Mad Dog says the Patriots ‘HAVE TO’ be the No. 1 seed in the AFC 😱 | First Take

Mad Dog says the Patriots ‘HAVE TO’ be the No. 1 seed in the AFC 😱 | First Take

hindsight, um, it was slow early on. You got the number one receiver upset about targets. The effort looked sluggish. They have the best record in the conference and they haven’t come close to playing their best foot. I feel ridiculous saying, “What’s wrong with the Eagles?” They run a very simple offense. They don’t do a ton. Dad ain’t going to get it done. We look at him and say, “You can be so much more.” Have to trust within the unit that this is what we’re going to do and going to have confidence in that. Good morning. Happy Wednesday everyone. Welcome to First Take. I am Shay Cornet. He is Chris Russo, also known as Mad Do is here with us and Marcus Spears joining us as well. Good morning, Marcus. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. First of all, how’s it going? First of all, Shay, what? It’s good to see you back. Thank you. I’m back. Glad you got back safe and sound those delays and all of that stuff. Thank you, doggy. It’s a doggy dog world on Wednesday morning. Nice to see you, Swag Goo. my brother. Now, I just want America to know that I love this brother. I mean, this is my man. This is my dog, you know. And plus, I got to watch what I say cuz the wife is watching me and she will hurt me if I go go in on him too much. But let me tell you something. Did you see what the hell that man was wearing on Monday Night Football? Oh, I know. I mean, it was a fashion disaster. How the hell are you going to show up on Monday Night Football at Lambo Field? And we’ll talk about that damn denim jacket later. Big sexy. I expected somebody black. I expected the black shaft look. That would have been fly. A a a light blue denim. Oh lord. Oh, that was a fashion faux paw if there ever was one. It’s very simple cuz I wanted to wear it. There you go. It’s just that simple. I did hear you warm and it kept you warm. Exactly. That’s all that Yeah. I wasn’t going to be cold. So, we’ll talk later. Well, speaking of speaking of Monday night, now we’ve had some time to let the results of Monday Night Football marinate a little bit. Uh, while the Eagles defense did steal the show in Green Bay, we have not talked a lot about the lack of production for Philadelphia offensively. Neither team scored in the first half. There were no touchdowns until the fourth quarter. The Eagles had only 125 yards of total offense in the first half. Herz had less than 50 yards passing and a fumble. AJ Brown finished the game with only 13 yards. And so now that we’ve had a minute to really think about this, are there concerns with Philadelphia’s offense? Absolutely not. I am amazed that everywhere I turn, people are making a big deal about the Eagles offense. First off, they’ve loed their 8-2. That’s the first thing. They won in Kansas City. They they won in Green Bay. They won in Tampa. I mean, they’re going to win the division going away. They got to crack. They beat the Rams. So, they beat the Rams, Tampa, Kansas City, and the Packers. That’s pretty good. Secondly, in the fourth Hello there, Swagu. How you doing? Nice to have you with us here today. Eagles are seven and two. Uh, seven and two. I apologize. Correct. The buy hasn’t happened yet. They n Yeah, you’re right. Seven and two. Furthermore, when you think of the Eagles in the fourth quarter there on Monday night, they ran down the field. They scored on a nice play to Devon. First of, they had the field goal. Then they ran down and scored. And then when they got the ball back with about 5 and a half minutes to go, they completed a third and 12 play to Devonte Smith to get the first down and they rushed it all the way down to the 35 yd line. Barkley made a big play in a catch and run for 42 yards. If they didn’t fumble on the first, second or whatever drive of the game, they would have scored more points. They beat a very good team on the road with an excellent defense. And we’re going to sit there two days later and say, “Well, what’s up with the Eagle Alpha?” Who cares if AJ Brown doesn’t catch the ball? Let him put his cry notes out and get annoyed and everything else. He’s gonna play. He’s going to be in the games. Barkley is Barkley. They didn’t have Land Johnson for a long time. I am amazed at so many people are making a big deal about a team that right now is the number one seed in football and they’re the Super Bowl champs and they got a quarterback who does nothing but win. What else do you want, Mr. Smith? I’ll go with Swagoo first. I’m a bit dizzy with the whole outfit that you’re rocking right now. This is a great out. Go ahead, Swagoo. Go ahead, man. Go ahead, man. Swag. Why you on people clothes this morning, man? Leave us alone. It’s Tuesday. All right. Let me say this. Wednesday. It’s Wednesday. Damn it. It’s Wednesday, Mad Dog. Listen, I’m with you, brother. I’m with you. I have no worries. You know what it tells me about the Philadelphia Eagles? That they know how to win games, no matter how the how much how the game is played. Remember a few weeks ago, we were having this conversation about the Philadelphia Eagles offense and Jaylen Herz came out and threw for 300. AJ Brown and Devonte Smith had over a hundred yards receiving. Both got in the end zone. This team can morph into what they need to morph into. And let’s give Green Bay some credit. They were very good on defense on Monday night. That was a really good performance by that defense. So when you look at this thing in totality, and we love it. We love the sensationalize when something we want it to look a certain way every single time these teams play football. It’s not going to. You know why? cuz the other 11 on the other side are pro football players, too. And you got to figure out a way to grind out wins sometimes in the NFL, even if you’re considered one of the favorites. The other thing is this, too. I believe last year when the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, I know Saquon Barkley had his phenomenal run and he was balling out of his mind. I think Jaylen Herz only threw like 21 touchdowns and a lot of people were complaining about that. I saw on this show Stephen A having to defend Jaylen Herz because his numbers wasn’t up there. So people didn’t want to put him in this upper echelon of the QBs. I don’t know how you don’t. The dude’s been to two Super Bowls, one one performed great in both. There is a history with this football team that tells us that they can have a tremendous amount of success no matter how they have to win a game. So I am not concerned at all. And like Mad Dog said, seven and two and arguably have the strongest wins so far in the NFL this year. Well, first of all, a couple of things. Number one, they’re not the number one seed. That would be the Colts. Number one seed in the NFC, but not the NFL. That’s number one. Number two, I am going to have some concerns. That doesn’t mean that doesn’t mean listen that does not mean I was just talking about Doggy because Doggy was saying it was the number one seed swag. But here’s the point. I’m not going to sit up here and act like the Eagles can’t win. That’s not the point though. based on what you’re saying. Why the hell play the season, doggy? Why just wait? Why pay attention to anything else that’s going on? Oh, the Eagles going to figure out what’s there to worry about. There’s nothing to think about. Excuse me. That’s ridiculous. You watch the games. You analyze what you’re witnessing. And you say, “Wait a minute. Is this based on what we’re seeing around the league going to get it done and there is cause for pause. There are reasons to have some level of trepidation when it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s not to say that they can’t win because we know they could beat anybody. They’re the reigning defending Super Bowl champions. They’ve got the best executive in the sport. Jaylen Herz, we know what he can do because we’ve seen what he’s done. Same thing with AJ Brown, Devonte Smith, and others. But the flip side to it is that this is not the same looking team that we saw last year. They started out two and two. And then after that, they won like 17 or 16 of their last 17 games or something along those lines, but they were the number one team in rushing attempts. They were dead last in passing attempts. That was last year. Now, we fast forward to this year. Okay. Well, let’s look at some of the numbers here. Okay. 29 three-andout drives resulting in a punch this season. The second most in the NFL behind only one team. That would be the Denver Broncos. We’re looking at them right now. 10th in the NFL in rushing attempts. 30th in passing attempts. 27th in third down offense. Well, okay. I can look at you and I can say they still find a way to get it done because they’re number one in red zone efficiency thanks in large part to the tushbush. But I’m also able to look at Detroit. I’m also able to look at Green Bay. I’m also able to look at Seattle who’s coming, Matthew Stafford who’s playing lights out, who by the way, usually when you see a team in Southern California and they’re going to inclement weather, cold weather, you know, the snow and all of this other stuff, they usually don’t farewell. Even though the Rams lost to the Philadelphia Eagles last year, that was the toughest playoff game that the Philadelphia Eagles had. We saw what they did to the Commanders in the NFC Championship game. We saw what they did to Kansas City in the Super Bowl. But we looked at Matthew Stafford and the Philadelphia Eagles and said, “Damn, they were right there.” You look at them this year, they haven’t faded. Their defense has been very impressive. Okay, they don’t have Aaron Donald anymore. It doesn’t seem to be affecting them that much. We see Matthew Stafford playing the way that he’s playing. We know what Puka Nakua can do. We know what Shawn McVey can do. I’m just looking around and I’m saying the Eagles are obviously right there. They’re the team to beat. But in the same breath, do you look at other teams and say, “Hey, they can be had based on what you’re seeing from them compared to what you can see from other teams as well.” Yeah. which makes it very interesting. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not to look at them and to just shove other teams aside and say there’s absolutely nothing to worry about with the Philadelphia Eagles cuz they don’t look the same as they looked last year. And we all know that there’s one team that you’d be concerned about if you’re the Eagles in the NFC. That’s the Rams. I agree with you on that. The Rams against San Francisco, not Seattle with Sam D, their quarterback who last year absolutely imploded in his two games. I’m not going to let me see him play big football in a big last year. What about their defense? And what about their road record? Cuz when they go on the road, they win. They look at one thing about the Philadelphia thing I was thinking about when you were talking about the fact defense and Kansas City’s defense. Those are three excellent defensive teams. I am amazed. And the Rams and the Rams. Thank you. I am amazed at you guys. He’s on my side for a change. You’re lost today. The Eagles, they’re a big time football team. They went into Green Bay. I’m not saying they’re not big time. They went into Green Bay and beat the Packers. This has nothing to do. Listen, Barely. Here’s what you’re saying. They won. They beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. Here’s what you’re missing. The Eagles are big time. Are they the only big time team in the NFC? The Rams and the Rams. I’m all I’m saying. Well, you’re not going to Maybe Detroit. Okay. All I’m saying is you can’t look at the Eagles. They’re not standing alone as the only big time team in the NFC. There’s a lot of good competition in the NFC. That’s all I’m saying. Let me ask you a question right now. Life on the line. Eagles going to the Super Bowl. If life on the line, sure. I That’s it. That’s Can I ask Can I just push this forward, Marcus? Can I ask a question? Last year, go a second. Last year, and I don’t mean to bring up old stuff, and we know what Saquon Barkley did, and he had an outstanding season that I don’t know could ever be duplicated, but last year, this guy was averaging over 125 yards per game on the ground. This year, he’s averaging just under 64 yards. Their ground attack is not the same as it was a year ago. Do you think that’s contributing to the lack of offensive production? Yeah, sure. Sure it is, Shay. and and they are figuring out ways to win. That is my point. Like you a a a sign of a really good team is the ones that when you can take something away, they have answers. And that’s what Philly has been doing this season. Saquon Barkley has had one explosive run to over 50 yards this season. He had like 20 ft like last year. So there is a level there is a level of of concern that you would but the concern to me it’s it’s the but but Stephen A it’s it’s how we pose these questions it’s a concern about the Eagles offense and we know that that conversation is leading to can they still get it done that is what people are going to why don’t you just admit you sensitive why don’t you just admit you sensitive how we posed the question the question is do you have concerns about the Eagles offense pure simple question. What do you mean how we posed the question? Yeah, I take offense how I question. So if you So if it’s just about So if it’s just about the Eagles concern, why the hell you brought up them other teams there? You just talking about the Philadelphia because they play somebody. They don’t play against themselves. That’s the ridiculous because they play against somebody. They’re not playing against themselves. And the question is, do you have concerns about their offense? What me and Mad Dog is saying is everybody’s going to lead this conversation into them losing against teams because you’re concerned about their offense and we are not buying that. Every team got concerns. Green Bay just went and got their ass whooped against Carolina. Well, we concerns. I’m sorry. It’s a two-hour show. We ain’t going to just talk about the Eagles. We going to get into all of those teams, too. But we asking the question about the Eagles because you’re going against some competition. Stephen A. Stephen A. Stephen A. Were you concerned about Green Bay defense last week when they got ram rotted by um the Carolina Panthers? Were you concerned about their defense? Listen, I wasn’t that concerned about I was about Jordan Love. That’s what I said. I mean, that’s what I said. They gave up 160 yards rushing. They gave up 160 yards rushing and lost to the Carolina Panthers. They also lost to the Cleveland Browns. We didn’t hold on to that defense. We We also saw them lose to the Cleveland Browns. Sometimes you sit up there and you underestimate competition and you take a weekend off. Unfortunately, we’ve seen that in sports because you feeling yourself and you take competition for granted like that. Oh man, listen. You got exasperated all the nerve y’all. Do you have a concern about the It’s about the way you ask the question. Do you have a concern about the Eagles offense? answer is just not a crime to have a question a concern about the offense. Their offense does not look the same. You know, you got Saquon Barkley averaging damn near two yards less per carry running the football. You saw AJ Brown the other night get three targets, two receptions for 13 yards. You seen them complaining about one another and what have you. You got a first year offensive coordinator and Kevin Patulla. You don’t know how that’s going to vibe. Their offense right now being ranked 12th is the worst that it’s been since 2021. There are reasons to ask the damn question. Let’s not act like, “Oh my god, it’s beyond the pale of ask.” And when it was third and eight and they gave the ball to Barkley on that little pass, did he get 42 yards? 41 yards. Yes, he did. That’s all that counts. He can give you some explosive plays, but he hasn’t been the same explosive player. Okay, let’s move to the AFC here. The AFC. Nope. Go ahead. Get your blast warden. I’m here for it. Go ahead. There there is just there is just layers. There is layers to this conversation. And me and Mad Dog are not going for Stephen A’s. They are concerned about other teams beating them. They’re the best team in the NFC right now. That’s where we didn’t ask. Once again, since you want to get into the specifics of the question, we didn’t sit up there and say the Eagles are concerned. The question was, do you as in us have concerns? And Stephen A does. We didn’t ask what the Eagles feel. Ask what I feel. Good. Good. Good. That’s what I just said. All right. We’ll see if that’s right. All right, then. Fine. We’ll see if now Marcus and Doggy are on the same team for this next question. Let’s go to the AFC where the Patriots have now won seven in a row. Their next three opponents have seven wins total combined. Okay, the New England Patriots have one of the e easiest strength of schedules in the NFL this season. In fact, the Pats sit at top of the AFC East with a twoame lead at 8-2 this season. They’re favored to win five of the remaining seven games this season. That’s according to ESPN analytics. And so now the question is, are the Pats an absolute lock to be the one seed in the AFC? Marcus Spears? No. Still too much time left. And I love this team. By the way, I think they going to be making noise to try to get to a Super Bowl and and I’m saying that right now the way that they’re playing. But the one seed is it’s a little bit time left now. They put themselves in a great position to to get that. And you just brought up the schedule, Shay. It’s going to be a lot of desperate teams though down the stretch. That one I’m pointing at is the Baltimore Ravens later on this season as well. And I have loved everything about what Mike Vrabel, who I hold in a very high regard, Mike Greyel as a head coach. He’s going to have this team prepared to play. Can can I see him being the one seed? Absolutely. But I’m not really willing to put that on them right now with so much time left in this season. There is still the Baltimore Ravens. And I’m not I’m not talking about I’m not talking about any anybody superseding them. I’m just talking about the rest of the way they’re going to be playing, like I said, a bunch of desperate teams and a couple teams that could come up and get you if you off your game for a week or two. And when the Patriots now, where they are now, the respect that they’re getting, teams are going to understand either walking in there or them walking into their stadium, the type of team that they’re playing now. I think everybody gets it. Everybody understands that the New England Patriots are formidable. They can beat anybody on any given Sunday. They got a young quarterback that’s playing well, a head coach that I think is phenomenal. But giving them the one seed with so much time left in the season, I’m just not ready to do that right now. Well, let’s do the math. Uh, Swagu, they’re going to beat the Jets twice. They’re going to beat Miami at home. They’re going to beat the Giants at home. They only have seven left. So, they’re going to win those games and they’re going to beat Cincinnati. Well, Cincinnati’s on a road maybe a little dicey. So, I I’ll be careful there, but they’re going to probably be 13-4. 13-4 right now. What? They eight and seven and two. I got the SC they eight and two these day weeks off now. They’re eight and two. They haven’t had their buy yet. All right. So, they’re going to go third, let’s say they go 13 and four. Indianapolis has lost two games. They play San Francisco, Seattle on the road, Kansas City on the road. That’s tricky. and Jacksonville twice. The Chiefs have already lost four games. Denver’s got Kansas City twice and Denver’s also got they got to play the Chargers. So, when you look at it from that perspective and I mean look that that that’s a tricky schedule. They can play Green Bay that is not an easy schedule for the Broncos. There’s three losses in there and anybody who saw the Broncos play on Thursday night against the Raiders, they were awful. They were lucky. So, the Raiders were terrible and they barely won a game. So, if you look at it from the fact that the Colts have a tough schedule and they haven’t been great lately anyway. They barely beat Atlanta and of course they lost to the um Steelers. And if you look at Denver, Kansas City’s got four losses. Buffalo’s got is is a long way behind New England as it is. You’d have to think that the Patriots are going to be the number one seed in the AFC. Well, I think they should be the favorites to be the number one seed. I just don’t I’m just not ready to call them a lock. But I will tell you this. Um, listen. The word lock is where that’s where it’s appropriate to have a to be specific about the question. The word lock. See how that works. Swagoo works. Okay. It’s not a lock. Your favorite take, man. Leave me alone. You be the favorites, right? But not call them a lock. I’m looking at this schedule right now. Six of their final seven games against teams that currently have a losing record. Jets twice, Bengals, Giants, Dolphins, and the four and five. Ravens, too. Ravens are on the cover. But give him a loss there. What I’m saying is, but you also play Buffalo. So Buffalo gets a chance to come to Foxboro to go up against as well. So those are two potential losses for the New England Patriots. That’s why you can’t call them a lock. I would tell you they should be the favorites, though, because their strength of schedule says everything else right there is just laid out for them. Well, hold on now, Steve. That’s four losses. Okay, show me Denver schedule. Denver’s going to lose three games here. Okay, Chiefs twice. Chargers in Green Bay. That’s a hard schedule. What about the Colts? The Colts play at Seattle, San Francisco, and at Kansas City, and they’re going to lose some games. Maybe unless Jonathan Taylor runs for 200 yards, Steve, but they’re eight and two. I understand that. I understand they’re the Niners in there, too. That’s I got you, but I’m just talking about a lot. Again, New England should be the favorites. I think it’s fair to say they should be the favorites to capture the number one seed in the AFC in light of their schedule and what you pointed out about Denver and Indiana. They’ve got to face. Also this mad dog. Also this mad dog. We have to also pay attention to how this particular football season has gone, man. Like there is a lot. It’s it’s it’s volatile. Like you’re betting with Fat Rob. This has been a volatile season in football with games that we expect teams to win. Did we expect the Miami Dolphins to kick the Buffalo Bills ass like they did last this past weekend? No. I brought up Green Bay and Carolina. There have been some weird things happening even with the Colts. The the Atlanta Falcons pushed them to the brink over AC across the pond. So, there’s a lot of things that’s happening in this league where it gives you a little pause to say a team is just going we can just look at their schedule and they going to finish out this strong. There have been collapse after collapse after collapse this football season, which makes it great for us. It’s great father. It’s great stuff to talk about. It’s great unknowns, but to lock somebody in with this much football left based on what we’ve seen this particular season, I think that’s a bit much. Mad dog me and Stephen A have to disagree with you. Do you trust Do you trust the Patriots to be the one seed? Meaning Broncos, Colts, Patriots. Let’s say those are the three favorites obviously to be the one seed. Which of those three do you trust the most to get the job? Because of this schedule, New England, of course. Would you agree? I I I I do agree with you, but I trust it for a different reason as well. I think they gonna beat the Bills again in Fox. I think they might, too. I agree. I think they gonna beat the Bills again in Foxboro. That’s why. Yeah, it’s at home, too. What do you think? Who do you trust the most of those three teams? Shay, when you when you put that trust, I go to New England Patriots. And the reason is Mike Vrael. Mike Vrael is my sole reason. I think he is I think he is one of the elite ones and he understands game in and game out what’s needed to win games. By the way, by the way, by the way, guys, May is performing wonderful, but he is still young, y’all. That’s right. Which you got to pay attention to. Still a young quarterback that’s about to play some highlevel games in this league. The interesting part, first time ever. Sort of switches subjects for a quick second. I’m thinking about coach of the year and I’m thinking about McDonald in Seattle and the phenomenal job that he’s done. McVey in LA, the phenomenal job that he has done. Um, of course, Siton in Indianapolis and he’s done a hell of a job or whatever, but Vable to me is at the top of the list and unfortunately this is the advantage. It’s one thing to come into a situation, but it’s another thing to see what had happened to the New England Patriots in the waning years of Bill Bich and then the one-year deal with Gerard Mayo and then for Vable to arrive on the scene just now with pretty much the same. I know Stefon Diggs wasn’t there last year, but with pretty much the same personnel that you had last year and to do the job that he has done, I think right now you can make a strong legitimate argument that he’s the coach of the year. I agree with you. I do too. I We didn’t see this coming from Drake May. No one did.

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Marcus “Swagu” Spears and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo join Shae Cornette to discuss the latest storylines in the NFL, including:

0:00 Eagles vs. Packers
3:35 Do you have concerns about the Eagles?
6:45 Stephen A. weighs in
9:15 Mad Dog weighs in
14:15 Are the Patriots the No. 1 seed in the AFC?
14:45 Stephen A.’s thoughts
16:10 Marcus Spears responds

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