# The NFL Report: Browns Name Deshaun Watson Starting QB and Preseason Game Recaps

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 25 Aug 2026, 24 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/e922fbd8-b608-413a-ac83-b06d015154b4/d201434b-9af5-4c01-a1f0-b4b10003d8f0/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

Andrew Siciliano and Bucky Brooks discuss Deshaun Watson winning the Browns starting quarterback job and what to expect from Watson this season. Then, Siciliano shares updates on the Falcons quarterback situation, Christian McCaffrey’s injury status, and 49ers owner Jed York’s recent arrest. Siciliano also recaps the Cardinals-Cowboys, Titans-Seahawks, and Jets-Steelers preseason games, and Bucky Brooks reviews Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s performance in his second preseason game. The guys also give tribute to Nick Chubb’s career following his recently announced retirement. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:08] Speaker 1: Let's dive in to the NFL Report.
[0:11] Speaker 2: Deshaun Watson is QB one, how he won the job
[0:15] Speaker 2: and what is next now for Shador Sanders in Cleveland?
[0:18] Speaker 2: We have that story, plus Fernando Mendoza is QB two
[0:23] Speaker 2: for now in Vegas? Can Ty Simpson win the same
[0:26] Speaker 2: job in LA? And how does Carnel Tait look? In Nashville,
[0:31] Speaker 2: we are handing out rookie report cards because it's time
[0:33] Speaker 2: to go back to school and it is the final countdown.
[0:36] Speaker 2: Bucky Brooks tells you who should be number one in
[0:39] Speaker 2: the top one hundred. It is now on the NFL Report.
[0:44] Speaker 2: This is going to be fun. I promise you we
[0:46] Speaker 2: are going to have fun. Welcome to a brand new show.
[0:49] Speaker 2: This is the NFL Report. We are here at seven
[0:53] Speaker 2: pm Eastern time every single day on this This is
[0:56] Speaker 2: the NFL Channel, free streaming and you're Smart TV. We
[0:59] Speaker 2: are also on YouTube and because it's twenty twenty six,
[1:02] Speaker 2: we are also a podcast, so you can listen to
[1:05] Speaker 2: or watch this show whenever you want to later wherever
[1:08] Speaker 2: you get your podcasts.
[1:10] Speaker 1: My name is Andrew Siciliano.
[1:12] Speaker 2: Into transfer portal and happy to be back with you
[1:14] Speaker 2: and thrilled that you are here with us. We have
[1:17] Speaker 2: any and everything you need to know about the National
[1:20] Speaker 2: Football League again seven pm Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
[1:25] Speaker 1: Here is what is news to me.
[1:27] Speaker 2: Let's call it that our latest headlines that we begin
[1:30] Speaker 2: in Cleveland, where Deshaun Watson is QB one. Todd Munkin
[1:33] Speaker 2: made that call Monday morning after saying yesterday that he
[1:36] Speaker 2: would not factor Watson's Saturday postgame comments about getting booed
[1:41] Speaker 2: into his decision.
[1:44] Speaker 3: There's a number of things I'm not going to get into,
[1:46] Speaker 3: but ultimately we felt over the course of training camp
[1:50] Speaker 3: and and the off season that he.
[1:52] Speaker 4: Was ahead of Shador.
[1:53] Speaker 3: Chador's closed that gap, I mean for sure, and that's
[1:56] Speaker 3: a credit to him and we look forward to again
[2:00] Speaker 3: should or continuing to grow as a player. But ultimately
[2:04] Speaker 3: we're about week one.
[2:06] Speaker 4: Uh.
[2:06] Speaker 5: First off, I want to address the comments from Saturday
[2:10] Speaker 5: after the game. You know, I think just you know,
[2:15] Speaker 5: human nature, just myself being very emotional, putting a lot
[2:19] Speaker 5: of time these last two years to you know, get
[2:22] Speaker 5: back and you know, spend time in this facility in
[2:25] Speaker 5: the city, meeting a lot of different people in the community.
[2:30] Speaker 5: You know, I thought I was going to get you
[2:32] Speaker 5: know a little different response. But uh, you know, I think,
[2:36] Speaker 5: you know, my emotions got the best of me. And
[2:38] Speaker 5: knowing that I have a teammates in the locker room
[2:40] Speaker 5: that support me, knowing that I have a coaching stuff
[2:42] Speaker 5: that support me, knowing that I have an organization that
[2:44] Speaker 5: support me. You know, all the other stuff got to
[2:47] Speaker 5: take care of it, stuff on the field. And now
[2:48] Speaker 5: it's my job to be able to show that, you know,
[2:50] Speaker 5: I'm capable of putting points on the board and getting w's.
[2:53] Speaker 5: And I think that, you know, if we can do that,
[2:55] Speaker 5: then I can earn the respect thenority to the to
[2:57] Speaker 5: the rest of the fan base. And that's what I
[3:00] Speaker 5: do because again, you know, it was a big investment
[3:02] Speaker 5: and we haven't got the you know, product out of
[3:05] Speaker 5: that investment just so far. And I have, you know,
[3:08] Speaker 5: I have another shot.
[3:09] Speaker 1: I have another chance.
[3:10] Speaker 5: So I want to make sure take full of responsibility
[3:12] Speaker 5: as his opportunity.
[3:14] Speaker 2: All Right, we could probably do an hour on this story,
[3:16] Speaker 2: Bucky Brooks, I promise you only going to do like
[3:18] Speaker 2: three or four minutes.
[3:19] Speaker 1: By the way, great to see you here, look for it.
[3:21] Speaker 4: Thank you.
[3:22] Speaker 1: It's good to be back. Bucky's my wing man. Today
[3:24] Speaker 1: as he will be a lot of the time.
[3:25] Speaker 2: Deshaun Watson Bucky first regular season action when we see
[3:29] Speaker 2: in week one, we're both going to be there since
[3:30] Speaker 2: Week seven, twenty twenty four.
[3:33] Speaker 1: The first torn achilles.
[3:34] Speaker 2: I think this is always the way we've been trending,
[3:36] Speaker 2: but it's jarring for a lot of people to hear
[3:38] Speaker 2: the announcement.
[3:39] Speaker 6: What do you think, Look, I think this is what
[3:42] Speaker 6: the plan was always going to be, Deshaun Watson being
[3:44] Speaker 6: the starting quarterback.
[3:45] Speaker 4: Tod Muckett wants a veteran. He wants someone that.
[3:47] Speaker 6: Can get this team up and going, this offense up
[3:49] Speaker 6: and going. And I think we have to be careful
[3:51] Speaker 6: making too much of the free season. The free season
[3:53] Speaker 6: is different than the regular season. The defense is the
[3:56] Speaker 6: people that you're facing, the game plans, all that is vanilla.
[4:00] Speaker 6: Now we can get to building a game plan. This
[4:02] Speaker 6: Taylor specifically towards Deshaun Watson, and it's been a long
[4:06] Speaker 6: time since he's played at their Pro Bowl level.
[4:09] Speaker 4: But I know this. Todd Muckin really stuck his.
[4:11] Speaker 6: Neck out there by saying Deshaun Watson gonna be his quarterback.
[4:14] Speaker 6: I think he's going to give Number four the best
[4:17] Speaker 6: chance to kind of get back to being that Pro
[4:19] Speaker 6: Bowl player that we see.
[4:20] Speaker 2: All Right, you say long time, it's been since Week ten,
[4:23] Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, all time since we saw him as
[4:26] Speaker 2: a Pro Bowl player. That was the second half in Baltimore.
[4:28] Speaker 2: They're down three scores. He goes fourteen to fourteen to
[4:31] Speaker 2: the second half. Greg Newsom gets a pick six, they
[4:32] Speaker 2: win the game, and then he goes on ir later
[4:35] Speaker 2: that week with an ankle and a shoulder. So it
[4:38] Speaker 2: has been nearly three years since we saw that guy.
[4:41] Speaker 4: Look, it's been a long time.
[4:43] Speaker 6: But sometimes we talk about an evaluation fit in scheme,
[4:46] Speaker 6: how does the player's talent fit within the scheme, And
[4:49] Speaker 6: I believe that Deshaun Watson's talent fits very well within
[4:52] Speaker 6: this game. We think about some of the air rate concepts,
[4:54] Speaker 6: some of the spread concepts that he did really well,
[4:57] Speaker 6: not only at Clemson but for the Houston Texans. He
[5:00] Speaker 6: was a multiple time Pro Bowl I had two four
[5:01] Speaker 6: thousand yard seasons. They want to get back to finding
[5:05] Speaker 6: the best of Deshaun Watson. I think they'll do that.
[5:07] Speaker 6: But also the supporting cast is much better than the
[5:10] Speaker 6: one that tried it out the last time. That we
[5:12] Speaker 6: saw him play, from the offensive line, to the playmakers,
[5:15] Speaker 6: to the running game.
[5:16] Speaker 4: All of this is better now. It's about the play
[5:18] Speaker 4: caller and the quarterback.
[5:19] Speaker 2: Being on the same Munkin firmly believes that Deshaun Watson
[5:22] Speaker 2: gives them the best chance to win their Week one
[5:24] Speaker 2: in Jacksonville, Week two in Tampa, Week three at home
[5:27] Speaker 2: against Carolina. Should or Sanders for now is QB two now?
[5:30] Speaker 2: Munkin says that he told them both Watson first and
[5:33] Speaker 2: then Sanders second in his office on Monday morning, and
[5:36] Speaker 2: that he said should Or totally understood, and that a
[5:39] Speaker 2: smile on his face the entire time because Monkin says
[5:42] Speaker 2: he understands.
[5:43] Speaker 1: The long game. So what's next for Shoudoor.
[5:47] Speaker 4: I think he continues to go to work.
[5:48] Speaker 1: You think he plays this year?
[5:50] Speaker 4: Absolutely.
[5:51] Speaker 6: I think he has an opportunity to play, either through
[5:53] Speaker 6: performance or through an injury that provides him with an opportunity.
[5:56] Speaker 6: Here's what we can say about Shadur Sanders. He's made
[6:00] Speaker 6: this strides as a passer, throwing the ball, more on time,
[6:03] Speaker 6: more on Tiger, understands how to have full command of
[6:06] Speaker 6: this offense. He just wasn't able to wrestle the job
[6:09] Speaker 6: away from Wassington. Part of that is it's easier to
[6:11] Speaker 6: start the veteran and then hand the keys to the
[6:14] Speaker 6: offense to Shaud Sanders.
[6:15] Speaker 4: If you start as Santa's, then it goes awry.
[6:17] Speaker 6: The energy is just different if Wasson is coming off
[6:20] Speaker 6: the bench. To me, Shadur Sanders has to continue to
[6:23] Speaker 6: do what he's done, focus on what he can control, preparation,
[6:27] Speaker 6: be ready when his number is called, and when he
[6:29] Speaker 6: gets that chance, just go and kill it.
[6:30] Speaker 2: Look in year ten, there's no question Deshaun Watson is
[6:33] Speaker 2: better operationally getting out of the huddle, getting to the line,
[6:35] Speaker 2: getting the place, snap, play called everything than Shaudor. But
[6:38] Speaker 2: Schador is getting closer. And the question is will Deshaun's
[6:41] Speaker 2: play be good enough to keep Shador on the bench
[6:43] Speaker 2: because Shador outplayed them.
[6:45] Speaker 1: There's no other way to say it.
[6:46] Speaker 2: This past Saturday and he had the first team and
[6:49] Speaker 2: DeShawn had the third team, But you go the week
[6:51] Speaker 2: before it was the other way around. All right, Bucky,
[6:53] Speaker 2: stay there, You could argue the only other real quarterback
[6:56] Speaker 2: battle right now is in Atlanta. Michael Pennis town into
[7:00] Speaker 2: the ring today. He did his first eleven on eleven
[7:03] Speaker 2: team works since last November's torn acl The Falcons wrap
[7:07] Speaker 2: up the preseason Friday in Miami.
[7:11] Speaker 7: I'll talk through the playtime later in the week, Daniel,
[7:14] Speaker 7: but we will play our starters in this game.
[7:16] Speaker 8: Is Mike included in that?
[7:19] Speaker 7: You know, I want to get through today. You know,
[7:21] Speaker 7: obviously it's Mike's first time back out there. Excited for
[7:23] Speaker 7: him obviously to do eleven on eleven. But we'll, we'll,
[7:27] Speaker 7: we'll work through that.
[7:28] Speaker 8: How hard is the curve to be from where he's
[7:30] Speaker 8: been all off season to being in eleven on eleven now, Like, what's.
[7:33] Speaker 1: The hardest part about that?
[7:35] Speaker 7: I think it's a good question for Mike to probably
[7:38] Speaker 7: answer better than I could, other than to say, obviously
[7:42] Speaker 7: he's had a bunch of reps without the pass rush
[7:45] Speaker 7: and the pocket and that type of thing. But I
[7:48] Speaker 7: think he's more than eager to get out there and practice.
[7:53] Speaker 2: So those Stefanski before Pennix took the field on Monday.
[7:56] Speaker 2: Back on the field on Sunday, Christian McCaffrey. He had
[7:59] Speaker 2: not practiced in two weeks. McCaffrey says, by the way,
[8:01] Speaker 2: his absence was in no way contract related, as some
[8:05] Speaker 2: had speculated. It was about maintenance and getting ready for
[8:09] Speaker 2: the new season.
[8:11] Speaker 8: You know, obviously when you don't practice, you know the
[8:14] Speaker 8: way the media works now is firestorm. But you know,
[8:19] Speaker 8: this was kind of part of the plan from the
[8:21] Speaker 8: jump was to ramp up pretty big, get nine ten
[8:24] Speaker 8: practices in kind of come back down and then ramp
[8:27] Speaker 8: back up.
[8:27] Speaker 1: So we're fresh for the duration.
[8:28] Speaker 8: So you know, our staff's done a great job of
[8:31] Speaker 8: kind of coming up with specific plans and you know,
[8:33] Speaker 8: again I feel great.
[8:34] Speaker 2: So George Kittle on the field with him Sunday in
[8:38] Speaker 2: Santa Clara officially activated from the pup list by the
[8:41] Speaker 2: forty nine ers.
[8:42] Speaker 1: Is he going to play in sixteen days?
[8:44] Speaker 2: That's how close we are in Australia, no clue, No
[8:47] Speaker 2: one wants to say, but this is the next step
[8:51] Speaker 2: on a path to getting back on the field from
[8:53] Speaker 2: a torn achilles which happened to the playoffs back in January. Meantime,
[8:58] Speaker 2: in Vegas, the Raiders got a scare. Austin Genty or
[9:02] Speaker 2: Beggar parton Ashton Genty helped off the field with an
[9:05] Speaker 2: ankle injury, and then the good news Ian Rappaport NFL
[9:09] Speaker 2: Network Inside or Front of the program Ian Rappaport says
[9:12] Speaker 2: it is not considered a long term injury for the
[9:15] Speaker 2: second year running back out of Boise State. Also not
[9:19] Speaker 2: considered long term in Arizona for Jeremiah Love, but it's
[9:23] Speaker 2: gonna be another week without the rookie at of Notre
[9:25] Speaker 2: Dame on the practice field. Mike Lafleur says Love won't
[9:28] Speaker 2: practice either in Arizona this week nor in Green Bay.
[9:31] Speaker 2: They're doing a joint practice Wednesday with the Packers. Love
[9:34] Speaker 2: sprained his ankle in the Cardinals preseason opener with a
[9:38] Speaker 2: heavy workload. You thought Kayshawn Boude might get traded. Well,
[9:42] Speaker 2: it finally did happen. The Texans called and the Patriots said, yes,
[9:46] Speaker 2: Boodhy to Houston for a twenty twenty eight a twenty
[9:49] Speaker 2: twenty eight seventh round pick, and a safety Jalen Reads
[9:52] Speaker 2: in that deal. Remember the Texans lost Jayden Higgins last
[9:56] Speaker 2: week to a torn acl We're watching the game last night,
[10:01] Speaker 2: the Seahawks and the Titans in Nashville. You saw it early.
[10:03] Speaker 2: This one's tough here. Bud Clark, the second year's safety
[10:06] Speaker 2: out of TCU, maybe this year's Nick Emon Warry, and
[10:08] Speaker 2: that Mike McDonald defense. He's going to be gone for
[10:11] Speaker 2: a long time. It is a broken ankle. Mike McDonald
[10:14] Speaker 2: didn't hide it when he went to the podium yesterday,
[10:15] Speaker 2: he says, McDonald does that.
[10:17] Speaker 1: Clark is going to be out multiple months.
[10:22] Speaker 2: Forty nine ers Utter Jed York was arrested over the
[10:24] Speaker 2: weekend in East Palestine, Ohio. Court records show York pleaded
[10:28] Speaker 2: no contest to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing
[10:33] Speaker 2: criminal tools. He was released Monday after posting a five
[10:36] Speaker 2: thousand dollars bond. The Niners with the following statement, quote,
[10:40] Speaker 2: as this is a legal matter which has been resolved,
[10:43] Speaker 2: we will not be providing any further comment at this time.
[10:47] Speaker 1: A League spokesman in New.
[10:48] Speaker 2: York says, quote, we are aware of the matter, which
[10:51] Speaker 2: will be reviewed under the Personal conduct policy. All right,
[10:58] Speaker 2: we're just getting started here in the NFL Report. I'm
[11:00] Speaker 2: up on our very first show. He was good week one,
[11:03] Speaker 2: not so good week two. When is Fernando Mendoza gonna
[11:07] Speaker 2: take the stage in Vegas? Bucky Brooks back on the
[11:10] Speaker 2: stage with that coming up. You're watching the brand new
[11:18] Speaker 2: show the NFL Report. Thank you for watching Let's do
[11:20] Speaker 2: some highlights here, because I enjoyed doing highlights.
[11:22] Speaker 1: We go back to.
[11:23] Speaker 2: A primetime affair late last week, the Cowboys and the Cardinals.
[11:27] Speaker 2: This was in Arizona, and this is Joe Milton. I mean,
[11:30] Speaker 2: he is the king of preseason football. Jonathan Mingo remember him,
[11:34] Speaker 2: the former Panther. I'm sure you remember the trade if
[11:36] Speaker 2: you're a Cowboy fan. That is a fifty three yard
[11:38] Speaker 2: touchdown and it is fourteen to nothing. Fast forward into
[11:40] Speaker 2: the second quarter. Milton on the run, fighting preseason hero
[11:46] Speaker 2: Camden Brown. Part of his issue in the draft process
[11:50] Speaker 2: was the speed. He cannot make it to the end zone.
[11:52] Speaker 2: Oh he got lucky there. That did not go out
[11:55] Speaker 2: the back of the end zone. It rolled backwards to
[11:57] Speaker 2: the one. Camden Brown's seventy us on that to set
[12:01] Speaker 2: up the Joe Milton scramble. Joe Milton a touchdown run
[12:06] Speaker 2: and the Cowboys take it to the Cardinals. Dallas wins
[12:10] Speaker 2: in Arizona thirty four to thirteen.
[12:13] Speaker 1: All right, that's part of the story.
[12:15] Speaker 2: The score obviously means something here, but honestly, for my money,
[12:18] Speaker 2: this was the best thing I saw this weekend.
[12:20] Speaker 1: This is Sheias Pete.
[12:21] Speaker 2: He is the first member of the Navajo Nation, which
[12:24] Speaker 2: is the largest Native American reservation in the United States,
[12:27] Speaker 2: to sign and now play for an NFL team. Arizona,
[12:31] Speaker 2: by the way, also has the largest Navajo population in
[12:35] Speaker 2: the US.
[12:36] Speaker 1: Check out the locker room.
[12:38] Speaker 9: Well, that was an incredible win. Now, I am very
[12:42] Speaker 9: fortunate to be amongst you and to play in the
[12:45] Speaker 9: same field where the same for the same star holding
[12:48] Speaker 9: on our chest. And I'm proud of us, proud of
[12:53] Speaker 9: how far we've come.
[12:54] Speaker 1: A man, this game fate.
[13:00] Speaker 9: Us here a strangers, but this game the star, this
[13:02] Speaker 9: team will make us brothers face.
[13:18] Speaker 2: All right, I'm not crying, you're crying. I mean that
[13:20] Speaker 2: got me. That was the best speech. That was the
[13:22] Speaker 2: best moment of preseason week two. Preseason Week two ended
[13:26] Speaker 2: with a Sunday Night affair, Sunday Night Football not an
[13:29] Speaker 2: NBC but on Fox. But it was a game regardless
[13:31] Speaker 2: with the Seahawks and the Titans in Nashville. That is,
[13:33] Speaker 2: Elijah Arroyo from Drew Locke a thirty six yard touchdown
[13:38] Speaker 2: and the defending Super Bowl champions looked pretty good early.
[13:41] Speaker 2: Cam Ward has not looked great really in the preseason,
[13:47] Speaker 2: but Tony Pollard pads the stats here as he takes
[13:51] Speaker 2: it downfield on the little checkdown. Ward has yet to
[13:54] Speaker 2: complete a pass of beyond seven air yards in the preseason.
[13:57] Speaker 2: But hey, that was good. This is not good for
[14:00] Speaker 2: the Tennessee run defense. Jeffrey Simmons on the field for this.
[14:02] Speaker 2: It's not as if this was the second or third team.
[14:04] Speaker 2: This is Jaccardia Wright a sixty nine yard touchdown. Titans
[14:08] Speaker 2: win nineteen to sixty. The Bud Clark injury really the
[14:11] Speaker 2: big thing in this one. Not in any way good.
[14:15] Speaker 2: All right, more highlights. Let's go to more primetime football.
[14:18] Speaker 2: This is Friday, the Jets and the Steelers. This is
[14:20] Speaker 2: in Pittsburgh, and this is Geno Smith. Gino looks low
[14:24] Speaker 2: key good so far. Remember Jalattie Woods, the billboard sized
[14:29] Speaker 2: tight end from Virginia, the former Colt. There's a thirteen
[14:31] Speaker 2: yard touchdown Geno seven for seven or something like that
[14:34] Speaker 2: on this drive. Drew Aller looked great last week. Will
[14:37] Speaker 2: Howard not so great this week. That is not Aaron
[14:39] Speaker 2: Glenn sacking him, but it's the guy wearing his coaches
[14:42] Speaker 2: old jersey. David Bailey, the number two overall pick. He
[14:45] Speaker 2: gets a sack and here is Will Howard getting picked
[14:47] Speaker 2: off by Andre Cisco. Bucky loves him because he's a
[14:50] Speaker 2: former Jaguar. I love him because he's a former Orange Man.
[14:53] Speaker 2: And the Jets beat the Steelers here seventeen to nothing.
[14:58] Speaker 2: Preseason fun. It's a fun to check out Chad Writer's
[15:01] Speaker 2: rookie grades. We like handing out report cards because your
[15:04] Speaker 2: kids are back in school this week. Find them at
[15:06] Speaker 2: a NFL dot com. Here are some of your grades
[15:09] Speaker 2: from week number two. Austin Barber goes from tackle to
[15:11] Speaker 2: guard and he gets in a. Monroe Freeling gets in
[15:15] Speaker 2: a There are a lot of a's. There's some grades
[15:16] Speaker 2: that are not not so good. Last week, the number
[15:19] Speaker 2: one overall pick Foranda Mendoza got a B plus from Chad.
[15:23] Speaker 1: I thought he deserved an A. He's pretty good.
[15:25] Speaker 2: Last week, however, not nearly as good when we saw
[15:29] Speaker 2: him on Thursday night. He threw a pick six early
[15:32] Speaker 2: on Bucky Brooks back with me the B plus night
[15:36] Speaker 2: number one.
[15:36] Speaker 1: Bucky. I know you're not named Chad Rider, but if.
[15:38] Speaker 2: I asked you to give a grade for the second
[15:41] Speaker 2: week on the field for Fernando Mendoza, what do you.
[15:44] Speaker 6: Think, Oh, Fernanda Mendoza c's get degrees, So we'll give
[15:47] Speaker 6: him a C.
[15:47] Speaker 4: We give him a C plus if you want to.
[15:49] Speaker 6: The performance was not up to standard in terms of
[15:52] Speaker 6: what he displayed for Sir Cardinals, and part of it
[15:54] Speaker 6: is he's playing a much better defense, tighter coverage on
[15:57] Speaker 6: the outside. They challenged him make tight window throws, had
[16:00] Speaker 6: difficult time with that, his guys weren't uncovering, and then
[16:03] Speaker 6: he had to fix six balls a little behind, gave
[16:05] Speaker 6: up a touchdown.
[16:06] Speaker 4: So these are things where Fernando will continue to learn.
[16:09] Speaker 6: He'll continue to learn how to throw with an anticipation
[16:12] Speaker 6: and touch that he needs to against these better defenses.
[16:15] Speaker 4: But right now he's gonna graduate. But he's not gonna graduate.
[16:18] Speaker 2: Withh Yeah, real quick here Clint Kobe act is playing coy.
[16:21] Speaker 2: He keeps saying, this is still a competition. It's gonna
[16:23] Speaker 2: be Kirk Cousins week.
[16:24] Speaker 6: Oh, I mean, like, look, Tom Brady has been on
[16:27] Speaker 6: multiple podcasts broadcasts talking about the developmental problem with quarterbacks
[16:32] Speaker 6: and so I cannot anticipate Fernando Mendoza being the starter
[16:35] Speaker 6: right away, but maybe about the middle of the season,
[16:38] Speaker 6: Fernando may get a little.
[16:39] Speaker 2: Time, Okay, Week one his hometown team. It's the Dolphins
[16:42] Speaker 2: coming to Vegas, for whatever it's worth. Tys Simpson, by
[16:45] Speaker 2: the way, Week one also amazing for the Rams. Twenty
[16:47] Speaker 2: one to twenty five. Week two a little bit different.
[16:49] Speaker 2: He did not start Stetson Bennett did. He played the
[16:52] Speaker 2: second half Simpson did with the Rams. Let him on
[16:54] Speaker 2: one scoring drive Right now, Sean McVay says, the number
[16:57] Speaker 2: two job is up in the air between Bennett and Simpson.
[17:00] Speaker 1: You think Simpson's got a shine.
[17:01] Speaker 6: No, I think I think Sessan Bennet's going to get it.
[17:03] Speaker 6: He's looked really, really good and comfortable running to the offense.
[17:06] Speaker 6: But I will say Todd Simpson has been very, very
[17:08] Speaker 6: impressive considering the lack of stars that he had as
[17:11] Speaker 6: a collegiate. He looks like he understands the game. He
[17:14] Speaker 6: knows exactly what he's doing within this system.
[17:16] Speaker 4: And then the Rams make it easy.
[17:17] Speaker 6: Sean McVay has been able to elevate every quarterback that
[17:21] Speaker 6: he's touched. Tyy Simpson looks like he's going to be
[17:23] Speaker 6: the beneficiary of some of that magic. I like how
[17:26] Speaker 6: he's progressing. I like how he's trending. But there's no
[17:28] Speaker 6: need to rush him onto the field. I think we're
[17:30] Speaker 6: talking about a year or two before we see Todd
[17:33] Speaker 6: Simpson really play. But I think right now, position at
[17:36] Speaker 6: QB three is a nice spot for it.
[17:37] Speaker 1: All right.
[17:38] Speaker 2: I know it is only the preseason, and the preseason
[17:40] Speaker 2: is a liar. Week one is very often a liar
[17:43] Speaker 2: for everyone who thought that Ty Simpson was a third
[17:46] Speaker 2: round pick.
[17:47] Speaker 1: What do you say now, Well, look.
[17:49] Speaker 4: I thought he was the second round pick.
[17:50] Speaker 2: I mean we look, we got to say the second
[17:51] Speaker 2: round picks can also look good in the precis it
[17:53] Speaker 2: can look good, Okay, Sean McVay makes him.
[17:55] Speaker 4: Look really, really good.
[17:56] Speaker 6: Now, Toyy Simpson has always been the guy that looks
[17:59] Speaker 6: like he's conducted the clinic when it comes from the
[18:02] Speaker 6: pocket and mechanics, the experience, the lack thereof that was
[18:05] Speaker 6: the biggest issue when it came to him. But in
[18:07] Speaker 6: this offense, the way Sean McVay is doing it, yeah,
[18:10] Speaker 6: he's gonna look great.
[18:11] Speaker 1: Let's get back to last night's game.
[18:13] Speaker 2: Should I be concerned if I'm a Titans fan, that
[18:16] Speaker 2: Carnel Tait has yet to catch a pass in two games?
[18:19] Speaker 4: No, you can't like like that. Don't panic. It's fine,
[18:22] Speaker 4: He'll be okay.
[18:23] Speaker 6: I remember it might have been a few years ago
[18:25] Speaker 6: Jamar Chase was having a tough time in preseason not
[18:28] Speaker 6: getting targas, only had one catch. We thought about em
[18:30] Speaker 6: and bus and he just went on to be what
[18:32] Speaker 6: he's become.
[18:33] Speaker 4: Even Ted Roy McMillan last year only had two catches
[18:36] Speaker 4: in the preseason. This is fine.
[18:38] Speaker 6: This is kind of part for the course when you
[18:39] Speaker 6: think about top ten receivers not getting a lot of touches.
[18:43] Speaker 6: Carnel Tait has been dazzling in practice. It hasn't carried
[18:47] Speaker 6: over to the preseason game.
[18:48] Speaker 4: But some of that is not him. Some of that
[18:49] Speaker 4: is on his quarterback.
[18:50] Speaker 6: They'll eventually get on the same page and he'll put
[18:52] Speaker 6: them to numbers that everyone expects down the line.
[18:55] Speaker 2: Yeah, I was gonna say that I am not ready
[18:57] Speaker 2: to panic on Camerton.
[18:58] Speaker 1: I'm not a Titans fan. I would never pay regardless.
[19:01] Speaker 2: But when I tell you that he has yet to
[19:02] Speaker 2: complete a pass over seven air yards and two preseason games,
[19:06] Speaker 2: new offense Brian Daboles there right, I mean, like, show
[19:08] Speaker 2: them some grace a little.
[19:10] Speaker 4: Bit, but at some point we gotta have some completions.
[19:12] Speaker 4: Those uniforms. You're not doing those uniforms justice. The uniforms
[19:15] Speaker 4: are clean. We gotta have some production.
[19:17] Speaker 1: I love those uniforms.
[19:18] Speaker 4: I mean those a nice uniform.
[19:19] Speaker 1: They pop, They're great. You know why he loves them.
[19:21] Speaker 1: By the way, the Carolina blue, I mean they're different.
[19:24] Speaker 4: They'd love you bank.
[19:24] Speaker 1: I'm wearing the same thing. It's Bucky's a tar heel. Anyway,
[19:28] Speaker 1: let's move on here, you're watching the NFL Report. Here
[19:30] Speaker 1: our inaugural show. We thank you. Hey, friends, have got
[19:33] Speaker 1: a deal for you.
[19:34] Speaker 2: You get twenty percent off an NFL Plus annual plan
[19:36] Speaker 2: with NFL Plus stream live, local and primetime games on mobile.
[19:39] Speaker 2: With NFL Plus Premium, you get NFL Red Zone, you
[19:42] Speaker 2: can get game replays. You can get NFL Pro as well,
[19:44] Speaker 2: which is cool. I use it all the time. Limited
[19:46] Speaker 2: time offer It ends September twenty first sign up today
[19:49] Speaker 2: at plus dot NFL dot com Slash Radio. Terms and
[19:54] Speaker 2: conditions apply because they.
[19:57] Speaker 1: Always do, okay, they always do.
[20:00] Speaker 2: Let's do some quick hits, some other headlines we didn't
[20:02] Speaker 2: get to you earlier in the show. We're going to
[20:04] Speaker 2: begin in New York where John Harbo, the new head
[20:06] Speaker 2: coach of the Giant says it's quote reasonable to assume
[20:09] Speaker 2: his words end quote here that Malik Neighbors is going
[20:12] Speaker 2: to play Week one. That is the caveat barring an injury.
[20:16] Speaker 2: Neighbors lost the red no contact jersey today back on
[20:18] Speaker 2: the practice field.
[20:20] Speaker 1: He tore in ACL a year ago. It has been
[20:22] Speaker 1: a long road back. A lot of.
[20:24] Speaker 2: News out of Pittsburgh today in the secondary, First and foremost,
[20:29] Speaker 2: the veteran dB Jalen Ramsey. He's a safety, he's a corner,
[20:32] Speaker 2: he's a star. Well, he's active again, off the pup list,
[20:36] Speaker 2: so he is back. But and this is the tricky one,
[20:40] Speaker 2: Joey Porter Junior is still on the pup list and
[20:42] Speaker 2: Mike McCarthy admits that they are at an impass.
[20:45] Speaker 1: It's a back injury.
[20:46] Speaker 2: Reportedly, allegedly, Porter would like a new contract. They're at
[20:50] Speaker 2: an impass over the contract. He was the thirty second
[20:53] Speaker 2: overall pick three years ago, but that was a second
[20:56] Speaker 2: round pick, so it only has.
[20:57] Speaker 1: A four year deal.
[20:58] Speaker 2: There is no fifth year option, just contract complication there.
[21:01] Speaker 2: Joey Porter wants to get paid, as other corners like
[21:04] Speaker 2: Devin Witherspoon and Denzel Award have now been paid all right,
[21:08] Speaker 2: we're in the final countdown for the top one hundred
[21:11] Speaker 2: ten am Eastern time every day. The next nine days,
[21:16] Speaker 2: we will reveal the final ten. Bucky Brooks back with me.
[21:24] Speaker 2: You get to pick any NFL player there's like three
[21:27] Speaker 2: thousand of them, who's going to be number one in
[21:29] Speaker 2: nine days?
[21:31] Speaker 4: Oh, this is easy. I mean, like the single season
[21:33] Speaker 4: sack leader, Miles Garrett is number one.
[21:36] Speaker 6: When you go and you look at any metric where
[21:38] Speaker 6: we were talking about last year, where the twenty three sacks,
[21:40] Speaker 6: doing it on a losing team, where you don't have
[21:42] Speaker 6: the opportunities that most pass rushers would have if your
[21:45] Speaker 6: team is playing from ahead.
[21:47] Speaker 4: That speaks volumes about how he's been able to dominate
[21:50] Speaker 4: the game.
[21:50] Speaker 6: But then over the last nine seasons, eight of those
[21:53] Speaker 6: he said at least double digit sacks.
[21:55] Speaker 4: He's a dominant player, continues to dominate.
[21:58] Speaker 6: And now we're talking about going to LA where he
[22:00] Speaker 6: may have a chance to play with the goat Aaron Donald. Yeah,
[22:04] Speaker 6: I mean this is number one. This is an easy conversation.
[22:07] Speaker 1: All right. So here is how I describe Miles Carrett.
[22:09] Speaker 2: And I'm with you, by the way, for my money,
[22:12] Speaker 2: he is the greatest non thrower.
[22:15] Speaker 1: Of the football in the NFL, Right now, does that work?
[22:18] Speaker 4: Yeah?
[22:19] Speaker 2: Yeah, So he's not a Quarterback's not Josh Allen, he's
[22:21] Speaker 2: not Lamar, he's not Mahomes guys that don't throw the football.
[22:25] Speaker 1: He's the best.
[22:26] Speaker 6: I mean, I've never seen anybody to be able to
[22:28] Speaker 6: do the things that he's consistently able to do.
[22:30] Speaker 4: When everyone knows he's a number.
[22:32] Speaker 6: One pass rusher, they rarely play with the lead, but
[22:36] Speaker 6: yet he's still able to get to the quarterback. It's
[22:38] Speaker 6: kind of like Barry Bond's limited opportunities, but when he
[22:41] Speaker 6: does get one and they throw a fat one over
[22:43] Speaker 6: the fitch, he sends it out there all right.
[22:44] Speaker 1: The difference is, unlike Barry Bonds, his hat fits.
[22:46] Speaker 4: I mean, have you seen very very slender nail. I
[22:50] Speaker 4: meant back Kenny skinny Berry, skinny Barry.
[22:52] Speaker 2: We're seeing Also back in the day, we used to
[22:54] Speaker 2: do something called one more thing, just one more thing
[22:57] Speaker 2: before we go.
[22:57] Speaker 1: So let's do that one more thing before we go.
[23:00] Speaker 2: Tip of the cap to the great Nick Chubb, one
[23:02] Speaker 2: of my favorite people who retired on Friday. He retired
[23:05] Speaker 2: in the same way he played. He handed the football
[23:08] Speaker 2: back to the referee. Nick Chubb retired with a very quiet,
[23:13] Speaker 2: very understated Instagram post at eight o'clock on Friday night.
[23:17] Speaker 2: There was no video, right, There was no music, There
[23:21] Speaker 2: was no dancing, there was there was no pose in
[23:26] Speaker 2: a studio. There was just something he wrote on ig
[23:29] Speaker 2: He typed it out, he hit send, and then he
[23:32] Speaker 2: went to play golf with Sony Michelle.
[23:34] Speaker 1: Today. Oh that's Nick Chubb.
[23:36] Speaker 4: That is Nick Chubb.
[23:37] Speaker 6: And how about Nick Chubb being the last of those
[23:39] Speaker 6: great Georgia backs. You have Todd Gurley, Sony Michelle, and
[23:43] Speaker 6: now Nick Chubb, three great running backs who all retired
[23:46] Speaker 6: forty were thirty.
[23:47] Speaker 2: My favorite Nick Chub story years ago, the Browns miked
[23:49] Speaker 2: him up for in house content, like, hey, we're gonna
[23:51] Speaker 2: make up Nick Chubb today. He didn't say a word,
[23:54] Speaker 2: not a word till like a minute was left and
[23:56] Speaker 2: they're going to take a knee, and then he said, hey,
[23:59] Speaker 2: we won I stick Chubb. He handed the football back
[24:03] Speaker 2: to the referee every single time he got in the
[24:05] Speaker 2: end zone. And that is how he retired. By the way,
[24:06] Speaker 2: we now hand it back to you. We thank you
[24:08] Speaker 2: for watching. We're going to take a knee, but we're
[24:10] Speaker 2: here every single day seven pm Eastern Time.
[24:13] Speaker 1: It is the NFL Report on the NFL Channel. We
[24:15] Speaker 1: will see you tomorrow.
[24:17] Speaker 2: Listen to the NFL Report podcast on the iHeartRadio app,
[24:20] Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.