.

Let's touch on the final game of week three. That's Monday night game tonight with Philly visiting Chicago, two of the great franchises, uh, Jordan in the NFL. Um, help me out on Jalen Hurts here, because I'm I'm sort of torn. I mean, I know he's he's he's he's an awesome quarterback. Is he one of those top, top flight guys that I, you know, the the the three or four, the five best in the that you know this guy's gonna be great? Or is he one of those guys that's that's pretty good, that's really good? He's got a good team around him. Can he win games on by uh by himself? I guess is my question to you. And and where do you think the Eagles are right now as they go head to Chicago as a favorite, by the way, on the road tonight?

Yeah, I watched that game last week against Tennessee, and boy did they escape, right? Uh Jalen Hurts just made a couple mistakes, cost the team. And I think what we found out in the last couple years, right? Because you were looking at him like, man, this guy's ascending. He could enter that rare group, you know, that that top level type of guy. He's playing, he's played some ridiculously awesome big games. I'm talking like Super Bowl, like making great plays in uh even the Super Bowl that they lost. I mean, I he was against Kansas City. He was unbelievable for like 95% of that game. But you realize he needs that team around him. He's not the guy who's just gonna carry you by himself. They need Saquon Barkley, they need that rushing game, and they need that offensive line to play better. If they do that, by the way, we sit here and talk about the Eagles offense all the time. The best, the Eagles are built on their defense right now. That is a dominant defense. It could be the best defense in the league. That's how good they are. Uh but Jalen Hurts needs help. And so they're gonna need the they're gonna need that running game around him. That's what helps them get to the next level. He's really good. Don't get me wrong, I take him as my quarterback any day. He's just not at the top. He he's a it I think we just realized in the last couple years he's not gonna be that top guy. There's nothing wrong with being a top 10-ish guy. That's pretty darn good, right? You can win. He's already proven you can win with him. That's not even a question. Yeah, so you just gotta accept that's what he is. Don't you just don't want to put everything on his shoulders if you're the Eagles. Yeah, Jordan, too.

It's so rough, it's so hard to put everything on the quarterback's shoulders. And it's rare that you have a there's not many quarterbacks who can just take the offense on their shoulders and do it all. Uh, you know, you look at when they had success, it was Saquon Barkley running the football behind uh Kelsey, behind Makai Becton. Uh, you know, they had that big strong offensive line where they were clearing gaps and and making things easy uh for Jalen. You need a complimentary football, you need to play complimentary football. And that's why on defense, every game plan, every week that we played, it doesn't matter who we played, our first goal was to stop the run. Because if you allowed teams to run the football down the middle of your defense, you you open up the entire playbook. So uh stopping that run, or or for the Eagles case, starting running the football more efficiently is going to make Jalen Hurts look like a Pro Bowl quarterback because he can now he can do what he does. He can get outside the pocket, he can extend plays, he can take shots down the field, he can get the single high safeties where he can pick apart the defense. It really opens up what he's able to do. But it starts for the Eagles running that football.

All I gotta say is I'm glad I'm not a betting man because uh it's impossible to bet. I mean, which is kind of cool in a way. It's like he's you know, as I said, the teams that are the worst in the league, the commanders are not the worst, but they're struggling, they beat Seattle defending champs. Uh, we're gonna get into a little college football just for a few minutes, because my guy Lauren's got a touch on this. If you guys can stick around, great. If you can't, we understand because I know I told you half an hour. So if either you, Jordan or Eric, need to jump off, go for it. If you can stay for another couple minutes, great. Lauren, you're ducks, okay? Um, go get it done at SC. You know, for first talk about the controversial hit, and then I want you to talk about the fact that you know the Ducks had that early uh season loss. Do you still think they'll be in contention to play for the national championship in the tournament?

Contention? Yes, sure. Uh I think they're better than that. Oklahoma State is now ranked. Uh, they're not quite as bad as we all thought they were. They're they're not good, though. That was a terrible loss. In terms of the controversial play, Dante did slide a little late, so I'll give him that. Um, as you can see, but his head is backwards already. So that's my issue with the play. And here's my biggest problem with it it's the way USC behaved afterwards. Uh-huh. Dante is sitting there basically unconscious on the ground, reminding me of Tua. And we're walking around smiling and laughing. That's the problem I had with it. Honestly, um, I'm glad he got suspended a game. Let's move on. Uh, Oregon looked good. And and honestly, Dylan Rayola looked better than Dante Moore anyway. He actually looked a little more in command of the offense. He looked a little more confident back there. And um, who doesn't like a good controversy? What what are uh Eric? I know you're a pack, you were a Pac-12 guy. Uh there's connectivity there. What were your thoughts on what happened?

Well, unlike Oregon, I still am a Pac-12 guy. I'm still over here in the Pac-12, but I didn't jump ship like Oregon for the dollars. No, I'm just messing around. Um no, I I did think that you know things are gonna happen on the field, and sometimes, you know, it's a split-second decision with the defensive backs, me making tackles on quarterbacks. So, like you, I was willing to forgive the hit because the slide was a little late. Yeah, it was a it was a stupid play, but the the reaction afterwards is what really disappointed me. Like, you know, running around celebrating as if you made some great play. Like, dude, he gave himself up and you took a shot at him and you hit him in the head. Like, that's nothing to brag about, you know.

And when the guy's on the ground celebrating, it's just it just looks bad, man. Yeah, it's a deep.

If you hit him coming across the middle, it's like you know, I line him up, I I knock him down, like, oh yeah, I knocked him out. He was coming across the middle. Like, that's fine. But the dude is sliding. Like, look, look, let's not get that twisted. So that was that was really frustrating to watch and it's disappointing to see the reaction. I understand why they fought, but Dylan Royola did step up. You know, he he came in that first drive and had command of the offense. He was, you know, hitting seam routes, he was going through his progressions. It was if, you know, he's done a great job of preparing himself to be that starter, and it showed by the way he stepped up in that game. Uh, but with Oregon, I said this after week one, they have all the talent in the world. It's I don't I didn't see that dog in Oregon. Like that Oregon has not been playing. I think they they thought that it was supposed to be given to them, and now they're starting to play better, more inspiring football, and that talent is starting to meet the effort that you see on the field. So um, you know, it's gonna be a long road for Oregon, but ultimately they have the talent to make waves uh in a tough in a tough conference.

One of the other big stories, Jordan, I'll get your take on this, and I appreciate you guys sticking around, is uh the aftermath of LSU Old Miss. So LSU gets it done, no problem. Uh Ole Miss not so fast, my friend. It was our buddy Lee Corso used to say get routed by Florida uh the following week. So, what did you make of how both teams responded to you know the you know the big hype and then the win for Ole Miss over LSU in the week that just transpired. Jordan, you got me?

Oh, you and me. I got you. That was for you. Uh I didn't know you were coming to me there. Yeah, no, that's just a you you knew that was just a tough one. It's so hard to rebound and sort of recalibrate. That was such a big win for Ole Miss, right? They put so much into that game to have to then come back, and then they had to go on the road in college football against a tough Florida team. That's just a tough spot. And on the reverse side, LSU is now ticked off. They're coming off a loss. They get to play at home and host a pretty good. It was a Texas AM team, and uh they came out and and rolled them. I think you saw the difference there, especially for college kids. I mean, Eric could probably speak on this better, but it's just it playing at home in college football and the the hype and the uh just the the energy you could that that gets put into it, it's just a bit, it seems like a big difference there. And that was just a tough spot for Ole Miss and a better spot for LSU coming off that game.

Yeah, Jordan, Jordan, you're right. You know, that the that playing in front of your home crowd does so much for your energy, uh, for everything. But it was one of those games where you could tell Ole Miss had LSU circled on the calendar from this summer, and that was like the their peak game. Like they were like, this is my Super Bowl, and they won that game, and they just started feeling themselves. They they they drained the tank beating Ole Miss. Uh yeah, they uh Ole Miss beat drained the tank beating LSU. And LSU was like, all right, it's a loss. You know, we'll get back to business, we'll go out and handle these things. Uh and Ole Miss uh for Florida, they had Ole Miss circled on the calendar, you know, because Ole Miss uh Florida came out and played some inspiring football. They their defense was flying around, they created turnovers, and it made uh Trinidad look like an average quarterback, which I haven't seen anyone do. So it was uh very impressive uh by Florida to bounce back and play Ole Miss the way they did. But uh shout out to LSU for responding and playing well.

Well, shout out to you guys for joining us here on Mac Daddy. Where can our um listeners and viewers find you guys? Eric, you start first and then, well, Jordan, we know you're an ESPN, but tell us where we could track you guys down.

Well, I'm an uh I'm I'm an in-studio analyst for the USA Network, so I cover the Pac-12, uh, all things Pac-12. So I think we have a doubleheader this weekend on USA Network. Uh, some some great football games there. But I'm on Twitter, I'm on Instagram at Eric Coleman. Uh check me out and see what's going on.

Uh, I'm still I'm still an old Pac-12 too, guy too at Stanford. So don't get me started on them playing in the SEC. Drives me freaking crazy. Uh Jordan, where else can we find you?

Uh ESPN, ESPN.com and breaking big blue podcast. It's on all your podcast platforms, YouTube, everywhere everywhere you go. And hey, me and Big Daddy are mad that Maryland's in the Big Ten, too. So, you know, we we we feel your pain. We talk about we don't we don't need to play UCLA anymore, huh?

Oh man, I I think we gotta, you know, we can't even play JMU, man, because I mean, look at JMU, they're rolling. They got a new head coach, they don't miss a beat. They got the guy, uh, the coach that was at Florida, right? He went there. And uh, and and what are they? They're I think they're 3-0. JMU.

San Diego State last week. They they've been playing well.

Yeah, they uh they don't miss a beat. You know, they Signetti rapes, not rapes, uh raids, half the team. Yeah, let's let me get that straight. Raids, not raids. We'll edit that out. Takes half the team went up to India Indiana, and then like another guy comes in, they don't miss a beat.

Good program. Uh so Brad Brad Gilbert was wondering, uh, Big Daddy, because you were talking about the big high school game, the Long Island high school game. So that was rained out. So they're gonna play again, they're playing today, is that correct?

Yeah, it's today at 5 o'clock at Hofstra. Will you be there? Uh yeah, I'm gonna be there for the first hour of the game, and then I've got to head out to uh the Long Island Hospitality Ball, which is something I of course you do. Yeah, I got involved with that. Um but uh uh what do you call it? Garden City 56-0 versus Massapua, who's been 26-0. And uh like I explained the other day, the difference is Massapua is uh Conference 1 and Garden City is Conference 3. So the size of the schools, okay, you know, that's a big difference. Yeah, it's a huge difference. So it's gonna, but everyone's anticipating this game. So uh, you know, I don't have any uh horse in the game, so I'm just gonna be there for the uh opening kickoff and whatnot, watch a little bit, and then head out to where I gotta go next and meet our big Big Daddy.

Big Daddy's gotta do his thing. You see, you see you see what you get here, Eric, on Mac Daddy. You get a lot high school football as well. I mean, talk, we we break it down at every level. Appreciate you coming on the program. We'd love to have you back. You too, Jordan. You guys keep up the great work. The big blue, uh, what's it, the big blue podcast? Breaking that again? Breaking big. Oh, we had our breaking band, our our our man on this show, too. And Lauren, our guest this week is Shannon Miller, the second most decorated.

Shannon Miller on Wednesday American history and a cancer survivor and a uh person.

Wonderful person and a great and a great server. We appreciate you guys all the best. We'll be back with you live on Friday as we look ahead to uh week four of the NFL. It's Mac Daddy signing off from Madrid, from Long Island, from New York City, from Florida. Jordan from Jersey, where are you at? Yeah, Jersey. I predict these things. We're everywhere presented by our friends at Volition. Thanks to Dose Homebrace, thanks to Fire Department Coffee as well. And Lauren and I got a few more things bubbling up. We'll see you next time here on Knock Day.

So every time the consumer makes a choice to buy Volition America, they're changing their lives, but they're also changing the life of a military or first responder family benefiting folds of honor. And that is a combination that, quite frankly, does not exist in the world.

Confident without trying too hard. Interesting the second they walk into a room. Maybe a little smoky, maybe a little dangerous. You know, effortlessly charismatic. Not everyone has that. Some people build it over time, others just born with it. I wouldn't know anything about that, of course. Go zombrace. Strip away the noise.

For less than one dollar per serving, one packet of fire department coffees, instant coffees, and a shaker bottle is all you need to make a great tasting, delicious coffee that'll give you the experience of actually keeping your hard earned cash in your pocket and giving you the energy that you need to make it through your day. Hmm. Grab some today.