<v Speaker 1>Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026. You are listening to the Daily

<v Speaker 1>Dose Sports Podcast. And I am your host, Clint Daly,

<v Speaker 1>coming to you from my high city here in Denver, Colorado.

<v Speaker 1>And we are back for another week of talking sports

<v Speaker 1>with a dose of common sense. Hey, happy Wednesday to you.

<v Speaker 1>Hope you had a good weekend. Hope your week is

<v Speaker 1>going well so far in the U. Your family, your friends,

<v Speaker 1>everyone is staying strong and healthy in your world right now.

<v Speaker 1>And kids, it is finally here. Hey, college football kicked

<v Speaker 1>off on Saturday. Yeah, I know there are a few

<v Speaker 1>smaller games before that, but primarily it was Saturday. And no,

<v Speaker 1>it wasn't a great Saturday of college football. But we

<v Speaker 1>knew going into it, I mean, it was just an appetizer, right?

<v Speaker 1>We did see Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels, well, honestly,

<v Speaker 1>get way too excited after beating what looks like another

<v Speaker 1>under-average TCU team. They did that over in Dublin, Ireland.

<v Speaker 1>And I know, I know, ESPN is probably hyping up,

<v Speaker 1>could Chapel Bill be headed to the college football playoff

<v Speaker 1>this year? But this game, honestly... actually made me think

<v Speaker 1>that Tar Heels are about to go 4-8 and that

<v Speaker 1>Sonny Dykes is about to get fired at TCU more

<v Speaker 1>than anything else. Florida State struggled to win at home

<v Speaker 1>over New Mexico State, which also makes me think they're

<v Speaker 1>going to be in for a long season because that

<v Speaker 1>schedule is going to crank up And it's going to

<v Speaker 1>crank up already this next week. And then we have

<v Speaker 1>the USC Trojans who opened up their season with a

<v Speaker 1>somewhat impressive win over San Jose State in front of about,

<v Speaker 1>I don't know, 47 people. I did not say 4,700.

<v Speaker 1>I said what I said. Oh, I know. I know, California.

<v Speaker 1>It was hot outside. You had other things to do.

<v Speaker 1>You know where else it's hot outside? Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas.

<v Speaker 1>And you know what? Those stadiums will be packed. You

<v Speaker 1>bandwagon riding front runners. If there is a worse group

<v Speaker 1>of fans than California fans, I have yet to find them. Oh,

<v Speaker 1>but wait, I know that was the appetizer this past week.

<v Speaker 1>This week, college football, it cranks up. Get this, Miami

<v Speaker 1>versus Stanford. I know that sounds bad. Stanford actually beat

<v Speaker 1>Hawaii in somewhat impressive fashion. That might be closer than

<v Speaker 1>we think. Boise State versus Oregon. Yeah, that's good. Clemson

<v Speaker 1>versus LSU. Also good. Wisconsin versus Notre Dame. Probably terrible.

<v Speaker 1>but maybe Wisconsin doesn't realize how bad they are just yet.

<v Speaker 1>Louisville versus Ole Miss and SMU versus Florida State all

<v Speaker 1>coming this weekend. Hey, buckle up, because here we go.

<v Speaker 1>College football is about to ramp way, way up. However,

<v Speaker 1>today on The Dose... We're going to be doing something

<v Speaker 1>a little bit different than talking college football because we

<v Speaker 1>are actually going to begin our 2026 NFL preview today.

<v Speaker 1>And we have so much to get to. We need

<v Speaker 1>to jump in right now. Joining us this week on

<v Speaker 1>The Daily Dose, we are returning our illustrious panel of

<v Speaker 1>NFL experts to kick off the NFL season as only

<v Speaker 1>we can. First up, we have president of The Daily Dose, I-Team,

<v Speaker 1>that finds those stories no one else can find. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>he was just here last week, West Virginia Mountaineer and

<v Speaker 1>Philadelphia Eagles fan, Big Rob. Rob, you helped us out

<v Speaker 1>with the college football preview last week, but we are

<v Speaker 1>now reaching the greatest time of year. Oh, yes, yes.

<v Speaker 2>The big boys are getting ready to start. So, yeah,

<v Speaker 2>college has me tuned up for it.

<v Speaker 3>So I'm ready.

<v Speaker 1>I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it. Next up, we

<v Speaker 1>have Mike in Castle Rock out on those Colorado Plains.

<v Speaker 1>You can see in the background if you're watching on

<v Speaker 1>the YouTube video. Mike, it has been a long, hot summer.

<v Speaker 1>Are you ready for football? Like, should we go ahead

<v Speaker 1>and get this going?

<v Speaker 4>No, beyond ready, Clint. September is my favorite month for

<v Speaker 4>many reasons. You know, the colors here in Colorado do

<v Speaker 4>this behind me here. We're done with the 90 and

<v Speaker 4>100 degree temperatures, and football is back. It's amazing.

<v Speaker 1>It's the best time of year. It just is. Finally,

<v Speaker 1>we have the wildly savvy veteran D.U. Pioneer and Denver

<v Speaker 1>Bronco fan Larry from Centennial Larry. It was a warm,

<v Speaker 1>dry winter, followed by a long, hot summer, but I'm

<v Speaker 1>hearing rumors of a Super El Nino coming to visit us.

<v Speaker 1>What kind of Farmer's Almanac info do you have for us?

<v Speaker 3>Just tracking the Super El Nino. It's a real thing.

<v Speaker 5>You've done a little bit here, but I just want

<v Speaker 5>to warn everybody, it's coming.

<v Speaker 1>It's just coming. Okay. All right. I'm going to look

<v Speaker 1>forward to it because we're starting to see a little

<v Speaker 1>bit of weird weather here in Colorado after just hot, dry, hot, dry.

<v Speaker 1>Starting to see some weird hail coming and some weird

<v Speaker 1>winds coming and some weird rain coming. Maybe we're going

<v Speaker 1>to flip things a little bit because we have not

<v Speaker 1>seen much weather here in Colorado except for hot. Let's

<v Speaker 1>go ahead and jump into this NFL. Of course, the

<v Speaker 1>Seattle Seahawks are the defending champions after winning Super Bowl

<v Speaker 1>60 last year over the New England Patriots last And

<v Speaker 1>that brings us to a narrative that we are seeing

<v Speaker 1>in the league right now. Sam Darnold was pulled off

<v Speaker 1>the scrappy after playing for the Jets and the Panthers

<v Speaker 1>and the Niners and the Vikings, but he finally found

<v Speaker 1>the right place in Seattle. But it's not just him.

<v Speaker 1>Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, they're all in some

<v Speaker 1>similar situations. Mike, is this a change in expectations? Is

<v Speaker 1>it just being in a better situation with a better

<v Speaker 1>team and a better coach? How are they coaching up

<v Speaker 1>these guys that failed somewhere else? Is this a trend

<v Speaker 1>that we're going to see?

<v Speaker 4>It could be. I think the two things you mentioned

<v Speaker 4>are large parts of it. When you're a top five

<v Speaker 4>pick and you go to your first team, the expectations

<v Speaker 4>are sky high. And you're going to a bad team.

<v Speaker 1>Guess what?

<v Speaker 4>You absolutely go to a bad team. But on the

<v Speaker 4>other hand, going into the right situation... It makes a

<v Speaker 4>big difference. You know, we here in Denver, you know,

<v Speaker 4>with with our up and coming Bo Nix quarterback, I

<v Speaker 4>don't know if he'd be doing as well in other situations.

<v Speaker 4>So you've got to be in the right situation. And

<v Speaker 4>I think these guys have found better situations for themselves.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think you're probably right. And it's going to

<v Speaker 1>be real interesting to see if some of these guys,

<v Speaker 1>you know, we talked about Kyler Murray. I know there's

<v Speaker 1>another Call of Duty coming, but can he kind of

<v Speaker 1>revive that career? Another trend we are seeing, we saw

<v Speaker 1>it with the Seattle Seahawks, and that seems to be

<v Speaker 1>the return of the running back. Hey, the Seahawks won

<v Speaker 1>that Super Bowl with two really good running backs. Zach Carbonet,

<v Speaker 1>Kenneth Walker, the Colts. They've got Jonathan Taylor. You've got

<v Speaker 1>Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley. The Falcons have John Robinson. We

<v Speaker 1>are seeing some teams go to more quarterback under center formations. Rob,

<v Speaker 1>are we seeing the return of the running back of

<v Speaker 1>the NFL?

<v Speaker 2>I think we are. Like we say all the time,

<v Speaker 2>it's a copycat league. And so spread offense was the

<v Speaker 2>craze for a while. And I think now the defense

<v Speaker 2>has caught up with that or scheming for it. And

<v Speaker 2>now kind of league is being forced back to being

<v Speaker 2>able to run the ball and not just slinging all

<v Speaker 2>over the place.

<v Speaker 1>You know, when you think of the 60s, 70s into

<v Speaker 1>the 80s, even you can think of the running back

<v Speaker 1>that went with the team. You're like, oh, they had

<v Speaker 1>this guy and they had this guy. And then we

<v Speaker 1>kind of lost that. And honestly, I would say like

<v Speaker 1>Terrell Davis, Marshall Falk were kind of the last guys

<v Speaker 1>you remember. And now maybe that's coming back a little bit.

<v Speaker 1>We're going to see because those running backs, if that

<v Speaker 1>is the case, are being way underpaid. Finally, the NFL

<v Speaker 1>continues to ramp up that international presence with a record

<v Speaker 1>nine games scheduled outside of the United States this coming season.

<v Speaker 1>There will be games in Melbourne, Rio, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris,

<v Speaker 1>and Mexico City. The first international game of the season

<v Speaker 1>is is going to kick off September 10th from Australia

<v Speaker 1>when the 49ers play the Rams at Melbourne Cricket Grounds.

<v Speaker 1>Whatever that is. Larry, are we really trying to add

<v Speaker 1>international teams? Is this just a cash grab? It seems

<v Speaker 1>like the logistics of doing this for real would be horrible,

<v Speaker 1>wouldn't they?

<v Speaker 3>Well, they're horrible for the players, for sure.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah.

<v Speaker 5>Or equipment guys, right? You have to deal with it.

<v Speaker 5>But they make money. So, yes, yes, yes to all

<v Speaker 5>your questions.

<v Speaker 3>It is a money grab. It's expansion. You know, it's everything, right?

<v Speaker 5>And I, you know, I guess we all ought to

<v Speaker 5>come to terms with it. Look, I'm not the guy

<v Speaker 5>who has to travel, you know, 24 hours to get

<v Speaker 5>to Australia. But that's hard.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

<v Speaker 5>It's hard enough for me to, you know, get on

<v Speaker 5>a two-hour flight and not really have anything to do,

<v Speaker 5>you know?

<v Speaker 1>Right, yeah.

<v Speaker 3>Imagine go play a football game.

<v Speaker 1>Right. Yeah, I don't know. I know that's what every

<v Speaker 1>league seems to want to do. I don't know if

<v Speaker 1>it's really going to work actually putting teams overseas. I

<v Speaker 1>kind of feel like that might be a struggle. Let's

<v Speaker 1>go ahead and jump into our divisional previews. We are

<v Speaker 1>going to go through every single preview. Well, we're going

<v Speaker 1>to go through a few today and then maybe save

<v Speaker 1>a few more. And then we are going to let

<v Speaker 1>you know exactly how these divisions are going to shape up,

<v Speaker 1>who's going to the playoffs, who isn't, and who is

<v Speaker 1>eventually going to be playing in Super Bowl 61. Let's

<v Speaker 1>start off with that AFC East. The New England Patriots

<v Speaker 1>took this division back last year. They went 14-3. The

<v Speaker 1>Buffalo Bills got a wildcard berth at 12-5, and then

<v Speaker 1>we had the Miami Dolphins at 7-10, and the New

<v Speaker 1>York Jets come in last at 3-14. Mike, how do

<v Speaker 1>you see the AFC East shaping up this year?

<v Speaker 4>Just flip flop at the top and the bottom. As

<v Speaker 4>far as what I've got, I've got the division. I

<v Speaker 4>believe new England is a good team. They're not going

<v Speaker 4>to perform as well as they did last year. I

<v Speaker 4>don't think I've actually got them as a wild card jets.

<v Speaker 4>I think might be a little bit better. And I

<v Speaker 4>think the dolphins are going to be battling for the

<v Speaker 4>number one overall pick. So I've got them dead last

<v Speaker 4>in that division.

<v Speaker 1>So you are going bills, Patriots jets, dolphins. Yes. All right.

<v Speaker 1>That makes sense to me. Anybody got anything different? Rob,

<v Speaker 1>what do you have in the AFC East?

<v Speaker 4>Got it the same.

<v Speaker 2>Bills on top of the division.

<v Speaker 1>Yep.

<v Speaker 2>I've got the Pats getting in as a wild card.

<v Speaker 2>Jets three. And then, yeah, Dolphins probably the worst team

<v Speaker 2>in the league. I agree with Mike. I think the

<v Speaker 2>Pats are going to drop off, but not completely bottom out.

<v Speaker 2>So they're still going to sneak in. But yeah, I've

<v Speaker 2>got it the same.

<v Speaker 3>Well, and you know.

<v Speaker 1>I hate to just throw out the Patriots, but we

<v Speaker 1>know that teams that lose the Super Bowl historically don't

<v Speaker 1>do well. It's not like a coincidence. You got kicked

<v Speaker 1>in front of everybody, and we know the path they

<v Speaker 1>had to get to that Super Bowl was probably... It

<v Speaker 1>might have been the softest ever. Larry, what do you

<v Speaker 1>have with the AFC East?

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I've got the same thing, actually. Ditto, you know,

<v Speaker 3>with the Patriots being the wild card.

<v Speaker 1>Okay.

<v Speaker 4>You know, hey, look.

<v Speaker 5>The Patriots are better, but it's still the worst division,

<v Speaker 5>you know, top to bottom. Two really good teams, you know,

<v Speaker 5>not so good teams. if you're the Bills or the Patriots,

<v Speaker 5>you still.

<v Speaker 3>Got what should be four pretty good wins in there.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I've got Bills, Patriots, Jets, Dolphins as well. The

<v Speaker 1>Bills are going to be very interesting to me because

<v Speaker 1>Sean McDermott is out. Joe Brady is the youngest coach

<v Speaker 1>in the league. He is their new head coach. That's

<v Speaker 1>a ton of pressure because that window is closing. They

<v Speaker 1>are thinking Super Bowl or bust. They add DJ Moore

<v Speaker 1>to upgrade that wide receiver core, which they needed. But

<v Speaker 1>I mean, Josh Allen had a golden opportunity last year. Goal.

<v Speaker 1>win in Denver, beat Bo Nix. We can put it

<v Speaker 1>on that defense, but he didn't play very well. The

<v Speaker 1>defense is going to go back to a 3-4. I

<v Speaker 1>don't know if their defense is going to get up

<v Speaker 1>to speed, but yeah, I agree with you guys. I

<v Speaker 1>think we all have that 1-4 the same. Let's go

<v Speaker 1>next to the NFC East, where last season, the Philadelphia

<v Speaker 1>Eagles were the only team from this division that even

<v Speaker 1>made the playoffs. They went 11-6, but then they came

<v Speaker 1>up short in the wildcard round. The Dallas Cowboys were

<v Speaker 1>second at 7-9-1. The Washington Commanders went 5-12. They had

<v Speaker 1>a ton of injuries. And speaking of injuries, we also

<v Speaker 1>have the New York Giants. They had a bunch too.

<v Speaker 1>They went 4-13. Rob, how do you have that NFC

<v Speaker 1>East going this year?

<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I've got the Eagles went in the division again.

<v Speaker 2>Not a homer pick, but a little worried about the

<v Speaker 2>offense starting off. But I think, you know, with the schedule,

<v Speaker 2>we get some help there. So get it figured out.

<v Speaker 2>I think the Cowboys are going to finish second and

<v Speaker 2>they're going to make it in as a wild card.

<v Speaker 2>Really good offense. I think the defense gets a little

<v Speaker 2>bit better. And if it does, you know, I think

<v Speaker 2>that offense has enough to carry them. So, yeah, I've

<v Speaker 2>got them in as a wild card finishing third. I

<v Speaker 2>have the Commanders. And then fourth, the Giants. And I'll

<v Speaker 2>pinpoint the Giants here. I think they're going to be

<v Speaker 2>a lot better. The schedule is pretty rough. But I

<v Speaker 2>think they do have the right guy in there. And,

<v Speaker 2>you know, they're going to start building. So moving in

<v Speaker 2>the right direction. And commanders, I'm a little worried about.

<v Speaker 2>Quinn's definitely on the hot seat. So we'll see how

<v Speaker 2>that shakes out. I think they'll be okay. But yeah,

<v Speaker 2>Eagles winning the division and Cowboys in as a wild card.

<v Speaker 1>Okay.

<v Speaker 3>All right.

<v Speaker 1>Let's go right around. Larry, how do you have the

<v Speaker 1>NFC East going?

<v Speaker 3>So I've got the Cowboys winning the division. Okay.

<v Speaker 5>I think they're just, I don't know that we can

<v Speaker 5>make as much fun of them as we have in

<v Speaker 5>years gone by.

<v Speaker 1>We can and we will.

<v Speaker 3>So I've got the Cowboys winning. I've got the Eagles

<v Speaker 3>coming in second.

<v Speaker 5>I've got the commanders with a little bit of a

<v Speaker 5>bounce back here from Daniels.

<v Speaker 3>And then I don't know about the Giants.

<v Speaker 5>I hear what you're saying, Rob, but I mean, there

<v Speaker 5>just seems to be some, you know, shenanigans going on

<v Speaker 5>in New York.

<v Speaker 3>And maybe it will work out. Maybe it won't.

<v Speaker 5>You're still dealing with a really, I think, young and

<v Speaker 5>immature quarterback. So I think that is what had me

<v Speaker 5>put them.

<v Speaker 3>At the bottom.

<v Speaker 1>All right. Mike, how do you see the NFC East

<v Speaker 1>shaping up?

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I've actually got the same order as last year

<v Speaker 4>and the same order as Rob. I've got the Eagles

<v Speaker 4>winning the division. I had the Cowboys second but missing

<v Speaker 4>the playoffs just ahead of the Commanders. And I agree

<v Speaker 4>with Rob. I think the Giants could– flirt with a 500.

<v Speaker 4>There's no such thing as a 500 with a stupid 17.

<v Speaker 4>You know what I mean. Around the 8-9 win range

<v Speaker 4>in there, improving, but still bringing up the rear in

<v Speaker 4>the division.

<v Speaker 1>I've got the Eagles at first. I think that defense

<v Speaker 1>is just too good. I know the offense, we've got

<v Speaker 1>to figure out. They're talking about putting Jalen under center more.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know if that's a help or a hurt,

<v Speaker 1>but I think that defense is so good it probably

<v Speaker 1>won't matter. The Cowboys should be primed for a playoff run.

<v Speaker 1>That defense has to get better because I don't think

<v Speaker 1>it can statistically get worse. They gave up 511 points

<v Speaker 1>last year, which is absolutely insane. Can George Pickens just

<v Speaker 1>not get himself into trouble? I want to see that.

<v Speaker 1>I actually have those last two teams flipped. I've got

<v Speaker 1>the Giants at third. Brian Dayball out. John Harbaugh in third.

<v Speaker 1>Kind of has to be an upgrade, doesn't it? Can

<v Speaker 1>they stay healthy? Jackson Dart has already shown no. Cam Scadaboo, no.

<v Speaker 1>Malik Nabors, probably not. Okay, but I'm going to say

<v Speaker 1>they stay healthy. The team I am most concerned with

<v Speaker 1>is Washington. I don't know if Jaden Daniels can stay healthy.

<v Speaker 1>Laramie Tunsell is already out for the year with a

<v Speaker 1>torn triceps, so the offensive line is already being juggled.

<v Speaker 1>It wasn't very good to begin with. The defense is

<v Speaker 1>not great. Now they have Stefan Diggs. Speaking of distractions,

<v Speaker 1>I don't know. I know there are a lot of

<v Speaker 1>people like this team. I'm not one of them. I've

<v Speaker 1>got the Commanders finishing last in that division. I'm still

<v Speaker 1>on the fence about whether or not I put Dallas

<v Speaker 1>in the playoffs. We'll get to that a little bit

<v Speaker 1>more later. Let's move next to the AFC North, a

<v Speaker 1>division that saw a ton of change in the offseason.

<v Speaker 1>Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers somehow won this mess kind

<v Speaker 1>of by default, but then head coach Mike Tomlin resigned

<v Speaker 1>after they got blown out in the playoffs. playoffs the

<v Speaker 1>Baltimore Ravens disappointed everyone at 8-9 they fired head coach

<v Speaker 1>John Harbaugh the Cincinnati Bengals limped to a 6-11 record

<v Speaker 1>probably should have fired their head coach but didn't the

<v Speaker 1>Cleveland Browns were dreadful 5-12 they fired coach Kevin Stefanski

<v Speaker 1>they brought in a guy you've never heard of Larry

<v Speaker 1>this division might look really different because we have changed

<v Speaker 1>a lot of pieces in the AFC North how do

<v Speaker 1>you see the AFC North going yeah.

<v Speaker 5>It's there's a lot of pieces that are different, but

<v Speaker 5>we're going on year, what, seven of talking about this

<v Speaker 5>division as being, and usually the Ravens are, you know,

<v Speaker 5>the outstanding head above everybody else.

<v Speaker 3>They're not this year. I've got the Bengals winning the division. Wow.

<v Speaker 1>Okay.

<v Speaker 5>I've got the, I've got the Ravens second and Steelers

<v Speaker 5>and Browns, you know, are second or third and fourth.

<v Speaker 1>Okay.

<v Speaker 3>So, but I, Ultimately, I think the division is exactly

<v Speaker 3>what we've seen before. It's going to be tough.

<v Speaker 5>It's going to be for us, and nobody's going to

<v Speaker 5>have a 14-3 record.

<v Speaker 1>That's going to be tough. It is a tough division,

<v Speaker 1>and there's going to be a lot of shakeup in it. Mike,

<v Speaker 1>how do you see the AFC North?

<v Speaker 4>I agree with one of Larry's points. I don't think

<v Speaker 4>anybody's going to run away with it. Ten wins may

<v Speaker 4>take the division this year. I actually do have the Ravens.

<v Speaker 4>I like how they revamped the defense. The dynamic offense

<v Speaker 4>with running back and quarterback, two of the top ones

<v Speaker 4>in the league. You can't argue with that. So I've

<v Speaker 4>got them winning the division. I do have the Bengals

<v Speaker 4>improving over last year, although that's a low par, but

<v Speaker 4>just missing the playoffs. The defense is atrocious there. The

<v Speaker 4>Steelers missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.

<v Speaker 4>And then the Browns bringing up the rear with, I

<v Speaker 4>don't know who's playing quarterback.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know, but they kept four of.

<v Speaker 3>Them.

<v Speaker 1>None of them are good. It's actually insane. Yeah, they

<v Speaker 1>might play all four. Rob, how do you see the

<v Speaker 1>AFC North?

<v Speaker 2>I got it the same as Mike. I like the Ravens.

<v Speaker 2>They did, you know, change coaches, but they hired from within.

<v Speaker 2>So it's pretty much the same team. I think they're

<v Speaker 2>going to be healthier this year. Ravens win the division. Bengals,

<v Speaker 2>I have them in as a wild card, finishing second here.

<v Speaker 2>The defense has to be better. Again, kind of like

<v Speaker 2>we said about the Cowboys, the defense is so bad.

<v Speaker 2>So I'm banking that that defense is at least average.

<v Speaker 2>And Burrow, you know, still is good with all his

<v Speaker 2>weapons came back. Steelers, the usual 9-8 finish, miss the playoffs,

<v Speaker 2>and Browns bring up the rear.

<v Speaker 1>All right. All right. So everybody's pretty similar. Larry's got

<v Speaker 1>Cincinnati on top. Everybody else has Baltimore. I have Baltimore

<v Speaker 1>at number one. I think Lamar Jackson, he's already come

<v Speaker 1>in in better shape. Maybe, I don't know, maybe John

<v Speaker 1>Harbaugh's message was stale. He'd been there a long time.

<v Speaker 1>Maybe they needed to shake up. They still need more

<v Speaker 1>offensive weapons in that passing game, especially, and they need

<v Speaker 1>that defense to get better. Last year was not a

<v Speaker 1>great year. The Pittsburgh Steelers, I actually have at second

<v Speaker 1>because I think their offensive and defensive lines are better

<v Speaker 1>than the other two. Do I have any faith in

<v Speaker 1>Mike McCarthy reunited with Aaron Rodgers? No, but if it

<v Speaker 1>was 2009, I would. It's not. But I think they're

<v Speaker 1>better up front. Their skill positions, I just don't think

<v Speaker 1>are great. I've got Cincinnati at three, and I'll tell

<v Speaker 1>you why. Because They keep running back the same offensive

<v Speaker 1>line and expecting it to be different, and I don't

<v Speaker 1>understand why. Part of me thinks ownership hates Joe Burrow,

<v Speaker 1>and they want to see him die on the field.

<v Speaker 1>They might get their wish. I've got them at third,

<v Speaker 1>and I have them on the edge of a playoff berth.

<v Speaker 1>We'll see if they can make it. And then the

<v Speaker 1>Cleveland Browns. Just drop football, honest to God. Pass rusher

<v Speaker 1>Myles Garrett is gone. They have some decent young pieces,

<v Speaker 1>especially on defense, but none of them really fit together.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know who their quarterback is. They say it's

<v Speaker 1>going to be Deshaun Watson. Everyone hates him. He hates everyone.

<v Speaker 1>The receivers are horrible. Jerry Judy is terrible. But in

<v Speaker 1>all honesty... Is there a worse case for Cleveland than

<v Speaker 1>if they actually win a few games? That might be

<v Speaker 1>the absolute worst thing they could do. I think that's

<v Speaker 1>why they're starting Deshaun, because they know they're going to

<v Speaker 1>lose and they want to lose. They want to get

<v Speaker 1>a better quarterback. Yeah, the AFC North is kind of

<v Speaker 1>a weird division. Let's finish up this week, at least,

<v Speaker 1>with the NFC North, which is absolutely stacked. And I'll

<v Speaker 1>be honest with you guys. I went through and I

<v Speaker 1>made my one through four. I scrapped it and I

<v Speaker 1>went through and made a new one by one through four.

<v Speaker 1>And then I scrapped that and I went. I don't know.

<v Speaker 1>I have no idea who's going to end up on top.

<v Speaker 1>Last season, the Chicago Bears surprised everyone. They win the

<v Speaker 1>division 11 and six. They even won a playoff game.

<v Speaker 1>The Green Bay Packers made the playoffs. They went nine,

<v Speaker 1>seven and one, but then they lost their playoff game

<v Speaker 1>to those bears. The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions both

<v Speaker 1>finished nine and eight, but neither qualified for the playoffs. Mike,

<v Speaker 1>how is that NFC North going to look this season?

<v Speaker 1>Because I think it's going to be really competitive, but

<v Speaker 1>I have no idea who to put on top.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, this was a tough one, and I actually ended

<v Speaker 4>up putting three teams in.

<v Speaker 1>Okay.

<v Speaker 4>You know, two wild cards. I've got Detroit coming out

<v Speaker 4>on top.

<v Speaker 1>Okay.

<v Speaker 4>I think the Bears snuck up on some people last year,

<v Speaker 4>and this year they had the toughest schedule in the league.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

<v Speaker 4>So I think that's going to bite them. We'll see

<v Speaker 4>if Caleb Williams can continue to pull miracles out of

<v Speaker 4>his keister like he did several times last year. I

<v Speaker 4>don't think that's a trend. I still think they're a

<v Speaker 4>pretty good young team, though, so. Packers, I've got them

<v Speaker 4>as the final wildcard spot. And the Vikings, probably around

<v Speaker 4>8-9 or so. Pretty good, but just missing out on

<v Speaker 4>the playoffs.

<v Speaker 1>Okay, so you're going Lions, Bears, Packers, Vikings. Is that correct?

<v Speaker 1>All right, let's keep this one moving. Rob, next up,

<v Speaker 1>NFC North. How do you have it?

<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I've got the Lions winning the division. I like

<v Speaker 2>them bringing it back. I think they're going to be healthier. Obviously,

<v Speaker 2>a down year. A lot of that was injuries last year.

<v Speaker 2>But they're back on top of the division. Finishing second,

<v Speaker 2>give me the Vikings. This is my favorite team this year.

<v Speaker 2>Defense is good, obviously an upgraded quarterback, and I think

<v Speaker 2>they just have enough there, you know, with that defense,

<v Speaker 2>offensive weapon. Tyler gives them enough, you know, and with

<v Speaker 2>a lighter schedule too. So Vikings finish second. Third place

<v Speaker 2>for me is going to be the Bears. I think

<v Speaker 2>there's going to be some regression here. I think it

<v Speaker 2>was six wins after trailing at the two-minute mark last season,

<v Speaker 2>and just I don't think that can happen again. So

<v Speaker 2>They did have a good season, but just everything fell

<v Speaker 2>their way. And then Packers bringing up the rear here.

<v Speaker 2>I think it might bottom out for them here, just

<v Speaker 2>with injuries. Parsons is already out for that first month,

<v Speaker 2>and I just think they're never going to get rolling.

<v Speaker 2>So Lions win the division, and I've got the Vikings

<v Speaker 2>in as a wild card.

<v Speaker 1>Ooh, interesting. All right, Rob, shaking up that NFC North. Larry,

<v Speaker 1>NFC North, how's it going to play out?

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, this is.

<v Speaker 3>It's going to be different. I've got Detroit winning the division.

<v Speaker 5>I'll take the Bears second, and opposite of Rob, I

<v Speaker 5>think they're going to get better.

<v Speaker 3>When was the last time we were talking.

<v Speaker 5>About the Bears and their strength was offense? I think

<v Speaker 5>what it is. I've got the Bears second in the playoffs,

<v Speaker 5>and then I'll follow it up with Green.

<v Speaker 3>Bay and Minnesota.

<v Speaker 1>All right, I have shaken mine up. And what I

<v Speaker 1>ended up with was I've got the Packers finishing on top.

<v Speaker 1>I don't trust them. They have too many injuries. I

<v Speaker 1>think Matt LaFleur could legit be in trouble. But I

<v Speaker 1>think they have more talent than anyone else. The problem

<v Speaker 1>is they don't finish games. How many games are they leading?

<v Speaker 1>And very, very late, they find new and creative ways

<v Speaker 1>to lose them. And if that happens again this year,

<v Speaker 1>Matt LaFleur, you're looking for a new job. I've got

<v Speaker 1>them on top. I've got Detroit in second. Dan Campbell

<v Speaker 1>has to be better this year, doesn't he? You can't

<v Speaker 1>be an idiot going for it all the time like

<v Speaker 1>a moron and put your team in risky situations. That

<v Speaker 1>team has so much offensive talent. The defense can improve

<v Speaker 1>a little bit. The soft schedule is going to help

<v Speaker 1>them a ton. So I'm going to put the Detroit

<v Speaker 1>Lions in second place. I mentioned it before, Chicago Bears.

<v Speaker 1>They won so many games in late dramatic fashion. I

<v Speaker 1>think they take a step back, and I'll tell you why.

<v Speaker 1>I believe there is some sort of weird stat with

<v Speaker 1>the Bears where they fumbled like 19 times and only

<v Speaker 1>lost four of them. That's just freak luck, whatever you

<v Speaker 1>want to call it. I don't know that you can

<v Speaker 1>get those same friendly bounces year after year. I still

<v Speaker 1>like that team, though, and they're going to be really,

<v Speaker 1>really tough. They're going to push for a playoff spot.

<v Speaker 1>And the Vikings could end up being a surprise to

<v Speaker 1>the division. The team has got a talent, but they

<v Speaker 1>didn't have a quarterback. Now they have Kyler Murray. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>Kevin O'Connell, can he work the same magic with Kyler

<v Speaker 1>that he did with Sam Darnold?

<v Speaker 2>Maybe.

<v Speaker 1>Or does he have the same magic that he did

<v Speaker 1>with J.J. McCarthy? In which case, the answer will be no.

<v Speaker 1>I've got Minnesota on the bottom, but I have no idea.

<v Speaker 1>This division is going to be really fun to watch, though.

<v Speaker 1>I can't wait to watch the NFC North because I

<v Speaker 1>think it's going to be highly competitive every single week.

<v Speaker 3>All right.

<v Speaker 1>We are going to finish up this week of the

<v Speaker 1>first part of our NFL preview, but do not worry

<v Speaker 1>because we're going to have a ton more. But before

<v Speaker 1>I let these gentlemen go this week, you know, we

<v Speaker 1>have these guys. I don't know. I was thinking about

<v Speaker 1>this earlier today. I believe we have now done the

<v Speaker 1>four of us on an NFL preview of some kind.

<v Speaker 1>This has got to be seven, eight years. I mean,

<v Speaker 1>in December, the Dosa is going to be hitting a

<v Speaker 1>12-year anniversary. You guys have been coming on for a

<v Speaker 1>number of years and everybody getting together. You know their faces.

<v Speaker 1>You know their names. You kind of know who they

<v Speaker 1>like and what they talk about. We're going to go

<v Speaker 1>a little bit further this week. I'm going to give

<v Speaker 1>you a little bit more information. I'm going to kick

<v Speaker 1>this off with Mike. I'll put Mike on the spot first.

<v Speaker 1>I want to go around the horn and I want

<v Speaker 1>you to think about who, now this doesn't have to

<v Speaker 1>be the best. It doesn't have to be the greatest.

<v Speaker 1>You don't have to name the ultimate. Who was your

<v Speaker 1>favorite NFL player as a little kid? Now, your first

<v Speaker 1>reaction might be, hey, my favorite player was, you know,

<v Speaker 1>one of the greats. It was Joe Montana. It was

<v Speaker 1>Lawrence Taylor. But so many times, I'll speak for myself.

<v Speaker 1>I was a little kid and I was really young.

<v Speaker 1>And if I'm being honest, I barely remember it all.

<v Speaker 1>I watched Floyd Little play for the Denver Broncos. And

<v Speaker 1>it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. He was way undersized.

<v Speaker 1>He had no help. And somehow he was running crazy

<v Speaker 1>all over the field. They didn't have jerseys because I'm old.

<v Speaker 1>That wasn't a thing. I had a white, plain white sweatshirt.

<v Speaker 1>And I made my mom iron on a four and

<v Speaker 1>a four. And they were about this big on my hoodie.

<v Speaker 1>And I was like, I don't care what anybody says.

<v Speaker 1>I'm Floyd Little now. So deal with it. And that

<v Speaker 1>was my favorite player growing up. Floyd Little was the guy.

<v Speaker 1>We're going to go around. Now, maybe it wasn't on

<v Speaker 1>your favorite team. Maybe it's on a different team. Who

<v Speaker 1>was your favorite childhood player? Like I said, could be

<v Speaker 1>a big name. Doesn't have to be. Mike, I'll serve

<v Speaker 1>it up to you first. Favorite childhood player in the NFL?

<v Speaker 4>Boy, I guess it depends on what part of my childhood, right?

<v Speaker 1>Well, yeah.

<v Speaker 4>The low-hanging fruit, of course, is John Elway, but I'm

<v Speaker 4>going to go a little bit before that. I just

<v Speaker 4>remember absolutely loving watching Haven Moses.

<v Speaker 1>Oh, fair. He's another guy on my list, yep.

<v Speaker 4>The returns, the catches, the Eminem connection, just what an

<v Speaker 4>amazing player he was. He was so fun to watch.

<v Speaker 1>And you bring up a really good point because this

<v Speaker 1>goes into the whole favorite player thing. Haven Moses is

<v Speaker 1>another guy on my list. Randy Gratishar is another guy

<v Speaker 1>on my list. Not just, especially with Haven Moses, graceful

<v Speaker 1>and fluid. He looks like a ballet dancer out there.

<v Speaker 1>Also a phenomenal person, a great person. Like, oh no,

<v Speaker 1>that's the guy. Like that's a guy you thought of as, hey,

<v Speaker 1>that's my favorite player. Because not only is he a

<v Speaker 1>great player, he's a really good dude. Haven Moses was

<v Speaker 1>that guy. Yeah, great call, Mike. Let's go next to Rob. Rob,

<v Speaker 1>favorite player growing up. You grew up, what, down in Houston? Goodness,

<v Speaker 1>it could be anybody. All right, all right. What do

<v Speaker 1>we got, Rob? Favorite player growing up.

<v Speaker 2>It's actually why I like the Eagles and picked them

<v Speaker 2>as a team. Randall Cunningham, quarterback.

<v Speaker 1>I get it.

<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's kind of why. Actually, that is why. I'm

<v Speaker 2>an Eagles fan now. I was my favorite player growing up. Yeah,

<v Speaker 2>just watching him play. He even did a guest appearance

<v Speaker 2>on my favorite TV show, which was Martin, growing up.

<v Speaker 2>So yeah, for me, yeah. Randall Cunningham, favorite player.

<v Speaker 1>Rob, I'll tell you a secret. I don't know that

<v Speaker 1>I've ever told you this, but on the closet of

<v Speaker 1>my bedroom, I had a John Elway poster, and when

<v Speaker 1>you opened the door, Randall Cunningham was on the inside.

<v Speaker 1>So I switched it, and you could have open or close.

<v Speaker 1>Randall Cunningham might have thrown the prettiest pass I've ever

<v Speaker 1>seen in my life. There was something almost left-handed about it,

<v Speaker 1>because it was so perfect coming out of his hand. Also,

<v Speaker 1>a highly underrated punter that everyone kind of forgets about.

<v Speaker 1>I think dude had like a 90-yard punt one time. Yeah, phenomenal,

<v Speaker 1>huge arm, highly entertaining guy. Yeah. Hey, Randall Cunningham was

<v Speaker 1>a guy that I loved. I get it, Rob. All right, Larry.

<v Speaker 1>You are the last one here. Favorite player growing up

<v Speaker 1>in the NFL was who for Larry Hammond?

<v Speaker 3>Gosh, it's a great question, by the way. Thank you.

<v Speaker 5>Because I've just been, as you guys are talking, I'm

<v Speaker 5>just thinking about, you know, everybody I thought of as

<v Speaker 5>a kid. Now, I didn't watch, you know, football every

<v Speaker 5>Sunday growing up as a kid.

<v Speaker 3>So, but I did go.

<v Speaker 5>To a game with my dad when I was young

<v Speaker 5>and saw Rick Upchurch.

<v Speaker 1>Ooh.

<v Speaker 3>Art for a kick for a touchdown. And it was

<v Speaker 3>so exciting, right?

<v Speaker 1>Oh, yeah.

<v Speaker 3>People are going nuts, so. From then on, he was

<v Speaker 3>my guy, right?

<v Speaker 5>And saw him do that and.

<v Speaker 3>Couldn't get it out of my mind.

<v Speaker 1>Well, so explosive, so dangerous. People were afraid to punt

<v Speaker 1>to him or kick to him. He was so dangerous.

<v Speaker 1>Catching the ball, running him on like little jet sweep

<v Speaker 1>kind of stuff. kind of before his time. I mean,

<v Speaker 1>that wasn't really done back then, but he was so dangerous.

<v Speaker 1>I think you have to put him in the top

<v Speaker 1>probably five returners ever. He was that dangerous. He put

<v Speaker 1>the fear of God into opposing teams because he could

<v Speaker 1>return anything, anytime for a I recently, it's funny you

<v Speaker 1>brought up Rick Upchurch, Larry, because I recently sent Mike

<v Speaker 1>a video of Rick Upchurch. You can find it on YouTube.

<v Speaker 1>He is wearing a plain blue helmet, no logo on

<v Speaker 1>the side, because earlier in the game, he had busted

<v Speaker 1>his helmet open and had to go get a new one.

<v Speaker 1>That was a different era. of sports back then. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>I cracked my skull open, put another, put another hat

<v Speaker 1>on me. I'm going back out there. Excellent. Excellent call. Well, Hey,

<v Speaker 1>you guys, you guys kind of knocked that one out

<v Speaker 1>of the park. I thought I'd spring one on you,

<v Speaker 1>but that was actually pretty fun. Uh, some very, very

<v Speaker 1>good players. And I'll be honest, you, you guys actually

<v Speaker 1>named four of my favorite players as well. Well done.

<v Speaker 4>All right.

<v Speaker 1>Next week, we're going to come back. We're going to

<v Speaker 1>finish off the rest of our NFL preview, and we're

<v Speaker 1>going to break down who is going to the NFL

<v Speaker 1>postseason and who is going to end up in Super

<v Speaker 1>Bowl 61 played in Englewood, California this year. So we

<v Speaker 1>will be getting into that next week. But before we go,

<v Speaker 1>any final thoughts? Mike, you are first up on part

<v Speaker 1>one of our NFL preview.

<v Speaker 4>Oh, man, this is just getting my juices flowing, right?

<v Speaker 4>I mean, you think about it all summer. You get

<v Speaker 4>excited for training camp, and then that gets dull. You

<v Speaker 4>get excited for preseason, and then that gets dull. And

<v Speaker 4>now we've got a full weekend of football coming up

<v Speaker 4>for real. It's just incredible. The NFL is the only

<v Speaker 4>sport we'll all watch just about any game, right? It

<v Speaker 4>doesn't have to be United. I just am not much

<v Speaker 4>of an NFL fan.

<v Speaker 3>100%.

<v Speaker 1>Absolutely correct. Rob, next up, any final thoughts for the

<v Speaker 1>week one of the NFL preview?

<v Speaker 2>No, same as Mike. I'm excited that it's here. College

<v Speaker 2>football is taking up all my Saturdays, and I'm ready

<v Speaker 2>for NFL to take up the entire day Sunday.

<v Speaker 1>Why not just ruin the whole week? I mean, let's

<v Speaker 1>go Thursday to Monday. Why not? That's just what we

<v Speaker 1>love here in America. Larry, finish this off. Anything for

<v Speaker 1>the greater good and part one of the NFL preview?

<v Speaker 3>Just the same, right?

<v Speaker 5>Like, you know who in their right mind would watch

<v Speaker 5>uh any part of a third pre-season game but.

<v Speaker 3>I i can guarantee you all four of.

<v Speaker 1>Us did right yeah we did.

<v Speaker 5>So let's get the real thing going uh can't wait

<v Speaker 5>uh more mental gymnastics of trying to figure out which

<v Speaker 5>channel and which streaming device so uh buckle up right.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah you're exactly right on that one because i'm already

<v Speaker 1>looking at the previews like okay wait we plan what

<v Speaker 1>do i get that i don't know if i get

<v Speaker 1>do we have that do we have that i don't

<v Speaker 1>know if we get uh they've got to figure out

<v Speaker 1>something very very soon gentlemen as usual thank you all

<v Speaker 1>so much for stopping by doing the first part of

<v Speaker 1>the daily dose nfl preview but just so you know

<v Speaker 1>you got to come back because we got to go

<v Speaker 1>one more the big one is coming next Hey, next

<v Speaker 1>week on The Dose, like I said, we will finish

<v Speaker 1>off our 2026 NFL preview and we will be making

<v Speaker 1>our picks for which teams are headed to the playoffs

<v Speaker 1>and who is actually going to get to and win

<v Speaker 1>Super Bowl 61 in Englewood, California. So be sure you

<v Speaker 1>check out The Dose next week. And be sure you

<v Speaker 1>let a friend know to do the same. Hey, I

<v Speaker 1>want to say thank you to each member of our

<v Speaker 1>luscious NFL panel, Rob, Mike, and Larry, for their contributions

<v Speaker 1>to The Daily Dose. And I want to say thank

<v Speaker 1>you to each and every one of you for listening

<v Speaker 1>to The Daily Dose every week. Thank you for the emails.

<v Speaker 1>Thank you for the texts. Thank you for the tweets.

<v Speaker 1>But more than anything, thank you for sharing the show

<v Speaker 1>and for sharing the videos with someone that you know.

<v Speaker 1>We absolutely love it when you do that. I have

<v Speaker 1>to say thank you to GSP. Could not do any

<v Speaker 1>of this without you. I will see you all next Wednesday.

<v Speaker 1>Have a great week, everybody.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, Inglewood.

<v Speaker 4>Inglewood, always up to no good.