#NFLVideos: Preview Biggest Week 8 Matchups & Fantasy Starts & Sits | The Insiders

Preview Biggest Week 8 Matchups & Fantasy Starts & Sits | The Insiders

Thursday Night Football once
again. This time it is the
Chargers. The Chargers in those dark blue uniforms hosting the
Vikings two teams that badly
need a win. Right now. We’ll go to Steve Wyche to tell us which
one is going to get it. You
won’t even have to watch the game. Steve knows everything.
Meanwhile, in Owings Mills,
Maryland, Lamar Jackson back on the practice field looking like
a limited participant. You’re
excused there. Ian Lamar Jackson potentially going to
play this week. Let’s see about
his status on Friday when they finally have to give his status
on the injury report. We’ll
tell you what we’re seeing right now. And Michael F Florio,
as he does every Thursday,
tells you who to start, who to sit not only for Thursday Night
Football, but for the entire
weekend in the NFL. [MUSIC]
Welcome inside with the
insiders Ian Rapoport he of the throat clearing just now Judy
Battista and me Mike Garafolo
as we take you through everything involving Mike are
always up there always hot.
Just like the action in the NFL. Which is why there’s always
news. And this is what’s new
today Lamar Jackson back at practice I guess it’s not new
because it’s the second
straight day that he’s sort of been that limited role. But
look at him and look at
everybody around so happy that he is they’re giving him hugs
because the Ravens without
Lamar Jackson just have not been the same team. So the hope
is that he will be ready to go
against the bears this weekend. But we shall see as we get
closer to Friday. The fact that
he’s on the practice field. Two straight days. Good sign Ian.
[MUSIC]
>> Good sign. Yes, indeed. Not a good sign for the Washington
commanders. This is why I was
clearing my throat. Because I had to talk soon. I’m talking
right now about Jayden Daniels
officially being ruled out, which I mentioned yesterday, by
the way, for the big time
Monday night game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
[MUSIC]
It is a low grade hamstring strain. Wanted to play, wanted
to play very badly. Another
case of the doctor saying you know what, we are in it for the
long term. You are in it for
the long term. Not this week. Marcus Mariota Judy gets the
start in a big one against
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. [MUSIC]
>> It’s time for our
semi-regular update on San Francisco quarterback Brock
Purdy’s turf toe. We’re getting
closer. General manager John Lynch said today. Purdy is back
at practice, but still on a
limited basis. Lynch said this morning, though, that Purdy is
getting closer to a return,
even though he would not put a firm timeline on when that
return might be.
[MUSIC] Lynch said they’ve gotten a lot
of opinions about what it is
going to come down to is how does Purdy feel and does he
feel like himself and can he
play like himself? We’re not quite there yet. It is going to
be another Mac Jones start this
week, but we are getting closer to seeing Brock Purdy back on
the field.
[MUSIC] >> And as far as tonight’s game
goes, Aaron Jones senior yes,
he was activated off injured reserve and is expected to play
tonight against the Chargers.
That is not great news for Jordan Mason owners such as
myself. But we’ll talk to
Michael F Florio about that later in the show. It is good
news for the Vikings as they
now have that two headed monster back together in the
backfield. Yes the Super
Chargers. It’s funny, everyone was clamoring for the powder
blue throwbacks. Now these are
the throwbacks that everybody is. Time is a flat circle when
it comes to uniforms Steve
Wyche you are there on the scene at SoFi. Like I said,
both of these teams badly in
need of a win. I made the case on Good Morning Football this
morning that if the Vikings
lose this game, they’re done because this schedule that
they’ve got for the rest of the
season is just absolutely brutal. I know it’s not
technically a must win game,
Steve I’m calling it a must win game.
>> Well, look they’re not
technically done. But at three and three and coming off of a
bad loss to Philadelphia, this
is a huge game for them. But also for the Chargers. They’re
losers of three and four. But I
want to get to how you got into this segment. That’s Aaron
Jones coming back for the
Minnesota Vikings. This is significant how much of a load
he shares with Jordan Mason.
We’ll see. But this is an offense that has not had 100
yards rushing in each of their
last three games. And they’re facing a Chargers defense that
has allowed more than 140 yards
rushing over the past three. So that’s going to be a huge help
to Carson Wentz, the
quarterback making his fifth consecutive start. And it could
be his last because as we know
JJ McCarthy the season opening starter has been coming back
from that high ankle sprain. He
could be up next when saying this week he’s not thinking
about his future. He’s only
living in the moment. Also living in the moment for the
Chargers is left tackle Joe Alt.
He is expected to play. He’s been out since week four with a
high ankle sprain. That is a
huge pickup to a Chargers offensive line that has yet to
get things going in the run
game, but it’s also allowed quarterback Justin Herbert to
be pressured 135 times. That’s
30 times more than the next quarterback, that being cam
Ward. The Tennessee Titans
getting all back will be huge. Getting Aaron Jones back will
be huge. Some injured players
coming back. And like you said Mike, this is a victory that
could tip the scales in either
direction for either team. >> The Chargers. Yeah getting
healthier. Still banged up
Nyheim Hines who hasn’t had a touch in an NFL game NFL
regular season game since
December 24th Christmas Eve 2022. With Hassan Haskins out,
could see Nyheim Hines touch
the football for the first time in almost three years, which is
not as long as it’s going to be
before we see you, Steve. We’ll see you later in the program,
so don’t go anywhere. Judy.
>> How about this chart Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers? Man, is
it good to be a green Bay
Packers fan when you’ve got this kind of quarterback
succession through their first
three seasons as a starter. Pretty even very good. Of
course, Aaron Rodgers
ultimately did win a Super Bowl in Green Bay. Jordan Love
hasn’t quite gotten there yet.
They will face each other. Packers Steelers is this
weekend. This is one of the big
ones. And let’s bring in our Stacey Dales and Mark Ross to
talk about this game. But
before we do that, we’re going to hear from Matt LaFleur and
Aaron Rodgers himself.
>> He looks like he can still do anything I what’s surprising
for such an old man, he’s still
moving around pretty good too. So he and you you’ve seen it in
multiple games. I mean the arm
strength is still plenty there. You guys especially saw it on
the Hail Mary. I mean, I don’t
know many guys that can throw the ball over 70 yards in the
air. I’m not quite sure how far
it went, but it was had to have been at least 70 yards. It’s
it’s still pretty impressive
what he can do. >> I don’t have any animosity
toward the organization.
Obviously. I wish that, you know, things have been better
in our last year there. But,
you know, I have a great relationship with a lot of
people still in that
organization. And I don’t this is not a revenge game for me.
I’m just excited to see some of
those guys and be on Sunday Night Football again.
>> All right. Here’s Stacey and
Mark. Let’s talk about this. Stacey you have talked to Aaron
Rodgers an awful lot throughout
his career. So is this a revenge game or do you believe
him.
>> Well he told us it’s not a revenge game. But I would beg
to differ because I don’t know
of a player in the National Football League over the 17
years I’ve covered this thing
and he’s played longer than I’ve covered it. That has more
of a chip on his shoulder than
Aaron Rodgers. After he was drafted late by the green Bay
Packers, he ends up playing
there for 18 seasons, the starter for 15 after Brett
Favre was an illustrious
quarterback there in green Bay. And, you know, while he said
that the writing was on the
wall when the organization drafted Jordan Love six seasons
ago, I believed him. He knew it,
they knew it. And when he left and his journey his next, the
next part of his career started,
it didn’t go well with the New York Jets. It’s going really
well with the Pittsburgh
Steelers. You heard Matt LaFleur saying he can still
sling it and throw it 70 yards.
Well, might I inform you that he’s having his best season
since 2021 as a Packer, when he
was last named the most Valuable player of the NFL, a
season in which he led the NFL
in passer rating with a one passer rating. Guess what? His
numbers right now with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s got a 105 rating, 212 passing yards
per game, 14 touchdowns, just
five interceptions. And he’s knocking on the door of a 70%
completion rating. And if he’s
not calling it a revenge game, I’ll say this. It’s because
Micah Parsons is coming to town
and nobody has more quarterback pressures. In just six games.
He’s got 41 of them, and he was
named the NFC Defensive Player of the week for good reason.
Mark and Judy. He’ll have his
mind on Micah Parsons and this really this Pittsburgh excuse
me green Bay defense. That’s
not only stopping the run but they’re getting after
quarterbacks.
>> Yeah for sure Stacy. We were in green Bay together during
training camp. Remember back in
the day there. And I think this is just a great measuring stick
for for both of these teams.
Because remember the Packers they’ve got the four wins. They
came out the first game and
absolutely destroyed Detroit. It was like this is going to be
the best team in football.
They’re heading right to the Super Bowl. And then they’ve
struggled since then. You know
even though they’re piling up wins the last two wins against
Cincinnati and Arizona really
just were sluggish on offense and couldn’t put both of those
teams away at the bottom of the
league. And even with Pittsburgh they’ve got their
four wins. And you know, you
talked about how well Aaron is playing. But you know that
defense has been gashed at a
lot of times and the offense has stalled. You know outside
of Aaron throwing a DK those
big plays that they have you know haven’t been super
consistent on both sides of the
ball kind of piecing it together. So I think for both
of these teams with green Bay
it’s like, okay, are we a legit Super Bowl contender. And for
Pittsburgh, you know, are we
the best team in that not so great AFC North. You know
that’s the measuring stick for
them at this point. So a lot of intrigue a lot of back stories
of course. But just football
wise I think this will tell a lot about both of them. Judy.
>> Yeah, I am definitely
interested to see how both of these teams come out. Don’t
forget the Steelers are coming
off that loss to the Bengals when the defense really did not
look so good. So we will see
how they look. Stacy. Mark you will both be back later on in
the show. Thank you very much.
>> Ian a. >> Fun one this weekend. Fun
uniform matchup this weekend
Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos we know what the Cowboys are
going to be wearing. That’s
what the Broncos are going to be wearing. Something by the
way, that I assume they wore
when Brian Baldinger was still playing I assume. Right. Not
saying he’s that old. Brian
Baldinger, get in here. Before we get to a little breakdown of
this very, very prolific and
stunningly awesome Cowboys offense. You played against
those uniforms. Yes.
>> Yeah. Of course. I never won a game in Denver in seven tries
when I when I was playing. I
mean it’s just a hard place to play the noise, the altitude
breathing just it’s hard. It’s
hard up there man. So everybody gets tested when they go to
Mile High and play a game. When
you’re up there. >> All right. So take me
through the kind of test that
the Broncos are going to get from this very prolific Dak
Prescott led Cowboys offense.
>> It’s such a good design Clayton Adams the new offensive
coordinator Brian
Schottenheimer they’ve designed this offense about around
rhythm and timing. And it is.
And Dak has never flourished better I don’t believe Ian and
how he’s playing in it right
now. So I have a little breakdown here of the game
against Washington a week ago.
And you can see it. You know you’re going to bring this is a
third and one play. They bring
CD across the formation. And they’re going to run these
double slants with Jake
Ferguson right here. But the key is how bad how fast the
ball comes out I mean honestly
Dak is hitting his back foot three steps hitch and throw.
And same thing right here.
Watch this. Just a two step drop. And watch when he’s
releasing this ball. Like he’s
just trusting George Pickens to be able to go get it. It’s a
perfect throw. He’s got a
little bit of room on the sideline. Legs go dead. He’s
out. This is third and 12 Ian
and a little bit deeper. Drop five step. Drop the hitch and
throw right here to Ferguson
where he’s going to be with anticipation in front of the
safety right here. The perfect
throw for a first down. And even this third down throw to
Pickens when he goes across the
formation a little indicator lattimore’s in man coverage on
him right here. Dak is going to
have some pressure in his face. Free hitter coming out. He’s
not deterred.
[MUSIC] He releases this ball before
Pickens is out of his break.
And he gets a first down. [MUSIC]
And what that has done to this
offense is Javonte Williams is getting favorable. You know run
looks. The safeties are deep.
They’re dropping the pass coverage right here.
[MUSIC]
And he’s getting good lanes to run through. And you can see it.
This is a full scoop from the
right tackle all the way to the left guard Tyler Smith right
here. And he finds the daylight.
You know he’s only five yards away from Jonathan Taylor from
leading this league in rushing.
And he’s going up against a team that kind of gave up on
him. So I’m sure he’s going to
be a little extra motivated. Going back to Denver, where he
spent his first few years in
this league. And and so really it’s clicking everywhere. Three
of the seven games right now
Ian, they’ve scored more than 40 points. And I don’t believe
that Dak has ever looked more
comfortable or more certain about what he’s looking at and
where he needs to throw more
accurate about getting the ball to his receivers.
>> Unsung heroes on this
Cowboys offense Clayton Adams and most people have never
heard of running the show here.
Javonte Williams, one of the league’s most productive
rushers. Revenge game this
weekend. Baldy, don’t go anywhere. You are coming back
to hang out with us. Great
stuff on the baldy breakdown as expected. Big one expected this
weekend. Caleb Williams. We
know he’s starting for the bears. Will Lamar Jackson be
starting for the Baltimore
Ravens? [MUSIC]
We think so. Maybe. Hopefully
if he gets through practice. Good signs there this week.
Good signs for that guy all
season. That pretty sweet uniform. Josh Allen Rico Dowdle,
Jalen Hurts a lot of marquee
matchups to get to after the break.
[MUSIC]
Mark key matchups. That’s called a tease.
>> Stay here. >> The third of three straight
home games for the Chiefs. They
are two. And oh so far having beat the Lions. And the Raiders
looking to make it three. And
oh against the Commanders on Monday night. Here is Patrick
Mahomes.
[MUSIC] >> Just having success. You
know you train so hard to go
out there and have success on every drive. And whenever
you’re good to go able to go
out there and do that man. It is it is something that you’re
happy about. But at the same
time, you know, you have to continue to get better and
better. And in this league,
defenses adjust and they challenge you to be even better.
And so we’ll continue to build.
You know, I feel like we still have a long ways to go and
we’re just kind of hitting our
stride. Let’s let’s continue to get better and better as the
season goes on.
>> The Patriots, winners of four straight looking to make
it five against the Browns at
Gillette Stadium on Sunday. A 1:00 start there. Here is Mike
Vrabel saying you can learn
from wins and you can learn from losses. Sounds like he
prefers learning from wins.
>> I try not to focus on that. I think we focus on what’s
going on this week and what
corrections need to be made. And the good thing is, is
there’s a lot of things that we
can improve. There’s so much that we can improve. In all
three phases, right, and still
be able to win a football game. But we have to to improve on
them and correct them, you know,
or we’re going to the unfortunate part is, is you’re
going to have to learn from
losing. And I don’t want to do that.
>> See, I told you. And here is
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rashad White with Bucky Irving
Downs been leading that
backfield. Look a lot of people down for the Buccaneers
including now Mike Evans for
most of the rest of the regular season. So they’ve got
themselves a division rival in
the Saints. That really doesn’t care what the injury report
looks like. They’re going to
want to beat him. So Baker Mayfield says I don’t like that.
>> Hasn’t exactly been clean
play from their part. When we play them, it’s a physical game.
It is what it is. You expect it.
Division rival? Yeah. Not much else to say besides the fact
that I don’t like them.
>> Throw the records out when these two teams play, they
don’t like each other. Mark
Ross coming in. Baker, by the way, was upgraded today to a
full participant in practice
with that knee injury. Mark, let us talk about some of these
marquee matchups. Got a pause
there between Mark and key. So you know exactly what we’re
going for here. Bills Panthers
starting their. >> How about the bills are
coming off a two game losing
streak. Is that real. You know and in the four wins that
they’ve had against four teams
in the league you know the Ravens the Jets the Dolphins
and the Saints. So here comes
those Carolina Panthers you know who are resurgent with
four wins led by that guy there
Rico Dowdle, who has averaged 156 yards the last three games.
Chuba Hubbard also coming back.
And that Buffalo Rush defense is 31st in the league giving up
156. So there’s a clear path
for the Panthers to pull off another one. Keep feeding that
man right there. Gashed the
defense and don’t let Josh Allen go nuts on you.
>> All right. Next marquee
matchup 40 Niners Texans. What you got there.
>> Poor Texans I mean you talk
about their defense. It leads the league in points per game.
But their offense just cannot
get anything going. Demeco Ryans the head coach there
playing his former team where
he got the job as the defensive coordinator. So will this guy
CJ Stroud finally get unlocked?
Will they get on the same page? You know, I think that Joe
Mixon not being a part of that,
they just can’t get anything done with the run game there.
And then CJ just has not been
sharp. So the defense will have to dominate against San
Francisco. Playing with Mac
Jones making finding ways to win. Got the five wins. So San
Fran finding their way with Mac
Jones. No Brock Purdy again. But Texans offense help out
Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter
at some point, please. >> All right Giants Eagles the
rematch of that Thursday night
game a couple of weeks ago that did not go well for the Eagles
in that game. They were banged
up coming in. Jalen Carter didn’t play. Then they lost
Quinyon Mitchell halfway
through the game. So those guys back in action which should
help the Eagles. If I’m them I
want to get off to a fast start. I don’t want to be playing from
behind in this game. Then you
start to think about like, oh my, does this team have our
number or something?
>> Yeah. And of course the Eagles have been dominating the
Giants over the past what 1520
years. And so that was shocking to see that happen to them and
get bullied the way they did.
Of course the Jalen Carter and the crew not being in there.
But you know Cam and Jaxson
dart cam rushed for 98 yards and dart ran for 58 hit timely
throws. And then on the flip
side Jalen Hurts wasn’t sharp. We saw how sharp they were last
week against Minnesota. But
remember that big shot down the field the Smitty that he missed
which led to all the talk this
this last couple of weeks until they got right last week. So
this is all set up for a
revenge game for Philly which is rare to say against the
Giants. But it’s all set up.
You know these people in Philadelphia are ready for this
one because they cannot stand
the Giants as we know. >> Yep. Eagles going to get
themselves a bye after this
game. So if you get this win you’re on a two game winning
streak heading into the bye.
All those bad vibes. You push them further off and you get
yourself another week to reset.
Look at things and go back to what you are comfortable doing.
Those are your mark.
[MUSIC] Key matchups.
[MUSIC]
I gotta pause like murder, She Wrote like Pat Summerall used
to do. Coming up, we’re back to
SoFi Stadium. Steve Wyche is standing by to talk more about
this matchup tonight between
the Chargers and the Vikings. That’s next on the insiders. >> It’s time to seek the moment
of truth and show them what
we’re about. 123. [MUSIC]
>> Hey.
>> We’re on the way up. Can we on the way. You better wake up.
You better wake up. Cause we.
>> Herbert looking throwing for Quentin caught. Touchdown
Chargers.
>> Like a road trip on my way to the top. No, I won’t slip.
Dedicated and mentally focused.
[MUSIC] I shoot my shot. It’ll go in.
>> To the end zone. Touchdown!
[MUSIC] Justin Jefferson! No!
>> Squad in.
[MUSIC] >> Some exceptional players
going to be playing tonight at
SoFi Stadium. [MUSIC]
For some teams that have less
than exceptional records, they’ve got average records.
[MUSIC]
They’ve got to make a playoff push. And again this is just so
huge for the Vikings knowing
what they have remaining on their schedule, which is why we
sent Steve Wyche to SoFi to
cover this game. Carson Wentz starting again for J.J.
McCarthy I had said I think
there’s good football left in Carson Wentz. And he had come
on in relief for the Rams a
couple of years ago to see if he could just play in a game
with guys. And he’s done it.
He’s made a couple mistakes but he’s done pretty well. So now
the fifth game now for Carson
Wentz Steve. >> And Mike. It’s just those
little mistakes. Because in
those two games that the Vikings have lost he’s 500 as a
starter. He’s got two
interceptions in each of those games. And he’s throwing for
more than 300 yards in both of
those games. So he’s got to clean that up. That’s also been
the issue for Justin Herbert
and three of their four losses. He’s got a total of five
interceptions. But let’s let’s
talk to some defensive players about how they’re going to
planning on stopping these
quarterbacks. I spoke to Chargers safety Tony Jefferson.
And he said when they’re facing
one thing you notice on film and something they’re probably
going to employ today, when you
see how teams are defending the Vikings, they of course, are
having over the top help on
Justin Jefferson nearly every, every route he has. Jefferson
is doubled. So Jordan Addison
has been eating with Carson Wentz 18 catches over the past
three games. So they’re going
to have to pay special attention also to Jordan
Addison because it’s Wentz said
earlier this week he really trusts Addison in the way that
he’s playing.
>> All right. So on the other side here Justin Herbert excuse
me. Also said Justin Jefferson
Justin Herbert got some good Justin’s tonight. We know what
Jim Harbaugh thinks. We know
what the Chargers think. What about the team they’re playing.
What are the Vikings Brian
Flores this defense. What are they saying about facing
Herbert.
>> Yeah well they’re coming off of a tough game against the
Philadelphia Eagles. But I
spoke to edge rusher Jonathan Greenard. And he said they have
so much respect for the way
Justin Herbert plays the big arm the strength the leadership.
And believe it or not, they say
they’ve got to get him to throw the ball this week. They’ve got
to deny the run, hopefully get
up and point so they can get after Justin Herbert. As we
know, that Chargers offensive
line has allowed Herbert to get hit an abundance of times,
they’re getting Joel back at
left tackle tonight. It looks like that could help that
offensive line. But Bernard
said if they can get Herbert off the spot, he trusts his arm
a lot more than other
quarterbacks. That’s why he’s willing to maybe put 1 or 2 up
there that the defense can get.
They’ve got to play much stickier coverage than they did
against the Eagles, who had two
wide receivers go for 100 plus receiving yards last week and
beating the Vikings.
>> Herbert’s cleanest game was the opener against the Chiefs
in Brazil. The Chargers want to
get back to that. I mean, obviously having the protection.
You talked about Joe Ault
returning, having that offensive line come back to
protect him better will be the
big key to that. Steve Wyche, thank you very much. Looking
forward to your continued
coverage ahead of this game tonight with J.J. McCarthy will
not play in. And I know, like
the timelines that have been thrown out with J.J. McCarthy,
I think we’ve put it this way.
And Tom Pelissero has been adamant about it, that the
Vikings want J.J. McCarthy to
be fully healthy when he comes back. Kevin O’Connell talked
earlier this week. They put him
through a workout. He just wasn’t there. Maybe if it
hadn’t been a short week Ian
Rapoport he could have potentially returned which says
okay so likely back the next
game right I mean is that the way we’re expecting it to go
for McCarthy.
>> Well first of all there’s going to be no decision for the
Vikings on who is their
starting quarterback until everyone is healthy. It does
seem like J.J. McCarthy is
close. You mentioned that workout it was earlier this
week wasn’t quite there yet.
Had it been a great workout? [MUSIC]
Might have maybe started
Thursday today? Who knows, we’ll never know. Had it been
Sunday, we will not know. What
we will know is when everyone is healthy. Now what I also
understand is that they’re
going to fully reserve judgment until they see how everything
goes. Like, for instance, what
if Carson Wentz throws a 450 yards tonight. Do you give him
one more start. It’s all on the
table. Best case scenario for the Vikings. Absolute best case
scenario is if J.J. McCarthy is
fully healthy and their starting quarterback. That
would be the good stuff right
there. That’s what they want. They want to put him in
position to succeed. And for
Kevin O’Connell, who has been maybe the most outspoken voice
on developing quarterbacks, he
knows more than maybe anyone else how to have these guys
play and be successful when
they do play. Mike trust Kevin O’Connell. He is going to put
J.J. McCarthy in a good spot to
go out and play and be successful.
>> In Cosi, I trust. Yeah, he
did a great job with Sam Darnold last year as a
reclamation project, now doing
a great job with Carson Wentz. Well the key one is going to be
is going to be McCarthy. Like
that’s the biggest one for the Vikings for the long term I
think this is where I usually
thank people. But I think I’m throwing it back to you. Are
you taking this now. Hear the
rest of the way. >> Yeah I got it. Go away, go
away.
>> Oh go for it. >> Go away I got it. We’re
talking Lamar Jackson, who, by
the way, has been at practice the last two days. Limited. You
can see everyone’s pretty
excited to have him there because he’s Lamar Jackson. And
it’s a long time since he’s
played. He’s only been three weeks including the bye, but
still a long time. Too long for
Ravens people. Let’s bring in our good friend Stacey Dales
after we take a look at what
cool people are wearing. [MUSIC]
I don’t know, game day threads.
That’s what the Ravens are. They always seem to wear the
same stuff. It’s cool though.
It’s nothing wrong with it. But it’s not like the Broncos old
school threads, which are
really the best. I know Stacey Dales is all over it. Hi Stacey,
thanks for hanging out with us.
Hi Lamar Jackson, let’s talk Lamar Jackson. Look, there’s
been no official proclamation,
but it seems like he is headed toward getting on the field.
How important is his health for
the Ravens? >> Well, it’s vital for the
Baltimore Ravens. I was
actually just on the phone with that guy that you guys flashed
up there, Mark Andrews, their
superstar tight end, and they’re pumped that he’s back
on the practice field this week
in limited capacity. That’s what they’re calling it at this
stage. But listen, I’m
traveling there on Sunday for Sunday’s contest and I’m
preparing to see him play. I’ll
tell you something else. The Chicago Bears are preparing to
see him play. They are
steadfast in that preparation. We know that Lamar Jackson
suffered that hamstring injury
in the Chiefs game in in week four. So he missed the next two.
Then they had the bye week. So
they’re coming off the bye week. He had that extra week of
recovery and it’s wonderful to
see him on the field. As I discussed with Mark Andrews,
just the morale boost alone
with his energy. He is the leader of this franchise, make
no mistake about it. And for
the Chicago Bears as they prepare for him, I spoke with
safety Kevin Byard, who has
been outstanding this season, leading the league, I believe
at this stage with four
interceptions, the bears leading the league with 16
takeaways. And think about that.
They’ve had three plus in each of their last four games in
that win streak. The four game
win streak Ian they want to force him lateral. They’re
expecting the best version of
Lamar Jackson regardless of the injury. Want to force him
lateral so they can prevent
those downhill runs where he’s so dangerous. But as dangerous.
But as Kevin Byard told me,
much like Patrick Mahomes, he has a scramble to throw
quarterback and they know how
good that arm is as well. The bears are not expecting a
labored or injured Lamar
Jackson. They’re expecting the two time MVP Lamar Jackson on
Sunday.
>> All right. Well let’s flip this around a little bit. We’ve
spent a lot of time talking
about Ben Johnson the quarterback whisperer. The
great job that he’s got to do
with Caleb Williams. And that is all true. The bears can run
the heck out of the ball. And
it has been a little undercover. But they are. That running game
has been surging greatly. How
important is it for this Ravens defense to somehow figure out a
way to stop the bears multiple
running backs? >> Well, it’s the focal point.
I was also on the phone with
Alohi Gilman, one of the defensive backs for these
Ravens, and the run game is the
focal point, of course, because since the bye week over the
last two games, that’s
commanders. That’s the New Orleans Saints. The bears are
averaging. Listen to this Ian
184 rush yards per game. [MUSIC]
And the guy that you see on
your screen DeAndre Swift has 116 per game since the bye. And
it’s really been the job of the
offensive line has done up front. Ben Johnson, the head
coach, told me yesterday. One
of the things he loves to do is he loves to watch on tape the
sideline view of the run game
or the trench work after every contest and what he determines
there is how physical the
trenches are. And that’s what he has seen. It’s those combo
blocks up front from the big
guys, and the ability and intentionality of the running
backs included. And Roshan
Johnson included behind Swift to identify those holes and hit
him. That’s what the bears are
doing, and they’re going to try to continue that course of
action on Sunday against these
Ravens who are desperate for a victory. Ian.
>> That’s an interesting way to
judge the run game, right, to judge the physicality because
like obviously running
fascinating. But it all starts in the trenches. Yeah that’s a
really good look Stacy thank
you very much. Great stuff as always. Kind of hope Lamar
plays because that’ll make it a
better game. But yes enjoy that game on Sunday.
[MUSIC]
More importantly, how can I get my fantasy team to stop being
terrible? That’s just it.
They’re so bad my players got to step up anyway. Stardom or
Stidham coming up next with our
good friend Florio. Maybe he can help. >> Time to go inside. See it’s
the insiders. Then you go
inside again. So it’s double inside with fantasy. Live
inside the insiders with
Michael F Florio gives you all the inside information on who
to start, who to start, who to
sit in week eight. Not just tonight, but we will start with
tonight, Thursday Night
Football. Start with the starts. Who we starting.
>> I think Ladd McConkey is
very much so in play tonight. First of all 15 targets last
week and 24 in his last two
games in the last three weeks. He leads the NFL in end zone
targets. What stood out to me
last week, over 70% of his snaps came from the slot. That
was a season high. The Vikings
have struggled against slot receivers this season, and I
think the Eagles kind of found
a way to attack this defense. It’s up the middle, it’s
downfield up the seams. And now
those are the routes that Ladd McConkey runs. So I do like
Ladd a lot tonight. I also like
Jordan Addison, who has averaged 17 fantasy points per
game since he’s returned. He
gave you over 110 yards and two of his three games and a
touchdown in the other. He’s
been a first read on 28% of the passing plays since he’s come
back. And I like that they are
using him a lot downfield. Mike you were talking about it
earlier that Carson Wentz just
seems to trust him. And this is a so-so matchup fantasy wise.
But the Chargers score points.
So I would not be surprised if the Vikings are in catch up
mode. And that is where Jordan
Addison has been at his best for fantasy purposes this
season.
>> Now we’re talking. I’m starting Addison tonight. Let’s
go. Florio. All right. On the
other side of this thing, who am I sitting? Who am I getting
out of the lineup for tonight?
>> You’re starting Addison. I would not be starting the guy
throwing him the ball in Carson
Wentz, because it’s just really hasn’t been great for fantasy
for Wentz. In fact in his four
starts he’s topped 16 fantasy points just one time. And in
his last two games he has one
passing touchdown and two interceptions. That’s not good.
And the Chargers since week two
just one top ten fantasy wide receiver performance allowed.
Their secondary has been
playing lights out and then not as much of a must sit. But
still, someone I think it’s
okay to get away from is T.J. Hockenson.
[MUSIC]
He’s been a lot of floor and not really a lot of upside. We
did see last week. He got a lot
of volume when they were in pure catchup mode in the second
half. Maybe that’s what you
could bank on again if you start him, but the Chargers are
in the bottom ten in fantasy
points per game allowed two tight ends.
[MUSIC]
So again with six teams on bye. Not a must sit, but I have
Hawkinson in a couple of places
and I have tight ends on those rosters that I like more like
Harold Ford and junior Kyle
Pitts, just to name a couple. >> Michael F I will be at
Lincoln Financial Field on
Sunday for the Giants Eagles rematch. Jaxson Dart had a
great game against the Eagles a
couple of weeks ago. The rushing yards were down against
the Broncos, but that’s sort of
what they do. So where do we stand on Jaxson Dart right now?
>> I think Jaxson Dart has
reached the territory where you just start him, especially in a
week like this with six teams
on bye. You mentioned that the Broncos, they’re elite at
stopping running quarterbacks,
but he still went off for four total touchdowns, one being a
rushing touchdown and was the
qb2 on the week against arguably the best defense in
the league. He’s averaged 22
fantasy points per game as a starter, which is elite
territory, and it’s because of
what he does with his legs at least 50 rushing yards in three
of the four games, at least one
rushing touchdown in three of the four. And he had this exact
matchup two weeks ago. He
finished as the QB three. I know you can’t bank on that
exact production again, but
everything that he’s doing right now points to just play
him, especially again with six
teams on bye this week. >> You know, we had our good
friend Stacey Dales on a minute
ago talking about how great the bears run game is. Definitely
true passing game though. D.J.
Moore, what do we think? >> I’m done with DJ Moore. It’s
painful to say. I have him on a
number of fantasy teams, but like, you need production to be
started in fantasy. And he has
one game with double digit fantasy points this year. It
came in this game against the
Cowboys, which is the best matchup for a wide receiver.
And it came because of that
late game touchdown that you just saw. And even with that
just 12 fantasy points. He has
five targets in every game but one this year. And in that one
game it was six. And on top of
that three deep targets two end zone targets. If you’re not
getting a lot of volume, you
need to make up for it with big plays or touchdowns. He’s not
getting the opportunity to do
either of those things. So because of the way he is being
used, even in what is a very
favorable matchup on paper, I don’t see how you could trust
DJ Moore.
>> Now my decision to be done with DJ Moore, you can tell
he’s on my team, by the way,
was a lot easier before AJ Brown. No my bad. We’re good
before AJ Brown has had his
hamstring issues which he’s not practicing. So now that makes
it. We’ll talk offline you and
I about that. But another guy on my team Treveyon Henderson
don’t say my bad don’t say my
bad. But Treveyon Henderson we talked about it. I’m done I’ve
been done. Where are you on
this one? >> I’m waving the white flag.
I’m done. My bad. To you and to
everyone else. I still believe Treveyon Henderson is a very
talented player, one, he’s not
seeing the field. [MUSIC]
He had three snaps in the first
half last week against the Titans, which was a prime
matchup. And then you’re like,
okay, they’re saving him for the second half. When things
get out of hand, they’ll give
their young running back some work. Nope. It went to Terrell
Jennings who Mike Vrabel is
celebrating with after the game, calling their new five minute
back. And they’re not using
Trevion. And when they do, they’re making him run up the
middle, not out wide in space,
which is where I think he’s at his best is where he’s at his
best in college. It’s just it’s
not happening, so I apologize. I’ve waved the white flag on
every show this week.
>> Yeah, definitely your fault. Let’s go to one. That is not
your fault. Rico Dowd has been
one of the best fantasy stories of the year. Chuba Hubbard, now
back splitting, carries. What
is your view on Rico to start or sit?
>> I think you start, Rico. I
think both Panthers running backs are in play this week
because of the matchup and the
six teams on bye. But if you have to pick one, I really like
Rico this week. They did split
reps last week, but Rico had more carries and he did a whole
lot more with his opportunities.
He turned the 19 chances. He got into 96 yards. He is
clearly the more explosive
option of the two. And that is huge this week because the
bills allow explosive runs to
running backs at the highest rate in the NFL. They allowed
the most yards per contact. So
yeah, I think Rico and the Panthers are going to look to
establish the run because of
who’s on the other side. So I think both are in play but
definitely Rico.
>> All right. This is where we get to ask about our team.
You’ve already answered about
two of my guys on my team. But we get to answer ask you one.
You mentioned six buys. The
only one I really have is Trey McBride though on my team. So I
avoided by Mageddon pretty well.
Cade Otton, Dalton Schultz, Harold Fannin, Chig Okonkwo.
Any of the seven Steelers tight
ends who’s standing out? Noah Fant who’s standing out to you
here?
>> I was originally going to say like Cade Orton or Dalton
Schultz because Schultz,
there’s no Nico Collins. It’s starting to look like we got to
see what his status is before
games. And the bucks are super thin right now. But you
mentioned Harold Fannin junior
I think that is who I would go with. I think there’s just a
connection between him and
Dillon Gabriel, and it is a favorable matchup. The Patriots
are in the top ten in yards
allowed two tight ends. So he also plays as a running back as
a receiver. He does everything
I like him the most. >> Okay all right. That
actually helped me too. But
that’s not my question for you. Here’s my question I got Mike
Evans, had Mike Evans. Now he’s
on IR surgery broken collarbone. Give me like a like a wide
receiver three who would maybe
be available on the waiver wire to fill in.
>> If Tez Johnson is available.
He is one that that I like a lot. He seems to have the trust
of Baker Mayfield right now.
Played all the the routes had nine targets. I also like Romeo
Dobbs who has had eight targets
or more in the last three games. He’s averaging close to 18
fantasy points per game in that
stretch. With a favorable matchup. Matthew Golden might
be out there in some leagues.
Alec Pierce is going a little bit deeper. And Ian, shout out
to you, man, because you
tweeted last week that you forgot to poll Davante Adams
out of your lineup. And fantasy
people were like what kind of no. You have good options. You
you ran that by me on this show
last week. So shout out to you for having really good depth on
your fantasy teams.
>> Yeah. Appreciate it. My team. >> Shout out that’s what we
need. More shout outs.
>> Shout out to you Mike G. Just for being the man.
>> Shout out to Michael F
Florio and his article. You will need more of this. Of
course you do. NFL.com start
sit. That’s where you find all the information every single
week about who to start and who
to sit. It’s right there in the URL. Michael F Florio love you
pal. Appreciate you. Probably
going to be texting you more in the next couple of days.
[MUSIC]
We are back with some more. Marc pours key matchups in the
NFL Marc Ross joining joining
our Judy Battista and Brian Baldinger next on The Insiders. >> Got it man. Marc.
>> You know what. We love
marquee matchups so much around here that we’re going to do
more marquee matchups. We have
Marc and Baldy for the marquee matchups. All right. We’re
actually going to do matchups
inside the matchups here. So Marc let me start with you. We
got Cowboys. Broncos.
>> Well this is going to be a fun one because as we talked
about Dak the last couple of
days I think he’s the MVP so far. But Patrick Surtain on
there on the other side. And
the matchup within the matchup is how will they deploy him
against either matching up
against CeeDee lamb. Matching up against George Pickens
mixing and matching him. So
both of those guys have been picking super dangerous seeds.
Had the injury came back last
week. Looked like his old self almost. So how are certain go
up against both of those two
ball. It would be super fun either way.
>> I agree. I was really taking
a look here Marc at the Giants and the Eagles, the rematch and
the revenge game right here.
And what the Eagles receivers just did really in that game
against Minnesota last week.
Can the Giants defensive backs who we saw Javon Holland,
Paulson Adebo go out in that
game against Denver. Can they match up against you know
Devonte Smith and AJ Brown who
had 13 catches over 200 yards in all three touchdowns? How
are they going to handle this
passing game with the Eagles. Especially if they go to some
of that play action passing.
>> All right Mark. The next one up for you is an AFC South
matchup. Two teams going in
very different directions. Colts Titans.
>> Well this is going to be
marquee for one side. And that’s one Jonathan Taylor who
I talk about Dak being an MVP.
But I mean this guy is the offensive player of the year.
He’s leading the league in
rushing. Not only that Baldy and Judy, but by 105 yards over
the next guy which is Javonte
Williams. So he’s going up against this Titans defense.
That’s 29th in the league in
rush defense. Have really been struggling. Of course fire
their coach already. So this is
just really I’m looking at a pad the stats game marquee pad
to stats game for Jonathan
Taylor in that Colts offense Baldy.
>> Good job there Mark. I’m
going to take a look at Sunday night’s game here with the
green Bay Packers coming to the
Pittsburgh Steelers. And will the Steelers do a better job
against Micah Parsons than what
we saw from the Arizona Cardinals? Cardinals had a
chance at the very end, and
Micah Parsons ruined both tackles and just was all over
Jacoby Brissett. And we know
that Aaron Rodgers wants to get rid of the ball fast right Mark.
But if you give Micah Parsons
those kind of runways to the quarterback it could really
swing the balance of power in
this game Sunday night. >> All right last one for you
Mark. It’s bears Ravens. We
were just talking about this game potentially the return of
Lamar Jackson.
>> Yep the return of Lamar Jackson on the offensive side.
But I’m looking at the woeful
32nd ranked scoring defense of those Baltimore Ravens going
against Caleb Williams and head
coach Ben Johnson. The bears have scored 25 plus points in
their last four wins there, a
lot of it fueled by the defense. But you’ve seen glimmers.
You’ve seen Caleb get better,
you’ve seen him get more consistent. And you know Ben
Johnson has really got to be in
the lab looking at all the matchup problems that the
Ravens have with formations and
shifts and how they can just get totally outcoached. So you
got to think Ben Johnson is
ready to go. This could be Caleb’s signature breakout game
against that woeful defense. As
I said. >> Yeah, you know, Mark, my
third matchup here is the
Cleveland Browns coming to visit Drake Maye in the New
England Patriots. And really
it’s Drake Maye the league’s number one rated quarterback.
That throw to Kayshon Boutte
was amazing 39 yards right on the dime. But the number one
rated quarterback against Myles
Garrett and Jim Schwartz’s defense. We know that they’ve
been excellent against the run.
And if they stay that way I mean Miami could not score a
touchdown. Last week. Tua was
under all kinds of duress. They turned it over a bunch of times.
Like I want to see what Drake
Maye in this newfound Patriots offense that’s playing very
well does against Schwartzy and
Myles Garrett this weekend. >> It’s all the marquee
matchups all the time here on
the insiders. Mark and Baldy thank you very much. We will
have many more marquee matchups
coming up. Hey speaking of marquee matchups, this is part
of a few of them. Remember him
Bill Belichick. We’re going to talk about Bill and his Hall of
Fame chances when we return. >> Want to know where to find
the insiders. Write all this
down. Take a screenshot. Nobody writes things down anymore. But
here’s where you can find us
every single day. This is Thursday. We’re on the NFL plus.
NFL plus is like a cheat code.
It’s going to get you most of it. The NFL channel on YouTube
tomorrow, back on NFL network
and NFL plus. [MUSIC]
I will speak slowly.
[MUSIC] I was going to speak slowly. So
you had more time to write all
that down. Like I said, here are your Pro Football Hall of
Fame coach candidates for the
class of 2026. [MUSIC]
Man, I was making that case for
Tom Coughlin, amongst others. But Tom Coughlin really. And
Bill Belichick shows up now I
know Coughlin beat him twice but Belichick’s got all those
rings. Judy Battista please
explain. Because some folks might say like he’s only been
out a couple of years. Why is
it different for the coaches than the players.
>> Yeah.
>> So last year the eligibility rules were changed for the
coaches. And so you only have
to be out of the NFL one year to be eligible. If you’re a
coach. It does not address the
idea that like you could even come back to the NFL, right.
Which theoretically could do.
So Bill’s been out of the NFL more than a year, as it turns
out, but he only needed to be
out a year. And he is eligible. And let’s be honest, it is very
hard to imagine that Bill
Belichick is not going into the Hall of Fame as soon as he can.
I would expect that he will be
elected, but I agree with you. Tom Coughlin belongs in there,
among others on that list, too.
Mike Shanahan. >> Ian.
>> Yeah, I mean, part of the
problem, though, is like each time you have, you know, you
add a coach to that. You you
know, Belichick is obviously going to get in. And then it’s
like Coughlin should get in.
Sure. And Shanahan should get in Sean. It’s like it’s like
the receivers right. It’s like
every year you add a couple receivers who do you not let in
if you’re going to let those
guys in. This is the problem with having a lot of great
coaches anyway. Yes Bill
Belichick can get in. Thank you for that explanation, Judy. I
was not aware of that until I
talked to you yesterday about this.
>> Well.
[MUSIC] >> The Centennial class allowed
a lot of guys to get in. So if
you’re on that list, don’t worry, it’s less than 100 years
before the next Centennial
class will be in. Now get some of these guys in here. We are
back on Friday on NFL network.
That’s the insiders for

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