Twelve of the NFL's finest quarterbacks have left the comfort of their stadiums and luxury suites for the adventure of a lifetime. Get the shit. These gridiron heroes are used to leading their teams on the field, but can they outplay, outlast, and outthrow each other in the ultimate survival challenge?

You leave everything you have for the guy beside you. We find a way to win the fucking game no matter what.

Let's go, baby. The stakes are high and the competition is fierce. Only one can claim the title of the ultimate survivor. Who will rise to the top and who will be sacked?

They wrote me off.

I ain't right back, though.

That's the problem. I ain't right back. Let's go.

This is quarterback Island.

This is quarterback Island here on NFL Daily. Usually, we're in the Chris Wesley podcast studio, but today, of course, we are on quarterback Island. I'm Greg Rosenthal here with three-time quarterback Island resident Steve Weis, a man of the Islands.

We're all on the same beige palate right here.

We didn't dress for the island today.

No, it's a breezy island.

It's like a Scottish Island. It absorbs the sun. And yes, Jordan Rodriegge of The Athletic, who has been there from the very beginning. I mean, you're stressed this morning because you left your notes that you had made at 4:00 in the morning at home. It's contagious. Now I'm a little stressed out. I don't know what's going to happen on this QB Island. I got to say, I'm coming into it with a very open mind, not sure what's going to happen. Why? Oh, no.

Because I know what you're doing.

I don't know what I'm doing.

It's on the island. You don't wear a watch here. You just go when the sun's up and the sun's down.

So Qby Island, what is it? It's a place where the best quarterbacks in the NFL reside. Only 12 can stay on the island. Before the season even started, you two and Colleen Wolf and I, we've all contributed to putting 12 quarterbacks on quarterback Island and they've stayed there throughout the course of the season. What it means to be on quarterback Island, you had some questions before the show, Steve, but to me, it means who's defining the position right now in 2024? Who is playing the best and is the most important at the position?

I like how you said right now, because we've seen, and with this being the third iteration, I think we've just seen certain growth, certain shortcomings as to where this is why we got to put guys on and pull guys off.

Yeah, and we will be- This is hard.

The 12 right now, man, it is going to be hard to pull people off. We've done a good job.

It's been cool because we've seen as certain teams have ascended and become the defining teams of their respective divisions, even their respective conferences. We have seen quarterbacks leading those teams in certain ways. We've also seen some of the conference and division defining teams. Their quarterback maybe takes a step back from the superstars on the roster. It's been very interesting. I think all of these things factor We're in and weigh in. Quarterback Island, we're back, baby.

Okay, let's look at the current members of the island. That's good. That's voted by the panel back in week eight or so. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow. This is in alphabetical order. Jaden Daniels, Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson. Very strong six-pack right there. Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, who was an addition last time around. Brock Purdy. Gino Smith also got onto the island for the first time. Matthew Stafford, he's out there at the old folks home at the island. And CJ Stroud.

He's got a ramp leading up to his villa.

And this time around, we're going to start the discussion with what quarterbacks aren't safe. And there's going to be a few that aren't safe because we are making a little bit of a change here on. Oh, God.

I knew it.Oh..

Here we go.

We're reducing the numbers. We're getting to December, less teams in the playoff mix, less quarterbacks really defining the position. We are taking this number from 12 down to 10 quarterbacks. So right off the bat, we got to get at least two quarterbacks off the island. And you also came up, Jordan, you're an executive producer. You weren't in the meetings that decided this number. But with a rip tide, you can choose at one point in the season. If you want to just stake your claim on a guy that has to be on the island, that's called a rip tide. You could use that at any point in the season. So let's Let's get started, and let's pick someone from that list of quarterbacks on the island who is no longer safe.

I will lead this off because, as you know, and as our loyal and very vocal listeners know, I have been fight in the good fight for a one John Matthew Stafford for a long time, and I'm going to come out swinging with this because, yes, I still think that he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league year over year. Yes, he can make throw. Yes, when he is on and healthy and has his cast around him as planned, he can elevate that cast into levels that we have hardly seen production-wise from not only the Rams, but from any offense. But right now, the entire operation is playing slow. They're getting off to slow start after slow start. Nine games of their games this season that they've been held without a countdown in the first this quarter, that has something to do with who is playing quarterback. It has a lot to do with the cast and all of the issues that they've had, but it also is a part of being the quarterback of that football team. As it stands now, he is 15th or lower in several major stats, including completion percentage, yards per attempt, EPA per dropback, he's at 16 right now.

We're defining the position right now.Right.

Now, not projecting forward.It's about how they've played.CPoE..

I've thought he's had some absolutely outstanding, astounding moments this season, and he could again down the stretch. You know how the Rams turned it on this time last year. But if we're talking right now over the last several games, I'm going I have to. Apologies to Matthew. I'm going to have to see him tomorrow, but I am kicking him off of quarterback.

You better hope Kelly's not listening. This is a stunner right off the bat that you would lead with Stafford, the Rams beat writer.It's like one of those TV shows.Well, I have to own it. It's like one of those TV shows.

I have to own it, Greg. I have to own it because I've been fighting for him, and I believed in him, and I do still believe in him. But if I'm looking at this group and I'm looking at the cut down, I'm going to have to say no to Matthew Stafford on the island for right now.

I'm with you. It's interesting. I didn't think you were going to go there. I'm with you, too. All right, we are voting Matthew Stafford off the island. If you're watching on YouTube, like it, subscribe.

I have to be the one to own it. If I was the one fighting for him that hard, and this is a pointed comment, then I also have to be the one to own it.

I own, by the way, that I was pushing hard to get Kirk Cousins on the island last time. I'm glad you guys talked to me out of that. I don't know.Thank.

You.i literally, on my notes, I said, Glad I never.

Not even close now.

Glad I never on my notes.

You guys were seers, and I didn't think you would go here, especially off the bat. I didn't either. Because-a woman on the edge. The only reason why is because I think he has stabilized a little over the last three or four weeks. He's been consistent, but is he defining? Is he exhaling? Is he the Stafford we used to know? Not quite.

No, because what they are doing now after these slow starts, they have turned back to the run. They have turned back to moving the ball on the ground. Listen, you're going to be hard-pressed to hear me legitimately criticize one of the best quarterbacks I think we've seen in a long time, and somebody who, overall, in the history of the league, is one of several quarterbacks who does define the position. But if we're We're talking about right now, this year, this is a player who, when he's on, when he's at his highest level, we've all seen it, he can lift this offense with the throws that he can make, with the movement, the way he can navigate the pocket. It's hard to watch him, even after the lateral ankle sprain, it's not supposed to hinder him this week, but even before that lateral ankle sprain against New Orleans this last week, it's hard to watch him take these sacs. It's hard to watch him not be able to maybe move out of the way, pick up the easy gimme yards on the ground, the that some other quarterbacks, especially this late as the weather starts to get cold, it's important that you can be able to do that.

Now, you'll never hear me demeaning his level of play. No, he could be back on here in four weeks.

It wouldn't shock me. He's had some great plays.

But I'm the one who argued so hard for him, and I'm not seeing the same Matthew Stafford that I expect to see.

That's when he gets a Puka and Cooca cup back. He's not playing that well. That's why it's a major strike against him.

Okay, so he's gone. I think there's one real obvious name on the island right now that it needs to go, but I'm going to let my friend Steve White.

I think I've got it. It's your boy. It's your boy, the fan club that you're the president of, Gino.

Wait a second.

No.

That's the obvious one.

No way.

Gino. That is so far from obvious.

I was brave.

You weren't brave at all compared to this guy.

Look, just because we're cutting it down to 12. If we kept it at 12, Geno, I wouldn't be here. But I've got another guy. I'm going to let you probably go with the other guy who I think, because there's another guy in the division, too, I'm not too sound on.

There's a few. There's a few out there that I think are much more obvious than Geno. Okay, who do you have? But make your case against Gina, and we could have an early vote, or we could table him for later.

We could table him for later because my thing is, they're not necessarily winning because of him. Is he making plays here and there? Yes. But he's not like what he was doing earlier in the season. They're running the ball a little bit better. They're timely stuff with Charbonne. They're still not great offensively, though. That's the one thing. When you think about the Seahawks right now, still, what are they? What are they? I think if we're talking about quarterbacks who define the position, we know what they are. We know what Joe Burrow is. We know what Josh Allen. What is Gino in the Seahawks' offense?

He's still up there in terms of just volume, in terms of completions, yards, that thing, because they rely on it so much. To me, he passes the eye test on a week-to-week basis. Their offensive line has gotten a little bit better. The running game hasn't. The running game is a mess, so I'll push back. It's timely. It's time. I'll push back on you there. I just think he's one of the best 10 quarterbacks in the league, and he was on my not even discussing. Wow.

Of course he was.What about you?You.

Are such a fan.

I'm ready to take him off for this round. Listen, if I'm going to take off somebody who, to me, watching the way that he throws the football, if I'm going to take Matthew Stafford off because the production is not necessarily lifting the rest of the unit, and he's not necessarily playing at the level that you'd expect, what I think is good, and you guys talked about it earlier this week on one of the shows, I believe the recap show, said it very well, the rest of this team is starting to make it so that Gino doesn't have to play hero ball all the time. That's great.

The defense, everything else.

That's great. But if we're talking about where he's at, and we're cutting this list down.

My thing is, I don't think his level of play has gone down, even in the slightest in the last month. I think he's actually played well. One thing that matters to me is how you play when the game is on the line. That's a fair point. Even the Rams game, getting them to overtime in that game late. That's a fair point. The 49ers game, big time comeback late. Cardinal's game was certainly up and down, but got the drive they needed late. Then against the Jets, you have the game-winning shutdown drive late. My thing is, I test. That's fair. I think he stayed about the same level. Can we just table him? Do me a favor. Let's table him. I see where this is going. It's only three of us today, so two versus one. I could get outvoted, but let's just table Gina for a bit.

I think that's fair.

Okay. To me, there's by far the most obvious name is I love C. J. Stroud.

But he's my next guy.

He's got to go. Yeah.

Bless his heart. Because I put him under... I have a bunch of quarterbacks under situations that affect quarterback production with two stars next to it.

To me, he's just not close. He's not playing good. Exactly. He's not playing good football. I don't even need to get into the numbers. You watch it on a week-to-week basis. Yes, the offensive line is hurting him in the running game, certainly. But when he is protected, like that game against Jacksonville, I think was a great example. He was protected fine in that game. Just up and down, skittish. Not reliable, not quarterback Island.Not.

Keeping his eyes upfield.Not keeping his eyes upfield. I think he's one of the lowest quarterback passer rating. He's below 90.

He's like 87. He's killing your fantasy team. I do have him in the section, and actually, I have Stafford in this section.

I have Brock Purdy in this section. I do have Gino in this section, where the situation around him is hindering what the true potential of the player could be. That's what I was saying about Matthew with you, too. It's like you're not transcending necessarily a situation around you. In Stafford, in the Rams case, it's been chaos on the offensive line. It's been not turning and leaning on the run game until the second half, bafflingly. It's also like the receivers are slow. With C. J. Stroud, it's been pressure. It's been missing weapons. It's been dealing with some issues with the offensive coordinator and the way that they design their pressure and protection. And not adjusting in that regard. I think that that's what is developed. You're seeing bad habits develop. Yes. He is.

I mean, a text is a case of that.

That sucks because we know what he's capable of. The fact that that discrepancy is so massive right now, it's a bummer. But That means he's off the island.

He is off. Although I appreciate you, CJ, for helping my boy Walker go 1-0 in the pics when he came in last week.

We believe in you, CJ.

We do. We didn't even discuss him as an option last time around, despite a lot of the issues that you said, but he's caved in under that.

We have kicked off- Nico Collins back.

We have kicked off Stafford. We have kicked out Stroud. We've tabled Gino for now out of the kindness of your heart.

Because I think it's a fair conversation if we can go there.

I hope that kindness is reciprocated We got to see if someone else would be a better option.

You mentioned Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy, yeah. Do we want to talk about getting Brock Purdy out?

I think it's fair. You were talking about not being able to transcend. He's got nothing. He has got nothing. He's left tackle, he's down, may not play. D Debo Samuel has not played like Debo Samuel in a long time. The rest of his receivers are hurt. Cmc and Jordan Mason are gone. That's a recent development. But over the past few weeks, he just has not been there. Again, we could sit there and say it's no fault of his own, which it might not be. But if we're talking 10 of the best quarterbacks, guys transcending bad issues. You think Joey Burrow wishes he had some of the problems?

I heard he does still have Kyle Sanhans.

But defining the position, defining what it looks like right now as we talk about it in this moment, what top 10 quarterback play, and the definition of that on their respective teams and the ethos of those respective teams. It's not like we're projecting the 49ers to just creep away into the distance, which they seem like they're about to, and we're not using that to weigh the quarterback. Creak away. You're being... Well, the bones and the joints probably hurt a lot by now.

Gino helped maybe end their season. That felt It was the last moment they were relevant.

That's true. But the thing is, at the beginning of all of this, we weren't going to hold situations at the start of the season. We weren't going to hold like, Oh, you're going into a positive situation or a negative situation against them. If we did that, we probably would have had Caleb to start on the island, which we didn't, and smartly so. But at the same-You love pointing that out match as you can. You love changing the show at a whim. That's why I think with Brock Purdy, it's time. He's been definitively on the island since we started. It is time. A lot of it is not his fault. That's where I'm at with him.

Let's vote on it. I'm with you. I vote a no.

This hurts me, man, because you know I'm like the president of the Brock Purdy.

Okay, so this is fascinating because these three dudes, they got in in August. They've been on the island throughout. The position is changing. We're saying goodbye to the oldest member of the island, Stafford. We're saying goodbye to what had been the youngest member, at least an original member in Stroud, and then Purdy. It is interesting about Purdy. Some of his numbers over the course of the season actually still hold up pretty well. He's ninth in success rate, he's sixth in EPA per place still. But you see the trend I don't like that, as Kurt Warner was pointing out on Twitter this week, sometimes the lack of physical ability and timing can't show itself in a snow game like that. But I don't like that he's not 100% versatile to be able to Excel. In the couple of games before that, he was not playing his best. He has started to create some of his own problems, and so he gone.

He went to college in what Ames, Iowa as well. It's not like he doesn't have experience with-It doesn't mean you have bigger hands, though. No, but I'm just saying, I would say, yeah, this would be the time to continue Ascension. Instead, the splits say that things have declined.

Now, again, situational-This was the time for him to prove he was more than just Kyle's guy.

Guys, he's getting his ass kicked out. Yeah, he is.

I don't think that's fair, Chris.

He's very bad.

No, I'm just saying, let's be real. I agree with Steve on that.

I mean, he is out there playing with not even dudes. Okay. I mean, again, like I said, Debo Samuel has not been Debo this year.

She brought up the cold thing like, Oh, I heard that a little bit. He played in Iowa. I grew up in Massachusetts, and people are always like, Well, you grew up in Massachusetts. It's still cold. Quarterback Island, just beep it. When we were back in the cold, it was cold as the great Michael Ervin just said. It sucks for everyone. It doesn't matter if you grew up there or not. It still sucks.

You brought up the cold. I simply brought up another point. Now you're all flared up. It's fine.

People always say that to me. It's like, Oh, it's cold. You're used to it. You grew up in Massachusetts. Why do you think I left? Because it sucks for everyone there, too. Some people get over it, but not me. I will say, the fact, and to push back a little bit on what you're saying in terms of his full season averages, the reason why those are still sitting where they are, part of the reason, not the entire reason, but part of the reason, is because they were so incredibly great.

Opened the air. Yeah, he played great. I agree with Steve that he has proved that he is more than just going to run the system guy. However, at a certain point, like I brought up a few weeks ago, you're going to hit a wall. There's only so much you can deal with and handle. We're seeing it with C. J. Stroud, too.

We are, and we have now booted three people off the island.

We have created vacancy for one.

We have created We've had at least one vacancy. Gino, we've tabled. Is there anyone else out of the group to at least discuss now before we table?

I think so. It's going to sound like the craziest of all discussion with Patrick Mahomes. I mean, I mean, I'm just saying overall, I don't think we should kick him off. There's no way in the world I would say kick Patrick Mahomes off because he's probably going to win another Super Bowl with the way things are going. But if we're talking about everything that's going… It's just all over the place for their offenses here. Part of it's because his left tackles are just no good, and he's really having to play in a different way. But I think down the stretch, he's going to get better. He's got Pacheco coming back, maybe Juju's coming back, guys like that. But when you look at some of the other people that could be coming on, you have to ask yourself, is he playing as well as, we'll get to whomever.

I actually think so. I still think so. For instance, last week's game, how that game ended, where he makes two fantastic plays in a row, and one ends up a negative five to Kareem Hunt after he makes magic, and then another bounces off Hopkins' hand when he makes magic. I do think he's actually improved his play overall since the first five or six weeks of the season. The numbers in terms of EPA per dropback, still solid top 10, like ninth in the league, fifth in success rate. I know that offense has been less efficient the last couple of weeks, and that's right in our memory. But overall, it actually has been a really efficient offense, and he's been able to show his off-speed pitch. Now, is he a top five quarterback this year? No, which feels crazy to think about for Patrick Mahomes, but he's solidly on. To me, I'm voting-He's solidly on. Yes. He's solidly on. I'm voting yes on Patrick Mahomes. I cannot.

He's good conscience.

I like that you brought him up. That's spicy.

He's the reason why they're there. We could put about half these quarterbacks on there and say, Would the Chiefs still be winning ball games? I mean, would Gino be winning ball games with him right now, With the Chiefs?

Yeah. You give them Andy Reid and they've been some games. Yeah, I think they've been some games and a great defense until the last couple of weeks. I think they'd be winning some games.

I want to go to Greg Island. It seems like a nice place.

It's very self-assured. It's beautiful weather.

What is confidence like? Tell me.

Let's talk Jaden Daniels. I want to talk Jaden Daniels. Going into last week, some of the limitations, I think, on this offense started to show up. That he wasn't consistently accurate, pushing the ball down the field. He was for a number of games, but it's on so few attempts that it's a small sample size. Actually, the first couple of weeks of the season, he was struggling to throw it a little deeper. Then he was hitting it. Even last week when they got it going, to me, it was more about he's running the ball well again, and his threat in the running game helps out his running backs, and they cooked up some great run schemes. Even in that game against Tennessee, very Very little over 10 yards from scrimage. A lot of short stuff, which he's great at, and he is healthy and running again. I want to table him for now, but I want to put him in the Gino bucket of just, Okay, we'll think about these guys or our options to flip out, to switch out later. Because to me, he has helped define the position this year. Such an exciting player, and he gets extra points for that to me.

But is he playing better than some of these guys we'll talk about? It's close.

Set him straight, Jordan. You know the deal.

I think he has and does define this rookie class of quarterbacks. And yes, there are quarterbacks. There's a cluster of really exciting rookies, Drake May, who I know you would love to I'm going to talk about. Same. In fact, I'm really glad that I did not play a Greg mentioned, Drake May drinking game earlier this week because I wouldn't have made it into work today. But Bo Nicks, go back and count, buddy.

On what show? All of them. Okay. I wasn't going to bring him up today.

I actually thought he was not someone I would- But here's the thing. I do want to bring him up. I do want to bring him up because not for someone to be put on the island, but to say there's this really awesome cluster of ascending rookie quarterback play right now in Drake May, Bo Nicks. I mean, what? He'll still make his mistakes. That 93-yard Seam ball versus Tampa 2 last night, the countdown to Marvin Minns on Monday night football, just gorgeous shows the potential.

From the end zone.

From the end zone. On third to 11. Just gorgeous. And Caleb Williams is playing better than has all season. I think all of that's great. But I want a rookie quarterback on the island because I think that this rookie class, in part, does define this season. I think that Jaden Daniels is still the leader in defining what this rookie class is this season.

We can talk You got the passing numbers. You throw in the running numbers. That's part of it. That's part of what he does. That's a huge part of it. You know why? You know this. Cliff Kingsbury, they're going to be free rushers coming at your quarterback in his schemes. That is just part of what he does. It's part of the frustration of watching this team. Run the damn ball sometimes. When you ran in Arizona with James Connor, you were pretty good. You got Brian Robinson. He was coming back from injury, but run the ball sometimes. Don't put it all on your quarterback all the time. That doesn't work in today's NFL. Look at James Winston, right?

It doesn't work. His efficiency numbers, too, are still excellent. Yards per attempt, completion percentage over expected.

He's still top five in all of these advanced metrics, including EPA per dropback, despite the slump.

Your argument If the argument held water for me. I'm going to go ahead and call a vote early then because she convinced me. I can be convinced by a successful argument. I was thinking about taking Jaden. We do all look great. We're here in week 14, and it doesn't look like it. We look as fresh as when we arrived on the island. We're in December now. All right, Jaden is safe. He's safe. The guys who we haven't mentioned, which just seem like home runs, are going to stay on the island, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow. To me, losing games is not a disqualifying factor for Cuby Island. So he is obviously on. Jared Goff, I thought, has played better, actually, since the last time we've talked on Cuby Island. So he is solidly there.

You know what's crazy, too, is oftentimes we'd see, especially in maybe November, before he was with the lines, and then obviously there was a dark period with the lines when they were just trying to build their roster up. But you would see slumps in November, for example. But Jared Goff, from weeks 5 to 13, actually has stayed with definition in the top five in EPA per dropback, has stayed there, has not fluctuated. He's just been consistent. He's handled pressure well. He's operating that offense. It's interesting. To this point, there is still whispers. A lot of it's coming out of that local market, and I don't think that necessarily it's going to ring true when all is said and done. But he's still, I think, making himself at least in the underlying conversation about this MVP conversation.

He's out front. He's not the front guy, but he's probably top three or four guy.

He wasn't in my five. He was not in Shook's top five.

I'm saying he's in the conversation.

We'll put a pin in that. We'll talk a little Lion's Packers later. I'm just saying.

He's got a teammate that should be in there.

He could be four or five. We'll talk about that because we are going to preview that great Thursday night game. Jordan will be joining me on the recap. He's safe. Lamar is obviously safe. Justin Herbert I think is solidly safe, still playing really well. The one last guy then, I think I said Lamar there. He's obviously safe, playing outstanding. Kyler maybe is worth putting in the table category.

I think so.

I think we voted on him at a peak. It was after that Miami game. What Kyler is doing better than just about anyone, I was trying to figure out why is he first in QBR right now? That really surprised me. I look at a lot of different metrics, and I use my eyes, and I think PFF is fine to look at, but EPA dropped back. You're a little down on PFF right now, but I'm just looking at everything. When something stands out, and he's number one, it's very close. The top five are very close, him, Josh Allen, Burrow, Lamar, and Jane. I was trying to figure out because if you actually look at their different metrics, which are pass, run, sack prevention, penalties, something that they call points above He's just fifth or sixth in everything. I think what he's done well, which is why he deserves strong consideration to stay on the island, is he hasn't been making any mistakes. He's really good at avoiding sacks, avoiding dumb penalties, avoiding intercepts, options. The big plays just haven't been there as consistently the last month. To me, he's a table. In my gut, I feel like he is part of what's defining the position right now, and he has a really good chance, but I'm not ready to put them back on the island quite yet.

I want to see who the other options are if I like them.

I think that's where we need to go because... So right now we have what? One true vacancy with two on the table.

Yes, we've made it tougher because like I said, we reduced it from 12 to 10. Gino's on the table. Kyler's on the table, and we have a lot of guys to talk about.

Let me tell you what I'm having a hard time with because I do think that... I love watching Kyler play. I think he's played some of his best football of his career so far this year. We did catch at a high point, and we're not projecting into the future, but we're taking what the last four weeks and four games have been and just some of the ebbs and the flows. It's hard for me, especially to this point in the year, to not have Baker Mayfield on quarterback Island. I'm not necessarily saying he's a overall a better quarterback than Kyler Murray. I think that they have a lot of similarities in their game. But what I think defines the position that Baker Mayfield does, maybe almost better than almost anybody other than maybe the top three guys on our list here, is his team takes on his personality.

Okay, hold that thought right there. We're going to take a quick break. We'll talk a little Baker. And yes, Kyler, a TD interception ratio is very overrated, but last four weeks, two touchdowns, three interceptions. Hasn't been running a ton. The Kyler Baker comparison is very interesting. We're going to talk about the guys not on the island that could potentially be joining. Before we broke on quarterback Island, got some Mai Tais, took a little dip in the water.

Did you re-sunscreen, though?

Yes, of course. I burn easily. Jordan, you talked about Baker Mayfield and your potential candidacy for him.

Yeah, I would not feel right not having him on the island at this point. And I think in part of me taking off a Matthew Stafford, it is to make room for a guy like Baker Mayfield, a guy who I think is defining the position as we know it in the NFL right now in the sense of not just the intangibles, which you see it all over his tape. This team takes on his personality. He wills this team to win. They win in different ways. Liam Cohen can pretty much do whatever with Baker, even with a limited cast after Chris Godwin left. Still making it happen in clutch crucial moments with Mike Evans. Really, the stats are still... In the hunt, they're trying to make sure that they secure their playoff spot. In the hunt is the wrong word, but making sure they secure that playoff spot. He's still number 10 in EPA per dropback. Twenty-five touchdowns, 11 interceptions. That's not great, but I think you do also factor in some of the limitations with the cast that he's had. Three rushing touchdowns. He's still third in touchdowns thrown so far this season. You just see him just almost forcing this to happen for his team.

Anytime you flip on these games, you just see it.

Or he's lucky. He stunk on Sunday. I was ready to put him on. I thought that was his worst game of the year. He was the reason that they were going to lose that game if Chuba Harbor doesn't fumble. That's right at the moment where I'm with you, Jordan.

You need luck sometimes, though, man. This time of year.

I can't trust him. You're ready to trust him, and then he just starts making erratic decisions. He was spraying the ball all over the place against a bad Panthers defense, too. It just got me back to where he's still Baker underneath it all. I have a hard time on a day where we're cutting numbers saying that he's playing the quarterback position at a higher level in any respect over Gino or Kyler Murray.

I just don't see it. I said, though, I'm not saying he is playing the best of the quarterback as a top 10 quarterback. I'm saying that where When he's at what the structure of his team looks like, what they're doing, what they're pushing for, the way that they're winning games, the ethos that they embody as they win games, to me, he is defining the position right now. One of many.

What do you think, Steve?

I can't ride with Baker like that. You know I have a huge Baker.

I know. I had you in the beginning of the year. I missed my window.

There's just so many other guys who I think- That's fair.

Because we got to get Jordan Love on there. I mean, that's the thing.

Let's vote on Baker then. Wow, you pushed hard. I I thought you were going to get it. I'm voting no. That's all right.

I'll vote yes, but I want to get Jordan Love on there.

Okay.

Let's listen to it. Let's listen to Jordan Love.

But here's where I'm stuck, though, because now Jordan Love, I'm like, I'm riding for Jordan, and I'm riding for Sam Darnold.

Me too. Then we talked earlier, Steve, about the clutch factor, the head-to-head thing. All right, Sam Darnold and Kyler Murray at the end of this game. Sam Darnold at the end of the last two games. The clutch factor is there, and he hasn't ebbed. Yeah, that's the right word. We're talking about waves, right? Island. He hasn't ebbed to the levels of low that he previously had.

Here's my point, why Darnold, if we're talking about in the moment, they're asking him to win ball games. You look at the number of attempts when they're at the five-game winning streak at the beginning of the season, he's throwing the ball about 25, 26 times a game. He's throwing it 34, 35, 36 times a game now. They're asking asking him to win ball games. Last three games, six touchdowns, zero interceptions. The Vikings, they got 10 dubs now. But then I'm like, Jordan Love is playing. The giveaways, he's had them, but he's lost them last couple of games.

Okay, let's stay with Darnal for a second because that Kyler comparison is really interesting. He's not talking about Kyler? No, but he pointed that out, and that was a head-We talked about Gino.

She pointed that out, and that was a head He went ahead. All right.

If you look at Kyler last two weeks, now he's going to play the Seahawks this week and very well could win that game. I'll probably pick them to win that game and even it out. But in those two games, Seattle really ate his lunch, and Gino played better against a pretty good Cardo's team as well. That Minnesota game, to me, was so perfect to make the point you were making about Sam Darnold. Because if you watch the first half of that game, Darnold's holding onto the ball a lot, a little bit skittish, a little bit confused about maybe what's going on. Kyler's very steady. They're moving the ball a ton. But I got to give it to you. When push came to shove, of at the end of that game, Darnold is dropping dimes with the help of his coach, figuring things out, they're great at adjusting, but he's playing his very best at the end. Kyler, he's just missing just a little something. Darnold has really played well, I think, the last few weeks after that little ebb that you mentioned in the middle of the season.

Those two losses where he's the one pick, those five picks in two games.

I now, I'm talking myself through it, at least put Darnold over Kyler. But let's put him on the table. In putting Gino over Kyler as well. So I'm ready to vote on Kyler. I'm ready to vote Kyler off the island because I want to open up another spot here, at least. We got some good names. I'm now voting no on Kyler because I believe you, and I like Darnold over him.

Yeah, but Darnold might not make the cuts.

Kyler's off. Kyler's off.

I did not expect that.

But I do want to point out, it's a cool thing that Kevin O'Neill brought up last week. You mentioned it. They're asking him to win games. Yes, he can set things up for the quarterback. You can create the layered routes. You can scheme, whatever. But you're still asking him to make super difficult throws in crucial moments. There's a second and 14 in the fourth quarter, and Every coach from the Shana Han, McVay, even the O'Kunal tree, although that's now because he has a different background that's a little bit separate, but often they'll just try to get to a neutral down. Third and manageable, right? Instead, they draw up an option for Sam Darnold to get through multiple reads to hit Justin Jefferson past the sticks on pure anticipation and like, balls throw, and he hits it. It's like that is the definition of what you need to do to win your team games as a quarterback who is the expectation is to make a deep playoff run. That's why I would like Sam Darnold on the island.

I put him over Baker. I'm thinking about him strongly now. Also, the 10 wins, it does matter to me somewhat that they are a defining team of this season.

But here's the thing that I think we have to eliminate from our thinking when it comes to Darnold.

Yes.

Of all these quarterbacks on the list, who's the most likely to step on the banana peel if they do get into the playoffs? We cannot have that because I think most of us would probably say, Out of all these guys-Or even in the next month.

Next month, right. That's not going to bother me too much because we are talking about right now-And of all of these, the rookie hasn't been there before. He's played well against pressure, which is what gets to me. The thing that you could always say about Goff, and then you could now always say about Darnold was, Yeah, but if you can get to him, he Ritz is out. In that game, another example of comparison, I can't believe we're taking Kyler off. But let's review for a second.

He could come back on.

Stafford's off, Stroud is off, Kyler is off. We have booted four guys, Gino and Darnold right now are on the table to at least potentially take those two final spots. We voted Baker down after an impassioned, beautiful, really heart-wrenching push for him.

I'm trying to butter me up. We still got a Gino vote coming. I know what you're doing.

Let's talk a little Jordan love. Let's talk a little Jordan love.

I want Jordan love on the island, not just because he has an outstanding first name. Spelled wrong, though. Listen, he's cleaning up the errors, and you saw him do it around this time last year as well. Yes, and we'll talk about it when we get to the preview, I know. But yes, he has probably one of the most phenomenally gorgeous, beautiful, I don't even have adjectives for it, run games and run schemes in the NFL right now to lean on. And that's great. You have to know when to lean on that as a quarterback. But what I like about Jordan Love over the past couple of weeks is cleaning up the erratic play that had so often shot that offense in the foot a little bit. And in terms of his production against pressure, still not good, but his earlier averages are going to sink that right now until he has more data to help lift that a little bit more as they go down the stretch. He is still number 10 in EPA per dropback. He's got 20 TDs and 11 interceptions. A lot of those interceptions have come against pressure. But like I said, cleaning that up over the past couple of weeks.

He puts up numbers considering how much time he missed.

This is a team. I'm not attaching this to the evaluation, but this is a team who, based off of this last game, especially, last couple of games, too, it's like, Man, nobody's going to want to play these dudes.Nope.Nobody in January.

We'll talk more about the Thursday night game later. I'll just leave it at that.Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, this... George on the table, though. The one thing with him, he is 27th in completion percentage over expected. The accuracy comes and goes a little bit. He's a gunsling. But watching him play right now, can I possibly say that I'm taking 10 quarterbacks over this freaking dude right now? Hold up. I'm putting them on the island. Hold up. I'm calling a vote and I vote yes. I overrule you. We're voting.

Are you rip-tiding? Are you playing?

No, I'm just saying we're going to vote.

I'm abstaining. That's a rule I'm making up.

Is it a yes or a no from Jordan? It's too soon. There's two guys. Okay, you want to talk about some more guys?

There's two guys we got to talk about.

I need Steve to... I know. There's actually three.

I can feel where Steve is going. There's a few more guys to talk about, sure. But I thought maybe he is just... To me, I'm putting my cards on the table of all the guys that we could talk about or have talked about. I think I'm putting love over all of them, and there's two spots open. For me, he's pretty safe. Let's talk about him. Who do you want to talk about?

As an executive coproducer on quarterback Island, as the co-creator of quarterback Island, I am creating behind the glass. I'm creating a new card. It's the Let Steve Weish Cook card.

Okay, go.

Here's the thing. I'm not going to slow burn this. There's three guys I'm going to mention that you should consider. Jalen Hertz, okay? Russell Wilson, and here's my out-of-nowhere guy who's playing better than just about any quarterback in the NFL at the moment, and that is Tua Tunga-Viloa. He did not have a great game against Green Bay. But look at his numbers since he came back since October. 2,025 yards, 15 touch downs, 4 interceptions, 108 passer rating. He is freaking dealing down there. Again, him in the cold, that's not good That's not good for my man.

But did he even play bad? I don't think he played bad in that game at all.

He played well. What I am saying, if we're talking about-It wasn't the problem. I can't see putting him on over these other guys. I can. But in terms of defining the position and playing the position as well as or better than 10 players in the NFL right now, Tua Tunga-Viloa is in that discussion, my friend. Now, do we put him above Jalen or Russ, both of whom are cooking? We could say Jalen may be not passing because they're not asking I don't throw the ball that much, but Tua is balling.

Would you put him over Gino, Steve? Yes.

But again, I just don't know if I could right now put him over Russ or Jalen or Jordan Love. I mean, he's playing that well. I could.

I could put him over just about anyone that you've mentioned. Maybe not Love. I don't know. I just think he's playing the position. You can't ask him to play better. Even that game, We're saying was a bad game for him. They were down 14-nothing before they had any plays.

Hard to come back from an early turnover like that on special teams.

In the end, he threw for 365 yards and a couple of touch downs, and some of that was late, but most of it was in the flow of the game when they still had a chance. When I was watching him the three previous weeks to that, I just thought, this guy is playing football, is playing quarterback at a level that is QB Island worthy. It's tough. It's tough.

It's tough because right now, they're-We cut the number down from 12 to 10 or else there would be more.

You did that. No, we all did. No, you did. The committee.

But since there's no slow burn, let's have the Jalen.

Okay, Russ to me is not close. He hasn't been consistent enough. He hasn't put enough of a resume up. When you're getting pulled in the middle of a fiasco of a performance against Cleveland. He was 10 for 10 on third down, and they decided to put in Justin Fields.

Okay. Russ was playing, man. They were in a rhythm.

He's played well this season. I need a little more. I don't think he's been as consistent as you're saying.

As to Jalen. Okay.

I would say, too, with the Jalen argument, we talk about defining the position, and he is the person... I mean, Greg, it is in your description of quarterback Island. He is on a defining team in the NFL in 2024, one of probably four defining teams in the NFL in 2024. He is the quarterback. No, he's not the superstar of this team right now. It's Saquon Barkley, and that's great. But I think you at least have to talk about him and pay him his respect as one of the better quarterbacks in this.

He was the last guy on my list of guys we absolutely have to talk about. Okay. Was Russell Wilson. Now, there were some fun just quarterback conversations. If we had all day to talk about quarterbacks, you mentioned Drake May before, but I would mention how well Bryce Young is playing. He's playing better than those rookies. I love it for him. He's so great. If he plays as well as he played over the last five weeks for another four weeks, we might have to talk about Bryce Young at the end of the season.

I'm building the island out of Bryce.

Bo Nicks is fun. Jameis Winston is helping to define the season. He's not on quarterback island, but he'd be a great vibe to add to it. You mentioned Bo Nicks before, but yes, Russ was the last guy that I think needed serious consideration. If we're breaking it down at this point, and again, Jaden Daniels is on the island, and this is where I thought about Jaden Daniels is, all right, Jaden Daniels versus Love or Darnold or whoever. But right now, we have two spots available. Right now. Herbert's on there as well on the island. Absolutely. Two spots available. Gino, Darnold, Love, Russ, if you want to throw him in there, and Tua. I'm going to call a vote now that we've talked about everyone. Hang on, I need to write it down.

Say it again.

There's five guys, Gino, Darnold, Love, Russell Wilson, and Tua. At this point, unless something changes, we need to find two It's two spots for those five guys. We already voted Baker off.

Unless we vote Gino off.

Right. No, I'm saying... But either way, it's two spots, right? It's two spots off. At this point, I'm assuming he's off. It's two spots for those five guys, whether you vote Gino off or not. Oh, my gosh. I am going to at least call, because I think it's the easiest thing left to do, a vote on Russell Wilson. Great story, great season. Not quite there yet. I vote no.

I vote no. I saw him throw for 414 against Cincinnati Bingo. He didn't want to tackle anybody.

Yeah, about half of those were like little dump offs over the middle of the field. That Najahar is not Russell Wilson's fault, but my God, I've never seen a simple play. We're crazy. What is your vote, Jordan?

Oh, I voted no.

Okay, so we have four guys for two spots. Okay. Gino, Darnold, Love, and Tua. This is too much.

I know. Greg, the That's why Greg let out. I hope the listeners can hear that, that sigh that Greg just let out.

Who are you calling a vote on, Chief?

I need to take a picture of Greg stressed as we...

I am going to take a vote. I'm going to call a vote on the guy I believe deserves to be here more than anyone. That's Jordan Love. As we head to these winter months, I want a big guy with a big arm who's playing at a very high level. I am voting yes on Jordan Love. Jordan?

Yes. No.

Enthusiastically. Cee White, no. I love him. This is how tough it is right now, but I'm saying no.

I know because I know we got to... I know why you're doing it.

You just got outvoted. Jordan Love is on the island. Jordan Love is on the island.

Jordan is on the island. Jordan. Jordan is.

You have the English spelling. You had it to you.

All right, let's vote. Let's just rip the bandaid off here. Let's do the thing. It is very difficult here at the table to do this, but let's call a vote on Eugene Cyril Smith. I vote yes on Gino.

For the listeners, I'm voting no.

I'm voting no because I think Tua should be on the island.

Is Tua playing at a higher level? Gino is off.

Gino is off. He can earn it back on.I.

Mean, they're in a play-off.At some point, we'll release the deep cut, the full cut of all the discussion that happened.

Of all the confusion.

Of all the confusion where Greg let out the deepest sigh I've ever heard realizing that we still had to vote on Geno.

That's the reason why we're not doing math type occupation. Okay.

Jordan Rodriegue, the co-executive producer, introduced the element to the show that they can use at any point of the season. Someone can pull a rip tide and keep someone on the island. I am doing that right now for Gino Smith. It is an You have an atrocity that you turncoats, tried to take him off the island. Do you not know ball? Do you not see ball?

Do you not watch the ball? That's so insulting.

You know what you see? This is such a Simon Cowell. He deserves to be on it. Such a Simon Cowell Blake Shelton type of move right here.

You know what, though, too?

She came up with this whole idea.

You're valid. You're valid to use it.

I'm using it once.

This is the one you get all year, and you have used it, and you are valid in using it. Now, in using it, let the audience know, that also means that either Sam Darnold or Tua Tunga-Viloa will not be making it on the island because that's what it's coming down to right now. Just to clarify and clean everything up for the listeners so that we're all Organized, right? As my hair keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. We're all organized, and you have rip-corded Gino onto the island.

He's staying on. Controversial. I like that. A controversial look.

No, it's not that controversial.

Here's why.

No, he's staying great.

In part, these guys are all so close right now.

And you reduced it from 12 to 10, Greg.

That's true. We could put them all on. It could be a participation trophy. Everyone gets to stay on the island. Jalen. Poor Jalen Hertz didn't even really get a discussion.

We'll save it for Connie when she's here.

Yeah, that's a good move. I would totally... Is Darnold playing the position better than Gino right now? Is Tua Tunga-Vaila. No, Gino's on. It's all close.

Can't take it back.

So let's talk Darnold versus Tua.

Darnold versus Tua is the argument.

For the last time.

See, this is tough because Tua is playing so well right now. But Darnold's got... I mean, it's hard to overlook the 10 wins. It's hard to overlook the fact that they are asking him to win ball games, and he's doing it. Just look at the passing attempt numbers for Sam Darnold over the past month. They have gone up, again, about seven or eight pass attempts per game. With two of that's what the Dolphins' offense is. Him throwing the ball, getting to the playmakers. Again, he's playing great football. This hurts my heart, but I got to say Sam Darnold. I would have to probably take Darnold.

You know what, Steve? I wanted to defer to you on that because I know how much you support, and I do, too. We share a lot of the same sentiment about how just exquisitely he does run that offense to such precision and the way that he can hand the ball off and just the pre-snap cadences and the timing to it. It's beautiful. But we're talking about now this quarterback and Sam Darnal who is being asked to step up and make these clutch, difficult plays on long downs and distances, late in games to win those games to keep this Viking streak alive. I'm going to go, especially knowing your vote now, I'm I'm going to go with Steve on this.

It's just too hard.

I came into today thinking, I'm going to push for Tua, and that Tua is going to make it, and it became a numbers game here.

No, it became a rip-tied game, Greg.

It certainly did not become a numbers game. First of all, you decided we're going to 10, and also you pulled your rip-tide. So what's the argument?

I just assumed Gino was going to be safe. I didn't even know that that was going to be a discussion. I thought I could maybe get... I would probably take Darnold over Jane Daniels, but that's not a conversation that we're going to have Let's vote on Sam Darnold making it back. This man has been through so much and responded, and he has just made history on quarterback Island. We are all holding up our yes placard. He is the first man to ever get booted off quarterback Island to get back on. That's typical of a guy who has fought back throughout his career.

Let's put a chef's kiss on the Jets as two former jet starting quarterbacks are on the island in Teno Arnold.

I apologize to Tua Tunga-Vailoa. I apologize to Jalen Hertz. Yeah, Jalen, you're really playing excellent football, but when you're the secondary piece of your offense, it's tough.

I want a I personally apologize to Matthew Stafford before his availability tomorrow.

What a session of quarterback Island. You were right to be stressed out beforehand. This is rough, man. I am stressed out now. Do we have a full screen of the new members of the graphic? I will read them aloud for the audio listeners. Josh Allen, shout out to him. Yes. Might be the MVP. Joe Burrow. We never doubt you. Jaden Daniels wasn't sure, but this side of the table convinced me. Jared Goff, Justin Herber. Surprisingly little discussion. Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and yes, Gino Smith. I used my rip cord here, and for the first this time all year, and I won't be able to do it ever again. He is on the island. We have added Jordan Love. Good job. Sam Darnold is absolutely back on the island. And who am I Forget it. Is that it?

That's it. Three NFC North QBs.

You did say Pat Mahomes, right? Yeah.

I did say Pat Mahomes. We will take a quick break. We will talk a little Thursday night football after this.

The island is hot.

If any of us smoked cigarettes, that's what I That's what I would have just done.

But...screw a cigarette. I need a gummy.Yeah. Man.

Sorry, by the way, to the guys booted off. So you're not...Cj and Kyler and Jalen Hertz. But we found our 12, and I'm excited about it. You got to have a code. You got to stand up for stuff you believe in kids if you're out there. I believe in Gino Smith. He's going to prove this choice correct.

He's got a great opportunity.

Let's talk about two of the quarterbacks on quarterback Island who are playing on Thursday night football. I love it that Jordan Love got on. For some reason, I came into the day thinking that was going to be my most difficult challenge would be to get him on. But you guys were with me, and here he is on Thursday. No, I was math instead. Thursday night. He goes to Detroit. This was a rematch of a somewhat underwhelming game.

It's a weird game because Green Bay totally controlled the game. Remember, Detroit only had 200 total yards of offense, but they went 24 to 14.

Yeah, they got out to it quickly. The tough weather game. I think Jordan loves playing better now. They go to a lines team that is banged up. I think just before we even talk, I'm just going to give it a little bit of an injury update for both of these teams. Dj Reader, uncertain whether he plays in this game. Taylor Decker, their left tackle, the Lions, not looking like he's going to play, according to Dan Campbell. Carlton Davis, their cornerback, is looking like he is going to play in this game. That's good news, at least on that front. Josh Pascal, Levi Onruzu-Reake.

Malcolm Rodriguez. I mean, that's tough. Up the spine of that defense, they are thin, man.

Yeah. Pascal and Unruzareke isn't announced yet, I don't know about their status, but it doesn't sound great. Yeah, you mentioned Rodriguez. They're now missing three of their top four linebackers. Derek Barnes, they could get back at some point, but not for this game. There's some players that you probably have never heard of that are playing a linebacker for the lines. I did want to mention Jair Alexander was back at practice, and that seems like it's going to be something of a game-time decision. Elton Jenkins, good offensive lineman for the packers, and Edrin Cooper, their linebacker might be out for this game. So a lot of injuries, but especially on the Lion side, really affecting them. We'll start with you, Steve. Let's start with Love and the Packers' offense. Do you think they can take advantage of all these injuries in a nice climate? I know they're from Green Bay and all, but a nice climate control.

Yeah, like how we like it, right? Yes. Forget all the snow and the cold. Yes, of course. When you think of, besides Jordan Love, who's the offensive piece for the packers, Josh Jacobs. I mean, he's a physical force. His run balance is like Marshawn Lynch's. I mean, it's incredible. I think you go up the middle of that defense. I mean, Ali McNeil is a beast. But if Reader's not in there, man, that dude occupies bodies. He keeps linebackers clean. If he doesn't play, you are going to see Matt Lafleur, use number eight right there and get that push and clean some people up in the middle. Look at that run balance right there in that video we're watching. It's just absolutely insane. Plus, Matla floor is also going to scheme some things, drag routes, little hook routes, just to take advantage of some of that underneath middle zone that the lines are going to have to play. They can't allow anything explosive down the field. I think that center of the field for the Detroit lions is going to be vulnerable.

Yeah, you mentioned very, very new, brand new faces in some points, not only on the interior, but at linebacker. I could really see Matt Lafleur doing that dastardly thing that we know he can do with this run game, but also with their screen game, with some of the ways that they manipulate their tight ends in space, not only as blockers, but disguising different gaps, making outside wider edges than you would normally think for the run game, and then pulling back inside all of a sudden, giving them a lot to think about. It will be Jordan Love distributing the ball and all of those things. I expect him to take a few shots downfield as well. But a lot of this is going to start up front because that is where the injuries have compounded in those first and second levels for the Lion's defense.

Yeah. I think it's such a mismatch for both offenses. I think both offenses should look at this and think, We are offensive football teams, especially the packers. The Lion's defense has They've stood so tall all season. Their safeties are so good. They've been such a good defensive team, and they are relatively healthy in the secondary still, and that's the strength there. Romeo Dobbs also in the concussion protocol, not expected to play in this game, which is a big loss for Green Bay as well. Whenever there's two teams that are reasonably close, and the packers here are nine and three, this is a division matchup. When they play twice in a short amount of time, I tend to favor the team that lost the first time around. Now, this is the best division potentially ever that we've seen. They are the first division in football history to have three teams this late in the season at a 750 win percentage or better. It's never It never happened. Not since the merger when there were really divisions and everything like that. There's never been three teams with this good of a record this late in the season as packers, lions.

The packers and the Vikings, of course, the packers are starting to peak. Defensively, I worry a little bit more about them. But, Kenny Clark started to make some noise. Van Ness started to make some noise. Rashaun Gary started to make some noise. They have to get some pressure on Detroit because the pass rush for Green Bay has been a weakness for them all season long. If they revert back to what they've been and they get bullied up front by this Lion's offensive line like so many teams do, ultimately, I'm not sure they can keep up in a track meet. Maybe they can, maybe they can't. But they need their guys because they're not banged up. These are their first-round picks, the guys who are making all the money. Sometimes it's just getting your guys to play better. Their best guys haven't played their best all season. But I think you've seen just a little bit of signs from those big names, Kenny Clarke, Rashaun Gary over the last week.

This is huge for the packers, right? If they knock off the lines, okay, then you got a two-way tie with Detroit and Minnesota. But then Green Bay now is sitting right there with the rest of the season where they now can start talking about home field. Instead of those two teams thinking about their playing in 76 degrees.

I thought next Gen stats had only four teams with a real chance to get home field advantage. Mostly lions. Then the Eagles were under 50%, Vikings a little smattering, and the packers were sitting there at 2%, but that does go up. If they win this game, then it's more than the 2%. You're right, they have a chance. If the lions lose this, then the Eagles take over as the favorite for home field, which Nobody wants that.

I think the lions are built to play outdoors in this weather, but they will only play when the season ends in three true outdoor stadiums.

We saw it last week. The packers are indeed built to play outside. Built, like I said earlier in the show when I was gushing about the diversity of the run game and how multiple they can be off of everything that it builds. That is a team that the Lions, I mean, as banged up as they are, it's the worst possible time for the lions defense to be facing this physical packer's offense. At the same time, I mean, like you guys said before, it's a good foil game for either side. And Jared Goff, even when you rush four against him, he's not struggling like he used to, particularly inside. He's not struggling like he used to against any pressure. He's been incredibly productive. We mentioned on quarterback Island, part of the reason he's so firmly on quarterback Island is if you just rush four like the packers have, most of the time, they blitzed a lot more in their last match matchup against the lions. It wasn't super effective. And when they dropped back and when they just sit in rush four, like we've seen them also do with some effect against other quarterbacks this season, those types of things are just not working the way that they used to against Jared Goff.

So you're going to have to try to get your secondary activated. The way they were taking the ball away earlier this season, you're going to have to activate your secondary if you're Jeff Hathaway.

Yeah, and that's where some mismatches are happening, certainly for Detroit. When Detroit has the ball, there's mismatches all over the place. This could be a great game for the Panesu agenda running out here.

I am pushing that agenda hard, my man.

Okay. Yeah, I had him in my MVP ladder. I put him forth. I think he should be there. I think you can do what you want with votes. If you want him to represent this Lion's offensive line, and he obviously is the best player on it by a good deal and maybe the best at his position, you can vote that way. I think him against these three young safeties that they're playing. Xavier McKinney, I guess you wouldn't call him Young anymore. He's right in the middle of his prime. But what they've done with some injuries at their linebacker level and just in cornerbacks is they're playing their two rookie safeties, Bullard and Evan Williams, together. And Bullard's in the slot a lot. Bullard has been quiet. Javan Bullard, second pick, but you haven't noticed them in a bad way. Evan Williams has made a lot of positive plays. So these three safeties on the field, and you're running the ball against that look. Quay Walker, who has made some plays over the last few weeks, but drives Packers fans, absolutely crazy, and I think is a weakness of their defense is their linebacker position. Maybe this is a Sewell and a Jamir Gibbs, because as good as David Montgomery is, and he's awesome, they have almost the exact same amount of rushing attempts and the exact same amount of catches this year, and yet, Gibbs has 250 yards.

Explosive plays. More. He's a top five yards from Scribbage guy in the entire league. I do think this is a week where you just got to win in a shootout. You feel bad almost for the of the lines that it's so hard to get a one seat. It's so hard to win the Super Bowl because after this, they come off that Thanksgiving game, all these games in a short period of time. Then you got the bills next week. You got the Vikings coming up. You're at San Francisco. We'll see what they look like. It's like, man, it is so hard to just get a freaking one seed. Of all the years for them to be 11 and one, this is a tough one for it. I know.

Someone was commenting on different discussions that we've had, whether at the athletic or on this show. It's like, Man, in a historic year, these other teams just will not start losing games. It's driving the rest of the fan base is nuts, which is fair. But hey, that's great for everybody.

They could all think that way. Green Bay could be like, Man, in a normal year, we'd be winning the division. We're in third place.

The Vikings have 10 wins.

The Eagles have won eight in a row. They're like, Wait, we got to wait for one of these other teams to win? It is so competitive. It's an awesome conference right now.

Ben Johnson There's a subplot within a subplot. It's not really a big deal, but it is fun. It just doesn't happen often way, a little ipsy out of Detroit, where Jamir Gibbs accidentally shared some photos of the Lion's plays on the whiteboard. Dan Campbell said that He wasn't concerned about it, obviously. They change calls every week. Also, if you look close enough in certain Reddit circles, you can find copies of every playbook in existence in those circles.

Every coach's call sheet.

Yeah, and the close-ups of the call sheet. They change calls every week. They change words. Every team does this unless you are just an absolute fiasco of a team. But teams who know what they're doing, they change their calls every week. But Ben Johnson did not mean to. Sometimes he just says things, right? And he inadvertently gave the packers a little bulletin board material, I think, if I'm just reading this quote flat. And he said, Have you guys thought about maybe we wanted them out there? So now we know what they know. And he was joking, obviously, on Monday. So he's Drake now. So he's like, Oh, God. What a comp.

He said, no, listen. If they lose this game, he's going to sue them afterwards. Yeah.

He's like, Each week, we try to keep guys off balance, teams off balance. We certainly don't want them to know what's coming. And then he said, Look back at the first time we played the packers this year. Third and five. It was our first third down of the game. We made a check, and you can see packers defensive lineman, Kenny Clark, giving the signal for a check right there, which is usually universal to check for a run. Well, we ran it and we got nine yards. So his point was, even when they know what's coming, we still do the thing. That's what football.

I don't think the Eagles are confusing anyone with their fourth down, fourth quarter strategy. I don't think the Ravens are confusing folks on what they're doing on third and one either. Right. If the Lions can win this game and somehow get that one seed. Campbell is my coach of the year because I just want to-Real quick. I just want to give you some guys who are playing significant snaps for the lines in their recent history in this game. Al-qhaid Muhammad, used to be a nice player for the Colts. Got a nice second contract for the bears. Actually didn't have a snap in the NFL all of last year. Was not on this roster because he was on the practice squad until recently. Played significant snaps last week. Khalil Dorsey, undrafted free agent from the Ravens, back in the day, played a career high snaps last week at cornerback. Some of the linebackers that you mentioned that could be playing. Ezequiel Turner, a 2018 UDFA who has never played this much in his entire career, started with the Cardinals. David Long, cut by the Dolphins two weeks ago. Then Trevor Nowosky, who has been an undrafted free agent with the Lions now in his second season.

These guys are all out there getting significant snaps, being trusted. We'll see if they can make it work. Jordan Love, you got to make Okay, as much as we just said how much we love you, he's only been averaging about 23, 24 attempts a game during this great stretch. They haven't needed him to totally ball out and dominate. They're going to need it on Thursday night.

Real quick, Dan Campbell over Tomlyn?

If they get to to end the finish line, anyone can vote the way they want. I think it's okay to consider the breadth of the coaching job that you did, everything that you did. Tomlyn gets some credit for that, too. But to me, since Campbell didn't win it last year, I think he deserves it.

My pool of people who I would... If I got a top five, I don't. If I got a top five in a no particular order, I would certainly have Dan Campbell in the top there. I would also have Matt LaFleur. Yeah. Can you think about the breadth of this year. Absolutely. When the breadth of the last two years with such a young the group and how they grew up. So this is a cool matchup between, again, we see it twice a year, but again, between possible Coach of the Year candidates. I would have Kevin O'Neill in there, as you guys know. I would have Dan Quinn in there, still. I would have Sean McDermott in there. I would have Mike Tomlin in there. That's six, but it's fine. Math is hard, as we've established earlier in this episode.

There we go. Way to bring it full circle, Jordan.

That is our preview show. I'm learning TV. I'll pick the lines in this game. I can't pick against the lines right now, but nothing would surprise me. It gets spicy to see if the packers win this one. I'm looking forward to recapping this with Jordan on Thursday night.

And I'm picking the packers because of the way they ran the ball.

I could see it. It just feels like lines are America's team.

You just want-I want the lines to go all the way, but on this But on this game, I am picking the packers.

That is it for today's show. Let's play us out. I need to get out of here. We'll be back.

Seven plus one equals...

When we're struggling with basic math. Oh, my God. You know football is back. Quarterback Island was back as well. See you next time.