Couple of games of consequence, um, that I want to touch on.
Um, you know, I think let's start on Sunday Night Football with the Bears and the Buccaneers.
And I thought this was a pretty inspiring performance for Tampa.
This is 4 picks in 2 straight games, uh, but you just didn't get in another great Bucky Irving game.
I mean, he's been on fire.
The Buccaneers defense really clamped down on Chicago's run game.
And you can see what happens sometimes when you force Caleb Williams to be rookie or Caleb Williams, right, where he's seeking the big play and it's just not there and he's throwing the ball, uh, all over the field and not in a good way, um, but the fact that the Bears won this game and you saw subdued Ben Johnson afterwards, you know, and I think that's how You can tell it's like a championship caliber team in a roster.
He's pissed.
He's miserable, uh, when they win a game like this.
Whereas Tampa, I think we saw the outer reaches of what they're capable of, and I think that level of talent is good enough to win the NFC South again, especially now that the Falcons are selling and the Panthers, uh, lost to the, to the Broncos this weekend.
But, um, I, I, I just think this Bears team looks like they're on a crash course for the Super Bowl.
If 4 picks from your quarterback does not matter.
I think it's that's incredible.
That's the thing is like, like I, I think like they're, they were forced to win a different way on Sunday night and they were able to do that.
Tampa's insulated by the division they're in.
They're still just a half game back even though they're 3 and 6, and I.
I mean, I still think that's probably the best team in that division, you know, um, so, And I think being able to force the picks and playing the way that they did in a tough environment in Chicago with a red-hot Bears team, forcing the turnovers they did.
And here's the other thing, for the 3rd straight week, they were productive in the run game, you know, and they were able to kind of impose their will a little bit on the opponent.
Bucky Irving had another really nice night.
So, like , I, I like where Tampa is.
I think Tampa, Tampa to me, if there's a team that's like capable of Let's say like ripping off like however many wins in a row, and actually like threatening to get over 500 in that division, it would probably be the Bucks.
What do you make of this?
I mean, you know, I don't think, I, I don't think that there's a Caleb overreaction.
Like, I think that's kind of ridiculous.
Again, I mean, you want Caleb to be extending plays, and you want Caleb to be looking for that just hidden gem of an option, right?
You know, the plays are, there, there's the way that Ben Johnson calls it.
And there's the way that Caleb sees it, and that's what makes them so special together.
I think the idea of this being any sort of a referendum or a regression game for Caleb is, is ridiculous.
I mean, you know, this is, you know, Sam Darnold has had 4 pick games.
Matthew Stafford's had 4 pick games.
Caleb Williams is allowed to have a 4-pick game, right?
I mean, I, I, I mean, I remember Brady and Manning having those sorts of games back in the day.
Like, it's not, it's.
You know, I, I, I, I wonder how much of it has to do with the short week, like, and he played so well against the Seahawks, you know, on Monday night, like, his ability to, uh, like, in that game, it was.
I think it was 34 attempts, 31, I mean, it was, it was like something like 31 of the 34 attempts, he played on time and on schedule and from the pocket, and there were just 3 scramble plays.
I think maybe another one where he ran a scrambled to run, um, but You know, like I, I, I think the Buccaneers were able to, to, to force him back into more of those scramble situations where you, which is where you see the mistakes come, but he's been so under control and so good to this point.
He's, he's a lot of Mulligan for sure.
Buccaneers are confounding, right?
Cause it's like, you know, they have leaned so heavily on the run game, another 28 carries.
Um, another 100 yard rushing game for Tampa, but you know, is it just simply a case of Mike Evans not being there?
Yeah, it affects so many things.
I mean , you're Tez Johnson.
I mean, Abuca is just not, Abuca is not, yeah, Abuca looks like more like a complimentary guy instead of like the, the number, a number one guy.
Like doesn't mean he can't be a good player, but, um, you know, he was never the number one at Ohio State, you know, like, so like that's not really ever what he's been.
Um, and then, you know, like Godwin , who they paid so much to keep, right?
Like they paid, I can't remember what the details in that deal wasn't it, it was a 30 a year.
So they, they kept him when he hit free agency a couple of years ago, and he just hasn't been the same coming back off the injury.
So you got one guy that you've paid like a number 1, you spent a first-round pick on another, and you just don't have that guy that's You know, when you break the huddle, the defense is circling him the way he did for all those years with Evans.
So, you know, it would really help their cause if one of those two guys emerged in the back half of the season.
I think it's more likely to be a Buca just cause Godwin's older now, and is, is beat up, you know, and I think you're sort of tapped when it comes to the upside, um, with him.
Um, but it would really, yeah, it would really help if one of those guys becomes the guy, um, you know, in somewhere in November and December.
I want to move over to um Rams Commanders, uh, Miles Garrett is back and even on a pitch count had 3 sacks and uh I said this on, um, on uh Heed the Call and I got kind of beat up for it, um, by some of the fans and I get it, but like, I think that this has the potential to, the Rams have a poten like if you, If you take the Rams' defense and the Vikings' defense from here to the end of the season, and you, and you cut out the first half sample size, I think that the Rams have a chance to finish the season as a better defense than the Vikings.
And the reason is just obvious, right?
You looked at what Chris Shula did with Miles Garrett and essentially put out the rest of the defense, which is full of great players already, and then basically just said, OK, Miles, like pick your spot.
And he would go over the center and basically it was like a point guard, you know, doing ISO on, on a defender.
He's just deeking like their worst offensive lineman.
And there's no way.
There's no way to chip that, really, and they tried, they tried to put it back, basically, like in an upback position, but then that forces you into the shotgun.
It forces you out of your under center stuff.
It, it's like, the stuff that they can do now with a healthy Miles Garrett, I, I like, I don't, it's almost like I don't even care that Puka Aki is hurt.
Like, you can, you should be shutting teams out or holding them to 10 or fewer points.
That's how dominant I think this defense can be.
It's exciting too because like now you figure he's right, you know.
And like physically ready to go.
And like a big key to doing what you're saying is that they were able to stop the run, you know, and that's about those guys inside and, you know, Tyler Davis and Braden Fisk and the guys they have in the middle of the defense, you know, Aaron Donald.
That are facilitating that.
They held the commanders to about 3 yards of carry, which, you know, allows you to create more obvious passing situations and with the guys that they have upfront now and Miles Garrett is part of that, it's gonna be a real problem going forward.
It changes the dynamic completely.
And I think sometimes people, I think somewhere along the line over the last couple of months, like people have forgotten how freaking good this guy is, and maybe Some people just don't realize it because he was in Cleveland for all those years, but this, you make an argument, this is the best player in football the last 5 years, and they're adding him like he's a trade deadline acquisition now , you know, and so it totally changes the dynamic for them.
And now it's gonna be really interesting to see.
Where they go, what they become.
The Puka thing is obviously hovering over them, but they've been able to find their identity on offense too, running the ball with Blake Korum and, and, and Kyron Williams.
And so, um, and getting Terrence Ferguson's back is, is, is gonna be big, and he, I mean, like, he was somebody they expected to have a huge year, you know, so, as they get healthier on offense, you're still waiting on Devonte Adams .
Maybe the defense is good enough to carry you.
The really interesting part about this, Connor , is you got Now you have 7 teams fighting for 5 spots, and 2 of these teams are gonna be left out of the playoffs, right?
And we talked about this last week, I believe, but the Lions, the Bears, the Vikings, the Packers, the Rams, the Seahawks, and the 49ers.
2 of those, 2 of those 7 are not making the playoffs.
That's insane.
You should just be able to borrow space from, from the AFC, you know, it's just, or, or, or just not let the NFC South have one.
Yeah, on it, you know, it's just like, sorry guys, you know, he just, um.
It's like when, uh, when I turned 21 and I tried to go clubbing for the first time in Stamford, Connecticut, and, uh, the bouncer just goes, he just took one look at me and said, I don't know, pal, uh, I just don't see it.
And uh he was right, uh, very, uh, very smart to not let me in there.