Pump the brakes on Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys after Week 1 | FNIA | NFL on NBC

well we talked about the quarterbacks now and we had to pump the brakes on uh how we judge them and not not get too high or too low after week one let's look at some teams and where we need to maybe pump the breaks a little bit and I'm going to start uh myself with the Dallas Cowboys uh played great awesome performance looked very sharp on the road we all thought Cleveland Browns tremendous defense but let me just back up a little bit and say all right let let's hold on let's not put them in the Super Bowl just yet maybe Cleveland's not quite as good as we thought they didn't get great quarterback play so I want to see the Cowboys next week also want to see the Minnesota Vikings they had an impressive performance against the Giants looked great on offense Sam darnold smooth Kevin oconnell had a great game plan for him Brian Flores had that defense rolling but they'll have a much bigger test this week against the San Francisco 49ers any thoughts on those two teams yeah and you know Co coach I'm sure you did some version of this for all the years you were coaching all the great teams you had I used to always tell our guys that the history the future of the NFL is written every Monday so we won yesterday 30 to1 now we're going to the Super Bowl we lost 30 to1 we're the worst team that was ever assembled and and so this is going to happen 17 times over the course of the year every Monday we're going to come in here we're going to have to deal with this good or bad and I always felt like the team that was able to just eliminate all that stuff and just go to work they're the ones that had the best chance so we're going to ride this roller coaster every week and you know certainly Cleveland go Dallas goes up to Cleveland it was impressive they were dominant on offense they were dominant on defense they scored in the kicking game they really got after him uh but but it's a long way to go I I think I think Dallas will benefit from the the Giants and and the and the commanders not being real good right now I think I think Philadelphia is the obvious the obvious competitor in that division but there's a lot of games to be played they're off to a good start I'm glad they got the Dak Prescott contract worked out I just think he's an amazing player and an amazing leader I think that probably gave their team a shot in the arm as well you know on the flip side of that with Cleveland was disappointing to me uh clearly they're they're trying to find their way on offense Deshawn Watson has proven that he's not quite the player that he was in Houston they have to figure out how they how to create an environment where he can have success he's a big part of of of what they're going to do this year but but the other thing for me is their defense if you think about them going down to Houston last year in the playoff game and then this outing against the Cowboys the last two outings for this defense have not been very good now again I'm not overreacting on that side either I do think they they'll find a way to to get some Rhythm on offense I do think that defense will stiffen up and some of those Playmakers will start to show up a little more but certainly a disappointing start for them but again let's pump the brakes on throwing everybody out of Cleveland too yeah speaking of pump the braks on throwing teams under the bus I'm gonna go with the Carolina Panthers I know everybody is saying this is the worst team in football they haven't made any improvement over last year they were terrible they were awful and it was a bad game it was a tough tough game uh maybe I'm a friend of David Canales and I'm I'm a little bit biased but it reminds me I think back to my first game as a head coach I'm in Tampa Bay we're playing the Green Bay Packers and everybody oh it's a new year new day new coach we go down 343 couldn't play worse Brett far carves us up and I'm walking off the field and oh we're worse why did we get you as a coach we're worse than we were last year you stink go home and it was an awful feeling but I told our team we have to grow from that well about nine weeks later we go up to Green Bay and we play them nip and Tuck all the way through we lose the game 13-6 but we're a completely different team we end up winning five of our last seven we knocked the Washington Redskins out of the playoffs and we grew from that and I think Carolina has a chance to do the same thing yeah there's no doubt and and that was that was you know a gut punch for them to go down to New Orleans and just really get demolished in every way and and and and like you said you got to you got to kind of put your feet in the ground and and stand in there and fight and you got to learn from the experience and uh there there will be growing pains in Carolina and and and they're going to have to withstand the outside noise as as well because people are going to say it's a bad higher they have a bad team the quarterback can't play all of those all of those stories and you know I think if you're in those roles you have to draw inspiration from people who have been in those situations before and you know for Dave Canales hey looking back at your story for Bryce young hey look at how hard it's been for some of these other quarterbacks who ended up being in the Hall of Fame and how they struggled early on and they just have to they just have to kind of block everything out and and their biggest thing is stay together and improve stay together and improve and the Improvement is going to come from honest evalu ation of what happened you can't sugarcoat it you have to be honest this was good this wasn't very good how do we get this better and then go to work on the practice field and I think if they can do that they're certainly way off of everybody's radar you look at every power ranking in the NFL they're 32 right uh but but sometimes that gives you a little Edge and you know I came to Dallas in 1992 and and one of the things that was interesting 92 was the year we won the Super Bowl yeah what was interesting to me was the core players who were there in 1989 Jimmy Johnson's first year they took great pride in the fact that they were one and 15 and that they had kind of turned the whole thing around that they had gone through that and they had taken the lumps and they had taken the criticism and they got stronger individually and collectively as a result of it and then when they stand on the sidelines in the Rose Bowl holding the trophy over their head winning 5217 against the Buffalo Bills there's an amazing sense of accomplishment having gone through that Journey now Carolina's way far away from that but it those those situations can be galvanizing for people and then when you do have success it's that much more meaningful no question about it Jason and the lesson in that is that one year doesn't Define you so certainly one game shouldn't Define you and you just have to put your mind to it and grow and and persevere and you'll you'll be okay hey but with that in mind you have anybody and coach in a world where the outside world's trying to Define You by one year they trying to Define You by One game and so again putting those walls up individually and collectively I think is a big part of the developmental process so after one game is there anybody else in the other teams you want to pump the brakes on a little bit well well you know one of the stories that gets so much attention is is the Jets and Aaron roders and all of that and you know so they travel from New York to San Francisco they go play one of the best teams in the league and and it was not necessarily an all inspiring evening for them but one of the disappointments was their defense that's been so good got riddled a little bit you know San Francisco ran the ball down their throats San Francisco possessed the ball a ton but I believe at the end of it the Jets are going to play good defense like they have they have too many good players over there a scheme they believe in they've played at a very high level with and then to have number eight Aaron roders back in there even though he he didn't seem like the exact Aaron roders that we saw in Green Bay five years ago it's certainly a comforting feeling for everybody who's a Jets fan to know that he's back and he's capable didn't move quite as well in the pocket I still think he's the smart quarterback with the elite arm we saw flashes of that throughout the game I just think they too if they can kind of handle the noise around them in New York and just settle in and improve each week uh I think they have a chance to compete for that Division come years's end I felt the same way there was a positive to me that Rogers made it through the game he made some great throws they're going to grow with that and then defensively I almost think they got lulled asleep Christian mcaffry is not playing they're probably going to throw the ball and I think they just didn't have that juice that they needed but they'll bounce back from it no doubt and their defense typically travels so trust me they're going to watch that tape and they'll be objective with themselves and say hey this wasn't us and they'll play better this week yeah and then you've got one other team you want to talk about right yeah the other one for me is the Bengals I I thought one of the great wins of the weekend was was New England going in there uh you know we were laughing about it Devin McCord was teammates with gerod mayo for years and may all Mayo was talking about was how his new Nike shoes got some Gatorade on him and he was wondering if they were going to be okay after the game and all I could think about when we're talking about shoes was talk about big shoes to fill right you know the the tenure that coach bich had in New England is like none other and and now here's Mayo going in there and everyone thinks they're the 31st worst team in the league and you know that they should tank the year and they should play for draft picks and all that and all he did was take his team to Cincinnati ironically enough I they they were on to Cincinnati they got after the Bengals you know and um you know I I wouldn't overreact if we on the Bengals side they've struggled early on the last few years I think they're one in five and their last six openers it just seems like it takes them a little bit of time to get their Rhythm but to me for them it was a disappointing start to have New England come in there at their place and just beat them and really control the game they didn't have great Rhythm on offense they just didn't play with great juice as a team so um disappointing for them but again I think they're going to be a team that writes the ship and and they'll start competing the right way and they'll be in contention at the end of the year for that division as well yeah I I totally agree with you uh not having Jamar Chase early in the week and that distraction that bothered them a little bit T Higgins your number two receiver goes out and just you know Friday you realize you're not going to have him so they'll be a different offense this week against Kansas City for sure but I was happy for gerod Mayo a really good young man great dedication he wants to be great he wants his team to be great and I visited there this offseason I know you've made some some trips to different places I sense the passion that these guys had and the belief they had in zarod and uh it played out Sunday I I I think in a good way for them in New England you know without having asked him this but but I would bet gerro mayor would say the most influential football person in his life has been bill bich right he played for him he coached for him each and every day Bill bellich taught him what it's like to be a championship football player and coach and um so the dynamic is all that incredible wisdom from coach belich and then Gerard's own stamp on it right a younger guy who played in the NFL so now we can take all this wisdom and then kind of synthesize it and then share it to the players and create environment that's that's specific to him that his has his own stamp on it so I think in a lot of ways it can be the Best of Both Worlds he's a young coach he's going to learn there GNA be a lot of things that come up here over the next few weeks that you know or new experiences for him and that he's going to handle well and maybe not so well and you know but he seems to me to be the kind of guy who learns as he goes learns from his experiences and grows from them so I think it's a good Dynamic there in New England and a heck of a start for those guys learning and growing that was the theme for week one and we saw some good games we're going to have a great game in Houston and I can't wait for that one but are there any other games in week two that kind of have you excited um it's a good question coach um you know the game Thursday night is is the one that kind of jumps out to me you know Buffalo going down to Miami I think Miami is a really interesting team and and I think about them a little bit you remember watching the NBA in the 80s I Lov the Lakers and and the Lakers were Showtime right they scored 120 points and they were up and down the court and there was nobody like them and they they'd win the West you know they their record would be 62 and 20 and they the best record in the NBA and led the league in scoring and all that then they go play the the Celtics in the playoffs and the Celtics would slow the whole thing down force them to play half court they'd Force these guys to make shots and critical moments the scores would always be under 100 points and and it was a different game and it took a lot of years for the Lakers to figure out that they had to be tougher and they had to figure out how to beat the Celtics particularly at their place in a different style of game and and when they broke through they broke through and then they started winning all their championships and and to me I feel a little bit that same Dynamic with Miami they're so good on offense they're they're the greatest show on grass and they scored 70 points in a game and all of that but then they have to go play some tough games in their division in Buffalo at the end of the year when it's snowing and and and and and go on the road to Kansas City in the playoffs and they're a different team they're they're they're not a tough enough team yet and and that's what that's how they have to break through everyone knows how dynamic they can be on offense but can they be a team that wins different ways in tough environments against good teams and you know they played at home the other day against Jacksonville I get all that but what I was pleased for them was it was a different kind of win it was a little bit of an ugly win the defense had to make the big play the punch out you know Javon Holland as as the runners going into the end zone and then the offense had to respond and then they had to win in a field goal late and they didn't score 70 points they scored 20 points and you know so for me I keep looking at them as a team that boy they're capable but are they tough enough to break through and I love what Josh MC what Mike McDaniel said after the game he he just said hey we wouldn't have won this game the last couple years and that's a big step for that team so it'll be curious the game's going to be down there it's not on the road but it's going to be curious against a division opponent early on in the season if they can kind of continue to show that kind of mental toughness certainly against a guy like Josh Allen who was one of the elite players in the league again last week up there for the bills yeah well I'm looking forward to that one too we were there the last game of the season last year if Miami wins they're going to win the division they're going to have home playoff games if they lose they're going to have to go to Kansas City and buffalo went down there and took that game from them so this is a big game and I know these Dolphin players have been waiting for this rematch all summer so it's going to be great and Coach I'm sure you've had a ton I'm sure you've had a ton of teams that that kind of were hitting that ceiling right and like H how are we going to kind of break through and for whatever reason you know we're falling short and then somehow you you kind of break through that ceiling and take it to the next level and I think that's where their team is and uh it'll be curious to see if they can respond yep for us you're exactly right I was in Indianapolis we kept losing to the Patriots finally we had to go up there on a Monday night and beat them and once once we beat them in New England uh our confidence level everything just skyrocketed and you're right that's what Miami needs I think a big win it well the game I'm looking at is two other undefeated teams one and0 teams the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings both teams coming off impressive wins um for the ners Christian mcaffrey may not play again this week Jordan Mason at 147 yards big game Brandon wasn't quite himself he's he'll be in practice all week and probably get more of him their defense was exceptional against Aon Rogers uh they're going to take that defense on the road against Stam Darnell and the Vikings who look great against the Giants Darnell only threw five incomplete passes Aaron Jones gave the running game a big lift and Brian Flores had that defense playing lights out so I am looking forward to that one see if the Vikings are a little bit better than we thought see if San Francisco take it on the road yeah it's going to be a fun game and that environment up there as you know it's loud in Minnesota and those fans get into it when they're blowing that horn and doing all that stuff I mean it can be a tough place to play and I think it's going to be important for for the 49ers to have that same formula they had last week against the Jets if they can run the ball as much as they did and as effectively as they did it's going to quiet the whole thing down and you know if they get into a game where Minnesota's able to stop the run an early downs and Brock pie for as well as he's played he doesn't want to go up to the line of scrimmage on third down dealing with crowd noise dealing with all those looks that that Brian Flores is going to present to them that's not the kind of game they want to play up there and uh so if they can play their game run it take some pressure off the quarterback keep Sam darn on those guys off the field I think they have a real good shot I think the 49ers are a better team the question is can they play better than Minnesota at at the Vikings place well it's going to be a fun week too for sure and we are going to have a great one in Houston the Texans and the Bears hi I'm Mike too and thanks for watching make sure to hit subscribe for the latest news 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