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00:00Our number one in full effect right here for the early line serious XM channel 159 right here on
00:04the sports grid network. It's Dubs Anderson, Donnie Wright's side here breaking down what
00:08we think is going to happen this weekend. But also if we're taking a look at Mike Tomlin and
00:13the Pittsburgh Steelers, they're 1-0. Everybody else in that division, Dubsy, 0-1. They picked
00:18up the victory on the road as an underdog against Atlanta Falcons. But now we're taking a look at
00:22this weekend. Who's actually going to start? Is it going to be Justin Fields? Is it going to be
00:26Russell Wilson? Well, yesterday, Beat reporter Brooke Pryor tweeted out Mike Tomlin is preparing
00:31Justin Fields to start versus Denver. Says Russell Wilson, quote, feels better today than he did over
00:36the weekend. And Tomlin said they'll start with his preparation and also participation, quality of
00:42participation, and then analyze if he can protect himself and be productive. Then they'll, quote,
00:46ponder his inclusion. Nice little word salad over there from Mr. Mike Tomlin. But they did get the
00:52victory. The offense didn't look great, but they didn't turn the football over. It feels like a lot
00:56of Steelers games this year are probably going to go that way. Just make enough plays to win the game,
01:01which they did, Dubsy, on opening day. They're so gritty, Donnie, and I feel like this is the DNA
01:06for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers that we've seen over the last couple of years. I keep saying it's
01:10going to catch up to them. They just do not have the talent in key positions to get them, you know,
01:16up there with some of the key contenders. And what we saw in week one, Justin Fields, I mean,
01:20it was okay. It's tough to really take confidence from that showing, but what have we got
01:25in Russell Wilson? If he is set for a healthy return, well, it'd be the return to the Denver
01:29Broncos saying, hey, Sean Payton, remember me? I would love to see this matchup. I don't think
01:35it is going to happen, but I guess the more concerning part, you highlighted before going
01:39to break there, Donnie, is not a single offensive touchdown. They really couldn't think, couldn't get
01:44things going in the right direction. We know how Justin Fields is going to play and try and get
01:48them across the advantage line. He's got the wheels. He gets down the backfield, but he takes
01:52plenty of big shots. It is not a sustainable way for the Steelers to stay in games. What I do take
01:58away from week one is that the Falcons are bad. The Falcons are not great at this early point of
02:05the season. So for the Pittsburgh Steelers, what's going to give them the best chance in week two?
02:09I would say it's going to be Justin Fields. Dangerous likely return maybe next week into
02:14week four there, but for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I am that guy, Donnie. Eventually all things are
02:19going to catch up and this is going to be a really tough battle on Sunday. Lying three points
02:24going on the road. Yeah, and also you knew Russell Wilson wanted to start that football game to sort
02:29of get back into Denver Broncos, but you have to do what's best for your football team and anybody
02:33that knows a calf injury that you're struggling with and you're a mobile quarterback, you really
02:37need that calf to be 100%. And they got by last week, which is the main ingredient. If we are
02:42taking a look here, Dubsy, at the Pittsburgh Steelers outlook for the season, team win total
02:46eight and a half. So you're still looking at Mike Tomlin having another winning season if they can
02:50get to that nine win plateau and it helps because the odds makers thought that game number one,
02:55the Atlanta Falcons would win because they were favored. If we look at the playoffs now, it's a
02:59plus 210 price. The AFC North title plus 470, which sort of gives me a little bit of a laugh
03:03because they're the only team with a victory in the AFC North right now, but still that far back
03:08the AFC title 40 to one and then the Super Bowl title 100 to one. Mike Tomlin, it's hard to say,
03:14is it a championship team? It's probably not. Are they probably going to win five, be 500 or better?
03:19That's what he absolutely does. And if you saw any indicator there on Sunday, they'll do whatever
03:24it takes to win, have a bone crushing defense, have a quarterback that makes just enough plays
03:28to win, but you're not going to be able to win those big games, Dubsy, as we said, unless you
03:32score offensive touchdowns. I like the fact that Justin Fields is going to start week number two
03:36and maybe he doesn't feel like, you know what, if I had that same game plan in week number one,
03:40I might be able to win in week number two. Why? Because Bo Nicks and the Denver Broncos
03:44really struggled on offense as well. Leaning on defense early, there's a good chance the
03:48Pittsburgh Steelers without Russell Wilson will be 2-0 to start the season. Yeah, I guess it's a
03:53favorable, you know, schedule to start. If they can get through the Broncos, they got the charges
03:57after that. I mean, charges look good in week one, but we really don't have the full measuring stick
04:01and then it'll be the Colts to follow. And you take a look at the AFC North. I mean, a couple
04:06of teams that really underwhelmed. I thought the Ravens were pretty strong Thursday night,
04:10you know, just getting bested out by that toe tap. But the Bengals, they looked really ordinary. And
04:14for the Cleveland Browns, I mean, what's going on up there with Deshaun Watson? So for the
04:18Pittsburgh Steelers, we know exactly what we're going to get. It is a rock fight every single
04:22week you take on a Mike Tomlin-led team. So they're going to be a very tough out, whether
04:26it's Justin Fields or Russell Wilson. You're never going to expect plenty of points in a high-octane
04:32kind of shootout. They want to get you into the arm wrestle. And for Justin Fields, what's working
04:37in his favor is he's playing with house money. He knows that there's not a lot of hype or
04:42expectation around his quarterback play. So if they can get a bit of momentum, rattle off a
04:46couple of wins, maybe Mike Tomlin sits back and says, Hey, let's leave the salty vet Russell
04:51Wilson on the sidelines. And let's see if Justin Fields can maybe take another forward step and
04:56show us a bit more improvement. Maybe he's the guy to keep chalking off a couple of tough outs.
05:01Yeah, but a lot of bootlegs left and right last weekend for Justin Fields. Dump off passes made a
05:05couple of plays when he had to to George Pickens on the outside, but primarily they leaned on the
05:09running game and they leaned on their defense and came away with a victory in Atlanta. We'll see if
05:13they can do that this weekend. So if we do set the table for this weekend's games, 425, that's
05:17Pittsburgh and Denver Fields versus Knicks looks like that is going to be the quarterback matchup.
05:21If we look at the FanDuel Sportsbook, they opened this number, Dubzy, as a two and eight point
05:25favorite towards the Steelers. Now they're sitting at a three. If we look at the total here, how
05:30about this? Opened at 40 and a half and has now plummeted down to the 36 and a half because you
05:35look at the two offenses, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos, weren't all that impressive
05:40last week. I can see it. A mid-30s game? Yeah, it probably should stay under this weekend as well.
05:46Yeah, I mean, don't see that low title and be scared off by that one bet as it really will be
05:51a rock fight. And you know, for the Denver Broncos, they're going to have to be a lot
05:54better. Bo Nicks looked great in the preseason, but it's funny how everything changes once it
05:58gets a little faster come week one of the regular season. I expect to see a lot of improvement from
06:04the Denver Broncos. I think they'll try to get that run game going a little more and that could
06:08potentially take a bit more pressure off Bo Nicks. I'm still very bullish and I think there's always
06:12a great chance to see so much improvement from week one into week two into week three there. So
06:18for the Denver Broncos, they're looking for a bounce back. It's going to be in their ballpark.
06:22I think they'll like that fact. And of course, they're going to be getting ready for a big
06:25showdown. Whether Russell Wilson is the starting quarterback or he's on the sidelines, it is going
06:30to be a raucous atmosphere out there at mile high. It's so interesting to watch this play out too
06:36because we know the offseason went for the Pittsburgh Steelers and certainly through the
06:39preseason. They wanted, and maybe just Mike Tomlin wanted, the starting quarterback all along to be
06:44Russell Wilson. They wanted him to start in the preseason. They wanted him to start game number
06:48one. Weren't able to do so. It'll be very interesting to me, Dovesy, if we watch game
06:52number two and a similar thing plays out. Not a lot of offense for Pittsburgh, but they still win
06:56football games, which is the key. How quickly they do go back to Russell Wilson. Because we know,
07:01as I said, Tomlin wants him to be the starter. And if we're not seeing an electric offenseman
07:05still winning, it's going to be hard to take Justin Fields out. And what happens if Justin
07:08Fields plays great football this weekend on the road against the Denver Broncos? So many questions
07:14in the Steel City to be determined here, but we're going to keep it in the NFL. More hot
07:18topics coming up next. The dial right here on The Early Line. More hot topics, more injuries to
07:24take a look at the NFL. And when do we not look at that practice report and say, hmm, could something
07:28be up? Last week, we expected Christian McCaffrey to take the snaps opening night versus the New
07:34York Jets. We expected him to perform well. The question was, how many snaps would he actually
07:38take? The answer, Doves, was exactly zero. And now we don't know when Christian McCaffrey is
07:43coming back. You're due to Achilles tendonitis, which Kyle Shanahan brought up yesterday. Now,
07:48the one good thing you can say is if maybe one of the best players in the league is not going to be
07:52available for a couple weeks, is have your backup running back, Jordan Mason, go 28 carries, 147
08:00yards, and score a touchdown in your decimation of a very good New York Jets defense, 32 to 19.
08:06So let's start there. How surprised were you, Dovesy, getting ready for that football game,
08:11and all of a sudden, every big beat reported in the NFL is going, you know what? Inactive reports,
08:16here comes Christian McCaffrey. He's not playing.
08:19Donnie, you mentioned two running backs there for the 49ers, Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason.
08:24I had one of them as my number one pick going into this year's draft for my fantasy football
08:29lineup. And I started him, and he didn't play CMC. I mean, this was an absolute shock for
08:34Mike. We knew that he was battling injury going through the preseason leading in to week one,
08:38but we didn't know he was going to be a game-time scratch there. But hey, I mean,
08:42every loss is someone else's opportunity. So Jordan Mason, he steps up and gets it done.
08:47But Jordan Mason telling the media after that game that he actually knew about starting on
08:52Friday night, but we didn't. So that was a tough one for me to swallow. But for the 49ers, look,
08:57this is a really sensitive injury for Christian McCaffrey, especially when you're expecting so
09:02much production, but it's early in the season. And for Kyle Shanahan, if they didn't know what
09:07they've got in Jordan Mason, well, now you know. So why would you have that pressure of trying to
09:11rush Christian McCaffrey back for week two going against the Vikings? So certainly one thing to
09:16note and monitor as we move through a very long and treacherous season here for San Francisco is
09:22just keeping eyes on Christian McCaffrey. Do we see a bit of a drop-off in that production,
09:27in that role out of the backfield? I think we likely will. Maybe getting a bit of a pitch count,
09:33if you will, once he does get back in the mix there. But no surprises. I don't expect to see him
09:37out there in week two, unless not in a full capacity as well, especially after what a showing
09:42Jordan Mason put together there for Monday Night Football. Yeah, there would have been panic. Let's
09:46just say Jordan Mason got the ball 15 times and gained 16 yards. Oh no, the sky is falling. We
09:51lost to the Jets, but you blew the Jets out. Mason was fantastic, which leaves you extra time to get
09:55him ready. If you remember at the end of the regular season last year, he had that calf injury,
09:59Christian McCaffrey. Over the summer, had another calf injury. Now Achilles tendinitis. Things aren't
10:04looking great there. But again, when you're winning football games, you can afford to arrest
10:08your better players, as long as what, Dubsy? You keep winning football games. We'll see if they can
10:12do that against Minnesota. Moving on to other topics around the NFL, and we broke this news
10:17right on the set of Pro Football Today. Tyreek Hill being detained by police officers just a
10:22few hours before his game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The videos did come out here. There was
10:27escalation on both sides here, but nobody got hurt was the big, was the big issue here. But now
10:32Tyreek Hill says, you know what? That guy that escalated, I want him fired. It'll be interesting
10:36to see what the fallout is going to be from this. But the good part about it is nobody was injured.
10:41Tyreek Hill was able to play in that football game, played well. The Miami Dolphins won, and we'll see
10:45what this leads to, Dubsy. Yeah, always, you know, a sensitive topic there, but I guess it was a
10:50positive outcome, and we still got to see Tyreek Hill in the mix there on Sunday afternoon. I tell
10:55you what, there was no slowing down the Cheetah. You wouldn't know that he was detained a couple
10:59of hours prior to kickoff. Still goes for more than 100 receiving yards, and for that offense,
11:04they're going to need Tyreek Hill back in the mix for Thursday night football. They were a little
11:07sluggish out the gates, but for the Cheetah, he plays it in a fast way out in the gridiron. It
11:12sounds like he also likes to drive the whip at a fast pace as well. But yeah, thankfully,
11:17nothing escalated too far there, and it's tough for us to see, Johnny, because we get, you know,
11:22the 30 seconds, the 60 seconds of that viral clip, and it's really tough to know what actually
11:27led up to that situation. But for Tyreek Hill, didn't slow him down there on Sunday, and expect
11:32to see the same again coming up for Thursday. Yeah, it was interesting all the way, like the
11:37whole Scotty Scheffler thing at the major championship that he ran into issues. Now,
11:41Tyreek Hill, and glad that it didn't escalate in the situation where these guys couldn't play the
11:45respective games. You let the fallout happen behind the scenes, and we'll see certainly where that
11:49goes. But also, if you saw that game on Sunday, what an interesting thing that the Miami Dolphins
11:54ended up winning that football game. But did you guys know, didn't watch it all the way through,
11:57a 17 to 7 game, which Jacksonville had the lead late third quarter. Travis Etienne looked like
12:02he was going to score the touchdown to get them to go up 24 to 7. Fumbles the football on the
12:07goal line. The Miami Dolphins recover, and then Tyreek Hill, the very next play, an 80-yard
12:12touchdown pass by Tua Tagovailoa, which helped turn that momentum and give them the victory here.
12:17Crazy times in the NFL, and it's only week one. We got 18 weeks of this, 17 games plus playoffs,
12:24all the way through the Super Bowl, and we're already getting into some interesting topics
12:28nonetheless. Hour number two now in full effect on the early line, Sirius XM channel 159 right
12:33on the Sports Grit Network. It's Stubbs and Donnie. It's a Wednesday morning NFL talk.
12:37Absolutely gets you fired up. And if you are some of these fan bases we're going to talk about in
12:41just a few moments, you will be fired up. But before we get there, I thought we had a clean
12:46hour number one. Had some poignant topics here on Major League Baseball. Hit it with a little NFL
12:51topic sprinkled in. But hour number two, Dubsy, it's when we kick it into turbo here. We have got
12:56plenty going on. Happy hump day. We're getting set for week two in the National Football League,
13:01college football in full effect. And what about out there in the diamond? The playoff push continues,
13:06and there's no place I'd rather be than here on the early line. Well, I should say sitting
13:10alongside with you, Donnie, chopping it all off. So let's get after it. It's a beautiful time. We
13:15love to see it. We're going to talk some hot NFL topics. But also I say this too. Do you remember
13:19last week, Dubsy, like we're talking on a Wednesday. And I always say this, and it's a shame too,
13:23because I'm like, you know what? Time moves so fast. Like I understand we just got through week
13:27number one. We got 17 more regular season weeks and the playoffs in the Super Bowl. It's going to
13:31be great. But we're already down week number one. There's going to be a time here, Dubsy. I'm going
13:35to say, Dubsy, week 11 here in the NFL. Where did the time go? So the hot topics that we have,
13:40love to get involved with them. But boy, oh boy, does football season go quickly here,
13:44and we're already into week number two. But let's start with some hot topics. And maybe,
13:49is it even a hot topic at this point? Because it feels like we've been beating this drum for years
13:53now since the New York Giants, A, drafted Daniel Jones, and B, re-signed him that we've all been
13:58saying, outside of the ownership and the general manager, this guy can't play. So you saw opening
14:03day. The Giants come back in their throwback uniforms, 100 years or whatever of Giants
14:08football, terrible uniforms, even worse quarterback play. Brian Dable, Joe Shane,
14:14the general manager should be ashamed of what they're putting out on the football field.
14:1822 of 42 for Danny Dimes, 186 passing yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions. Does it get
14:27any worse here for the Giants? And also, Dubs, is the season already over after one game?
14:34I think it is from what we saw. I mean, Danny Dimes, can it be Danny Nichols? He was a
14:39of what we expected then. I tell you what, we didn't expect a lot coming in for a new season
14:43with the Giants, but what is going on for Daniel Jones? I mean, where has that promise gone for
14:48your young quarterback? He's still only what, 27 years of age, but it's the third year playing for
14:53Brian Dable in that offensive system. And they cannot figure it out. Things look so dysfunctional
14:58from the jump. And there wasn't a lot of, I guess, you know, raising the bar coming into week one
15:03here, but they absolutely underwhelmed in alarming fashion. The Minnesota Vikings,
15:08they've never looked better with Sam Dunnell, a quarterback, 28 to six, absolutely beat the
15:12brakes off the Giants in their building. So no, this was a shocking performance from Danny Dimes.
15:17Is the season done? Yeah, it is. 90 million guaranteed reasons why Daniel Jones shouldn't be
15:23that starting quarterback. He is bringing nothing to the table. Donnie, I hate to be that guy,
15:28but if you're looking to build around something into the future, this ain't it.
15:33They had their chance to, they could have just cut bait with them and just kept them on the
15:36bench, drafted a quarterback. They went Malik neighbors who is going to be a fine football
15:40player in the NFL, but it always starts with the quarterback and they just don't have that.
15:45So let's take a look at the Giants on the season. I say this as an Eagles fan, like the NFL is
15:49better when the Giants are good. The rivalry between the Eagles and the Giants was one of
15:53my favorites growing up because if we just go back a few years, when I was in school in Northern New
15:57Jersey, the Giants were beating the hell out of the Philadelphia Eagles on a week to week basis,
16:02Kerry Collins and Tom Coughlin and the boys. Then it completely flipped in the early 2000s.
16:07The Eagles have absolutely owned the New York Giants. But also when you look at the NFL landscape,
16:12like you see now, team win total for the Giants, five and a half to get to the playoffs, a plus
16:16seven, 10 price, which is ridiculous. Worst record. The NFL, we'll talk about that more in just a bit
16:20at a plus 600 number, but you see teams in the NFL, like the Philadelphia Eagles and Howie Roseman
16:25won a Superbowl a couple of years ago, always seem to be in the mix now and a talented roster,
16:30the Miami Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers, they all operate under the same conditions.
16:35There's a salary cap and there's a draft. And also when you're a bad football team to get put
16:39at the top of the draft, and that's supposed to help you out and you play a worse schedule. If
16:43you're a bottom feeding team, you look at the Giants roster and say, how can it be so dysfunctional
16:49and maybe the least talented team in the NFL, almost horrendous at every single position.
16:55The offensive line stinks. The quarterback stinks. You have nothing at running back. You
16:58lost Saquon Barkley, the Eagles who scores three touchdowns on opening night to help them win,
17:03but you couldn't use them effectively. You draft a good young wide receiver with nobody to throw
17:07the football to. You get to a couple of decent defensive linemen and nothing else on that roster
17:12here. So if I ask you today, like five, six wins out of 17 games should be automatic. That's our
17:19horrendous football team. But do they, Dubsy? Number one, do they get six wins? And also
17:24how much longer do you start Daniel Jones? I think we can correlate the market here. I don't
17:30think the Giants are getting the six wins. I don't think Daniel Jones will be the starting
17:33quarterback in New York by week six. I mean, he is bringing nothing to the table. And sometimes,
17:38Donnie, you know, us as sports fans, as betters, you have to chalk it up to a bad beat, put the
17:43hand up and say, we were wrong on this one. I don't care how much money was given and guaranteed.
17:48I don't care how much you thought he was going to take that forward step coming back in here for
17:52this year. Malik Neighbors is meant to be Odell Beckham Jr. 2.0. It's tough to envision that's
17:57going to happen coming back for this year. So six wins. I think it's an absolute stretch. I don't
18:01see how they get to four from what we've seen there in week one. But of course, I'm being a
18:05little pessimistic. It's only week two that we're getting set for here with kickoff. Maybe they turn
18:10things around, but it's really tough. If you're going on what we did see last weekend, that was
18:15a shocking performance from the jump. I mean, this is a quarterback. It looked like me, Donnie,
18:20going out to play for the Giants. I mean, he just looked lost. He didn't have any kind of
18:24rhythm or flow. And for a lot of he's returning cast and weapons, he should know exactly where
18:29they're at and what he's working with. It's the third year coming in with this system. So to look
18:34like a fish out of water, not good signs for the Giants here early in the seasons and even more
18:39troubling concern there for Daniel Jones at quarterback. Yeah, it looks like heading through
18:44this season going to be one of those years that met life where when they play the Eagles, it could
18:47feel like an Eagles home game, play the commanders, play the Dallas Cowboys, maybe many more fans than
18:51even themselves in the stands. It's tough as a fan to have no hope after week number one. And it feels
18:56like that's what you're getting out of the New York Giants. We'll see if they make changes a
19:00quarterback later in the season and where that goes. And also there's Brian Dable and Joe Shane
19:04survived this season. If it's terrible where they say, well, now we get to pick our own quarterback.
19:08No, you picked your own quarterback. I know when those two guys got there, Daniel Jones was, it was
19:12already drafted, but you had a choice to move on from Daniel Jones and you signed Daniel Jones.
19:17That is absolutely terrible work here. Now let's take a look at some other terrible football teams,
19:22or at least expected terrible football teams this season in the NFL, the worst regular season record
19:27odds here at the fan dual sports book. It's no surprise in this too, the top two teams,
19:32the Panthers and the Giants. Now, as much as I want to bang on the Giants and they were completely
19:36horrendous on opening day in a football game that basically closed that one, one and a half points,
19:41depending where you're shopping between those two football teams in the Vikings and the Giants,
19:45but the Panthers, the show they put on in new Orleans, if that's what you want to call it,
19:49this is one of those teams where I was like, you know what? I just need to see them be competent.
19:53I just need to see Bryce young, take a step here and be a better quarterback than he was last year.
19:58Dave canals, the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers coming over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
20:03I thought might be a help here after one game. It doesn't look like they're going to win a single
20:08game this year. Dubsy 47 to 10. I've never seen the saints look so good, but I tell you what,
20:15if, if Dave canals is the, the quarterback whisper and now turn head coach, what's he saying in that
20:20locker room? I'd be, I'd be bringing Bryce young aside saying, Hey, I've got something to whisper
20:24to you. You ain't a good quarterback. They have got no offense, offensive weapons to build around.
20:29So look, if the giants are turning back the table for the Carolina Panthers, it is going to be a long
20:35road going through this regular season at plus two 60. I see a fantastic number. I see a fantastic
20:41price. You were getting that plus money for a team that may only what they took up two wins
20:45a season. They'll struggle to get to three. I cannot see a world in which the Carolina Panthers
20:50can get to four wins this year. Bryce young again, they like what they saw coming out of Bama for the
20:56young quarterback. I just do not see it, Donnie. There's a different skillset that you can have
21:00in the college ranks and then playing with the big boys up in the pros. He doesn't have it.
21:04The Panthers don't have it for Dave. Can Alice maybe go from whispering to shouting in this one?
21:09Maybe that's going to get a better response from this time. And by the way, let's look at those
21:14four teams right now in that odds market to be the worst regular season record odds, right?
21:18You look at the Panthers plus two 60. What do they have? Hopefully their future franchise
21:22quarterback on the roster, the New York giants. They don't have that. Then you take a look at
21:26the Broncos. They hope it's Bo Nix. You take a look at the commanders. They hope it's Jaden
21:30Daniels. You look at the Patriots. They hope it's going to be Drake May here. So not only are
21:35we going to get crushed this year for the giants, you're not even breaking in a new quarterback.
21:38You expect to be your franchise guy. That's tough. The process has began in New York.
21:44Let's continue to talk quarterbacks and the Green Bay Packers up next.
21:49Right back at it. NFL topics continue to hit hard. And also we are through one week here,
21:53but we are making some proclamations on some of these football teams that could they come true?
21:58Could they go up and smoke? Could they have great seasons? Let's start with the Green Bay
22:01Packers here, Dubsy, because this is one of those football teams a lot of people are high on,
22:05and rightfully so. You love the way the Green Bay Packers played the second half of the season
22:09last year. Why? Because Jordan Love certainly looks like he is going to be your franchise guy
22:13for the next 10 to 15 years. He was paid accordingly and a lot of high hopes. The
22:18Philadelphia Eagles took on the Green Bay Packers in Brazil in a hard-fought loss for the Packers,
22:23but the biggest loss was the second-to-last play of the game, where you saw Jordan Love in the
22:28pocket, get twisted around, bang up his knee. He'll be out for multiple weeks at the least
22:33here. Now that, you say, could be devastating to the Green Bay Packers. And who will be their
22:38backup quarterback who's going to step into the fold? And I don't have a lot of excitement here
22:42from either Green Bay Packers or people looking to back Green Bay right now, because that is
22:46Malik Willis. And you take a look at Malik Willis on his seasons that he's played in the NFL,
22:51a lot of hype. It was almost thought at one time, Dubsy, he was going to be a top-five draft pick in
22:56the NFL, slips to the third round. He's had three starts, 350 total yards passing, 144 rush yards,
23:02one total touchdown, and three interceptions. Let's just start here first. Devastating injury
23:08to Jordan Love, but how do we feel about Malik Willis coming in to fill in? And can he sort of
23:14tread water until we get their starting quarterback Jordan Love back?
23:18Yeah, look, not great news, but not as bad as it potentially could have been there for the Green
23:23Bay Packers. The youngest team in the NFL, Jordan Love, he's going to get things together. If it's
23:28three to six weeks, well, the season's not out the window. I think the Green Bay Packers, alongside
23:33the Ravens, probably the best losers from week one. So I'm not losing a lot of stock here. Now
23:38for me, Malik Willis, we know the style of play. He's a dual threat quarterback. How high is the
23:44ceiling? It's not high, Donnie. The expectation is not great for Malik Willis coming in here, but
23:49some of the other weapons that really shine there. I mean, Reid was fantastic for the Packers. Josh
23:54Jacobs, maybe they can lean on him to set the table. And you look at the schedule, they're
23:58going to be at home for this weekend, taking on the Indianapolis Colts. I'm really not massive
24:03for what we did see there in week one. So maybe with a couple of these other complementary
24:07offensive weapons, Malik Willis can just funnel this offense and maybe try and grind out a couple
24:13of wins. But I'll tell you what, he's only been in the building for, I believe, the last two to
24:17three weeks. So really doesn't have a great grasp on this offense there either, Donnie. So a little
24:22concerning for you Packer fans, especially on that betting side of things. They're now grabbing three
24:27at home with a line open at three at home there. But yeah, not good signs in Green Bay, but could
24:32have been a lot worse. Jordan Love, if he can get back within three, four weeks, still absolutely
24:37love what I'm seeing from Green Bay. Yeah, and if you think Malik Willis can tread water, as I said,
24:42he doesn't have to win every football game he plays, but let's just say go 500. If Jordan Love
24:46does come back healthy, that's a great offense. And also, I don't take too much away from that
24:50game in Brazil because the field was so slippery. So Green Bay is projected to have a very good
24:54defense this year also. They just have to be within striking distance. You can't be 0-5,
24:59let's just say, before Jordan Love comes back. Because then you're not even making the playoffs
25:02at that point here. So if we do focus on the Green Bay Packers, and you're right, they do take on the
25:07Indianapolis Colts this weekend, and currently right now at the FameBlue Sportsbook, they're
25:10getting three and a half points, and rightfully so. So you look at that total in this game,
25:14listed at 40 and a half, and before we get to the outlook on the Packers, I just want to see what
25:18the game plan is here from Matt LeFleur, because you can't have the same game plan you have with
25:22Jordan Love. Hey, hopefully he can throw 35 to 40 times. If that's going to be the case with Malik
25:26Willis, you're going to have much more mistakes and probably give that football game away. And
25:30as you pointed out, they're talented at the wide receiving group here. You have to use those guys
25:35judiciously. But also, Jacobs and that ground game was very good on night number one against
25:40the Philadelphia Eagles. That's something they're going to have to lean on over the next couple
25:43weeks. But if you are setting the table for the Green Bay Packers on this season, you look at
25:48their numbers. The playoffs, a minus 150 price in the preseason, that now sits at plus 168.
25:53They're the underdog to make the playoffs. The NFC North, at a plus 210 price, they now sit at a
25:58plus 650 price now currently. And to win the NFC Championship before the season, Dubsy,
26:03nine to one price. That's now 17 to one price. And I agree on all of that. If there was a jumping
26:08in point for me, we said, Donnie, would you like to bet them to make the playoffs, win the NFC North
26:13or the NFC title right now? I actually don't mind that plus 168 price. The expanded playoff,
26:19seven teams now make it. Let's just say Jordan Love misses every game in the month of September
26:23and you get him back healthy October throughout. Why can't you have a second half run, Dubsy,
26:28like you had last year from the Green Bay Packers, making the playoffs, crushing the
26:31Dallas Cowboys. This is a team that had high hopes here that aren't dashed all the way through
26:36because Jordan Love is coming back. If you see those current prices, playoffs, NFC North and
26:41NFC title for me, I would take the easy way out plus 168 because I think they could still make
26:45the playoffs. How about you? What are you thinking on their future for this season?
26:49Yeah. And look, I'm not going to throw everything out the window. I'm still buying a lot of stock
26:53in the Green Bay Packers. This is a really good football team. Jordan Love is an elite quarterback
26:58once he gets back out there on the field. I guess what works in favor here for the Packers and
27:02Malik Willis is they've got the Colts on tap for week two, then they take the Titans on, on the
27:07road, then it's the Vikings. So maybe they can pick up two of the three, maybe one of three,
27:12and they're really not going to be in bad standing. You know, some of the other key takeaways
27:16for the NFC North going through week one, the Vikings look good, but I don't think they're
27:20going to be fantastic. I think we see a bit of a regression to the mean. Detroit is still going to
27:24be Detroit. And I guess for Chicago, you know, there's been a lot of hype and buzz coming in
27:29through the preseason. Caleb Williams did not look fantastic. None of the rookie quarterbacks
27:33look strongly out the gates there. So, you know, if anything's losing here, I think it's the stock
27:38behind Caleb Williams in Chicago. So for the Packers, for you Green Bay fans, I wouldn't be
27:43giving up just yet. It is early doors. It is a very long and testing season. Every team is going
27:48to go through their struggles. Maybe this is the downspot for the Packers, but I'm still very big
27:53on their chances to at least make the playoffs. And we're getting that plus money, Donnie. I'm all
27:58in on Green Bay. Jordan Love, if it's three weeks, absolutely sign me up. I'm telling you, you know,
28:04it's going to be interesting this weekend and sometimes it's unfair to the player because
28:07you're right. Malik Willis hasn't been in Green Bay for three or four years preparing for this
28:10moment to be the starting quarterback. He's only been there a short period of time. But I got to
28:14wonder how much panic there is going to be from Green Bay in that general manager spot if Malik
28:20Willis doesn't play well and they lose this game and that confidence moving forward. As I said,
28:25we're just looking to tread water. This is a winning game. This is a game that you can actually
28:29win. Anthony Richardson, look, opening day, 9 of 19. He had one of the best throws you're going to
28:33see all season long. But if you watch the tape on that football game, just making the easy throw
28:38is not in his repertoire sometimes and that could hurt. I think that Indianapolis game this week
28:42with Green Bay, a lot of running backs and a lot of quarterback running in this game. But I'm
28:47interested to see if Green Bay can win this game, they'll stick with Malik Willis. But if
28:51they don't perform all that well, the offensive drop to 0 and 2, you're going to look for them
28:55to look to more veterans on the market to come in and say, look, we just can't lose all these
28:59football games before Jordan Love does come back. Many more NFL topics on the way, which includes
29:04the NFC South. Are we losing faith in the Falcons? Can they still win the division?
29:09Come on back. Let's talk about it. Football, football and more football here in our number
29:14two of the early line of Stubbs, Anderson, Donnie, right side here, breaking it all down,
29:18which includes the NFC South. And I always love like it feels like week number one.
29:21Dubbs is always a referendum, but we have to understand this. You're going to be like, wow,
29:26I didn't see that coming week number one. You know what you're going to do week number two?
29:29You're going to say the same thing. Like I thought this football team was really good.
29:32Maybe they're not. Or this team was horrendous. How did they win in week number two? But let's
29:36take a look at the NFC South and how it played out. The Atlanta Falcons, if we look before the
29:40season started, they were the favorites in this division at a minus 145 price, followed by the
29:45Buccaneers, Saints and the Panthers. If we look today, Dubbs, still in first place in the odds
29:50market, but not as what by a wider margin is the Atlanta Falcons at a plus 155, followed by the
29:55Saints at a two to one price, the Buccaneers plus 210. And then there's the Carolina Panthers
29:59after one game, a 20 to one, not to win the world championship, not to win the NFC, but just to win
30:05their division. It seems like they're already out of it. So let me ask you this question.
30:08You saw the Falcons. They lost. The Saints were impressive. The Bucs were impressive.
30:12The Panthers were terrible. Did your opinion change on any of those four teams after just
30:18week number one? Yeah, absolutely. Donnie, am I going to change up the whole strategy? Not just
30:24yet. You know, I thought that the Falcons were very underwhelming. I was big on their chances
30:28coming through, but we saw signs of this going, you know, with a perfect losing record through
30:33the preseason. There hasn't been a lot of chemistry, not a lot of reps trying to get
30:37set for the regular season. So Kirk Cousins didn't look as sharp as expected. So that was
30:41a bit of a letdown spot for me, for the Falcons. But again, buying into the long game and those
30:46odds tell us everything. It's big picture and the Falcons, I think they will find a bit of
30:50confidence the further we get into the season at plus 155. The Saints put up an absolute scorcher
30:56over the Panthers, but I'm not going to run away from this one saying, watch out, the Saints are
31:00back. You've got to look at the opposition and I'm not big on what I saw from the Panthers trying to
31:04put up a fight. So the Saints, it was what you wanted to see, but it's not everything for me.
31:09And I think the most polished performance at the NFC South there in week one was Bacon Mayfield
31:14in the box. Bacon Mayfield just looks like he's playing with house money. You know, he's always
31:19got that dog in him, but he's playing with sort of a renewed confidence and he's found the perfect
31:23landing spot in Tampa Bay. He's got all the weapons around him. This is an offense that
31:28really looks to have cohesion from the jump there. So that was probably the most polished performance
31:33I thought from the division. The box, Bacon Mayfield, Big Bad, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin,
31:38there's certainly plenty of weapons on that side of things. So they were probably the standout for
31:42me out of the South in week one. I can agree with you on that too, because Bacon Mayfield was
31:47tremendous. Going back and watching the game against the Commanders. Are the Commanders great?
31:50Not necessarily, but he left off exactly from last year and started up this year as that quarterback
31:55that got paid in the off season and deserves to be the franchise guy. And you got to wonder right
31:59now, Dubsy, you see Baker Mayfield on all that success. You take a look at what's going on with
32:03the Cleveland Browns. Imagine if Baker Mayfield was healthy and happy and still in Cleveland,
32:08maybe the difference between a winning season and a losing season, a division championship,
32:13and not making the playoffs and a lot of turmoil on those Browns. But if I look at those four teams,
32:18I still think the Falcons can win this division. The Steelers have a very good defense. We get
32:21that Kirk Cousins, not a lot of time back from his injury, made some stupid throws in that game,
32:25understandably. But I thought their defense was decent. Also loved what I saw out of B. John
32:29Robinson. But if I do say, like, the Falcons game didn't surprise me. They lost the game,
32:34it happens. The Saints blowing the doors off Carolina, get that to a second. Tampa Bay,
32:39I thought they would end up beating the Commanders, and they did quite easily. But the Carolina
32:43Panthers, there's something to be said, Dubsy. And, you know, many people are like me. You sit
32:48down, you watch a football game, you say, it's the NFL. You're just looking to be competent.
32:51You have a quarterback that was drafted number one overall. Things didn't go over well last year.
32:55You bring in the new head coach. I don't even need you to win that football game.
32:59But I need to see that maybe we turn the page in Carolina to the positive. They got beat so
33:05bad. And also, it wasn't as if Dubsy, right? You show up opening day in Kansas City near the
33:10Carolina Panthers, and the score winds up that way. And you say to yourself, boy, a lot of people
33:14thought, you know, Kansas City will save about 13 and a half, and they blew them out. That was
33:17supposed to happen. This was a team on the Saints we weren't sure of after a not so great season
33:21from them. And for the Saints to look like the best team in the NFL in week number one, because
33:26they played the Panthers, the future right now is crazy. Because again, week one to week two,
33:31teams are going to change quite a bit. But I was so disappointed at the Carolina Panthers,
33:36they didn't even show up, Dubsy. They didn't show up. And what concerns me here, Donny, is,
33:42you know, we don't have big expectations for the Panthers, but we at least want to see
33:46improvement. And I want to see another young quarterback in Bryce Young, who's had so much
33:50promise coming into the league, continue to get beat up week in, week out, because that is going
33:55to damage the kid's confidence. And by week 10, he'll be sitting on the sidelines, and it's the
33:59red rifle taking the starting snaps there for the Panthers. So hopefully, they can just rally around
34:05and try and find some kind of cohesion with that offense. But both sides of the balls,
34:09they got absolutely beat up there in week one. But show me a little something here coming up
34:14week two. Let's see if we can take a big stride forward. Canales, the whisperer, he has got his
34:18work cut out for him over there in Carolina. Every fan base, Dubsy, is excited for week number
34:24one. Not a lot of fan base is excited for week number two. But let's go over some good football
34:29team snacks in the next segment, right here on The Early Line. More key action starts tomorrow
34:35night, Buffalo, Miami. Another great game on Sunday afternoon we'll talk about in just a few
34:38moments here between the Saints and the Cowboys. Now we're talking about good football here,
34:42not bad football. The Buffalo Bills opening day, were they great? Not necessarily, but they picked
34:47up the win over the Arizona Cardinals in a hard-fought game that came down to the final
34:51drive where Buffalo needed to stop and got it here. Now, let's focus on tomorrow night's action.
34:56A huge tilt in the AFC East. 1-0 Buffalo, 1-0 Miami. Both of these teams in close games week
35:03number one. Thursday night football typically is an advantage for the home team, which the
35:08Miami Dolphins are. We look at the FanDuel Sportsbook, they open this line at a minus
35:12one and a half price. Now sits at a two and a half price here as a favorite for the Dolphins.
35:17The Buffalo Bills come to town. Initial thoughts on this game and how it plays out, Dubsy? What
35:23are we thinking here between Buffalo and Miami? It's going to be a great matchup. It always is
35:28between these divisional foes. We get to see a little dance for Thursday night football. If you
35:32look at the past trends, it's been all about the Bills, 4-1 through the last five. But you
35:37highlighted, Donnie, having that home field advantage, especially here in the month of
35:42September. It is going to be a hot Thursday afternoon out there in South Beach. So I really
35:46think that favors the Miami Dolphins. They maybe lose that extra point or two as we move through
35:51the regular season. But for Thursday night football, I think the Dolphins only take a step
35:56forward. They were very sluggish in week one. They were lucky, I believe, to get that win against
36:00the Jags. The Jags went scoreless in that second half. So I think Miami moving at a much higher
36:05clip. We saw Tyreek Hill and Waddle. They're going to be the key threats again here. And for
36:09the Bills, I guess what's concerning for me is coming off that track meet, that shootout with
36:15Arizona, it was an exciting game, plenty of points. But it was the defense there for Buffalo.
36:19They are going to have to improve on that side of the ball. Otherwise, Miami could put up a 30-piece,
36:24a 40-piece. And for Josh Allen, how much can he do to carry the Buffalo Bills? Two passing
36:30touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns. He got banged up. It looks like he's going to be a go for this
36:34one. But it's going to be a long season for Josh Allen if he continues to do everything for Buffalo
36:39in trying to will his way across that finish line. It's a great point you bring up, Dubs. Let's start
36:45there with Josh Allen. Phenomenal football player, no doubt about it. And you're right,
36:48two touchdowns in the air, two touchdowns on the ground. Absolutely tremendous performance
36:52overall. And I believe he scored a touchdown and it got called back so he could add even more
36:56for himself. But let's focus on him. He had to do everything in his power to just get by the
37:02Arizona Cardinals, not the Kansas City Chiefs, the Miami Dolphins, the Philadelphia Eagles.
37:06That's something to keep an eye on. And also, the usage rate for your quarterback. You're going to
37:10have to sooner or later lean a little bit more on the running game outside of him, which I thought
37:14James Cook was very good on opening day against the Arizona Cardinals. But if we accept the
37:18expectations, for me, the Cardinals have one of the worst defenses, if not the worst defense,
37:23in the NFL. It's easy to go up and down the field. They're at home against them. And it should be.
37:28They found themselves in a 17-3 deficit against one of the worst teams, I believe, in the NFL,
37:33when it turns out. Maybe six wins total, five wins, somewhere in that range for me,
37:37for the Arizona Cardinals. But they did win the ball game. They did come back. And there's
37:40something certainly to be said for that. They need their younger wide-receiving court to step
37:44up this weekend. Because last week, you saw the Arizona Cardinals. They have one of the more
37:49wily quarterbacks out there. And that's with Kyler Murray. And he was tremendous last week,
37:53making plays with his feet and throwing the football to Atagibailoa. Not so much plays with
37:58his feet, but he is a mobile quarterback. But if you can't defend down the field against the
38:02Miami Dolphins, you're going to be in some trouble. Devon Aitchen, Raheem Mostert out
38:06of the backfield, really talented to Atagibailoa with those two wide receivers in Waddle and also
38:11Tyreek Hill. Well, I think we get some points. Let's flip it over here. 48.5 is the total for
38:17this football game tomorrow night. Any thoughts of the under in this? Because I love both of
38:22these offenses and both of these teams should move the football, even though it's a division
38:26game on a Thursday night when a lot of sloppy play last week. I'm expecting it over here,
38:30Dubs. I am. Yes. Send the points here on Thursday night football. The Bills, we know they can move
38:37it at a high clip. Josh Allen, more of the same. You feel like just pulling him aside saying, hey,
38:41we need you for the whole season. We don't need to throw everything on the line here for week
38:46two, but you know he's going to, because this is a massive spot to get up to going against the
38:50Miami Dolphins. We know for Miami, they can score with the very best of them. They are probably the
38:54most explosive offense in the National Football League. So look at 48.5. We've seen a bit of
38:59movement for that total. Don't overthink it. I think we do see plenty of points and we should
39:04see it from the jump. If the Dolphins get off to a fast start, they can lean on that run game,
39:08but the Bills will be playing catch up football. And I think both sides are going to really try
39:13and move it up tempo. So it should be a very exciting game. One of the bigger totals coming
39:16in for week two, but don't overthink it. Over certainly looks to be the play against the prime
39:22time spot. And don't overthink tomorrow night, 8.15 p.m. live in studio. The boys on Pro Football
39:28today will be locked and loaded for that AFC tilt. So make sure you don't miss out. Tune into
39:34the Sports Grid Network. We got you covered during football season. How about Sunday afternoon?
39:38One o'clock game, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys. Two of the more impressive teams for me
39:43in week number one. New Orleans flatlined the Carolina Panthers. The Dallas Cowboys went on
39:48the road and embarrassed the Cleveland Browns. This line opened up as a six and a half point
39:54favorite. You know, it still sits today. Dubsy, you guessed it. Graphic shows it. Minus six and
39:58a half. A total up from 45 and a half at the opening number to 46 and a half. Two teams playing
40:04good football meeting in week number two. Are we agreeing that the Dallas Cowboys should be just
40:10about a seven point favorite here? Yeah, absolutely. At home as well in Dallas. I thought the Cowboys
40:16were fantastic going in to Cleveland there for week one to get the big score. Dak, he's been paid.
40:21He's got his guy in C.D. Lamb. They try to get the run game going as well. And Brandon Cooks, he
40:26looked really strong out the gates there for the Saints. Monster performance, but that's the one
40:30thing we've got to, you know, keep a little caution with as betters. Don't take too much away from
40:35week one. You look at who the Saints were going up against. Probably the biggest cupcake in the
40:39NFL. So the Cowboys booked at six and a half. You're getting almost a full touchdown there. I
40:44think this is going to be a dominant fashion. I think it could be a bit of a backward step for
40:49the Saints. The Dallas Cowboys at home on a fast track. I think we see plenty of points from Dak
40:55Prescott, who's going to put himself right in the conversation again for that MVP going through the
40:59regular season. This is going to be an interesting matchup too, because if you look at the Dallas
41:04Cowboys, that was an impressive team victory. Special teams were great. Defense was great.
41:08Offense moved the football when they needed to. But I don't know how much we can take away from
41:12both of these games that these two teams played, because Cleveland looks like, I don't know what
41:16the expectations were coming into the season. I didn't think they obviously could win the AFC
41:20North. I thought there were better teams involved that there, which include the Baltimore Ravens,
41:24who I think are going to win that division. But if we are looking from a Dallas perspective,
41:27I love the fact that Dak Prescott got paid on game day, went out and performed with CeeDee Lamb,
41:32didn't make any mistakes there, moved the football, and just let the Cleveland squad,
41:37the Browns, just basically disintegrate in front of our eyes. But also, if we take a look at the
41:42New Orleans perspective, how much dubsy can we take away from week number one, where they were
41:46at home and played, looked like a JV football team with the Carolina Panthers? They're really
41:51going to step up in competition. And sometimes, Dubs, this is what makes week number two so tough,
41:56because you saw the Cowboys play a complete game. You love to see that. You saw the Saints maybe
42:00wake up some people across the NFL going, oh, maybe this is the year the Saints will be good,
42:04and not last year, as most people thought the Saints would be a runaway winner, possibly,
42:09in the NFC South. How is your viewing of these two teams that played great football week number one,
42:13continuing to week number two? The Cowboys showed plenty of polish. I think they're one
42:18of the best teams in the NFL. The highlight for me is with the Saints there going against the
42:22Panthers. You know, Donnie, on the off days when there's no NFL football on Tuesday or Wednesday,
42:26I'll crank out the PS4. I'll get the PlayStation out and play a little Madden. When I get behind,
42:31I just start throwing Hail Marys. You know, a seven-point margin becomes 14. It becomes 21.
42:36And I think that's what we saw from the Saints going against a young quarterback, a team out
42:40of their depth in week one there with the Panthers. So I think we've got to be a little cautious with
42:45the expectation behind the Saints. Alvin Kamara, I mean, he turned the clock back. He looked really
42:49strong. I love what I saw from Shahid. And Derek Carr, he looks really comfortable. But I guess
42:54it's all about the consistency for Derek Carr at quarterback. But maybe this is the spot where he
42:59can finally really shine and bring his best effort here for the Saints. I'll tell you what,
43:03this is going to be a massive, massive challenge coming up on Sunday going against the Dallas
43:07Cowboys, who really do look to have threats all across the board. And that defense is going to be
43:12coming a lot quicker in the pocket there towards Derek Carr. So let's see. Pressure makes diamonds.
43:17Let's see if that's enough for the Saints to step up and cover that touchdown spread.
43:22I know you're not supposed to handicap based on bias. But last year, I had the Saints winning
43:26the NFC South, and they disappointed me so much. It was one of those football teams that
43:30I wasn't paying a lot of attention to here in the offseason. They looked fantastic week number one.
43:35If you go into Dallas for the Saints and knock off the Cowboys, they're going to start to turn
43:39heads. And maybe they could be the true favorites here this year in the NFC South.