The regular season is coming down to the wire, and hosts Justin Walstead, Erik Terry-Haag, and Peter Fenger are back to break down a chaotic year of historic performances and looming playoff drama. In this episode, the guys dive into the record books to dissect staggering, history-making seasons from Peyton Manning, Matt Hasselbeck, and Ronnie Brown, before handing out their definitive picks for Rookie of the Year, OPOY, and the ultimate conference MVP races. Then, Justin puts everyone on the hot seat with a round of "Buy or Sell" to debate wild card snubs, front offices on notice, and whether the 1-14 Raiders must draft a QB at 1.01, before the crew locks in their official Week 17 and Super Bowl predictions. Check it out, weigh in on the community question about your own team's future, and don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Peter: Justin, I'll hand it back over to you, and, uh, we can, uh, talk about all of the excitement that's gozing around, uh, the end of season, as well as our playoff predictions. Yeah. Um, so first off, uh, reflections on your predictions you guys made.
Justin: Um, what are some of the things that, uh, the trends that you've noticed since we've made our predictions at the mid-season show? I'll start with you, Peter. Uh, s- yeah. So I thought it was kind of interesting that the AFC is kind of really crunched with, uh, six and seven wins. Um, you know, I think, like, in that mix, like the Ravens and the Bengals are in there, Jags and Jets are in there.
Peter: Um, so it kinda made for an interesting AFC, uh, [00:01:00] layout as you sort of like look at that conference as a whole. Um, I really thought that the Ravens would be kind of in a different spot, but, uh, they're six and nine right now, and, uh, seemed like they had kind of a rough start. Um, Cody Pickett's doing a little bit more, uh, from his position at quarterback, but throwing more touchdowns, but turning the ball over.
Um, I really thought that the Bengals would kinda be in a different spot, um, but they sort of had, uh, some early success and kind of ran into a tough four-game losing streak. Uh, it seems like p- Carson Palmer, uh, took a step back this year. So, uh, as we saw a very early impression of the league, we saw some teams kinda like turn it around.
Um, Eric, any observations from you? I, I think the AFC, I, just, not to cut you off, but I thought the AFC North was pretty interesting. You know, like the Steelers won it, but like they're limping into the playoffs right now, so it [00:02:00] seems like they're gonna be pretty much one and done. Mm-hmm. Um, so it was just kinda interesting to me that, like the dominance...
Justin: The, I, I don't think it's a bad division, and to see the, the setback this year was kinda interesting to me. Yeah, especially for a team that, uh, you know, went out and traded for L- uh, LaDamian Tomlinson and Randy Moss. Uh, you know, you're kinda neutered when you don't have that quarterback play, so that's kind of an in- uh, a tough spot for you Tough spot for the Steelers.
Peter: Uh, how about you, Eric? What are some of the observations that you made? Yeah, I'll be honest. Uh, I was a little bit critical of that Moss trade in the off-season, I believe. I think it was one of my questionable decisions, but clearly Wade knows what he's doing more than I do because he has made that work.
Erik: Uh, I felt terrible. Him losing McCown and- Mm ... it, it, that just sucks going into the playoffs knowing you're not gonna have your [00:03:00] quarterback. I mean, he's got a couple star pieces in Tomlinson and Moss that can really, really change a game. Uh, but I mean, don't count him out. It... Sometimes with backup quarterbacks they can have good games.
I mean, I lost to him. Uh, I just played Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago. Yeah. Not saying my roster's playoff caliber, but I mean, he, they I just about lost that game to him, so I wouldn't fully count him out. But yeah, the North's weird. Uh, the w- with the Ravens even. I, I think everyone thought after what he, they did last year that they were gonna be another really strong team with Pittsburgh getting better, with Cincinnati being strong already, Cleveland's making moves, like steps forward, and I think that's what some of it is with Cleveland getting better.
Uh, other teams, yeah, so AFC North are gonna pick up a loss or two more just for the fact that the team that was at the bottom got quite a bit better even this year
Peter: Yeah. Yeah, the, the Ravens kind of interesting, 'cause I did, I did see them have a pretty good draft. Um, [00:04:00] but yeah, it, it definitely seems like that division kind of opened up for the Steelers to kind of step in.
Um, it is unfortunate that their quarterback had gotten injured, and it kind of feels like we've seen a lot of quarterback injuries this season. And maybe another theme that we've also seen is is that there are teams that got injured early on, but managed to, um, kind of push through the injuries, and finishing in kind of an interesting spot.
The 49ers are one, the Bills are another one, and I think the Bills are probably even bigger conversation as we get into, uh, some of our playoff talk. Uh, couple other teams that I thought were interesting, uh, your team, Eric, uh, with the Jags, seven and eight. You guys got three pairs of wins through the season.
Uh, looks like Jay Cutler's in a pretty solid spot. I mentioned before, 23 touchdowns, 21 interception ratio. That's a great start. Um, I think the Jets were waiting for a season like this, so they're at a, uh, an impressive [00:05:00] seven and eight. Uh, they sort of fell back to Earth in the second half, but they also have, like, four players out for the season, so, um-
Erik: Speaking of quarterback injuries, Rogers.
Peter: Yes.
Erik: Yeah, the Bears Was it... He was one- he was one of the ones that the last couple weeks went down and just-
Peter: Yeah
Erik: I think, 'cause him and McCown I think went down at similar times, where two playoff teams just got obliterated with terrible timing on quarterback injuries.
Peter: Right. You know, it's kind of interesting, 'cause I remember talking with, um, Justin of the Vikings, and he was really strong about selling McNair, and here we are, like, in week 17, and no team ended up trading for that quarterback, so kind of interesting that, uh, the opportunity didn't present itself, but also that they're in a position where we might see McNair in the playoffs, so kind of curious.
Another team I had on here is is the Cardinals. I know that that was a team we had some real high hopes on. Um, and it certainly seemed like [00:06:00] Pennington was going to be a big trade to change that team's success. Um, but, uh, looked like early success led into losing streak. Um, and then after week 12 against the 49ers, Peyton gets injured, and it really kind of sunk their chances of being competitive, especially in that division.
Uh, we talked a little bit about the-
Justin: I was gonna ask you, wait, before we move on, the C- the Cardinals, I'm just curious, like, um- They have a good quarterback. I mean, their defense to me hasn't been a problem. So what do you think it is that why they, why it's not clicking, I guess, is what my question is?
Peter: Well, I think the biggest thing was that losing their quarterback-
Justin: No, but after, before that. Like, they were going through a losing streak. Yeah. It wasn't like a consistent thing. So like, take out the injury. I'm just w- curious, what do you think the, the setback was? Like, it... What... Why is it this not turning into a successful, um, execution?
Peter: Oh, [00:07:00] probably a, uh, uh, I don't know, their divisional record's okay too, three and two. Uh, I don't know.
Erik: Running game I think for them is a bit of a struggle. Neither one of their running backs are averaging much over three yards a carry. Uh, between Pennington and Orton combined, quarterbacks getting sacked 43 times.
I, I think it's one of those that, not much of a ground game, relying on the pass too much, getting sacks, so probably just punting the ball over all just a bit too often. 'Cause their defense is getting some turnovers. Um, but on a lot of their quarterbacks and stuff, two or three interceptions. I'm seeing a handful of forced fumbles.
It just... I think their defense may not quite be there, and their quarterbacks are just getting hit too much and ending drives a bit too quick when they don't have a run game that can, they can rely on to get four or five yards about any time they touch the ball.
Peter: Probably the simple answer is is that their defense is, like, on the [00:08:00] bottom four of the league.
I think that that's sort of like a simplistic answer. Uh, their offense, pretty middle. They're 18th right now. And that, again, that's broad strokes. Um, so it seems like maybe the, uh, the addition of Pennington was in the right direction, but there's some more work on the other side of the ball on defense.
Justin: I guess my question comes down to, um, I know Will's made comments in the past about that he doesn't have time to game plan.
He's gonna g- he's going to game plan. And for someone like me, I don't game plan. I just... Unless, I mean, like, I've only, don't do it in rare situations. Do you see game planning as a positive in winning games? Or do you stick with what, um, if it works, why change it, I guess is my question.
Peter: Eric, what are your [00:09:00] thoughts?
Erik: I have went back and forth because I have spent weeks where I simmed seven or eight times, was feeling great, and then got absolutely crushed with stuff that just wasn't what I was seeing in sims. Sometimes that spawn file is just completely different and acts completely different than any sim you can do.
The only thing you may do is maybe change a couple cornerback matchups or wide receiver matchups, depending on who you're going against. Um, especially if they've got a high speed or a couple high speed guys, you may just kind of flip around, maybe put the higher awareness corner on someone else. But realistically, sometimes it's you find a playbook and on the offense or defense that works, and you kind of just stick with it, maybe touch the running percentage a little bit.
If you've noticed I'm not running the ball enough the last couple weeks, let me bump that up a couple numbers to see if I can get a few more handoffs and a couple less passes or something. But I don't know how much really game planning you can do outside of just trying different playbooks, but I think most [00:10:00] people find one that kind of works and acts consistently.
They're just trying to stick with it.
Peter: I think for the teams that, uh, really succeed in this league are those that take the time to game plan. Um, yeah, uh, I, I think that those who, who succeed, uh, will probably tell you that game planning makes, uh, a big part of their success
Justin: Any other thoughts?
Peter: Yeah, I guess the last one I wanted to say is it's like, I think Q- uh, Phil Rivers found a spot in Texas.
He finished with 377 yards and 29 touchdowns, uh, so far his best season with an 84.6 QBR. Uh, they ended up, the Texans, ended up 0 and 5 in the division, so that definitely doesn't help out your win loss record. But, uh, early season success, I think you get a glimpse of, uh, what this [00:11:00] team could look like, uh, in the future.
So kind of interesting, especially when you pair up the success they're having with Larry Johnson at halfback, so that could be a really interesting offense to follow in the next three years.
Erik: I hope you didn't just jinx me.
Peter: Hey, you're in there too. If it's against you in week 17, Peter, I'm blaming you.
You're in there too. Oh,
Erik: had to bring up the 0 and 5, and we're facing week 17.
Peter: You're right, that's not a good... That's, that's not a good, a, uh, a good sign for you going into, going into week 17. Uh...
Justin: All right. So my next question coming up, I know we all took losses, you know, took it on the chin. Which one made you feel the most sour?
Peter: Uh-
Justin: Also, maybe-
Peter: Yeah, I think the one that probably made me, um, most sour was probably my loss against the Giants.
Um, it's just was one coming off of, like, [00:12:00] a five-game win streak, and, uh, I think after that, like, my team kinda, like, slipped a little bit. Um, and so something about, like, the absence of Tony Romo and the rise of Tiki Barber just was, was a team in a game that just looked off from the beginning. And look, I know we all kinda, like, get those head-scratchers one, but that would be one that I would like to, like, redo if I could have a second chance.
Erik: looking back for me, I think I'm gonna go, end up going very, very recency bias and say week 15 losing to Pittsburgh with a backup quarterback kinda frustrated me a little bit.
I simmed, that was one I simmed pretty well in most of my sims, and just, uh, get run over by Le'Veon Tomlinson and have Randy Moss go off for four catches and 120 yards was a little bit frustrating, more so [00:13:00] 'cause I was still barely in the playoff picture, and that was a must-win. But, uh, I mean, hats off to Wade and his roster, and, uh, Reggie McNeil, who did what he needed to.
Justin: My answer is mixed. Um, you know, Seahawks I can't be that mad about. Falcons I can't be that mad about. Um, 49ers would have to be my pick. Um, but it's not because I think they're a bad team. They're actually a really odd team. You know, it seems like they do well against playoff teams, and then they lose against really bad teams.
So it's kind of like hard to judge them specifically on what kind of team they are. But, uh, yeah, I guess I would have to choose 49ers if I had to choose my three losses
Peter: Those are all good choices. All good choices, and ones we'd love to get them back. [00:14:00] Re-roll.
Justin: All right, let's look at, uh, some end of the year player performances, um, and records. Peter, do you wanna start off?
Peter: Sure. Actually, why don't we pass it over to Eric, because I know that you've got some thoughts around maybe, like, defensive player of the year, and I can kinda color, color it in with, uh, some of the other good play- uh, performances we've seen this season.
Erik: Yeah, so actually I, um, broke down a little bit... I know it's not gonna be true to NFL and the awards they give out, but I kinda wanted to break down who I thought could be the AFC and offensive, Offensive Player of the Year, but also give some shout-out to some rookies to kinda see who are gonna be the stars we're gonna be looking at, uh- Yeah
in the next few years as they really, uh, get their bearings. Uh, and to start off, who I thought NFC Rookie of the Year would be wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Vikings, 1,300 yards, eight touchdowns. While most of that coming from Vince Young- Mm-hmm ... uh, not all of it was the veteran Steve McNair [00:15:00] having a good quarterback to an amazing wide receiver.
He was dealing with a lot of rookie throws and stuff, and still ended up having a pretty good year. Um, and he's someone I know everyone knows in a handful of years he is gonna be an absolute menace. You're gonna hate facing the Vikings because of Brandon Marshall and what he's gonna do to you. Uh, the second, a real close for me, was the Rams halfback Michael Robinson.
I think if he would've had a full season and didn't get hurt, it would've been a very, very tough call, because he did have 800 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games. You give him another four games, I think Michael Robinson would've had a really, really strong case.
Peter: Yeah.
Erik: But just unfortunately falling a couple games short, it- it was...
I almost had to give it to Marshall.
Peter: Can I, can I just park on this a little? Yeah. I actually thought that Greg Jennings is probably the more impressive performance. Not to say that Brandon Marshall isn't deserving, and I know that, uh, you know, he's got all the right stats and [00:16:00] size to be incredible, but I also thought that Greg Jennings had, like, an incredible season.
He's coming from, uh, a purely rookie quarterback where I know that the Vikings sort of changed out, um, McNair and, and- Uh, and young through the season. But also, like Jennings was able to get more yards with less receptions. Um, he's currently at 1,328 with nine touchdowns, so more yards, more touchdowns. I know we have another game, uh, to look forward to, but I don't know, I just don't think that, um, uh, I think that Greg Jennings is also worthy of, of, um, of, of recognition.
And I do, I do agree. I think like Michael Robinson is probably the biggest like what could have been season. Uh, I also like throw in D'Angelo Williams too. Again, I know that he's, um, probably the halfback that everybody's gonna look at, uh, this season, but he also started [00:17:00] as a backup this season. So I mean, both of these guys over 800 yards, over eight touchdowns, over four yards, uh, yard per carry.
So, you know, while we might not have seen a breakout rookie halfback season, I think that those two guys are really in a strong position, and it really puts a lot of questions of like what could have been if we'd seen both of those guys in a full season with a full load.
Erik: Yeah, you actually really took my, uh, talking points, 'cause actually Deangelo Williams was my AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Peter: Yeah.
Erik: Uh, for the same things. Him and Michael Robinson, it's shocking if you look at their stats. They both had very, very, very similar seasons. Uh, and it-
Peter: it's really impressive. Just what do you attribute Robinson's success? 'Cause I know in the past you really have had, like, a pass first offense, so what- what's the deal with Robinson?
Justin: Apollo, to be honest. [00:18:00] Um, he shared his, uh, q- his HBs, uh, stats, and so I just simply looked for the guy that looks the most similar to that, uh, build. Mm-hmm. And I basically went that way. Um, I can't... I- I didn't n- honestly, I didn't know how HBs work. That's the one position I don't quite understand as far as, like, what makes a really great HB.
So I'd love to say I ha- it was some genius move, but it was just more of a opportunity mixed with, uh, comparing it to a GM that knows how to make their HBs work.
Erik: Yeah, they're a very interesting position, 'cause it isn't like wide receiver is like, "Yep, speed good, done." Like speed- Speed, awareness,
Justin: acceleration, done.
Yeah.
Erik: Yeah. It's they're a very weird breed, 'cause I'm- I'm of the opinion halfbacks can be too fast, especially if you run a playbook that runs a lot of tosses and stuff. A lot of time you have a halfback outrunning your offensive tackle and they're getting tackled because he's outrunning the [00:19:00] blocking.
Yeah. So halfbacks are a weird breed, but yeah. Uh, c- congrats to you and congrats to, uh, the Patriots for both of you guys picking up probably very good long-term halfbacks. Uh-
Peter: True ...
Justin: and, uh- I just, uh, I just, I also invested just recently into the injury activity points to boost it, so hopefully this is not gonna be a recurring problem.
Erik: Yeah. Yeah, that seems like a bit of luck of a draw too unfortunately, but it's one of those you always wanna see the higher number. It always makes you feel better.
Justin: But yeah Yeah ... I mean, when I selected him, I, I mean, Peter was with me. I, I had a debate between who I was gonna select, and I just went with the, my gut on it, I guess.
And I, it worked out. I mean, he was- I- ... doing great, so
Erik: I was gonna say, yeah, your, your gut told you right on him. He's, he's gonna be a great replacement for Mar- Marshall Faulk. You pretty much have a great drop in. As soon as Faulk's gone, you're g- you're [00:20:00] set. Like, he's gonna be a good star for you.
Peter: Yeah, I would agree
Erik: But, uh, so the guys who I'm- I actually picked who could be having to tackle Michael Robinson sometime in the near future, NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year, I actually picked out of your division, Seahawks strong safety DeJuan Landry, uh, tied a rookie record so far this year with six interceptions with oddly enough former...
Well, it's actually current Rams, uh, middle linebacker C. Grant back in 2003 set that record. Uh, three to one pass deflection rate, uh, to catch allowed ratio. If I'm right off the top of my head, I think he had 18 deflections, six catches allowed, forced a fumble this year. And
Peter: he's got six interceptions.
Yeah, at
Erik: a
Peter: strong safety too. That's like not a position where they get a lot of interceptions too.
Erik: Yeah, I mean, if you pick any rookie and they get six interceptions your first- their first year, you're thrilled. Yeah. Even most cornerbacks, if you get six, you're happy. [00:21:00]
Peter: Yeah.
Erik: And it's one of those stat wise there's nothing that jumps out.
Like, oh yeah, that makes sense why he's doing that good. It's just, I think it's just how the Seahawks are built. They're probably thrown his way and he's making the most opportunity of it. He's, he's been a huge reason why, uh, Seattle's defense has been as good. They're just forcing so many turnovers.
Peter: Yeah.
Well, it's also the same team with Ken Lucas. They also have him on their team with eight, eight interceptions this season.
Erik: Yeah,
Peter: it's- It's also the same roster with EJ Henderson, who had 21 quarterback sacks-
Erik: Yes,
Peter: it's- ... his first season. It's like-
Erik: It, it's all total team effort. Yeah. You're gonna make the quarterbacks rush the ball,
Justin: and- Honestly, Seahawks are basically gonna be taking over the season as soon as Kurt Warner, uh, retires and it'll be a little bit of time before it can catch back up, but
Erik: I- They're, they're in a similar boat.
They got Hasselbeck, who's 31.
Peter: Yeah.
Erik: So they're kinda- I
Peter: would say that Hasselbeck's still, still in 31.
Erik: Yeah. You, you [00:22:00] both kind of in that same, at some point you're gonna have to, uh-
Justin: Well, I'm just gonna say that Seahawks are great drafters and, and I mean, as Peter can contest 'cause he was in the division with them, um, he's always that menace.
So we fear the Seahawks.
Erik: Uh, Damika Rines actually and, uh, Saints cornerback, Jonathan Joseph, I wanna shout out as well. Both those have played really well. They played well. I think Jonathan Joseph has ended up with four interceptions, and he was an awesome pick by the Saints. I think he's gonna be a great cornerback for them.
And Damika Rines, for people not liking that first overall pick from them, say what you want, he's done really well, and if you go look at that Carolina defense, their record may not show it, that defense is pretty good. I think they're sitting in the top five or six in pass defense. For a defense that's on the field far more than they should be.
They're a lot stronger than their record shows, and I think Damika Rines could be [00:23:00] a pretty good part of it locking up the middle
Peter: Yeah, I would agree. I definitely think that, uh, they've got some pieces in there that they can re- really build upon. I think, you know, you get really encouraged by the age of that roster.
Um, so I don't know why we see him here, it's still probably gonna just build on from there. So I, I would agree. I think that Domonique Ryans has been a really good pick. Uh, he has w- currently 115 tackles. Uh, Albert Fincher still leads all rookies with 126, so can he get 11 more tackles? Absolutely. Um, but I think, uh, Fincher holds that until, uh, anything were to happen.
But yeah, I think the Panthers should be encouraged by the success they've seen. They've, they're currently sitting at 12 this season, uh, in defense. So, you know, it's a, it's a big improvement from where they were last year
Erik: [00:24:00] Yeah. For a team that's 5 and 10 to have a top, top half defense-
Peter: Yeah ...
Erik: it's one of those couple offensive pieces and they're gonna be pretty dangerous.
But, uh, actually also speaking about the middle of the field, AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year for me, oddly enough, I'm gonna go with A.J. Hawk. And he's someone I had on my board that I wanted to draft probably round two. Colts took him from me, and he's a weird... You look at him and look at his overall quickly, you're like, "Uh, why is this working?"
But he's not that tall, he's not overly fast, he doesn't have great awareness, but yet he's sitting there with eight tackles for a loss, couple sacks, couple forced fumbles, three interceptions, seven deflections, nine catch allowed. He did have a defensive touchdown. He is 22 years old. He's someone that's gonna be a long-term project, but by the time he's 25, 26, he is going to be another menace where it's just, he's gonna have that middle of the field.
He's gonna [00:25:00] be everywhere. Uh, but he's just one of those weird players. You probably look at a 68 overall starting middle linebacker and you think, "Oh yeah, I'm gonna ha- That's an opportunity." But n- not as much as you think. Hawk's had a pretty good year. Uh, Chiefs outside linebacker Clint Ingram had actually very similar stats on the outside.
It was a bit of a toss-up, uh, but I think I went with A.J. Hawk just because to me I think he was more impressive doing for Drafted probably a little higher than people would think, but-
Peter: Mm-hmm ...
Erik: I think he's been pretty impressive for the Colts, and they got a really good pick out of him
Peter: Yeah, I mean, I, I think you're right about, you know, this, these mix of stats, right?
Forced fumbles, interceptions, deflections, tackles for a loss. Those are all great numbers. I, I don't know if you can, uh, you know, I don't know if you can get the same amount of juice out of Hawk that you can with DeMeco Ryans. Uh, you know, obviously a guy who's getting drafted at his position with 90 speed, [00:26:00] 92 acceleration, 87 tackle, like, that is going to be the far and above, uh, your favorite pick.
But, uh, I think you did a really nice job of identifying, like, all these other factors, right? DeMeco Ryans sitting at one interception, one forced fumble, whereas A.J. Hawk, maybe less tackles on the season, but three interceptions, two forced fumbles. I- if you can get that amount of turnovers, that can be the special sauce in your, your offense, uh, in your defense.
Erik: Yeah, it was weird. Uh, the NFC, a lot of my favorite defensive rookies, uh, well, in the NFC it actually was a little bit tougher for me to try to find in the AFC, okay, who had the best rookie? 'Cause Hawk's been good, Clint Ingram's been good, but they haven't had the... Like, they don't have a Deone Landry.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Erik: But, like, the top three I listed the NFC as, like, even my extras, have had a better year than A.J. Hawk. It, it's weird. The AFC just did not have any great defensive rookies this year.
Peter: Hmm. [00:27:00] Interesting. Interesting observation. I, I didn't, I didn't connect that
Erik: But, uh, actually moving to just overall Offensive Player of the Year for the NFC, I'm going with Matt Hasselbeck.
Uh, I'm splitting this off from Most Valuable Player, so just who to me probably had the best offensive numbers-wise. And if it wasn't for Peyton Manning, Matt Hasselbeck would be probably getting a lot more praise just because he is having such a record-setting season that it's getting overshadowed. Uh, I mean, 4,300 yards, 39 touchdown passes, which those 39 touchdown passes would be a league record if it wasn't for Peyton Manning's current season.
Peter: Yeah , yeah.
Erik: And honestly, if he does play week 17, he most likely is gonna bump into the single season yardage record, uh, at number five or so. He should at least get into the top five.
Peter: Do
Erik: you think that Hasselbeck- I think he would be 100 or so yards off.
Peter: Sorry, I'm gonna interrupt. Go ahead.
Erik: You're good. [00:28:00]
Peter: Do you think that Matt Has- Hasselbeck would still have the same success that he did this season if Sean Alexander didn't have the incredible season that he's having?
Like, if Alexander was maybe having less of a exciting season, would Hasselbeck shine even more? Does Alexander vulture Hasselbeck's success?
Erik: I don't think, because if you look at last year, he didn't have quite the touchdowns, but he still threw for almost 400 yards and had 32 touchdowns.
Peter: Yeah.
Erik: He got sacked about 14 times more, but yeah, having a running back that's gonna get you 1,500 yards, it's...
And a bunch of touchdowns, it's... I think Seattle as a team itself, for some reason this year, it's elevated, because they've been 500 through the first three years.
Peter: Yeah.
Erik: I didn't see this happening, but, uh, something has clicked this year. Mm-hmm. Rock has done an amazing job with that team in the off-season, and...
But yeah, I think honestly it's, uh, Hasselbeck's probably been one of the [00:29:00] most impressive NFC offensive players. Uh, and the other one I kinda wanted to bring up was Sean Alexander, 1,500 yards and I think about 12 touchdowns. And actually the Eagles wide receiver, uh, Deontay Stallworth-
Peter: Yeah ...
Erik: has had a really quiet, to me, 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Yeah,
Peter: 12 touchdowns.
Erik: Which is weird, 'cause I don't, I don't hear people talk about him, but like, you look at that little leaderboard every week, while the game's against them, you're gonna see Deontay Stallworth pop up there somewhere in the top five for- Yardage-
Peter: Yeah. Probably a big- In the- Probably a big reason why we see Gil- Gilbert Hamden, like up there with the top quarterbacks as well.
I think that Stallworth is like a big piece of that offense.
Erik: Yeah, I think- That's the- ... in fact, it's overshadowed
Peter: Yeah.
Justin: That's a good point. Um, the thing that changed with the Seahawks is they changed their game plan. Basically they went to Rams game plan. What were
Peter: they doing before?
Justin: I don't remember what they were doing before- Ah
but this is the first year I can tell you. Like, [00:30:00] even 49ers went to, to the Rams game plan. That's- 40,
Erik: 49ers were using Rams last year.
Justin: Were they?
Erik: Yes. Yes. Because that's when, uh, AJ Feeley was like, a top five yardage quarterback.
Justin: Yeah, so like- Well,
Erik: yeah ... if
Justin: the passerback is a good, is a good quarterback and he was putting a, a s- strategy that basically favors, um, good
Erik: quarterbacks.
Yeah, he jumped around a lot last year. I'm looking at it. He, he used Rams a little bit, but yeah, he jumped around playbooks almost every week.
Peter: That goes back to what you say, Justin, is like know your roster so the game plan reflects it. Yeah, and he has- And he has the, has the Seahawks- He has, he has the receivers and he has the quarterback
adjusted their roster so that it fits a Rams playbook.
Justin: He has the receivers and he has the quarterback, so... And the Rams quarterback is heavily passing, so I mean, that's my take on it.
Erik: No, it, it's a good observation, 'cause [00:31:00] it, it explains some of it, but I don't think fully all of it. I... That roster's kind of been bubbling, like getting slowly better, and I think it's just come to fruition this year where everything's started to click.
Peter: Do the Broncos use the Rams playbook too? Yeah. Oh, yeah, they do. Yes. There you go. I believe
Erik: they do.
Peter: So I mean like, like what, like the top three, four, four quarterbacks are all using the same playbooks?
Justin: I mean, it's what I, I hear. I, I, it, you know, big secret revealed. Rams quarter- R- Rams playbook is good with really good quarterbacks.
Erik: Yeah, it, it's, it's one of the few playbooks that will still slightly tilt me at times When I'm, uh, when I give up that 80-yard touchdown I mean,
Justin: I had you... I told you I didn't do a lot of game planning this year, but I actually did game planning for the, uh, the Seahawks. And because it was the Rams playbook, and I'm trying my hardest to figure out what is the, the Rams playbook weakness.[00:32:00]
Erik: Get to the quarterback. I, it re- if I remember right, it relies a lot on, uh, play action. But that's where-
Justin: But I will say this, I will say this about the Rams playbook, is the injury to your quarterback is a lot higher.
Erik: I have noticed that, and I, I've got it... I've had the same conversation with other people about that.
But some of it, I think, is it the playbook or is it play action?
I've, I've kind of wondered that. Is the, the amount of play actions, is there something in that that's causing a lot of injuries? Because unfortunately, let's talk about the 49ers. They got a quarterback who has a far higher injury rating than ever, than he had before in, uh...
Oh, boy, what was his name? That was a... I'm drawing a blank. I really should know this. Uh- Is it
Peter: DeYoung? Garcia?
Erik: No, not Garcia. He went to the Cal... Uh, Apollo took him. He started for him. Drew Brees [00:33:00] No, now he says Breeze is hurt. Lossman
Peter: Oh, JP Lossman.
Erik: Yes. Last year Lossman was hurt, which is why Feely was starting and blowing up the league using the Rams playbook.
Bollinger comes in, far higher injury rating, and Bollinger's been hurt left and right. Yeah. With an 86 injury.
Justin: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Way better. I mean, like, my, my experience with the Rams playbook is it's, uh, it, it's, it's great, but it comes with a price, and the price- Yeah ... is your quarterback. And- Yeah ... so if you're, if you're willing to stomach your quarterback possibly being knocked out for the season, that's what's gonna happen.
Because I... My opinion is you're passing a lot more, you're more in the pocket, so you're opening your quarterback up to more injury.
Peter: So what- Yeah ... you're telling me is that I might be able to win week 17 matchup against the Seahawks because I'm going to knock his quarterback out.
Justin: Maybe.
Erik: You,
Peter: you
Erik: could.
Justin: If he chooses that, that's a very realistic scenario.[00:34:00]
Erik: You just max out the aggression, lose the game 70 to nothing-
Peter: No ...
Erik: but just make sure you get a lot of blitz hits on the quarterback.
Peter: You know, I tried that aggression thing, and I just don't think it quite works. Like, I remember trying to, trying to crank that thing up every time I'd go up against Brian, and I don't, I still don't think that it quite got to the quarterback like I thought it would.
So I'll, I'll keep a conservative game plan. But you're telling me my chances are higher at getting at the quarterback.
Erik: Hopefully.
Peter: See, watch now I'm gonna have, like, zero QB hits.
Erik: And give up a bunch of 70-yard bombs.
Peter: Yeah, right.
Justin: But actually- Just be careful on your side. Just be careful on your side. Uh, I looked at the stats for the Seahawks.
They're, like, a top three team in sacks, so they could do- Mm ... the same.
Peter: Yep. But you know what? It's pretty likely that I'll play him again in the playoffs, so this is, this is an opportunity to, to, to get a, a litmus test- [00:35:00] Uh, going back a little bit to wide receiver, right? You talked a little about Dante Stallworth.
He had a great season. Uh, and we were talking about Matt Hasselbeck. Uh, but I, I really think the huge elephant in the room is the success of Peyton Manning. Um, you know, 400... 4,618 yards, uh, uh, 116.4 QBR. That's a, uh, an, a, a PTL record right now. 42 touchdowns, and he will be benched, uh, going to 17, so that looks like it's, uh, staying in, previously beating his previous record of 38 touchdowns.
Uh, so Peyton Manning is on cloud nine this season, and, uh, the real benefit of that has been, uh, wide receiver Ronnie Brown. So he started off as a halfback this season for, I think for the first six, s- six weeks, and they switched him to wide receiver, and that guy went on to have 100 and... [00:36:00] 1,819 yards receiving and 20 touchdowns.
So, uh, doesn't quite break the record for most, uh, wide receiving numbers, but he does break the record for touchdowns, which was previously held by Bernard Berrian with 17. The record is now 20, and might be able to add on to that if he plays in, uh, in 17's matchup
Erik: Yeah, uh, it, it's been shocking. And I think what it was is he was starting him at halfback but putting him at slot wide receiver, too.
Mm-hmm. Right. So he was kind of a wide receiver some, but then just got fully moved part of the way through the season. But this was a hard one, but honestly, I actually picked Ronnie Brown for my AFC Offensive Player of the Year. I didn't wanna go Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning.
Peter: Yeah, that makes sense.
Erik: Because Ronnie Brown has been such a... And it's not that we haven't seen a player like him before. I mean, to be fair, the Bills have a few f- Ronnie Brown-type players on this team. [00:37:00]
Peter: Right.
Erik: Right. It's just the matchup of the elite speed and the elite quarterback is just, I mean, 415 yards in a game is insane.
Mm-hmm. And for how quick these games are, I know 11-minute quarter sounds like a long time, but it's really not. There's times you get three drives in a quarter if you're running the ball, and he put up 400 yards receiving in a... I- that's a record I don't think we'll ever see broken, or if we do- ... it is gonna be 10 years down the line, and I don't, I don't wanna take that, say that lightly.
Like, I just, I don't know if we will see that again.
Peter: Yeah. No, that's pretty wild. I, I did not know about that single game from Ronnie Brown, so that just makes it more impressive. I, I can see why you might have chosen that. Again, Peyton Manning seems to be a real obvious choice, but man, yeah, Ronnie Brown seems to be that X factor for that team this, this year.
Erik: Yeah, I think it's, uh, i- if you face [00:38:00] against someone like him and you don't quite have the cornerbacks that have decent speed or awareness- Yeah,
Peter: you're toast ... it, it can be so dangerous. You're toast. Yeah. Yeah.
Erik: But, uh, actually finally back to the NFC. I actually wanted to split this because I wanted to talk about different people. As I say that, I'm going to my NFC Most Valuable Player, which again, I'm going back to Matt Hasselback. This one was really close to me. I really think Sean Alexander, Dante Stallworth, the Rams, I think your quarterback in Kurt Warren, Torrey Holt both probably has some arguments as just true straight up most valuable.
But I still want to give Rock credit. I think if it wasn't for Peyton Manning, a lot of people would be talking about Matt Hasselback in that season more. And just him having that top season, I think is why Seattle's where they are, where they are just at your heels and just probably one of the most impressive teams in the league.
Uh, but yeah, I did have him [00:39:00] as my most valuable player in the NFC.
Justin: Well, from, but from some of the chats I've seen, um, Hasselback and the Seahawks in previous seasons, a lot of teams thought they would be performing a lot higher than they did. So, um, I think it's, they're finally showing the capability that a lot of teams, a lot of, uh, GMs thought they could.
Peter: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I remember, uh, in previous seasons we sort of saw the Seahawks kind of go through these like hot and cold, uh, swings. So it'll be really curious to see if they can maintain the success going into next season. Uh, but you know, having a top passer and a top, uh, halfback and some incredible, uh, success with all three wide receivers, I think that's a pretty good inclination that their offense is in the right, right space.
Erik: Yes, for sure. It's, they're clicking [00:40:00] all cylinders.
Peter: Yep.
Erik: It's finally clicked for them this year, and it's awesome to see. I, I'm really happy for them. Uh, and actually bumping back over to the A- AFC, that's kinda where I wanted to bring up Peyton Manning as well. He's, I think, as far as just most valuable, uh, I think if you took Ronnie Brown off the team, Manning's numbers would've been lower, but I still think they're pretty well in the spot they are now.
Like Ronnie Brown was just that fun extra piece that they didn't have to have, but man, are they glad to have him That, that Broncos team is just very dangerous, and a- moving someone like him to wide receiver just would put them over the top and just opened up that offense. Uh, it'll be interesting to see how long he'll last with that.
I, I think this is kind of an all or nothing year for the Broncos. Uh, I mean, they got a 25, or close to $25 million cap hit coming next year.
Peter: Yeah. So- I mean, I know that, like, Anthony's already kinda teased in the chat that he [00:41:00] might be dropping to another team, so I'm, uh, I'm curious if that's true. Uh, otherwise, yeah, that's a, that's a tough challenge to navigate.
Uh, but a darn good team. Like, Ron Dayne to come in as a second back and still break over 1,000 yards rushing, five, five and a half yards per carry. Uh, this is a pretty awesome team, would be hard to leave.
Erik: I think Dayne is really what made that Ronnie Brown move work. Mm-hmm. If you didn't have someone like him that could-
Peter: Yes
Erik: hold up the running game-
Peter: Yes ...
Erik: it would've been harder to move Brown, and they would've been still pretty good. Maybe not quite as deadly.
Peter: Right.
Erik: But yeah,
Peter: like if- That was something that you'd see with the, the Vikings. They managed to have, like, two incredible halfbacks and that one incredible season with Clinton Portis.
Yeah. They had, like, Warwick as the [00:42:00] backup. Yeah, Warrick Dunn as a backup was just wild. Just punishing. Like, you have
Justin: two top backs. My only, my only concern would be if I was in charge of the Broncos right now is my defense.
Peter: Yeah, talk into the microphone, though. Thank you.
Justin: Yeah. So my only, if I was in charge of the Broncos right now, um, I would see my defense as a potential setback, and, um, they've been, obviously, their offense is stellar.
But, um, if the offense gets set back somehow by a good defense, I would be wondering if we would be able to stay in the game.
Peter: I'm kinda curious to hear, like, Anthony's, uh, impressions of, of Peyton Manning because I know that there was sort of like the, um, the narrative around him that he has, like, programming where he has, like, a lot of, like, fourth quarter comeback games, [00:43:00] and if that was, like, the same experience they had, 'cause it certainly seems like they would be leading in a lot of games.
Um, you know, it doesn't look like his, his defense is any slouch. Um, but kinda curious if, like, y- you still kind of feel that Peyton Manning effect as, you know, I think we, we see that he's got, like, some exclusive programming around that character.
Erik: Interesting stuff Yeah, it'd be interesting to see how much extra stuff, 'cause like outside the obvious, like he's the only one that gets a lot of the k- uh, the hurry up offense.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Erik: Yes. Uh, I know it's pretty much instant for him. Um- Mm-hmm ... two yard pass and they're hurrying back up and it's just like, "Oh, man."
You're just waiting for him to throw that bomb. But you know what I mean? Yeah ... they've played in some close games, and I'm, I, I wonder how much of that defense is if you score quick, your defense is out there a lot Or how much of it is, yeah, their defense may be a bit of a l- not, I don't wanna say liability, but maybe not as strong as others.
It's just their offense is just so much better [00:44:00] that they can kinda score more than they will give up. Sure. And it just kind of, uh, keep it to within 30 we'll probably be fine.
Peter: Yeah. Yeah, you don't score 20 touchdowns if you don't need to . Yeah. Like, Roddy round, Roddy rounds there is a security blanket and then some.
Uh, I just wanna go over a couple other performances. Uh, Eric, I kinda... I, I know just reading some of your notes that you're kinda at the bottom, uh, at the bottom. Any other thoughts? Otherwise, I just wanna read a couple other performances to kinda wrap up this section of player performances and, uh, new records.
Erik: No, I think I pretty well wrapped up who I c- at least my opinion on, uh, just highlighting some players that had some great years, and who we can be looking forward to, uh, having to face against the next few years, certain rookies.
Peter: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, like some exciting stuff, and I, I think, uh, I- I'll kind of like piggyback on some of that.
So, uh, we did talk about, uh, Pete Manning, Hasselbeck. I think Kurt Warner deserves some credit. Again, [00:45:00] 4,019 yards in another game. Uh, 94 QBR, 28 touchdowns. Might not be Warner's best season, but like, damn, 4,000 yards, you're, you're happy. Um, Gilbert Hamdan, uh, this is his been, bes- has been his best season so far, and we mentioned 3,453 yards, over 100 QBR, and 29 touchdowns, so he's in a great spot.
I could not have predicted Hamdan to be like the top quarterback coming out of that draft class, but here we are. Um, a couple other notable ones, Byron Leftwich, uh, he's currently number five, uh, in passing with, uh, 3,511 yards. That dude's only 24 years old, so I think you're looking at, at the, you know, the future of the PTL there.
And then again, I mentioned this before with Phil Rivers, again, at number six right now and with most passing yards at 3,477. 29 touchdowns on this guy for the season, 24 years old. So, uh, Byron Leftwich, Phil Rivers I think is sort [00:46:00] of needling, uh, the front of that, uh, that youth in that, the, in our, in our league.
Um, we talked about Chyn Alexander, 1,517 yards. Um, not quite Clinton Portis, just to show you what an incredible season that guy had. He had 18,000 yards and, uh, 14 touchdowns from Amon-Green to beat. So, uh, not quite The 18,014 touchdowns, but, uh, Alexander has, uh, 1,517 and 12 touchdowns, so maybe a pair of touchdowns can get him to tie.
A couple other notable performances, Kevin Barlow. We haven't talked about the Lions yet, but, uh, that dude has had a great season. 1,400 yards, 10 touchdowns. Um, Edgerrin James, again, incredible talent, uh, with the Colts. 1,400 yards, 10 touchdowns. Larry Johnson, again, we- I sort of mentioned this before about the talent of the Houston Texans, but [00:47:00] 13,000- 1,300 yards at 24 years of age.
He's number six right now. Also put, uh, T.J. Duckett, uh, over 12,000. Who knows what he'll get. Nine touchdowns, 25 years old. And then Michael Robinson, again, we talked about him as being, uh, sort of our, our offensive rookie, but, uh, uh, nine touchdowns this season, 29 years old out of rookie season, so that's incredible stuff.
Um, we mentioned Ronnie Baum, we mentioned Dante Stallworth. Uh, Torry Holt, 16- 16,000 yards, 11 touchdowns, so, uh, again, look what Holt can do when he's staying healthy. Randy Moss, 1,400 yards, 14 touchdowns. That's a pretty incredible performance. Some good, some good veterans, uh, managing to keep some numbers there.
Uh, jumping over to the offensive tackles, Orlando Pace again, uh, leading once again. I think he's led for three seasons in the PTL, this being his third. He has 110 pa- pancakes, um, and, uh, still short of the [00:48:00] record this year, uh, in PTL with 133 from Bryant McKinnie of the Vikings, but 110, and who knows what he can get in '17.
Uh, following him, Matt Light of the Patriots, and Chris Samuels of the Washington Redskins. We haven't mentioned them before. But I think one of the impressive parts is that D'Brickashaw Ferguson, 81 tackles. Uh, he's currently sitting at number six, uh, 23 years old. This was a rookie pick, uh, for the New York Jets, so I think, uh, they're very happy with his performance.
Just taking a look at- Hey,
Justin: props to the Jets real quickly. I just wanna let you guys know, you guys had a great season, and it was unfortunate that you lost your, your quarterback
Peter: Yeah, that is, that is tough. Again, you, we had four, four season-ending injuries. That's, that's hard to pivot
Erik: Yeah, they're gonna be a very good team very, very quickly.
One more good off-season, and I think they're gonna be right up there with the Patriots. Like, it's... They- they've [00:49:00] made some amazing picks. Elodie Ngata had a pretty good season at defensive tackle for 'em too, and he's only gonna get better.
Peter: Yeah. Yeah, there's some, I think there's some encouraging pieces that you're seeing out of New York right now.
Um, jumping over to tackles, again, middle linebacker Alfred Fitchur, he, uh, he is currently leading. Uh, he's three short of, uh, past, uh, records set by Kendrell Bell on the Broncos, I believe. So I think Alfred Fitchur might actually break the most tackles in a single season. Behind him, Lance Briggs at 129.
He's gonna get a lot of work with, uh, Carson Palmer being out. Uh- Eric, we talked about your guy, Kawika Mitchell. Uh, he's sitting at number, number four, uh, 25 years old, so I think that that's kind of a awesome trade for you guys mid-season. Uh, we mentioned D'Amico Ryans, 115 rookie season, 22 years old. And then Jonathan Vilma, 112 tackles [00:50:00] at number seven at 25 years old.
So, uh, Mitchell, Ryans, Vilma, I think that those are the names we're gonna be seeing for a number of years. Um, kinda crazy to see, uh, sort of the lockup that we see at quarterback sacks. So our previous record was Leonard Little with 28 sacks in our first season. Um, I know we had a lot of inexperienced quarterbacks, and I think that dude really feasted.
So this year we have qu- quite a step backwards from that record. Uh, Richard Seymour currently leads with 16 sacks. Uh, Ty Warren, Matt Walters, Jamie- Jimmy Kennedy, Leonard Little, um, 15 and, and 14 sacks there. I think Leonard Little's also another one of those question marks, 'cause he got injured mid-season.
Uh, so 14, 14 sacks is where he's gonna stay. Um, Matt Walters, uh, you talked about, like, where the- where's the defense, right, for the Broncos. Uh, Matt Walters could be that guy, 15 sacks this season. Uh, Patrick Surtain, uh, with eight interceptions this [00:51:00] season, uh, also tied with Ken Lucas of the Seahawks and, uh, Andre Wolfork from the Patriots.
All those guys are tied up at eight interceptions this season. Our previous record has been 10, uh, interceptions, and that's been held by four different guys. So, uh, who knows who's gonna be the next cornerback to get 11 interceptions? And then, uh, there's really nothing to be seen about special teams. Uh, we talked a little about rookies.
Uh, Jay Cutler, Vince Young, both, uh, really good seasons. Vince Young kind of an interesting one, where he breaks the rookie quarterback QBR record with, uh, 81.9, so that's a really great start, previously held by Aaron Rodgers with 81.2. Um, Jay Cutler, 23 touchdowns, Vince Young, 16 touchdowns. Pretty good season.
We talked about Robinson. Joseph Addai actually leads halfbacks this season on the Cardinals, um, uh, with [00:52:00] 865, uh, rushing. But, uh, I think the, the really the big piece is there, Michael Robinson and Angelo Williams. Uh, Greg Jennings, we talked about. Brandon Marshall, we talked about. Both of those guys are sort of leading in wide receivers.
Uh, DeAndre Roberson, Ferguson men- uh, mentioned this one, once again, 81 pancakes. Um- The interesting part is really gonna come down to, uh, defensive end, where we saw three different ta- uh, defensive tackles go for 10 sacks this season. Uh, Mark Andrew, Jeremy Mincey, and Rob Niewoehner all tied at 10 sacks for rookies.
Um, but as we mentioned before, the previous has been E.J. Henderson with 21 sacks, so I don't think anybody's coming for that. Uh, you did mention Deone Landry, kinda interesting, tying the, uh, current, um, rookie interception total. Previously C. Grant now tied with Deone Landry to join him, so who knows what's gonna happen, uh, [00:53:00] tomorrow's, uh, n- the next matchup in six- uh, week 17.
But, uh, uh, interesting to see that. That's what I got for, uh, player performance. I wanna ask you guys, who is your personal MVP?
Justin: Erick, I'll let you start.
Erik: Uh, I think I've talked... Are, are we talking whole league?
Peter: No, just, just your own personal. Who is your MVP this season?
Erik: Uh, probably coming off my team, I'm gonna go with Jennings. Uh, probably my most valuable, half the reason why Cutler's done decent. It's weird to say he's had 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns and has kind of underperformed.
Uh, the Chargers shut him out, uh, zero catches, and he's had four other games with 30 or less yards. So it's weird to see 1,300 yards and could be more after week 17, but also,
